BPOV

"I won't stay long, I just wanted to see you," he said.

"Hang on one second, okay?" I asked as I shut the door. I had no clue as to what I was doing. I slipped on a pair of slippers and Edward's leather coat and headed back to the door. "I can't invite you in," I offered by way of explanation

"I understand. We can sit out here for a little bit. I don't want you to get too cold," he said as he took my hand and led me to the top step of the porch. My body stiffened as he put his arm around my shoulder and hugged me close to him. I tried to pull away, but his grip became tighter, forcing me to stay put. It reminded me of when I first met him and how he always touched me until I became comfortable with him. I gave up and just let him hold me. He didn't say anything at first; he seemed content just holding me. The longer we sat, the more comfortable I became.

"I love you, Bella," he said as he kissed the top of my head.

"I don't know what to say," I told him.

"Say what you feel," he suggested

"Like I told Edward, I don't know what I feel."

"Talk to me, Baby. Just talking may help you feel better."

"I feel numb. I don't think I feel anything anymore," I told him. James was always easy to talk to when he was in a good mood, or if he wanted something.

"I'm sorry you had to go through the trial. I feel so bad for both you and Edward. I miss you guys like crazy."

"Have you talked to Edward at all?"

"No. I'm too scared," he said as I shifted to look at him.

"Scared of what?" I asked as he placed his hand on my face.

"I love him with all my heart, but I think he has changed too much. I don't think he will ever talk to me again."

"He would talk to you," I told him as he kissed my cheek.

"Talk or yell? Baby, he thinks I rapped him. I would never hurt either one of you." The more he talked, the more confused I became.

"Are you living in Forks now?"

"Yes. I just hate the thought of being away from the two of you. I only feel like myself when I'm near both of you," he said as I grew nervous. Edward was right. He was never going to leave us alone, but I didn't know if I wanted him to anymore.

"What do you want from me?" I asked.

"Whatever I can get. Even if I'm just a friend, I want to be in your life one way or another," he said as I nodded.

"You mean that? I don't have to have sex with you?"

"Baby, have I ever made you do something you didn't want to?" he asked. Still confused, I shook my head no. "Okay then, you don't have to have sex with me. Well, unless you want to, I would never tell you no," he said with a chuckle.

"Okay, then we can be friends," I told him as I gave him a smile.

"How is Edward treating you?" he asked making me sigh.

"He's mad at me right now," I told James. He shifted in his seat and pulled his arm from around me, but took my hand instead. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his loving touches. This was the James that I missed the most.

"Why is he mad?"

"I've been in this sort of funk. I don't want to do anything. The only person I talk to is Alice; I really like her," I told him as he smiled. "I don't care about anything anymore. Today is the first day that I've cleaned our room in over a week, and I'm pretty sure that Edward ran out of clean pants."

"Isabella, that cannot happen. The two of you have to take care of each other. Would you want anyone else to wash his clothes?" he asked. The truth was that I wouldn't, so I quickly shook my head no. "Then you need to take care of him or he is going to find someone else to do it for you. I don't want to hear this again, do you understand? You take care of his every need," he said sternly.

"I promise I'll do better. Our room is almost clean, and I have laundry in the washer. I even stopped cooking after everything, but I put together lasagna for dinner for tonight. I just want to feel better," I said as he kissed the corner of my mouth.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked as I lay my head on his shoulder.

"Yeah," I said, feeling the weight of the world lift off my shoulders. "I think I just needed to know that you were okay. Or maybe I just needed someone to tell me what to do. Everyone keeps asking me what I want. I don't know what I want, but after talking to you, I feel better. I'm going to do better, I don't want to disappoint you," I said as I could feel his smile in my hair.

"I should get going. You be a good girl and I'll see you soon," he said as he lifted my chin my with him finger. He stared at me for a few minutes before he leaned his head in and kissed my lips lightly. "I love you," he said as he pulled back.

"I love you, too," I said without hesitation.

James left without looking back. He walked down the long driveway and then disappeared out of sight. I kind of felt lighter, and I knew everything was going to work out. For the first time since the trial, I really smiled. Maybe I would even have sex with Edward tonight; we hadn't been together in weeks. Sex was one of the things I didn't feel like doing. I was sure that was one of the things Edward was upset about. I changed over the laundry, and while I waited for the dryer to finish, I went and finished cleaning our room. Edward was right: it was a mess. I hated when things were messy. A little later, I heard the buzzer of the dryer telling me my clothes were finished. It was perfect timing really, because I had to go downstairs to get the vacuum. When I had all of the clothes ironed and the rest in the basket folded, I grabbed the vacuum and headed up the stairs.

By the time my room was back to normal, I headed for the kitchen to start dinner. I sent Alice a text to see if she was going to be home for dinner. When I told her I was cooking she got all excited, and asked if there would be enough if Jasper came to eat with us, too. I was excited for a family dinner, and I even made brownies for dessert. Part of me wished James could have joined us, but I was hopeful for that one day. I finished up the laundry, and as I was setting the table, I heard cars pulling into the driveway. Carlisle was the first in the house.

"It smells so good in here," he said as I heard his stomach grumble.

"Hungry?" I asked with a laugh.

"Very. What did you make?"

"Lasagna, and brownies for dessert," I said as I headed for the stove.

"So, you had a good day?"

"I did. I got so much done."

"Good, I'm going to go wash up," he said with a smile. I was in such a good mood, and it had been way long too since I last felt happy.

"I'm so sorry I was gone so long," Esme said as she rushed into the kitchen.

"It's okay. I had a good day," I said with a smile.

"What did you do?"

"I cleaned my nasty room that so needed to be cleaned, and I cooked dinner."

"I see that and it smells so delicious," she said. "Great minds think a like though." She smiled as she pulled two loafs of Italian bread out of a bag. "I was just going to throw something with sauce together for dinner."

"Sorry I haven't been much help lately, but I'm going to do better," I told her matter-of-factly.

"Sweetie, I like taking care of my kids, but this is nice, too," she said hugging me.

"FOOD!" Emmett yelled, making me jump. I was pretty sure I would never get used to him. "Oh my god it smells so good in here!" he said as he hugged me, picking me up off the ground.

"Hey, how do you know I didn't cook?" Esme said as Emmett and I both laughed. Esme was a decent cook, but I was definitely better.

"I've missed your cooking. If you still feel like cooking, I would love some breakfast; french toast maybe?" he asked, still holding me.

"Put her down, Em," Edward said as I smiled at him. His eyes lit up when he saw me smile.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry," he said as he set me on my feet. "Is it time to eat?"

"We're just waiting on Alice," I said as Esme told the boys to go wash up. I made my way to Edward and took his hand. He pulled our linked hands to his mouth and placed a kiss the back of my hand.

"You look so much better," he said sounding happy.

"I feel better," I said as he started leading us to our room.

"Oh, thank god," he replied, putting our hands over his heart. "My girl is back," he said looking around the room making me laugh.

"I'm sorry I've been so out of it. I promise to do better."

EPOV

She had talked to James. Her saying 'I promise to do better,' was proof that she had talked to him. When he would tell her to be a good girl, or to do something differently, she would always promise to do better. She was in such a good mood that I didn't want to ruin it, so I kept that information to myself.

"How about after dinner, we cuddle and watch a movie or something?" she asked as I changed my clothes.

"That sounds like a great idea," I said with a smile. Since she was in a good mood I was hoping to get some head, or maybe even get laid. I didn't care which just as long as I got something. She hadn't wanted to have sex for over a month. I have never, since I started having sex, ever gone that long ever. I knew I needed to talk to Carlisle, though, so he would check Bella's phone records.

"Head downstairs and I will be right there," I told her as she gave me the best kiss. I gripped her tight to my body and gave as much passion as she showed me. "I needed that, Baby. Thank you."

"Anytime. I'm sorry I haven't been taking very good care of you." Yup, she definitely had talked to James. She let go of me and I watched her disappear down the stairs. I looked to the left and saw that Carlisle had perfect timing, just emerging from down the hall.

"You have to check the phone records," I said in a hushed voice.

"I just did, why?"

"She talked to James today," I said as his eyes grew bigger.

"Not by phone. She only texted Alice today," he said as I grew nervous. "Why are you so certain she talked to him? Did she tell you?"

"No. She didn't need to tell me; I know she talked to him. She said she was sorry for not taking care of me, and she promised to do better. She always said that when James told her she wasn't doing a well enough job."

"She said the same thing to Esme, though."

"I'm telling you, she talked to him today," I insisted. "Do you think he showed up here?"

"I don't know. She was alone all afternoon," he said as my heart started to race.

"We can't let her stay alone ever again."

"Edward, you can't freak out. If you act any different, she'll know we know, and we need her to come to us. Plus, maybe being alone gave her time to clean and think. You of all people know that she does her best thinking when she's cleaning," he said making perfect sense. All I could do was nod, he was right. I may be freaking out over nothing, but something in my gut told me I had every right to freak.