A/N: I don't own this. We all know who does.

Thanks to Pamela Lorraine (drivingedward) for prereading this. :)

Thanks to MariahajilE for keeping me in line and fixing my brain spewings. :)

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Chapter 48

I stumbled backward, nearly numb with rejection and shock, then turned and slowly walked to my car. As I stood in the open door, I glanced back at him once more, seeing he was watching me. "I love you," I mouthed—probably more for my own benefit than for his since I was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to understand what I was saying—before lowering myself onto my seat, closing the door, and starting the engine. My kids were happily chattering away in the backseat, unaware my heart was breaking just feet in front of them. Luckily for me, they both fell fast asleep within the first ten minutes of the drive home and didn't witness me wiping away tears through the entire trip.

Edward followed close behind me as we traveled back to Forks, and it took every ounce of self-control I had to not stare at him in the rearview mirror the whole drive. After we turned into our subdivision, I let myself hope that maybe the hour on the road had been enough time for him, that maybe he would stop at my house instead of continuing on to his like he told Emily they would. As I turned onto my driveway, I paused and watched the road, feeling my heart sink even lower as he slowly drove past my house and continued on until he was out of my sight.

After I woke the kids, we unloaded the car and tried to put things away as we went. Collin talked non-stop about the fish fry he was going to have with Edward, and I didn't have the heart to tell him it might not happen. I hoped, for his sake, Edward wouldn't hold my children responsible for the way he felt about me. It was something we'd talked about before—him promising me he'd always be there for my kids no matter what happened between us—and now it seemed like it was really happening. But I knew him, and I knew his heart, and I had no doubt he would always love my children. Me, on the other hand, I wasn't so sure about.

It was while putting my clothes away that I stumbled across Emily's birthday presents. They'd been packed away in my suitcase, and with all that had happened between me and Edward, I'd completely forgotten about them. I quickly placed them on a shelf in my closet so the kids wouldn't see them. I knew if they did, they'd want to hurry right over to Edward's house to give them to her. I couldn't do that. As much as I wanted to see Emily and talk to Edward, he clearly needed some space. I had to respect that, even if it was killing me.

With laundry, baths, and making dinner for the kids, the evening stayed pretty busy. My appetite had vanished, but the kids were starving. I talked them into something simple, which was both good and bad for me—good, because I wasn't looking forward to the task of slaving away in the kitchen after an exhausting weekend in the forest; bad, because it gave me more time to think about Edward and what had gone wrong between us.

As the night wore on, I started to listen for his key in my front door or his heavy steps through my entryway. Neither happened. I checked my phone incessantly, hoping for a missed call or a text message. There was nothing. It was nearly 11:00 when I finally got my kids to bed. I was discouraged but still had a glimmer of hope he would show up. He couldn't have possibly turned off his feelings for me so quickly and easily, so I forced myself to calm down and relax. I would just have to wait. Plus, I knew I would be seeing him the following morning when he dropped Emily off before he went to work. At least I had that to look forward to.

Just after relaxing onto my sofa with a glass of wine and letting the darkness and quiet of my house soothe my heavy heart, I heard my phone chime with a text notification. I quickly grabbed it and opened the text, hoping it would be from Edward. It was, but it wasn't what I was expecting.

Not even close.

I forgot to tell you Emily is staying with Emmett this week. She has gymnastics camp with Claire all week. I won't need you to watch her. Sorry if I ruined your plans for the week. See ya. Edward

My mouth hung open as I read his words over and over again. He forgot? I knew he'd never once mentioned any gymnastics camps, so how could he have forgotten? I pulled up the website for the gym Emily was taking lessons from, just to see if he was lying to me. I wanted to call him and yell, tell him he was being ridiculous and that he didn't need to lie to me, but right there on the home page was an ad for their week-long gymnastics camp. Maybe he was telling me the truth. Maybe he really had scheduled her to go to it and just forgot to tell me. I mean, what were the odds he'd be able to call on a Sunday evening and get her enrolled for the next day?

As I finished my wine and tried to keep from driving myself crazy, I remembered something from the year before.

I pulled into the parking lot, hurrying as I tried to get the weekly schedules and paychecks for the work crews to Alec before the end of the day. Collin had twisted his ankle during a play date with a friend from down the street, so instead of spending the morning working, I spent it in the urgent care office with a whimpering little boy. The fact Mckenna was whining and didn't understand why she couldn't crawl all over the waiting room furniture didn't help my frazzled mood. Jane hadn't been much help when I asked her if she could at least take care of the payroll for me; she insisted she had a migraine and was spending the day in bed.

"Come on. Quick," I told Collin as I unbuckled Kenna from her seat. "Do you think you can carry this folder for me?" I asked Kenna, knowing I'd need her to walk since I would have to carry Collin in with me. He was hesitant to put much weight on his foot, even though the doctor said it was just a slight sprain and he should be back to normal in a few days. Kenna grabbed for the manila envelope, holding it against her chest.

"Me big girl, huh, Momma?" she said proudly.

"Yep. Let's go show Daddy what a good helper you are."

"Ima getta pop, Momma?" she asked.

I smiled down at her, and I shifted Collin onto my hip and closed the car door. "Let's go see if Uncle Jake is in there. Maybe he can take you to get a drink."

"Yay!" she yelled as she started skipping toward the office door.

The office was quiet, which was odd, especially for a Friday afternoon. Edward's door was closed, and the receptionist's desk was vacant. I didn't know where everyone was, but I didn't have much time to think about it as we hurried toward Alec's office.

"Hey! There you are. I was starting to worry," he said when he saw us walk through the door. "What'd the doctor say?"

"It's a slight sprain, but he should be okay in a day or two," I told him as he walked around his desk toward us.

"Hey, bud. You feelin' okay?" he asked Collin.

"I got a sticker and a sucker from the doctor. And an ice pack," Collin said, smiling as Alec gently felt around his foot.

"I gotsa sticka, too!" Mckenna said as she jumped up and down, dropping the folder she was carrying onto the floor.

"Those are your schedules and the checks," I told Alec. "Sorry it took so long. I asked Jane if she could help, but she said she has a headache today."

Alec looked at me with a strange look. "Really?"

"Yeah. Why?"

He moved back around his desk, picking up the envelope and placing it on his desk as he continued to speak to me. "Edward said she's in Port Angeles. He's in a really bad mood, too. I don't know what's going on, but something's up with them."

I'd noticed the two of them bickering more often over the past few months, but Edward was always so sweet with her that he usually just gave in and let her have her way so the fight would end.

"Is there anything we can do?" I asked.

"No, I don't think so. When Edward's like this, he needs time to himself. He'll figure it out. This is how he always is, you know? He just needs time."

"Okay. Maybe we could take Emily tonight or something," I suggested.

"I'll ask him about it," Alec said.

After a few more minutes, the kids and I headed back to the car so we could get home. Collin was supposed to prop his foot up for the evening, and carrying him around all afternoon was already killing my back. As I closed the door after getting the kids into their seats, I saw Edward walking out of the office and toward his car, which was parked a few spaces down from mine.

"Hey, Edward," I said, smiling at him as he walked past me.

"Oh. Hi, Bella," he mumbled. His eyes were focused on the ground, and his hair was a mess, which I knew was probably the result of him pulling on it all afternoon. That was something he seemed to do when he was nervous or upset, which I always thought was kind of cute about him.

"Hey, Jane said she's not feeling well today, so I wondered if you'd want us to take Emily for the evening. If that would help you out or something, I mean," I offered.

He paused, then looked up at me. "She said she's sick?"

"Yeah. I asked her if she could help with the payroll today since I had to take Collin to urgent care this morning, but she said he has a migraine and is staying home in bed."

"Is he okay?" he asked, stepping slightly toward my car. His face quickly morphed from upset to worried as he glanced through the windshield trying to see Collin in the back seat.

"Yeah, he's fine. Just a sprained ankle. He'll be good as new in a few days. Until then, he's milking it for all the ice cream he can get out of me."

I hoped a little joke would make him laugh or at least smile, but he did neither.

He sighed and turned his body back in the direction of his car. "Um, I'll be home tonight, so I'll keep Emily with me. I'm sure Jane will be doing her own thing anyway, like usual. Thanks for asking, though. See ya."

He hurried to his car and was gone before I could even get my key into the ignition.

Staring across my dark living room, I wondered what Edward's hair looked like and how much time he'd spent pulling on it today. Letting out a deep breath, I told myself I'd let him work through things. I owed him that much. I knew he loved me. I knew he had his own process of figuring things out. He just needed time, and he needed my support, not my pushing. I picked up my phone and opened his text.

I'm sorry about today. Please remember how much you mean to me. I'll wait until you're ready to talk, but please don't keep me hanging too long. I'm sorry if I hurt you. It's the last thing I would ever want to do. Please tell me how to fix this. And tell Emily happy birthday and to have fun at gymnastics camp. I'll have her presents for her the next time we see her. We'll miss her this week. And I'll miss you. Bella.

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A/N: I'm shocked, grateful, and humbled by how many familiar faces I saw in reviews. Thank you for not forgetting about or giving up on these two. Or on me. :)