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 50

Tuesday

The morning started much the same as Monday had. By 10:00, the kids were fed, dressed, and bouncing off the walls from the leftover sugar cookies they'd managed to sneak while I was showering and getting ready for our day. We drove to Aro and Heidi's to deliver the plate of cookies we'd made for them, the kids singing and laughing the whole way over. They were happy to see their grandparents, and Aro and Heidi were clearly happy to see us, too. Heidi still got a little emotional each time she hugged her grandchildren, no doubt remembering all over again that her own children were no longer with us. I cringed when Collin started talking about our weekend and how we'd been camping with Edward and Emily. Heidi cast a few curious glances at me as he went on and on about the fish he'd caught and the hiking we'd done. I did my best to hide my blush when Kenna innocently added a comment about Edward and me sleeping in the big-person tent while she and the kids slept in their own tent.

"Well, it sounds like you all had a wonderful time," Aro said with a smile. The look he cast my way wasn't lost on me, and I wondered for a moment if there would even be any reason to tell him and Heidi that Edward and I were seeing each other. If Edward changed his mind about us, then it would probably be for the best if they never knew. I still wasn't sure how they would react, and I didn't want to risk causing them any heartache if I could avoid it.

After visiting for them for about an hour, we set out for Port Angeles. I'd already checked with Alice to let her know we were coming, and she was excited to see us. She also loved sugar cookies, but I figured I'd let her tell my treat-bearing children about that. I was sure they'd be proud to be bringing her favorite treat, prouder still that the cookies had been frosted and decorated by them, too. It was lunchtime when we finally arrived in Port Angeles, and the kids were begging for hamburgers. We drove through one of our favorite burger joints and picked up lunch for everyone. As we pulled out onto the street, Collin yelled from the back seat.

"Hey! There's Uncle Edward!" he shouted as he pointed to several cars sitting at the traffic light. I looked across the intersection, and sure enough, in the passenger's seat of a newer luxury sedan sat a man who looked an awful lot like Edward, though I couldn't tell for sure. There was a blonde woman in the driver's seat, but her head was turned as she spoke to the man and I couldn't see her face. The light soon changed, and the cars around me started pulling away, blocking my view of the sedan. I moved at a slower rate than everyone else as I tried to get another look, but the sound of a car honking behind me brought me back to my senses, and I quickly looked forward as I stepped on the gas. The car sped away in the opposite direction, and even though I didn't know if it really was Edward, I was rattled.

Could it have been him? And if so, who was he with? What was he doing? My mind was spinning as I drove the few miles to Jasper and Alice's house, and as soon as we arrived, I pulled out my phone and called Edward.

"Please pick up. Please pick up," I mumbled to myself as it rang and rang. Eventually, the voicemail answered, and I hung up.

"Mom! Let's go! I'm hun-ry!" Mckenna whined from the backseat. Pushing my phone into my pocket, I moved to let the kids out of the car and then watched them run to the front door. After they rang the doorbell over and over again and pounded on the door, Jasper opened it with a fake scowl on his face.

"Who's at my door?!" he growled to them, causing them to laugh hysterically. Once he'd grabbed them both and swung them around, he set them back on the ground and let them into the house before coming to my car to help me carry in our lunch. "You got here just in time for the rain to let up. Good timing," he teased.

I smiled at my brother, grateful for the distraction he offered me, and followed him into the house.

The afternoon was nice. It was good to see Jasper and let him spoil my kids for a few hours. And it was good for me to talk to Alice. She mentioned she'd met Rosalie for lunch a few days before and that they'd talked about Claire's gymnastics camp, so she wasn't surprised when I said Emily was there for the week, too. Alice could tell something else was going on with me—she was always kind of psychic that way—but she didn't push me for any details and kept our conversation light and easy. We skimmed over the weekend campout and I knew she wanted to ask more questions, but she didn't. I was grateful for that. I wasn't sure I could've talked about it without completely breaking down. I was getting closer and closer to losing it, and after seeing the man who looked like Edward, I was really struggling.

As she washed some dishes and talked all about the in vitro she and Jasper were looking into, my mind started to wander.

Jane and I were in the office trying to come up with some new window treatment ideas. Heidi had installed the ones that were currently hanging in the building, and they'd clearly seen better days. And a better decade. As I tried to decide between wood stains for the new blinds, Jane huffed and puffed at her phone as she sat on the floor.

"Ugh! Why can't this man ever answer his phone? I swear… It annoys me to no end!" she grumbled.

"Who?" I asked, not sure what she was talking about.

"Edward. Every time I need him, I can't reach him. Yet if a contractor or a client calls, he answers the phone on the first ring. It's like he knows it's me and he just doesn't want to talk to me. What's wrong with him?" she said with a huff. She dropped her phone next to her onto the tile, watching it skip and slide away from her.

"That doesn't seem like Edward," I said. He was always very attentive to Jane, even when I thought she was being overly dramatic about something.

"Yeah, because he likes to talk to you. But me? He never wants to talk to me, so he just doesn't answer."

"Did you have a fight or something?" I asked, wondering what reason he would have for wanting to avoid her calls.

"Nothing more than normal. I seriously don't know what I was thinking when I married him." She picked at her new manicure as she continued to sigh and complain to herself.

I had never heard her talk about Edward that way, and it worried me. I knew she could be high-strung and what Alec referred to as "high maintenance," but I never once thought she didn't love Edward. I'd noticed a few things that made me think maybe they were going through a rough patch, but to regret marrying him? That thought had never entered my mind. Edward was an amazing person, and I wasn't sure there was anyone who didn't love him.

"Jane, are you sure there's nothing serious going on? You guys haven't really seemed like yourselves lately. I mean, you're out with your friends so often, and Edward's moody all the time. It seems like you don't even see each other anymore. Is there anything you want to talk about?" I asked, bending down to sit next to her.

She was quiet for a few moments before shaking her head. "We're just not in a good place right now. It's not all Edward's fault. It's probably not any of his fault, to be honest." She looked up at me with a strange look in her eyes. "Bella, have you ever just felt like running away? Like getting in your car and driving until you can't find your way home? Have you ever wanted to leave everything behind and never go back?"

What she said shocked me, but I could see the sincerity in her eyes; I knew she meant what she said. It made me sad, not just for her but also for Edward and Emily. If that's what she wanted to do, she was going to break both of their hearts. "No, I never have. Do you?"

She sighed. "Every day. You have no idea. I love Emily, and I really try to love Edward, but then when he won't even answer his phone to talk to me? I don't know anymore."

Just then her phone rang, and we both looked over at it. Edward's number was on the screen, and she stood up and stepped toward the door, leaving the vibrating phone on the floor. "Now he can see how it feels," she said as she lifted her chin and walked out of the office.

After two more rings, I reached for her phone and swiped to accept the call before saying hello.

"Bella? Where's Jane?" Edward asked in a surprised tone.

"She just left. She was mad you didn't answer the phone when she called you earlier," I explained.

He let out a deep sigh. "Oh, shit. Um, sorry. I wasn't ignoring her. I was out on a walk-through with a client earlier, and I'd already taken three calls from her, so I had to put my phone on silent. Afterward, I got busy and forgot to turn the ringer back on. I'm sure I'll hear all about it from her later, if she even bothers to come home tonight."

"She seemed pretty upset," I said. I could tell he was already aware of that, but I felt like I should probably make sure he knew just how much. "She said you never answer her calls, that you don't want to talk to her. I think she's having a hard time right now. She seemed pretty down."

"I don't ignore her calls; it's just that she calls me during the most inopportune times and then gets upset when I can't answer her right away. And I forget about the ringer sometimes, you know? And when I'm on a job site and it's noisy, there's no way I can hear the phone ring when it's in my pocket."

"I'm sorry, Edward." I really was, but I didn't know what else to say to him. I couldn't make things better.

"Alec said you were gonna be at the office today?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm still here. We were going over window treatments and stuff."

"Can you just leave her phone on my desk and I'll get it when I get back?"

"Sure," I promised him. "You should probably talk to her, Edward. She didn't sound like she was in a good place."

I could hear him take several deep breaths. "I will. I just need to figure out what to say, you know? But yeah, I'll talk to her. Thanks, Bella."

We hung up, and I went to put the phone in his office before going back to the window treatments I was going to be deciding on alone. I knew they weren't going to pick themselves.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Alice asked.

"Yeah. Sorry. I was just lost in my head there for a minute," I said as I did my best to smile at her and catch up on the details of our conversation I'd just missed.

That night, as I climbed into my bed, my heart still hurting and my head still confused, I texted Edward again. As I began to type, I decided maybe a text wasn't enough, so I deleted the draft and hit the call button. I knew it was late, but I was really hoping he was still awake or at least had his phone near him. The phone rang and rang, and after six rings, I heard his voicemail. I cleared my throat and waited for the beep.

"Hey, it's me. Um… I was gonna text you, but I decided to take a chance on you answering your phone. I wanted to hear your voice, even if it's just on your voicemail. I thought I saw you today… in Port Angeles… but I'm not sure. Um, I'm really starting to worry, Edward. It's been two days, and this is pretty much killing me, so please call me back. Or text me. Please. Just tell me you're okay or that we're okay. Or that we're not. Whatever. Something, please." I sighed as I fought back tears. "I don't want to lose you, and we need to talk. I know you need space, but I miss you so much." I ran my hand through my hair, pausing as I tried to figure out what to say. "For my sanity, please let me know you're okay. Please," I whispered. After another quiet moment, I mumbled "goodnight" as I heard the voicemail recording end with a beep.

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A/N: Some of you will be happy next chapter. :)

Some of you will be mad there's a random blonde woman mentioned in this chapter. :D

Most of you will still be furious with Edward because he hasn't called Bella back in two days. :D :D

In the case of that, see item number one... ;)