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Epilogue

It wasn't easy.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

Edward had tried so hard to prepare me for that.

But still.

It hurt when she relapsed; when she refused to take her medication and was admitted back in the hospital only six months after she had been released.

Charlie had, for some reason, offered to take her in after she was first released.

Maybe it's because he saw the new start I had created for myself and couldn't tear that away from me.

I should have refused his offer to take her in but I had taken myself out of the situation. I wouldn't allow myself a say. With some effort on my part, I had given up any and every responsibility regarding Renee.

So, when Charlie offered to let her move in with him, I had no opinion. I had no say. Edward backed me up one hundred percent.

Then the phone calls started.

All hours of the night.

Renee would call my phone.

Then Edward's would ring.

She even called Edward's work once just to leave a message for me.

That's when I finally stepped in.

She hadn't been taking her medication. She was lying and we never figured out what she had been doing with the pills, but she definitely wasn't taking them.

Charlie looked ashamed. He yelled but he was angry with himself. He apologized to me for not realizing what I had put up with for all those years.

I forgave him, anyway. There was no point in holding a grudge against him. He tried and he found out the hard way.

As for Phil, I was the very picture of surprised when he showed up to the realty office one day looking incredibly sheepish. It was the first time I had seen him since he and my mother had been together; I couldn't help but feel for him.

For all he knew, Renee was just some sweet lady who was investing her time and money into him and their relationship. He was dense, that far I could tell, but I knew he meant no harm.

He handed me a check for five hundred dollars, claiming Emmett had set up some form of a payment plan with him. I knew it was best to not ask any questions, so I thanked him and apologized for everything.

He didn't deserve any of this to happen to him any more than I did. The least I could do was apologize.

The money he was slowly returning was deposited into Charlie's account, since he and Renee were legally married, and was used towards her relapse. Charlie slipped up and told her about it one day, which only fueled the fire.

Renee and I didn't speak for months.

She accused me of not loving her.

That was far from the truth. But her truth was so skewed, it wouldn't make a difference to try to make her see any other way.

A year later, Edward and I moved to Seattle.

He took the manager's position at Newton's and slowly revealed to me his plans of someday owning his own sporting goods store.

A few months after moving to Seattle, I began taking classes at a community college. I couldn't let myself feel embarrassed when Edward offered to pay for my classes. It seemed to truly make him happy to help me out and I was past feeling insecure about being a charity case.

If Edward was willingly handing out his love to me, I'd take it.

I'd be silly not to.

Two years after that, I transferred to the University of Washington. I received some financial aid but Edward paid the rest. My part-time job working in the library didn't help much, but I knew someday I'd be able to pay him back. Not with money but with love, devotion and maybe even a few kids.

I was working towards a degree in psychology. I truly was interested in the human mind and behavior, and I wanted a better understanding of what Renee was going through. If I could encourage others to help their loved ones seek help, then it'd make me feel better about not helping Renee out sooner.

Edward proposed a week before I graduated.

I was putting away his laundry and found the ring box in his underwear drawer. He ran into the room because I was laughing so hard he thought I was crying over something.

I laughed at him for hiding the box in the silliest spot ever imaginable.

He laughed at me for expecting any less.

And then he explained that his plan was to propose to me during my graduation party, but he was nervous because he knew I didn't like being the center of attention. He knew me so well.

He dropped to one knee and confessed the most beautiful words I had ever heard before.

I cried.

I think he did, too.

And I said yes.

Of course I said yes.

Renee didn't speak to me for a year after I told her about the engagement. She had been living in a halfway house and attending a day treatment program.

She didn't yell.

She didn't even look at me.

She calmly told me to leave and not to visit her again.

I was moving on with my life and she considered herself stuck; stagnant.

Esme insisted I send her an invite to the wedding.

So I did.

I knew she wouldn't attend but I also knew it was for the best.

Emmett had offered his services to walk me down the aisle and I couldn't turn him down. He had created a PowerPoint presentation as to why he should be the one to do it, the top reason being because he wouldn't let me fall.

Charlie didn't ask why he wasn't the one to walk me down the aisle. But he did attend the wedding and whispered in my ear how proud he was of me while we were dancing.

While I was dancing with Carlisle, he admitted that he considered me a part of the family a long time ago. I cried and thanked him before Edward cut in.

"Fancy seeing you here." Edward winked and pulled me close to him in one fluid move.

"Do you come here often?" I asked seriously as we swayed to the music.

"To wedding receptions? Oh, yeah. It's where I pick up hotties like yourself."

"'Hotties'?" I questioned with a grin. "How much have you had to drink, Mr. Cullen?"

"Enough to believe you are a good dancer, Mrs. Cullen." Edward laughed and tightened his grip on my waist.

"Hey," I scolded. "Those dance lessons are paying off."

Edward sighed and I rested my head against his chest.

"So, when did you find out you were pregnant?" he whispered against my temple and I smiled.

"How did you know?"

"You haven't touched the champagne," he pointed out. "And I was suspicious when you turned green last week while we were eating Chinese. That's not how you typically react when I offer you sesame chicken."

"There you go again. An everyday Sherlock Holmes," I teased and pulled back to stare into his eyes.

"You're having my baby," he stated with an infectious grin.

"Well, that's the plan, anyway." I laughed as my eyes began to fill with tears. "I figured we could start with one and see how it turns out."

"I love you," he whispered and discreetly rubbed a hand over my stomach.

It wasn't easy.

I knew it wasn't going to be easy.

But I was finally where I needed to be; where I belonged.

A/N: A huge thank you to EVERYONE who read, reviewed and rec'd this. Seriously- consider my mind blown. This wasn't an easy subject matter to deal with and I truly appreciate the response this story received! :')

Liv- Thanks for wasting your life with me on gchat and putting up with my overall creepiness. I'll forever love when you finally got fed up with my whining and told me- "Just write what you started out with. It will be so much better than you trying to write to please people. That's the story I started reading. That's the one I want to finish reading."

Teresa- Thanks for being the first to rec this and for taking time out of your work day to constantly deal with my nervous breakdowns about this story. Love you so much, Lobster!

Julie- Thanks for reviewing each chapter, pre-reading and constantly offering your pistol whipping services to those who made me doubt myself. You got your hammock sex, you whore. Happy? ;)

There will be plenty of outtakes and futuretakes for this story. I'm going to need therapy to let these kids go.

One more thing- this is fiction. They totally would have fallen out of the hammock during sex. I am not responsible for any sex-related hammock injuries!