First, I have to thank Paige and Sherry for all of your help on this chapter. Second, I would like to thank all of you wonderful readers…thanks for your support on this story. It's still so overwhelming.

"Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road

Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go

So, make the best of this test, and don't ask why

It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time.

It's something unpredictable, but in the end, it's right

I hope you had the time of your life."

-Green Day-

EPOV:

Elizabeth is exactly as I remembered her. I'm not sure why I had thought she would be any different. I suppose since my Dad's revelation, I imagined walking into my old house and finding a different woman entirely. Nevertheless, she's the same, though her face looks a tad tighter and more lifted than the last time I saw her. I suppose the divorce settlement has afforded her more trips to the doctor.

I want to be fucking snide with her, because of everything she's done, but when I see the woman before me, I can't bring myself to do it. She has nothing left. My dad has left her and her only son died. Sure, she has her shallow group of friends, but they all have lives and families of their own. Although Elizabeth looks calm and put together on the outside, her entire fucking life has imploded. How can I treat her like shit after all that?

"Elizabeth," I greet, before taking a seat in a chair across from her.

This is the first time I've called her by her name and not by the title 'mom'. She doesn't seem disturbed by this in the slightest. She takes a long drink of Pinot Grigio before addressing me.

"So, you want to hear all about your dad's little girlfriend?" She asks coldly as she swirls the contents of her glass around, before taking another sip.

This can't be her first glass. I can't believe she's fucking doing this when she knew I was coming over. I keep my mouth shut though, and tell myself to just be nice to her. She is doing me a giant fucking favor after all. At first, I didn't think she was going to meet with me at all. I honestly think she only agreed to this meeting because she was looking forward to bashing my dad.

"Well," I pause, trying to find the right words to say. "I just wanted to hear the story from your perspective. I don't want it sugarcoated or anything like that. I just want the truth."

I know her side of the story will be biased of course, but I also know that she won't worry about hurting my feelings by telling me the whole story from her point-of-view. She hasn't spared my feelings before this, so fuck me if she has a change of heart now.

"Well, your father had an affair while I busy taking care of our son," she spits out before taking another drink.

He told me she was out of town, not that it fucking matters. However, this is her side of the story, so this is how she viewed the situation.

"He told me the affair only lasted a weekend, was that the truth?"

Elizabeth is silent for a moment. She finishes off her glass of wine and stares off into space. Her face mirrors the conflict that must be brewing inside of her. Suddenly, I wonder if I should trust her story at all. Fuck, what can I trust anymore? I've been lied to so long I can barely fucking see straight.

"He said it was a weekend, but who can tell with that man. If a man's morals are loose enough to cheat, what makes you think he isn't capable of lying as well?"

He did lie to me my entire life. Lying by omission is just as fucking bad as telling me a lie every single fucking day. He had ample time to tell me the truth, despite how horrific the truth allegedly is.

"I don't know, Elizabeth," I say, my voice already filled with resignation. "Did it feel like he was telling you the truth?"

"He was, but he didn't leave her because of his feelings for me. She was married and her husband came back. What kind of woman cheats on her husband while he is deployed? Anyway, that's the sort of woman your father seems to find attractive."

Despite the bitchiness in her tone, I can hear the pain in her voice. I've never seen my mom—Elizabeth—I correct myself, act this way. She's always so composed, artificial even, I've never seen her face show any true emotion. Even at Seth's funeral, she didn't shed a tear. I knew she was hurting, I could see it on her face, but she didn't cry. I hadn't cried either for that matter, because all I felt was fucking anger. Dad cried though, he cried so much it hurt to watch. Elizabeth had acted strange that entire day, which was to be expected considering Seth was dead, but some of her odd behavior just stuck with me.

That day I was so distressed and so fucking angry. And on top of that I was getting to know my new son. I hadn't been focused on how I looked or what I was wearing. Who the fuck would care anyway? I was at my brother's funeral, how composed did someone expect me to be? Elizabeth saw my appearance and was horrified. "Are you really going to wear those shoes," she'd said, referring to my converse. She had me change into a borrowed shirt from my father and a pair of shoes I hadn't worn in years, because they were my best. I'd been so fucking baffled. Seth was dead and she was worried about our family's appearance.

Even now, as I sit across from her watching her sad face as if it were a fucking exhibit, I wonder where her feelings are stemming from. Is she upset that she lost my father? Is she upset because the man she loved cheated on her? Or is she just upset about how his affair made her look? I don't know if I'm being negative and judgmental, but she hasn't given me any reason to feel otherwise.

"Apparently, she was an old girlfriend of his. His parents had loved her until she left Carlisle and married someone else. Of course, I stuck by your father but they never showed me the same respect," Elizabeth says, completely miffed.

So, she was an old girlfriend. Had he always been in love with her, even when he chose Elizabeth? Why hadn't my mom waited for my dad to return from school, why would she move on with her life? Every answer I get seems to raise more fucking questions.

"Mom," I begin, before quickly shutting my mouth. Should I call her 'mom' anymore? God, I don't fucking know anything at this point. Sure, she was shitty to me, but at least she was fucking there. "Elizabeth," I finally try again, "why did you take care of me? Why would you allow me to call you 'mom' knowing I wasn't yours?" My eyes water as the question leaves my lips. Is it possible that she ever fucking loved me? Or had I been unlovable from the very beginning.

"What was I supposed to do?" She asks, her voice hoarse. "Do you have any idea what it's like? I had a constant reminder of my husband's infidelity staring me in the face. When we took you in, I made him promise me to not fucking say that woman's name. I wanted no part of her in this house. You needed someplace to live and your father talked me into allowing you to become part of our family. I allowed it, but only under my conditions."

Did you love me? I want to ask. Did you ever fucking love me? I can't find the courage to utter the words, but with a trembling lip and a clenched jaw, I'm certain Elizabeth can read my thoughts by looking at my face.

"I tried, Edward."

"Did she not want me?" I quietly ask, not trusting my own voice.

Elizabeth's face softens. "I wouldn't know."

"Did she try to contact you after she left?" I press.

"I think she tried to contact your father, but her husband put a stop to that," she says with a hint of a smile.

Elizabeth stares off into space, deep in thought, and the small smile fades to a blank face. I can understand her conditions, she was hurt and didn't want my father's 'mistress' lurking around. I lean back against my chair and close my eyes, enjoying the sound of silence as I try to decipher what the fuck I'm feeling. I feel lost, so incredibly lost that I no longer know myself. How can I go about understanding my emotions if I feel like I'm looking at a fucking stranger every time I look at my reflection in the mirror? Carlisle supposedly had my best interest at heart when he took me in, but what he did was fuck me up beyond measure. Now, I doubt everything and constantly wonder who I truly am. I hope that during my search for the truth, I'm able to gain my confidence and identity back.

"How old was I when you got me?" I want to know how much time I spent with my biological mom. How old was I when she abandoned me?

"You were ten months old. We had to convince Seth that a stork dropped you off on our doorstep," she states with a mirthless laugh. "Luckily, he wasn't old enough to know better."

My mom missed my first birthday. That thought is so fucking depressing. Especially since I'm so close to celebrating my son's first. I wish I could remember my time with her as a baby, I wish I knew what type of mother she had been before she gave me up.

"So, she dropped me off and then moved away?"

"Carlisle went to get you. You weren't in the best shape so he had taken time off work to care for you, while I tended to my son."

What the fuck? I wasn't in the best shape? I feel my brows knit together in confusion and my jaw clench as I try to let her words fucking sink in. Was I malnourished or some shit like that? What can you possibly do to harm a baby? What kind of monster could do something so fucking vile?

"I don't know the whole story, Edward," Elizabeth says dismissively, obviously fucking bored of the conversation. "You had a normal childhood, despite it all. I took care of you because your bastard of a father always had to work."

"Thank you," I say quietly, my mind still reeling from the new information.

"It's fine, Edward. I'm not a monster," she says, laughing at what seems to her to be a preposterous idea.

I'd never been close to Elizabeth, but she could have been far worse than she was. She was self-centered, self-serving, passive aggressive, and fucking bitchy at times, but she never abused me. She just treated me like a terrible step-child, which now makes sense. When I was growing up, I'd thought that she gave every Disney villain a run for their fucking money. Now, I wonder if I was too harsh on her. She didn't have a happy marriage and she cared for a child that was a product of her husband's affair. I don't see us becoming close, but the revelation does put Elizabeth in a different light.

We're silent for a while. Elizabeth starts on her second glass of wine since my arrival and I sit back, my mind blank. We've never been ones for small-talk, at least, not with each other. I lean forward and run my hand through my hair, tugging on it and smiling at the small relief the pain provides.

"How are you doing?" I ask her. She's lost my brother and now my father as well, I couldn't imagine the pain she must be going through.

She shrugs her shoulders and takes a gulp of her drink. "I've been better, Edward."

She looks tired all of a sudden and I can tell she wants me gone. This is the longest she's ever spoken to me, and I'm honestly surprised she didn't throw me out earlier. I get up to leave, and take one look back before exiting the room. I say goodbye to the mother I once thought I had. I don't know if I feel relief, but whatever I feel is so bittersweet it makes my stomach turn. I've always hated goodbyes. Whenever you look back on the past, you forget about the horrible, wretched, and fucking miserable times, and focus on the positives. That's what makes saying goodbye so fucking tough, even with Elizabeth. You walk away, knowing that this chapter of your life is now over, and no matter if you revisit it or not, it will never be the same.

"Goodbye, Elizabeth," I say, as I gaze at her sitting on her favorite chair in the living room all by herself.

She turns to me, and with a sad smile she says, "Goodbye, Edward."

The words hang in the air and make my chest tighten. This is it. The quietness grows uncomfortable and I give Elizabeth one last look. She has dropped her eyes back to the floor and is sipping on her drink in silence. The sound of the clock ticking is the only thing that fills the room. I take a deep breath, and turn on my heel and walk toward the door. Goodbye, Elizabeth I say to myself, before I finally exit my old house, with no intention of ever returning.

A/N: So, what do you think of this last glimpse of Elizabeth? This chapter actually had me tearing up for some reason. I don't know why, because I definitely hated Elizabeth just as much as you guys.

Song- "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day.