Chapter 2

A/N: I own nothing of the twilight franchise.

The next morning, the smell of bacon and eggs pulled me out of my sleep. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and pushed my feet into the carpet.

My head was still swimming from the night before. I thought I could sleep off the feeling of dread, but I hadn't.

With a heavy sigh I shuffled from the bed and into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and had just bent over to wash my face when I felt a pair of strong hands grip my waist. I began washing my face as his fingers rubbed gentle circles over my nightie and into my hips. I hadn't even heard him come upstairs.

As I turned the water off, one hand moved from my waist to hand me a soft, fluffy towel. I muttered a soft thank you as I patted my skin dry.

I set the towel back on the counter and Edward turned me around so that I was now facing him. His voice came out low but warm, "I made us breakfast."

I nodded at him as I reached up to release my hair, allowing it to tumble down my back in waves.

He drank me in, his eyes wandering over my body, "You've always been so beautiful first thing in the morning."

The blush crept up, splashing my cheeks with pink. "Let's go eat."

He brushed his fingers over the apple of my cheek and blazed a path down my neck. "Not so fast, baby girl." He leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. I moaned at the contact. It had been over a month since we'd last been intimate with each other, and even then it had become a bit mechanical. We had so much to work through but right now, all I wanted to do was feel this. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed my body up against his. He groaned into my mouth and deepened our kiss.

Edward's warm hands cupped the back of my thighs and lifted me up on the counter. The bottom of my nightie rode up and Edward pushed his boxers down. I reached between us and lined him up with me. The moment he pushed into me I was lost. He held my eyes and told me how beautiful I was. I murmured my adoration back to him.

Once we finished, I tightened my grip on his shoulders and placed a kiss on the center of his chest, "I need to shower."

His smiled at me, "I like you like this."

I could feel my cheeks flush, once again. "Like what?"

He pushed his fingers in my hair, sweeping it behind my ear, "Flushed, just for me."

I rolled my eyes at him and playfully pushed him away. He flashed me a grin and backed out of the bathroom.

With a sigh I stripped off my clothes and slid myself into the shower.

I'm not sure what came over us this morning, but it did feel good to fall back into our old selves, if only for a moment.

After my shower I dressed in a soft pair of shorts and a long sleeved t-shirt. I padded my way down the steps, to find Edward pacing back and forth in front of the kitchen island. I could sense his frustration from the entry way to the kitchen.

"Is everything okay?"

He scrubbed his face with his hand before turning to look at me, "No, everything is not okay. I've been working on this customer for weeks. Weeks, Bella! And this motherf-" He balled his hand into a fist and brought it up to his mouth.

I walked over to him and reached up to grab his hand and bring it back down to his waist. "Come on baby, calm down. What happened?"

His eyes were furious, "You want me to calm down? Do you even understand what this could mean for me? For my career?" He snatched his hand out of mine and huffed, "No, of course you don't understand. Do not touch me right now."

I pulled my hand back as if he had burned me, "Thirty minutes ago you were fucking me on the bathroom vanity like some sort of animal and now I'm not supposed to even touch you?"

A groan erupted from this throat, "An animal, Bella?" His grimace deepened, "Jesus Christ, can I just get a minute to myself? You never let me breathe."

I folded my arms across my chest, immediately feeling defensive, "I never let you breathe?"

This had nothing to do with his job anymore.

He was completely enraged by now, "No, you don't!" He jabbed an accusatory finger in my direction, "I can't come home late without you asking me questions! I can't do anything, or go anywhere, without you accusing me of being out there fucking somebody else! You have no faith in me at all, so excuse me for asking for just a little bit of my own space!" His chest was heaving by the time he was done with his rant.

My expression turned blank as I looked back at him.

His eyes narrowed at me and he took a menacing step in my direction, "And now you have nothing to say?"

I remained silent and went to the front door. I was slipping my feet into my sneakers as he approached me. "Now you're just going to run off, right? As soon as I have something to say about you, you take off. Typical, you never want to hear the truth."

Tears began to prick my eyes as I looked back at him, "I was just trying to help."

He slammed his open palm into the door, "Damn it Bella, if you really want to help then you need to listen to me. Stop putting all this pressure on me! Listen to me when I tell you that I would never touch another woman," I could see the tinge of sadness in his eyes now, "Since the day I met you, it has only been you. It will only ever be you."

I bit my lip and met his hard gaze, "I think I need to get some air."

At that, he backed away from me. "Of course you do." The sarcasm in his tone was painfully clear. I didn't wait another second before I all but threw myself out of the door. I broke into a jog that took me miles away from home.

—-

My thighs and lungs were burning as I approached the house. My plan wasn't to end up here but being so lost in thought, my feet had carried me much further from home than I realized, and I don't have the energy to run back. It also doesn't help that in my haste, I left my phone at home.

I climbed the steps and knocked on the door. I began wringing my hands together, suddenly feeling nervous about being here.

Just as I was about to knock again, the door opened to reveal a shocked Jasper.

"Bella?"

I shot him a lame smile, "Hi Jas."

He gave me a once over, his eyes lingering on my legs a little longer than what was appropriate. He reached my eyes and gave me a sheepish smile, "Come on in."

He stepped aside so I could enter the house. We stood in the foyer for a moment before I decided I should probably explain myself. He was too polite to ask what I was doing here.

"I'm sorry to just show up like this, I was just out for a run and I ended up going a little too far and I'm not really sure I have the energy to run or even walk back so I was hoping-" His chuckle cut off my rambling and I could feel my cheeks heat up.

"You need a ride home?"

I nodded, "Yes if it's not too much trouble-" my stomach rumbling interrupted my words. I hadn't eaten today and my run had burned off far more energy than I actually had.

He laughed again, his eyes twinkling, "Of course I'll take you home, but I was just about to eat, and you sound like you need to do the same. Join me?"

"I'm starving." It was then that I realized I was feeling pretty sweaty. Jasper had started to turn away to head to the kitchen when I stopped him, "Actually, would it be okay if I showered really quick?"

He smiled softly at me. Jasper had always been so warm. "Of course, come on."

I followed him up the staircase. He led me into his bedroom where he rummaged through his dresser. I felt strange standing in Jasper's bedroom like this. Not because I was uncomfortable, but it had just been so long since the days when this was the norm. I missed my best friend.

He turned to face me with a pair of joggers in his hand and a midnight blue sweatshirt. "You're probably going to be swimming in these, but it's the best I got."

I took them from his hands, "This is perf-" I paused as I took a better look at the crew neck sweatshirt in my hands. It was my favorite sweatshirt of his from college. I used to wear it all of the time.

My eyes shot up to his, "This is my sweatshirt."

He grinned at me as he placed his hands in his jeans pocket and rocked back on his heels, "Actually it's my sweatshirt Swan." His eyes glistened with mirth.

Playfully I rolled my eyes at him and poked my finger into his shoulder, "Watch yourself. I have a good mind to steal it back."

He chuckled and shook his head at me, "Still the little kleptomaniac you've always been." He moved past me and I followed him to the hallway bathroom, "There are fresh towels under the sink."

"Thank you Jas, I'll be quick."

He shrugged, "No rush." With that he walked away. I watched his gait, shoulders back and confident.

I hurried through my shower, and slipped into the clothes he gave me. I had to roll the waist of the joggers up so that they weren't pooled around my feet, but the sweatshirt fit like a charm. Just the way it used to.

I folded my clothes in my arm and made my way out of the bathroom and down the staircase. The smell of pizza filled my nose as I set my clothes next to my shoes at the door.

The sound of my bare feet against the wooden floor was the only noise in the house as I walked to the kitchen. I paused in the doorway to find Jasper leaned up against the kitchen island with his head back and his eyes closed. He was the perfect picture of serenity.

I cleared my throat to alert him of my presence. His eyes shot open and landed on me. A small smile graced his features as he took in my appearance.

We stood in silence for a few seconds before I couldn't stand it anymore, "So the sweatshirt still fits, the pants, not so much."

He laughed lightly and moved to the cabinet to grab plates, "Not my fault you're five foot nothing." He held a plate out to me. I walked toward him to take it and placed two slices of pizza on my plate, "I'm average height, thank you very much."

I sat at the kitchen table and he sat across from me. I dug into my pizza immediately while Jasper watched me for a moment.

Feeling his gaze on my form I looked up at him, still munching on my slice, "What?"

He smiled softly, only one corner of his lips rising, "Not that I'm not happy to see you, because believe me I am, but this is unlike you."

I raised my eyebrow at him as I took another bite of pizza.

He continued on, "You went on a run in the middle of the day, alone, without your phone, and ran so far that coming here was closer than going home."

I shrugged lamely at him, "Running makes me feel better."

He nodded as he chewed, "I know it does. But only when things get bad. What happened Swan?" His voice was gentle. Always so gentle.

Thinking about Edward's words from earlier suddenly made me lose my appetite. I pushed my plate away from me and I took a deep breath, "We had a little disagreement this morning."

Jasper nodded, his golden curls bouncing slightly as he did so.

I rubbed fingers over my eyebrow, trying to compose my thoughts, "Actually, it started last night. But this morning we were fine at first, we had s-", I caught myself and coughed lightly, in an attempt to cover my mistake hoping he didn't catch it, "we had a good morning, and then something happened with his job and I was just trying to talk to him and suddenly- but then he-" I squeezed my eyes shut for a second, trying to steady myself. "He got mad at me and said some things that he probably shouldn't have said, but-but I deserved it."

Now it was his turn to raise his eyebrow at me, "He shouldn't have said it, but you deserved it?"

I nodded and cast my gaze down to the table, "Just because it hurt to hear, doesn't mean he was wrong."

He pursed his lips and studied me carefully. "Can I ask you something Swan?"

I shrugged my shoulders at him weakly, "Sure."

He folded his arms on the table and leaned toward me, "Are you happy?"

That is most definitely not what I expected to hear him say. I wasn't happy with Edward, but that doesn't mean I didn't want to be. I've always loved him, and that's not going to change. I just don't know how to fix us anymore, and sometimes love isn't enough.

"I don't know, Jas."

Jasper gave me a patient smile and didn't press the matter any further. That's one of the things I always appreciated in him, he never pushed too far. He picked up his plate and mine, taking them over to the sink before rinsing them and putting them in the dishwasher.

I had just put my head in my hands when I felt his presence behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and began rubbing soothing circles, "I know we haven't talked much recently and I understand that Edward isn't, uh, comfortable with how close we were but-" he sighed and removed his hands from my shoulders. He moved to lean on the table next to me, drawing my gaze to his, "I want you to know you can still come to me."

I nodded at him, overcome with emotion. I launched myself out my chair and threw my arms around his neck. The chair nearly toppled backwards at my force. Slowly, he wrapped his arms around my waist. "I've missed you Jasper."

His fingers drew lazy circles in the small of my back. I could feel him nod into my hair. He kissed the top of my head, "Me too, Swan."

He pulled away and met my eyes, "You want me to take you home now?"

I shook my head as my eyes took inventory of his face. "Not really can we just, I don't know, hang out for a while?"

A relieved smile crossed his features. It spread a feeling of warmth through my body. "A movie day it is."

I trailed behind him to the couch where we sat on opposite ends. We spent the day talking about everything and nothing. I hadn't spent quality, one on one time with Jasper in a couple of years, and it felt so good to fall back into our old rhythm.

Halfway through our second movie, I felt my eyelids begin to get heavy. I laid myself sideways on the couch and Jasper gently pulled my head into his lap. I glanced up at him, but he kept his eyes on the screen, a small smile on his face as his fingers combed through my hair.

The gesture was so reminiscent of our college years. I relaxed into his touch and finally dozed off.

—-

When I opened my eyes, the room was dark, save for the glow from the television. My head was still in Jasper's lap and I gazed up to find him fast asleep. His head had tipped backwards and his mouth was slightly ajar. He was snoring softly.

I scrubbed the heel of my hands over my eyes and began to sit up cautiously. Jaspers arm tightened across my collar bone as I started to move. Gently, I moved his arm out of the way so that I could sit up fully and stretch. I took a peek at the watch on Jasper's arm only to realize it was almost 10:30 pm.

Immediately I shook him awake. His eyes looked startled and confused as he gathered his surroundings.

"Jas I have to get home."

He glanced at me and then at his watch. He nodded mutely and scratched his chin in sleepy manner.

I pushed myself up off the sofa and shuffled to the front door to grab my shoes and clothes from earlier. By the time I reached the door that led to the garage, Jasper already had his shoes on and keys in hand. He gave me a once over and reached out to smooth my hair down. I hadn't even thought of it.

I smiled at him sheepishly, "I know I have to look a mess."

He shook his head, his voice still sounding groggy, "No more than usual."

I slapped his chest playfully but he caught my hand as I was pulling it back to my body. He locked his eyes with mine, "You look like you got rest that you haven't gotten in months."

I knew exactly what he was trying to say. And he was absolutely right. He let my hand go, allowing it to drop back to my side. He led me out into the garage and into his car.

The 30 minute drive back to my house was comfortably quiet. I absently toyed with my wedding ring most of the trip.

Once we arrived, Jasper pulled up in front of the house. He cut the engine and turned to face me. "My brother is going to be upset."

I nodded my head, "Probably."

He purses his lips. He seemed to be carefully considering his next words. "Don't stay away so long anymore."

"I won't. I'm-I'm sorry that I have. And thank you for today, I needed it more than you know."

He flashed a grin at me, "You aren't the only one."

The porch light flicked on and I saw Edward's figure standing at the front door. He looked rightly pissed. I groaned and looked back at Jasper. He seemed concerned. "I'll be fine. You drive safe. Let me know when you get back, okay?"

He nodded, "I would hug you but since he's watching so closely, I don't think that would help this situation any."

I took his hand and squeezed it in mine for a moment, "No, I suppose it wouldn't. Goodnight Jas."

I didn't allow him to respond beyond squeezing my hand back, before I was stepping out of the car and pushing the door shut.

He waited until I was safely inside the house before pulling off. Edward was sitting at the foot of the stair case facing me, his forearms resting on the tops of his knees. I could see he anger swimming behind his eyes as they bore into me.

"I fell asleep." Those were about the only words I could manage.

Edward's eyes trailed from my bare feet, up my jogger clad legs, over my sweatshirt, and straight to my eyes. "At Jasper's?"

"Yes."

"You ran all the way there?"

"Not intentionally."

He hummed, rubbing his beard thoughtfully, "Did you get the air you so desperately needed?"

A deep sigh escaped my lips "I ran a little further than I thought and I was too tired to try to run back. And I left my phone here."

He nodded at me and waved his hand in my direction, "And the outfit?"

I groaned and pressed my back up against the front door. I slid down and stuck my feet out in front of me. "I needed a shower and he gave me something to wear."

Silence ensued for the next few minutes. We just sat there, watching one another.

I interrupted the silence first, "I didn't mean to be over there so long."

"I was worried about you."

With a nod I mumbled my response, "Right, I should've called."

"I would've come and gotten you. You didn't have to stay at his place or bother him for a ride."

I leveled my eyes with his, suddenly feeling defensive, "Jasper didn't mind."

His humorless chuckle cut through the air, "No, I'm sure he didn't."

The words tumbled out of my mouth before I had a chance to stop them, "He took care of me."

My eyes fluttered shut. Shit, way to fan the flame, Bella. The last thing I wanted to do was fight with Edward again today, and that seemed to be exactly what he was preparing to do, and my last admission wouldn't help anything. Before I could process what was going on, Edward had gotten up off the steps and was hauling me to my feet. Startled, I held on to his shoulders and searched his eyes.

He scooped me up into his arms and briskly carried me up the stairs. He set me down inside the closet and glared at me, "Change."

Confused, I stared at him.

"Change Bella. It's enough to see you in his clothes, but you smell like he does."

Instead of protesting, I held his eyes as I slowly stripped out of my borrowed outfit. Edward kept his eyes on mine, never wavering. With deliberate movements, I pulled out one of Edward's t-shirts and slipped it over my head.

His approach was slow and predator like. His hand cupped the back of my neck, "Do you love me, Bella?"

I swallowed hard, and nodded my head.

His tongue darted out to lick his lips. The movement distracted me momentarily.

"And do you know that I love you?"

My head bobbed again slowly, not quite sure where he was going with this line of questioning.

"Good." He pressed a chaste kiss to my lips but his tone was cold. I know I had hurt him today, but he hurt me too. He regarded me for another moment before he brushed his fingers across my cheekbone, my eyes fluttered shut at the contact. Without another word he turned on his heel and walked out of the closet.

I trailed behind, watching him as he turned his side of the bed down. Quietly I began turning down my side as well.

His voice was calm, calmer than I knew he was actually feeling, "Esme wants everyone over for dinner tomorrow night."

I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling meek, "Does she want me to bring anything?"

He paused and looked at me. I could see the pain in those green orbs, and I knew that I had caused it, "No."

His sharp tone told me he wasn't interested in talking anymore. I laid down between the sheets and felt him do the same behind me.

I didn't sleep much that night.

I also missed a couple of calls and texts from Jasper.

—-

The next day was different than the one before. I hadn't seen Edward all morning. He left a note stating that he was going into the office. It was brief and to the point, and failed to mention how long he planned on being gone.

By late afternoon, I had cleaned the entire house from top to bottom and I was just finishing up my shower and getting dressed when I heard the front door open. I heard a set of keys skid across the counter, followed by the sound of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. I groaned, knowing things must not have gone well.

Edward appeared in the bedroom doorway and he must not have known I was up here because as soon as he laid eyes on me, he turned and stomped back down the staircase.

Pain radiated through my chest at his gesture. Subconsciously, I rubbed my finger tips over my chest.

I heard the television in the living room turn on.

It took me a while to compose myself. I know I have to face him after yesterday's events but that was much easier said than done, especially considering his current mood.

Carefully, I tiptoed my way down the staircase. I rounded the corner only to find Edward's eyes already focused entirely on me, twirling the mouth of a beer bottle between his finger tips on the arm of the sofa.

I felt as though he was staring right through me and I began to fidget under his gaze. Finally, he spoke, "Your phone woke me up this morning."

My weary gaze landed on his. I hadn't checked my phone all afternoon. "I didn't even hear it."

He tipped the beer bottle up to his lips and took a deep pull before responding, "You must've been exhausted then, all that physical activity you got in yesterday."

I cocked my head to the side, as he continued on, "My brother sounded very concerned."

Realization washed over me like an ice cold stream, "Jasper called?"

He sat the bottle on the coffee table, then rested his elbows on his wide spread knees, "Several times," he licked his lips, "He wanted to make sure you were okay."

I rolled my eyes, I could hear the accusation in his voice, "He's my friend, Edward. He could tell I was upset yesterday, he isn't stupid."

Edward exploded, "And I'm your husband!", emotion caused his voice to crack on the final word.

I scrubbed my hands over my eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted, "Do not yell at me."

He huffed and shook his head. He pushed himself up into a standing position and strode into the kitchen. I heard his keys scrape off of the counter. His voice rang out to me, strained and cold, "Dinner is at 6."

The house shook with the force with which he slammed the door.

—

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! This are going to get worse before they get better. Please leave a review, I would love to hear your thoughts.