EPOV

The second I had the car stopped, Bella had the door open and was running up the street toward our house. I shifted into park, jumping out and following. She'd barely managed fifteen steps when I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her to the ground. Her nails dug into my arms as she fought against me, her body shaking from violent sobs. I understood how she felt. That was our house, hers and mine. Now, we'd lost it all.

"Our house," she wept, finally giving up the fight and slumping down in my arms.

"I know, baby," I murmured, trying to be strong and hide my tears.

We sat in the middle of the road and watched while the fire department tried to put out the fire that enveloped our house. We'd lose everything; all our belongings, pictures of the boys, my photography equipment, and Bella's laptop with her books on them. Our entire life together would be nothing more than a pile of ash.

"Oh, my god, Bella! Edward!" I looked over my shoulder, finding Esme running down the street toward us. She slid to a stop, dropped to her knees, and wrapped her arms around us both. "What in the hell happened here?"

I swallowed against the bile rising in my throat. "I don't know, we came home and found this."

"It was her," Bella whimpered. "My mother, that fucking bitch. She did this. All of this!"

"Calm down, love," I whispered, pressing my lips against the side of her head. Beside me, Esme looked shocked. While Bella had a mouth on her, Esme had never heard her utter more than a simple damn when things got frustrating. Bella was very careful about what she said and who was around when she let go.

"Edward, she took everything," Bella sobbed, rolling in my arms and wrapping hers around my neck. "What if the boys had been home? What if we'd been there?"

I tried to stifle my flinch, but the thought of our sons being inside that house had me tasting bile once again. "I know, baby."

Esme stood up, pulling her cell phone out of her back pocket and calling someone. I couldn't hear what she was saying, but based on the way she was clenching and unclenching her fist, she wasn't happy. A few minutes later, she slammed her phone shut and turned back to me and Bella. Catching my eye, she tried to hide her anger, but I could see right through her. My mother was scared and angry, a combination that never led to anything good.

Before I could ask her what was going on, one of the firemen came toward us, pulling off his helmet and running his hand through his dark, sweaty hair. "Mr. and Mrs. Cullen?" he asked. "I'm Henry Jones, fire chief."

Nodding, I somehow managed to stand up and hold on to Bella at the same time. "That's us."

He blew out a hefty breath and looked back at our house. "We've got the blaze contained, but it's gonna be a few hours until it's out completely." He sighed and turned back to us. "Until then we won't know the extent of the damage, but from twenty-five years on the job, I can say that I've never seen a residential fire this bad. I'm sorry."

"Do you know what started it?" Bella asked, lifting her eyes to him.

"No, ma'am, not yet," he replied. "We'll do a full investigation once we get it out, but until then, we won't know anything for certain. Do you have someplace to stay?

"Yes, they do," Esme piped up, placing her hand on my shoulder. "Thank you, Chief."

Henry left us standing in the middle of the road. Bella brought her hand up, covering her mouth and muffling the strangled sobs. Nestling her further into my embrace, I looked over at Esme. "How'd you get here so fast?"

"I'd gone to the market when I got a phone call from Mrs. Neilson, your neighbor from across the street. She told me about the fire and all I could think about was getting here. I am so sorry."

"Everything's gone," Bella whispered, her fingers sliding up to the collar of my shirt.

"Let's get you back to my house," Esme urged, brushing Bella's hair out of her face. "Come on, sweetheart."

Bella whimpered, but agreed to head to my parents' house. There wasn't any point in us staying here and watching everything we had crumble away. I led Bella back to our car, helping her into the passenger seat and letting Esme know we'd follow her there. Though I could tell she wasn't sure I was in the right state of mind to be driving, she didn't argue with me. Holding onto Bella's hand, I turned the car around and followed my mother away from what was once our home.

Bella spent the entire drive to Esme and Carlisle's curled up in the front seat, my hand tucked up between her breasts. I wanted to make it better, but I knew I couldn't. The last few weeks had been tense for her. As if being pregnant wasn't enough, she got sick and then her mother came back. Even though she tried to be strong, Renee's return had thrown her for a loop. I never wanted to hurt someone the way I did that crazy bitch. Shaking my head, I parked my car behind Esme's and shut off the engine.

Bella sighed, lifting her eyes to mine. "How do we tell the boys?"

"I don't know," I murmured, shaking my head.

"We have nothing left."

"That's not true, baby, we have each other. We have the boys, our family." I dropped my hand to her stomach. "We have our babies."

Smiling, Bella covered my hand with hers. "Twins."

"Pretty incredible, isn't it?"

"That it is, love." She sighed and looked up at my parents' house. "Your mother is about to have a stroke."

Following her gaze, I laughed. Esme was pacing on the front porch, her hands on her hips and her attention fixed directly on us. "You know she's desperate to feed you."

"Yeah, I know," she muttered, looking back at me. "I love you, Edward, and I know that everything's going to be okay eventually."

"Good and I love you, too." Leaning across the seat, I kissed her. "Somehow, we'll figure out where to go from here, I promise."

"I know," she said. "Together we can get through anything, right?"

"That's right, baby."

Bella and I climbed out, meeting in the front of the car. The early fall weather had turned chilly. Slipping my hand into hers, I led my beautiful wife into the house, ignoring the frantic worrying pouring off of my mother. Esme followed us into the house, ushering us into the kitchen. Before I could stop her, she pushed us toward two chairs and muttered a simple command, "Sit." Based on the look on her face, neither Bella nor I chose to argue with her. There were some battles that just weren't worth fighting. This was one.

"I'm thinking you both could use some soup," she murmured, opening the door to the fridge. Before either of us could utter a word, the front door was thrown open. Bella tensed, turning toward me with a small cry. Charlie slid to a stop in the doorway. He bent over, placing his hands on his knees and tried to catch his breath. "Charlie Swan, did you run all the way here?"

"No," he scoffed, gripping his side as he straightened up.

"He nearly jumped out of the car before we were even in the driveway," Sue added, following him in. She placed her coat and purse on the table, before moving around to where Bella was leaning toward me. "Oh, my dear, are you okay? Please tell me that you weren't home when the fire broke out?"

"No, Sue, we weren't," I said.

"I had a check-up this morning," Bella explained, dropping her hand to her stomach.

Charlie nodded and sat across from her. "Everything okay with the baby?"

Pressing my lips against the side of her head, I tried to hide my smile. Bella sighed. "Yeah, Daddy, things with the babies are good. Just wasn't expecting to find our house on fire when we got home."

"No, I imagine not," he scoffed, shaking his head.

Esme came over carrying two bowls of chicken noodle soup. "Eat," she ordered, giving us a look that said not to argue with her. "It's homemade and good for you and the baby."

Sliding over into her seat, Bella picked up her spoon and began to eat. Esme smiled and looked from her to me, lifting a single eyebrow. I cleared my throat and began to eat, too. "Charlie, Sue, would either of you like some soup?"

"No, thank you, Esme," Sue replied, placing her hand on top of Charlie's. "We were actually on our way back from lunch when you called."

Esme nodded and settled in the seat next to Charlie, but across from me. "I just can't believe this happened."

"Me either," Bella muttered, letting her spoon drop into her soup.

Dragging her hand over her face, I knew she was struggling to keep the tears at bay. I placed my hand on her back, pulling her back into my arms as she began to weep. She gripped the front of my shirt. Charlie shifted in his seat. He'd never been able to handle watching Bella fall apart. He'd told me on more than one occasion that watching her suffer had been the hardest moment in his life. I understood how he felt. I wanted nothing more than to make it all better, but the pain she was feeling filled my heart, too.

"Esme!" Carlisle yelled, rushing through the house. I looked up just in time to see him come running into the kitchen. He was still wearing his blue scrubs from the hospital. He looked from her to Charlie and Sue to me and Bella, his eyes softening. "Oh, sweetheart."

"She could have hurt my sons," Bella groused, her grip on my shirt tightening. "How could she do that?"

"Who, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

Scowling, she turned to him. "Renee! It had to be her!"

"Honey," Charlie started, "you can't be sure that your mom had anything to do with the fire."

Bella rolled her eyes. "First, that bitch isn't my mom." Ignoring the gasps coming from Esme and Sue, she continued, "Second, don't you think it's a little coincidental that she comes roaring into town and our house burns down? Oh, please don't tell me that you're that stupid, Dad."

My mouth fell open. I'd never heard Bella speak to her father like that. Based on the shocked look on his face, Charlie hadn't either. He cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm gonna ignore the rude, insolent tone in your voice, Bella, because I know that you're scared and hurting. Plus, you're pregnant so you're probably a bit irrational, but that doesn't excuse the attitude, young lady."

"Look, I'm sorry," she muttered. "But, Daddy, you have to admit that she's dangerous."

"I'm not saying she's not, honey, but you don't know that she started anything. It could have been an electrical short in the wiring, or perhaps you left the stove on."

Bella snorted and stood up. "Dad, I'm hormonal, not reckless." Picking up her bowl, she walked over and placed it in the sink, ignoring the huff from Esme. Turning back to us, she leaned against the counter. "I didn't even have the stove on this morning. The boys had cereal because we woke up late."

"Okay, I didn't mean to accuse you of anything," Charlie muttered, his ears turning red.

Standing up, I put my bowl in the sink and slipping my arm around my wife. "Right now, it doesn't matter how the fire started. We have to figure out how to tell the boys and where we go from here."

"Well, for now let's just focus on making this as easy for the boys as we can," Esme chirped, standing up and moving to the fridge. She began to rummage inside. "I could have sworn I had some cheesecake in here."

"Esme," Bella said, pulling my mother's attention to her. "Stop trying to feed us."

She opened her mouth several times before she sighed and closed the refrigerator. "Sorry, it's habit."

"It's okay." Running her hand over her face and through her hair, Bella shook her head. "I think I am going to lie down for a little while. Is it okay if I take Edward's old bedroom?"

"Take any room you want, sweetheart," Esme insisted. Bella nodded before walking out of the kitchen. "Go to her, Edward. She needs you."

"I know, Mom," I murmured, pushing away from the counter. "Believe me, I know."

I found Bella sitting on the side of my old bed, her elbows on her knees and her face in her hands. Closing the door behind me, I crossed the room and knelt on the floor in front of her. Bella looked up at me as I took her hands in mine, a lost and devastated look in her eyes.

"Edward," she whispered.

"Me too," I said, answering her unspoken question.

Sliding up next to her, I wrapped my arms around her and lay back on the bed. Bella cuddled up next to me, her tears seeping into my shirt. Not that I cared. After a few minutes, I noticed that her breathing had begun to even out. Looking down, I saw that she'd fallen asleep. I tried to be careful and not wake her as I rolled onto my side, my hand coming down to rest on her stomach. We had two babies coming, and two sons to take care of, yet we didn't have a home, any clothes, or anything else for that matter. Suddenly, I felt like the worst husband and father in the world. It was my job to take care of my family and, right now, I wasn't doing a very good job of it.