When Bella saw Jasper and Edward leaving the cemetery, what felt like a lifetime later, she was happy to see them both all right. Edward's face was drawn, but he welcomed her hug. As Bella squeezed him around his shoulders and waist as tightly as she could, it hit her how much she loved him, how she'd do anything for this man. If she could take his pain away, she'd do it, gladly.

Jasper drove them back to his house, where Edward went to the passenger seat of Bella's car, before Alice could reach him. To Bella, it looked like Alice hadn't moved from the driveway since they'd left earlier.

Bella spared only a few minutes, telling Alice she'd call her later, and that she'd take care of Edward. She wasn't ready for Alice's grilling on what happened, especially when Edward was clearly not okay.

His shoulders were slumped in defeat as Bella got behind the wheel.

Edward called Ben to let him know that he wouldn't be in the office that day. That decision was a surprise, considering not long ago, he'd insisted to go to work. He probably understood that he wouldn't be able to focus on anything if he followed through with his initial plan.

Bella drove to Edward's house, where thankfully, Tanya and Felix didn't ambush them. Edward had enough energy to strip to his underwear and get in bed.

Bella hovered by his side, about to head into the kitchen and make him some tea.

"Stay," he said roughly.

"I'm not going anywhere," Bella promised, tucking the blanket around his shoulders. "Sleep." She stroked away a piece of hair that had fallen over his eyes.

Edward curled on his side, wrapping an arm around Bella's waist. "I don't deserve you."

"Shut up. Try to sleep," she insisted.

As Bella held him close, she wondered what Jasper had told Edward, what had they done in the cemetery. A part of her didn't want to know, yet she wanted to know, at least, if it was possible for Edward to ever heal. It wasn't like she planned on leaving him. She was there to stay – no matter what.

No one deserved such pain, especially not Edward. He'd already been through shit in college, which Bella had yet to find out more about what had happened to him during that time. But for him to deal with the pain of surviving the horrible accident in February, which had killed his girlfriend and their unborn child, was too much.

Bella thought back on her darkest days, when she'd sat on the top of her bed, staring off into space for hours, days. Time had been irrelevant. If it hadn't been for Jacob patiently guiding her through that time, Bella would have probably been long gone. The depression would have swallowed her whole.

It had been the small things that had helped – Jacob making her smile at his silly jokes, Jacob telling her alcohol wasn't the answer, though, he'd turned a blind eye at the cigarettes, then Garrett had helped her with his support in keeping Eclipse alive. Garrett had created a bank account for her, wiring half of the profit in there, but he'd refused to give her access to it until he was sure she wouldn't use it to do anything stupid with the money.

That's the kind of support Edward needed, and Bella hoped that she'd be enough. Along with Jasper's help, Bella had faith that Edward would heal.

In the late afternoon, Bella pulled away from Edward. She wouldn't have moved, but her stomach demanded food, reminding her, she hadn't eaten since the previous evening when Paul had forced her to eat a sandwich.

Bella found Tanya in the kitchen, and silently wondered if the woman ever went to her room to relax during the day.

"How is he?" Tanya asked as soon as she saw Bella.

Bella chewed on her lip. He's okay? He'll be okay? Those were lies.

Tanya seemed to understand her silence. She placed a cup of tea in front of Bella, even though she hadn't asked for it, but she was grateful for it.

"Can I… Is there anything to eat?" Bella felt beyond embarrassed having to ask that, especially when she was used to fend for herself.

"Of course. I just finished the mac and cheese casserole earlier. If there's anything else you'd rather have…"

"Mac and cheese is okay," Bella mumbled, taking a seat on a high stool.

After Tanya placed the plate in front of Bella, she leaned on the other side of the island counter. "When I saw him earlier…it reminded me of the bad days."

Bella nearly choked on her bite. She pushed away the image of Edward from the early days after the accident. She was sure her brain hadn't done justice to the reality, which had been a thousand times worse.

"He had a rough time," Bella said, staring at her plate. "He's not gonna be okay for a while. Jasper's going to help him," she explained. Tanya deserved to know, because it was clear how much she cared for her boss.

Tanya's eyes widened. "Has Mr. Cullen accepted Dr. Whitlock's help? Oh, that's great news!"

Bella sketched a smile. "Like I said, he'll be worse before he gets better."

"I bet. He's not alone in this." She held Bella's eyes, almost challenging.

"Of course, he's not. I'm not going anywhere." Bella chewed on a few bites, sorting through her thoughts. "I know you care for him, but I do, too. Do you understand that I'm not going anywhere?"

Tanya snorted, a smile playing on her lips. "I can see that. Just let me know when you decide to start an argument with Mr. Cullen. I'd rather not be around. I can already tell you're going to put his patience to test."

"His patience?" Bella laughed. "Does he possess such a thing?"

Tanya laughed along. Soon, her expression turned to one of horror as a toe-curling scream echoed in the quiet house.

Bella froze for only a second, then threw her fork down. It fell with a loud clang against her plate. She slid off the stool on shaky feet. "I've got it," she told Tanya. Then she sprinted to Edward's bedroom.

Felix was already there, his hand on the knob.

"Let me," Bella choked out, pushing the door open.

Her heart squeezed at the sight of Edward thrashing around, his fists gripping the sheets, raw sounds escaping his closed lips.

Bella dove for the bed, wrapping her arms around him. Too late, she realized her mistake when he froze and started writhing harder.

"Shhh." She stroked his arm, hugging him tightly, rocking them. "It's me." She felt his muscles relaxing gradually, and soon, he ceased all movement and stopped whimpering. Then, his arms wrapped around her, clutching at her. "I've got you. I'm here," she repeated, kissing his forehead.

When she pulled away enough to look at him, Edward's eyes were open. He was staring at her in awe. Bella frowned, not daring to look away or say anything, afraid to break the spell.

"I don't know how you do it, but you always manage to make me feel better," he admitted in a rough voice.

Bella bit on her lip, at a loss for words.

Edward closed the small distance between their lips. "You've bewitched me, Isabella."

A smile spread on her lips. "Likewise, Edward. I think you had me under your spell since I first met you."

He chuckled softly. "So drunks make you all hot and bothered?"

Bella stroked her fingers over his cheek. "Only the misunderstood ones."

Edward pressed his forehead against hers. "I've no idea how you are still here. I'm clearly not what you expected to find in a man."

"I didn't even expect to find someone to understand me, or someone insane enough to start a relationship with me," Bella mumbled. "So, please, stop saying you're not man enough. I understand you, I've been through this. It gets better."

Edward huffed, burrowing his face into her shoulder. "I'm not used to be so…out of control. You must have noticed how I love control," he snorted. "Not having control over my own body, my emotions…it's draining."

"Jasper will help you. You're going to see him again, right?" Bella's heart squeezed, as she waited for his answer.

"Yeah, I guess I will."

"Good." She dropped a kiss on the top of his head, hugging him tightly. "I'm also here if you need to talk."

.

.

.

"Go," Edward said, keeping his hands on Bella's shoulders.

If it weren't for Harley, she wouldn't have left his side, but her dog was probably wondering why she'd been absent from his life so much lately.

"And if you need—"

Edward pressed a finger over her lips. "I have your phone number."

Bella wrapped her fingers around his wrist, pushing his hand away from her face. "Promise me, you'll actually call me if you—"

"For the love of all things holy! Do I have to drive you home myself? I'll be fine."

"But I'm worried, Edward," she protested.

"I'm a big boy. I can handle this."

She pursed her lips, refraining from reminding him that he couldn't handle it. He wouldn't have crumbled down so violently over Alice's happy news, if he were in a better place.

"See you…tomorrow?" She lifted a brow.

"I'll drop by after work."

"I'll be at the bar then, but I could give you the spare key?"

Edward smiled crookedly. "I'll come by Eclipse after work to get your key. I'm even going to walk Harley so he's tired when you get home."

"You don't have to."

"I want to. He's a great dog." Edward squeezed her shoulder with the hand still resting there. "I wasn't joking when I said that I don't mind you both coming over."

Bella decided to let it slide that the thought of Harley running around Edward's house gave her nightmares. He was likely to break something with his excitement.

"Be careful." She slowly wrapped her arms around Edward's neck, pulling his head down. His lips met hers for what she expected to be a chaste kiss, but it turned into a full make-out session against the front door.

She didn't mind, though.

Edward pulled away with a small groan. "Go, before I drag you back to bed."

She bit on her lip, but against her deepest desire, she chose to open the door. "Bye," she breathed out.

Edward leaned against the doorjamb, folding his arms across his chest. He looked like a model for underwear. And he was all hers – perfectly flawed, as he was.

On the drive home, her phone rang, but as a general rule she didn't answer it while driving. She hadn't even encountered a red light for her to be able to check who was calling. By the time, she arrived at her apartment building, she'd forgotten about her phone.

It came as a surprise to find Jacob camped in front of her door, talking with Harley through it. Harley was whimpering and clawing madly from his side.

"Jesus. How long have you been here?" Bella groaned, fishing out her key. "Stay back. I swear to God, Harley…" She ushered him further into the studio when they stepped inside.

Harley barreled at Jake, not sparing her a second look.

"Where have you been?" Jacob demanded, crouching to pet Harley.

"It's a long story. Did you call me earlier?"

"Yeah. Like, throughout the day…" Jake frowned, staring curiously at her.

Bella had forgotten her phone in her car, which explained why Jacob hadn't been able to get a hold of her. "Shit. Sorry, Jake."

"Are you okay? Are you mad at me, or something?"

"No, really. I had a long day. I left my phone in my car," she explained. She retrieved the leash, fastening it on Harley's collar.

"Let me take him for a walk. You look about to fall over. Are you working tonight?"

"I might go for a few hours, but I'm not sure."

"You should call Gary and tell him you're not going. I'm bringing pizza. We're going to watch a movie and relax. Like the good old days," he said, winking.

"Fine. You win, just because I know I'll spill all the drinks tonight." Bella cringed, knowing how her clumsiness hit a new high whenever she was tired.

"Think you can manage on your own while we're out?" Jake teased.

"Byyeeee," she sang, opening the door for them.

After a shower, and a short phone call to Garrett, Bella prepared a movie on her laptop, placing it on the small end table by the sofa. She snuggled under the blanket, staring at the dark screen of her phone.

Just as she was working on her courage to call Edward with some silly excuse to check on him, his name appeared on the screen.

"Hey," she answered promptly.

"Were you going to call me?"

"You sound creepily like Alice," Bella joked.

"Is it a slow night? Should I come over and keep your business running?" he teased.

Bella turned red, remembering her cringy flirting with Edward. "Actually, I'm not at work."

"No?" He sounded intrigued.

"Yeah. When I got home, Jake was waiting for me. He stole Harley for a stroll and bribed me with pizza, demanding for me to call Garrett that I wasn't going to work tonight. Apparently, I look like shit."

Edward huffed, not saying anything. It made Bella wonder if Edward was upset that she was going to spend the evening with Jake.

"So, it's possible. You actually can take orders," he said slowly.

"Oh, my God!" She banged the back of her head against the wall behind her. "Are you kidding me?"

"Just curious," he joked.

"You know full well that I can take orders." Her voice dropped to a whisper when the front door opened. Harley rushed into the studio, taking two laps of the small place, stopping by Bella, to sniff at her feet, before sneezing and running to the kitchen area to drink water and eat his dinner. "You crazy mutt," she muttered.

Edward laughed in her ear. "For a wild second, I thought you were insulting me."

"Right. As if I'm so creative with the insults." She got up, deciding to help Jake with pizza. If he left it unsupervised, it might become Harley's second dinner. "I have to go, save the pizza."

"Have a nice evening."

"Thanks. You, too."

"Sure." He hung up, and it left a cold feeling running through her body.

Bella reminded herself again that healing took time, and Edward wasn't going to be better overnight.

Several minutes later, Bella and Jake were on the folded-out sofa, each with a plate of cheese pizza. Harley was on his blanket, staring at them and drooling. He had managed to steal one slice of pizza, before Jake had worked his Alpha male skills on him. Bella hated how she still couldn't control her dog that way, but she'd die trying. One day, Harley was going to listen to her, just like he listened to any man ordering him around.

Jake talked about his garage for the first part of the movie, which Bella appreciated. She knew that he wasn't going to push her for answers, if she wasn't ready to tell him.

She handed him the last slice on her plate, unable to eat more. He accepted it eagerly. There was never a time when Jake said no to food.

She leaned her head against his shoulder, watching the movie, but not really following the action. Her mind was on the fact that she wanted to share with her friend the news about getting a boyfriend, but her relationship was complicated. And Jacob didn't like Edward at all, after the visit at the garage.

Jake leaned over her to pause the movie. "What's up? You're in your head."

"I'm sorry. I'm not being fun tonight."

"Nonsense, Bells. If you want to talk about it, I'm here." And he meant it, that's how it should be.

She pulled her knees up, wrapping her arms around them. "The guy I brought by the garage? I'm seeing him," she said, staring at the blurred paused image on the laptop.

"I figured there was more to it. But Bella, that was reckless…to get on a bike with a total stranger."

Bella frowned, not turning to face her friend. "Edward wasn't a stranger. Look, I don't expect you to understand. I just wanted to tell someone."

Jake sighed loudly, rubbing her back in a comforting way. "Does he make you happy?"

"Yeah." She turned to show him a small smile.

"Did you guys have a fight? You don't look that happy."

"It's complicated." There was no way, she was going to tell Jacob about Edward's problems. "He's got his own baggage, like I have mine."

"Of course, you had to find some bad boy to fall for." Jacob rolled his eyes. "You always liked to complicate your life."

"Well, easy is lame." She poked her tongue out at him. "Let's finish this movie before I fall asleep."

Jake pulled her against his warm chest after she hit play on the movie. Bella ended up falling asleep in the next few minutes.

Thank you all for the kind words about our troll. Hopefully, she'll stop it. It's just annoying, I'm way past the age to let such petty comments kick me down.

We had an eventful chapter. Which heart-to-heart did you like most?

See you all next week. Have a great weekend! =)