Music: Cover Your Tracks- A Boy and His Kite

Backstories are slightly altered. Remember, stories are just stories.

**If you're a child of divorced parents and a related topic would be triggering, I think you can detect when to stop reading. Wait for the next chapter, all you need to know will be there.

Chapter 24

"We're going to meet your dad," I say, looking down at Renesmee.

It was as if I was back at the cafeteria in Forks High School, the day I first saw him. I was entranced. I watched him slowly enter, head down, almost unwilling to look at me. He looked the same, as beautiful as ever, in his dark clothing. Though his dark circles were deeper than I'd ever seen before, and his eyes looked like he hadn't fed in a while.

He made himself slowly lift them to my gaze.

"Bella," he said quietly.

"H-hi..." His eyes fell on Renesmee. I watched as he looked on in amazement, the same as I did when I first laid eyes on her.

The light from outside shone through his hair and on Renesmee's wavy tresses, making them glow like fire.

"You're beautiful," He whispered. His thin lips curled up into a painfully familiar smile. He seems...happy to see her?

They said hello to each other the same way as the others. I wondered if she was trying to show him most of everything over the last two years. His brows would furrow here and there.

"I... I would have never let you go through that alone. I'm sorry I wasn't there, for all the pain that I caused," he said to her, shaking his head. He puts his hands under her arms and lifts her, holding her on his hip.

"Bella, I'm sorry. Truly," he said, looking at me. My brows furrowed, and I looked away from them. I didn't want to look at him directly, by any stretch. A glance at Renesmee- she sat still, hands light on his shoulders like a Botticelli painting. At least she seemed comfortable enough.

Alice, almost barely detectable, bounded in.

"We'll just be in the other room. Don't worry," she said, taking her away. She squeezed my arm as she passed.

We stood quietly, readjusting to the air. The knowing that we were alone, just us, again after so long. He watched me, as I moved away, towards the deck. The forest surrounding the house reminded me of many things, but the cold air was grounding. C'mon Bella, confidence. Show you're not afraid, I said to myself, as he slowly followed.

"Bella-"

"I found out two months after you left. I thought you should know. I tried to tell you, but you didn't leave a way to contact you, so."

"Bella, I'm so sorry. Really. I wouldn't have left you, to handle this alone if I had known. Believe me, and I don't expect you to forgive me, but believe me when I say I did it for your own good. No matter how hard I tried to protect you, you still weren't safe from any of us, including me."

"Don't blame Jasper," I said. "If he had hurt me, I wouldn't have blamed him."

"You never saw anything wrong with us, being what we were - I never told you how much I appreciated that- but think about Charlie and Renee. If anything had happened, it would've been too sudden for them."

I hated that he was right. If I died or if that was how I became a vampire, I wouldn't have minded. But it didn't just affect me, it affected my parents too.

"I know I wasn't there, but did you really have to run into the arms of the nearest monster for help?"

"Don't- How dare you? Jacob was there for me, through everything. He protected us. How dare you criticize my parenting? I wouldn't let anyone I didn't trust with my life near Renesmee."

He hung his head.

"I know. That's not what I meant. I wasn't criticizing you; I'm annoyed it had to be him. And the elders..." he gripped the wooden parapet of the porch and crushed his handprint on it.

"Who else could it have been? I had to keep the secret. My stomach was growing too fast."

"I'm going to break a bone of his for imprinting on her. He could have tried harder to prevent that," he said.

"That's not how it works," I said, shifting my weight. I wasn't sure if we'd fight or argue but I suppose it was inevitable.

I was enjoying the sound of his voice too much. Soft, unsure, a little rough. Sweet. It was a lie. I can't listen to this anymore.

"I've brought Renesmee to meet you. If she's okay with staying a little longer, then-"

"I need to talk to you," he reached out to me but took his hand back.

"You made your decision," I said shaking my head. "You don't want me. That's fine."

"I lied. It was a lie,"

"I know. I know none of it was real. I was just an experiment to you," I said, backing away. He immediately grabbed my shoulders.

"No, this was real. Everything, especially that night." As I moved, his arms curled around me, hands firm at my back.

"I love you, Bella Swan. I never stopped loving you. I never will." he said.

"Don't, don't do this to me-"

"Your scent is still fire down my throat, but I'm relieved to breathe it once more," he crooned.

"It pains me. I'm trying to do the right thing and it-"

"What the hell are you talking about? You wanted this, you decided on your own! Let go!" I shouted. I struggled in his grip -and he was loosening it, giving my arms room- accidentally banging a wrist hard on him.

"Ahhh!" I grasped it, bending over in excruciating pain. "My god, that hurts!"

"Carlisle!""

Edward didn't even have to call him. He was already there. I barely had the chance to pace the room in a pain dance.

"What's happened? Here, sit here. I'll brace it." He said, leading me to the loveseat.

He disappeared for a moment to get his bag.

"Doesn't look too bad," He murmured, feeling the bone gently.

"Ow, that hurts a bit," I said. "I didn't mean-I wasn't going to hit you," I told Edward.

"I know."

"It'll swell but it will come down. It's just a fracture. I'll brace it for you," he pulled out bandages and started wrapping my wrist. Would Jacob believe me if I said I tripped? Probably. Hopefully.

"I'm sorry," Edward apologized. As heartfelt as it was, it still fell flat. There was a lot he needed to apologize for.

"...Carlisle," I started. "I brought a notebook I jotted down Renesmee's measurements in, could you take a look at it? At her?"

"Of course. She's...a mystery indeed."

"Have you heard of anything like this?"

"No. Besides that child, the Denali sister's mother harbored, no. Hopefully...in the future, the Volutri only know of her if she's stopped growing. Hopefully, they never know of her." he said. Then we could maybe lie about how she came to be. I understood.

I sighed. It would be great if we only had Victoria to worry about.

"Maybe you could calculate if it's slowed down or not. If there have been any changes. It's been difficult for me to figure out," I admitted.

"Of course."

If Alice couldn't turn her and me, Carlisle would be plan B. I don't think he'd deny me.

"She's really an amazing little girl. Fascinating how her ability is even a mix of the two of you." He commented.

"I hope the two of you can come to some sort of agreement.

It reminds me of a time. Esme was just waking up. I hope she doesn't mind me telling the story. When she woke up for the first time as a vampire, she was angry at me for saving her. Really angry. She wanted to rejoin her baby that had recently died and jumped off a cliff. I was already in love with her, by then. I couldn't let her go.

I made a lot of promises that I worked hard to keep. That might be something you'll have to do, but you," he said turning to me. "You just have to see what's comfortable and only do that."

He looked at me with such kindness and love, as he always did. I couldn't help but feel like he understood how I felt. And that we were lucky to have a father like him to give advice.

"It hurt, Carlisle. I died. With everything that came after, maybe I would have if it weren't for Jacob keeping me together,"

"Time doesn't always heal all wounds. Not even physical wounds heal perfectly." He said, finishing me off. "But the pain wanes,"

Problem was, it had. I was just...scared.

Carlisle left us alone without a word. I sat there, bringing my arm closer to see his handiwork.

"I could never pay for what I had done," Edward started.

"Not completely. But I would like to start. I want to be there and raise Renesmee with you. I want to make it up to you, somehow, try." he said, looming over the other end of the loveseat.

A ball threatened to form in my throat. It was driving me crazy how he didn't understand why it wasn't simple like that or what he did. But I never told him.

"You don't understand. You never understood. Charlie and Renee are great parents. Always have been. And if Renee and Paul have a baby, with Paul there I'm sure it'll go better than with me and Charlie. I couldn't help loving Carlisle and Esme," I said, shaking my head. How could I not love them? The tears started to flow.

"Then there was this small, bubbly girl that immediately wanted to be friends, and Emmett immediately accepted me, when all my life people thought I was weird. Even I do.

I wanted to be accepted for me. I was never able to be me with Charlie and Renee. I was...'poor Bella', caught between two people that loved each other and broke up. I wasn't their kid, I couldn't be. I had to keep my child self to myself whenever I was around them. I was a reminder of a painful past they wished had worked out. I don't know Charlie," I said, shaking my head. We didn't spend much time together or talk. He was just a guy, that happened to be a good guy.

"I came to Forks because I was getting kicked out of my house in Arizona. I didn't want to get in the way, I already was. They couldn't travel with me still in school. So, I show up and see the greatest people I have ever met. Ever would in my lifetime. And I loved all of you. And just as fast, you were gone. Without ever asking me what it was I wanted.

Imagine having never met Carlisle; Would you change anything that happened to you, or do it over for him?" I asked him.

"You didn't even think of me. But if I never mattered to you to begin with, then it makes sense."

"Bella-"

"Don't lie to me. I was just some girl, wasn't I? What did I know about what it's really like to be a vampire, what you miss out on, or what sacrifices you've had to make? You've seen time change America, the culture- everything. What could a human girl who had only lived eighteen years know, right?

But I did know. I had an idea. I could sympathize; I would do that for any vampire I met. It all hurt me too because it was you. I fell in love with you Edward Cullen, irrevocably. I would leave everything behind, no matter how hard it was or much it hurt me. I would make myself sterile.

I wouldn't change a thing, because I would do it all over for you. You never loved me as much as I did you."

He fell to his knees in front of me, hands covering his face as if he were crying.

"You killed me. You took forever with you. Being a vampire isn't easy, but if it means getting to roam this earth for eternity with everyone you love, never having to fear losing them, it's worth bearing. When you left, you got to keep your family; they followed you. I was left with nothing, all because you were so self-absorbed and self-important that you made a decision by yourself as if I wasn't human and didn't deserve the respect of what I wanted being taken into consideration."

*Stories are just stories. I wasn't sure how to write a warning, and I even had a fairly long disclaimer written- If what this story's version of Bella said hurt you, I'm sorry. Whatever is said pertains to the (imaginary) event at hand and it isn't perfect. I did my best to handle the topic gingerly whilst from Bella's perspective and within context.

There's been several new follows since the last update, thank you guys! THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT REVIEWED! I loved them! I might post the 2nd half of this conversation a little earlier than friday, but I've written up to chapter 27 and there might be a small wait because I think I reached a slight hiccup and I know you'll want the 2nd part soon.