I guess you really did it this time, left yourself in your warpath. Lost your balance on a tight rope, lost your mind tryin' to get it back. Wasn't it easier in your lunchbox days? Always a bigger bed to crawl into. Wasn't it beautiful when you believed in everything? And everybody believed in you? It's alright, just wait and see, your string of lights is still bright to me. ~ Taylor Swift, Innocent

EPOV

"Dad? Can I talk to you for a minute?" Aiden knocked softly on my office door, peaking his head inside. "Oh, sorry, Ma."

"That's okay. I should go start dinner anyway. You two can talk," Bella said with a smile, getting up from the couch where she was working. She spent most of the morning scolding me for getting rid of Jacob, but it was all done half-heartedly. She could pretend to be upset that he was gone, but I knew the real reason she was upset was because I could get in trouble over the whole thing. She pressed a kiss to my cheek as she left, doing the same as she walked past Aiden.

Aiden had slept most of the day, recouping from the weeks of travel. Bella spent the morning filling me in on what had happened in my absence, which I was pleased to hear wasn't much. Thankfully, things had been going smoothly.

As soon as Bella closed the door behind her Aiden sat across from me, picking up a pen from the desk and fidgeting with the cap.

"Is everything okay?"

He huffed out a breath, looking at me like it was an insane question. "I just spent the last two months on a crime spree with my father."

"We weren't on a crime spree. It was one crime at the end of our trip," I rationalized. It was hardly the worst thing I had ever done.

"Dad, you," he looked around and drastically lowered his voice. "Killed someone. In cold blood."

"If you knew exactly why I did it would it make you feel better?"

He looked genuinely confused. "You had a reason?"

"Yes, Aiden. I had a reason," I told him with a smile. Perhaps I should have explained the situation before hand, but he had inherited his mother's ability to overthink everything. I didn't want him psyching himself out.

"What was it?"

I thought for a minute, trying to decide on how to phrase what the bastard did in the least-crude way possible. "He tried to touch your mother without her consent."

He was quiet for a minute, keeping his eyes on the pen in his lap. "Mom said…" He looked, contemplative. Confused. Scared.

"Hey," I said softly, getting his attention back on me. "You don't have to be afraid to talk to me, no matter what it is you have to say. If you don't want to be part of this, you don't have to be. I won't force you into anything.

"But if you do want to be part of it, I'll always be your dad first. I don't want our relationship to be anything like mine was with my father," I said sincerely. Aiden knew of Carlisle's betrayal, and he also knew that I was more of a business partner to my father than a son.

"You're only fifteen. I'm not looking to stuff you in a suit and have you come work with me full time. You can go to school, play baseball, be yourself and still be part of this kind of life."

"But once I'm old enough…"

"Age doesn't matter. Once I think you're ready, you could take over. If you wanted. The time leading up to that would be a training period, you finding your own footing in the city before taking over."

With a sigh, I ran my fingers through my hair. "If you don't want anything to do with this life, that's okay, too," I repeated.

"I…" Aiden hesitated. I sat back, patiently waiting for him to continue. "I'd like to know more, I guess."

It wasn't a lie when I told him I would be fine with it if he didn't want anything to do with this life. But, damn, I wasn't expecting the surge of pride I felt when he said he wanted in.

I didn't want to overwhelm him, so we spent the rest of the afternoon in the backyard, tossing a ball around, working on his swing, normal things to let him know his life didn't have to end because of this. Every once in a while, I could feel eyes on me and I would see Bella from the kitchen, staring out at us. She would give me a quick smile before getting back to what she was doing.

It was Saturday, so everyone would be here for dinner. About an hour before I knew the vultures would be arriving, Aiden and I went back inside. He wandered off to his room and I met Bella in the kitchen. Without a word I twirled her around and lifted her onto the counter.

An unfamiliar black blur caught my eye as she reached a hand up. I caught her wrist and looked down. While there was usually a tiny Academy Award inked in her skin, three more miniature statues were right alongside it. Solidifying her EGOT status.

"These are new," I said, staring. "When did you get these?"

"A few days after I got back from the camping trip," she said with a shrug.

"I didn't notice them last night," I muttered, pressing my lips against each new addition. "I'm really fucking proud of you, you know."

I knew she didn't do much to celebrate her win this summer. It seemed like she was too distracted by what was happening with Aiden to really enjoy the moment. But, damn, it was a big fucking deal. After all the shit people said about her, no one could deny she was talented as hell.

"It is pretty cool," she said with a sly smirk. I was helpless against her, and kissed the smirk away.

"Hey, Ma, when is – gross, guys," Aiden grunted.

We both looked over at him, covering his eyes in the doorway. Bella blushed, pushing me away and sliding off of the counter.

"Everyone should be here – " before she finished her sentence, the front door opened. "Now."

Half an hour later we were all sitting around the table. Aiden was talking with Alec, and I was relieved to see he wasn't angry at him. They would need each other. Alice was gossiping with Bella, asking her about some tabloid article she read when there was a knock at the door. Everyone froze and frowned, looking at each other around the table. We were all here.

When I got to the door I was met with the unfortunate sight of Jane Swan. "Is Bella here?" she asked quickly, almost franticly.

"No," I lied smoothly, only to be outed when Bella walked around the corner.

"I told you not to come back," she said quietly, looking behind her toward the dining room. The subject of Bella's paternity was still somewhat of a secret to Aiden. He had met Elena, knew she was Bella's birth mother, but never had the unfortunate luck of meeting any of the Swan's.

"I can't believe you won't help. She's your mother and you're just going to let her die?" Jane shouted, incredibly irritable for someone interrupting our dinner.

"Jane, leave."

"What's going on?" I asked, looking over at Bella.

"She won't pay for my mother's health care! She's just going to let her die!"

By now, everyone who was at the table had snuck around the corner to watch the show.

"Do you think I'm that fucking gullible, Jane?" Bella replied, no longer trying to keep herself quiet. "After you barged in last time, I looked into it. Renee isn't sick. You, on the other hand, have yourself quite the opioid addiction now, don't you?"

"Ah." It made sense now, her desperation and the shouting. She was going through withdrawals.

"You selfish bitch!" Jane shouted, lunging in Bella's direction. A second later I had her pressed against the wall, an arm twisted behind her back.

"You and your family are lucky I haven't lost my temper with you yet. If I ever see you near her again I won't be so level headed," I told her, pushing her toward Ben who would get her off of the premises.

Once the room was silent, I looked at Bella with a raised brow. "So, nothing really happened while I was gone?"

She sighed. "I thought I had taken care of it."

"How did I never suspect that something was off with this family?" Aiden grumbled, looking from Bella to me.

We had spent weeks talking about our family and history, but I supposed there was still more to talk about.

Dark…

"I miss you," Bella sighed, her voice slightly distorted by the computer. It had been about a month since I saw her last, and that was only for a day or two. If she wasn't so positive that the film was turning out perfectly, I would be upset at how long it was taking them to finish. But, it had been a long time since I had seen her this invested in a project.

It was the end of March and she had been filming since mid-November. We managed to talk at least every forty-eight hours, but sometimes it was only a quick hello. There were days when I wanted to drop everything and visit her for a week, but I couldn't leave Aiden. Bella already felt guilty enough about being gone so much.

It was hard to read him some days. He was too much like his mother in that he liked to hide how he felt a lot. Sometimes it seemed like he was handling everything perfectly fine, others he was argumentative and upset. I knew, despite the fact that he said he wanted to learn more about the family business, that it would take a long time for him to really come around to the idea. I could hardly be upset about the fact that he was taking a long time getting used to the idea of becoming a career criminal.

I watched as Bella took her hair out of the tie it was in, frowning when it stopped at her shoulder. "You cut your hair?"

"Oh, I had to. The wigs looked awful and… what? Does it look horrible?" she asked, all panicky as I studied her.

"You look cute." I sat back in my office chair, smiling at her over the computer. "Reminds me of when I took you away the first time." She had Alice cut her hair before we went away then. If I was being honest, I couldn't care less about the length of her hair. Short, long, she looked beautiful either way.

Bella sat back on what looked like her bed, and smiled at me. "You know, we haven't had to run away together in a long time. We must be growing up, following the law and everything."

"Speak for yourself," I said with a smirk. Her laugh turned into a yawn, but she protested when I told her to get some sleep.

Later that night, after I had finally convinced Bella to go to bed, I was downstairs getting a water when Aiden came home from practice. Four hours late.

"You're late," I said, watching as he tried to sneak past me.

"Sorry. I went to Jackson's after, lost track of time." I had known where he was, of course. He had a tail, just like everyone else in the family.

"Your mother says hello."

Aiden nodded and sulked off to his room.

I stood in the kitchen for a while, listening as the hum of his television made its way through the quiet house. It had been nearly a year since we left on our trip, since I started incorporating him into the family business. He hadn't done much. He listened as I talked with Emmett and Jasper sometimes, asked questions whenever he wanted, but I hadn't let him near any of the action yet. I didn't want to overwhelm him or scare him, but we seemed to be in a bit of limbo. Maybe it was time to start pushing. Perhaps I should start taking him with me on other meetings, start showing him more of the gritty aspects of the job.

After that, would he need even more time to come to terms with everything? It was so simple for me to join the business. Maybe because I didn't feel like I had any other choice. I didn't remember having as much difficulty with the whole thing as Aiden was having. He was turning sixteen in a few months. By the time I was sixteen I was calling Carlisle by his first name and sitting in with him as he talked about how the police had nothing on him for the latest string of murders in town.

A year. I would spend the next year gradually showing him what it took to do this instead of talking about it. If he was still having a hard time, I would make the decision for him. I would let him go.

Dark…

"Kristen, I'm going to my son's game. Clear everything for the rest of the afternoon," I spoke into the speaker of the office phone, grabbing my things from my desk and standing.

"You have your three o'clock here now, Mr. Cullen."

"I don't care. Clear everything for the rest of the afternoon," I grunted. Just barely managing to suppress the groan as my office door opened. I wasn't sure who my three o'clock meeting was, but it didn't matter. "I don't have time for you, today."

"Oh, well, I guess I can go back to Atlanta. I have the week off, but…"

My head snapped in the direction of her voice, taking in her cocky smirk and the short hair swishing around her shoulders as she walked over to me. Without another word I had her pinned between myself and the desk, her soft lips pressed against mine.

"What are you doing here?" I asked against her neck.

"I'm going to be missing too many of his games this season, no matter how hard I try to get to them all. I thought I should at least be there for the first one."

"How'd you get away?"

She shrugged, smiling up at me. "I pulled a few strings. Reminded a few people the movie wouldn't be happening without me in the first place. Got myself a whole week here."

"Perfect." I got one more kiss before we left the office, hand in hand, and made it to the field just as the game started.

The parents here were, thankfully, desensitized to seeing Bella and I at the games. Their kids had often been at our home, they had our kid at their house, they knew that we wouldn't mess with them. A few even dared to make small talk with us on various occasions.

"Bella, Edward, good to see you two still supporting the team this year," one woman said, though I had no idea what her name was, as we took a seat on the bleachers.

"Why wouldn't we support the team?" Bella asked.

"Well, Aiden quit weeks ago."

"What?" we both asked at the same time.

I squeezed Bella's hand and left her talking to the woman. Getting away from the crowd and screams, I pulled my phone out and called Aiden. No matter what was going on, he knew better than to ignore me when I called.

"Where are you?" I asked the second he answered. He was silent. "I'm at your baseball game. I know you quit. Where are you?"

"Shit."

"Aiden." I was the first to admit I had a temper, but I rarely lost it on him. I was dangerously close to losing it now, though.

"I'm at Jackson's."

"I'll meet you at home in twenty minutes. Don't be late."

By the time Bella and I made it home he was already there, pacing back and forth in the living room. His eyes bulged as he saw Bella walk in behind me.

"What are you doing here?"

"I came home to go to your game. Why didn't you tell us you quit?" Bella pulled him to the couch, sitting softly next to him. I leaned against the wall opposite of them. Watching, thinking.

"It's not that big of a deal."

"It is. You've been playing baseball since the second you could lift up a bat."

"Mom, it's not that important."

"If you lost interest in it, that's fine. But, why didn't you tell us?"

"You've both been busy. There just hasn't been a good time."

I let them talk, let Aiden tell his mother lies I didn't believe, ones I'm sure she had trouble buying as well. There was more to it. A bigger reason why he would quit and not tell us. Why he would bribe the idiot bodyguard I thought would be good enough for him. This could be a typical teenage rebellion, but it could turn into something more if he didn't get a good outlet for everything. If he wasn't going to talk to us, then he needed something else to get his anger out.

Two days later I pulled up to an old shooting range outside of the city. It was the same place Carlisle took me to when I was a kid. I brought Bella here a few times over the years, just to keep her sharp. I did everything in my power for her to never need to use a gun, but I always wanted her prepared.

"What are we doing?" Aiden asked with a yawn. It was ten in the morning, but he typically didn't get up until noon on the weekends. That wasn't going to work for me anymore.

"Practicing."

We signed in, got our supplies and headed to the individual blocked off sections. Bella stood back while I stood with Aiden, showing him what to do. He had tensed immediately when he figured out we were at a gun range.

"You can always say no," I reminded him. Somehow, in the last few weeks, it was like I was begging him to drop out. He was changing every day, and it didn't seem to be for the better. I wasn't sure if he was angry or scared or confused. All I could do was lay out everything I could for him and let him make his own decision, until my year ran up and I made it for him.

"No, I… I guess I should learn."

I stood beside him for a while, watching as he got the hang of it before I turned to Bella. "Do you need to practice?"

"I've been running around with a fake gun for the last four months," she said with a smirk. "You're looking at a two-time rebellion leader, here."

She was still giggling at her own joke as she walked past, so I gave her ass a quick pinch before I got her all set up in her own station. Her entire first round stayed in the center of the target.

"Damn, Mom," Aiden said from beside us. "Who taught you how to shoot?"

"A few different people," she told him. "Your father taught me how to perfect it, though. It can be a good stress reliever."

Ever since we told Aiden the truth, Bella liked to randomly insert little stories about our life into conversation with him. She was trying to show him there were no lies anymore, even though there were a few.

He knew the basics of our family history, knew everything he needed to be able to understand what we did. He didn't need to know that Bella killed her biological father, or that she's committed perjury a time or two. He also didn't need to know the extent to which my father fucked the family over royally.

It was probably a mistake, still keeping so many secrets when we were trying to earn his trust back, but that was the decision we made and we were going to stick to it. Knowing about things like Bella's incarceration would only scare him. Nothing like that had happened since, and I worked every day to make sure nothing like it happened again.

Dark…

During Bella's week back, I realized a few things. Aiden was more relaxed with her around, more like himself. When it was just us, he was usually quiet and contemplative. He asked me about business sometimes, something he never used to do. It wasn't me making the mistake of having our relationship become strictly business, it was him. He was making me out to be more of a boss than a father. I didn't expect that to gut me as much as it did.

In the weeks since Bella went back to work I had started taking him out with me more, having him sit in on meetings with suppliers and getting acquainted with a few business friends. I paid more attention to Aiden and his reactions than the actual meetings. I still got the feeling that there was something he was hiding, or another shoe that had to drop before he fully accepted everything he had been told in the last year.

"How did you react? When Emmett told you?" I asked Alec. The entire family was inside, getting things set up for Saturday dinner. I pulled him aside, needing advice from someone who had been in a similar situation.

"Dad never really kept it a secret. It was always obvious to me," he shrugged.

"Do you ever wish you hadn't known so young?"

Again, he shrugged. "It's different for Aiden than it was for me. I grew up watching Aunt Bella on the television. People didn't stop talking about that shit for years. I never really had the option of not knowing. Aiden also has the pressure of being your son."

"I've told him he can say no. Repeatedly."

"Yeah, but he still has to know that its expected for him to take over one day. That, on top of having the bomb dropped on him only a year ago… it's hard to accept it. Especially at fifteen."

"Hmm." Alec told me nothing I didn't already know. Before I could ask anything else, the door to the backyard slid open and Maggie walked out. As if on cue, Alec snuck back inside and Maggie came to sit beside me.

"How are you doing?" she asked softly.

"Fine," I replied instinctively. She raised a brow and waited. "My son is all over the place; some days he hates me other days he tolerates me. Sometimes he looks at me like I'm a stranger and it breaks my fucking heart. I haven't seen my wife in a month, haven't spent more than a few weeks straight with her in… Christ, I don't know how long."

"Bella still calls me once a week, did you know?" I frowned. I didn't know. She went to Maggie a few times, right before we told Aiden. I went with her a time or two, but that was it. "The only reason I'm telling you this is because I know you two aren't going to sue me for breaching doctor-patient confidentiality, but she's worried about you, too. Feels guilty that you're having to deal with all of this alone."

"It's not her problem to deal with."

"She knows that, but the woman's guilt knows no bounds."

Fuck, I missed her. She was getting home in a few days, but would still be busy working on the soundtrack for the film. She would be here, though. That was what mattered.

"Your family is in a transition period. Aiden is growing up, trying to come to terms with the family business. Bella's been busy and gone for a long time. You're trying to handle all of it but it's a lot for one person."

"I can do it," I grunted, taking a sip of my beer.

"You've been thinking non-stop about Aiden and what he's thinking and doing for the last year. You've been incorporating him in more work events, right?" I nodded. "Maybe you both just need to step back from the situation. Get back to your own life, and let him come to you."

Christ, was I pushing everything down his throat? Forcing him into this without even realizing it?

"You and Bella are both worriers, sometimes you can get so fixated on something you don't see other options. Just take some time for yourselves. Relax. Let him come to you. You guys are great parents. He might be pulling away now, but he'll come back."

I nodded, knowing she was probably right. But also knowing that we were also running the risk that he would pull away and never come back.

Dark…

With Bella gone, I didn't want Aiden sulking around at home alone, so I usually had him come to my office after school. It was big enough for us both to have our own space while we worked. Aiden may be going through a tough time at home, but he never let his grades slip. He wasn't the kind of kid we had to constantly monitor; he knew his education was important and that was it.

There were other reasons I wanted him around as well. I wanted him to see I didn't just go on crime sprees around the city every day. It was important he knew that most of my job was sitting behind a desk and ordering other people to do my dirty work. At least, now it was. I did plenty of dirty work throughout the years.

We were getting home a little late tonight. I knew neither of us had been home since the morning, so the light I saw shining inside as I drove up made me frown. There was never a security alert, those went straight to my phone and a private security company.

It was too late to turn back. If someone was inside they would have heard the car pull up. I didn't have long to figure out a strategy. There were too many unknowns. I didn't know who was inside, the list of possibilities too long to narrow down, I didn't know how many, or what kind of defense they had set up.

"Dad?"

Christ. I couldn't do this with him here. Maybe if I went in Aiden could take the car and they wouldn't notice before he was already gone.

Before I could do anything else the front door opened, and Ben gave me a nod. Fucking hell. It was Bella.

"Let's go," I told him, brushing off my momentary panic. Once we were inside I let Aiden follow the clues toward Bella and stopped by the door where Ben was waiting.

"Some warning next time she wants to surprise me would be nice," I told him. "I very nearly had a heart attack outside."

"Sorry, sir," Ben said with a smirk. "I was under strict instructions to keep everything secret."

It should have frustrated me that he followed Bella's orders over mine, but their bond was special. Ben had been there for Bella since she was twenty-one. He was there when I wasn't, and there during the biggest moments of her life. There was no one else I would trust her safety with.

Rounding the corner to the kitchen, I saw piles of food covering the counter. Bella was standing beside Aiden, and their height difference was even more pronounced than the last time I saw them together.

"I made everyone's favorites," she told him with a smile.

Aiden interrupted before she could get to the specifics. "What about –"

"Snickerdoodles are in the oven," she laughed. "They should be almost done, why don't you check?"

With Aiden distracted by the cookies, Bella sauntered over in my direction, nearly falling into my arms as soon as she was close enough.

"I missed you so much," she mumbled. I could practically feel her exhaustion.

"You worked all night and flew straight here, didn't you?"

That was the bad thing about Bella getting back to work. She always worked herself too hard. There was a difference between a good work ethic and a dangerous work ethic. There had been more than one occasion over her career where she had collapsed from exhaustion.

"Then came home and cooked four different meals?" I asked, eying the food surrounding us. She nodded. "Let's eat and get you to bed, okay?"

"No, it's family night. I have movies and snacks," she said through a yawn.

Just as she wanted, we did have family night. We got ourselves situated in the movie room, surrounded by more food than any of us could eat, and watched a movie. Aiden seemed to enjoy it, but Bella fell asleep pretty early on. We were all quiet as the credits rolled.

"You thought someone was in the house. When we got home," Aiden whispered, pulling apart some twizlers but not eating anything.

"Yes," I answered honestly. It was a hard habit to break, always trying to cover things up for him.

"Does that happen often? I mean, do you spend all of your time waiting for the next bad thing to happen?"

"No. I spend my time making sure the bad things don't happen. Making sure we're always on top so no one comes near us."

"But, with Mom and the home invasion…"

I sighed, not wanting to get into the specifics of how I fucked that up. "My father had left me in charge without any warning. I was in the process of fixing a lot of things he messed up. Things slipped through the cracks. But, nothing like that has happened in a long time."

I didn't have the heart to tell him it was only a matter of time before something else bad happened. When you lived like we did, something was always lurking around the corner.

Aiden went to bed not long after our conversation. I carried Bella up to bed, but sleep never came for me. With Bella beside me, I focused on her deep breaths, hoping it would distract my mind from everything else. After only a few hours of rest, Bella stirred beside me, frowning up at me.

"Why aren't you asleep?" she mumbled, stretching out beside me and wrapping an arm around my waist.

It was hypocritical of me, considering I always made sure Bella told me whenever she was worried about anything, but I hated bothering her with mine. Work wise, I rarely told her unless it meant she was in danger. Personally, I didn't worry about much. I never had to worry about our relationship, we were solid and had been for years. Aiden never caused us much trouble. He was a good kid most of the time. We were all healthy and happy.

Now, that careful balance we had for so long was slowly starting to crumble.

"I don't know what to do," I admitted, staring at the dark celling like it held all of the answers.

Bella stiffened in my arms, and I could feel her looking at me. Her eyes never leaving me until I gave in a looked down at her. "About what?"

"Aiden." As soon as his name was out of my mouth I decided to fuck it and let it all out. "I didn't expect him to take it this hard. I never know what he's thinking or how he's handling it. He's too good at keeping things to himself." Much like the woman in my arms.

"Christ, half of the time I'm at work I can't get anything done because I can't focus. I know I shouldn't, but I want him to work with me. Then, I want him to just turn me down because obviously he's struggling with everything. Fuck, that doesn't even make any sense."

"Hey," Bella interrupted, pulling my face down to hers, her thumb rubbing along my cheek. "I didn't know you were so worried about everything."

I shrugged. "I planned everything out. What I would tell him, what we would do once we got back… but nothing works. Sometimes he's interested, sometimes he's not. I don't know if the times he's interested are just him pretending for my benefit, or if the time's he's not interested are because he feels guilty about wanting to work with me. I didn't know it would be this… confusing."

Bella sat up beside me, her back against the headboard. We were both silent, sitting in bed and staring at nothing. "Maybe… maybe he just needs to see how normal our lives can be. All he's heard about is the bad stuff, the big things that we kept from him. Maybe we spend some time just being ourselves again."

With a sigh I pulled her into my lap, rubbing my hands along her curves and enjoying the way she tugged at the hair at my neck. "Is this how you feel a lot? The constant worry and anxiety? Not being able to focus on anything but the stress?"

It had never been a problem for me before. I left work worries at work, most of the time, and was able to relax when I had the free time. But I knew it was different for Bella. She got so anxious she had panic attacks, and she had nervous habits that she picked up because of the anxiety.

"Sometimes," she said with a shrug. Before she could elaborate my phone rang.

"What?" I answered.

"We have an issue," Conor, one of Daniel's men who recently relocated here, said. He was supposed to be monitoring an incoming shipment tonight.

"I'll be there in half an hour," I said, hanging up quickly.

With a sigh, I pressed a kiss to the top of Bella's head and got up. "I've got to go."

I thought Bella would stay in bed as I showered. It was three in the morning, she should've stayed in bed. But, I felt her warm body pressed against my back and squeezed her hands as they wrapped around me.

"You're a great father, and a great husband. You're one of my two favorite people in the whole world. I'm sorry I can't…" she sighed. "You always solve all of my problems when I get worried but I don't know how to solve this one for you."

Pulling her around to face me, I pressed her lightly into the tile in front of me. My intention was for my kiss to be soft and sweet, but Bella quickly turned it into a desperate fight for dominance.

"I missed you," she breathed out, peppering kisses along my chest.

"I really do have to go," I grunted out just before she sunk to her knees in front of me.

She smirked up at me, one hand already gripping my hardening cock. "I'll be quick."

"Isabella." I intended to pull her back to her feet, but my hands tangled in her hair the moment her lips were wrapped around me. I had to brace myself with an arm on the wall in front of me.

Bella's chocolate eyes looked up at me as she worked me over. She braced herself, her hands squeezing my thighs, and froze. All things I knew meant she was giving me whatever I wanted, needed.

A countdown ran in the back of my mind, knowing I had an unknown situation to deal with. With my hand on the back of her head, keeping her secure, I set a steady pace, pushing my cock just as far as I knew she could take it down her throat.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I chanted, letting myself get lost in the way her tongue slid along my length with every movement.

She knew what it did to me, and hummed around my cock just as I hit the back of her throat, triggering my release.

I massaged her scalp, knowing I probably tugged a little too hard at her hair. She didn't seem to mind though, not as she smirked up at me and licked her lips as she stood.

Bella made me sit on the ledge in the shower, washing my hair quickly and without a word. None of our problems were solved, but that wasn't important. What mattered was that I had a wife who took care of me when I didn't know I needed to be looked after. A woman who went from smirking up at me with my cock in her mouth to gently massaging my hair with complete concentration.

I grabbed her hand, kissing each of her fingers, up her wrist, and along her arm. "I love you."

Bella simply smiled and kissed my forehead. "I know."

Dark…

Since Bella's return, things were still rocky, but stable. Every night when I came home soft melodies were flowing out of her music room. She worked on her soundtrack and got back to her life here. Aiden was slightly less unpredictable, but we were all still unsure of his future. It had only been about a month since Bella returned, but I was hoping things would steadily improve as time went on.

Aiden had turned sixteen. Bella stood next to me and cried as he drove off with his newly-earned license. We gave him more freedom this summer; a later curfew, a new car, and hopefully some trust that he was deserving of.

It was late, nearing midnight, and I was still strategizing with Emmett and Jasper in my office.

"We still don't know his motive," I repeated, pinching the bridge of my nose in frustration. The call I had gotten, the one on Bella's first night back, had been because someone hijacked not just one of our shipments of weapons coming into the city, but seven. All across the city.

Most of our intel said it was Viktor Petrov, but it didn't make sense. Yes, he had every reason to hate me after I led the cops to his sex trafficking ring, but the Petrov's had moved out of the city a long time ago. Luka died years ago to lung cancer thanks to his habit of smoking a pack a day for the last thirty years. He was lucky I never took care of him myself. After that, I never did anything else to them. As far as I was concerned, we were even.

"Viktor always seemed… unstable to me," Emmett said, leaning back in his chair.

"Okay, times up," Bella said, standing in the doorway.

"We said midnight. It's only eleven," Jasper said, looking at his watch.

Bella shrugged. "I got impatient. He's mine for the rest of the weekend."

I watched, amused, as she shooed them both out of the office. Once we were alone she lifted herself onto my desk, right beside me. "Are you ready to go?"

"That depends," I told her, tracing my fingers along her exposed thigh. It was hot as hell outside, even late as it was. "Where are we going?"

She never told me, but I followed her anyway. I would blindly follow her anywhere, but thankfully this time we simply flew up to our cabin in Colorado for the weekend. It was the middle of the night when we arrived and I didn't bother asking for the reason behind our surprise getaway.

My plan had been to wake up before her in the morning. Make her breakfast, bring it to her in bed, spend the rest of our day naked. I was groggy when I woke up though, which meant I slept far more than I usually did. I woke just as Bella was tip toeing back in, a tray of food in her hands.

"Are you going to tell me the reason behind the sudden weekend getaway?" I asked as we ate the assortment of fruit she brought in.

"You needed a break." I looked at her, brows raised, confused by her answer. "You've never… in all the time I've known you I've never seen you get overwhelmed like you did the night I got back. And I know it's my fault – "

"Hey," I interrupted, lifting her chin so she had to look at me. "It's not your fault."

"I was gone. For a long time. I left you alone to deal with everything you and Aiden were – are – going through. I'm a horrible, selfish person and I'm sorry."

I set the food aside and pulled my wife into my lap. "First of all, it's not your fault. This situation… it's not your responsibility. It's my job to work this out with him, not yours."

"But –"

"I'm not done," I said, pressing a finger over her lips. "You left to work. You love your job and you deserve to do what you love. You put that aside for years to take care of Aiden because you're a fantastic mother. We both understand why you have to leave sometimes. I would never think less of you for working."

"I'm still –"

"Not done," I repeated. "If anyone else called my wife a horrible, selfish person I would think long and hard about their punishment. Please don't talk about yourself like that."

We were both silent, Bella's eyes watching me carefully. "Are you done now?"

I smiled. "Yes."

"Regardless of what you just said, I am sorry I was gone for so long. And that you felt like you couldn't tell me how bad things were until I was back. And that I had to wait a while before we could do this. I just got back and I didn't want to leave Aiden again right away and – "

I interrupted her with a quick kiss. "You don't need to apologize."

Bella sighed and relaxed against me, resting her head in the crook of my neck. "You could still punish me if you wanted."

Before she knew what was happening I had Bella pinned on her back. "You asked for it, baby."

Dark…

It was late. I was exhausted. And whoever was calling me at four in the morning was going to regret whatever it was they had to say.

"What?"

"Is this Edward Cullen?" a deep, unfamiliar voice asked.

I frowned and sat up, careful not to wake up Bella beside me. "Who is this?"

"This is Officer Wilson with the Chicago Police Department. We've got your son, Aiden Cullen here. He was arrested for possession of multiple illegal substances. He's been processed and –"

"Aiden Cullen," I said, confused about how any of this was possible. "Aiden Anthony Cullen?"

"Yes, sir. Your son, Aiden Cullen."

Fucking hell. Possession of multiple illegal substances. Jesus Christ.

I hung up and gently shook Bella awake. Shit, she was going to be furious. "Bella, you've got to wake up."

"Not now, Edward. In the morning," she mumbled, pushing my hands away.

If I wasn't so furious, I would have laughed. "Aiden was arrested."

"What?"

"Get up. We have to go."

We were both silent as we got dressed, not putting much thought into what we were doing. My mind was a flurry of questions. None of which I had any answers to.

"Multiple illegal substances?" Bella asked as we drove downtown. There was no traffic, considering it was four in the morning.

"Yes."

"Were they, um, yours?"

If I were her, I would have made the same assumption. Maybe even hoped they were mine. "No. I haven't let him near any of that."

There wasn't a reliable dealer in the city that would have sold to him, though. By our last count, at least eighty percent of all the drugs in this city went through me and my people, and none of them would have given Aiden anything. Shit, where was he getting his supply from? Was he selling or using?

Bella's steps faltered as we walked into the station, thankfully not the same place I walked her into all those years ago. The officer behind the desk looked at us for a moment before rushing away. A few minutes later, Aiden was led to the lobby by another officer. This one didn't seem as intimidated as the receptionist.

"Shit," Bella mumbled beside me as he roughly freed Aiden from the cuffs around his wrists. I gave her waist a comforting squeeze.

"Chief Clearwater said we had to release him, but he's got an arraignment next week. He supposedly trusts you'll make him show." The officer didn't try to hide his disagreement with Seth's orders, but I didn't care. He handed Aiden a packet of papers and everyone left us alone in the lobby.

We all stood there, silent. Aiden didn't look at either of us, but I couldn't blame him. The glare on my face was uncontrollable, and I knew Bella looked about a second from tears. When we left, Aiden halted outside of the car.

"My car is –"

"I don't care. Get in the fucking car," I grunted. His car was the least of my worries right now. The drive was tense and silent. My eyes darted from Aiden sulking in the backseat to Bella fidgeting beside me, to the road. Reaching over, I grabbed Bella's hand and gave it a firm squeeze, for my comfort as much as hers.

Aiden broke the silence as we walked in the house. "I know you guys are pissed, but –"

"Pissed?" I shouted, slamming the door closed behind us. "Pissed doesn't begin to cover it, Aiden." I forced myself to take a few deep breaths before I spoke again. "Wait for us in my office."

"Dad, I – "

"Go."

With a sigh, Aiden did as he was told and slowly walked up the stairs. As soon as I knew we were alone, I turned to Bella. This was uncharted territory for us. Aiden had never done anything like this before. He never acted out, was hardly confrontational. The worst thing he had done lately was sneak a few girls in his room, something I let him think he got away with.

"We can't go easy on him," I told her. I assumed she was just as furious as I was, but Bella also never wanted to be too hard on him.

"I know," she sighed. "I just don't understand. How could he have been doing this and we didn't know? How –"

"We'll figure it out." I pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "We've gotten through worse."

"Just because he's not going on trial for murder doesn't really make me feel better, Edward."

I sighed. "I know. Come on."

I needed our short talk in order to calm down. Aiden deserved to be punished, and I was still furious, but I didn't want to go in there and say or do anything I would regret.

Aiden was pacing the room as we entered. I sat behind my desk and Bella took one of the two chairs opposite of me.

"Who did you get it from?" I asked, trying to keep my voice as calm as possible. Aiden was silent. "Who did you get it from?" I repeated.

He rolled his eyes in my direction, leaning against one of the bookshelves in the corner. "Why does it matter?"

Christ, he was smarter than this. "It matters because if you have an arraignment they're going to charge you with possession of an illegal substance." My calm façade was quickly slipping away as he rolled his eyes again. "You think that's a fucking joke?"

"What, you can snap your fingers and help mom get out of an even worse situation but you're gonna let them charge me with –"

"You think I snapped my fingers and she got away with it?" I pulled at my hair, knowing he was trying to distract me and fighting the urge to point out how very fucking different the situations were.

"I haven't joined your little gang like Mom did and –"

"Watch your mouth," I grunted. For years I had listened to people talk shit about my wife. I'll be damned if my son became one of those people.

"God, do you not see how fucked up this entire thing is? Our entire lives?" Aiden shouted. "Me enjoying some recreational drugs is hardly the biggest problem this family has.

"Let's see if I've got everything right. You've been working for the fuckin' mob since you were a teenager. Killing people, selling drugs, shit like that, right?" Aiden bellowed.

"Aiden, stop," Bella pleaded, but he continued.

I sat back in my chair, wanting him to finally, finally, tell me the truth. It had been close to sixteen months since he found out, and this had all been bubbling up since then. He could say whatever he wanted about me if it helped him finally move on.

"And Mom… Mom you brainwashed when she was younger and made her think you were this great guy. Got her to do some of your dirty work if what Alec says is true," he said, with an almost maniacal laugh. "Or, maybe she's always been that fucking insane. Crazy enough to actually think you were a good guy."

"Damnit, Aiden!" I shouted, slamming my fist on the desk. My eyes darted to Bella, who had her head down and was twining her hands compulsively together in the chair. She was never one to stand down from a fight. Hell, she had literally lunged at Esme a time or two, but I knew what Aiden had said would break her. Completely.

"Bella, leave."

"No, I… I'm okay," she said, her voice attempting to hide the sadness.

"Isabella, go," I told her as softly as I could manage. It was no secret, least of all to me, that Bella had her issues. Sometimes she was sad for no reason and sometimes she got lost in her mind. Sometimes she needed her blankets folded a certain way and sometimes she cried alone in the shower. It wasn't her fault her brain didn't make the right chemicals to keep her moods normal or nervous ticks in check.

But, to hear our son, the kid who we had always told to be open minded to others struggles and feelings, call her fucking insane was the last thing I could handle.

"Fuck, Ma, I'm sorry. I –" Aiden reached out to her and I saw red.

"Don't fucking touch her," I growled. Aiden dropped his hand immediately.

Finally, Bella did as I said and got up and slowly walked out, her head down.

Sitting back, I grabbed the first thing my hands touched and crushed it, the pen easily snapping in two, and stared at my son. His eyes were red and he had deep circles under them. His hair was a mess, probably similar to mine. His face looked a little shallow. This wasn't a one-time thing, or a recent thing. He'd been using for months, at least. Probably longer.

Walking around the desk, I leaned on it, standing beside Aiden where he sat. "We have a lot of problems to solve. But if you ever talk about your mother like that again –"

"What? You'll do to me what you did to Jacob Black? What you do to everyone around the city?"

"You know why –"

"Protect the family. Protect the family," he mocked, knocking his chair over as he stood. "I never asked to be part of this fuckin' family, the son of a couple of criminals."

There was no reasoning with him right now. He was hot and cold and unstable. As much as I wanted to solve all of his problems, take away all of the pain he was hiding behind the drugs, there was nothing I could do. Not yet.

"Get out."

His bloodshot eyes shot to mine. "What?"

"Get out of my house," I replied clearly. "Go to Jasper's or Emmett's. Sleep off the fucking withdrawals. I'll deal with you once you've come down from whatever the fuck you're on."

"You're kicking me out?"

Instead of answering for a third time, I grabbed his shoulder and led him toward the door. Aiden squirmed under my hold, and finally managed to break free as we rounded the corner to the front door.

"I'm not going anywhere," he grunted, pushing against my chest. A second later I had him pressed into the wall, an arm twisted behind his back. There were a million things I wanted to say, to yell at him so he finally understood, but nothing would get through to him. Not right now.

Pulling him with me out the front door, I walked him to where Eric was pacing the perimeter.

"Take him to Jasper's. Watch him like a fucking hawk; he doesn't go anywhere. No school, no friends, nothing."

Eric nodded and got in one of the waiting cars as I pushed Aiden in the back seat. I watched as Eric drove away, sighing as Aiden flipped me off through the window.

Slamming the door shut behind me for a second time, my knees gave out from beneath me. I scrubbed my hands over my face, giving myself a moment of emotional distress before I heard a crash and remembered my wife was somewhere all alone. Following the noise, I ended up in Aiden's room. Bella sat of the floor, surrounded by tiny bags.

"This is why," Bella said gravely, never looking up at me. "This is why I always knew I shouldn't have kids. I just… I knew they would turn out just as fucked up as I –"

"Don't," I grunted. I couldn't take anyone else making digs at her, let alone herself. "You're not fucked up, Bella."

She huffed, but didn't argue. "I don't even know what any of these are," she said softly, holding up a bag of cocaine.

Kneeling in front of her, I picked up a few. "Cocaine," I said, holding out one of the bags. "Heroine. Ecstasy."

"How did this happen?" Bella asked, her voice cracking as a fresh set of tears started falling down her cheeks. "How did we not know?" I didn't have any comforting answers for her, and she quickly started hyperventilating through her sobs.

Wrapping her in my arms, I carried her quickly to the kitchen and away from the bags she had surrounding herself. "It's okay, Bella. We'll take care of him, he'll be fine. Please, calm down, baby," I whispered, brushing away her tears with my thumbs. As soon as I got one away, two more replaced it.

Setting her carefully on the kitchen counter, I knew there was nothing I could say to her to calm her down. I left her for a moment, quickly rummaging through the medicine cabinet and grabbing the bottle of sedatives Maggie gave me after Bella's last panic attack.

When I tried to give them to her, Bella pushed my hands away, but I quickly popped them into her mouth and waited for her to swallow.

"It's okay," I said softly, hugging her as closely as possible. Relishing in her head resting on my shoulder, stroking her hair as I felt her heart beat finally start to slow. "It's okay. We'll all be okay."

I really hoped I wasn't lying to her.

A/N: I know, I know… just hang in there!

Remember when last week I said I had already finished this chapter? Well. I lied. I finished it this afternoon, because I can't control myself. I'd like to say there'll be another update next Friday, but the next chapter is going to be a doozy. I'll try my hardest to get it to you as soon as possible.

Until then… thoughts? I'd love to hear what you're all thinking!