4

It was hopeless. I knew it, Carlisle knew it, all of our friends knew it, but nobody but me would admit that it was hopeless. The day after the moving trucks showed up with our shattered lives, Carlisle and I, along with Edward and Jasper, tried to sort through everything, see if we could find anything that could be saved, but other than a few photos of the boys, a couple of medical books of Carlisle's, and one glass, everything was ruined.

All because one asshole had some sort of sick fixation on me. Was this all really because he figured that since I would fuck one older man that I was a whore and would fuck him, too? And how long had he been fixated on me? Just the thought of him having watched me, lusting after me, fantasizing after me, made me sick to my stomach. The only man I wanted thinking about me like that was Carlisle.

"MOM!"

I was shaken out of my thoughts when I heard Michael scream for me. I still hadn't gotten used to the boys calling me mom, and it always brought a smile to my face. Leaving the clothes I'd been folding on the floor — the clothes we'd just bought the day before when we hit the mall in an effort to start over — I scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the living room, down the hallway to the boys rooms, and stopped in the doorway, biting back the urge to laugh. Tyler had a bucket on his head, and from the looks of it, it was stuck.

"What in the world?" I asked, and walked over to them, giving the bucket a hard tug.

It popped right off, and an angry-looking Tyler turned and glared at his brother. "You said you weren't going to tell her!"

"I didn't." Michael smirked, and folded his arms in front of his chest. "I just called for her. She discovered you all on her own when she came in here."

"Oy vey, you two are giving me a headache," I said. "Why did you have this on your head, Ty?"

He shrugged his little shoulders. "I wanted to see if it would fit. I did."

"You scare me, little man," I mused.

"I know." He sounded so proud of himself, which frightened me even more. "I'm hungry!"

I laughed. "Why doesn't that surprise me? Go see if Dad, Edward, and Jasper are done putting mine and Dad's bed together. If they are, ask if they want to go get some ice cream."

"And if they aren't?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow at me.

"Then I guess we can't get any ice cream," I said.

His eyes flew open as he and Michael scrambled out of their bedroom and down the hallway to my room. Carlisle, Edward, and Jasper had been working all day on trying to get our new beds set up so that we didn't have to spend another night sleeping on the floor. So far, they'd gotten the boys' beds up, but ours was still in pieces. And beds, a washer, and a drier were all we'd managed to buy so far. We'd looked at couches, but none of them were what we wanted, the measurements in the kitchen wouldn't accommodate the appliances we needed, and we were both too tired and cranky to attempt to look at dressers, tables, or anything else. So, the television we'd bought was on the floor, but at least the boys could watch cartoons.

I'd just returned to the living room was about to pick up a stack of towels, when I head the not-so-pitter-patter of feet rushing down the hallway, and when I looked over, I saw Edward, Jasper, Carlisle, Michael, and Tyler standing there.

"So, the boys mentioned something about ice cream?" Carlisle asked, trying too hard to sound casual.

"They did, huh?" I mused. "I might have said something about getting some if you're done putting the bed together."

All five of them frowned, and I had to bit the inside of my cheek to keep from outright laughing at them. They all looked like I'd just told them Christmas was canceled.

"So . . ." I trailed off. "Are you done?"

"Um, yeah," Carlisle lied. Outright lied to me.

"Yeah?" I asked, taking a step toward him. "I can't wait to see it."

"I mean, we're almost done," he said, putting his hands up. "Like halfway."

"At least," Jasper added.

"Maybe even more," Edward told me. "But you know, we're a little shaky, so we probably need some sugar. Hypoglycemia and everything."

"Oh, really?" I asked, causing him to nod. "Well, guess we'd better get going then, huh? Wouldn't want you to pass out, would we? You might fall into that load of bullshit you just spouted."

Carlisle and Jasper burst out laughing, while Michael and Tyler looked scandalized that I would dare curse in front of them. Eh, they were young, and needed to learn the ways of the street.

"Even though you just insulted me, Bella, I'm going to allow you to buy me an ice cream. A big one, too," Edward said.

"Well, as long as you're being generous," I snickered.

"I do what I can, Bella; I do what I can."

Half an hour later, the six of us were crowded around a large table in a small ice cream parlor a few miles from the beach house. The boys had each gotten two scoops of chocolate, while Jasper went with peppermint, Edward with rocky road, Carlisle with strawberry, and I picked orange sherbet.

We'd been sitting there about ten minutes when Carlisle's phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and looked at the ID, shifted his eyes to mine before he stood up and walked away as he said, "Tanya."

Dropping my spoon into my into my bowl, I shifted in my seat and watched Carlisle as he stood on the other side of the parlor and talked to his ex-wife. The irritated look on his face made it clear that he wasn't happy that she'd called, and I couldn't shake the feeling that her phone call had something to do with Gabriel Varner, especially when Carlisle shifted his eyes over to me and he nodded.

"So, Bella," Edward said, drawing my attention to him. He tilted his head in the boys' direction, who were watching their father attentively, too, as he added, "What time is Carlisle heading into the office tomorrow?"

"Um, early, I think. Around seven. He said he wants to familiarize himself with the building before patients start coming in. How about you?" I asked.

"The same. If I can get through traffic, anyway," Edward said with a nervous laugh.

I nodded, and looked back at Carlisle just as he closed his phone. He shoved it into his pocket before dragging a hand over his face and through his hair. Then, he turned back toward us, his eyes meeting mine, and I saw the defeat he was feeling. What had she told him that had him so emotional?

He gave me a weak smile before he walked back over and sat down next to me, resting his arm on the back of my chair.

"Everything okay?" I whispered, hoping the boys wouldn't be able to hear.

He nodded. "Yep."

Knowing there was more to the story, but that he wasn't ready to tell me, I picked up my spoon and tried very hard to keep from feeling like our entire world was shattering again.

—TW—

Once we finished our ice cream, we packed back up in the car and headed back to the beach house. Edward and Jasper insisted on taking the boys down to the water while Carlisle and I stayed at the house. They were giving us a chance to talk about Tanya without the boys overhearing, and once again, I found myself thankful for their friendship.

Carlisle and I settled on the steps and watched as the boys ran toward the water. The beach had been such a selling point with them. Carlisle reached over and wove his fingers in with mine, drawing my attention to him.

"She's sick," he murmured. "Breast cancer. Late stage. Said she'd felt the lump right after Tyler was born, but thought it was just a clogged milk duct, and then she left and ignored it. She started having some shortness of breath and stomach pains, so she finally went to the doctor. The cancers already spread to her lungs, liver, and pancreas. Says they've only given her a few months."

"That's very sad," I whispered, unsure of what else to say.

He nodded. "She wants to see the boys. Begged me to bring them to her, or let her come here. Can you believe that?"

"I can," I admitted, causing him to look at me. "She is their mother, Carlisle. And now that she's facing the end of her life, I'm sure she wants a chance to see them, to . . . I don't know . . . make things right."

"Seeing them again isn't going to make it okay that she abandoned them, Isabella," he argued.

"I never said it would," I countered. "And she's going to die knowing that her selfishness cost her three years with her children, Carlisle, but they're going to live a lifetime always wondering where she is, why she left."

"They shouldn't have to deal with her at all," he grumbled.

"Maybe not," I admitted.

Carlisle sighed. "But you're right. The boys need closure, too."

"They do," I agreed.

Carlisle brought my hand up to his lip, placing a kiss on my knuckles. "You're an amazing woman, Isabella."

"Only because I have you," I murmured, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Ha, I'm the lucky one here, baby," he snickered.

"Okay, maybe," I laughed.

A few minutes later, Edward and Jasper brought the boys back up to the house, and they, along with Carlisle, headed back into the bedroom to finish putting the bed together. While the boys kept themselves busy in their room, I tried to focus my attention on the laundry.

After another hour, the bed was finally put together and Edward and Jasper quickly left. I think they were afraid that I'd put them to work some more. They'd already done too much for us. Carlisle and the boys headed out to pick up a couple of pizzas and I took advantage of the empty house and decided to take a bath, making sure to lock all the doors of course.

Once the tub was filled, I stripped off my clothes and climbed in, letting the warmth wash over me. The last few days had been stressful, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't seem to get my body to relax. Of course it didn't help that McCoy and Hitchens — the two cops who'd taken our statements over our busted lives — hadn't been able to convince the judge to issue the restraining order based on the evidence. They'd met us at the warehouse the moving company had supplied and told us that without proof that Gabriel Varner had been the one to destroy our belongings, there was nothing he could do. I understood his position, but he shouldn't have even been allowed to walk the streets. The man had tried to rape me, and then tried to hurt Peter. Didn't they understand that he wasn't going to stop until he got to me, or they arrested him for good?

For the second time that day, my attention was pulled away from the thoughts of Gabriel Varner, only this time it wasn't because Michael had called out to me, but because of a loud bang coming from outside. With shaking arms and legs, I climbed out of the tub, and wrapped a towel around my body. As I stepped out of the bathroom, I heard the sound again. It sounded like someone was banging two symbols together.

My heart was racing as I rushed into my bedroom and into the closet, grabbing the baseball bat Carlisle had put inside. I wasn't stupid enough to go looking for the source of the noise, and I wasn't about to let Gabriel Varner get to me without fighting tooth and nail to stop him.

"Isabella?" Carlisle called out. I scrambled to my feet and rushed out of the closet just as he walked into our bedroom. He looked from me in a towel with a bat raised above my head to the closet, and asked, "Do I want to know?"

"Was that you?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Was what me?"

"Making the bangs outside!" I wailed. "Was that you?"

Carlisle's forehead furrowed as he looked from me to the window, and slowly shook his head. "What kind of bangs?"

"Loud," I whimpered. "Really loud."

"Okay, give me the bat," he said, holding his hand out toward me.

"Carlisle," I cried.

He crossed the room and took the bat from me as he brought his other hand up to my face. "Get dressed and go to the boys. I'll be okay."

"Promise?" I simpered.

"I promise, sweetheart."

Then kissing me chastely, he turned and walked out of the room. I quickly dressed in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt before rushing into the kitchen. The boys were trying to put a slice of pizza on their paper plates, so I went and helped.

"Come on, we'll have a picnic on mine and Daddy's bed," I murmured, grabbing the pizzas and ushering them down the hallway and into our bedroom.

While they laughed and scrambled onto the bed, I sat on the edge and kept my eyes on the door, waiting for Carlisle to come back. A couple of minutes later, I heard the front door open. I stood up, moving so that I was standing between the door to the bedroom and the boys who were munching away on their pizza.

"Isabella!" Carlisle yelled.

"In here," I replied, the words shaky as they tumbled out of my mouth. In a heartbeat, he was standing in the doorway, his eyes flittering from me to the boys and back. He tilted his head for me to step out into the hallway, so I walked past him. "Did you find anything?"

He shook his head. "No, but the trash bins had fallen over. Maybe that's what you heard?"

"Yeah, maybe," I murmured.

Carlisle placed his hands on either side of my face. "I am not going to let anything, or anyone, get to you, Isabella I promise."

"You can't make that promise," I groused.

"I can, and I am." Leaning in, he pressed his lips against mine. "Trust me, Isabella."

"I am," I whimpered "With everything."

As Carlisle and I joined the boys on the bed, I couldn't help but feel like someone was watching us. Watching us and waiting to make their move.

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