Chapter now betaed by the amazing teamtwi17, she was amazing for doing this for me in no time. So thank you honey! You are amazing!

Keep an eye out for her, she might join us soon with a wonderful story of her own!

Hi! missed me?

I apologize (once again) for the 3 months delay, but seriously, this semester was really hard on me for me. If you are interested I posted an explanation on my blog last week so I won't take much of your time here. Good news is I'm back, for real! I'm done with school and work for the semester so I'm a lll yours!

This chapter was supposed to be longer but I thought it should end were it did, good news is I have a big chunk of next chapter already written. We are almost done with this story, ten more chapters I guess =)

Ages! A few of you have asked about how old are our characters right now. Bella is 21 (about to turn 22 in September right now we are around June), Lizzie is 4 but looks like a 6-7 years old, Edward is 17 but he claimed to be 24 at the hospital he volunteered in Alaska and he stills claim to be so he could get Lizzie's custody, which is Ok because he can comfortably pass as a 25 year old man according to the original books. In twilight when Bella sees the Cullens for the first time at the cafeteria she thinks they all looked old enough to be teachers instead of students.

SM owns everything.

Chapter 26: The Last Time

"Stay" – Florida Georgia Line

I'd sell my soul just to see your face

and I'd break my bones just to heal your pain

In these times I need a saving grace

but time is running out

and I'm starting to lose my faith

But if I told you I loved you

would it make you want to stay?

I'm sorry for the way I hurt you

and making you walk away

(I should have took the time to tell you)

And if I wrote you a love song

and sang it to you every day

would it ever be enough

to make you wanna come back home and stay?

My heart's on my sleeve but it's turning black

(I guess I know what it feels like it to be alone)

Without your touch I'm not gonna last

(I know you know that I need ya just to carry on)

It feels like my walls are caving in

(You'd always hold me before I left you hanging on)

And I'll do anything to have you here again

Yeah, the days are cold

the nights are long

and I can't stand to be alone

Please know this is not your fault

and all I want

Is to tell you I love you and make you wanna stay

there's gotta be a way

cause going on without you is killing me everyday

I was pushed backwards until my back hit the tree behind me. Our lips a tangled mess of frustration, passion, hurt and more… so much more they burned. Our breathing was a dangerous mix of fire and ice fighting for dominance. The ever present current whenever our skin touched running like a hot wire through our bodies, sparks flying, exploding where our lips danced in sync with each others', waking up all my senses and making my skin crawl with desire. I wanted more, I wanted him closer.

My hands immediately slipped up his wide firm chest, around his shoulders past his neck until I reached my desired destination and curled my fingers through the soft strands of his fine hair that I had missed so much all this years.

I climbed up on him circling his waist with my legs and he let out a low a growl. The feral, animalistic sound sending shivers down my spine and firing up every nerve, every cell, every part of me in flames. Somehow, the tension grew even thicker, and I needed more… I needed him so much. I needed to breathe him in to exist, just like fire needs oxygen to ignite. I pressed my body harder against his, a whimper escaping my lips when he immediately responded by wrapping his arms tighter around me, and I didn't cry because it hurt… far away from that, I cried in surrender, I couldn't understand it, my body was reacting to his in so many uncontrollable and incomprehensible ways. My wounded heart raced so fast I was afraid it would give in and stop. I couldn't remember the last time I felt like this, this… alive.

Wait, I do remember when was the last time I felt like this.

And that's when I finally came to my senses, this was wrong… so wrong.

My body stiffened when the memories came back, that morning when I woke and he wasn't there. His harsh words at the forest, the following weeks full of pain and darkness… the years after that.

So I pushed him away, well… I tried. But he was so much more stronger than me. I pulled, I yanked, kicked and slapped him until I felt a sharp sting on my right hand, but it was as if he didn't even notice. In the end, I gave in, like I always did.

But how could I not? How could I say no to him when he held me like this? How could I not surrender when he kissed me like this? As if he was scared to let me go, as if he needed me as much as I needed him.

Because I did.

I needed him so much. I have been lying to myself these past four months. I loved this beautiful imperfect creature so much; my weak human heart couldn't take it. But I couldn't tell him that. I couldn't let him in… what if he left again?

My head was a mess, I was so confused… but in the end, I shut my mind and did what my heart screamed at me to do, stopped struggling with him and responded with everything I had.

I clung to him, circling my arms around his neck and tightened my legs around his waist as he pushed me against a tree with his body, and somehow it still wasn't close enough. The pain from my hand didn't even registered. His scent was like a drug, overwhelming and leaving me in a sweet daze I didn't want to come out of. Here, I felt whole… here I could breathe again without the burning of the hole in my chest. Here nothing else existed.

The forest around us disappeared; I couldn't hear anything besides our labored breathing, the movement of our lips and his tongue caressing mine.

With a gasp, he pulled us apart, giving me a chance to breathe, which I supposed was necessary since my vision was darkening and I was having a hard time breathing. I tried to focus my eyes on something and when I finally did, they landed on his. What I saw in them brought back all the things I had read on those pages. The good and bad, the human in him fighting the monster that threatened his soul. He wasn't perfect, far from it I should have never put him in a pedestal, he still was part human full of flaws and insecurities… just like me.

I knew he could see the pain in my face, so I buried my face on his neck and he hid his in mine, his shoulders shaking with his own sobs as we slid to the ground, not letting go of each other.

"I want to hate you," I cried into his neck, "so mu-uch." My voice broke at the end.

"I know, I'm so sorry angel." He whispered back, kissing my neck.

"Me too." I said after a moment and hugged him harder "I'm sorry, too."

He shook his head and I wanted to protest, but before I could even open my mouth his was on mine once again. He kissed my lips, my cheeks, chin, eyes, nose… every part he could reach, as if in reverence. There was something in his kisses that made me feel cherished, they were so soft and tender. But there was a war brewing inside me, two different sides pulling me in different directions. One side, the rational one screamed at me to run away as fast as I could, to hide and protect my heart from more pain while the other side screamed at me to let go and embrace this moment.

"I've missed you so much Edward." I finally confessed, as always ignoring my surviving instincts.

He shivered at my words, bringing my head to rest on his chest holding me tighter, I've never felt safer in my life.

It felt so good.

"I've missed you too, angel." He said with a trembling voice between kisses.

We sat in each other's arms, with me straddling his lap as he leaned us back against the tree. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to try and calm my still racing heart while he tried to soothe me, trailing soft kisses along my neck and jaw. There were no sounds at all other than our shallow breathing and the calming hum of the wind running through the trees in the forest.

"Are you Ok?" He asked after a while, breaking the silence.

"Yes," I choked, still overwhelmed by everything that just happened.

I hugged him harder.

I felt him smile as he turned his head to kiss my temple.

"Where do we go from here?" He whispered, caressing my hair.

Reluctantly, I leaned back to look at him and was surprised by what I saw. Now that my head was clearer I noticed the redness at the corner of his eyes and around his butterscotch irises. I carefully traced my thumb over the shadows under his eyes, curious and worried at the same time.

"Your eyes… what's wrong with them?"

He looked confused.

"What about them?"

"They are red around the edges." I explained.

"Oh," Comprehension downed on him "I'm fine don't worry about it."

"Edward?" I pressed stubbornly and he let out a sad chuckle.

"We can't shed tears, love" he explained, "but our bodies still react as if we were human. This is the closest my kind gets to crying." He smiled sheepishly.

I kissed his smile before passing my fingers under his eyes again. He closed them and I brushed my thumb over his lids before leaning down and pressing a soft kiss over each one of them. He let out a soft sigh and brought his right hand up to stroke my cheek. I swear I heard him purr.

"That feels so good." He whispered.

"Hmm." I hummed in agreement, still kissing his face.

My heart was filled with hope and dancing around with joy at having him in my arms but at the same time my mind was still wary and unsure about everything else surrounding us.

"Bella?" He asked in a small voice, as if he was scared. I guess he could sense my uncertainty.

"Yes?"

"Where do we go from here?"

…

"I don't know… I'm not sure."

"What do you want?" he asked, his eyes vulnerable and tired.

"I'm not sure," I sniffed and looked down, playing with the strings of his hoodie with my good hand "I just, I know I miss you… and, I-I'm so confused… I want to want the same things as you, no, I want them b-but I also am scared, I don't want to hurt anymore."

"What are you scared of?"

I lifted my face and looked directly into his eyes.

"You've made me promises before, and you still left… what assures me you won't be gone again tomorrow… or next month if something else happens."

"I told you…" he brushed my hair away from my face "I'm not as strong as you give me credit for. I know what it's like to live without you, I would never put myself through that again. I'm that selfish."

I snorted, only he would call himself selfish over wanting something that was already his.

Wait, careful Bella… your heart is at stake here.

"I want to trust you, but I also need to protect myself here." I finally said.

"It's Ok angel, I understand."

I smiled sadly at him.

"I'm sorry." I whispered.

"Don't be, I understand… I'm not going anywhere, I'll show you." He played with the strands of my hair that had fallen forward "I just ask you to please let me earn your trust back, if you are really into this I need you to meet me half way, I can't do it alone angel. I need you to give me a chance."

He was right, if this was going to work we both needed to help each other to build our relationship back, feelings weren't enough, we both needed to work on us. So I nodded and leaned down to kiss his lips again.

"Okay." I nodded "Just be careful with my heart, please? I'm not as durable as you." I sniffed.

"Baby, I can't even exist without you."

I smiled at him and kissed him chastely before burying my face into his neck again, loosing myself in a sweet daze as I inhaled his scent.

Suddenly I felt weary, and heavy. As if the stress and rollercoaster of emotions from the day had finally caught up with my body and I felt like I could sleep for days.

"Love?"

I tried to look up but my vision blurred, I tried to focus but my brain wouldn't cooperate.

"Angel, Bella? Can you hear me?" I felt my body being shaken.

And everything went black.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

EPOV

"Why isn't she waking up?" I asked worriedly.

We were in Bella's room, which used to be mine. Immediately after Bella fainted I brought her here. When she finally came back into consciousness, she only stayed awake for a few minutes before Carlisle gave her some pills for her raging migraine that knocked her out.

Apart from her migraine, she had also woken up with a swollen hand. Apparently when I had kissed her earlier she hurt her right hand trying to push me away. Thankfully it wasn't broken but I still I wanted to pull my hair out even though Bella assured me it wasn't as serious as it looked. Not that I believed her. Anyway, Carlisle had massaged it with some anti-inflammatory and she would have to use a brace for a few days.

"She'll wake up when she's ready… let her rest." Carlisle said patiently for the tenth time in the past five minutes.

"She's been complaining about migraines a lot lately, you think it's serious? She takes her medicines every day, I make sure of it." I asked, not taking my eyes away from her beautiful face. She was lying on her bed while I sat on a chair next to her holding her good hand.

"I don't know, she's never said anything to me before. If she agrees we'll take her to the hospital tomorrow morning and run some tests."

I was scared, what if something was wrong?

"Stop worrying, we know nothing yet." It didn't take a mind reader to know where my thoughts were.

"Carlisle, she fainted. That can't be normal." I said impatiently, since I wanted to take her to the hospital right away.

"I know, but she also had a rough day, all this changes haven't been easy on anyone. Plus, it hasn't even been half a year since she was cleared so she might still be suffering some side effects from the chemo. I'm just telling you to keep your emotions in check until we run the proper tests tomorrow and get the results."

Nothing he could say to assure me would calm me, but he was right. Lizzie was downstairs wondering what was wrong. I needed to keep my cool in front of her.

"Alice says Jacob is coming soon." I informed him, distracting myself from my worries with another pressing matter.

"Yes, Jasper called before you called me to come home. He told me about your theory."

"And what do you think?"

"I think it makes sense but… I don't know… it's too risky. Who in their right mind would side with her? It's suicide."

"I don't know, but think about it. Right after Laurent killed Charlie another vampire came to Forks… he bit Jacob before he could catch him. Now, after Laurent's death another vampire appears… don't you think that's too much of a coincidence?"

He sighed, you could see his 400 year old soul through his eyes.

"You think he was looking for Laurent?" He asked with a serious, calculating expression.

"Maybe, it's a possibility. Victoria is smart, she knows it's impossible for her to take on all of us alone so it wouldn't surprise me if she teamed up with someone else besides Laurent."

"But why would someone team up with her? There are seven of us against two."

Still asleep, Bella turned to her side facing me. I brushed the back of my fingers across her cheek and she let out a contented sigh.

"She doesn't need to kill us all," I whispered so not to disturb her "she just needs a distraction. A gap, long enough to strike." I looked up at him "She doesn't want the rest of us, she just wants Bella and Lizzie. She knows they are my weakness."

"But still, why would someone team up with her? It's still risky."

I shrugged.

"She managed to get Laurent on her side, and his job was riskier with me reading his mind all the time he was here. If she in fact has someone working for her, God only knows the lies she could have told him."

"I think you have a very good point. And it does go with Victoria's personality, she's calculating, smart and manipulative. A little sadistic too if she's after a couple of innocent girls."

I scoffed. A little?

"Anyway, the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Why would a nomad come in here, go through Bella's things and leave? Whenever someone runs into our scent, they run right away or come looking for us out of curiosity. They don't barge in, make a mess and leave. He was looking for something, I'm sure of it."

When Carlisle didn't say anything, I looked up to see him staring at the darkening forest through the window with a serious expression on his face. Going through our options to get out of this mess.

"Lizzie can't go to school anymore, we all needed to stay together to protect them both."

"That might arise suspicion," he answered shaking his head "we can't disappear like that."

"Then we move."

He shook his head.

"You know it takes time. We only do that in emergencies when we are about to get discovered."

"And whys isn't this an emergency?" I hissed.

"Because even if Victoria has an ally, it's still two against seven of us. I know you are worried Edward, but you have to think about greater dangers. We could move again but we are out of places to go. Enough time hasn't passed to go to any of our previous locations. We could return to Alaska and not tell anyone about our return until we get rid of Victoria, but the drastic altitude change wouldn't be beneficial for Bella. It's harder for her to breath here as it is"

"I know, I have noticed." I said frustrated and looked down at her. I have noticed her struggle whenever we took Lizzie for a run.

Damn it! He was right. Our only options left were the hidden houses in the forests up north, but because of Bella and Lizzie we still needed to be near civilization for their human needs especially for Bella, what if she needed a hospital? And we were out of those places for a few more years. Sure, we could go to a new place… maybe Europe but that would only take more time to make the proper preparations.

And honestly, I didn't want to run. I wanted her to come, so I could finally enjoy sinking my teeth around his neck and rip her head off. Right after I had slowly dismembered every part of her body. She would wish she had never even breathed the same air my angels did. Lizzie's horrified face still hunts me from when Victoria had chased us last year.

"We are staying then, but we need back up." I said resolutely.

"I'll call Carmen and Eleazar… I'm sure they wouldn't mind spending a few months with us. They can watch over Bella while you and Esme take Lizzie to school. She needs normalcy too."

I nodded in agreement.

I didn't feel comfortable having someone else watching over Bella but he was right. We couldn't put our lives on hold forever, we still had a role to play to keep up the facade. Other wise we would have the Volturi on our tail and they are already wary with our lifestyle. As long as we are careful, Lizzie doesn't have to stop doing what she loved, she could still go to school and her ballet lessons. She only had one shot at being a kid, and that shot was already small as it is with her accelerated growth.

"I'll call them, it's my family they'll be risking their lives for." I said.

"You know Bella is as part of this family as you are… I see her as my own daughter." He put his hand on my shoulder.

"I know, I didn't mean it like that I'm sorry. But she's my mate and Lizzie is our daughter, they are my responsibility."

He smiled proudly at me.

"I understand, son. I'll be downstairs if you need me, let me know when she wakes up."

When he was gone, I turned back to my Angel.

"I'm not going to let anything happen to you." I whispered before leaning down to kiss her forehead.

While Bella slept, I called Eleazar and told him what was happening. He agreed immediately to come to Alberta to discuss this further and I was surprised when Tanya and Kate announced they were coming too.

"What about Irina?" I asked Tanya.

"She is still upset, but… she'll come around. She's not coming though."

"I thought you were on her side."

"We are, but this is a different matter Edward. We love Lizzie too, and Bella is your mate. She's family too and we protect our family."

Suddenly, there was a shy knock on the door.

"Thank you Tanya, I really appreciate it." I let out a sigh "I have to go, send me your flight information. We'll pick you up."

"Sure, see you soon. Bye."

I hung up and looked up the door.

"Come in, my little angel."

Tentatively, Lizzie opened the door. She had a wide eye gaze, as if unsure of what she was doing. She was clutching her blankie close to her chest with her right fist and the door handle with the other.

I smiled at her and opened my arms to her in invitation and she immediately came running and jumped onto my lap.

"How's momma?" She touched my face, preferring to communicate with her gift. She did that when she was stressed or scared. It was her copping mechanism to protect herself.

I kissed her cheek.

"She is fine, just sleeping."

"Is she going to get sick again?" Her eyes filled with tears.

I didn't know the answer to that, so I gave her what she needed to calm down.

"Momma is going to be Ok, I promise."

"How do you know?"

"Because I won't let anything happen to her."

"Me neither." She said softly, I smiled at her questioningly and she opened her jacket pocket and produced a small crystal test tube and gave it to me. The smell of salt and something sweet took me back to that morning in Bella's cottage when she healed my wounds.

"Uncle Jacob gave it to me. He told me to make sure it's always full in case momma needs it." She whispered.

"I think uncle Jacob is a genius." I said, pocketing the tube with Lizzie's tears on my own jacket "Thank you, sweetie." I kissed her cheek again.

This might be better than the pills Carlisle gave her. I thought about it when Bella woke up with her headache, but since her own dropper got broken with the cottage and I wasn't sure how to make Lizzie cry without hurting her or stressing her about it I didn't even ask for her help. I should have known better.

But as I looked down at the tube, a new thought occurred to me.

"Lizzie, may I ask you something?"

She nodded.

"How many people know about this?" I asked, lifting the tube.

She shrugged.

"Not many, just you, momma, Seth, Jacob, Emily and Leah."

And my family, since they all noticed the day after that my back was back to normal and asked about it.

"Didn't the rest of the pack know?"

She shook her head.

"Momma said it was safer."

I nodded.

"And momma's right. It's a very great thing you can do with your gifts."

Great, powerful and dangerous in the wrong hands. She could heal vampires in seconds for god sakes!

Bella stirred once again, getting Lizzie and mine's attention. Lizzie crawled from my lap, onto Bella's bed and touched her cheek.

"Momma?"

Bella's eyes slowly fluttered open, giving our daughter a sleepy smile.

"Well, isn't this a sight to wake up to?"

I caressed her hair and she closed her eyes at my touch.

"How are you feeling?" I asked quietly not wanting make much noise.

"Better, it was just a migraine. The doctors warned me about them, it's normal."

Yeah, alright. Like that would be enough to stop my worries.

"Are you hungry?" I asked her.

"I could eat."

I turned to Lizzie.

"Sweetie, would you please get your momma something to eat? Ask nana to help you."

"Yes daddy!" After kissing both our cheeks Lizzie ran at lightning speed out of the room. "NANA! MOMMA'S HUNGRY! QUICK! WE GOTTA FEED HER!"

The entire house chuckled at her exuberance. Alice was definitely rubbing off on her.

"I feel like a dog." Bella chuckled tiredly, snuggling herself on her pillow but I was not amused.

"You fainted, Bella." I went back to the previous subject, "tell me how that is normal?"

She blushed.

"It's ok Edward. It has happened before." She blushed harder.

Why did she want to brush this off? And why was she blushing?

"When?"

"When you kissed me the first time, remember?"

I chuckled in spite of myself, remembering the day I first took her to the meadow. She had gotten dizzy after our run and had to sit on the ground for a few minutes and I took full advantage of her. Everything between us changed that day.

"It's not the same, love."

"Yes it is."

"God you are stubborn."

"Look," She sat up on the bed, mindful about her right hand and reclined on the headboard "I'm fine Edward. These past couple of weeks haven't been easy, of course my body would react in someway or another. There's too mush stress around with everything that happened with Laurent, Irina, the intruder and Victoria. Then, when I found your journals… and what happened later… it became too much for me to handle. But I'm fine now, I promise."

I took her hand in mine and kissed her knuckles.

"So it wasn't my kissing expertise?" I teased her, telling her the same line I dropped on her when she fainted the day I took her to meet my parents.

She smiled widely.

"A little bit of both."

I kissed the inside of her wrist.

"I'll still feel better if you let me take you to the hospital tomorrow morning for a scan. Just in case."

"Edward," She sighed patiently "I was cleared. Dr. Mason said I only had to do check ups every 6 months. Last one I had was right before I came here, I still have almost two months left."

"Angel, please." I begged.

…

…

She sighed.

"Fine, if it'll make you feel better we can go to the hospital while Lizzie is at school."

I moved to sit on the edge of the bed and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you." I brushed her hair away from her face. Threading my fingers through the soft, silky brown strands. It was getting shinier everyday with the tons of products Alice got her.

"Your hair is longer." I observed.

"I know," she smiled passing her fingers through it and twirling the ends. "It's a little curlier than it used to be, though."

"Well, you look beautiful." I said honestly. She was right, her hair wasn't as straight as it used to be but I kind of liked the new waves to it. It looked fuller and livelier, especially now that it reached past her shoulders.

"Thank you." She blushed "One girl at the hospital, Casey had been fighting lung cancer for five years, she told me she used to have straight hair but when they stopped the first chemos it grew back poodle like. She hated it." She wrinkled her nose.

I chuckled softly.

"Did she get used to it?"

Her smile faded.

"Well, she didn't have time. She died a few weeks after her lung transplant, her body rejected it."

I frowned at the sadness of her voice, and once again thanked whoever was up there for sparing my Bella.

"Were you close?" I traced my thumb over her knuckles.

"Kind of, you really don't get attached to anyone in those situations. Some don't really last long enough but we do support each other silently. Casey and I went to group therapy together, that's where we met. We also were always scheduled at the same time for our chemos, so we shared the recovery room. She was nice, only 19."

She smiled at me, her eyes watering.

"I'm sorry."

"It's Ok. She met Lizzie once you know? When she was still a toddler and could pass for my daughter Emily brought her to the hospital to see me. I think there's a picture of them in Lizzie's chest."

I took both of her hands in mine.

"You never told me about her."

"There are a lot of stuff you didn't tell me either." She looked down "Like spending every night outside the cottage." She gave me a pointed look and I stiffened.

"How-"

"Your journals."

Weird, I don't remember writing about that specifically.

"I'm sorry, I know I promised you space but… with Victoria out there I didn't want to leave you alone."

She waved me off.

"It's Ok, I understand. I do feel better knowing you where there all along but I do wish you had told me."

"And then you would have forced me to stay away."

She bit her lip, looking down.

"Yeah, probably."

…

…

"Angel, I need you to be honest with me here. Why can't you accept any of our help? You keep saying we make you feel less but… everyone in this house genuinely cares about you. We just want to make things easier for you."

Her chin quivered and tears fell down her cheeks. I moved to sit next to her on the bed and wrapped my arms around her.

"Meet me half way Bella, please. How can you trust me if you don't give me the chance?"

She nodded and wrapped her arms around my middle, burying her face in my chest.

…

…

"I think… I don't know, I-I've been taking care of myself for so long," She sniffled, "it gives me a sense of control."

"Control of what?"

"My life."

"I don't understand."

…

…

"When you left, everything changed…" She used her sleeve to dry her tears from her face. "I thought I knew what the future held for us, and suddenly it wasn't there anymore. Bad things kept happening after more bad things and I couldn't stop them."

I buried my face in her hair, I would never forgive myself for abandoning her like that. I was reckless, and stupid. I put her through so much more unnecessary danger and pain just because of my insanity.

"When Charlie died, it broke me," she continued, "and when I found out about Lizzie I learned that I couldn't depend on anyone anymore, I needed to be strong for her. I told myself that I couldn't keep waiting for you to come back. So I took control of my life again and didn't want anyone to interfere with it again. I couldn't stand any other let down." She finished in a small voice and I held her tighter.

Her words were like sharp knifes stabbing at my heart. I hated the pain I put her through and I wished I could go back in time to set things right, but I guess hindsight is 20/20.

"You weren't with us so I had to be strong and protect her from the dangers of both of our worlds on my own, she couldn't see me crumble. I had to be in check all the time. I couldn't cry in front of her, I couldn't show weakness. I think I made a habit out of it and I felt like I should be the one in charge all the time, to prove myself that I was worthy."

"You are worthy Bella, don't you ever think different." I covered my face in shame with my left hand. "Everything was my fault… I was an idiot, I shouldn't have left. If I had stayed none of this would have happened."

"I think…" She pulled my hand away "we both had made mistakes along the way. I'm not a saint either in this mess, yeah you started it but I continued with it. I am stubborn, and… I didn't wanna see what was right in front of me. I don't think I can forgive you yet for how you left, it has been so many years of resentment and pain but… now that I know the truth, I think we can finally start to move on."

I nodded.

"You have no idea how much that means to me. I know I wronged you, and I know I have my work cut out for me, it'll take a long time for me to erase all those years of pain but I love you Bella, and I don't want to ever be with anyone else so I'm all in for this. But I need you to want this too, Angel. I told you once I'm not a superhero... I can't fight my battles on my own. I need you too."

"I know. I think a big part of my mistakes was putting you in this pedestal… I thought you could do no wrong. But even if you don't agree with me, you are still human… you are allowed to make mistakes and I'd be a hypocrite if I held them against you forever. I just need time Edward, to make sense of all this. To take a step back and look back at those years with a different light."

"I've been waiting an eternity for you, Angel. I think I can wait a little longer."

She smiled at me, her eyes watering again.

"Thank you." She said through her tears.

"I love you." I said and she only nodded before laying her head on my chest again.

Even though it hurt a little that she wouldn't say it back, I still counted my blessings. I knew she needed time, so I wouldn't pressure her. I've been waiting so long for this chance I didn't want to screw it by being impatient.

So for now, I was just content to have her in my arms. Telling her I loved her without receiving an eye roll or scoff from her part. Caressing her hair and hearing her hum in response… the small kisses to her hairline, her fingers entwined with mine. Those little blessings were a milestone after months of rejection and harsh words.

The door to Bella's room burst open then.

"Momma, nana says-" She stopped mid sentence as soon as she saw us. A million of different emotions crossed her face, and I saw the beginning of tears fill her eyes.

I opened my arms for her, and she immediately jumped into bed between us. Crying into her mother's neck.

"It's Ok, baby." Bella crooned, her own eyes filling with tears.

I kissed them away.

"I love you, Angel."

She smiled up at me.

"I know."

-SLA-

"Edward?" I tried again.

Nothing.

Dread started to set in my bones. Where was he? This wasn't like him. I looked around alarmed calling his name again, but winced again at the pain on my lower back. I looked down and moved the sheets away, gasping at what I saw. Bruises and blood, bruises everywhere and blood around my lower area. I panicked and jumped -figuratively since I could barely move without pain- to the bathroom, turning on the shower and cleaning away the traces of my innocence.

Maybe that's why he left? Maybe the smell was too strong for him. Yeah, that must be it. He must have left so he wouldn't have to wake me up to clean myself.

He'll be back soon, it's only dawn. He'll be back before we have to go to school.

Right?

Phew!

So, what do you think? What should the Cullens do? What's wrong with Bella? Do you think Irina will come around soon?

As I said before, Next chapter is already half done, so expect it sooner than you think! Also I'l looking for a betta for the this and next couple of chapters!

¡Saludos!

Tammy