CHAPTER FOUR

Edward woke suddenly to the sound of his alarm. He reached across the bed to tap the screen of his phone, making the revolting sound silence, then pressed the same hand against his eyes. Sitting up, he stretched his arms up over his head, then swung his legs over the side of the bed. 5:30. Edward thought. Every single day. It was almost torture to follow his routine. He went to brush his teeth, then scrolled through his laptop to see if he had received any emails while his coffee brewed. It was a plain life he lived, but Edward was more than happy to live it after he left Sacramento. One would expect the capital of a state to be very populated, but Sacramento was nothing in comparison to cities such as Los Angeles. That didn't stop the crime, though.

When Bella asked Edward why he didn't want to work in the family business, he gave her some crappy speech about finding his own path, but in the root of it all, Edward didn't want to be associated with the Mob that his father ran out of the state. He was what one may refer to as a "boss", but their Mob didn't operate like the typical Italian-American Mafia that people heard about. The Cullens were more of a gang than anything, just a group of tightly knit people who would kill for their family, and had made plenty of enemies following that custom. When Edward had turned 18, his parents asked him about his initiation. He was already a part of the family, obviously, but in order to be initiated, he had to do some sort of secret ritual. Edward had asked for more time. He didn't want to work for his father, he wanted to be a doctor, and when his "time" had run out, that was exactly what he said.

As expected, Carlisle Cullen did not like that. They weren't custom to letting outsiders in or insiders out, but after a long discussion with his sweet wife, Esme, he decided that Edward taking up medicine could help them later on down the line. He told Edward that he was very disappointed in his decision, but he would still provide for his son. He gave him a month allowance to live off of while he completed his schooling and expected him to return home when called. Edward hadn't talked to his parents since. It was safer for both parties if they didn't know where he was.

When Edward met Bella, he knew he was never going back to California. He wouldn't dare putting Bella anywhere near that life. She grew up in the small town of Forks and didn't know much outside of it, save for Port Angeles and La Push. She had mentioned a field trip to Olympia when she was in high school, but as far as he knew, that was as far as Bella had seen. She only knew so much about him and he hated it, but it had to be that way. She could know his name, his occupation, and his real personality, nothing more about his family or background.

Since Bella had filed for divorce, her appearance in his apartment was sparse. She had only been over the previous night, but he had of course seen her daily, making it a part of his routine to sit with her at work. (He always made sure to pay for his "complimentary" milkshake to another waitress, making sure Bella hadn't seen.) His father gave him plenty of money monthly, probably assuming he would travel across the country and stay in a larger city like Chicago or Atlanta, so he could afford his own home or to get Bella out of her dad's house and into her own place, but knowing her, she wouldn't accept that.

He decided, looking at the clock that showed 7:30, that Bella would be up by now. It was her day off, but she was always an early waker. Good morning, girl. Want to hang out? Edward texted her.

She didn't text back for a few minutes, but when he did, Edward felt his heart face. Hey, boy. Maybe later, not feeling too well today.

Her response put a brow in Edward's brow. Bella always felt good. It was odd to him, especially because she hadn't been acting like herself too much lately. He sent her a thumbs up and requested that she just show up whenever, and continued with his day.

Bella laid in bed, pillow pressed against her chest. She knew something was off, but she had tried to ignore it. It had been a week since her expected period hadn't come, and Bella tried to shrug it off as stress, but a week had been too long for her to keep pushing it off. She had to know what was going on with her body today. She forced herself out of the house by 9 and drove all the way out of Forks. She couldn't risk anyone she knew seeing her buying a pregnancy test. Bella stopped at a small pharmacy off of the main road on the way to Port Angeles, then took the pregnancy test in their bathroom. She waited, pacing back and forth, washing her hands multiple times, doing anything she could to kill the three minutes that she had to wait.

When Bella got around to looking at the little plastic stick and the two pink lines that showed in the window, her knees gave out. She managed to situate herself to where she collapsed onto the toilet, and let her head fall into her hands. No! She thought to herself, feeling her heart break. Why, why, why? Bella began to question everything. Why did this happen to her, why did Jacob not let her be? Shit, Jacob! How was she going to tell him? How was she going to tell anyone? Feeling the stage of denial wash over her, Bella dropped the test back into the box and tossed that into the small trash bin that was beside the toilet. She smiled to the cashier as she walked out, then sped in her poor truck to the next convenience store she could find. There, she bought three more tests and took them all in their bathroom, only to come to the same conclusion as the first one. "Fuck," Bella meant to think, but ended up mumbling out loud. She collected the positive pregnancy tests and threw them all away, washed her hands, then numbly got into her car, letting her body take over so her mind could process what was going on.

Edward heard a soft knock at his door. It made him wonder if it was even his door, or if his neighbors had a loud guess. Just in case, he stood up and walked across his apartment to open his door. There, he saw Bella, standing with her jacket wrapped tightly around her and a green tint to her face.

"What's wrong?" Edward asked immediately, guiding Bella in by the small of her back.

"I'm pregnant." Bella replied without a beat. "I'm pregnant." She said again a moment after they had stared into one another's eyes, both in shock.

Edward obviously knew that it wasn't his, but he still took Bella into his arms and comforted her. "It's going to be okay, Bella," He whispered to her, his hand stroking her hair as he held her. "It's alright."

"I didn't want this." Bella whimpered into Edward's shoulder. She didn't hug him back, her body too rigid with shock to do anything, but she gladly accepted the comfort.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked. He held her still, feeling her body begin to tremble in his touch. Before she could let her legs fall out from under her, he led her to the couch and pulled a blanket around her narrow shoulders.

"Jacob!" Bella said, her gaze casting down to her lap. She had to tell Edward; he was the only person she felt comfortable talking to. "He did this, he made me."

The words made me threw Edward off. He furrowed his brow and leaned in slightly. "What does that mean?" He asked her quietly. She began to shake her head, tears streaming down her face, so Edward pulled her into his chest and rubbed her back. "It's okay, Bella. We're gonna get through this."

"Edward, this isn't something you have to do." Bella muttered, sniffling before and after she spoke. "This is my own problem."

"Well," Edward started, looking down at her. When she felt the movement of his head, Bella lifted her eyes up to meet his. "Maybe I want it to be my problem. You're my best friend, Bella, and the way I feel about you… I can't let you do this alone. No matter what you choose to do."

That made Bella think. What did she want to do? She could take the easy way out and get a quick abortion. That would cause a small amount of pain and a small price for some free time, but that wouldn't change anything else. She had still gotten raped by her ex-husband, gotten pregnant, and was in a world on confusion. Bella knew that she wanted kids, but she definitely didn't want kids as a 20-year-old divorcee. What if this was her only chance at kids? It was every mother's worry. Was she a mother? Would she be a mother?

Edward seemed to sense her mind running in circles, so he dipped his head down and placed a delicate kiss on her forehead. He wanted so badly to ask what she meant by He made me, but he figured it would be better to hold off until she had a clearer head.