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Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Edward or Bella... any of the characters, really... not even the dirt on the silver Volvo... but I like to play with them a little bit...

So, this is the beta-ed version... Thanks a million to MeteorOnAMoonlessNight for helping me with this story!

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Chapter 9: Inside information

BPOV

I watched as Edward started to fall asleep with a smile on my face. It was a crazy Saturday. At first, I had to convince Charlie that it was all homework that drove me here to the Cullen house. He was sure I was here on a date with Edward because I still had the rose drawing in my room. Whatever, Dad, it wasn't a date. Then I couldn't sleep well because I was so excited to come and work with Edward. He was so organized and original while working that it was perfect for my mess. Alice texted me the address and told me Edward was excited to see me. Yay!

I have to admit I was a little freaked out when he opened the door and I saw the oxygen machine on his little backpack and the cannula on his nose, but he assured me he was okay, so we went to work right away. After working for more than four hours without realizing it, and it's not like we had to deliver that project on Monday, we decided to take a break with Esme's awesome cookies and her incredible garden and I got to learn Edward and Alice's story. It was so sad that they lost their parents on Christmas Eve, and what made it worse was that Edward felt guilty for what happened. It was not his fault at all, it was just a horrible accident and he carried that guilt for years. It must be awful to feel that way and I swore to myself that I would find a way to make him realize that.

I'm forgetting to recall the most important part of it all! Then we kissed. It was like I imagined in my head and I imagined it a lot! He was sweet and his lips were so soft. It tasted like cookies and it was like a kaleidoscope went off behind my eyelids. It was perfect. Except that it ended too soon.

After he showed me the library—cue swoon—and his room and told me about Mike 'dick-on-a-stick' Newton, he started to get tired but didn't seem to care as long as I was there. I told Charlie that Esme invited me for dinner and that I would be home after that. He reminded me that my curfew was eleven sharp.

Dinner was a fun affair when Alice and Esme started to share stories about all of them as kids. But as we finished dinner Edward started to fall asleep, and Esme, with a smile, picked everything up and left us to go to the kitchen. I saw his eyes close and kissed his forehead and whispered, "Sweet dreams, sweetheart," and turned to leave when I caught Alice staring at us with a sad smile on her face.

"Did you know he practically had to beg Dad to let him get out of bed today?" she said, and I frowned.

"I didn't know it was that bad," I confessed while sitting beside her on the piano bench.

"Did he tell you the story?" I nodded "All of it?" I nodded again. She gaped. "Okay, he finally did it."

"Alice, he told me from his point of view. He also said you told him the story from when he was in the hospital."

She smiled sadly again. "Yeah, well. He told you about the fire and us trying to get Mom and Dad, right?" She looked down at her hand and didn't wait for an answer. "Well, when the roof collapsed, Edward told me to run outside and get help. I tried, I really did, but I passed out and woke up at the hospital with an oxygen mask on my face and a nurse telling me I should stay still while injecting me with some sedative. I remember looking around and seeing Edward lying limply on the bed next to mine and the doctors yelling that they were losing him." A tear fell on her hand and I hugged her. "I don't mean to sound sappy or like a bad drama show, but there's not a minute of my life that I haven't shared with Edward. Everything. The good and the bad. All of it. And all I could think at that moment was that I couldn't lose him."

"You didn't, Alice. He's here with us."

"Yeah, but I was close to losing him twice. First that night and then during surgery to repair his vocal cords and his throat. He coded and the doctors put him in a coma to let his body recover. He was like that for two weeks. He couldn't attend Mom and Dad's funeral, even if I'm glad he didn't. I wanted to sleep at the hospital but Esme always made me return to the hotel room they rented. But I was there first thing in the morning to talk to him like he could hear me." She looked at me then, her eyes full of tears. "When he came out of the coma, he was weak and he cried when we told him what happened. I still have the scar from the fire." She showed me her hand and it was marred with a scar. I shivered just to think how much that must have hurt.

"Alice, I have a question. Edward told me something and it doesn't quite add up… why does he think it was his fault? The whole fire?"

"Oh, he told you that, too. Well, the police officer that was in charge of the investigation told Carlisle that the fire started in the living room where there was a dead circuit and the whole electric system went haywire. Edward just heard about the lights and thought it was his fault. But honestly, it was a bomb waiting to explode. Still, he carries the guilt with him."

We saw him switch sides on the bed and Alice made motions for me to follow her. We went to a different door close to Edward's room and there was clearly an art studio with an amazing view of the Cullen's backyard and the river behind it. Alice moved to sit by the window but I wasn't done with the questions.

"Okay, so that solves the guilt issue. Alice, the health problem… it's serious, isn't it?" She looked at me and nodded slowly. "And he knows it?"

"He knows part of it. He doesn't want to hear the whole of it from Carlisle or any of the other doctors. It was bad right after the fire. For a couple of months, he couldn't breathe properly without oxygen. But it was getting better until he tried to do sports like six months ago. He passed out during PE and Coach Clapp called Carlisle. He was in the hospital for a week." I gasped and Alice looked at me. "Yeah, since then he gets these weird coughing spasms and sometimes they're so bad he passes out—like yesterday."

"So, it's getting worse," I mused out loud. Alice nodded.

"Carlisle is actually taking him to do some scans on Monday. It's probably nothing but he wants to make sure he's not going to need to stay in the hospital or anything like that." Alice got up and went to the side of the room where a small table was full with stacks of paper and picked one. She came to my side and stood in front of me. "I know Emmett will do this soon but I wanted to be the first one. He's all I have, he's my twin, the other part of my soul. I would be incomplete if he didn't exist. He cares about you, so please, don't hurt him. I don't want to see him blown to pieces again."

She showed me the piece of paper she had and it was a picture of me. Well, a drawing, more precisely. I was laughing in the cafeteria. It was so detailed, I was mesmerized.

"He wears his heart on his sleeve and paints a better world. The world he sees. Don't destroy that for him, Bella."

I don't plan to do that at all, Alice. I want him to show me his world… I want to be a part of that world.

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AN: So, hi. Here's the new chapter. I apologize again for not updating last week. I was a busy week and a shitty weekend so, yeah...
Hopefully, you guys enjoy this chapter and, as always, if you see any mistakes, let me know to fix them!
Have fun!
PD: I'm gonna ban all guest reviews just because...

AYEN!