Mandatory Disclaimer: Twilight is not mine. Blah, Blah, Blah. It belongs to Stephanie Meyer. Blah, Blah, Blah. I do not intend any copyright infringements. Blah, Blah, Blah.

So, I wanted to get this out to you guys since I have been so bad about posting. This is a EPOV from the past. It will begin to give you some insight. I will be working on a present POV from him as well and that will post next week since I will be on vacation from work, because vacation from home never happens. :-(

I love the feedback so keep it coming. Thanks so much for reading. Remember these are all my mistakes and errors, so be gentle.

Chapter 9

Part 1

EPOV

"A star falls from the sky and into your hands. Then it seeps through your veins and swims inside your blood and becomes every part of you. And then you have to put it back into the sky. And it's the most painful thing you'll ever have to do and that you've ever done. But what's yours is yours. Whether it's up in the sky or here in your hands. And one day, it'll fall from the sky and hit you in the head real hard and that time, you won't have to put it back in the sky again."

― C. JoyBell C.

The Past

I love the way being home feels. There is no place that I feel more safe or loved than when I am in the house I grew up in. I think I am lucky. My parents have been married for more than 20 years. I am not sure the exact number, but I know that it is one more than my age.

They are "in love with each other, an all consuming bubble of butterflies and heart flutters" my mom once told me when I experienced my first break up with Jessica Stanley during my senior year of high school. Jessica and I had been dating for two and half years. At the time I was convinced that I was in love with her and when she broke up with me for Mike Newton, I was devastated. Looking back I know she was my first love, but Jessica Stanely was not my true love. That title belonged to the brown eyed beauty who stole my heart just a few months ago, Bella Swan.

I walk through the back door that leads to the kitchen. Seeing the plate of cookies that always is on the counter when I am expected to come home for the weekend I smile and snag two. One in my mouth and the other in my hand. My duffle bag full of dirty clothes has been tossed and forgotten on the floor near the laundry room door.

Following my way through the kitchen I begin to hear voices from the formal living room. It sounds like my parents have company and although it is not unheard of it still is strange because they were expecting me this weekend.

With my mouth stuffed with the second cookie I peek my head into the entryway.

Sitting on the couch was Ashley Dowling in between her parents, Camille and Richard Dowling, long time friends of my parents. Mom and Dad were seated in the pair of chairs across from them. The topic of conversation must of been tense because no one had heard me enter the house or walk into the room.

"Edward, you're home already," my mother said glancing at her watch. The Dowlings shifted nervously on the couch. I looked at Ashley and it was obvious she had been crying. Her eyes red rimmed and swollen, a tissue was in her hand that was placed in her lap.

"I can't believe you didn't hear me come in. My laundry bag must weigh 50 pounds," I said with a chuckle.

My father stood up and motioned for me to sit in the chair he had been in.

"Sit down Edward. Ashley has something she needs to tell you," his voice sounded different, strained and not as light as it usually was when I came home to visit.

I listened to my father and sat down in the chair feeling like a kid waiting to go into the principal's office for doing something bad. I looked to my mother, her eyes were windows and I saw a storm coming. She reached over and patted my knee.

"What is going on here?" my voice nervous. My mind raced trying to explain what was going on.

Ashley didn't look any better. Shifting nervously between her parents she finally stood up.

Her oversized shirt fell against her body in a way that accentuated the small bump that protruded from her midsection.

"Edward. I am pregnant and it's your baby," she whispered just loud enough for me to hear her. My heart began to beat manically and my head became woozy.

Pregnant. Pregnant. Pregnant. My baby. Mine. How? How? I know how you get pregnant, but how is she pregnant and why is she telling me.

Shit. Fucking Shit. Spring Break. Motherfucker. Shit. FUCK. FUCK.

I tried to form words but my mouth was not working. My jaw was slack, hung and I was sure that I possibly suffered a stroke the moment those words fell from her lips.

"No. No. No," I muttered to myself.

Ashley and I "hooked up" a few times after Jessica. We always kept it casual both not wanting the seriousness of a relationship. It was by accident that I ran into her at the airport in Cancun. I am guessing that was not the only accident that happened that week.

We had just got off the flight and decided to get a celebratory drink at the airport before boarding the van that would take us to our hotel for a week of partying and sun. I was pulling my wallet out from my back pocket when I bumped into someone. When I looked up it was Ashley. Immediately pulling her in for a hug I was surprised to see her since it had been a while since she went off to the East Coast for school.

We exchanged phone numbers and promised to meet up sometime during the week. We did. Many times. In my room. Her room. In a hammock on the beach. In the ocean. Oh yeah, also in a nasty bathroom in a club downtown.

Ashley walked over to me and kneeled in between my legs. Her eyes captured mine and she nodded her head.

"I am sorry. I am so sorry. I couldn't live with myself if I didn't keep the baby. I know how you feel about relationships and I know you are not ready for a family, but neither am I. This happened and I need you to be there for us," she said. In that moment she seemed so grown up trying to comfort me while trying to convince me that this was real. We were going to be parents.

I pulled her into my arms and cried. When I finally calmed down I also noticed she was crying, but our grips on each other had not lessened. We clung to each other as if our life depended on it and maybe it did.

When I pulled myself from her arms the first thought I had was of Bella, my angel back at the dorms and how she was expecting me to call any minute now. I looked around and saw both of our parents watching us. I couldn't excuse myself from this conversation to call her. I would have to try her later, but then I realized that I would have to tell her what happened.

My father was the first to speak, "Edward, I think it is time we all sit down and discuss a few things."

I nodded, stood up and followed our families into the dining room where we began to talk about everything that was expected of Ashely and I. The first item on the "agenda" was our parents expectation of marriage.