I don't own Twilight. I do own lots and lots of dryer lint. Please send me a message if you are a collector, I will ship overseas.

Chapter 26

"Let go of me!" Bella pushed at Edward, struggling to get out of his hold. He let go of her and moved back as far as he could go.

"Shit, every time something doesn't go the way you want, you don't have to manhandle me. I'm just mad. And sad. And relieved. It's just one tear, it doesn't mean I need a hug, Edward. Don't you know anything about women?"

"I think that it is fairly obvious that I have no idea, isn't it?" He answered, ruefully.

Bella giggled slightly against her will. He had that little boy look again. The look that made it very hard to be mad at him.

"Thank you for apologizing. I needed to hear that, as painful as it was to be reminded. I'm pissed that you eavesdropped on my conversation with Tyler but at least you learned something. Maybe it was the best way, though. I mean there was no way I could tell you myself how I felt and what I went through. And really, you wouldn't have taken the time to listen to me if I had tried."

"That's true. My head has been too far up my own ass for a long time, or so I've been told recently. Thank you for letting me apologize."

"I wasn't given a choice. I'm kind of trapped here."

"I'm sorry."

"You need to stop now. You've cleared the air and said your piece. Let's just get back on the road and leave it alone." Bella's early morning was catching up with her. She just wanted to get to Alice's, find out what she had to do for the next few days and sleep. She wanted to bury the whole Edward thing and move on.

Edward wanted to talk more. He wanted to spill everything to her. He wanted her absolution and forgiveness. He wanted her to see him in a different light so that maybe they could change the nature of their relationship. He wanted to get more comfortable in the back seat of his dad's car and show her just how much he changed over the years.

Instead he restarted the car and continued the drive back home. He waited as long as he possibly could, which was about seven minutes, before bringing it up again.

"Would you be willing to forgive me, Bella? You never said. I'd really like to be on better terms with you."

"I can forgive you, I do forgive you for most of what happened. It's the past, it's over, and it won't happen again. But I don't know what you want now. I don't know what you mean by better terms. I don't know what I want from you or if I want anything at all. Just give me some time to think, please Edward. Alice woke me up really early this morning, I'm tired and stressed thinking about helping your mother. Can we talk later, much later?"

"I can do that. Thank you, Bella."

Bella felt relieved. Edward felt dejected.

They drove in relative silence for most of the rest of the journey. Edward's ipod playing in the background was the only noise. Bella dosed for a while, dreamlessly, her head resting on the window. Edward ran through the conversation they had had, over and over again. He tried to think of different ways he could apologize to her, things he should have said, things he shouldn't have said. He came to the realization that his brain and his mouth were not properly connected.

Just outside of the city he woke her up, just in case she needed anything before they got to his home. When she asked for a coffee he stopped at the closest place. Bella insisted on paying and, against his better judgement and masculine pride, he accepted the offer. He texted his mother that they would be arriving soon.

They arrived at the stately Cullen home by late afternoon. Esme was pacing on the porch waiting for them. She all but ran down the stairs when they pulled up.

Bella was her salvation.

Alice was a danger in the kitchen. She would flit from job to job, never finishing anything, letting pots boil over or scorch. Carlisle, while a gifted doctor and surgeon, when given a paring knife, was a danger only to himself. The man could cut a finger off while handling cream cheese. Edward needed constant reassurance that what he was doing was exactly right and Esme wouldn't be able to get any work done herself.

Bella, she knew Bella was an instinctive cook. They had worked together in the past and Esme remembered it, that it was like dancing. Bella could anticipate what Esme needed even when Esme couldn't find the right words. The menu wasn't huge, the guest list was modest and it was well known that it was home cooking not professional catering, but Esme was a perfectionist and wanted to serve only the best. That was the main reason for her panic and relief. That and she really wanted to show up that snot-nosed cow Eleanor, who was committee chairwoman last year and who had voted against Esme's in house catering idea.

After a bone-crushing hug from Esme, Bella grabbed her bags and turned to speak to Edward.

"Thank you for coming to get me and driving me up. Thank you also for the heather, it makes the whole house smell wonderful. I kind of liked getting the notes in my locker but, to be honest, the ones at my home were a little creepy. Sweet but borderline stalkerish. When you're ready, you can tell me what you really want, okay? In person this time though. No more notes." She left him standing outside beside his father's car.

It took three minutes of him standing in the cold before a single coherent though made it's way to his brain.

"She knows."

AN: If you are reading this and your name is Eleanor, I mean no offence. There are many lovely Eleanors, some in my own family. I just needed a formal type name. I was going to use Frances but then I thought of Sunflower Fran and couldn't do it. So, please don't kill me for my name choice. You can kill me for other things though, grammar, syntax, spelling, or unresolved chapter endings. I'll make sure to post my real address so you can find me...next chapter.

Also, I am in need of a beta for a special project. Would anyone be interested? Anyone who doesn't want to kill me.