Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story; i just make them do what I want :) A/N: This is the last chapter of the actual story. Next chapter will be a short epilogue.

Last Chapter:

Edward leaned down and whispered against my ear, "I think…

I just can't stop nooooo
I just can't stop nooooo

"No. I know…I'm falling in love with you."

If the room wasn't spinning before it was now.

"Edward I…" I was starting to feel sick.

"Hey, you don't look so good." He said as he leaned back just enough to get a good look at my face.

Edward kept one arm wrapped around my shoulders, and helped me to sit down on the edge of the concrete patio. Once I was securely seated he sat down next to me. "Did you drive here?" he asked.

"No I came with Rose, she drove." I responded weakly.

"I'll find her." He said as he stood up.

"Edward wait!" I panicked, "I never got…I never got to tell you I love you."

"I know you do." He smiled. "I promise I will be back." He stroked my hair once before he went back into the house.

He's coming back.

I pulled my legs to my chest and wrapped my arms around them. Tonight was arguably one of the single worst nights of my existence, until 5 minutes ago.

5 minutes ago Edward said he loved me.

He loves me. And I love him… maybe, after tonight, he would be able to forgive me…

A wave of nausea rolled through my body before I had a chance to explore my thoughts any further.

I shut my eyes and rested my head on my knees.

That seemed to help a little with the dizziness, but my head was throbbing and stomach continued to flip.

I knew what was coming next. The last thing I wanted was to end the night lying face down in the lawn in a pile of vomit.

No, I recalled there being a bathroom in the hall near the kitchen. It'd taken Edward less than two minutes to drag me from there to the back patio where I was now. It couldn't be too far away.

I needed to get back inside.

I rolled on my knees, took a deep breath, and used all my strength to push off the ground, climb to my feet, and stumble towards the house.

The jerkiness of the movements didn't help my stomach. I ground my teeth together and threw open the sliding glass door.

The door opened to bedroom. To my left, and less than three feet away from where I stood was a bathroom. On the other side of the room directly across from me was a door that led to the rest of the house.

All the lights were off and this room was vacant. I got the feeling that this room was off limits. For a second, I thought that maybe I would be able to make it out the door and into the hall bathroom.

I was wrong.

I clamped my hand over my mouth, bolted into the bathroom and slung the door shut behind me, not even bothering to turn on the light, and fell to my knees in front of the toilet.

The throbbing inside my head became more painful and pronounced the longer I stayed convulsing in front of the toilet. When I couldn't stand it anymore, I ripped the rubber band out of my hair, and used my fingers to rake out all the bobby pins.

The whole process of throwing up left me physically drained. When I was done, I closed the lid on the toilet and rested my head against the cool white porcelain. I was too tired to get up, too tired to move. My eyelids were heavy and it became harder and harder to hold on to consciousness…

"Bella!"

Hmm.

I was on the cusp of falling asleep. I should have opened my eyes, or called out, or responded in some kind of way, but I couldn't.

I couldn't do make my body do anything but lay there. I needed to sleep.

"Bella are you in there?"

Go away!

The door clicked open.

The light turned on.

.

"So this is where you've been hiding."

I wasn't as concerned as I should have been that someone entered the bathroom with me. I knew this voice. It was familiar to me and not one that could be ignored.

"Rosalie?" I groaned.

"Yes, it's me…wow Bella, have a little too much to drink tonight?"

I couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. I wasn't interested enough in what she was saying to care.

"Bella look at me." She said. Her voice sounded much closer than it was a second ago. I forced myself to open my eyes. Rosalie was kneeling beside me.

"Why didn't you just stay outside? Edward has been going crazy looking for you, and he's been driving me crazy," She laughed, "So I figured I better find you fast. I'm going to let him know you're in here so he can drive you home."

"Edward is taking me home?" I questioned groggily.

My mind was in a haze and all my memories of the night were starting to blur into one, but one thing I was certain of was that Edward was coming back. The reason he left at all was to find Rosalie—Rosalie was supposed to take me home.

"Yeah, I know we came here together," Rosalie said, "but I can't take you home right now. I'm meeting up with some people at Nico's (24 hour Mexican food restaurant in Tucson) and I have to get going. Emmett has already left."

"Why?" I whispered as the reality of what Rosalie was trying to say finally hit me. After everything she said about me being her friend she was abandoning me…again, for Emmett…again!

"I can't. I would invite you Bella but you're too sick to tag along. You need to go home and go to bed. Besides, I didn't think you would have a problem with Edward driving you home."

"I don't." I responded, the weakness of my voice hiding how truly angry I was.

I didn't care that she made other plans, in fact, I pretty much expected her to. I was livid because I let her trick me into thinking that she cared about me. I thought, after our talk earlier this evening, something in her had changed. I convinced myself that dragging me to this party was Rosalie's way of showing me that she was going to start being more considerate of "the only person who was there for her."

I was a fool.

Nothing had changed.

Rosalie was just as egocentric as always.

It would have taken her all of 20 minutes to drop me off at the dorm and she couldn't even give me that.

Rosalie rose to her feet and said, "Well come on out so Edward can stop worrying about you."

She held her hand out to me, but I didn't take it. I pushed myself away from the toilet and fell back against the wall.

I rubbed my hand across my face. My skin was clammy. Clumps of wet hair stuck to the side of my face where I had been laying on the toilet.

"I look awful." I said hoarsely, "I feel awful. And no, I don't have a problem with Edward taking me home; but you…after all the times I took care of you when you were worse off than I am now, and you can't even give me one night?"

Rosalie's whole demeanor changed from impatiently helpful to angry and defensive.

"It's always about you isn't it?!" She scowled as she crossed her arms in front of her chest, "How many times have I stood up for you when you were too afraid to do it yourself?"

I opened my mouth to speak but no sound came out. I couldn't answer her, because the answer to her question was one, that in my anger, I would never admit.

Rosalie stood up for me a lot. Any time I got asked to do something I didn't want to do but couldn't say no. Every time we went out to eat and I got cheated out of the correct amount of change or they messed up my order. Even with Edward I expected Rosalie to jump in and tell him the truth when I was too afraid to.

The reality was that anytime we were together I relied on her assertiveness to do what I wouldn't do for myself.

"I can guarantee you it's a hell of a lot more times than I've been drunk." She continued. "The world doesn't stop just because you're having a bad night. "I am not going to put my life on hold just because you decided to get wasted."

"Fine. Forget I said anything." I whispered.

"No! At least I can admit when I'm being selfish, but you always act like you're so innocent. You're always the victim so people will feel sorry for you and feel obligated to help you."

I vigorously shook my head back and forth.

She's wrong.

I'm not like her.

She's wrong.

"Or maybe it's not and act. Maybe you really don't have a clue. Tonight was supposed to be about us, finally bonding, finally doing something as friends… but I didn't even have time to blink before you bailed on me and ran after Edward. There is no doubt in my mind that if the situation were reversed you wouldn't think twice about pawning me off on Emmett. I care about Emmett just as much as you care about Edward and I will not let you make me feel guilty for spending time with him!"

She slipped out of the bathroom and closed the door before I could say anything else.

I sat on the bathroom floor, stunned and brought close to tears by Rosalie's words.

Rosalie and I had worse fights, but this one hurt the most, because as much as I wanted to deny it, the words she said had a ring of truth to them.

I had been selfish.

I deluded myself into thinking it was Rose who ditched me tonight, but I ran off first, and didn't give Rosalie a second thought until I needed her again.

I'd come to expect that Rosalie would stand up for me, and now that I thought about it, I got angry at her the few times that she didn't.

She wasn't wrong in assuming that I would stick her with Emmett if Edward had been the one to invite me out after the party either.

I probably wouldn't have even put in the effort to look for her the way she had me.

I was so disappointed in myself.

This was not the person I want to be.

I heard the door outside the bathroom slam shut. Either Rosalie just left or Edward had just come in. I assumed the later.

I pulled myself off the bathroom floor. My head was still throbbing. My muscles still felt week, and my memories of this evening were already becoming hazy.

I replayed my conversation with Rosalie over and over again in my head as I walked over to the sink and scrubbed my face in cold water.

I didn't want to forget this. I had been extremely unfair to Rosalie and I needed to set things right between us.

I stepped out of the bathroom when my face was clean and I felt I would at least be able to recall why I needed to apologize to Rosalie in the morning.

"Oh…" I gasped.

I expected Edward would be waiting for me in the bedroom so I was fairly taken aback to see James sitting on the edge of the bed.

"H-hey James." I stammered. I was feeling claustrophobic, being closed up in the room with James. I needed to get out, find Edward, and go home.

Instead of starting up a conversation, I James a week smile as I walked past him on my way to the door.

Before my mind could process what was happening, James hopped of the bed and moved in front of me to block the exit.

"You leaving?" He asked. His words were drawn out, slurred.

"Yeah, I'm not feeling too hot." I responded, and then tried to step around him so I could open the door and get out.

James moved at the same time as I did, preventing me from getting past him.

I tried to go around him a second time. James blocked me again.

This was starting to get very annoying, very fast.

"Come on James, I need to go, my ride is waiting for me." I stated, not even try to hold back the frustration in my voice.

"You still owe me that dance." He said as his eyes roamed over my body.

"Another time huh?" I responded.

I waited for James to move out of the way.

He didn't budge.

I scowled at him then turned around and marched towards the sliding glass door I'd used to first enter the room.

James dashed around and stood in front of me again.

"Leave me alone." I groaned.

I was hot and tired and my patience was running out, so I pushed him.

If I'd tried this on any other night, I wouldn't have been able to move James at all. He was heavier and stronger than I was.

But tonight he'd been drinking, so when I pushed him, he stumbled backwards.

I turned around and bolted for the other door.

I wasn't fast enough.

James grabbed my wrist and used my arm as leverage to yank me back. I crashed against his chest. Before I could move James wrapped both his arms around my waist and held me against him. The smell of his cologne mixed with the scent of alcohol that lingered on his breath made me feel sick all over again.

"You don't want to dance with me?" He persisted.

"No I don't want to dance with you!" I responded angrily while I struggled to get out of his grasp.

Before this moment, I would have never thought James would do anything to harm me. He was my friend tonight when I felt alone and needed someone to be there for me. We were drinking buddies, and we even had a class together. As grabbed the back of my neck with one of his hands and leaned in to kiss me, I knew I had been wrong to think him so innocent.

I turned my head to the side before his lips could reach mine.

I wished Edward were here. I hoped he would come charging through the door and pull James off of me. Rosalie said she would tell Edward I was here, but she was angry when she left, and I wouldn't be surprised if she decided that telling Edward where to find me wasn't worth her time.

If Edward hadn't come for me by now I doubted that he would.

I was alone with James and I was on my own.

"James," I tried reasoning with him, "you're drunk. Just let me go!"

Instead of complying with my request, he tried to kiss me again.

"James! No!" I gasped as I tilted my head down.

"You didn't say no to him." James responded. His voice was low, menacing and laced with implications.

I couldn't imagine the things that were going through James' head and I didn't want to stick around to find out.

I fought against him with every ounce of strength I had.

While we struggled, I managed to wedge my hands between my chest and his. I pushed against him hoping I could throw him off balance again.

His hand lost its grip on my neck, allowing me free movement of my upper body. I screamed. I slapped him. I clawed at his face and neck.

James grabbed onto my shoulder in attempt to regain the control he had over my limbs. I pulled away from him and he ripped the front of my dress.

I was almost free. James reached around to grab me again, but this time I didn't let him.

I jammed my index and fore fingers into his eye and scratched my nails down his face.

He cried out, and covered his face with his hands. In his agony, he stumbled away from me.

I ran to the door and fumbled with the handle until I got it open.

I ran out of the room, eager to put as much distance as possible between myself and James. I got peculiar looks everyone I passed, but I didn't stop running until I was certain that James wasn't following me.

I needed to find Edward.

I pushed my hair away from my face and glanced around.

I didn't even know where to begin looking for him.

Fortunately I didn't have to.

Edward found me.

"Bella!" I heard his voice call out to me.

As soon as I looked up, Edward had me wrapped in his arms. He hugged me tight against his chest. I leaned against him, feeling exhausted and finally safe.

"I missed you." I cried.

"I was so worried." He said, and then planted kisses all over my face.

He stopped when he reached my cheeks.

They were wet. I'd been crying, though I couldn't remember when the tears started.

"Where were you? I was so scared." I whispered.

"Me too." He said, "When Rosalie said she hadn't seen you, I thought you might have decided to walk home on your own, so I drove around looking for you. When I realized I'd gone farther than you could have possibly gotten by walking, I came back to search the house — Hey, are you okay? You're shaking."

Edward took a step back and the first time since we were reunited he really looked at me. His eyes narrowed into dark slits and his face hardened when his gaze fell upon my torn dress.

"Where is he!" He demanded in a cold menacing voice that sent chills down my spine.

He didn't wait for an answer.

He nearly knocked me down as he tried to charge past me.

"Edward No!" I held on to his arm for dear life and shook my head back and forth.

I hated James for what he did and deep down inside I wanted him to suffer for what he did to me, but I didn't want anyone else to get hurt tonight, least of all Edward.

"Please don't leave me again," I begged, "I just want to forget about him…please just take me home. I just want to go home."

Edward glowered at me, his jaw set, his muscles tense. I didn't know if he heard me. I was positive that any second, he would shake me off his arm and hunt down James.

But then somehow, he managed to pull back from all the rage that was boiling beneath his veins. His expression softened, his muscles relaxed.

"Okay." He said, "I'll take you home."

I didn't remember much after that; falling asleep in Edward's car, Edward carrying me to my room, changing out of my dress, and finally Edward tucking me into bed.

I opened my eyes and was met with the harsh afternoon sunlight.

Oww.

I had a massive headache that wouldn't go away.

Now that I was sober, I could feel every aching bone in my body.

"Uggh I'm never going to drink again." I murmured to myself as I rolled away from the sunlight.

"You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that."

I jolted up in bed and my eyes flew open.

Sitting on the edge of my bed, less than two feet away from me was Edward. Once I got over the initial shock of seeing him, I kicked the blankets off my legs and fling self into his arms.

I squeezed my arms around his neck and pressed my face against his.

"What are you doing here?" I cried.

"You had a pretty rough night." He explained as he enveloped me in a hug, "You didn't want to be alone, so I stayed with you to make sure you were okay."

"Thank you." I said.

I would have stayed there in his arms as long as he would have allowed it, but I had a hangover that wouldn't be ignored. Reluctantly, I pulled away from Edward, and climbed out of bed.

I grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini refrigerator next to my desk and excused myself from Edward before going in the bathroom to grab a couple of aspirin out of the medicine cabinet.

Since I was already in the bathroom, I decided I should clean myself up a little bit.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I glanced in the mirror as I set my tooth brush down on the sink and that's when I saw the bruises on my neck.

I turned my head from side to side to get a better view of the big purplish bruises. The longer I stared at the bruises the more I started to worry because I couldn't remember how I got them.

"How are you feeling?" Edward asked when I came out of the bathroom.

"Okay… I think—" Other than not being able to remember why I'm covered in bruises. "Hey what happened to your eye?"

There was small cut above his eye that hadn't been there before. I rushed over to Edward and lightly touched my fingers to his face. The skin beneath his eye was slightly swollen.

He gently pulled my hand away from his face and held it in his. His knuckles were swollen as well, and bruised.

"Did you get in a fight?" I asked.

Edward turned my arm over so I could see the bruises on my wrist. I gasped. Then he slid his fingers underneath the bottom of my shirt and touched places on my ribs that felt raw and sore. More bruises I thought.

"I know you didn't want me to, but after I saw this… I had to go back and find him. I didn't have a choice really. I couldn't let James get away with hurting you."

James! The boy from my class did this? I thought he was alright, a little annoying but innocent enough. I racked my brain trying to find some clue to tell me what happened between us that would make him want to do this to me.

I looked at my arm again. I thought I remembered James grabbing it but couldn't remember what happened after. What happened before?

I got in a fight, with Rosalie (a fight which I needed to apologize for later). She walked out on me, then somehow, I was in the room with James, he wouldn't let me leave. I shivered at the memory.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked as he pulled me onto his lap. I could hear the anxiety creeping into his voice.

"Edward what happened last night?"

"I don't know." He responded sadly. "You didn't want to talk about what happened. After I got you in the car you just cried until you fell asleep."

"And then sometime after I fell asleep, you saw my bruises and you drove back to the party to beat up James?"

"Five minutes after you fell asleep." He corrected, "I reached across the seat to put on your seatbelt and as I was buckling you in I saw what he did to your arm. He's damn lucky I didn't see the rest of his damage until after I got you home."

I thought about everything I'd just learned from Edward. There was on thing that didn't quite make sense.

"Why did you help me? I acted like an idiot. I don't think I was very nice to you last night either, and I thought…I thought you were mad at me?"

"I was…but last night put a lot of things in perspective for me. I realized after last night what was important to me. I love you Bella, and I don't want to lose you again."

"Edward," I started, my voice barley about a whisper, "It really happened didn't it? I danced in your arms and you— you really meant all those things you said?"

"Every word."

"What about you and Tanya?" I asked.

"There is no me and Tanya." He declared then he explained how he ended up at the party in the first place. He went for a drive to clear his head because he couldn't stop thinking about me. He didn't realize where he was going until he ended up at Sharon's house.

He wasn't going to stay, but when he weighed being in a room full of drunken strangers against going back home and back to being miserable. He opted for the lesser of the two evils and decided to join the party.

As soon as he stepped inside the house, he regretted it. He thought (hoped) he might run into me, but aside from myself and Rosalie. He didn't expect to see anyone he knew.

Imagine his surprise when he saw Tanya and her group of friends chatting in the living room less than two feet away from him. He turned to leave, but he was too late. Tanya had already spotted him.

"Oh my gosh Edward! It's been so long!" She said, and then dragged him into senseless small talk about the weather, academics, and their few mutual acquaintances.

When she asked him how he was, he was honest. He told her about our break-up and how deeply it affected him. Tanya, according to Edward, had always been a touchy feely type person. When she found out about Edward breaking up with me, she kicked it up a notch.

She felt the need to play the sympathetic ex-girl friend and comfort Edward at every chance she got. She followed him around, hugged him, asked him if he was okay every 30 seconds, and gave him little pecks here and there.

He didn't think anything of it. He was so absorbed by his thoughts that he hardly even registered her presence.

"If I was in my right mind, I would have seen what she was really doing." He didn't realize how "friendly" she had gotten with him until I yelled at him about being superficial and stormed away.

He scolded Tanya for giving everyone the "wrong idea" about them and the rushed to find me so he could explain what happened.

"I never wanted to hurt you Bella." He continued. "I spent the whole night trying to talk to you and trying to make it up to you, but you were so stubborn. Then I thought you would be happy if I let you have your way, so I tried to back off. I tried to think of you as just another girl, but I couldn't, because you weren't just a girl, you were my girl and as soon as I realized that, I knew I was wrong to push you away. I knew I had to fight for you."

By the time he finished his story I was crying, happy tears this time.

"I love you so much." I said, smiling through my tears. "I never meant to hurt you either."

"I know." He said as he kissed my tears away.

"So are we even now?" I asked.

"Even?"

"Yeah…can we forget about all the bad stuff and just start over?"

"Is that what you want?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Okay." He agreed. Then he pulled my face down to his and softly pressed his lips against mine. This kiss was sweet and gentle and everything it should have been. It was the first kiss between Edward and Bella, a couple in love.

A/N: Let me know what you think, please R&R.