There's a long summary at the bottom. Enjoy!

Chapter 4

Feels like home-

As I drove down the interstate, I started thinking to myself. I started thinking that this separation would lead to divorce, which would lead to a custody battle. I would have to remember to take pictures of my back, and write everything down as soon as I could, and then give them to Edward. It felt reassuring knowing that I had a lawyer on my side, and not just because I hired him. I wondered how much Alice had told the guys about my situation, she had seemed so serious on the phone, I really couldn't be sure. I doubted that she told them what was going on in detail though. I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask them what they know.

I was oddly nervous about my job. I knew a big part of that was because some stranger was going to be watching my child. I instinctively looked into my rearview mirror, and saw Connor cooing to himself and playing with his pacifier. I sighed. It had been a couple of days since we left, and I knew that Jacob would be looking for us by now. I hoped Alice was okay.

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The days were all blending together, consisting of driving all day, stopping only to eat, and when necessary, staying at a cheap hotel for the night, and leaving first thing in the morning. I was sick of driving, and so was Connor. The drive from Florida to Alaska is roughly 4800 miles. Approximately 96 hours of driving. I was driving roughly 8-10 hours a day. Which means I'd be driving for about 10 days. The thought itself was torture. We had been driving for eight days. We had crossed into Canada in Montana, and had been on the ALCan ever since we entered Alaska.

--

Finally, we were in Anchorage. I had received a phone call from Edward, telling me directions to the apartments a few hours earlier, and had no problem finding it. As I pulled up I talked to Connor.

"Connor, we're here, honey. We're at our new house. Daddy won't hurt us here." He replied by kicking his car seat. I laughed and went around to get him, picking him up and carrying him to the apartment. I would return to get the bags later. I looked up at our new home, and was astonished by how gorgeous it was. There weren't very many cities in Alaska, but Anchorage sure wasn't small. I didn't know if it were better to live in a big or small town, but from experiencing the drive, we were sure far enough away. The apartment was surprising with brick and arches leading to the entryway. This sure wasn't some cheap apartment. I was surprised that there weren't many people in it, but then again, not that many people move to Alaska.

I found my way to Edwards apartment, and knocked on the door. I had heard piano music and it stopped abruptly as footsteps headed to the door. The door swung open and I saw an attractive man smiling at me.

"Hello. It's nice to meet you, I'm Edward. You must be Bella. Alice has told me a lot about you." His gaze shifted down to Connor. "And this must be Connor."

I nodded, "Thank you so much for everything. You have no idea how much this means to me."

"Well, come on in, and I'll go grab your keys." he said, opening the door a bit wider, and retreating into what looked from the doorway like an office of sorts. I looked around the apartment, and found that it was an apartment with an office on one side, like they had taken two apartments and joined them together. Edward came back with a small, shiny key.

I just stood there, looking at him. He was slightly taller than me, and I was taller for a woman. About 5' 10". He looked about to be 6'2", and obviously worked out. He had obvious muscles, but not overwhelmingly so, like those men who look like they live off of steroids and the gym. He was in sweatpants and a T-shirt, and even in that, looked incredibly sexy. He had obviously just woken up, and I wondered if I had woken him when I knocked. He had pale skin and tousled, almost bronze colored hair, and piercing green eyes. I forced myself to focus when I realized that he was speaking to me.

"You are in apartment 106. If you have any questions or need anything, let me know. Alice also said you needed a job, if you could be down at the office at 8 am Monday morning that would be wonderful. Emmett will be there ten minutes before, and watch her while you work." He said quickly, his phone started ringing. "Excuse me. I have to take this."

I simply nodded, not knowing what else to say. I seemed mesmerized by him. Stop it, I told myself. You're a married woman with a child.

I went upstairs and opened the door, revealing a beautiful apartment that was just the right size. I also realized that I had forgotten it wouldn't have furniture, and that I would have to go shopping right away. I quickly unloaded the car, and went farther into the city to look for an Ashleys Furniture store.

Luck must have been with me because I found one right away. I remembered that I'd always loved dark woods, and vowed to finally get them for this apartment. I went inside and bought what I needed, after browsing only for a while. I still had to get everything home and set up, I reminded myself.

I found a beautiful bedroom set that was on sale. It was a dark wooden sleigh bed, with a simple dresser and elegant nightstand. I went on and found a crib, changing table, and toy box for Connor, a soft dark red couch, TV, and a tall dining room table with chairs, towels, bedding, and everything else I could possibly need. I bought most of the things on sale, and unassembled, so I could fit most of it into my car, and it was cheaper. I spent only a little over the gift cards amount.

Happy with my purchases, I fit what I could in my car, and arranged to have the rest of it delivered to my apartment in a couple of hours. On the way home I stopped at the grocery store and bought some things to get me by for a while. I realized that the money Alice had given me must have been over two thousand dollars. I didn't spend that much at the grocery store, but I still had a huge amount of money left. I know she wanted me to be safe, but I didn't need that much money. I could probably afford to put Connor into daycare, but I'd rather have one of Alice's friends watch him than an overwhelmed daycare provider.

I arrived back at the apartment and decided to call Alice. I waited impatiently as the phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alice, it's me. How are you doing? Has Jake been there?"

"Yeah, but he left after he realized that you weren't here, and I didn't tell him where you were. I think he called your parents, too, because they called me asking where you were. I explained everything to them for you."

Normally I would have been annoyed that someone had told my parents about Jacobs abuse, and how we had to move, and leave everything behind, but it was Alice. She was like another daughter to them, and it was probably almost better she heard it from them than from me, knowing that they wouldn't be so upset with her as they would me. They loved Jacob, and were ecstatic when we got married, and made regular visits to see the baby. I assumed that they wouldn't take the news well. Charlie and Renee had been through a rough patch after I was born, when Renee miscarried my baby brother, but they worked through it together and were that much stronger now. I was sure that they would expect the same from me, and I couldn't see that happening. Not anytime soon, and definitely not now that I've run away from him. He would be even angrier with me now, and that much more dangerous.

"Thanks, Alice. How'd they take it?"

"They were pissed. They couldn't figure out why you would give up on your marriage, and thought that you were running away because you wanted to just go have fun. It's like they don't understand that he was hitting you. It was hard to keep my temper under control."

"You have no idea how glad I am that you told them. I'm surprised that they haven't called, actually. You didn't tell them where I was, did you?" It wouldn't surprise me at all if they would call up Jacob the instant they had hung up and told him where I was. The thought made me shudder.

"Not a chance in the world. I wouldn't do that to you. I take it that you're all settled in?"

"Yeah. I went shopping and I have to say I got amazing clearance deals. I spent a little more than what was on the gift card." I said, smiling to myself. I took Connor, who was asleep in his car seat, and put him in the living room, and opened the box for his crib. It came in a surprisingly small box, and I was able to fit the crib, changing table, my dresser, and the bedside table in the back of my car, since it was all unassembled. The dining room things, the bed, and the couch, along with the TV would be here shortly.

"Wow. That's great. How's the apartment?" She asked. It sounded like she was doing dishes.

"Perfect. Not too big, not cramped. I think I'm really going to like it here. You have to come and see me sometime. But take my advice and fly. It's way too long of a drive, but you can track plane tickets."

"Do you really think he'll get that desperate?"

"I doubt it. At least I called from my cell phone. The least he will know is that you are talking to me." I sighed. I was no way going to get this crib together on the phone with her. "Are you as busy as I am?" I asked, knowing she wouldn't be offended.

"Actually, I am. Trying to do dishes and cook. I'll call you later?" she asked.

"Yeah, talk to you then, Alice. Bye." I said, screwing pieces of the crib together.

"Bye."

The crib was actually starting to resemble a crib. If I got all of this furniture together I would have to be proud of myself. The instructions obviously thought I was some sort of engineer.

After twenty minutes or so I had the crib together, and pulled it into the smaller room, across the living room from mine. If I ever had time, I would have to ask Edward if I could paint the walls, and then realized I could probably ask Emmett, when he came to watch Connor. I pushed the crib into place, and sighed. Then I turned around to start on the changing table.

Please vote in the poll I have set up! I need it before I can write the next chapter! ALCan is the Alaskan highway. I have never been to Alaska, so everything in this story is most likely inaccurate. This chapter took a lot of research, and looking for items I wanted. I've posted a link to a picture of how I imagine the apartment building to look like. If you look under two bedrooms, I imagine the Willowdale floor plan, just so you can see how i imagine them. Just copy and paste and it'll come up. Same with Bellas bed. Comment! Tell me how i'm doing!

Also a thank you to the readers I have. I just started this today, and am surprised at how many adds and favorites i have already!