I do not own Twilight.

The wonderful SunflowerFran beta'ed this – thank you so much! Remaining mistakes are mine.

oOo

Edward woke early on Monday night, missing Bella immediately. He'd hardly slept all night, thinking and brooding. Not that it had done a lot of good to immerse himself in self-hate.

He got up, made coffee and went to his studio. He tried to work, but it was like pulling teeth. Nothing, nothing would come to him. All he could think about was Bella, and how afraid he was of losing her.

He also thought about Irina, and that he wanted to finally let go. He'd put Bella through too much. She was a strong person, stronger than he was, but she had to put up with too much from him.

He realized how withdrawn she'd become over the past weeks, clearly aware that something was the matter with him. Had she lost weight, too? Shit, he'd been so self-centred.

That afternoon, he went shopping for groceries. Although he knew that he shouldn't, he bought two bottles of Glenlivet. He had no intention of drinking them, he told himself. Maybe just one sip of his favourite beverage; just one, last glass.

And then, when Bella came home, he'd stop. He'd even see someone about it. The therapy he'd had after Irina's death had helped in some ways, but that was years ago.

He stayed strong all Monday night, again lying awake into the small hours, waking after only a couple of hours of sleep.

Tuesday came and he puttered around the house, tried to work, to read, to eat.

Nothing.

He missed Bella, missed her so much it hurt inside his chest. He struggled not to call Jackie, or the B&B, but stayed strong. She'd said she wanted to think, and for him only to call in case of an emergency. Well, his insane desire to have a drink was not uncommon, and hardly an emergency.

Edward felt so empty.

By midnight, his thirst won. He went to his studio and opened the secret drawer.

And he poured himself a glass.

.

"I don't know," Bella said over breakfast on Wednesday morning.

It had gotten insanely hot, and a storm had been predicted for the afternoon.

"I just have a feeling something's not right." She shrugged. "I probably sound like Jasper."

"He has my number," Jackie said. "And the one from the B&B, so if anything was wrong, he would have called, don't you think?"

"I hope so," Bella said.

"I'm sure he would," Leah agreed. "Come on, it's the last day. Let's load our stuff into my car and spend the last hours on the beach."

Bella nodded slowly, though she couldn't get over that nagging voice at the back of her head.

"Okay," she said. "Let's go."

The water was nice, but the breeze was picking up, and she could distinctly feel that predicted storm brewing in the distance.

oOo

Thank you so much, and from the bottom of my heart, to the amazing response to the last few chapters. Sorry I wasn't always the best at replying to your reviews.

The following four or five chapters will be crucial. I know that not everyone will like the outcome, but with this Edward (and he was THIS Edward from his first appearance in Chapter Two/Three), I don't think that's possible. Remember that the category says Romance/Angst. If you have doubts about how Unfolding is going to unfold, please read the summary.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful words, they mean more than you can imagine.

Love,

Your

harperpitt