DISCLAIMER: The story doesn't belong to me; the characters are property of S. Meyer, and the plot belongs to Annalau Thank you so much for letting me share your story in English!

Gracias Laura, por darme esta oportunidad!

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Chapter 16

Feeling hot, I go into the bathroom and stand in the doorway.

Edward's mother is crying in front of the sink, and noticing my presence she wipes her cheeks trying to hide her face.

"Are you all right?" I take a few steps closer to her.

She breathes in slowly and exhales deeply, lifting her face; she looks at me for a few seconds through the mirror and then turns to face me.

"Who are you?" she asks as she presses her fingers around my hand. "Where did you meet my son?"

The lady with the pompadour hairstyle and straight face evaluates me as if she is doing a mental count of every item of clothing-accessory I wear.

I lift my chin to look at her in the same contemptuous manner and then slip out of her grip.

"Your son is old enough for you to keep asking about the origins of his friendships, ma'am."

The fury provoked by my response turns her eyes glassy.

"Edward never lets anyone into his life unless it's important to him. I know him, I know what he's like, so don't get all funny with me. I want to know where they know each other from."

"If you want to know so badly, ask Edward."

I leave her standing at the sink with her face twitching in anger at me. On the way out I see Edward and Pat saying goodbye to the new bride and groom; the bride turns with a smile on her beautiful face, beckons me over and I walk over to her.

"I entrust Pat to you," Tanya says, taking my hands in hers. "He's a very sweet and nice boy. Sometimes he usually stays at our house. You can't imagine how much I'll miss him these weeks. Oh... and don't let him eat chocolates, it makes him hyperactive, and he'll lose sleep."

I bite my lip remembering that last night Pat ate a whole box of chocolates and didn't sleep. Now, I know why.

"Don't worry. Pat will be well taken care of."

Tanya smiles and her honey eyes look at me with complicity.

"I won't tell you anything about my cousin. He takes care of himself," she gives me a wink.

"Edward is your cousin?" my surprise is such that my tone of voice is high. Even Edward, Jacob and Pat turn to look at us.

"Yes, didn't he tell you?" she nudges Edward in surprise, and he hugs her shoulders and joins us. "Why didn't you tell Bella that we're cousins?"

"I didn't think it was necessary," Edward shrugs as Pat hugs her aunt around the waist.

"Our parents are brother and sister," Tanya confirms. "I'm a Cullen too," she shakes her beautiful blonde hair. "I was a Cullen," she corrects, "now I'm a Black."

Jacob stands behind his wife and wraps his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder; they look radiant with happiness, both look in love and very giggly.

"We're leaving." Edward announces pulling my hand and almost making me stumble, with the rush I awkwardly kiss Tanya's cheek and when I'm about to say goodbye to Jacob I'm taken by the hand of the bad tempered Cullen, at the last moment I just shake my hand to the spouses in a farewell. "Let's go" he insists.

"Hey, you didn't let me say goodbye," I cry out in annoyance.

"You already did," he murmurs without stopping taking me to God knows where.

"It's just that Dad didn't want you to kiss Uncle Jake." Pat mumbles, picking up his pace and walking well ahead of us.

I draw my eyebrows together as the boy guffaws and Edward says nothing. As we pull into the parking lot I know full well that the Cullen men aren't that concerned about whether I can get in or not, so resignedly I climb into the van on my own leaving them to do the same.

I have a lot of things piling up in my head that I need to mull over, only Edward seems to have better plans before he takes me home. Parked in front of a pizza place he walks down to the establishment takes about thirty minutes and returns with a box of pizza.

"We'll watch a movie," Edward reveals as we park in front of his house; he turns to look at me: "You'll realize we're not as wild as you think."

I couldn't disagree as I feel like disagreeing as his hand pulls me back in.

This time I admit that watching a movie together with them is not the wildest thing either, however the fact that it's horror takes away the quiet side of my night.

"Why are you covering your face?" Pat's curiosity is piqued. I've been curled up on the couch for a while now with no intention of continuing to watch that awful movie. "It's just a movie, Bella. Don't think a killer will show up with a chainsaw and try to disembowel us."

I remove both hands from my face; the blond boy is still watching me closely and amusement is imprinted on his face.

"It's just... the sound in the room is too loud," I explain, looking for a way to not look so cowardly. Also the darkness is too much.

He rolls his eyes. Even through the pitch darkness I can see him roll his eyes one more time.

I hide my face between my knees again, still hugging my legs. I've been in this same position for so long that I'm starting to feel uncomfortable with the stiff posture due to the few movements I can make because of the dress.

"I'll take you home," Edward stands up and turns off the TV and turns on the light in the room. "I thought watching a movie would relax you and all I did was scare you."

"I don't like anything of that genre," I admit biting my lip realizing Edward's eyes are on my mouth. "I prefer romance movies."

"I should have known," he mutters walking in front of me. "There's something I'd like to tell you."

My heart is pounding so loudly that I can feel it throughout my body, just as my legs have become so weak that it is impossible to take a step, I am afraid of falling.

I stand still. I think I'm going crazy, this is the only reason for my behavior in front of Edward.

When I don't walk he turns and comes closer; he runs a finger across my cheek making me shiver.

"Would you like to join us this weekend? We'll go to..." he remains silent and with a big smile he shakes his head. "Just prepare light clothes, the place where we're going is not cold.

Without thinking about anything, I nod happily.

It's strange that I agree so easily to everything Edward asks me, it's as if I have the need and desire to always be with him, with them.

He stands in front of me still with his finger very slowly caressing my face.

"Can we leave?"

Pat's voice makes us separate; at what point did we get closer? It's amazing how I lose track of everything when I'm with him. It's not normal, I shouldn't do it.

.

.

.

"Ah," Jessica murmurs as she watches me pack. "So you don't know where they're going, but you're so happy without knowing, why?"

I spread out a white denim skirt, look at it from side to side and throw it into the small suitcase.

"Bella..." Jessica takes my hands and sits me on the edge of the mattress, standing with her eyes on me. "It's not normal what you're doing. First you go one day camping with Edward and his son in the snow, then you go to a party with him and since then Edward picks you up after school to take you home and to top it all off he brings you every night. What's going on between you?"

"Nothing is going on. We're just getting along better, I'm comfortable with them."

She squints her beautiful blue eyes.

"Do you like Edward?"

I snort, dropping onto my back on the bed.

What am I going to say? The truth, always the truth. Jess is my best friend, and she won't judge me.

"When I'm around Edward…" I close my eyes and an involuntary smile paints itself on my lips. "I don't know what's wrong with me, but my heart races and starts a pounding that I don't know if it's from nerves or excitement."

Jessica plops down next to me and her excitement is higher because she is now letting out squeals that she tries to stifle with her hand.

"Besides, I haven't told you the best part," I add, covering my face with my hands. "He's tried to kiss me several times."

Jessica screams like crazy; she even kneels on the bed while jumping up and down and her hair rises like feathers in the wind.

"Tell me about it! I need to know how and where."

It's so much her enthusiasm that she shakes my shoulders bouncing my body on the bed.

"Stop it, Jess!" I force with laughter, "I won't tell you anything if you don't stop."

She backs away immediately; cornered in the corner of the bed and the wall she grabs a pillow and pulls it over her lap.

"Speak," she demands holding her excitement at bay, pressing her lips together waiting for my response.

I inhale.

I sit in front of her putting my feet under my knees.

"Edward is so different from what I imagined I could ever want to have around. All the time he seems to be in a bad mood, but he's not. He's good, he's a crazy lover of nature and extreme sports, and he has unconditional love for his son. And what's better, he doesn't treat me like I'm fragile, no, he helps me to be brave. I like that, Jess, because he doesn't limit me. He makes me a different woman, even if we don't talk about chivalry because he doesn't have a shred of it, but I like the way he is."

"Did you realize he likes you?"

"Yes," I say, "I know he likes me the same way I like him."

Jessica throws herself against me, knocking me down on the bed.

"I knew it! I always knew, I knew you liked him too." She screams, takes a deep breath and sits back in her place. "What are you going to do? I mean, what's going to happen to Tyler? You're going to leave him, aren't you?"

I'm playing with my fingers as I sit back down. Here comes the hard part or rather, the reality.

"I'm not leaving Tyler. Nothing has changed, Jess. Just because I like Edward doesn't mean I'm leaving my boyfriend."

"What are you talking about?" she rebukes me. "You're joking. How can you say that nothing has changed? You like another man! That changes everything, Isabella."

I stand up continuing with the arrangement of my suitcase, this time I focus on the colors of the blouses, maybe I shouldn't wear so many light clothes, suddenly Jessica snatches the yellow blouse from my hands and I snort.

"It means that you will continue to be the girlfriend of one, while you like and have fun with another. Don't tell me you're going to play with two men now."

"I'm not playing at anything, Jess," I try to pull my blouse off her, struggling again, "I'm being realistic. It's just an attraction between us, nothing out of the ordinary."

She reluctantly places the balled-up blouse inside the suitcase, crosses her arms in front of me and keeps moving her foot, which hits the carpet without making the slightest noise.

"Stop looking at me like that," I turn my back on her, turning my attention back to the suitcase, closing it slowly and without much encouragement. "It's not as easy as you think. Edward and I are very different, we are going in different directions. He has a full life and maybe he's already accomplished his goals... I'm just starting out like Ty, we have more in common."

"Be as enraptured as you want, but don't say I didn't warn you later. I don't want to see you crying tomorrow when you live with Tyler." Jess walks out of my room, slamming the door.

I sigh.

I rarely argue with her.

Angrily I slide onto the carpet and sit down hugging my legs tightly.

I am a hypocrite. How can I be able to cheat on my boyfriend like this?

I'm so confused I'm afraid to take another step.

I crawl across the carpet to the corner of the bed where my cell phone is on top of the pillow, I grab it picking out Tyler's number; it rings twice...

"Bella?" his voice sounds hoarse and sleepy; he yawns for a long time and clears his throat. "Baby it's 5 am, how could you even think of waking me up? Did you forget the time difference?"

"I just wanted to hear your voice." I wipe my tears and fake a smile. "I miss you so much."

I hear him yawning again.

"I miss you too, baby. I already want us to live together. You don't know all the plans I have for when you arrive, I won't let you sleep for a month, honey." A guttural noise comes out of his throat. "Let's meet on camera, baby."

I accept the video call: Tyler's hair is disheveled, and his torso is bare, he smiles at me. He's still lying between the sheets in the darkness of his room.

He is the perfect combination of an Anglo-Saxon man and a Latin woman; he has more Latin features thanks to his mother.

"Hello, beautiful," he murmurs hoarsely, "I want to see you, take off your blouse."

I exhale.

Tyler and I over the course of four years had had a little touching without ever having sex, then with distance months ago we started sending each other pictures in our underwear and for weeks now we had agreed to show each other naked and get to know our bodies with more confidence.

"Come on, baby, take off your blouse I want to see your tits."

I know he's rubbing himself because his breathing becomes erratic and his face fills with pleasure.

"Ty, I don't want to," I refuse, keeping my hand pressed between my breasts in a way of not letting him see any of my body. "I want us to talk, these last few weeks all we do is get naked in front of the camera. We need to talk about us, about realizing that we are on the same path and that we both want to continue."

"Bella, I'm eighteen fucking years old and I've never had sex. I'm tired of waiting, tired of jerking off to your memories. Don't make me do something crazy. Please don't."

"What do you mean, Ty?"

He tilts his face.

"I want to come find you any weekend. I want us to do it, I don't want to keep waiting."

How many times had I dreamed of giving myself completely to Tyler? I think I'd lost count. But today I'm not excited for that day to come. What's wrong with me?

Am I not loving him anymore?

"Tyler, we need to talk."

I can see his broad shoulders tense up, with an unhinged face he sits in the middle of the bed. In her gaze I can see uncertainty.

"What is it, Bella?"

"I would have liked to tell you in person, but I can't wait any longer." With my free hand I cover my face, I mustn't cry, but it's impossible to swallow the lump I feel in my throat. "Do you remember everything I told you about my student loan?" He nods. "I was desperate because I didn't want to lose my place at the University. Then…" I take a breath of air. "A classmate told me that I should advertise on a web page... that I could get money and..." I'm hiccuping and I can't go on talking. "I'm so sorry."

I can't even see him through the camera; it's so embarrassing and humiliating.

"What do you mean, Isabella?" his voice is a scream, "Did you sleep with someone? Is that it?"

I start to cry harder. It's the first time I hear him so angry, so out of his mind.

"Answer. Did you sleep with someone else?"

I shake my head.

"No." I swallow as I close my eyes. "No, I didn't sleep with him, but... I did give him oral sex."

Tyler's cell phone is tossed between the sheets as I hear him curse while I can hear some things crashing.

I curl into a ball, I can't stop crying.

As he picks up the cell phone I look at his face full of anger and his tears spilling unceasingly, he is hurt, heartbroken and I understand.

"You turned out to be a whore just like Renée," he growls before ending the video call.

My cell phone slips from my hand.

It's over. He's never going to forgive me.

It hurts me. It hurts so much to have done this to us.

Hello! In this chapter Bella already confessed that she also likes Edward, however she remains reticent about her feelings for him, because she is convinced that it is just simple attraction. I want to clarify that she was in love with Tyler, remember that they had a 4 year relationship where they are both the same age and they have known each other for years. Do you think that her relationship with Tyler is over? What will Edward do now when he sees her heartbroken? And most importantly, do you want the time to pass, do you want to know why Esme was crying? Do you want to know what Carlisle is up to? We're getting into those chapters.