2.

"Bella?" Jacob's voice filtered in through the closed door the following morning.

Bella didn't reply. She kept her eyes firmly closed and pulled her comforter up close to her chin. Go away. Please go away.

"Bella? Dad says you need to get up. Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes." Soft footsteps retreating from her door told her that Jacob left.

She rolled onto her other side. She didn't want breakfast. She didn't want to get up. The comfort of a bed, even if it wasn't hers, was too much to walk away from. And she knew what would be waiting for her once she got up. Concerned looks from Billy, impatience from Jacob, and an endless amount of questions asking her if she would be okay. They were wasting their breath. She would never be okay. Not without him.

It felt like Edward had left so abruptly last night. Like he'd stopped by just to reassure himself that she was still there. Bella had been left feeling lonelier than before. Didn't he know that was how she felt every time they were apart?

The ache in her chest grew as she thought about last night. Edward had held her in his arms as she'd cried. It had felt so real. So unimagined. How could they tell her Edward didn't exist? That she'd made him up? How could they? She could still feel the cool touch of his arms around her shoulders. She could hear his soft, silky voice whisper words of comfort in her ear. Her only regret was that the moment hadn't lasted longer.

Bella could have spent the rest of the day lying in bed, thinking about Edward and waiting for his return. But after some time had passed-she wasn't sure how much-Billy's voice floated upstairs from the kitchen.

"Bella, your breakfast is getting cold."

She didn't care. It would be no matter to her if she never ate again. But she didn't want Billy or Jacob to come upstairs and get her, so she forced herself out of bed. She pulled on the white bathrobe that had once been her mother's, and then opened her bedroom door and trudged down to the kitchen.

Billy smiled warmly when he noticed her standing in the doorway. "Good morning Bella. Sleep well?"

Bella forced herself to nod. It was only when her guardian indicated for her to sit that she walked over to the kitchen table by the far wall. Jacob was already halfway through his plate of bacon and eggs. He barely looked up as she sat down across from him. She picked up her fork but didn't move to eat.

If Billy noticed he pretended not to. "So Bella, do you have any plans for today?" he asked as he sat down beside Jacob with his plate. She noticed that he gave himself more food than her and Jacob.

Like what? Bella thought. She shook her head, hoping to convey that she didn't have plans, except to be left alone.

"Oh, okay." Billy sounded happy as he turned to his son. "Maybe it would be a good day to show Bella the beach. You were headed up there, right?"

Jacob looked up at Bella and nodded eagerly, as though he'd forgotten this plan. "Yeah, sure. Do you want to go?"

Billy and Jacob looked at her, their eyebrows nearly reaching their hairline in expectation. They both looked so hopeful. She looked down at her plate and took a bite of bacon to give herself a reason not to answer right away. She wanted to tell them that going to the beach was the last thing on her mind, but she didn't want either of them to think she was depressed or moody. Billy would just think that he was right to send her to a therapist, and all she wanted to do was get out of that. And maybe this would be a good way to get them off her back and to stop worrying about her so much.

Finally, after a minute, Bella nodded and forced herself to nod at Jacob. "Okay."

Jacob smiled wider. "Great. We'll head out as soon as you're ready."

Bella nodded and finished her bacon. It had gotten cold but she didn't care. She wasn't hungry much these days. The three of them spent the rest of breakfast under an awkward silence that none of them seemed eager to break. Jacob was the first one to get up. He put his empty plate in the sink and went upstairs without a word. Bella quickly followed. She glanced at Billy, wondering if he would say anything about her half-eaten plate but he didn't. She scraped the uneaten eggs into the garbage and put her plate on top of Jacob's. Then she hurried upstairs to her room.

She quickly rummaged around in her closet and pulled out a light blue tank top. In her drawer she found a pair of shorts. She dressed then ran a brush through her tangled brown hair. Once she put on her Converse and brushed her teeth she was ready.

Not wanting to knock on Jacob's door, she decided to wait for him in the living room. Once she sat down on the plush white sofa she pulled her phone out of her pocket, knowing it was pointless. There was no one back in Seattle who would text her. She'd never had many friends besides Edward.

Before she could dwell too much on that thought Jacob came bounding down the stairs. He grinned at Bella and didn't seem put off when she did not return it. "Ready to go?"

Bella nodded and followed him out to the driveway. Jacob practically ran to his precious car, the Rabbit. It had been his pet project ever since he'd started working on cars. Mechanics was his passion, and Bella wanted to smile at his enthusiasm. Instead she twitched her lip in what probably looked more like a grimace.

"Have you ever been to La Push?" he asked as soon as they were both in.

"No," Bella replied.

It was obvious Jacob had been looking to start a conversation. For a moment Bella felt guilty but it didn't last long. They'd been best friends once, before Renee left and Charlie moved them to the city. She knew from Billy's stories that they used to play everywhere they could, from the sandbox in the park to the kitchen. But they hadn't been able to return to that friendship when she'd moved in, and she knew it was her fault.

Jacob started the car. A long, tense silence followed them the whole way. Every so often Bella would steal a glance in his direction but quickly looked away when Jacob caught her eye. Eventually he turned on the radio and the rest of the drive was spent listening to rock music.

When they got to the beach Jacob parked the car and got out. He was about to run to meet up with a group of guys from the reservation when he remembered Bella, who hadn't even unbuckled her seat belt.

"Are you coming?" he asked. Bella detected a hint of impatience in his tone.

She fought off her sarcastic comment and nodded instead. "Yeah." One word answers were apparently all she was able to say.

When Bella finally got out of the car she walked over to stand beside Jacob, crossing her arms uncomfortably. "So, what did you want to do?"

Jacob bit his lip and glanced at the others who had started a game of volleyball. "Well, I was going to join them. Did you want to play?"

Bella shook her head and glanced at the boys, who were yards away. One of them, a particularly tall boy who looked no older than seventeen, had just spiked the ball on the opposite side of the net and was currently getting chest slapped by his teammates. She winced and looked back at Jacob. "No, that's okay. I can just watch."

"Are you sure?" Jacob didn't look too sure.

"Yes. Please don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine."

Then, to make her point, Bella turned and began walking over to the beach. Jacob hurried to catch up to her. "If you get bored, just tell me. I can hang out with you if you want."

Bella shrugged. "I'll be fine," she repeated. "Just go play."

As Jacob nodded and hurried to join his friends, Bella watched and couldn't help but wonder how it became so awkward between them. There had been a time when she and Jacob had been best friends. It had been a long time ago, but she still remembered playing in the mud, building mud castles and chasing each other around for what could've been hours. There had never been any tense moments, awkward silences, or discomfort between them. Now they were lucky if they could have a conversation that lasted more than a few minutes.

Bella settled herself on a large rock a few feet away from the game and watched as Jacob took the volleyball and served it. The ball went from one side to the other and it didn't seem like it would ever end.

Then a shorter boy with thick, dark wavy hair missed the ball and it plunged to the ground. Bella stifled a giggle when Jacob and the others on his team began to whine at having lost. She quickly closed her mouth and froze, hoping no one had seen her. She was so depressed lately that any sound other than grunts or sighs seemed weird coming from her.

But the others were too concentrated on their game to pay her any attention. Before the mess with her father, Bella would have felt left out but now she felt nothing but gratitude. This gave her some semblance of normalcy. They weren't coddling her, or pausing their game every other minute just to check and make sure she was okay. It made her feel at ease enough to take off her shoes and sit back on the rock, soaking up the sun and watching the volleyball game.

On more than one occasion Bella found herself holding back laughs as the guys threw good-natured insults at each other. Jacob took the brunt of them because of his height and strength and she was surprised to find out just how popular he was with his friends. Jacob laughed at all of them and threw insults back at everyone else, but none of them meant what they were saying. And without knowing it, Jacob and his friends had succeeded in taking Bella's mind off everything that had happened to her.

Once, about halfway through their game, Jacob looked up at Bella and smiled at her. Without thinking about it, she smiled back. Jacob's grin grew wider when he saw it then turned back to his game.

Bella's smile widened as well, and she was about to lean back and close her eyes, fully relaxed for the first time in a long time, when she saw him.

He stood off in the distance, just out of the boys' lines of vision. His hair fluttered slightly in the breeze as he stood casually. His hands were in the pockets of his jeans and he wore a long sleeved blue shirt that didn't look right on him. It was almost as if he were trying too hard to fit in.

But when Bella looked at him, she was up in an instant and hurried towards him. The sand felt good between her toes and between that and her sun-soaked skin, she felt as if she was glowing.

And that, she realized as soon as she was close enough to see him properly, was exactly what Edward was doing.

He stared at her, his golden eyes drawing her own eyes to him through what felt like a magnetic pull. She smiled at him, taking a step closer to him. He smiled back, but it was small and didn't quite make it to his eyes.

"Hi, Edward," she said softly.

"Hello, Bella."

"What...what are you doing here?" she asked, unsure why she felt so hesitant. They'd seen each other every night for what felt like her entire life, and there had never been any awkwardness between them.

And that was because she'd never seen him during the day before, she realized. Or anywhere except her bedroom. Seeing him during the day, on La Push beach was the last thing she expected, and she felt as though she were talking to someone else.

"That's not so easy to explain," he replied, looking away from her and gazing down at the volleyball game in the distance. "But I had to see you."

"Really?" Bella couldn't help the smile his words caused.

"Yes, love." Edward paused and sighed. "I had to make sure you were okay."

Bella frowned and moved to stand in front of him. She searched his eyes, suddenly worried. "Why? Is something wrong?"

Edward sighed again, as though he couldn't figure out the best way to say what he needed to. "I...I'm not sure," he finally said, but it wasn't near enough to appease Bella.

"Not sure? About what? Edward, you're scaring me. You've never come to me outside of my room before and I just..."

"Shh," Edward interrupted, raising a hand to push a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. "Please don't worry, beautiful girl. Nothing is wrong."

"Then why..." Bella couldn't quite get the words out.

"I just wanted to give you some good news. I couldn't wait until tonight to tell you."

"Tell me what?" Bella's heart skipped a beat at the possibilities.

Then, without warning, Edward's face erupted in a huge grin. "Soon it will be safe for you to come with me. I want so much for you to meet my family."

It took Bella's mind a minute to catch up to Edward's words. She frowned, blinked, then slowly smiled, afraid it was too good to be true. "Really, Edward? You aren't joking?"

Edward laughed. "No, I am not joking. It's still too soon, but hopefully I will be able to take you away from all your troubles. You just have to hold out a little while longer."

"I really hope you aren't messing with me, because I've..."

She was interrupted by Edward's firm grip on her shoulders. He waited until she looked up into his eyes before he spoke again. "I'm not messing with you. I promise this isn't a joke, or otherwise. It will soon be safe for you and I can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to it. You won't have to worry about your father, or Billy, or anyone else."

Bella threw her arms around his neck before she could stop herself. All thoughts of Jacob, the volleyball game, and the good mood it had put her in were gone. Now all she could concentrate on were thoughts of Edward taking her away from her pitiful existence.

"Will I see you tonight?" she finally asked as Edward wrapped his arms around her in a comforting embrace.

"Of course, love. Don't I visit you every night?" he laughed.

Bella smiled. "I just wanted to make sure."

They stayed like that for what felt like ages before Edward finally pulled away first. "I must go now, but I'll see you tonight. Just keep being strong for me and whatever you do, do not let on that you saw me today. Try to act normally."

Bella nodded. "Okay." When she went to look up at Edward, she found he was already gone.

But it must've been a sign that she was in an extremely good mood because the fact that he left without saying goodbye did not bother her as it usually would. She turned around and began walking back to the beach, trying to hide the ecstatic smile that she felt would stay there for the rest of her life.

A/N: I know I'm awful for not updating for SO long. I feel horrible. But I wanted to update and tell you (if there's anyone still reading this story) that I have not forgotten about you. I do plan on keeping up with this story and the others. Please review and let me know if you're still reading, and what you thought about the chapter.