A/N: I don't own Twilight, Stephenie Meyer does. I just use her characters for my own amusement, and yours! No copyright infringement is intended.

Thank you to my beta, kaydee1005. You are awesome. Thanks to my pre-reader, Padme-And-Anakin-4-Ever for all the advice.

Chapter 9- Things That Would Never Be

EPOV

I left Bella's house Friday night more sexually frustrated than I had ever been in my life, yet it was the happiest time I could remember. My drive home was short, thankfully, as I had a huge problem to deal with. I was happy to see Emmett wasn't home when I arrived; I did not want him to see how I was 'suffering'. I went straight to the shower and replayed those amazing moments spent with Bella tonight. I finished my shower and went straight to bed—I knew it was going to be another long night full of 'Bella dreams'. Yeah, I named them, so what?

I woke up the next morning and remembered I wouldn't be able to see Bella today. I was instantly depressed and decided to call her; I wanted to tell her 'good morning'. I found my phone, located her number and hit the send button.

The phone rang and rang until her voicemail picked up. The disappointment was apparent in my voice as I left her a message.

"Good morning, sweetheart. I was hoping I could catch you this morning before you left, but apparently I'm too late. I just wanted to say…I miss you. I had a wonderful time last night and I can't wait to see you again. Call me when you get this message, I will have my phone with me all day. I look forward to hearing your beautiful voice. Ummmm, bye, Bella."

After leaving my pathetic voicemail, I decided I didn't want to do anything else. I went back to bed to wait for Bella's call.

I was rudely woken up by my oaf-of-a-brother about an hour later.

"Dude, how'd it go last night, bro? Did ya get any?"

"Emmett, shut the fuck up! I will not be discussing any of that with you—it is none of your damn business."

"Ah, come on, man! I want the details! Wasn't it that McDonald's chick you were crushing on at Alice's party? Dude, seriously, what the hell is up with that?"

Emmett's ignorant comments made me see red and I punched him in the shoulder—hard! How dare he talk about my Bella like that?

"E! What the fuck was that for? What is wrong with you? That's gonna leave a fucking mark."

Emmett whined—he actually fucking whined—like a little pansy-assed girl. "Emmett, don't you ever talk about my girlfriend like that again, or next time it will be your nose that is broke, not just your pride."

"Did you just say your girlfriend? Alright, fucker, who are you and what have you done with my brother? Edward never has girlfriends. All you do is fuck random chicks and use them for your pleasure! Dude, tell me what the fuck is going on!"

Sighing at his outburst and knowing he was right about me, I took a deep breath and decided to give him the toned down and edited version. I loved my brother, but there was no fucking way I was going to give him the usual sordid details.

"Emmett, you have no idea what she does to me. She is amazing. She's smart, funny, and gorgeous. She makes me want to be a better person—a better man. I could have had her last night, anyway I wanted, but I want to take care of her; I want to take things slow with her. I want to treat her like she is something special, because that is what she is—special. It was so fucking hard to stop last night."

Emmett was stunned into silence—another first for me.

"Edward, man, be serious with me. Are you trying to tell me you are giving up your man-whoring ways?"

I rolled my eyes as I answered him, "Yes, Emmett, I have already given that up. I don't need that. This woman, Bella, makes me feel something so incredibly different. She is everything I have ever wanted and didn't even know. Can you let this go for now? I would like to go back to sleep."

"Fine, but I want details. How is she in bed? I know you got some of that last night…"

I cut him off, pushed him out of my room, and slammed the door in his face. At that very moment, my phone rang.

BPOV

I got to my parent's house in Forks, and before I got out of the truck, I noticed I had a missed call. Stupid dead spots. I saw it was Edward who called, and I practically jumped up and down in my seat. I was disappointed that I missed the call, but excited when I saw I had a voicemail. I quickly listened to his message. It was so sweet and I could hear the emotion in his voice—he really did miss me.

I decided to call him back before I went in the house. After three rings, he finally answered.

"Hey, baby," Edward crooned.

I nearly swooned at the sound of his beautiful voice. "Hey back. I just got your message. I…miss you too."

"Bella, what time are you going to be back? I really need to see you again."

He sounded so…sad. I wanted nothing more than to turn around and go home, but my parents wanted to see me, and I them. I needed to remember that Edward was trying to take things slowly, and even though it still seemed to be moving rather quickly, I wanted the same. This was going to be difficult.

"Edward, I would rather be with you but I need to be here right now. I do want to see you, all the time. But unfortunately, we still have our own lives. There will be plenty of time…"

He cut me off, saying, "Bella, I don't know how to be away from you. It's eating me up—I have never experienced this before. The things you do to me…I can't explain it. I don't like not knowing how you are doing at all times. I don't like it when you are away from me. I seem…very, protective of you. How do I know if you are alright?"

I chuckled out loud and heard him sigh. "Seriously? I am perfectly fine, sitting in my truck outside of my parents' house in Forks. I can take care of myself. But I do know what you mean; I don't like being away from you either."

I heard him exhale and inhale again, before he spoke. "Bella, I don't know how to do this. I have never felt so captivated by a woman before. It consumes me—the feelings I have for you. I only wish I knew how to express it. Just promise me you will be safe."

"I promise. I will call you when I get home, OK?"

"Alright, Bella, be safe—for me."

Jeez, he was so worried. It was rather endearing. "I will. I'll call you later. Please, for the love of God, find something to occupy yourself. I don't want you going mad while I am perfectly safe with my parents. My dad is a cop, remember? I wouldn't feel safer with anyone else in the world. I gotta get going though. I will call you, I promise. Bye, Edward."

"Bye, Bella. I miss you, and will be waiting for your call. Have fun….bye."

I sat in my truck for another minute or so to gather myself. I couldn't believe he was so worried. I mean, how much trouble could I get into? He barely even knew me, but we had this strange pull towards each other. I think I was just as confused as he was.

I loved hearing his voice. I could hear his admiration, his worry, his loneliness, and even his fear. I felt all the same things, but the loneliness ceased to exist when I was with him. It felt like the way it should always have been, and that is how I wanted it to be—always. I didn't care if it was too soon. I knew at that moment, that I was in love with him and wanted him forever.

Eight wonderful but boring hours later, I found myself driving home to Port Angeles. I drove as fast as my beast-of-a-truck would allow, which was still under the speed limit. I wanted nothing more than to get home and call Edward.

I didn't talk to my parents about him, I wanted to wait till things were more concrete, and we knew what was going on. It killed me the whole time I was there not being able to share my joy. It just didn't feel right. I knew they would have lots of questions, but I didn't even know how to explain it to myself.

I continued thinking about Edward—all the times we shared together, the constant thoughts of him when we were apart, and even images of our future. Our future, I wondered what he thinks about when he thinks about me? I was somewhat scared to imagine what he does when he thinks about me. I felt that last night, and it did things to me I didn't even know existed.

When I was with Jacob, I didn't feel anything at all—other than discomfort and weirdness. We had been friends since we were little; our fathers were the best of friends. We hung out all the time, and a couple summers ago, we decided to give "it" a try. We were both curious, and we trusted each other. It was awkward and we both felt different afterwards. It wasn't the feeling of losing our virginity; it was the feeling of discontentment. Everything felt forced, and I would do anything to take it back. There was no spark, there was no passion. It felt like a chore. The entire act eventually ruined our friendship. I haven't talked to Jacob since, other than the times we were forced together by our parents on fishing trips.

When I was with Edward, I felt all the things that I missed with Jacob. Passion, want, need, desire…all of it. Last night, when we were on my couch, I really did want him. I didn't care if it was too soon or too fast. All I knew was it felt so right. I wanted to kill him, theoretically speaking, for stopping us. It was so hard to make him stop, but I didn't want him to regret his actions if things went too far.

I still didn't know what his problem with women was, but I had to respect his wishes. I wanted to understand how he could want me so badly and still want to stop. I couldn't stop the feeling of rejection that washed over me every time he told me no. I also knew I had to trust him when he explained himself. His eyes told me he was being truthful, and his arousal was quite obvious. He had his reasons, and hopefully I would understand them soon enough. All I knew at this point was being with him felt right, perfect even.

I was pulled out of my musings when I came into town and saw Edward crossing the street. He had his arm around a gorgeous woman and smiling. They looked happy; he looked happy with her. I slammed on my brakes and pulled over. They looked like they were sharing an intimate moment, and my heart broke.

I sat in my truck for what felt like forever and cried. I cried so hard that I was gasping for air. They had disappeared into a restaurant—the same one he took me too just last night; the same restaurant that I shared a name with.

How could I have allowed myself to fall for his tricks? He seemed so genuine, so honest. I fell for it, hard! I couldn't believe I allowed this to happen. I couldn't help but wonder what happened last night, when he said no to me. Maybe I wasn't pretty enough, or maybe I wasn't experienced enough. I cried harder than I ever had before. I finally experienced a man being interested in me, and the first chance he got, he was with someone else.

How could he not? She was gorgeous, blonde hair, long legs. I had to get out of here, I had to go home. Before I pulled out onto the street, I decided to call him. I knew it was desperate, but I didn't know what else to do, I needed answers. His phone rang and rang but he never answered.

I didn't bother leaving him a message, what was the point. He obviously moved on and I was a fool. I turned my phone off and headed home.

Once I was home and in my room, I cried myself to sleep thinking of things that would never be.

A/N: I know…how could Edward do this to Bella? Tell me what you think of Macward!

As usual, you can find me on Twitter... twitter (dot) com / melonscraps

I posted a couple one-shots over the weekend, go check them out! Yes, Please and Forever Mine. They are both on my profile.

Also, I know I said previously that I would post on Thursdays, but then last week I got impatient and posted a day, early. This week I am going out of town, so I will be posting on Tuesday, then every Tuesday after that.

I would also like to rec another one-shot by my cousin and bestie, Twilly, The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty. http:/www(dot)fanfiction(dot)net/s/6133973/1/ Today is her birthday, so it would make a great gift!