I jumped away from her, my cheeks flaming. This. Is. The. End. Of. The. World. Literally.

I smiled at my father, and he chuckled. He scooped at the eggs, burnt on the bottom, still chuckling. He got out three slices of bread and put them in the toaster, popping them down. "So…"

"Hi, Dr. Cullen. I'm Bella Swan, Charlie's daughter." Carlisle nodded, smiling.

"Nice to see you again, Bella." Her face barely registered any surprise, but her perfect eyebrows, slightly arching over those beautiful eyes…it was almost too much.

Bella cleared her throat, blushing slightly. Such a lovely color… "My father just wanted me to drop off an envelope with money in it. He said he owed you money…?" Carlisle chuckled again, nodding.

"A lost poker match we had a couple years back. You were both at camp. I believe we were with the Clearwaters, Billy, and Joseph Brandon." He sighed at the memories. But my mind was somewhere else. Our parents played poker? "Well…I won't accept the money now. Have your father put it in your college funds. An late birthday present, perhaps?"

Bella bit her lip. "I don't need the money for my college funds. I've raked in money in the theater department for a while, including lemonade stands, babysitting, my job at the Newton's store, etcetera. And neither my father's or my mother's jobs are bad paying. Plus, Phil and my mother have been adding money to a savings account over in Florida for a couple years now.

Not that I'm not grateful or anything, it's just…my father warned me this would happen and made me practice this speech a million times before he let me come over here to drop it off. He said that you never accepted money. And I couldn't bear taking your money."

Carlisle laughed as he scooped the eggs onto the porcelain plates. The toast popped and I went to butter them, still listening to their conversation. "No, no, no. I insist. It wasn't even that much. A bill, give or take a couple." He laughed again nonchalantly, and Bella looked at him curiously. It occurred to me that Bella didn't know what a bill was. I had grown up with it, Carlisle being from the city and all. But she had grown up here.

"A bill is city slang for a hundred dollars," I explained, dropping the sliced pieces of toast onto the plates. She nodded, though she still didn't understand. "My dad was raised in Boston."

Intuition dawned on her, and Carlisle laughed harder. "I won't take it, Dr. Cullen. The money is yours." She set the plain white envelope on the kitchen counter, determination in every feature of her gorgeous face. How could just one look make me love her even more?

"If you wish. I'll just send it back around Christmas." She shrugged. As if he'd forget. "Don't think I'll forget." He grabbed the envelope and quickly wrote in elegant doctor-script - the kind that nobody except a doctor can decipher - 'Bella's Christmas present'. He clipped it to the refrigerator, smiling to himself. Her mouth hung open slightly in indignation, and I couldn't help but laugh.

Her head immediately snapped toward me, and I handed her a plate full of scrambled eggs and toast. She took it tentatively. I grinned at her war between leaving before she embarrassed herself even more and her guilt at the waste of food.

Alas, her hunger won out in the end, and she grabbed the fork my father held out for her and went to sit at the gleaming mahogany table. I took my own plate and I and my father followed after her. I sat across from her, and my father sat at the head, holding out his hands on either side of him. I groaned. Grace.

Bella inclined her head to the side, but I put my hand in his and he took it gently. Bella followed my lead. As if he couldn't ruin my life even more. I reached my hand for hers, and she stretched across the table to grab it. Her warm hand was nearly too much to bear.

"God, thank you for the food we are about to eat. Thank you for the abundance of nourishment that we receive through your blessing. Bless our food. Amen." He let go of our hands, and I reluctantly let go of Bella's. Sighing, I set to work on the burned eggs, and hardly toasted bread. Not the best meal I had ever eaten.

We ate silently, and Carlisle took our plates and rinsed them off. He slid them into the dishwasher. I should've known it was coming.

"So…if you two aren't dating…" Carlisle started, leaving the rest for us. I shared a look with Bella. Oh God, I did not want to deal with this. I tried to make a break.

I cleared my throat. "Well, I've got homework, and I'm sure Bella has to get home." Bella looked at me curiously, and I gave her a look. "Right, Bella?" Intuition flickered across her face.

"Right…yeah. I'm sure Charlie wants me to do something else. Dishes, laundry, whatever." She stood up. "Thank you so much for breakfast. I'll see you later, Mr. Cullen." She smiled at me. "See you at school, Edward."

She dashed toward the door, slipping out gracefully. I stared after her for a long while, before I felt Carlisle's hand on my shoulder. "You're in love, aren't you?"

I blushed. "Maybe," I muttered grudgingly. "What's it to you, anyway?"

Carlisle chuckled, patting my shoulder softly. "Son, tell me what's on your mind. I'm your father - I want to know."

"She's dating Paul," I said. That was all I had to say. Everyone knew Paul. It was Paul.

"Ah…I see. Star linebacker. He's got a scholarship going for-"

"Dad."

"Sorry, son." There was a moment of silence. "Look…everybody has it. A crush on a taken woman. It happens to every man in the history of mankind. And it almost always ends in heartbreak. Be careful of that vital organ; heartbreak is the worst wound you can receive. But I have faith in you. Maybe you'll win her over. Like I won Esme."

I did a double take. What? "What? You won Mom?" I turned to look at him.

He nodded, smiling at memories. "Your mother was a volunteer at the hospital I was interning for. It was while I was in college. We became good friends. It wasn't until I was head over heels in love with her that I found out she was engaged.

"You know your mother is three years older than me, but it didn't make any difference. My own father told me that older women always broke your heart. But I couldn't stay away."

My father painted a picture in my head. I saw my mother before she was wounded. I saw my father without the receding hairline. "Everything about her drew me in. She was the most wonderful person I had ever come across. And her fiancé was one of the worst.

"He was the most vile people I had ever met. But when he was around her, she was all he could see. He was one of the most doting of men you could ever meet. It was obvious that he was completely in love with her. Of course, who couldn't? But that was one of the reasons why I hated him. Your mother returned the feelings with a fervor.

"But I couldn't stop trying. I would not let my feelings go unreturned. And it happened that they weren't. Esme felt the same connection that I did. And soon, we were in a hidden affair.

"Eventually, her fiancé found out. And that was when I found out just how terrible he really was. The bruise that he left on her cheek still haunts me. But I and your uncle Edmund took care of that. And soon after I had won her over, after the terrible escapade we had with her ex, I proposed. Of course, she accepted. And here we are."

After the story, I sat there for a long time. "But that's a rare type of story. But maybe I passed the gene on to you. Maybe you have the power and charisma that I had to win over a lovely, taken woman."

I imagined every piece he had told me. I would have to get the other side of the story from my mother. "Who was her fiancé?"

My father chuckled. "You know him. You might be surprised." As I waited, I took out a cigarette and lit it. He eyed me sternly, but made no move to stop me. That's how it was with my family. Emmett and I had been smoking since Freshman year. And I waited, and Carlisle finally told me. "George Harrison."

I choked. I had been sucking in a drag when he said it, and it all went down my throat, tobacco and smoke. I coughed and choked for five minutes straight, my father patting my back soothingly chuckling. "I told you you might be surprised."

"Yeah, no kidding," I wheezed. Paul's father.

I thought about this for a while, turning the words of his story over and over. It was then I realized that my dad had said almost the exact same thing as Emmett and Jasper had. I gritted my teeth.

Carlisle changed the subject. "So, how's your brother? He never stops by anymore."

"That's 'cause you told him not to."

"Oh." I waited. "Well, how is he anyway?"

"Fine. Him and his band have a gig tonight. Am I allowed to go?" Carlisle nodded. He could never deny Emmett anything. They loved each other better from afar.

Carlisle chuckled. "While you're there, teach your brother some proper English. He sent a note the other day talking about the cost of rent and how my monthly checks were coming too slowly. 'The money be sent quickly to me now on.' The boy has terrible grammar."

"I'll get right on that," I laughed.

After some more chat, I climbed the stairs. The day was half over, the sun high in the sky. I finished my math, and moved on to English. I took out the class book, and began reading - notes, thoughts, questions, etcetera.

I finished the homework from all my classes, and by that time, I looked at the clock and realized it was six. I had to get ready.

I heard my mother downstairs, and I quickly showered. As I toweled my hair, I jogged down the stairs to find my mother cooking dinner, singing along to the Spice Girls. Oh, how I loved her.

She turned to me, smiling. "Ah, my Edward. So you are here! You're father has just left, sadly. But I'm making dinner!" The smile that lit up her face was contagious. Her being was filled with bubbles and love. There was no one in this world that could compare to my mother. Who could dislike someone like her?

I laughed with her, taking in her ravaged face and paler eye. The one that could not see anything. She smiled again, and I smiled back. "Your father told me you're going out tonight. Is that true?" I nodded. "Oh…well, tell Emmett hello for me, and good luck."

Some might ask why I am an only child. Emmett isn't really my older brother. For all intents and purposes, yes. He is. But truthfully, he's only a my mother's sister's son. AKA, my cousin. My parents never adopted him when his parents died in 9/11. He still has nightmares sometimes.

He was always given them a hard time - "You're not my real parents, you never will be" - and he got into a lot of trouble - drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, etc - so eventually it became too much. But Esme always thought of him as her son.

"I will, Mom." I helped her cook in silence, my towel draped across the back of a chair, my hair air-drying. After it was all cooked, we set to work on eating the steamed vegetables, and grilled chicken. With rice.

My mother had to be the best cook known to man. She should open up a restaurant, literally.

My stomach full, and my hair dry, I brushed my teeth and raked my fingers through the bronze locks topping my head. And then I remembered Emmett said I could invite someone. It couldn't hurt, right?

She picked up on the first ring. "Hello, Swan residence."

"Bella, hey."

"Edward! Hi! What's up?" I felt sweat in the palms of my hands.

"My brother and his band have this show tonight at 'The Ring' and his music rules. You want to come?" I heard her phone put over the speaker, and mumbles in the background.

"My father said it's OK. Can you pick me up?" I nodded, then realized she couldn't see me.

I laughed to myself. "Yeah. I'll see you in a few, OK?" We exchanged a few more words, and decided that I would go pick her up in ten minutes. I grabbed my cash for drinks and such before heading downstairs.

I waited a couple more minutes before I decided I could leave. I went to say goodbye to my mother when the phone rang. Sighing irritably, I picked up the hall receiver.

"Hello?" There was some breathing on the other end, and a few sniffles.

"Who is this?" I hissed.

A few more sniffles before I heard her voice. "I'm sorry, Edward. I hate to bug you again." A cough. I stayed silent. "But I have to tell you." A few more sniffles. "I tried to, but you wouldn't let me. I wanted to do this in person, but…it seems like this is the only way."

I was able to choke out through my shock, "What is it Emily?"

"I'm dying."