BPOV

Edward asked several questions about my life up until this point. It was like meeting for the first time again, 20-questions to the max. I tried to avoid certain answers, but he could always tell whenever I made an attempt. "What's his name?" he asked.

"Dan."

"How did you two meet?" I tried to avoid anything that had to with him, but he got it out of me anyway.

"He works at the station with Charlie." Edward's eyes narrowed slightly and muttered under his breath. The questions continued, and I was grateful for every word that he spoke to me. Periodically, he would reach up and brush a tear off of my cheek. I didn't even notice it when I started to cry anymore; I didn't even notice my own breathing. I was completely absorbed in him.

I just happened to glance up at the clock on the wall and see what time it was. "Shoot," I muttered, suddenly remembering that I had plans today.

"What is it?" he asked

"I have to go to work," I said uneasily. He nodded in understanding.

"Would it be alright if I came with you?" he asked. My hesitation in answering him caused him to backtrack.

"If it's a problem, then I won't," he started to say.

"No, Edward, I want you to come with me," I said, terrified at the thought of being without him, even for a few hours. "I just don't think things will go smoothly if Ian sees you," I explained. He looked confused.

"Ian?" My eyes widened.

"I'm sorry…I didn't tell you. Ian is Angela and Ben's son. I'm his nanny." He suddenly looked relieved. "What?" I asked.

"I used to think that there wouldn't be anything more frustrating than not being able to hear your thoughts, but I was wrong. I can't hear your thoughts, and I don't know your life anymore, so following along with what you say is difficult. I didn't know who Ian was…I don't know anything anymore." I didn't know how to reply.

"But that will change over time," he promised me. I was still conflicted over being away from him.

"What if I called you when Ian's taking a nap?" I asked, trembling slightly. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me into him.

"I'll be there as soon as you've finished dialing." A sudden thought occurred to me.

"Is your number the same?" I asked. I hadn't ever tried calling it after he left. He nodded.

"Yes. I thought about changing it many times, but I needed some small connection with you to stay partially sane. I knew that if by some chance you did call me, it would give me every reason to come back—I wouldn't be able to fight against myself anymore." I looked down, shying away from the burning seriousness in his voice.

He quickly changed the subject. "Would you like me to drive you?" he asked. I didn't remember him having his car with him.

"O-of course," I stuttered, slowly rising from the couch. He pulled open the front door for me, and I was startled to see the same silver Volvo parked in my driveway. I turned to gawk at him, but he answered any question that I may have had with one word.

"Alice."

"Alice is here too?" I asked, suddenly sounding like a little kid. He nodded.

"We all are." He waited patiently while I buckled my seat belt. His driving was just as I remembered it, crazy and unpredictable. I remembered the first time I had experienced his real driving, how appalled I was.

"Turn here," I instructed. He followed my directions and somehow kept his eyes on me at the same time. "Wait!" I cried out, suddenly panicked. He stopped the car immediately.

"What?" he asked, sounding just as panicked as I was.

"I need to get out here," I explained. "I don't want her to see you, not yet." He closed his eyes and nodded.

"I understand."

"She lives at 24435, it's the one with a blue windows." I opened the door and slowly got out of the car. "I'll call," I promised.

"Until then," he said, and then drove away slowly. I hurried over to the sidewalk and stopped in front of Angela's house. Would she be able to see the difference immediately? When I walked in the house, Angela was sitting with Ian on the couch. His half-eaten snack was still laid out on the coffee table.

"Bella!" Ian shouted, springing off of the couch and ramming into me. I smiled and ruffled his hair, not even noticing the pain when he collided with me.

"Hey buddy," I said and towed him back over to the couch. Angela fumbled around trying to find her purse.

"Hey Bella," she said happily. I smiled and gave her a one-armed hug. "I don't know how long I'm going to be out for. We've been having some banking trouble, the accounts are all messed up," she explained. "Plus, I had to stop by the store for a few things too."

"Okay," I said. "I've got all day." I cringed inwardly. I did have all day, but I didn't necessarily want to spend it here.

"Bye Mommy," Ian shouted, running into his room and digging around in his toy chest. Angela laughed to herself and hurried out of the house and into her car. The next two hours were torture. Ian, as always, was an angel….an angel who apparently didn't want to take a nap.

I finally got him to fall asleep after three glasses of warm milk and a full rotation of Chopin's Nocturnes. I easily lifted him off of the couch and tucked him into his own bed, closing the door halfway.

I hurried into the kitchen and picked up their house phone. I dialed his number slowly, unused to pressing on the keys, even though my fingers had it memorized. He answered on the first ring.

"Bella?"

"Yes, it's me," I sighed into the receiver. "He's sleeping." There was a knock on the front door as soon as I finished my sentence. "If that's you, just come in," I said. The front door opened and shut quietly. I put down the phone and walked into the living room.

My heart stopped when I saw him, which I had expected to happen. I couldn't keep myself from throwing myself across the room and into his arms. "That was torturous," I muttered. He chuckled.

"I agree." He carefully lifted me into his arms and sat down on the couch, draping me over his lap. I looked up at him and managed to smile.

"What were you doing for the last couple of hours?" I asked. He shrugged.

"I just went home. Alice said you'd be calling soon so I left early and waited."

"Oh." Alice. God, I missed her.

"Alice wanted to come, but I told her to wait," he said.

"Why?" I asked, shocked.

"We're watching things very closely now, and I want to take things slowly." He read the confusion in my eyes and explained further. "If I brought Alice with me, you wouldn't have been very stable. But if you would like, I will take you to see her as soon as Angela gets back home." I nodded.

"Okay, thanks." He ran his fingers through my hair and was quiet for a few moments.

"Why don't you wear your wedding ring?" he asked. I looked down at my hands and sighed.

"Well, not that I have any desire wear it now," I started, "but I guess I'm allergic to something in the metal. My skin always reacts when I put it on, so I stopped wearing it a few months ago." He laced his fingers through mine and I turned my face into his chest and was momentarily intoxicated.

"Angela's coming," he said quickly. I sat up and started to panic.

"Don't leave," I whispered. He nodded and ran into the hallway. I swallowed hard and flicked on the TV. After a couple of minutes, Angela opened the door and carried in a few bags of groceries.

"Hey," she said cheerily. I smiled at her and offered to help with the bags. "Oh, no, that's okay. Stay there, I wanted to talk to you," she said as she sat them down on the counter and plopped down on the couch. She looked nervous.

"Alright, what's up?" I asked.

"I know you don't want to hear this, but I'll say it anyway because I love you and I can't watch this happen anymore." I eyed her warily.

"Angela," I started. She held up a hand to silence me.

"No, Bella let me finish. Please. I don't know if you love Dan or not, but I meant what I said the other day. You've never gotten over Edward, and I know because I was there the whole time. I saw you everyday at school, I saw you after the honey moon and I've seen you almost every day since. Ian talks about the bruises, and I've seen them myself." I just sat there.

"If it happens again, I'll tell Charlie. I don't want to see you hurt anymore. I won't let it happen."

"Ange, it's not going to happen anymore," I said weakly. She glared at me.

"That's what they all say, Bella."

"It's different this time," I promised. She still glared.

"Oh really?" I closed my eyes and tried to think of the words before they came out, but it was too late.

"Edward's back." Her jaw dropped and her eyes bugged out a little.

"What?"

"H-he's back." I said, smiling lightly.

"Since when?"

"Today, actually." She shook her head slowly.

"Why would he be back? Did he come back for you?" she asked.

"I-I don't really know why," I lied, "but he's here, and that's all that matters to me. Don't say anything to anyone, please," I begged.

"I won't," she said. She looked at me oddly. "That's why your cheeks look warmer," she laughed. "Are you going to leave Dan?" My blood went cold. I didn't even know if that was possible. I wanted to with ever fiber of my being, but I didn't know if it was even a possibility.

"You know how these things go," I said hoarsely. She nodded. I cleared my throat. "I don't think I'll be around very much for the next few days. I have to take care of a few things," I said.

"Oh, don't worry about it," she said. "Just keep yourself safe, Bella." I reached over and gave Angela a hug and then left. Edward pulled the car up to the curb as soon as I got out and we drove off quickly. He was quiet, and drove slower than he normally did.

"Is something wrong?" I asked hesitantly. He shook his head.

"I didn't know that Angela had such a vivid memory of the past," he said quietly. Dread seeped into my core. He must have seen her mind when Angela named off the things she had seen me go through.

"It's in the past, Edward," I said forcefully. "None of that matters now, we have more important things to think about."

"None of that matters?" he asked. "It matters to me. I will never forgive myself," he said with his jaw clenched. I decided against arguing, I didn't want to see him mad. He turned down a familiar pathway and sped past the trees. The closer we go to the house, the more and more excited I got.

My body was craving just the general presence of the family. My family. They had always felt that way to me, it just felt natural to me. My heart pounded in my chest, fueled by adrenaline. For the first time in years, I felt alive. Each breath that I took was exhilarating.

"Listen to your heart flutter," he mumbled. "Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked. I scowled at him and got out of the car. Edward was in front of me before I could step forward. He sighed and ruffled my hair. I winced and grabbed his hand, trying to tow him toward the house, even though I knew it was useless. It was as if he thought I hated his family now that they had been gone for so long.

"Edward, I love your family. I feel like they're my own, and I'm perfectly stable," I argued. He squeezed my hand gently and we finally made it to the front door. I let out a sigh of relief when he pushed open the front door and allowed me to walk into the house. Everything was exactly the same way as it had been.

Alice was waiting at the top of the stairs, smiling and bouncy as ever. I looked up at her and felt my face break into a grin. She flew down the stairs and I threw myself against her, ignoring the biting pain that wound its way through my nerves. The rest of the family slowly approached. I even noticed Rosalie had come.

They all stared at me like they hadn't ever seen me before. "Hi…" I started. I took in the expressions of everyone around me, even Alice's. Panic-stricken, somber, dismayed. I turned to look at Edward, suddenly afraid. Had I done something wrong?

"What is it?" I asked in a small voice. Edward wound his arm around my waist.

"We weren't expecting you to look so…" Alice tried to say.

"Dead." Rosalie finished. I exhaled quickly. That was it. As bad as it may have been, I was expecting much worse. I didn't say anything, only looked down at the ground.

"I'm…sorry," I whispered. Esme quickly stepped forward and pulled me out of Edward's grip and into her arms.

"No, my dear, we're sorry." I could feel Edward fuming behind me, and I knew waves of hate were being directed toward Rosalie by the expression on Jasper's face. I laughed shakily, and the rest of the family warmed up. Things were returning to normal. I couldn't stay very long; Alice warned me that Dan would be home soon.

I didn't panic like I normally would have, just asked Alice what I was making him for dinner and decided to stay here for as long as I could. Tacos wouldn't take me very long to make, and I could always swing by Taco Bell and pretend like I had cooked them myself if I needed to.

Edward stayed very close to me, treating me like a fragile doll. He was either holding my hand or tracing my cheek bones. He didn't say a word the whole time, until the end.

"We should go," he said. I nodded, knowing if I stayed any longer there would be trouble.

"Would it be alright if I came back tomorrow?" I asked Carlisle before we left.

"Of course Bella, you are always welcome; you're part of the family." I smiled shyly and then Edward raced us back to my place. Thankfully, Dan's car wasn't parked in the driveway. Despite Alice's reassurances, I was still worried. Edward helped me with dinner, cutting and dicing the vegetables quicker than I would have thought possible, while I cooked the meat and began to fry taco shells.

He was still quiet.

"Edward, will you please tell me what's bothering you?" I asked, almost begged. He stopped dicing.

"I don't want to leave you alone, not even for a second. Especially now." My chest tightened. I didn't want to be alone, either.

"You have to," I said. Even though I tried to hide it, there was an underlying tone in my voice. Something went beyond fear.

"I know I do, but—Bella, he could kill you, and if I lose you again, I don't know what—" he stopped talking, obviously pained by the idea. "I will not be leaving the parameters of this house," he said finally. "He won't see me, but I will be here."

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