Sorry for the wait, guys, RL decided to butt it's head in, in the form of my three year old daughters dance recital and a nasty head cold.

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I want to give a big shout out to my beta Yuki Sakura-Chan. She is awesome. Go check out her stories, they are AWESOME!

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Disclaimer: I sadly do not own Twilight or any of the lovely characters. They belong to the wonderfully talented Stephenie Meyer. I do own the original story line and any original characters. But I do own: All of the books, soundtracks to both movies, Team Edward t-shirt, Twilight the movie, New Moon the movie and used ticket stubs to Twilight and New Moon. ************************************************************************

Last Chapter:

"Edward," I started, but quickly stopped when I saw a figure leaning up against my door.

"Jake," I yelped out in surprise.

"Bella," he said, anger lacing his tone. "What the fuck is going on here?"

"Jake, what are you doing here?" I squeaked out.

He glowered at me for a second, even from five feet away I could see the vein in his forehead throbbing.

"Don't play games, Swan," he rebutted angrily. He turned his death eyes onto Edward, making me painfully aware that Edward was still clutching me to his chest.

"Edward," I started as turned my head towards him, "Could you please put me down?"

His jaw twitched twice in annoyance. But then he slowly lowered me to the ground, while keeping a strong hand wrapped around my arm to make sure that I was steady.

"Jake, can we please take this inside?" I said, trying to take a step in his direction, but Edwards hand made that impossible.

"Fine," Jake huffed, never taking his eyes off of Edward. A quick glance at Edward confirmed that he was also giving Jake the stare down. I about threw my hands up in exasperation. Seriously, last time I checked I was an adult, I didn't need anyone telling me what to do and who I could do it with…..Umm…Yeah, that came out wrong, but still the point is I woke up this morning and put on my big girl panties all by myself and everything.

I pulled my arm away from Edward's death grip and started walking towards my door, digging my keys out as I walked. I felt Edward closely behind me, and I mean so close that if I stopped abruptly he would crash into my back.

Jake was effectively blocking the key hole. I nudged him sharply, but he didn't move. Finally with a great amount of force and me huffing, I pushed his hulking frame out of the way.

"Jeez Jake, you make a better door then a door," I tried joking to ease the tension that surrounded us.

He made some angry noise, but didn't comment.

I finally got the door unlocked, throwing it open, and I grabbed Jake's arm and shoved him into the apartment. I turned to Edward, throwing my arm out to block him from entering.

"Hey!" he exclaimed.

"What?" I asked cocking my eyebrow at him.

"Let me in, too."

"Hmmm…let you in so that you and Jake can tear each other apart," I fake contemplated this, tapping my pointer finger against my chin. "Yeah, I don't think so."

"Bella, he is too angry for you to go in there alone," he said harshly.

Before I could answer that I heard Jake barreling back towards the door.

"You better shut the fuck up, Cullen," he shouted once he was in view.

"Oh, yeah? What ya going to do about it, Black?"

"You want to see what I'll do about it?" he clenched his fist tightly in response.

Enough was enough.

"Both of you stop right now," I yelled.

"You," I said turning towards Jake, "Get your ass back inside and wait for me."

"You," I turned to Edward. "Are going to go home. I will call you later."

"This isn't over, Cullen," Jake warned him, stepping back into the apartment.

"Jake," I said warningly.

Grumbling he made his way back into the apartment. I grabbed the door knob, intent on shutting the door behind me to have a few minutes alone with Edward.

Jake shot forward again, yanking the door out of my grasp.

"What the hell Jake?"

"You're keeping this open!" he replied sternly.

"No, Dad. I think that I am going to close it. You, couch NOW!" I pointed my finger towards the living room.

We had a stare down for a minute, but when he realized that I wasn't backing down, he turned on his heel sharply mumbling something about five minutes and throat punching.

Sighing I closed the door softly behind me and turning to face Edward. My eyes locked with his angry ones. The green in them vibrant with rage.

"Edward," I said slowly. "Please…"

He cut me off abruptly "You seriously want me to leave?"

"I don't want you to leave, but I need you to leave," I said, raising my hand up and resting my palms on his chest on top of his wildly beating heart.

"Bella," he groaned with his eyes dimming in defeat.

"Edward," I mimicked him.

"This is not how I saw this night ending," he sadly admitted.

"Oh, and how did you see this night ending?" I asked, stepping closer to him.

"Like this," he replied in a husky voice.

His hand wrapped around the base of my neck and pulled me the rest of the way into his body. His hungry lips were on my mine seconds later, and his tongue plunging roughly into my mouth. I gasped slightly and wrapped my arms up around his shoulders, burying my left hand into his hair, and pulling him closer; earning a hearty moan from him.

I could feel parts of my body coming to life, parts that haven't been alive in a long time. In a bold move I pressed my hips into his, grounding against his obvious erection.

"Fuck," he groaned pulling away from me. "Don't start something that we can't finish right now."

I smiled wickedly at him, not sure what had come over me. I usually am not that bold and even though I wasn't ready to have sex with him, it was kind of fun teasing him. I pressed against him one last time before slowly pulling away, only to be yanked back against him again. His mouth nipping at my neck as his hand brushed up my front and trailed against my breast.

"You are seriously testing my control," his raspy voice came out in pants against the side of my neck.

"Sorry."

"You better be," he said as his head buried itself from my neck. His eyes now vibrant with something that I wouldn't call anger. He placed three more soft kisses against my mouth.

"I better go before your guard dog comes out her and bites me," he commented in a slight joking manner, but the hardness around his eyes lead me to believe that he was a little bit serious.

I placed a comforting hand against his broad chest, patting softly. "I will call you when he leaves."

"Thank you."

He kissed me one last time before turning around and heading for the elevator. I waved at him as the doors slid to close, blocking him from my view.

I turned back to my door, taking a deep breath, steeling myself for the shit storm that was about to happen.

"It's about time. I was getting ready to come back out there," Jake huffed once I was in the living room with him, again.

"To do what?" I asked, cocking my eyebrow up at him.

He tried to give me his most menacing stare, which just basically made him look constipated. "I would have done something."

I rolled my eyes at him and sank down on the couch next to him.

"Jake," I started. "I am very angry at you…." "You're angry at me?" he interrupted in disbelief. "Seriously? You promised me that you didn't want that jackass around you, and that you would call me if he even came within twenty feet of you. But no, I come to my friend's house tonight, to check up on her because I was worried after the phone call I received last night, only to find her in her ex-fiancés arms!"

Crap, I forgot that I called Jake last night before calling Edward. No wonder he was waiting at my apartment. I would have done the same. It just felt like everything that happened at Riley's dinner thing happened weeks ago, not last night.

"Who are you, and what have you done with Bella? What happened to that girl that didn't want to get hurt again?"

His questions were a slap in the face. I knew that I was in the wrong for not fessing up to my feelings for Edward earlier, but I did deserve that right to be happy and to decide who makes me so.

"Jake, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you earlier, but Edward and I have had a lot of discussions, and we decided that we deserved another chance," I offered lamely. How do explain when something just feels so right, that the thought of not trying makes you sick.

"Are you crazy, Bella?" he bellowed out. "This is just some sick game to him!"

I shot up off the couch like a rocket, and turned to him with my eyes blazing with anger.

"You don't know anything, Jacob Black! I am an adult. I can make my own decisions. This isn't a game to either of us. We love each other."

Scoffing, he rolled his eyes and pulled his six foot five frame off of my couch.

"You love each other? That's rich," he answered sarcastically. "Edward only loves his self, and you are just there to feed his ego.

Before I had time to think, my right hand shot out and slapped him across the face.

"Fuck, Bella," he yelped, stepping away from me, as his hand tried to sooth his red cheek.

I can't believe that I just did that. I took a step towards him, raising my hand to touch his now slightly swollen cheek. He flinched away from my touch, with his eyes burning with a kind of anger that I had never seen before.

"Jake…" I started in a pleading tone.

"No, Bella," his voice was hard and detached sounding. "You're an adult. You can make your own mistakes. I'm just not going to be there to pick up the pieces this time."

He grabbed his jacket off of the back of the couch and started making his way to the front door.

"Jake, please," I pleaded with him. "I'm so sorry." He gave me one last look before he left and slammed the door.

I don't know how long I stood there, staring at the door like Jake was going to come back and tell me that he was joking, and that he wasn't walking away from our lifelong friendship. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks, over my chin, and down the front of my throat. I wanted to move from this spot, but I was powerless to do so, it was like if I moved it would make everything permanent.

I finally forced myself to walk to my bathroom, and I soaked a washcloth with cool water and pressed against my tear swollen face. I let the coolness sooth me for a second, but then flashes of Jake's angry eyes broke through and I was crying all over again.

I had never seen him so angry before. It worried me. I wanted to call him to make sure that he had made it home okay. It always scared me when he rode his bike angry. I picked up my cell phone from where I set it by the sink. I contemplated dialing his number, but I knew that he wouldn't answer; so, I finally decided to call the one person who would know that he was okay. I found Vanessa's number in my phone and pushed send.

She answered on the second ring. "Bella?" she whispered.

"Hey, Vanessa," I said, my voice still rough from crying.

"Just a sec," she said, covering the mouth piece. I could hear her muffled voice and then a door shutting. "You still there?"

"Yes I am. Is Jake home?" I asked.

"He is. He's very angry."

"I know, I'm so sorry for everything." I started blubbering again.

"Shhh, sweetie. It's not all your fault, Jake's got a thick head and he is as stubborn as a mule."

"I know," I said in between sobs. "I just should have been up front with him in the beginning. I don't want to lose my friend."

"Don't you worry your pretty little head about that. Jake's not going anywhere. He just needs time to cool down," she reassured me.

"I don't know about that. He was pretty mad. I think that as long as I am with Edward, he will stick to staying away. But I can't choose between them, I love them both. You probably think that I am being irrational too," I confessed.

"Silly, Bella. Love is always irrational. I just want you to be happy, we both want that. Jake just needs some time to let this sink in, then everything will be just fine."

"Thanks," I answered halfheartedly. Part of me wanted to believe her, but the part remembered what Jake's eyes looked like when he was leaving.

"I better get back before he starts getting suspicious," she said after a minute.

"Oh, sure. Thanks again for answering and letting me know that he got home safe."

"Of course. I will talk to you later," she said quickly, and then she was gone.

I stumbled out of the bathroom and flopped down on my bed. I kicked off of my flats and crawled under the covers fully dressed. I could feel the exhaustion crawling up my bones, as my eye lids got heavy.

I had to call Edward before I crashed. I promised.

He answered half way through the first ring. "Hey, Love."

"Hi," I yawned.

"Sleepy?"

"Just a little."

"How did things go?" he asked, going right for the jugular.

"Fine." I said stiffly.

"You don't sound like things went 'fine.'

"I just….I…..I don't really want to talk about it right now," I admitted. If I told Edward Jake left upset, then I would have to tell him why and then I would have another pissed off guy on my hands.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm just tried and ready for bed. Can we talk about this later?"

"Of course. I'll call you tomorrow after I get out of my meeting," he said.

"Okay. That sounds good," I agreed.

"Go to sleep, Love. I'll talk to you tomorrow,"

"Kay. Night," I mumbled.

"Night." He said.

The next day at work flew by. I barely had time to eat, let alone time to think about everything that had happened with Jake. Just after lunch, Emily, my assistant stepped into my office.

"Miss Swan?" she asked timidly.

"Yes, Emily," I answered her, not looking up from the manuscript that I was working on.

"There is a delivery here for you,"

"Bring it in," I said, marking my spot on the page with my finger.

She left only to quickly return with a huge vase of red roses. They were beautiful, if you liked that sort of thing. I never really preferred roses; I was more of a lily girl. There was only one person who would send this display though, Edward, but he knew my feelings on roses.

"Is there a card?" I asked as she set the gaudy display on the coroner of my desk.

"Yes. Would you like me to hand it to you?"

"Please," I responded impatiently. I hated timid assistants. I was never much of a hand holder, and I liked when people did their jobs without a lot of questions.

"Here," she said, setting the card in front of me. "Do you need anything else?"

"No that will do," I said dismissing her. I waited until she scurried out of my office before I lifted my finger from the paper marking my spotting with my red pen.

I picked up the tiny white envelope and examined the outside. The writing was unfamiliar, and a tremor of fear ran down my spine. I chuckled quietly. I realized I was being silly, and I knew who the flowers were from.

I quickly tore into the card, curious to see what Edward had to say. The unfamiliar handwriting continued inside the card. My fears were confirmed, the flowers weren't from Edward.

"Bella, I am so glad that we met. My brother is stupid to let you get away. Thankfully I am not. I will be seeing you soon! James."

I gasped sharply as the card fluttered out of hand and hit my desk. James. How did he find me? I seriously thought that I he would drop everything after Saturday. I knew that I needed to do something about this. Having a police officer for a father had taught me to be overly cautious.

I pressed the intercom button on my phone that connected me to Emily.

"Yes, Miss Swan," came her cherry voice.

"Emily, did you see who delivered those flowers?"

"Umm…a tall, blonde man. His hair was in a pony tail," she said. "Is everything okay, Miss Swan?"

"Everything is fine. If that man shows back up here again, though, I need you to call security right away, okay?" I said quickly.

"Okay, Miss Swan. Do you need anything else?"

"Not right now. Thank you, Emily," I said and then quickly disconnected from her.

My hands were shaking. I can't believe that he had come in here. I snatched up my phone and dialed Edward's number.

"Hello, Love," he answered happily.

"Hi." Crap. My voice was even shaking.

"What's wrong?" he asked in his no nonsense tone.

"I just got a flower delivery," I started.

"I didn't send you any flowers," he said in confusion.

"I know. They are from James."

"That guy from Saturday night?" His voice was now angry.

"Yes," I answered stoically.

I went on to read him the card and to tell him that James had delivered them himself. I could hear him mumbling curse words as I spoke.

"This is serious, Bella," he said once I was finished.

"You don't think I know that?" I snapped, then instantly felt regretful for taking my emotions out on him. "I'm sorry." I mumbled.

"It's okay. I know that you know that this is serious. What are we going to do about this?"

"Um…I don't know," I admitted. "There isn't enough evidence to call the police. I guess I'll just have to be extra vigilant."

"You need to also call your brother," he added softly.

I groaned out loud, not that calling Emmett is a bad idea, I just didn't want to deal with his reaction.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, either you do or I do," Crap. His no nonsense voice was back.

"Next you're going to tell me that I have to call Charlie, also," I said in exasperation.

"You probably should."

"Edward, I will call my brother, but I am going to wait to bring my dad into this," I said firmly.

"Fine. But if this escalates you are calling him."

"Fine," I huffed.

"When will you be home tonight?" he asked.

"Around six. Why?" "Well if I cut my next meeting short and let Tanya handle the suppliers. I can meet you there at six,"

"Again, why?"

"I don't like the thought of you going home alone."

"Edward, not that I don't love the idea of spending the evening with you, but you have things that you need to do. I am a big girl," I argued stubbornly.

"Bella, please don't fight me on this. I will win, even if it means that I will spend the evening sitting in front of your door."

I just rolled my eyes. "Fine, I'll see you at six," I muttered.

"See you then, Love," he said quickly before disconnecting the call.

I had about an hour and a half before Emmett was out of school for the day, I usually could catch him between his last class and whatever sports practice he was running after school.

I busied myself with work, trying to keep my eyes from wandering to the flowers that were no screaming at me from the coroner of my desk. After about an hour of unsuccessfully ignoring them, I decided to have Emily throw them out.

"Emily, can you please come in here?" I asked her over the intercom.

"Yes, Miss Swan."

A few seconds later she appeared in my office.

"Could you please dispose of these flowers?" I asked, waving my hand in the direction of the roses.

Her eyes widened slightly. "You want me to throw them out?" she asked in surprise.

"Yes," I answered her curtly. Again with the questions, maybe it was time to find a new assistant.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Of course I am sure, Emily. I wouldn't call you in here unless I was," I snapped at her.

"Of course, Miss Swan. I am so sorry for questioning you," She stammered out. She grabbed up the vase and rushed out of my office.

I felt slightly bad for snapping at the girl, but I hated the nonstop questions, especially when she questioned something that I asked her to do.

Shaking my head, I decided to put these thoughts on hold until I was in a better state of mind. It wasn't Emily's fault that I was so on edge.

I stared at the now empty coroner of my desk for a beat. I was glad that I had Emily throw them out.

Sighing I looked at the clock and realized that I needed to call Emmett if I wanted to be able to talk to him. I picked up my cell and dialed his number. Vanilla Ice was singing in my ear until Emmett answered.

"Hey, Baby sis," he boomed out, causing me to pull the phone from my ear.

"Hey, Big brother," I answered him.

"What can I do you for?" he asked. "I'm figuring since you're calling so early that this isn't a social call." "Well, something happened today and I think that you need to know about it,"

"What did Edward do now?"

"This isn't about Edward," I said defensively.

"Oh!" he said in surprise. "Then what's this about short stuff?"

"Do you have a minute? This is a long story,"

"Ya, the boys are changing for practice so I've got time,"

I proceeded to tell him everything, starting with Saturday night and working my way to the flower delivery.

"Where can I find this guy?" he asked once I was finished.

"I don't know,"

"Well we need to find out," he said angrily. "I think he needs a meeting with my fist."

"I think I have to agree with you,"

"Well, go home and pack a bag, you're going to stay with Rose and me,"

"Actually, Edward is meeting me there at six," I told him.

"What?"

"Edward has offered to stay with me tonight," I repeated. I knew a lecture was coming.

"I don't like this, Bella," He said, confirming my lecture theory. "You just started seeing the guy again,"

"What does that have to do with this, Emmett?" I demanded.

"It's just fast isn't it?"

"Seriously, Em? That is not going to happen; he just doesn't want me to be alone,"

"Fine, but maybe you should call Jake too," he finally agreed.

"Yeah, not going to happen," I said regretfully. I had forgotten for a second about Jake and my fall out. The hole in my chest opened a little more.

"Why not?"

"We had a fight," I said, not elaborating.

"I would ask about what, but I need to go, the boys are out on the practice field. I will call you later."

"Okay. I love you, big brother," I said, I felt the need to tell him that.

"I love you to, Bella Bean."

Six o'clock sharp I was unlocking my door. A handsome Edward standing behind me, caressing my neck with his hand.

"Was Tanya upset that you left early?" I asked once we were locked tightly in my apartment.

"Nothing that she won't get over," he said nonchalantly.

"So she was then?" I probed.

"Bella," he sighed, pulling my down onto his lap. "Tanya is well Tanya. She's hard to explain, but she'll get over her little drama. I promise."

I nodded my head and bit my tongue. I really wanted to say that Tanya seemed liked a psycho, who wasn't going to get over anything, any time soon, but I was going to trust Edward's judgment;. He had known her longer.

So instead of saying anything I snuggled deeper into his lap, pulling my feet up onto the couch.

"This is nice." I mumbled into his chest.

"Yes it is." he agreed. "Plus I know that you are safe, when you're right here."

He squeezed me to him to make his point.

"Well then we should stay this way, you know in the name of safety and all that," I joked.

"I concur," he said, nuzzling his face into my neck, placing soft kisses there.

I had never felt so safe in my entire life.

Reviewers get a teaser!

So I'm gonna pimp myself out, I have another story on here that I am also working on called "The Other Twin" if you're bored and you love me, please check it out. It hasn't gotten a lot of attention and it's feelings are kind of hurt…lol…but in all seriousness if you feel like it, give it a read and let me know what you think.

XO-

Symphiann