Happy Sunday all, here's chapter 22, I hope you'll like it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

If I could be like that
I'd give anything
Just to live one day
In those shoes.
If I could be like that, what would I do?
What would I do?

Now and dreams we run.

She spends her days up in the north park,
watching the people as they pass.
And all she wants is just a little piece of this dream, is that too much to ask?
With a safe home, and a warm bed, on a quiet little street.
All she wants is just that something to hold onto, that's all she needs.

3 Doors Down – Be Like That

Chapter 22 – Be Like That

BPOV

I'm sitting on the couch in Edward's apartment. It's the middle of the afternoon, Emmett and Jasper are out, and Edward is in his bedroom. He wanted to give me some privacy. Initially, he wanted to just leave, but I convinced him I needed him there. He stayed and went to his bedroom to do God knows what, but at least he's here. I'm not alone.

I know what I have to do, I simply don't know how to do it. Rose wants us all to believe she's fine, but I know she's not. Emmett knows she's not. I just don't know how to talk to her about it. I'm scared she'll just tell me to mind my own business.

During the two years of our ordeal, we were as close as two people could get. We were our own support system. That closeness makes the fact that she's pulling away all the harder to take. I don't understand why I'm not her support system any longer.

With this question in mind, I dial her number in New York City.

"Hello?" She answers after two rings.

"Rose, hi, it's Bella." I don't like how unsteady my voice sounds. I'm afraid it will tip her off that something is wrong.

"Oh, hey Bella, how are you?" She sounds very casual, Rose has perfected casual though so it doesn't throw me off course.

"I'm good, and you? How's New York?" I sound stronger now, I'm determined to get through this call and help her.

"Just peachy."

There is a moment of silence between us. Maybe this is the right time.

"Is everything alright, Rose?"

"Yeah, why?"

I take a deep breath.

"Are you sure? You know we're all there for you, right?"

"What are you talking about?" I feel a wall coming up, and decide I need to just lay it all out on the line right now before she has a chance to close me out completely.

"Rose, we were so close when we were together in that basement. What changed?"

"That's the thing, Bella. We're not in that basement anymore. We're out. It's over."

"I don't understand." I feel like she's speaking in Russian to me, her words make no more sense than if she were in fact speaking a foreign language to me.

"You can't understand. Nobody can. Nobody can because you don't know what it's like."

There's hope yet. I may be onto something here.

"What do you mean, Rose? You say I don't know what it's like, explain to me, I'm sure I know some of it, we were there together after all."

There's silence at the other end of the line. I can't hear anything at all, so I check the screen of my phone to make sure we weren't disconnected.

"No, Bella, you don't know what it's like to be alone! You don't know because you have everyone there! Edward, Alice, Emmett…" I hear a sob after she said Emmett. She's right, I have everyone here with me and she has no one, not there with her at least.

"Rose, listen to me. You're not alone. We're all here for you."

"But you're all thousands of miles away, Bella! You, you have them all within arms' reach! I don't! My parents barely talk to me. My dad is always working and my mom is always out for some charity thing, or at her hairdresser's, or having a manicure or god knows what else. I have nothing here, Bella. No support. No help. My therapist does a good job, but it's not enough." Each word loses a tiny piece of hope as she speaks them.

"Then come out here, Rose! Come here and be with us!"

"It's not that easy, Bella." It sounds easy enough when I say it.

"Yes, it is! Just give it a try. Come for a couple of weeks, we'll talk. Emmett misses you… I miss you. You say everyone's here? Then come and be with everyone. Everyone will be more than happy to see you. We're all here for you. I'll set up an appointment for you with my therapist, if you want." Desperation is not a strong enough word, with each word I speak I am more anxious for her to just get on a plane and arrive at our front door.

Rose's crying can be heard through the phone. My heart breaks into a million pieces for her.

"I don't know what to do, Bella."

"I know, Rose, but please, trust me. Come out for a couple of weeks, see how it goes. Just see how you feel here. If it's better here then, I don't know…we can get an apartment together or something. I was thinking of signing up for school for the next semester, and I'd really like to live off of campus."

"What about Edward?"

"What about him?"

"Don't you want to live with him?"

"Isn't it a bit soon for that?" I say after a moment of silence.

"Bella, if you're ready, then it's not too soon."

"You think?"

"That's how I see things, Bella. Talk to Edward, or even your therapist. But personally, I don't see anything wrong with that, as long as you and Edward are both ready." I have no idea how this conversation went from focusing on her to focusing on me. I need to turn this back around to her.

"Okay… I'll talk to Edward, and my therapist. See how we're getting along? Don't you want that all the time?"

She's silent for a moment.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll make arrangements and let you know." This is perfect news; to be honest I think I need her as much as she needs me. It just feels wrong for her to be doing this alone. She has to be with me, with us.

"Great! Alright, Rose, I gotta go. Edward and I are hitting the road soon to head back to Forks, so I'll talk to you later. Email me your travel information when you have all the details, okay?" I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders, I can't wait to see her.

"Okay. Have a safe trip back to Forks, and say hi to everyone for me." To be honest she sounded like she felt better after her decision was made too, at least outwardly she sounded better.

"I will. Take care, Rose."

"You too, Bella. Bye."

We hang up, and I put the phone on the coffee table.

I'm so happy I got through to her, I didn't like to see her so unhappy. It's not good for her. Talking to a therapist is good, but it's not enough. A support system is the best, and she doesn't have that. Her parents clearly don't know what to do, and instead of talking to her, asking her what they can do for her, they just go on with their lives as if she weren't there. What a pair of parents.

Hopefully she will come soon, and be able to see that we're all here for her, no matter what.

On that thought, I get up from the couch and make my way to Edward's bedroom. I open the door and find him sitting on his bed, typing away on his laptop. He looks up when he sees me enter.

"Hey, how did it go?" He asks, putting his laptop to the side to welcome me in his arms.

"Fine. At first she didn't want to admit she wasn't doing good, but I got through to her. She's coming here."

"Good. Emmett will be thrilled."

"Yeah." I smile, elated at the turn of events.

We are silent for a moment, just enjoying each other's presence.

"So, ready to go back to Forks?" He asks.

"Not really, to be honest."

"Why?" He sounds surprised.

"Well… I really like it here."

"I'm happy to hear that."

"And… I might be ready to go to school."

"That's very good news. I'm so proud of you." He kisses my forehead.

"I told Rose we could maybe get a place together if she likes it here and she wants to stay." I try to hint at us living together, and that's the best I can come up with.

"That's a good idea."

He doesn't get my point. A feeling of rejection hits me. I try to not let it overwhelm me, but it still doesn't make me understand why he doesn't get my hint. Is he not ready? We've talked about this before, and he said he wanted us to live together when I would be ready to go to college. Has he changed his mind?

I hurt inside. The feeling of rejection takes over, and I feel tears coming up. Before he sees them, I stand up and go to the adjoining bathroom before he says anything. I hear him follow me, but I am faster and I lock the door before he can go any further.

"Bella!" He says through the door before knocking. "Bella! What's wrong? What did I say?"

"Leave me alone, Edward!" It pains me to say this, but I just want to be alone right now.

"Bella, come on! I don't know what I did! Help me understand." I hear the shock and pain in his voice but I can't face him now. I have to get my head on straight before I can.

"Just give me a moment, okay?"

"Alright." I hear him sigh and walk away.

I sit down in the corner between the bathtub and the wall and let the tears fall. Why am I so affected by this? I mean, if he's not ready, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Why doesn't he just say so?

After a while, my tears start to subside, so I stand up to wash my face before I step out of the room. Edward's bedroom is empty when I step out, so I grab my duffel bag and start putting my clothes back into it. Just as I'm closing up my bag, Edward walks into the room.

"Hey." I say, my eyes remaining on my bag.

"Hey, are you feeling better?"

I nod.

"Okay, good." I still do not make a movement, not knowing what to do or say. I don't have to wonder for long as he slowly approaches me to pull me into his arms. I do not hesitate and place my arms around him and inhale his smell.

"What happened, Bella?" He asks.

I take a deep breath before looking up at him.

"Can we sit down?"

"Of course, come on." He moves to sit down with his back to his headboard, and he pulls me into his lap.

I'm silent for a moment, as I don't know how to talk about this. Should I just take the plunge? It has worked for me before… So I take a deep breath and open my mouth to talk.

"Edward, I thought you wanted us to live together when I would be ready to go to school."

I see his eyes lighten up with understanding.

"I do want that, Bella. But I don't want to force you, and I certainly don't want you to feel pressured into it. I am ready for that, but are you?"

Am I really ready to live with him? I mean, I do want to spend as much time as possible with him, but is living together the solution? We are still in the early stages of our relationship. We're ready to take the next step, but wouldn't living together be skipping a step? I voice that concern to Edward.

"I think I am, but the more I think about it, the more I think that we would be skipping all kinds of steps."

He smiles lightly.

"I think the same thing, love. As much as I want to share space with you, I don't think it would be a good thing right now. You are in a good place in your life, and I'm incredibly proud of you, and I'm more than happy to be a part of it, but living together wouldn't be a good thing. Let's see how it goes for you in school first, and we'll move on from there."

"Okay." I smile at him.

"And you know you're welcome here any time." He gives me his crooked grin.

I nod, full on smiling

"Good. Now, are you all packed?" I nod again. "Okay. Let's hit the road, then because my parents are expecting us for dinner."

"Okay."

He grabs both of our bags and walks out of his bedroom. I follow closely after I grab my purse. We say goodbye to Jasper and Emmett, and we're out the door.

Thoughts? Please review :)