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CHAPTER 33

EPOV ~

"What the fuck—"

"Jake?" Bella interrupted.

"Yeah," he replied, hesitantly. "Sorry to bother you, but, uh—you know some crazy chick just dumped a bunch of shit in your driveway, and slashed up your tires, right?" He looked straight at me as he said it. I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to wrap the words around my brain.

"Wh-what?" Bella stuttered, breaking me out of my reverie. I stepped outside to see the slashed tires on the car.

"Fuck!" I hissed, pulling my hands through my hair. "You have got to be kidding me!" Bella started to step outside, but I didn't think it was a good idea for a pregnant woman to be outside barefoot when the weather was cold and rainy. "Come on," I said, attempting to turn her around and urge her back into the house. My stubborn girl of course refused to listen to a word I said, so it was only expected that she pushed passed me, and walked outside.

"Wha … she … no …." Bella walked down the walkway to the driveway—Jake and I hot on her heels. She was standing at the edge of the driveway, her hands stroking back and forth over her swollen abdomen as she stared at the mess lying in the middle of her driveway.

She whipped her head around to look at me. "How—?" I shook my head, but didn't say anything. I had no answers for her.

"Yeah, I'll, uh— leave you to it." Jake walked away, glancing once more at Bella, as I made my way down the walkway, and pulled her shaking form into my arms. I couldn't tell whether she was vibrating from anger or if she was just upset with the situation.

"How—Edward, I don't understand," she sobbed, into my chest. My arms tightened around her, hoping to provide some form of comfort for her.

"I don't know, baby," I whispered, brushing the hair away from her face. "But, you really need to get into the house, Bella. You're barefoot, pregnant, and it's cold and rainy."

She nodded, but turned to look at the mess again. "We can't leave this here, Edward."

I pulled her forward, urging her to go back into the house. "I know. I'll get it."

"I can help," she stated, following me into the house.

"If you get shoes on, yes, but I should probably make some phone calls first," I responded, walking into the house.

"It's starting to rain, Edward. You can't leave it sitting out there."

"Fine," I sighed, running my hand through my hair. "Go put some clothes on at least."

She looked down, and blushed slightly, realizing for the first time that Jake had seen her in nothing more than a thigh high, summer maternity nightgown that covered nothing.

I know you're probably wondering why I let her out of the house looking like that? Well, I was a little bit distracted at the moment. I would never allow anyone but myself to see her like that ever again.

Once Bella changed, we went back out to the driveway. It was indeed raining, much harder than I had anticipated.

"We should probably put it in the garage," she suggested, biting her bottom lip. "Let it dry for a bit?" I nodded, looking around the driveway, pulling forcefully at my hair.

What the fuck was she thinking?


"I'll get Emmett to come by, and take it to my house tomorrow," I sighed, sitting on the couch. She didn't say anything, though a strange look crossed her face briefly, as she cuddled into my side on the couch.

We sat in silence for a while before I reached into my pocket and pulled my cell out. Bella didn't say anything, she sat there completely still in stony silence, while I hit the number five to call my father.

"Edward?" he answered after three or four rings, sleep was evident in his voice.

"Yeah, uh, sorry to bother you, but, um—have you heard from Tanya?"

I heard fabric ruffling, and then a shuffling sound. "No, not since I called her to let her know you were going to keep Liam for the weekend. Why, is everything alright? Is it Liam?" He asked with worry lacing his voice.

"Liam's fine," I sighed, pulling my hand through my hair. It had become a common occurrence in the last few hours. I was stressed to the max with all of this crap with Tanya.

"Okay, well, what is it then, Edward? It's late—"

"She just slashed my fucking tires," I interrupted. "And left all of Liam's belongs in Bella's driveway—all of it, Dad."

It was silent for a few seconds, before he spoke. "Did you call the police?"

I sighed. "Not yet, but I'm going to when I hang up with you. I just wanted to see if she contacted you first."

"I haven't heard from her," he replied. "I called right after you left, but I got her voicemail. I left her a message, saying you'd be keeping Liam for the weekend after all—she never called back, but I didn't really expect her to either. I can try calling her again?"

"No, that's alright," I sighed, glancing to Bella. "I'll do it."

"I'd still call the police," he suggested. "This was obviously—"

I knew where he was going, and interrupted, "I know, Dad." I said with a tinge of annoyance in my voice.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I know you're an adult, I just …."

"I get it."

"Alright, well, call us if you need anything."

"I will."


"Why did she do this, Edward?" Bella whispered into the darkness.

After the police, who took both our statements, left we turned off all the lights, locked up the house, and went to bed.

"She's not stable, baby." I squeezed her and rubbed my hand up and down her upper arm.

"She left her son, Edward," she whispered, lifting her head a little to look at me. "I mean, I assume that's what she did." I just nodded—that was my assumption as well. "She got pregnant on purpose, but then just ups and leaves him? I just—I don't get it." She yawned, lying her head back down on chest.

I sighed, brushing the hair back away from her face. "I know. I don't get it either, Bells. I mean—she's just not stable, baby." I really didn't know what else to say, because the truth of was, I wasn't all that surprised. She got pregnant in hopes of trapping me, and after she realized that wasn't going to happen, she quickly figured out motherhood wasn't for her. Now poor Liam had to suffer as a result of her sins. I know Bella will love him like he's hers, but it would still hurt to find out one day that your mother abandoned you when you were still drinking from the bottle.

"I know." She yawned, again.

"Baby, you need to get some sleep," I cooed, kissing her forehead. "We can talk more about this in the morning." She didn't say anything; just nodded as she nuzzled her face into my chest. "I love you, Bella."

She placed a kiss on my bare chest. "I love you, too," she whispered. I sighed, squeezing her once more.

It didn't take Bella long to doze off, I however, wasn't that lucky. I laid there most of the night, staring at the playpen nestled next to my side of the bed, thinking about what this meant for Liam—what this new turn of events, would mean for my relationship.

**Author's Note**

So, um… yeah… lol…