Okay I know it's pretty late, but I just got my internet back and working on my laptop.

I couldn't sleep so I decided to post this for you guys because your amazing! Loving all the reviews and alerts : )

Sorry for frustrations with Bella. I hope this makes up for it.

Please keep them coming!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. I do own Mel, Joe, and Rachel.

R&R and Enjoy!!

Chapter 12

This routine continued for the rest of the week.

I went through the day avoiding people as much as I could, while Joe thrived. I was happy for him. Really I was. There was no need to be jealous.

This is what I wanted. Isolation from everyone around me. Then I could leave.

It just seemed that something was missing.

Could it be I missed those eyes, that smile, that compassion and care?

Distance is what I so badly wanted and needed. Right?

I woke up Saturday morning to loud banging at the front door.

Thump, Thump

Was I really the only one in the house who can hear that?

I lay in bed under the cover wondering who was going to answer that.

I am almost sure that it is Emmet pounding at the door.

You see he was taking Joe along on his hiking trip. The plans had been finalized Thursday morning. Emmet was going to pick my brother up first early Saturday morning and then pick up Jasper. The plan also included some camping. They would be gone until Sunday evening.

The knocking continued, breaking me out of my thoughts. I guess I'm the one who's going to have to answer it. Where is Joe?

Thump, Thump

I kicked the warm blankets off and swung my legs over the side of the bed. I slipped my feet into my slippers as I got up and walked to my door.

Thump, Thump.

Before leaving I looked down to make sure I was decent. My pajamas consisted of a pair of sweatpants and a camisole. Not the most attractive outfit, but what do you expect for… wait what time is it?

I looked over at my clock on my dresser.

4:00

What the heck?! I know they said early, but this is just crazy.

I grumbled as I made my way out of my room and down the hall to the stairs. I could hear the shower running and I am guessing that's why Joe didn't answer the door. It was so like him to wait until the last minute to get ready.

I passed a mirror hanging on the wall at the top of the steps. Ugh my hair looked like a haystack. I quickly through it into a messy bun as I walked down the steps, almost tripping twice.

When I reached the bottom I realized that the loud consistent pounding had stopped. It had been replaced by a softer knock.

With it still being early, I did not have the natural light shining in from the windows to help me see what I was doing. It was a bit of a struggle to unlock the door. When I finally did, I threw it open in frustration, ready to yell at Emmet for waking me up at four in the morning. I knew it was not his fault, but I was grouchy this early in the morning.

Instead of Emmet, I found Edward standing on my front porch.

I found a mix of surprise and embarrassment wash over me. I noticed that he seemed to being mirroring the same emotions. Except his face had something else. Fear?

I had been avoiding him all week long. I had done a good job at keeping my distance during the times that I did not have class with him. I stopped sitting in the cafeteria and avoided him in the halls.

Talking and eye contact or any other contact for that matter were very minimal. The only conversation we shared since Wednesday was over the structure of a cell. That was forced in Biology.

Every gaze I refused to meet. Every worried "Bella" that I ignored. To have him so close and to not talk to him. It has been so difficult to do and it did not seem to be getting any easier.

I have never had a problem with it in the past. Distance has never been an issue before. I guess it was so easy when the other person would allow it.

I was still shocked that I could not say anything. I was staring into his eyes after trying so hard to avoid them.

"Bella," Edward recovering from his own surprise, "I'm sorry for the pounding. I tried warning Emmet that other people lived here besides Joe and that they would be sleeping."

Before I could respond to him, I saw Emmet jump out of a huge jeep, that I had not noticed until now, that was parked in our drive way. He came sprinting over to the porch.

"Morning Bells," he greeted me once he was standing next to Edward. "I know I told Joe we would be here at five-thirty, but I wanted to stop somewhere and get something to eat."

"Oh, okay. Well Joe is in the shower still," I responded. I was not sure whether or not to invite them in. I did not want them to have to wait outside or in the car, but I do not know how I would handle him in the house. I mean I managed to stay close enough to Emmet so I would not hurt his feelings. I still talked to him and Alice at gym. He may not have been able to tell that I was keeping my distance, but Alice knew. I could feel her eyes on me when I would stand to talk to Emmet during class.

Alice always looked like she wanted to say something about my distance, but I would not give her the opportunity to do so. I was always sure to not be alone with her where she could corner me.

I realized that the two brothers were still standing outside.

"Erm.. You guys can come in if you want," I told both of them, yet I only looked at Emmet.

"Sweet. Thanks Bells," Emmet said as I stepped aside to let them in. I kept my eyes on my feet as Edward walked by me. I had become extremely self-conscious about how I looked. Which was a mess.

After closing the door, I led them into our living room. Emmet sat down in Charlie's chair. This left only the couch. Edward sat down on the edge of it. I took a seat on the arm rest at the opposite end.

I glanced around the room at all of the embarrassing pictures that my parents had of my siblings and I.

Emmet must have been doing the same thing, because he picked up a picture off the table he sat next to. It was the one with my sisters and I from a past Halloween. I was six, Mel was ten, and Rachel was seven.

I was dressed as a witch and my sisters were each dressed as a different Disney princess.

In the picture we were sitting on the porch steps outside our house in Phoenix. I was on the first step sitting still waiting for the picture to be taken. My sisters were a couple of steps above me fighting over a crown. Both of their dresses were dirty.

"Is this you and your sisters," Emmet asked laughing.

I nodded with a smile.

"What happened," he asked referring to my fighting sisters.

"Well my sisters both had identical crowns for their princess costumes," I started to explain. "They had both left them sitting on the kitchen table. Joe, who was four at the time, got a hold of one, not sure if it was Mel's or Rachel's, and had managed to break it. Mel being the older sister let Rachel have the one crown that was left. However, when Rachel accidentally spilled her juice on Mel's costume, Mel thought it was on purpose. So she took the crown from her. The fight pretty much started from there," I finished with a smile as I remembered that day.

I forgot about the company I was in until I heard Emmet's laughter.

"Renee loves that picture for it's irony," I stated.

Emmet gave me a confused look, while I heard the low musical chuckle from Edward.

I felt myself blush as I explained, "Well a witch is seen as bad in many stories where a princess is seen as good. In the picture I am the witch who is also the one who appears behaved while my sisters, the princesses, are fighting."

"Ha ha. I didn't think of that before. I just thought the picture was funny. I guess the irony makes it funnier," Emmet said.

"Hey guys I thought you were not coming for another hour," Joe said from the doorway, making me jump. I had not realized that he had come down.

"We were," Emmet answered while standing up to shake Joe's hand. "But we decided to get breakfast before leaving. I tried calling you and Jasper. I left Jasper a voice mail, but did not bother to leave you one since we were on our way here. I hope that's cool."

"Yea it's fine," Joe assured him. "One question though guys. What is open at this time in the morning?"

"Um," Emmet's face scrunched up as he thought, "Gas stations have breakfast food right?"

Edward cut into the discussion of where to eat with, "Jasper just texted me. He says that he cannot leave until the original planned time of six. He said not to worry. He can eat at home."

"Okay. Now where do you guys want to eat," Emmet asked.

"Oh. I know," Joe turned to look at me. "How much do you love your baby brother Bells?"

I rolled my eyes at him and smiled, "Apparently enough to wake up at four in the morning. What would you like?"

"You're the best Bella," Emmet said pulling me into a huge bear hug.

"Isn't she," Joe too, came over to me and gave me a hug as well.

"Yeah, yeah," I tried using an annoyed voice, but could not hide the smile in it. "Do eggs and bacon sound good to you?"

"Mmm.." Emmet and Joe chorused.

"I will take that as a yes," I then turned to Edward, who was still sitting on the edge of the couch. "Edward does that go-od?"

"Perfect," he said flashing me a polite smile, that still made my heart skip.

"Okay," I said as I turned away from the angel and headed into the kitchen.

When I arrived in the kitchen I started pulling out the ingredients and pans that I would need. I also decided to flip on the CD player that hung below one of our cabinets. It still held my mix CD.

The song "Decode" by Paramore filled the room. I found myself quietly singing along to the song as I began to cook. I was so absorbed in the song "I Will Possess Your Heart" by Death Cab for Cutie, that I did not realize that I was no longer alone in the kitchen.

When I turned away from the counter, I was shocked to see Edward standing there. It made me jump. Forgetting all about the eggs in my hands that I was going to put away, I reached for my heart since it felt like it was going to leap out of my chest. This caused them to fall splattering on the floor and myself.

"I am so sorry Bella. I tried knocking. I was coming to see if you needed any help," Edward said, looking torn about whether he should come over to comfort me or stay put.

"It's okay. I don't need help go relax," I told him as I started to walk over to get a towel for the mess.

When I took one step forward, my foot landed on a glob of egg, causing me to slip. I reached for the counter to gain the support I needed to stop myself from falling. Too bad it was out of my reach. Typical.

The floor was fast approaching my face, so I closed my eyes waiting to hit it. To my relief my face never met the kitchen floor.

Two strong hands grabbed me around the waist and had pulled me back up into a standing position. I leaned back into the embrace, eyes still closed, and sighed in content. The feeling of his arms around me. Even his smell left me relaxed. I had a feeling of comfort that I did not want to ever loose. Too bad reality came crashing back to me.

I opened my eyes and realized just how close I really was to him. Too close. I quickly felt panic and embarrassment.

Edward, being one who could read me like an open book, must have understood because he released me. Before he did I thought I heard a sigh of disappointment. I had to be mistaken.

"Bella, I know I ask you this a lot, but are you okay," he asked.

"Yeah. I am just covered in egg," I said as I looked at my clothes for the first time. Like the floor, they were covered in the yellow, gooeyness.

"How about I finish up in here while you go change," he offered.

"Oh you don't have to do that Edward. Just let me go change my shirt and I can do it."

"Maybe I should not have offered like you had a choice. Isabella Swan, go get cleaned up. Do not worry about the rest of breakfast or this mess. I will take care of it."

"Edw-"

"Go," he said while trying to put on a stern face. I could not help but smile at it.

I was not winning this battle. With a defeated expression, I turned and headed for the stairs.

Along the way I passed Joe.

"Accident again Bella," he asked without paying much attention. Things like this happened all the time to me.

I simply grumbled at him in response. I could still hear Emmet's guffaw of laughter as I reached the top of the stairs.

Twenty minutes later I was leaving my room. I had showered and dressed in a pair of jeans, a t-shirt, and one of Joe's old baseball hoodies. I decided to just leave my hair down after I brushed it. I did not feel like messing with it.

When I reached the kitchen I stopped at the doorway and was surprised to see the whole room was cleaned. Even the dishes that were still in the sink from the previous night had been cleaned.

I walked into the room and approached the table. There was a tray set up with a plate with a cover lid on it. Curiosity got the best of me as I walked over and pulled it off. On the plate there were links of sausage and scrambled eggs. There was also a small bowl of fresh fruit under the lid too. I put the lid down and noticed a note that I must have missed before, next to the plate on the tray. It was addressed to me.

Bella,
Emmet, Joe, and I have headed out. We just wanted to thank you for breakfast it was delicious. Emmet practically licked his plate clean. I know it won't be as good as yours but I made you breakfast as form of an apology for startling you before. Also because you deserve it. For everything you do..
I hope to see you soon
Edward

Ps. I still enjoy helping beautiful girls (even if I am the one that causes trouble), but please be careful.

When I finished reading the letter I felt tears well up in my eyes. I quickly wiped them away and sat down to eat. Of course it was perfect.

Edward made it. He did everything to perfection.

The rest of the day past slowly. I went to the local library and checked out their selection of books. I am sad to say that it is very small. Our school library had more than this one.

After I left disappointed from there I visited the book shops around town scouting out books. I felt accomplished when I left the final book store with five new books.

On Sunday I decided to work on my homework. When I was done I started to clean my room. It was not really a hard task to do. It only took about ten minutes. I know. I am such a wild child.

I then spent the rest of the day organizing my CD's and books. I became so bored that I ended up putting them in alphabetical order.

When I was done it was a little past three. I decided to grab a couple of books and a beach towel and headed outside into the backyard to read. It would do me good to get some Vitamin D on one of the rare sunny days in Forks.

I found a nice spot at the end of our yard on the edge of the woods. I lay the towel down on the ground. I curled up on it with the book Pride and Prejudice in hand and began to read.

One minute I was lost in the relationship of Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett, the next I was dreaming of the one person who has starred in my dreams for the past week.

My dreams were the one place I could not deny my feelings.

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Love,

Jane