A Walk to Remember

EPOV

Bella let me buy her a drink; it was something puny and didn't mean anything but it showed progression and forgiveness. It meant that maybe we could, at the very least, be civil to each other during the family get-together's we were destined to attend simultaneously in the future.

"Can I ask you something," she said when the bartender delivered our drinks and got consumed with another customer. She was fidgeting with her glass as she spoke, "It isn't anything personal, I'm just curious?"

"Sure, you can ask me anything." I moved one seat closer to her and tried to gauge her reaction to it.

She swallowed and looked down at her glass nervously. "What made you chose San Diego to attend college?"

"Umm," I wasn't expecting that. "SDU was the only college at the time that my brothers and I could attend together. A little corny, I know, but they are really good guys, fun to hang with too." I think I'd forgotten that over the years.

"Oh," was her response.

"Can I ask you the same question?"

"Oh, we chose LA because it's warm and affordable; also because they had Juilliard for Rose. It was her dream to go there, and she did," she answered simply.

We sat the rest of the time in silence until the boarding call for D12 was pronounced over the intercom.

"Crap!" Bella lifted her glass and downed the remainder of it. "Alice and Jasper are still not back," she said with slight bitter face. She started grabbing bags and struggled to keep a hold of them as she attempted to make her way to the dock.

I reached down to grab Jaspers roll bag and my hand brushed hers. "Here let me help you with that." Her hand jerked away from the handle of the bag and the look in her eyes said she felt it too. I was curious if she had the feeling too, but I didn't want to push her.

"If they aren't here in the next 24 seconds I'm going to wrap my hands around that little pixie's neck and…," she scoffed. Tequila really must make the girls get angry, too. I was—randomly enough—in a pleasant mood.

"Oh thank god," she let out a heavy breath of air and I saw Alice and Jasper running into the dock. "You were SO cutting it close," she exclaimed as they grabbed their bags and we all headed to the check in line.

In a not so random turn of events, my seat was next to Bella's. I thought to myself, how many signs did there need to be? Were we so blind that fate kept throwing us together and we kept avoiding it; until now.

Bella was putting her carryon in the upper compartment and a small patch of skin was showing just above her waist line. I had to peel my eyes away from it before she caught me, "Looks like this is me."

Her head whipped around and she lost hold of her luggage. I reached up just before it toppled onto her and she cringed away from it. She shot back up when it didn't hit her. "You startled me," she laughed nervously.

"Sorry, apparently my seat is next to yours." I showed her my ticket that was clearly marked as the seat previous hers.

"Okay," she sighed, but it seemed more like an exhausted sigh than a dejected one. She slid into her seat after I pushed her bag all the way back in the top compartment and stuffed mine under our seats.

There were three seats and Bella's was nearest the window. "I requested a window seat," she told me looking out the little window. We were all buckled and waiting for the captain to notify us of our departure and I took notice to the things about Bella that hadn't seemed to change.

She still loved that damn Wuthering Heights, probably the same fucking one from when she was 13. She still seemed withdrawn, like she put on a smile for the people around her but really when she was alone, she was sulking.

I remembered the first day I saw her smile a real smile. It was about four months after we'd met and we were sitting in the living room and she was trying to teach me how to make a Budweiser frog.

"No Edward, you take your right ring finger and the middle one…"

I flipped her off, "You mean this one?" I joked.

She pushed my hand down, "And then put it over your left ring finger…like this." She held her pale petite hands up in front of our faces and wiggled her ring fingers that were overlapping each other.

I did as she instructed with a grunt.

"Then you put your left middle finger over your right ring finger." She demonstrated and I followed. "Okay you got it. Then put your right index finger under your left ring finger and do the same with your left index finger; under your right ring finger."

This is where I always got confused. She pulled apart her hands and I almost did the same but her hands caught mine before I could. She positioned my fingers like she wanted them. "Now hold our index fingers together and put your thumbs together and there you have it," she leaned back to look at it and I observed too, "Your very own Budweiser frog."

I remember the toothy smile that took my breath away; even at 12 I could see the wonderful person she was and the amazing person she was going to be. That was a good memory.

She was looking out the window as the plane was ascending and I could only hope that what I was going to do wouldn't upset her. I wrapped my fingers around themselves, something I haven't done in over eight years, and I held it up for her to see.

"Do you remember this?" I called for her attention and she looked over from the window.

Her eyes grew wide for a fraction of a second and then I saw the guard; it was up and standing strong, unbreakable, impenetrable…and then she smiled. Not the real smile I remember when the frog comes to mind, but she smiled.

"I can't believe you do, I didn't think you paid enough attention." She was looking into my eyes, her chocolate brown eyes like it was just yesterday that I looked into them for the last time for a long time.

"Yeah, well, some things are unforgettable," I let my fingers fall and her eyes fell with them. I wanted to tell her that I hated her for ruining the last decade of my life, but I wanted to tell her that none of it mattered now, as long as she could forgive me.

I have blamed her for everything, all of my nightmares, all of the days I lost being pissed off at the world when really I was pissed off at her. But now, with her sitting next to me, smiling her fake smile, I could see that the time has had an effect on her just as bad.

We spent the next three hours in silence; she slept most of the ride. I found out she still talks in her sleep, I remember that from back then too. She didn't talk as clearly, so I couldn't make anything out and I secretly hoped she was dreaming about me. When the plane started to descend that's when I woke her up. It frightened her and her eyes darted around the plane in surveillance

"We're about to land," I informed her and pointed out the window, "You should put your seatbelt on."

She did as I suggested and we landed safely at the Chicago International. Getting our bags was hell; I was able to grab all of them off the belt when they came around so that was convenient. We rolled our luggage down the long corridor and Bella was walking beside me. The shocking feeling was present as ever and it felt more like a humming now, it wasn't so intense.

"There they are," Jasper said looking straight ahead. Carlisle and Esme were standing on the other side of the metal detectors waiting for us to make it around. Esme was smiling and watching every step JI and asper and I took.

"Hey guys," Jasper greeted and hugged Esmmse while I shook Carlisle's hand.

"Edward, son, you look good," he said.

"Hey Esme," I greeted her after Jasper moved on to Carlisle.

"Edward you look so healthy, much more than the last time I saw you. Did you all fly together?" she asked looking from me to Bella.

"Bella, so glad you could make it," she reached for her and they hugged, Bella looked nervous.

"Not intentionally, we had the same layover in Vegas and we all ran into each other." My response was collected and lucid.

"Well, that's wonderful. Did you have time to get to know one another," she beamed.

"Yeah, we did, how was the drive?" I asked changing the question. "Are the roads nice and slick or has the snow plow already ruined them?" I loved coming home when I did because I had my baby still sitting in the garage.
My Volvo C30, it has a dual overhead cam with twin turbo configuration and all custom carbon fiber parts. The only thing that's stock is the block and there's no getting around that.

"They've carved out most of the roads but there's still a few left for you to play on; thanks in full to ranger Jerry." Oh, me and Jerry go way back.

"Oh, how's the old geezer now, isn't he like 80?" I joked knowing damn well he was in his mid 40's.

She snapped, but I knew it was all an act, "You know he's younger than me right?"

"I'm kidding."

We started toward the doors and Esme turned her attention to her future daughter in-law. "So what's taking you guys so long to make set a date, it's been what… a year since you got engaged?"

"We're waiting for the right moment," Alice said coolly.

I noticed Bella quiet, walking a ways behind me with her head down. I slowed my pace and soon she was walking beside me.

I wanted to know if I was going to be having this feeling in my chest the entire time spent here. "Are you staying at our place?"

"Yeah, Esme said there's a guest bedroom I can stay in." I snorted, "What?" She looked confused so I decided I would elaborate.

"The guest room is connected to my room, it's more like an oversized walk-in closet but without the hangers and gadgets and shit." She was going to be basically sleeping in my bedroom. Now I was probably the one who looked nervous.

BPOV

How many times is fate going to shove us together? How many times am I going to have to go through withdrawallike symptoms after I see him? How long was this flight going to take?

Eventually I fell asleep and I dreamt of nothing, not one thing. So you can understand the shock and grateful look on my face when I woke up. Also, the plane was descending and that part of the flight always gave me chills.

Esme and Carlisle were there when we got off the plane and they greeted all of us with hugs.

The ride to their house was long, they lived somewhere in the boondocks. I was seated next to Edward, our legs barely touching and it felt like a current of electricity was running through me every few seconds. It wasn't like a hurting sensation, more like a nagging buzz. I wanted to know if he felt it but he never acted like he did.

We passed the city and started down a serpentine type road. Every few miles we would pass a house until we turned onto a dirt road.

"This will be paved the next time you all come home," Esme said looking back at her sons.

"Finally, how long have I been trying to convince you to do that?" Jasper chuckled.

"I like it, easier to spin the tires," Edward disagreed. I looked up at him and he smiled at me. The edges of my lips trembled to smile back, but I ducked my head before I could.

We pulled up to a house, biggest house we have seen during our drive from the airport. "Welcome home boys," Carlisle said when he put the car in park.

"Yeah, it's been a while." Jasper opened his door and offered his hand to Alice. Edward got out on his side and left the door open for me. He started grabbing his things out of the back and he sat mine out on the ground.

When I noticed he did I felt the red creep up my face, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," he didn't look back at me and started toward the house. The inside was nice, not the kind of nice when you're afraid to touch anything, but the kind of nice where you feel at home. They had pictures everywhere and I had to look at them.

The hall that started once you climbed the stairs was littered with them and I stopped to look. I saw a ton of pictures of Edward, some that were old enough that they must have been taken shortly after they adopted him. He looked happy in some but others I could tell his happiness was staged. I knew because there were a lot of the same pictures at Renee and Charlie's only the person in the picture was me.

I continued down the hall looking at the pictures on the way until I found Edward lying on a bed through an open door. His back was to me and I didn't want to disturb him but I needed to get my things in the guest room.

Three days I would be here, I have to sleep in Edward's room; well basically.

I knocked on the door frame and his head shot up to find the culprit. "Oh, come in," he scurried out of his bed while I entered and walked around to a set of double doors. "This is your room."

He opened the doors at the same time and I walked through them. There was a bed, a dresser and a door that led somewhere.

"That's the bathroom, Esme designed the house and she thought it was a good idea," he shrugged.

"Okay…Thanks." I put my bag next to the bed and sat down on the edge of it. "So what is there to do around here?" I asked making small talk.

"Not much around here but the city is always open," he chuckled fretfully.

Personally I liked the country feel; it was nice being out of the city. "I'm not much into the city, I like this."

"Same here," his left brow rose, "Do you like cars?"

"I love them. I don't know much about the mechanics but I love to drive them." That was for certain. When we moved to Seattle, Eric from college gave me the number to his cousin, who I met once or twice, who had his hand in the Seattle Raceway. I went there every Thursday and Saturday evening.

Eventually I was going to get my own track car; I had 1000 already saved up.

"Well, I was planning on taking a ride if you want to join me?" he sounded reserved, like he was ready for the worst response possible.

"Um, sure…why not. What kind of car do you have?"

"A Volvo, you can take it for a spin if you want," he smiled and this time I smiled back.

"I'm not used to the snow, but maybe, we'll see." I stood up and he gestured for me to exit the room first. We walked down the stairs and I felt every nerve ending reaching out to him, I could feel his presence all around me, encasing me like a cloud and sticking to the strands of my hair. We found everyone in the kitchen; they were talking quietly and I was almost positive they were talking about me, or Edward and me both.

"We're going out for a drive," Edward informed them. Alice caught my eye and looked at me in a way that said "are you sure"? so I smiled.

"Rose and Emmett will be here in a few hours and dinner will be ready by six," Esme said with a forced smile on her face.

"We'll be back." He turned and started toward the door that was positioned right under the stairs. He went through it and flipped a light on, illuminating the entire garage.

"Holy shit," I exclaimed and put my hands over my mouth.

"What," he asked frantic, "What happened?"

"No, nothing," I had to gather my thoughts. "You have an Aston Vanquish in your garage." I was stunned stone cold, I couldn't take my eyes off of the pure muscle beauty in front of me and I wasn't talking about Edward.

"Ah," he sighed, "That's Carlisle's pride and joy." He ran his finger along the side of it, "Pristine condition."

I took a few steps closer to it, "I've never seen one in person…can I touch it?"

"Definitely," he almost choked on his words. "Here, we can sit but we can't drive it," he held the keys out for me to take them and I snatched them out of his hands, careful not to touch him. "it isn't built for the snow, at least not this one."

I darted around the car to the driver's side and he was in it before I was; I took a moment to breathe.

I opened the door and sank into the most comfortable seat I have ever sat in. "Wow this is amazing, I never thought I would be sitting in a Vanquish." I looked around at all the gadgets and gizmos, and then looked in the back seat. Everything was in immaculate condition, very well cared for.

After I'd admired the car for a good 10 minutes I remembered we were supposed to be going on a drive. "So where's your car?" I asked.

"It's under that wrap; it's my baby I can't just leave it uncovered so it can get scratched."

"Can't I see it?"

"Yeah, if you're done here we can go for that ride."

"Oh, yeah…here," I handed him the keys and he darted out of the car and back into the house. I got out too and stood next to the car that had the cover over it. He came back in wearing a big smile and it made me smile too.

"I'll take us somewhere fun and then you can get behind the wheel." He grabbed the front part of the cover and threw it off revealing underneath, a silver Volvo C30.

I gasped when I saw it, "What do you have in it?" It wasn't just any Volvo C30, customized by Evolve, even converted from front wheel drive to all wheel drive. It had dual over head cam and a twin turbo…I know what fast involved and it was definitely those two things.

Basically a street track car, I thought to myself.

EPOV

Journal Entry 222:

When I try to think about actually seeing her again, it always turns out the same way.

We argue, names are called and then she slaps me and walks away.

I want to see her, to know the truth, to know why we were separated and never found our way back to one another.

Then I think about what it would be like if I'd gone back and she was there.

What would have happened if we stayed in touch?

Would we have stayed in touch?

A lot of people lose touch with their closest friends because things change.

Would that have hurt more if it would have turned out any one of those ways?

I guess I'll never know.

She liked my car, but she liked Carlisle's car even better and I couldn't hold that against her. The Vanquish is an exquisite car; anyone would be a total fucking idiot if they didn't think it was sex on wheels.

I drove her down the icy roads until we reached our destination. A lot that had no poles or buildings or anything around it but it was paved and the snow was untouched in most places.

"Are you into drifting?" I asked before I just jumped right into it.

"I've never tried to do it but its fun," she replied.

"Okay, here we go." I floored it and snow kicked up all around us and we plowed through the lot. I pulled the e-brake and turned the wheel to one side and we were sliding. Being it's an all wheel drive it was harder to make it slide than front wheel or rear, but I knew my baby through and through.

"Oh my god," Bella let out a high pitched noise as we headed straight for a pile of snow; but she was smiling and holding onto the 'oh shit handle' above her.

The car jerked back into a straight position and it came to a standstill.

"That was great," she laughed.

I have never let anyone drive my car before but I couldn't help but offer it to her, "Do you want to try it?" Like it was my way of saying I'm sorry but just in a roundabout way.

"I guess, but I've never drifted before," she was nervous, I could hear the tremble in her voice.

"Hence the empty lot," I gestured out the windshield. "What do you usually do in a car, just drive it?"

"Well that, and I go to Seattle Raceway twice a week and drive as fast as any car will let me take it. So far that's been 185mph." She was damn proud of it too, I could see that.

"Damn, that's pretty fast," I egged her on.

"It is such a thrill; I just can't get enough of it."

We looked into each other's eyes for a moment and I ruined it by talking. "Why didn't you leave a number?"

"What do you mean?" She looked confused momentarily until she realized what and when I was referring to.

She looked away from me and down into her lap where she was fingering the hem of her shirt. "You never came back," she replied softly.

"I did come back, but you had already left." I know she had to hear the pain in my voice. She perked up and I saw the guard again, she wasn't ready to talk about this and I was dying to get it over with.

I saw the forced smile on her face before she even spoke, "Can I drive?" she asked to change the subject.

"Yeah, sure." I unbuckled my seatbelt and got out. The wind was chilly and I thought about her being cold when she stepped out into it. All of my thoughts were solely on her and I couldn't even get her to talk to me. It was killing me. I opened her door for her and she got out without even looking at me.

I got in and buckled up just before she got in the drivers seat. "So what do I do?"

"You want to go fast because it's all wheel drive, and pull the e-brake, but keep the button pushed so you can give it what it needs to slide."

"Okay, here goes," she quoted me from earlier. She started to accelerate and accelerate and accelerate.

"Now turn the wheel and pull the brake halfway," I managed to instruct her. She did and we were sliding sideways.

"Ahh," she screamed and laughed at the same time.

"Now release the brake."

She did as I said and we were still going sideways. There was a big rock that I hadn't noticed and we were headed straight for it. Before I could say anything about it she counter steered and we were headed in the opposite direction.

"Did you see that rock," I asked when we started moving straight again.

"Yeah, that was a close one huh?" she was breathing hard from the thrill and she was smiling uncontrollably.

We headed back to the house, her in the driver's seat and she found a radio station that she wanted to listen to. A song called "Wait For You" came on and she turned it almost instantly, but not before this line carried through the car…

Why can't you look at me?

You're still in love with me?

Don't leave me crying.

Baby why can't we just, just start over again
Get it back to the way it was.

If you give me a chance I will love you right

Don't tell me it won't be enough.

"You don't like that song?" I asked; most girls love it I thought.

"It's a good song but it just has too much meaning to it, if you know what I mean," she glanced at me quickly before returning her eyes to the road.

I think I did know, because that was the reason I liked it. "I actually met Elliot Yamin while he was on American Idol; he's a cool guy, very down to earth."

"Really?" she asked, an interest sparked in her voice. "Have you seen him since?"

"Oh yeah, he's played at the Rose Garden a few times."

"So…has the fame gone to his head," she giggled as we pulled onto the dirt road.

"No, not at all, except he fixed his teeth," I chuckled. "So he feels more confident about himself."

"Well, I watched him on American Idol and he looked like such a country boy," she smiled; her eyes still in front of her. "But then in the video for that song he looked so…different." We pulled up to the house and there was a rental car in the driveway.

"Looks like Emmett and Rosalie are here," I stated the obvious. I pushed the garage opener on the visor above Bella and she pulled in just after I saw Carlisle looking out the window at her sitting in the front seat.

So they are talking and getting along but that doesn't mean everything is alright and dandy. They both have issues and Bella especially. She has separation anxiety, that was why it was so hard for her when Alice moved out and also why she is having a hard time speaking to Edward or even thinking about what they could be now that they have found each other.

Thank you sooo very much for your reviews, they totally make me smile and I'm thinking I will put up another chapter this Sunday, that is if I am not loaded down with homework. Thank you to my Beta, Scrimmy...you rock!

Also, during the part when Edward has a flash back of when Bella taught him how to make a Budweiser frog with his hands, if you follow the instructions you can do it too. I learned it back when I was 10....that's when the Budweiser frogs were popular, they were the significant part of their commercials.

Looking forward to your reviews....gimme what you got LOL, I'm excited to see how you all are liking their first attempt at discussing what happened.

Leave me sum luv....lil' button just below

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