I've decided I'm not going to ramble at the beginning of chapters. Well… this one anyway. Heh. Enjoy!

"Bye guys!" I called as I hopped out of the car. A chorus of byes met my ears, and I smiled involuntarily. My friends rock.

I walked with light, almost graceful, steps to the front door. When I was halfway up the walkway, a new sound hit my ears- yelling.

I froze. What was going on? Were Mommy and Daddy fighting? I pushed the questions to the back of my head. They weren't fighting; why would they be? Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to continue toward my house.

My clammy hand grasped the cold doorknob, and I turned it gently. The door creaked slightly, but Mommy and Daddy didn't notice since they were yelling so loud. Daddy banged his hand on the counter, and it felt like there was an earthquake rumbling the ground.

They were fighting! I gasped, and they both turned their heads toward me at the same time. My backpack dropped to the ground with a thunk. "Why are you fighting?" I asked in a surprisingly calm voice, but inside I was falling apart.

They exchanged a glance, then turned their attention back to me. "Bella, dear," Mommy began. "Your father and I were just discussing something, we weren't fighting. Right, honey?" Mommy turned to Daddy. It almost looked like she was begging him with her eyes to go along with it. No, that can't be.

"Of course, sweetie!" Daddy said. "Don't you worry; nothing bad is going on here." He held his arms wide, inviting me in for a hug. I ran toward him as quickly as I could without falling, and leapt into his arms.

Mommy and Daddy weren't fighting, phew! I liked things just the way they are. Harry's death had messed up our life, and I was extremely happy to get mine back. I missed being at my own house, with my own parents. Everything has been perfect for about a month, and I don't want it any other way.

Mommy sighed and went back into the kitchen. She must've wanted a hug too. She could've just asked. So as soon as Daddy put me down, I ran into the kitchen and gave Mommy the biggest hug I could. I looked up at her, expecting to see a bright smile, but what I saw didn't look like what I saw in my head. Something was off. Was it her eyes? Yup. They weren't into her smile.

I frowned, and took a step back. "What's wrong, Mommy?" I asked quietly, my eyes begging for an answer.

"Nothing, sweetie," she said, smiling that fake smile again. "It's just been a long day, that's all." I nodded. I didn't blame her. Mommy and Daddy were both working double shifts to try and help Sue pay for Leah and Seth. I don't get why she can't get the money for herself, but when I asked, Mommy and Daddy seemed offended. That was the last time I brought it up.

"Now you'd better get upstairs and ready for bed, young lady!" Daddy announced, shooing me upstairs.

I giggled as he tickled my sides. He scooped me up, and ran with me into my bedroom, throwing me down gently onto my bed. I bounced and laughed, the sound echoing in the quiet house.

I slipped into my fuzzy, blue pajamas and scrambled into my bed, trying desperately to warm myself up. It just gets so darn cold in the winter. Mommy and Daddy came in together, but they seemed to be distant from each other, almost as if they couldn't bear to be so close together.

I shook my head. Stop imagining things! "Goodnight, beautiful," Daddy said, kissing my cheek. He smiled softly at me before walking out the door.

Mommy came forward and gave me a hug. "I love you, baby," she whispered in my ear. She kissed the top of my head, and left my room, closing my door behind her.

I turned over and tried to get to sleep, but my body refused to shut down. I was too hyped up for some unknown reason.

Instead of lying in bed like an idiot, I crawled over to my little bookshelf and searched for one of my favorites. I found it easily, and curling up in my bed, I began to read about Matilda. How her parents didn't pay any attention to her. How she was impossibly smart at such a young age. How she showed Ms. Trunchbull who was the boss.

I had been reading for an hour, when something disrupted me. Looking up from my book, I listened harder, trying to figure out what the new noise. It got louder and louder, until I could hear words. Mommy and Daddy… they were fighting. Cusses colored the air, as I listened to what they were saying. Tears flooded my eyes. How could they do this to me? They lied!

My shoulders shook with silent sobs as I pulled on my slippers. I had to get out of here. I didn't have any idea of where to go, all I knew was that I couldn't be here. I grabbed the flashlight that was next to my bed in case the power went out, and crept out of my room and down the stairs. Tip-toeing, I slipped out the back door and into the night.

It was pitch black outside, not one star was twinkling in the sky. The tears flowed freely now, and I did nothing to stop them.

I began to walk, not knowing or caring where my feet led me. Soon, I was far enough away from the house that I was able to turn on the flashlight without Mommy or Daddy seeing the light. It was eerily quiet. There was no noise except for the sound of my feet crunching in the snow.

Snow began to fall from the sky, at first only flurries, but soon there was a blizzard like quality to it. I shivered. Not even my fuzzy pj's could keep me warm in this. I suddenly realized what path I was on, and hurried toward my destination. My hands and feet were turning numb, and I didn't know if it was bad. I'm no doctor.

I tried to keep up my quick pace, but the numb was spreading, making it harder and harder to move. I could see a light from their house ahead, and I tried to make myself move just a bit faster.

Finally, I reached the back door. Carlisle and Esme weren't home; they had gone to a party, so I wasn't scared that they'd answer the door.

I knocked softly, then harder and harder. The door opened, and there stood my best friend.

"Bella?" he said in shock, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "What're you doing here?"

I began to sob, and I threw myself at him. He held his arms open, and hugged me as I cried into his shoulder. He closed the door, and pulled me farther into their house, keeping one arm around me at all times.

We sat down on his bed, and he rubbed my back soothingly. "Bella!" he exclaimed after a moment. "Did you walk here in the blizzard?" He was trying to keep his voice calm, but I could hear the fear hidden in it.

I sniffled and nodded, my crying fit over. "Get in the shower right now," he demanded. "I'll have Alice get you some warm pajamas, and I'll make you a cup of hot chocolate, okay?" He began pushing me toward the bathroom, not even waiting for my answer.

I shivered convulsively as I undressed and stepped in the steaming hot shower. The water burned, chasing away all of the cold, and all of my energy. The numbness was retreating, but a fire filled its place instead. I hissed, but did not turn down the heat. I heard the door open and close, but I paid no attention to it.

After letting the shower calm me down, I grabbed a towel, and began to dry off. Even though I'd been in the hot water for over a half an hour, I was still cold. I looked at what Alice had brought me, and I, surprisingly, liked it. There was a simple pair of sweats that looked thin, but on the inside they were super fuzzy. A light blue top went with them, and a white robe was also added to the mix. When I stepped out, I felt like an ice princess.

I looked for my slippers and pajamas, but couldn't find them anywhere. So I just grabbed a pair of Edward's socks to keep my feet warm. They were a little big, but I didn't care.

Walking slowly down the stairs, I found Edward and Alice in the kitchen, Edward looking exhausted, and Alice looking like… well Alice. Not a hair was out of place, and even her pajamas looked perfect, not like she'd been sleeping in them.

She jumped up when she saw me, and ran over to give me a hug. We stood there for a minute, before she pulled back and inspected me. "Are you alright?" she asked. I shrugged my shoulders. Not really, I wanted to say, but I didn't really want to tell them my sad story right now.

"Where's my hot chocolate?" I asked looking for the mug that I always used. There it was, sitting on the little island. It was a beautiful blue, with a cursive brown "B" painted on it. Esme made one for all of us, and I loved mine.

I could see the steam rising from it, but I didn't think it would be that hot. I took a big sip, and spluttered as the hot liquid burned my tongue.

Alice and Edward laughed at me, both of them thinking it was hilarious that I'd burnt myself.

"Ha ha," I said sarcastically.

I glared angrily at them, waiting for them to stop laughing. Edward stopped first, and he punched Alice in the arm to make her stop.

We drank our hot chocolate in silence, and I was overwhelmed with tiredness. I leaned over, and laid my head on Edward's shoulder. I didn't feel too good, and as if to prove my point, I sneezed. I felt icky, like there was something stuck in my chest.

Edward, sensing how tired I was, said, "Let's go upstairs and get you to bed." I leaned against him as we walked to his room, letting him basically hold me up. He settled me in his bed.

"Where are you gonna sleep?" I asked groggily.

He laughed softly, and pulled the quilt up to my chin. "I'll just get a sleeping bag."

I was going to argue, but I was just so dang tired. My eyes slipped closed, and before I went to sleep, I mumbled, "'Night Edward," but it sounded more like, "Nigh E-wa." He laughed, and it the beautiful noise echoed through my dreams all night long.

"Can I wake her up now?"

"Shh, she's still sleeping! Can't you wait another hour?"

"No way, Jose! I gotta know now."

As sleep slipped away, I heard more and more of their whispered argument.

"Alice, she had a rough night! Why won't you let her sleep?"

"Be-cause Ed-ward, I wanna know be-fore Mom and Dad get home, so that we can make a plan as to why Bella is here." And with that, Alice pounced on Edward's bed. "Wake up sleepy head!" she screamed.

Emmett ran in with a baseball bat, his curly hair messy. "Wha's wrong? Who's being attacked?" When he saw me, he lowered his bat, his eyes questioning. "Wadda ya doing here Bella? I thought you moved out ages ago…"

"Actually Bella, that's what we all want to know," Alice said shifting awkwardly on Edward's bed.

I looked at Edward, begging him to tell them to lay off, that I'd tell them when I was ready, but he didn't. He just stood there, looking just as curious as the rest of them.

Sighing, I organized my thoughts. I didn't want to tell this more than once. I recounted everything that happened last night, from the minute they dropped me off at my house to the minute I got to Edward's.

When I was finished, everyone was still and silent for about a heartbeat before I was engulfed by hugs. Emmett was the closest to me, breaking my ribs, Edward trying to pull him off, and Alice hopping around yelling.

"One at a time," I said once I could breathe again. Emmett went first, crushing me to his chest. Then came little Alice, giving me a soft, comforting hug.

"Things are changing, Bella," she whispered in my ear. It wasn't a question, it was one of her little physic feelings. When she pulled back, her eyes told me not to mention what she said to anyone.

Edward came forward, and for once there wasn't even a glimmer of happiness in his green eyes. "It'll be okay, Bella," he said quietly as he hugged me. This wasn't a statement like what Alice said, it was just him trying to comfort me.

The door creaked open downstairs, and we all froze. "Crud," Alice muttered. "Okay, everyone, listen up!" she demanded, taking charge. "When they ask why Bella is here, we say that she came to hang out with me because her parents were yelling, so she came over just to get away for a while. Then she had to stay here because there was no way she could get home through the snow, got it?" We all nodded automatically. "Get ready."

Carlisle and Esme opened the door with smiling faces that looked genuinely confused when they saw me there. "Good morning, Bella," Carlisle said.

"Morning," I sniffled. I hadn't noticed before, but I felt sick. Being in the same room as a doctor is sure making me paranoid.

Esme looked between all four of us, looking confused. "Explain," she finally said.

Alice told her our cover story, and we all just sat and nodded. I tried to look crushed, which wasn't so hard since I was.

"Poor thing!" Esme said, running forward to give me a hug. Carlisle stood awkwardly by the door, until Esme whispered something in his ear and pushed him forward. He came forward and gave me a gentle hug.

"Well, there's one thing left to do," Carlisle said. "You need to call your parents, assuming that you didn't tell them last night."

"Why can't I go home?" I asked.

"Well, the blizzard's pretty bad. All the roads are backed up. We barely got home. You could be here a while, Bella."

"What!?" we all yelled. We ran to the window, and pulled back the blinds, and sure enough there was a good three feet of snow on the ground.

"No. Way." I stared in shock down at the yard, astounded that so much snow had fallen in such a short time.

"Here's the phone, dear," Esme said, handing it to me.

"Thanks."

When I called, I was met with a frantic hello. "Hey, Mom. It's Bella." It took me ten minutes to calm her down enough to tell her my story, the cover one anyway. Then she felt the need to apologize to me for another ten minutes. When I finally hung up, I was exhausted. Hearing her worry, I felt horrible that I had left in the first place.

"Wanna watch a movie?" Edward asked.

"Sure."

The rest of the afternoon, we watched a bunch of old Disney movies like The Lion King, Cars, Bee Movie, Toy Story, everything. Luckily, that was as long as I had to stay. The snow had stopped around noon, and they had all the roads cleared by six, so Mommy and Daddy came to pick me up.

They gave me huge hugs, assuring me that everything was okay, that it was just a tiff. I pretended that I believed the lies that they fed me, but Alice's words kept running through my head- Things are changing.

So whadda ya think? Sorry for the uber(love that word) long wait… I received some negativeish reviews and they made me totally rethink what I was doing. Not to fear, I'm not ending this story yet.

I've also decided that this story will end when Bella and Edward are around twenty. You'll see why. I already have everything planned, now I just have to write it.

Please review. The more you do, the faster I write! lol. Even a simple good or bad will work. I am not afraid to beg (which I may have to do next chapter…) I accept anonymous reviews, so I hope to hear from you all.

Hope you liked it!

I had this done two days ago, but the stupid doc x thing wouldn't load it! Ugh. Well it's up now. REVIEW!