Title: Promises to Keep

By: Cheddar the Cheese

Chapter Four: And so it goes

Summery: A single moment can mean nothing or everything. Bella finds a way to live after a part of her dies.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize from Stephanie Meyer's Twilight series. I do own the plot and any original characters that may pop up.

Note: So now that I've got all the back-story out of the way, it is on to the plot! Yay plot!

I have this story mostly finished. It's the first thing I've written in a long time. The past year has been the hardest thing I've ever faced. It's just been in the past month or so that I can function normally. I just wanted to say thank you to the (few) people who have taken the time to review this story and add it to their favorites lists. I want you all to know that every email and review means the world to me. I know the plot seems rocky right now but I promise it will all work itself out. Thank you.

In every heart there is a room
A sanctuary safe and strong
To heal the wounds from lovers past
Until a new one comes along

I spoke to you in cautious tones
You answered me with no pretense
And still I feel I said too much
My silence is my self defense

And every time I've held a rose
It seems I only felt the thorns
And so it goes, and so it goes
And so will you soon I suppose

-And So It Goes by Billy Joel

I could feel the blush on my face when I walked into the kitchen at the hotel that morning. I had been so flustered after my walk on the beach that morning that I found myself barely on time for work. The Costumers in my sections were all regulars so they knew that I occasionally tripped while carrying an order. I was just another part of the flow at the Grand Hotel. But since all my tables were regulars, they felt the need to tease me about my red face.

"I hope he's worth it, honey," one of the red hat ladies whispered to me as I passed. I felt the burn creep up from my collar again and she chuckled.

Emily, of course, not only noticed but knew why. "It's him isn't it? It's lifeguard boy! Did he ask you out? I knew it!" She was grinning and dancing wildly about the room. The dining room had cleared out after the breakfast rush and we were restocking tables. "So, when's the big date?"

"It's not really a date. I mean, I don't think it is. We're gonna catch a movie."

"A movie is a date. He likes you. Ian doesn't date anyone. I went to high school with him."

"You mean ever? Like I'm his first?" Somehow that thought was scarier than going on a date at all.

"Don't be silly, Bella. I mean, he dated some in high school and then he went out with Melanie Wilson for a long time and then she left for college and they broke up last year- I think- anyway, he hasn't dated since then."

"So why me?"

"Why not? You're pretty and you're nice and you're not falling over yourself trying to get at him like a lot of the tourists who come down here. Falling yes, but not over him." She winked at me. I resisted the urge to throw a sugar packet at her head.

"I just don't see why he'd be interested in me," I said.

"Emily pretty much had it right," said a deeper voice from behind us. The flush was back in full force.

"What?" I said. I pretty sure it came out more of a squeak so I swallowed and tried again. "She did?"

"Pretty much," Ian said. "She left out the part where I like talking to you in the mornings too. And watching you smile. That's nice too."

I turned around but Emily had slipped back into the kitchen so I could fend for myself. I was sure she and the rest of the staff were peering at us through the tiny windows in the doors.

"So…" I said as I turned back to Ian. He grinned at me. It wasn't the half grin that I had loved so about… HIM. It was a full on- ten thousand megawatts of stardust- kind of smile.

"I forgot to give you my number," he said. And he handed me a scrap of paper. His handwriting was messy and his name and number were scrawled over the page. I smiled. It was so natural. This is how boys write. Messy and eager- not like Edgar Allen Poe's early drafts of "the Raven".

"Thanks," I said trying to will my flush away. It wasn't working. I found myself smiling at him.

"So," he said, his mission accomplished and the nervousness sneaking in. "I guess I see you, then."

"I'll call you," I promised. He left me with one last bright grin before he turned to leave. I watched him go.

I could hear them all giggling behind me as I sank into a chair. I had a date. A real date with a real-live boy. I giggled at the thought. Live- that'd be a new one for me.

Emily was grinning wickedly at me. "Please say you aren't going to wear that old blue sweater of yours! Please tell me you have another shirt you wear when you aren't working!" She begged. I looked at her in shock. Had I really been wearing it that much?

When I got home that night I pulled out the sweater in question and looked at it as if I'd never seen it before. I was falling apart. There were loose threads and there was a hole under one of the arms. I didn't think that I had been wearing it that much. It had been Edward's favorite.

I threw it away in the dumpster outside so that I wouldn't be tempted to save it later. I was cutting old ties today. It was the last thing I had that really reminded me of him. I realized as I walked purposefully down the hall back to my apartment, what a fool I had been. He had never loved me. Never. And I found, somewhat to my surprise, that the thought didn't hurt as much as I thought it should.

I called Ian that night. I'm sure there is some kind of rule about how long you're supposed to wait but I didn't care. We were going out Friday night to catch a new movie- Maybe dinner afterwards. I fell asleep with a smile for the first time in ages.

The next morning, he was there at the beach as I walked.

"Hey, Bella! Come swimming with me!" He called.

I smiled. "I don't swim," I told him. "Besides, it's the middle of November. Who goes swimming in November?"

"Everyone. It's the Gulf. You've lived here for almost five months and you still haven't gone swimming yet?" I shook my head. He laughed, with his head thrown back- completely at ease with who he was. "I promise you, Bella Swan, I will get you in the water. People say that the water here can heal just about anything."

"Yes," I said. "But it's still cold when you get out of the water. What with is being winter and all. Maybe in summer," I hedged. Maybe by then I'd be ready.

"May then," he said. "I get you in the water by May."

Friday night rolled around and I found I was nervous. I didn't know what to take or to wear or to do with my hair. I tried on everything I own twice before settling on a green shirt and my nicer jeans, He was at my door right at seven to pick me up and I found it was easy to talk to him as we drove. He liked Linkin Park and Green Day. His favorite color was green and I was suddenly glad I had chosen to wear that color. I'd have to find time to go shopping, I thought idly. Assuming we went out again, that was.

We had fun. The movie was horrible and we spent all of dinner making fun of it. Ian did a fairly credible impersonation of the leading man's awful British accent and we both laughed until our sides hurt. He paid for both dinner and the movie. It was nice.

When we had finished eating, Ian suggested we go for a walk. "Let's head down to the pier. Have you ever seen Galveston at night?"

"Only on my way home," I admitted.

"That's a crime. We have to fix that. There is nothing more incredible than looking at the city from the pier. Come on." He took my hand and led me off towards the beach. We took our shoes off and ran, hand-in-hand down the sand. There were plenty of lights along the shore and we saw other couples walking, most more sedate than us, down the beach.

He led me along the sand until we got to the pier. We didn't bother with our shoes as we made the short trek to the end of the pier.

He was right: It was one of the singular most amazing things I had ever seen. The city of Galveston stretched out before us with every light reflected back onto the water of the Gulf of Mexico. The waves turned those lights into glittering silver stars that danced all around us. Above me, the sky stretched, endless and hopeful overhead. I had found peace here.

"Do you like it?" Ian asked me. He was standing behind me as if he wanted to wrap his arms around me but didn't dare. I took a step back and leaned against his chest, listening to his heartbeat.

"I love it. This is amazing. Thank you, Ian."

He could feel him smile as his arms slid around me. "I'm glad. I come here at night sometimes when I can't sleep. It's like the stars and the lights are dancing. And I'm right in the middle of it all."

"It's very humbling," I said.

"How so?" he asked.

"It's so big. I've never seen so much sky before I moved here."

"You should try driving across the state some time. Most of it is flat as a plate and you look around and all you see is grass and sky. Most people come to Texas for one reason or another but there's something about this place that makes them stay."

"I could stay here," I said. I wasn't sure if I mean tin Texas or on that pier.

"Me too," he said softly.

I turned around to look at him. He wasn't that much taller than me, putting him at about five eight. His blond hair was messy from the wind and his brown eyes danced as he watched me. I felt my arms sliding around him. I wanted to kiss him. I was going to kiss him. I didn't care that it was our first date or that every guy I had ever loved had left me- tonight, none of it mattered. I wanted to be loved tonight and Ian was there- he was warm under his sweatshirt and the hard lines of his body felt safe and somehow right.

"Bella?" cried an incredulous voice from behind me. "Is that you? Is it really you? Thank goodness we found you!"

I turned around quickly to stare at a face I thought I would never see again. A flurry of emotions pounded my heart as I took in what I was seeing. "Alice?"

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