A/N: I love you. I really do.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Edward POV

I saw her face fall as soon as the words left my mouth and I wanted to kick myself. Not only had I walked in on her in the bath, I had also just obviously touched on a touchy subject.

"I'm sorry. I didn't...I mean... it's just..." I quickly tried to back peddle but what's that saying? The rule of holes: when you're in one, stop digging.

I shut my mouth before anything else could come flying out and hoped that I hadn't already messed up too much. Though judging by the look on her face, I was sure I had.

"I'm sorry." I whispered and I ran a hand through my hair before collapsing down onto the bed behind me and pinching the bridge of my nose. It was a trait I had picked up from my father when I was very young and one that had never left me.

I felt the bed move beside me and I turned my head to the left to see Bella there, gnawing on her lip. She was sitting on her hands and her foot bounced on the floor in front of her.

"Don't be sorry." She finally said and if the room hadn't been eerily quiet, I probably wouldn't have heard her at all. "Mike is... was. Mike was my best friend."

She turned her head and her deep, bottomless brown eyes met mine and I found myself getting lost in them. I wanted to say something, to comfort the obvious hurt I could feel radiating from her, but something was stopping me.

"He died in a car accident a few months ago." She cleared her throat and pushed her hair out of her face. "He was...he was the baby's father."

"Oh Bella..." I sighed and without thinking I reached up and let my thumb wipe away the lone tear that was trailing down her cheek.

The instant my skin came in contact with hers it was that same electrical feeling. Like white hot embers exploding from each of us. She jerked her head away and I let my hand dangle in the air before finally resting it on the bed. At least now I knew she had felt it. She had to have felt it.

I wanted to say more. I wanted to comfort her and tell her that she wasn't alone anymore, that I was here for her. I wanted to say something, anything, that would take away her pain. But words failed me. And that was definitely a first.

"He was coming to pick me up from my house. We were going to go talk about what we were." Bella laughed dryly through the tears that were beginning to build in her eyes. "He wanted to be so much more... and I didn't want to. A drunk driver ran a red light..."

A sob escaped her and she put her head down, letting her hair form a drape between us, cutting me off from her. I wanted so badly to reach over and move her hair, but I didn't want to frighten her. I could tell she needed to do this and as long as she needed me, I'd be here.

"According to his dad, he died instantly. He didn't even know I was pregnant."

I couldn't help it anymore as I reached over and lightly rested my hand on top of hers. She didn't pull away and the small fires that were igniting between them seemed to warm me from the inside out. I looked down at our hands, the way our skin almost matched in it's pallor and the way her tiny hand seemed to fit perfectly under mine. I wondered for the briefest of moments what it would feel like to turn her hand over in mine and feel our fingers intertwined.

"I'm sorry." Bella's soft voice pulled me out of the trance I seemed to have fallen under and I slowly pulled my hand away.

"What are you sorry for?" I asked, honestly confused as to why she was apologizing to me of all people.

"I don't know why I'm telling you this...I just... I..." She trailed off as she lifted her head and stared ahead of her. Her deep brown eyes were calculating as though she were trying to remember something or solve a deep, intense mystery.

"I'm here." I mumbled and though the words were simple and meant little by themselves, I knew they would mean a lot more to her. And it was the truth. I was here, I didn't plan on going anywhere.

She nodded her head and slowly her head turned. I felt my body tense as I waited for our eyes to meet. My heart was beating a rhythm like no other inside of my chest and I was terrified, and thrilled, and pained all at the same time.

When her eyes met mine I was overcome with the raw emotions I could see flitting behind the depths of her chocolate pools. The air was still between us and though we weren't touching I could feel the tingles like we had been, in the base of my spine. There was no doubt about the effect this girl had on me. My mind thought back to a conversation Alice and I had once had. A conversation that for some reason, I had never been able to let go of. The one where she had told me she knew who she was going to be with forever. One word in particular was sticking out now. Sparks. I felt myself shift closer to Bella and I knew that I had to do something to ease the tension between us before I did something stupid yet again.

"Tell me about him." I whispered and I leaned back, away from her as I realized she did the same.

She smiled sadly, her full lips turning up but only minimally as she mulled something over in her head. "He drove a beat up old suburban. He swore up and down it was vintage because his dad used to drive it. He had blonde hair and really bright blue eyes and a dimple in his chin that only showed when he was smiling."

"Ah..classic looks." I laughed and she did the same, the beautiful melodic sound filling the room around us.

"No, more like baby faced. He always wanted to grow a beard but he couldn't grow facial hair to save his life. I don't think he ever even had stubble..."

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Bella yawned widely, cutting her own laugh off, and wiped away the tears in her eyes. It seemed like only minutes had passed as we sat on the bed eating the food I had procured and talking about Mike, but as I looked at the clock on the bedside table I was shocked to see that it was nearly two in the morning.

"It's late." I said quietly and I stood up from the bed, making my way over to the bags I had left on the table in the corner. I pulled out my t-shirt and plaid pajama bottoms along with my bag of toiletries and smiled at Bella before slipping into the bathroom to change and brush my teeth.

As I got myself ready for bed I thought back to the way Bella had talked about Mike, always in past tense, always as a friend. Never once saying the three words I had expected to come tumbling out. Maybe I shouldn't be surprised though. She was only eighteen, and I was nearly twenty-four and had never experienced the one thing I had been looking for. The one thing the rest of my family had already found. But maybe it was just me. Maybe I was never meant to find love like my mother and father had. Maybe Alice was the lucky one of the Cullen children and I was destined to be alone. I sighed and ran a hand through my unruly hair before stepping back out into the hotel room.

The lights were still on but Bella was curled up on her side on the bed, her head resting on her arm as she laid on the bed. If I hadn't seen the old couple at the front desk myself I might be more leery about her laying on the bed but as it was I could see the goosebumps forming on her arms from six feet away.

I tiptoed over to her as I gently rolled the covers out from underneath her and covered her up with them, smoothing them down and tucking them around her before walking to the tacky swan shaped loveseat that sat in the corner of the room. It looked like it might have once been pure white but was now, in it's later days, an off white, cream color. I cringed as I sat down on it and tried not to think about what might or might not have happened on it as I put my bag under my head and laid down on . I slipped my book out of the pocket of my bag and opened up to my book marked page and started reading. I was so intent in the words on the page that I didn't hear the shuffling feet until she was right beside me. She cleared her throat and I looked up, smiling to see her standing there, shifting awkwardly on her feet as she bit on her bottom lip.

I sat up quickly, scared that something might have upset her or might have been wrong. Before I could ask however she sat down beside me and gave me a nudge to stand up.

"You take the bed."

"No." I shook my head.

"I can't sleep knowing you're over here on this...thing. You take the bed." She said adamantly.

"Bella..."

"Edward..."

"Don't worry about me." I insisted. "I'm fine. Really, I can sleep practically anywhere."

She narrowed her eyes and set her jaw, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back on the couch and shook her head slowly. "No. You take the bed."

I rolled my eyes and put my book away, standing up and stretching my muscles. She was obviously not going to give this up. "If you insist."

I didn't wait for her to get smug as I bent down and lifted her up into my arms. I had expected her to be heavier than she was, but even with the added weight of the baby in her belly I could easily carry her. I swung her around and carefully deposited her on the bed and covered her up again.

"Edward..."

"My full name is Edward Anthony Masen Cullen, if you'd like to use it." I smirked and I stood back up to go back to my perch on the loveseat.

"Fine." I turned around and smiled lazily at Bella as she glared at me from where she still sat on the bed. "How about a compromise?"

"A compromise?"

"A compromise."

"What kind of compromise?" I asked as my eyes narrowed and I watched her pick up the pillow from behind her and hold it in her arms.

"This is a big bed." She traced a shape on the pillowcase with her finger as she looked down at it. "And despite the fact that I'm huge right now, I'm fairly certain we can both fit."

I didn't say anything as her words sunk in and she looked up at me, worry written in the two little lines that creased between her eyes. My fingers itched to reach out and smooth them away and ask what she was worried about, but I resisted.

"I don't..."

"It's either that or I take the floor."

I rolled my eyes and as if to prove her point she threw the pillow down on the red shag carpet and put her feet down beside it.

"Don't kick me." I finally muttered as I threw my hands up in surrender and marched around to the other side of the bed.

"I won't." I turned to see Bella's face lit up in a brilliant smile of triumph and my heart thumped restlessly against my rib cage.

I flipped the light switch and Bella turned on the lamp beside the bed as I made my way back over to her. She nestled herself down on the bed, fluffing the pillow before finally laying back down on it, a smile still on her lips. I realized as I slid in next to her that I would do anything to keep that smile there where it was. I reached over and turned off the lamp once I was settled in beneath the blankets.

"Bella?" I asked before I could stop myself.

"Hmmm?" She replied, her exhaustion from the day already dragging her under.

"Did you love him?" It came out in a hushed whisper and I turned my head to try and see her through the dark in the room. I was surprised to find her already staring at me through her thick lashes.

"I loved him." She answered quietly and quickly. "But I wasn't in love with him."

The room was eerily quiet and I was sure my heartbeat was reverberating through the room, giving me away as I tried to ignore it's calls.

"There's a difference?" I broke through the silence of the room, though my voice was barely discernible.

When she didn't answer at first I assumed she had already fallen asleep, so I rolled my head back over to stare back down at her through the mirror above me. I saw her eyelids flutter and then I heard her answer, barely louder than the beat of a butterfly's wings.

"I'm starting to think there is."

A/N: This is by far my favorite chapter so far. I hope everyone else loves it too. So I'm hoping to get at least one more chapter out before November but in case I can't (stupid writer's block) then I thought I'd give you an advance warning that updates will be sparse next month. I'm participating in Nanowrimo and I'm very excited about it. I also have a bet going with one of my dear friends and there is a cake on the line, so I'm determined. You all are welcome to come check it out at Nanowrimo dot org. My username is the same there as it is here.
Review for a sneak peek my lovelies!
Besos.