Sorry about the wait. I meant to have this published along with the other three or four chapters I promised to post this past week, but I ended up going on vacation early. I'm putting them up now though. I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to SM

EPOV

It was three AM and my eyes were still wide open. I didn't think they would be closing anytime tonight. Honestly, I was afraid that if I fell asleep, I would be back in New York when I woke up.

She was here.

Isabella-freaking-Swan was here, at my parent's house, in Forks. She had been in my bed, in my room. I could smell her scent on the sheets.

She had been in my shower.

A shiver ran through my body. The Bella I had seen in my shower was no longer a teenager. She was a woman. An absolutely breathtaking woman.

I had always secretly thought Bella was beautiful in high school. She didn't think so, but every male in the school would have agreed with me. She had been beautiful in a warm, natural way, unlike all the other girls who had bleached blond hair and raccoon eyes. Bella never wore any makeup or did anything with her hair other than pull it up into a ponytail, but it didn't matter. She hadn't needed it anyway.

And now I had seen her again, this time with soaked hair and no makeup, and it was obvious to me that she was probably ten times more beautiful than she had been in high school. I had never seen another woman who could look that beautiful naturally.

Her skin was as pale as it had been before but it was now smoother and creamier.
Her dark wet hair had looked beautiful against her skin. Her lips were a little fuller and redder, but her eyes were exactly the same. Wide, chocolate brown eyes that reminded me of hot chocolate, framed with thick dark lashes. I couldn't help my eyes from surveying the rest of her body.

And I felt like such an idiot when the first thing I did was after seven years was ogling her.

She had screamed at me and told me to get out. I had quickly complied and sat on my bed while I waited for. The moment she spoke, I knew she had changed drastically. Her voice had transformed from sweet and innocent to firm and experienced. It made me feel like I was younger than her.

I knew why she was so different. She hadn't had anyone to help her deal with the pain of her parents. She really was more mature than me. She was more experienced and older than her years. I had done that to her.

Before I could help myself, my apology fell from my lips. She acted as if she didn't know what I was about to say and hurried from the room, using Alice as an excuse. I followed her like the oblivious jerk I was and tried to apologize again.

Bella had always been my little kitten. Sure, she had been angry many times, but it was more humorous than scary. But when she ripped her arm from my hand, she instantly transformed into a ferocious tiger. I had been honestly and truly afraid of her at that moment. She screamed and swore at me, and then my arms had subconsciously reached out to brush a piece of hair from her face. Her face changed again and she looked frightened. She met my eyes once more before she was gone.

I closed my eyes and envisioned the scenario I had imagined countless times throughout the past years.

I knocked on her door a couple times and she opened it up a couple of seconds later. She looked exactly the same as she always had. She gasped before smiling.

"Edward?" she asked through her tears.

I leaned against the door frame and grinned back. "Yeah."

She squealed and threw herself into my arms. I hugged her back.

"I missed you," she said.

"Me too," I admitted.

Shit, my ego was huge. It shouldn't be. I'm a taxi driver. I have hardly any money. I broke my best friend when she was already delicate and about to fall apart.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I sighed and ran my hands down my face. After what just happened, my ego was melting away. She hated me. In a way, I was glad. She had every right and she should make this as hard as possible for me.

But it still hurt. A lot.

BPOV

Police cars surrounded my house. I ran up to the nearest officer and tugged on his sleeve. He turned around quickly and gasped a little when he realized who I was.

"Isabella Swan?"

I nodded. "What happened? Where are my mom and dad?"

He squeezed his eyes shut before opening them and looking into my eyes.

"There was an accident up by the gas station. Someone tried to shoot your father—"

I gasped but he continued.

"—and he drove away as fast as he could. Unfortunately another car was speeding and hit the vehicle head on. Your mother and father rolled into the ditch."

Tears pooled in my eyes and ran down my face.

"Will they be okay?" I whispered.

He met my eyes steadily and shook his head slowly. "I'm sorry. They were killed upon impact."

What he said didn't really sink in. When it did, I had trouble breathing. I began to gasp for air. I was sure my throat was closing up. I clutched my stomach and leaned forward.

The officer put his hand on my shoulder.

"Can I take you somewhere? To your grandmother's?"

The only thing I could think was that I needed release. Comfort. Something to ease the pain that was slowing creeping into my conscious mind. One word came to mind.

Edward.

With that thought I had taken off running down the street to the mansion beside the stream. The police called after me but I ignored him. I threw open the door to the Cullen's house and looked around. No one was in sight.

"Edward!" I cried.

I ran up the stairs toward his bedroom, screaming his name the entire time. I pushed open his door and saw him sitting on the bed.

"Edward," I sobbed.

He turned to look at me coldly. I hesitated briefly before brushing it off.

"Mom and Dad…" I whispered through tears. "They're dead."

I swear I saw pain in his eyes for a second. Then his face became distant again.

"And you came to me?"

I frowned. I didn't want guessing games. I wanted him to hug me and tell me he would be here for me.

"Yes."

"Or did you come to my family? They like you more anyway."

"Edward, what—?"

"Don't Bella. Just—just get out of here. I'm tired of your shit. I'm tired of feeding your need of attention with sympathy."

I choked on a sob. "Did you hear what I said? Do you understand? Charlie and Renee are dead!"

He glared. "I have eyes. I can see the police outside my window."

"What did I do?" I whispered as I lost the little color I had left.

He sighed and looked at the floor. His lips twisted into a scowl.

"I don't want to be friends. You aren't the type of person I even really want to talk to."

With that last blow I ran from the house, clutching my hand to my mouth to stifle the sobs.

The rest of the Cullens entered the house as I ran across the hallway. Esme opened her arms up to hug me. Her face was contorted with sadness and sympathy. I pushed past her and fled from the house. The last thing I heard was lots of screaming coming from the mansion on the end of the street. I drove out of Forks and didn't stop for two weeks.

I shot up out of bed, panting. Sweat covered my body, making my nightgown cling to my body and my hair stick to my face. I held my hands against my heart, willing it to slow down.

A couple minutes later I closed my eyes and ran my hands down my face. I hadn't had that dream for over five years. I couldn't help but think it was my subconscious mind telling me to stay away from Edward. I wouldn't risk my happiness to be friends with Edward again.

But, god, he was so beautiful. Was God trying to kill me? Was He trying to take away my happiness?

A better question was probably whether or not the devil was trying to get another soul into hell.

Last night after settling into Alice's bedroom, I sent Rose a text telling her that Edward was here. She hadn't replied yet, which worried me. I prayed to God she wasn't going to do anything rash.

I climbed out of bed and made my way to the shower. It was already eleven o'clock. I washed away the perspiration and blow dried my hair into soft, natural waves. Then I put on a simple blue sweater and a pair of black jeans. I also applied make-up.

Finally I took a deep breath and walked down stairs toward the voices in the kitchen.

"You're going to drive Bella away," I heard Alice hiss.

"What am I supposed to do? Fly back to New York?" Edward's silky voice asked.

"Yes! That is exactly what you're supposed to do!"

Shit. I was not going to be the one to drive a wedge between this family. I put on a brave face and pushed open the French doors.

"Good morning!" I chirped, smiling at them all. They gapped at me for a few seconds before Esme returned the wish. I turned toward the counter and picked up a blueberry orange muffin.

"May I have one of these?" I asked Esme.

"Certainly, Sweetie."

I took a bite and chewed slowly before swallowing.

"Delicious! Wonderful job on these, Esme. Can I have the recipe?"

She looked toward the floor and Alice answered for me.

"Actually, Edward made them," she said quietly. Everyone held their breath, waiting for my reaction. It was then that I had remembered Edward and I eating these same muffins the afternoon before prom. I had decided that day to tell him I loved him. Of course that had never happened, after seeing him sucking face with some blond slut.

However, I pretended I didn't really give a shit. I had gotten close to perfect at lying lately. I met Edward's eyes.

"Well, can I?" I asked casually.

He didn't answer. He seemed incredibly ashamed and refused to meet my eyes. Well he should be ashamed. I had no intention of forgiving him anytime soon.

Over the last seven years, I had developed a habit of taking advantage of people when I had more self-esteem than them. Of course I never took advantage of someone who was kind. The last time I had done this was when Mike accused me of cheating on him. In reality I had only gone out for lunch with a guy I worked with to discuss some business ideas I had. When Mike found that out, he felt guilty, and I took that as an opportune moment to get a little payback. Horrible, I know. But very useful in a situation like this.

I took a couple slow, seductive steps toward Edward. This had worked on a countless number of men before but I wasn't sure what Edward's reaction would be like. He met my eyes quickly before looking away with flaming cheeks. I stopped when I was a foot away and put a hand on his shoulder.

"May I please have the recipe, Edward?" I asked sweetly in a deep, rich voice.

His eyes widened and met mine. I smiled and began to lean forward so my lips were inches from his own. I could feel his breath speed up and wondered why he hadn't pulled away. This wasn't the smooth, suave Edward I used to know. Hiss lips moved forward slightly to meet mine, and I knew it was time to drop the act.

I abruptly reached behind him and grabbed a card of paper labeled Orange Blueberry Delight. As soon as it was in my hand, I took a big step back and fixed an expression of nonchalance on my face. I pretended to scan the paper quickly before looking up at him with a blank face.

"Hmm, looks easy enough. I'll copy it out and then give it back to you," I said.

I grabbed my muffin off the counter and ignored Carlisle, Alice, Esme, and Emmett's shocked expressions.

Then I took another big bite of the muffin. I smiled at Edward, who was still staring at me with wide eyes and red stained cheeks, and winked at Alice who was wearing a full blown grin now. I chewed and nodded my head while giving Edward a thumps up. Lastly, I turned on my heels and walked out of the room.

"Tell me when you want to show me your store, Alice!" I called back before taking another huge bite of muffin.

*

*

*

I avoided looking at the house down the street, where it sat, full of childhood memories, untouched since the day my parents died. I wasn't quite ready to look at it yet.

Alice and I giggled as we drove to her store in Seattle.

"I can't believe how flustered you had Edward!" she squealed. "His face was priceless! His eyes were enormous! He was, like, totally entranced! Oh my god, Bella! I so wish I could make him do that!"

We both laughed so hard that tears began to stream down our faces.

"I mean, how the hell did you manage to look so smooth?" she asked with genuine curiosity.

I shrugged. "I don't really know for sure. But I've gotten good at lying."

"You couldn't even tell little white lies when we were kids!" she laughed.

"Well, Rosalie set me up with this guy a few years ago. He was cute, I guess.. She made me go out with him. I had to get pretty good at lying to him about my feelings."

She raised an eyebrow. "When did it end?"

"About six months ago, when he asked me to marry him."

She gasped. "Wow, seriously?"

"Yup. There was no way I was going to say yes."

"So you didn't like him at all?"

Again, I shrugged. "I liked him. I mean, I really liked him, but I never got close to loving him. I don't really think I'll ever end up marrying."

She bit her lip. "How come?"

I looked down at my lap. "My expectations are pretty high, that's all."

She looked at my through the corner of her eye. "Is this an opportune moment to talk about what happened that day?" We both knew she was talking about the day my parents died.

"Sure," I sighed. Then I thought of something. "But only if you promise to answer questions I have for you honestly."

She hesitated momentarily before saying, "So as long as you answer mine truthfully."

I nodded and organized where to start. "I was…kind of frustrated that day and I wrote a whole bunch of letters I knew I would never have the guts to send to…someone…while my mom and dad went out to buy me whip cream for my graduation cake. I hadn't spoken to Edward since the night before when we had the party. I saw…something…"

"Bella," Alice warned.

I sighed. "Okay, well I had seen Edward the night before kissing some girl, and it hurt. I started to think our relationship wasn't very healthy, because we depended on each other too much. So anyway, I heard sirens, and I walked back toward the house and found out Charlie and Renee were dead. The first thing I thought was that I needed Edward to soothe the pain I was feeling, and I ran to your house. He was cold and distant. He told me that you guys loved me more than him. I didn't understand where what he was saying was coming from and was confused. Then he told me he didn't want to be friends. He said he didn't even want to talk to somebody like me. So I ran."

Alice's eyes were as big as saucers. "Holy shit, Bella. I had no idea it was that bad. Why the hell—"

Her eyes glazed over and her hands dropped from the steering wheel. I let out a little shriek and leaned over to pull the car to the side of the road. She was having a vision. Even though I hadn't seen her forever, I remembered this look.

Alice's eyes snapped to my face. "Oh my god."

"What?"

She pried my fingers from the steering wheel and began to drive again.

"Alice, what did you see?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm not telling you."

I laughed without humor. "You're not telling me? Seriously?"

"Bella, I'll ruin it if I tell you. So shut up."

I crossed my arms and leaned back in the seat. "Then tell me if you saw my parents die."

The car was dead silent and I knew the answer before she spoke.

"I did."

Okay, tell me what you thought! Again, I'm looking for someone to beta my stories, so if you're interested, or know anyone who might be interested, let me know!

The next chapter will be up by tomorrow.

-Maiya L