As always: Everything and anything related to the Twilight saga belongs to Stephenie Meyer. This is a work of fiction based on her writings. No harm is meant by it.

Special thanks and much adoration to my beta Kelly.

Chapter Twenty-Five: We Need To Talk…

As Edward slept, Bella watched as his muscular chest rose and fell with each breath he took. She watched as his eyelashes fluttered as his dream played on through his mind. He looked so peaceful and so serene. His lips were jutted out as they always did when he was deeply asleep; he always looked like he was waiting to be kissed. His hair was fanned out against his pillow, the coppery rust shade contrasting beautifully against the royal blue pillow cover.

Little streaks of the afternoon light slipped in through the blinds and painted gentle patterns on Edward's shoulder and Bella bent down to gently kiss along one of those patterns.

Bella let her hands traverse along the soft locks of hair closest to her hands. His hair was sweated out, but it stilled smelled sweet with just a hint of the musty odor that was all Edward. It was a smell that Bella had grown so accustomed to since they were kids.

He looked absolutely beautiful. It was truly awe worthy and Bella couldn't believe how she had missed it for so long. It wasn't like she didn't know her best friend was attractive. Hell he had women fawning over him all the time. It was hard not to notice the glares she received whenever the two of them went out somewhere. It was plain to see that Edward was attractive, but she had never really taken the time to truly look at the man who had been her best friend for over twenty years.

He had been a cute boy when they were kids. He had that unruly hair he still couldn't tame, and the cutest smile of any little boy Bella had known, even to this day. Even when he had braces his smile was still brilliant. All the girls in her class would always ask about Edward, giggling incessantly as they twirled their hair whenever they talked to him. Bella simply rolled her eyes at their antics and joked about it later with Edward at her house while they watched cartoons.

In high school it had been unbelievably evident that Edward was attractive. He had hit his growth spurt their sophomore year and all of a sudden he towered over Bella. He had grown more muscular over the summer before their junior year and had lost all the baby fat that Bella carried until college. His face had lost the cute roundness it once had, and became more angular, more masculine, and more handsome.

He had turned into a man and even then, Bella had been blind to the whole thing. She had just seen Edward, her best friend, the boy she stole ice cream from the freezer with. He was the boy who had ridden his bike all the way to her house to celebrate his birthday with her because of a silly promise they made when they were younger. He was the boy who made her smile when she got her heart broken for the first time and the boy who had managed to make her day that much better with a little inside joke.

But now Edward was the man that Bella had fallen in love with. There were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. She was head over heels, truly, madly, deeply in love with the man beside her, the man who had been there with her for the last twenty years, and to make matters worse, the beautiful man sleeping soundly beside her had absolutely no idea of the turmoil she was experiencing. He had no idea of the way her heart filled and burst ever time he so much as smiled in her direction. He had no idea of the way her body would flush whenever he brushed a hand against her cheek or bit at her ear lobe.

He had no idea of just how badly she had fallen for him and the worst part was that she had the sense to know that her feelings were unrequited. Edward obviously still only saw her as the girl who had salvaged all her cereal box proofs to get him the Speed Racer shirt he had wanted when they were seven. He still saw her as the eleven-year-old girl who'd had no idea how to kiss him at Eric's birthday party. He still saw her as the fourteen year old girl he had had to rescue because she was too naïve to know of the intentions of an upper classmen. He still saw her as just his best friend.

And it crushed her.

She felt tears welling in her eyes and a familiar lump in her throat forming as she thought about it. Her fingers shook as she brushed at Edward's hair, a few silent tears spilling down her cheeks slowly.

Bella sighed as she thought, her breath stuttering as the tears became more prominent. Her eyes traveled down the angular line of his jaw, her hand following her eyes, until her fingers found his lips. They had been so supple and so soft when he kissed her. The kiss had been beautiful and everything she could have hoped for, but it had changed everything, and that was the last thing she needed. They couldn't kiss again; it would hurt too much to have it mean nothing for him.

She was still just his best friend. Why would he settle for her when he could have the best?

The tears stopped but her breathing was still off and Bella decided to get up and get some water. She grabbed her clothing from the floor and put it on. The movement of the bed and her actions caused Edward to stir in his sleep.

"Where are you going?" he asked as he sat up slowly in the bed. He rubbed at his eyes harshly trying to adjust to the light. He had only been asleep for a little more than an hour.

"To get a drink of water," Bella replied through a deep shuttering gasp as she tried to rein her emotions.

"Have you been crying?" Edward asked his voice laced with concern. Quickly he got out of the bed, not caring that he was naked and walked to Bella. He palmed her face in his hands and stared deeply into her eyes. The sincerity Bella saw only made her sob even more.

"Bella what's wrong?" he asked as he pulled Bella in tight against him.

"We need to talk Edward."

Edward pushed himself away from Bella and just stared at her.

"Nothing good ever comes from those words Bells."

"I know," she answered, smiling wistfully at the nickname and watched as Edward stumbled back to sit on the bed. He patted the seat beside him and called her over.

"What do we need to talk about?" he asked, trepidation and fear resounding in his voice. Bella felt her heart break in her chest. Here it is, she thought. I'm about to kill twenty years of friendship. I'm gonna lose the most important person in my life.

"Us. We need to talk about us."