Author's Note: Happy Independence Day everyone! Hope you guys are having a nice holiday weekend!

Some of your questions should be cleared up in this chapter. Bella is becoming a little less of a mystery. We will find out, once and for all, why Bella left. Unfortunately, she has no idea all the crap she stirred up while she was gone. But she will!

Thank you to ms. ambrosia, the most wonderful beta in all of fanfic! She makes me look so good – how can I not love her?

Disclaimer: SM owns; I own my convoluted, warped version of the story.

Chapter 26

The late afternoon sun was low in the sky, casting the wide and bristled tree limbs in ominous and lengthy shadows. As I stood on the front porch alone, my mind wove dark daydreams; the limbs of the trees were the devil's arms, tantalizing me, tempting me with their mysterious touch and enslaving me in their sticky web.

My mind was silent, my heart sinking in my chest. Here I was, doubting myself again, doubting my thoughts, doubting my grasp of reality. Did I want to hear Bella's thoughts in my head so badly that I'd fabricated a delusion to assuage my worries and my fears? Was my memory of her voice so lucid, so distinct, that I could fool myself so thoroughly?

I had one foot in my fantasy, the other firmly rooted in bleak reality. I briefly succumbed to the gloom of the shadows, the cool, wet wind dampening my clothing and spirit. But in my heart, I truly believed that she was out there somewhere and getting closer. My feet shifted restlessly on the wooden porch as I wrestled with my insecurities, and my underlying fear that she'd abandoned me. And yet, I knew she never would. I had faith in her and as soon as I realized this, I knew that she really was coming, she really was near.

I looked out at the trees, the shadows growing deeper and thicker, my excitement peaking. I tried to calm my nerves and listen, throwing the borders of my mind out like a net, to capture any evidence of Bella's thoughts, no matter how small or insignificant.

I was so absorbed in my mental acrobatics that I was almost painfully startled when I finally saw the form of two figures approaching from the distance. My legs nearly fell out from underneath me, my heart leaping to a second life in my chest with lurching, stumbling thuds.

My body leaned forward instinctively, my legs eager to launch my body off of the porch and close the space between us – my beautiful Bella and me. And yet, I stopped myself, allowing the tiny uncertainty in my heart to hold me back, my legs frozen in place. I squinted down the driveway toward the tree line where the two small shapes were growing larger, becoming gradually more distinct. As the visitors got closer, moving much too slowly at a very human pace, my uncertainty began to blossom and grow and fester.

When one of the two approaching figures stumbled inelegantly – awkwardly enough that it was clear these were not vampires – I stepped off of the porch and walked toward them. After only a few steps I could tell who the two girls were and I stopped a cautious distance away and waited hesitantly.

Lauren and Jessica were giggling as they strutted up my driveway in their high heels. They were both wearing tight dresses and way too much makeup caked on their faces and smeared across their eyes. They clung to each other as though conspiring, as if it was necessary to combine their courage for whatever plan they were executing.

"Edwaaard," Lauren purred when they'd gotten close enough to hear.

"Hi," I replied flatly, not deliberately rude, but not hiding my disappointment either.

"Hi Edward," Jessica said in a less practiced, less overtly suggestive way than Lauren. I noticed that her lipstick was smudged at the corner of her mouth, giving her a clownish look and I couldn't help feel a little pity toward her for getting roped into whatever scheme Lauren had contrived.

"Hi Jessica, um, what are you guys doing here?"

"Oh Edward, we need your help," Lauren pouted in a sugary voice, stepping closer and grasping my forearm, her dark red nails grazing my shirt. I flinched from her touch, wresting my arm from her fingers.

"Really? What's the problem?" I asked reluctantly, looking past the girls into the trees for a sign of Bella, the waning sunlight blurring the edges of my vision.

"We broke down," Jessica said.

"We got a flat tire," Lauren blurted at the same time.

"Um, oh…well I guess I'll have to go look," I replied, frustrated. I tugged on my hair thoughtlessly, as though attempting to stimulate my brain.

I tried to think of a way to get out of this fiasco. I didn't really want to be out here alone with these two conniving girls who were demanding my attention. They kept moving in closer toward me so that I could smell their perfume, feel the heat of their breath on my neck. More than ever, I felt the urge to get Emmett or Jacob to diffuse the heavy innuendo implied in every fawning gesture and each wanton look. I turned back toward the house anxiously.

"I should probably go get my friend, Jacob. He knows more about cars than me. And we need a flashlight anyway," I explained as I began to retreat from the simpering girls.

"Edward…wait," whined Lauren, reaching out again as if to touch me.

"What Lauren?" I asked, sighing in exasperation.

"Um, well, um, we kind of wondered if Bella was gone? I mean, she hasn't been at school for a while. Did she move away or something?" she asked.

"No."

"You know all about her, don't you? About how she disappeared for almost a year?" Lauren's eyes sparked with mischief.

"Yeah, and her father had the whole town looking for her," Jessica added.

"My brother had a few classes with her," Lauren explained. "She was a total geek. She wore glasses and was so shy that she never even like talked to anyone. No one even noticed she was gone until her father freaked out and everything."

"Look-" I started, wanting to defend Bella and prevent their malicious gossip, but Lauren couldn't be stopped. I didn't want to hear about Bella this way and yet, I couldn't deny that I longed to hear what had happened to her, no matter how distorted the version or how far from the truth.

"Of course everyone knows she ran away because she was so depressed," Lauren said with authority. "But when she came back her father tried to sweep the whole thing under the rug, you know?"

"Some people thought she'd been kidnapped," Jessica added.

"That's so not true," Lauren retorted, swinging her hair over her shoulder. She was obviously enjoying herself, her mouth twisting into a smug grin.

"And then she was totally different when she came home. So she definitely stayed with a cool aunt or something…who like gave her a makeover." She ended the last statement like a question, as though she hadn't worked this part out for herself.

I wanted to tell her that she was lying, that she didn't have any real information, but I didn't know the truth. I had to admit that she knew more about this part of Bella's past than I did and this fact stung so deep that I remained silent.

"Yeah, she was totally different," Jessica agreed, nodding.

"Let's go get Jacob," I said, trying to distract them by waving them toward the house and taking a few steps up the driveway.

"Wait, that's not all," Jessica piped up this time.

"What?" I snapped. I was irritated beyond belief, but a part of me still wanted to hear what they had to say. I hated that part of me, but I turned back toward them nonetheless and listened.

"The next part's kind of sad," Jessica admitted, her eyes appropriately cast downward.

"No it's not!" Lauren said, stomping her foot for emphasis, glaring disappointedly at Jessica. "It's creepy!" she affirmed.

"Whatever, Lauren," Jessica huffed, rolling her eyes. "You don't know anything," she argued.

"Yes I do," she argued. "My brother told me that Bella had only been back a few weeks when her dad died. I think she killed him," she said with conviction, tilting her chin upward.

"I think you need to leave!" I snarled at her.

I'm going to kill that bitch. Edward…it's not true. I didn't kill him. I loved him.

I heard her. Bella was there. She was talking to me in my mind. She was really there. I looked all around, but still I didn't see her. But I felt her now. She was close. And she was angry.

Lauren had no idea how thin the ice was that she was skating on as she continued to babble her theories. "And then she like was already eighteen so she like inherited the house and everything and came back to repeat her senior year so that she could graduate. Seriously, I think it was like her connections with the police or something that kept her from getting arrested."

"I really think you should shut the fuck up now Lauren," I said, grabbing her arm roughly and leading her toward my house. I worried that Bella was so pissed that I couldn't stop her from attacking.

Jessica followed along behind us, stumbling in her shoes as she tried to keep up with my fast pace. "Hey, wait up," she called, but I just kept moving quickly toward the house.

I looked up to see the front door spring open and Jacob was standing there, his body perched against the frame, heaving as though he was fighting for control. His eyes looked panicked as he sniffed the air, growling.

"You're hurting me," Lauren whined as I tugged her up the stairs to the door, and I slightly released my grip.

"Edwaaard," Jacob growled as I pushed the girls past him through the door.

"Jacob, hey, um, look this is Lauren and Jessica and um, their car broke down or something," I explained, flustered, trying to read the situation without really saying anything. I dropped Lauren's arm and she began to rub it, glaring at me.

Jacob's eyes were darting around, panicked; he looked like he might spring to action at any second. He took one quick look at the two girls and began to pace like a caged animal. I could see the worry on his furrowed brow and wondered just what he was sensing that I didn't know.

All at once, he stopped, his gaze landing on me. "I've gotta go," he said.

"No!" I demanded, stepping closer to him. "I need you to help me with the car," I said, begging him with my eyes not to leave yet.

He didn't make a move, but continued to look around the room as if searching for an exit. His nostrils were flared, his pupils dilated. I suspected he might bolt if I looked away.

Just as I was about to speak again, to break the awkward silence that had fallen upon the room, I felt her. All the tiny hairs on my arms stood at attention, my heart beat accelerated in my chest, and my head began to throb in a sharp, stabbing, familiar sort of way.

"Bella," her name fell from my lips, an errant whisper. I realized my slip immediately and sent a questioning glance to Lauren and Jessica to see if they'd heard.

The girls were bent toward each other, head to head, giggling, oblivious. Their eyes were greedily taking in their surroundings, as if cataloguing the furnishings of my house, as if the paintings on the walls and the velvet upholstered side chair would, in some unfathomable way, reveal my most damning secrets. If only they really knew what I was hiding.

I won't hurt them and she won't either. I want to... but you know I won't. I'm not a monster. Get rid of them. Get rid of them now.

"Jacob," I blurted, not sure if I was making the right decision or not. "I have something I have to do. Can you take the girls back down to their car and check it out?"

"What?" he asked, clearly shocked by my question. "Are you sure it's safe?" he asked, and by the changed look in his eyes I could tell that he had realized that the vampire nearby was Bella.

"I'm sure," I replied, trying to weigh my words with as much authority as possible.

"Well, okay then," he said, his posture relaxing and his shoulders dropping infinitesimally. As he moved toward the door I marveled, not for the first time, at his ability to trust so easily. It was both refreshing and a little terrifying. I was taking responsibility and I hoped that my decisions were sound.

Jacob led the two girls from the house. They tilted their heads up to look at him as if they'd noticed his height and beauty for the first time. They followed him surprisingly easily, almost eagerly, teetering on their heels behind him. Their unsuccessful attempt to keep up with his long stride down the driveway was humorous, their legs moving twice as fast as his, their movements appearing frantic and clumsy next to Jacob's elegant, animalistic grace.

I looked through the door into the night, the three retreating figures disappearing into the darkness. "Bella, where are you?" I asked.

In your room.

I ran up the stairs as fast as my legs would take me. I paused at the top wondering how I would find her. Was she angry? Did she miss me as much as I had missed her? And most significantly, was she alone?

Before I could dwell too long on these thoughts I whipped open the door, freezing in spot at the sight before me. Bella was sitting on the edge of my bed, her delicate hands crossed daintily on her lap. She smiled at me, warming my heart, but didn't get up to touch me like I longed for her to do.

"Edward," I heard my name from an unrecognizable voice and my eyes flew to the corner where an incredibly beautiful, tall woman stood stiffly, still as a statue. Despite her imposing presence, I hadn't noticed her when I first entered the room. She was so completely still she almost disappeared into the background. I had the distinct feeling that she wasn't breathing, that she wasn't alive.

I knew she was a vampire, and yet this knowledge, and my prior experience, did nothing to quell my trepidation as she took several steps toward me. She moved so effortlessly that she seemed to hover over the ground, her body gravitating toward me with a paralyzing single-mindedness.

She circled me, her arms reaching out to lightly caress me, her nose running across my skin invasively. "Mmmm…delicious. Yes, I understand the attraction. Yes, he is a fine human," she said breathily, seductively.

Every part of my body began to tremble. I seemed to be doomed to be ogled and molested by every female vampire I encountered and I wondered if all vampires were so self-assured and possessive in this way. I felt like a popsicle on a hot day.

Long strands of the vampire's strawberry, blond hair fell across my face as her finger darted out to run along my bottom lip. She was just about to push it into my mouth when Bella appeared next to me, her hand tearing the finger away. She growled, pushing her body between me and the other vampire.

"That's enough, Tanya!" she snarled at her, threateningly.

"Of course Bella, I was just curious. Not every human is worth the effort," she stated plainly, stepping a safe distance away, her hands raised in the air in surrender.

I couldn't resist being so close to Bella without touching her. I grasped her shoulders and she melted into me, allowing me to embrace her. I dipped my head to her neck, breathing in her scent, drowning myself in the essence of Bella.

"I missed you," I whispered.

"I missed you," she repeated.

"Where were you? Why did you go?"

"I wanted to tell you, but I was afraid of what I might find out. I was afraid that I might have to leave you and I just couldn't…"

"What? What did you want to tell me?" I asked, running my fingers nervously through my hair, shooting a nervous glance at Tanya who had returned to her stone-like posture.

"I needed to see…to understand if we could be together…intimately. I had to try and find someone…someone like me, who had tried to be in a relationship with a human. I searched and searched. There were so many vampires that laughed at me, made fun of me. And then finally, I heard about Tanya," she explained, pointing to the otherworldly figure.

"I kept hearing about this very old female vampire who had kept a human mate. I asked every vampire I met about her until finally I found one who knew where she lived. I immediately travelled to Alaska to find her, to get as much information out of her as I could. I hoped and prayed that she could tell me that there was a way for us to be together, that there was a way that I could touch you, that you could touch me…that we could make love," she whispered so lightly that I could barely hear her words.

"Bella," I murmured as I pulled her rigid form closer to me, molding my body around hers.

"When I finally found Tanya, she was more than helpful. I learned so much the week I spent at her house. And when I got ready to return to you, she insisted on coming with me. She wanted to meet you, to see why I was so determined." She gazed into my eyes longingly, so many words yet to be said. Her fingers found their way to the back of my neck, tangling a path through my hair.

I had forgotten the thrill of her cold touch, the strength and certainty in her fingers. I wished that we were alone, that we could curl our bodies together in my bed and hold each other for hours.

"Tell me, Edward, is it true that you can read Bella's mind?" Tanya asked, sitting herself awkwardly down on the edge of my bed. I cast a questioning look to Bella before answering, not knowing whether or not I should trust the strange, frightening, but striking woman.

I trust her, Edward. She believes in us. She won't harm us.

"Yes, it's true."

"And you can't hear anyone else's thoughts?"

"No. Just Bella's."

"Interesting… I must be honest, I'm not sure exactly what it means, but I do know that this is the sign of a very close and unique bond," Tanya declared, her words laced with sincerity.

"You…you were in a relationship like ours?" I asked.

"Yes, it was very long ago, nearly two hundred years."

"And this relationship…it was successful?" I dared to ask.

"Yes, it was. I was living in Norway for the winter when I first met Anders. He had been ice fishing with his father when he fell through the ice. I had made my home nearby on the edge of the lake and could easily hear his father's yells from my house. Normally, I didn't get involved with humans and their problems, always living in the most remote areas and keeping mostly to myself. But something compelled me to answer his father's cries.

"Within seconds I was at the edge of the hole, diving into the water before Anders' father even knew I was there. The seconds my hands touched Anders' skin I knew he was my natural mate. It was like there was a magnet under his skin and I felt bereft the moment I pulled him out of the water and wrenched my frigid hands away from his body."

"Where is he now?" I asked, assuming that she had made him into a vampire.

"He died more than a hundred and fifty years ago," she replied, sighing, laying her body back onto my bed. "Not a day goes by that I don't miss him. He was so tall and handsome and wonderful. He made me more human. I never killed a person to feed when he was with me and I've never killed one since."

"I've been alone for so long," she said wistfully. "When Bella came to see me and explained your situation, I wasn't surprised at how little she knows of our kind. Many newborns are created without any thought, abandoned by those who made them, forced to fend for themselves, to learn about their nature through trial and error.

"I knew the moment that I laid eyes on Bella that it was my destiny to come and help her. It has given my empty life meaning again," she said, reaching out to Bella and enfolding her in an embrace. "I promise to help you…in any way I can, my little young one."

"Why didn't you turn Anders?" I blurted, the question nagging my mind.

"He didn't want it. He was really such a simple man. Though he loved me, he feared god more. He told me that a lifetime of loving me was enough for him and that he would continue to love me in death. He was an incredible man, but limited by his culture, his narrow view of the world. He was always frightened of what he called 'my power' and said that he wouldn't know what to do with it.

"I loved him as much as I could in the short time I had with him. It seems like the blink of an eye now. I would do anything to be able to just have one more day with him. My biggest regret is that I didn't fight harder for him. His pain is over, but I will love only him for eternity."

Bella sat down next to Tanya, placing a hand on her thigh. "I'm so sorry, Tanya," she said.

"All I know is that true love is rare. When you find it, you must hold onto it with everything you've got. It's worth every sacrifice you make.

Edward I love you. So much.

All of a sudden Tanya sat upright. "I smell something funny…not human," said Tanya, pulling me from my Bella-induced trance. With Bella's declaration of love caressing the recesses of my mind, I had almost forgotten that she was there.

"It's Jacob – the one I told you about," Bella explained.

Just then Jacob burst through the door, and for the second time in one day I read the panic in his features.

"They took her…the bitchy girl – Lauren," he said quickly, between breaths.

"Who? Who took her?" Bella asked.

"Bloodsuckers."

End Notes:

Sorry for the cliffie, but I just love doing that to you! What did you guys think of Lauren's version of Bella's past? Some of you guessed that Tanya was the one who Bella was looking for. What did you think of her?

Hey, did you guys see Eclipse this week? I saw it on Wednesday and I was on the edge of my seat through the whole thing! So romantic, so action-packed, so awesome! I think it's the best one so far and I really can't wait to see it again!