Chapter Seven: Always Near By

I had to get up early again on Sunday morning. I had to work from 8 till 1, which was nothing I was looking forward to. Everyone always knew me at work. Whenever I came up to the table, people would say "Well look who we have here! The police chief's daughter!" And each time that happened, I had to resist the urge to yell out that my name was Bella. It was frustrating.

But, as usual, Joan let me keep my large cup of coffee on the counter and I got to get a drink whenever I came back. Sometimes, I would leave my cup almost empty and when I'd come back, it would be full again, already ready with two creams and two sugars. And whenever I asked Joan about it, she would claim she had no idea what I was talking about.

I was in the kitchen at the end of my shift (around 12:50), grabbing a few other orders that I had to get out when Joan walked into the kitchen.

"Bella, we've got a big group that just came in. Can you get their drink orders all set up and then I'll take care of the rest? You're off after that."

I nodded. "Yup, no problem." I walked out of the kitchen, took the last sip of my coffee and looked around, finding the big group. And of course, it was the entire Cullen family along with the Hale's. Now that I'd met them, they always seem to be around.

"Bells!" I heard Emmett shout as he saw me approach.

"Hey guys." I said with a smile on my face as I walked up behind Alice's chair. "How are you all doing today?" I asked.

Everyone gave a normal response of "good" or "fine."

Alice smiled at me, her energy much too high as usual. "What time are you on till?" She asked with a mischievous glint to her eye.

I looked at the clock. "I'm leaving in about…10 minutes. I have to take your drink order, clean up the drink station a little bit, and then I get to go home and eat." I said with a laugh. "So, what can I get you all to drink?" I asked, getting out my pad and pencil.

Edward gave a little nod to Alice. "I'll have a water with lemon and a coke." He said with confidence.

I went around the table, taking everyone else's drink orders.

"Alright, I'll bring those right out and then Joan will be out to take your food order."

"Thank you, sweetie." Esme said with a sweet smile.

I nodded and then went back to the kitchen, grabbing everyone's drinks. I brought them out and then began carefully putting the correct drinks by the correct person.

"Ok, Bells, I need your help. I don't know what to get." Emmett said as he looked through his menu.

"Well my personal favorite is the grilled ham and cheese with French fries, but that's always been one of my favorite foods." I said with a shrug.

Emmett nodded. "That does sound really good…" he trailed off, looking through the menu.

I smiled. "Well, I've got to go finish up a few things, and then I'm out of here. I'm sure I'll see you all soon."

"See you in a bit, Bella." Alice said with a smirk.

I glanced at her curiously as I walked over to the bar area and started cleaning the sticky areas from spilled drinks on the counter. As I was doing so, I watched Joan go over to the Cullen's and take their orders.

As soon as I was done with that, I grabbed my bag from under the bar and quickly went to the bathroom to change my clothing. I hated walking home in my waitressing outfit. I had just brought a simple pair of jeans and a light blue long sleeved shirt along with my converses. Figuring that would be comfortable enough to walk home in.

As I walked out of the bathroom, I saw Emmett standing up and waving at me, trying to get my attention. As I walked over, I saw that there was now a chair open next to Edward that was not there before. I narrowed my eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked.

Esme smiled at me. "We were wondering if you would join us."

I smiled back about to refuse, when Alice said "And don't bother even saying that you don't want to intrude, because you're not."

I laughed slightly. "Are you sure? I don't have any money, so…" I trailed off, hoping this would give me an automatic out.

Carlisle shook his head. "Don't even worry about that, Bella. I've got it covered."

I sighed, looking at this beautiful happy family, and decided I couldn't refuse. This was as close to a family as I was going to get.

"Alright. Thank you very much."

Everyone smiled at me as I took my seat between Edward and Jasper. Alice was positively glowing across from me, smiling so widely that I wondered if it hurt.

The conversation at lunch was casual. I loved watching Edward, Alice, and Emmett poke fun at each other. They always had a way to one up each other, and it made me laugh. I wish I could have had a sibling. Maybe life would be easier if so.

"So Bella, what do you plan to do next year?" Rosalie asked me.

I cleared my throat. "Uh, I want to go into English and one day, I would like to be a professor." I said with a shrug.

"That's great. Where do you plan to go?"

Well I've filled out a few applications. There are a few universities I'm looking at in Phoenix, Northwestern University, and a few schools in Washington of course. It just depends where I get accepted to."

This led to a long conversation about colleges and where Alice, Edward, and I were all planning on going. It made me happy to know they had applied to a few of the same colleges I had.

By the time we had all finished eating and talking, it was nearly four.

The Cullen's paid the bill and left a very generous tip for Joan. I smiled. It was people like them that made a waitress continue doing their job.

I said goodbye and thanked the Cullen's and somehow managed to sneak out without having one of them offer to give me a ride home. I liked to walk actually. It gave me time to clear my head.

So with my bag on my shoulder, I walked out the door quietly, smiling at the Cullen's one more time as I left.

So much had changed since this Friday. It's hard to believe that just a few days ago; I was living in a haze, going through the motions of my life, but not really living it. And even though I wasn't completely…living it yet, I was better than I was. The Cullen's were an amazing family.

I couldn't help but wonder what life would have been like had Renee stayed. Would we of ever had a chance of being happy? Would we of ever gone out together as a family to get breakfast? Would we ever of had family dinners around the table just talking about our lives? Could we have ever of been truly happy?

Or would we have been miserable as I was now. Would Charlie still have been an alcoholic? Would Renee have been a horrible mother, out having affairs with the "someone else" that she met? Would they both leave me at home alone so much that it felt as though I was already on my own, as it did now? Would I be the one who always had to pick of the pieces of my family after they fell? Could I even have rightfully applied the word family to what we would have been? Was I just…destined to be miserable?

I didn't realize the sobbing noise was coming from me until I realized I was shaking so hard that I couldn't walk. I stopped at a nearby park that was deserted due to the colder weather and sat on the bench, allowing myself for once to completely break down and cry. I didn't let my emotions completely take me away when I knew there was a chance someone would see me. That would ruin the whole happy act that I had worked so hard to build up. And I couldn't let that happen.

But I wasn't all that surprised when I sensed a presence behind me. I felt the person sit down beside me and put his hand on top of mine, and by the electric shock that seemed to combust because of the contact, I knew that my suspicions were confirmed.

Edward had found me. Like I said, now that I knew them, they were always there.

"Bella, look at me." He said quietly. His voice was so soft and concerned that I couldn't help but acquiesce his request.

His eyes were full of concern. He looked straight into my eyes, and he truly looked troubled by what he saw there. He grimaced.

"Talk to me, Bella. Tell me what happened."

I started crying even harder, touched by how much this Adonis, this boy I had met only a few days ago, cared. He cared about me, something I wasn't used to.

I looked up at him, wanting to tell him about me more than ever, but I couldn't find the courage to tell him the whole truth. So I decided I would tell him what I could.

"I want a family, Edward." I said so quietly. "You are so blessed to have a wonderful family. I would do anything to have a mother like Esme, someone who calls me sweetie and rubs my head when I lean on her shoulder. I only experienced the half ass attempts my mother gave me as a child when I took everything for granted. I didn't realize that when I got home one day, she wouldn't be there anymore. And my dad, he is so hurt but why my mother did, he can't even trust me to come home sometimes. I just…" I trailed off, unsure of what else to say. I couldn't say much more without revealing everything.

Edward looked saddened by what I said, but I saw no pity in his stare. "You're right. I am very blessed to have the family I have. My mother and my father are the best parents I could have ever asked for. And what your mother did to you is awful. And she deserves every ounce of hate and resentment you feel towards her. You don't deserve this, Bella. You don't deserve the pain of this. You're too good of a person."

I started shaking my head. "No, I'm not." I said quietly.

He pulled my chin back up so that I was looking at him. "Stop that, Bella. You are an amazing person and you deserve to be happy."

I wiped my face, getting rid of the tear stains I knew were there. "Thank you, Edward. You're a good person. You sit here listening to the ramblings of a girl you just met." I said with a giggle.

He laughed. "Come on, Bella. I'll take you home."

He pulled me up of the bench and led me to his shiny Volvo that was parked a few feet away. He held my hand until I was sitting down in the seat.