Chapter Thirteen: One Step Forward…

"King me." I said with a smirk.

Charlie glared. "When did you get so good at checkers?" He demanded.

I was sitting in the rehab center with Charlie on one of the visiting days they had each week. Things had been going relatively well. It had been about a week since the first day I had seen him and, thanks to Carlisle, I got into see him about 4 more times on non visiting days. Surprisingly, things hadn't been that strained between us like I thought they might have been. True, we had kind of avoided the subject of our past, something that I knew we couldn't do forever, but he needed to focus on himself right now.

Edward had joined me a few times, but today he just dropped me off and said he'd come back in an hour to get me. Things with Edward had been great too. Everything between us just seemed really natural and easy. There was no pressure to go any farther than I was ready for, and I loved him for that.

I loved him.

Yes, I admit it was true. Had I told him yet? No. Why? I was afraid of rejection. I knew that it was too soon for me to say that I had really fallen in love with him. People would say that I was being a dramatic teenager. But I knew on this inside that I wasn't. Edward had been there for me, not matter what. Whenever I needed someone, he was always the first one I went to. He was endlessly supportive. And endlessly kind. And endlessly amazing. Need I go on?

But I didn't want to tell him just yet. I wanted it to be something special when I told him. And I wanted to be sure of his feelings for me. So I kept it to myself. I would know when the right moment was when I came upon it.

I watched as Charlie's brow scrunched up as he decided on his next move. I knew I had won this game and I watched slowly as realization dawned upon his face.

"I forfeit." He said with a frown. "But I expect a rematch next time you come." He smiled at me.

I smiled back. "Of course. But I'm still going to whip your butt." I said with a shrug.

He glared. "We'll see about that."

I laughed as I stood up. I glanced down at my cell phone to see that it was seven o'clock. Edward would be here by now.

"Crap. I've got to go, dad. I'll see you soon though." I promised as I grabbed my jacket and purse.

"Okay, Bella. Drive home safely."

I smiled. "We will." I promised.

Even though things may be getting better, I still haven't found it in my heart to say I love you. I did love him, but he needed to say it first. It sounded childish, but I always said it to him before and he'd never say it back. So I was going to wait until he said something first.

I walked out the doors to the rehab center and looked around for the silver Volvo I knew would be waiting for me. He was parked next to the curb to my right a little. I smiled as I walked over to the car.

"Hello, love." He said as I opened the door. That was another thing. He had started calling me love. It first started one night when we were sitting in his room. As usual, I was sitting on his couch reading a book-the one Esme had insisted I read-while he worked on his new composition. I got really thirsty, so I doggy eared my book and set it on the couch. I stood up, stretching my arms above my head. I smiled over at Edward as he took one of his earphones away from his ear.

"I'm going to go grab a can of soda. Do you want something?" I asked as I started heading towards the door.

He smiled at me. "Some Dr. Pepper would be great. Thanks, love." He said. It seemed to just roll of his tongue. I don't know if he even noticed it. He just put his earphones back on and started playing his keyboard again.

Ever since then, it had become a common thing. He always called me love now. And even with that, I wasn't sure if he returned my feelings. Who knows? Maybe he just considered it a term of endearment like "honey" or "sweetheart."

"Hey, there." I said, snapping back to the present.

"How did it go with your father today?" He asked as he began pulling out of the parking lot.

I sighed. "It was good. We played checkers. I won." I said victoriously and with a gloating tone.

"That sounds like a challenge to me, Miss Swan." Edward said, peeking at me from the corner of his eye.

"Maybe it is Mr. Cullen." I said, glaring at him playfully.

He laughed. "You are on then. Tomorrow after school, I'm taking you down."

"We shall see." I said in what I hoped was an ominous tone.

He laughed, reaching across the center counsel and grabbing my hand. He brought it up to his lips and kissed it. I sighed contentedly. I felt secure and happy again as he always made me feel.

The ride home was quiet as I stared out my window thinking about random things. I realized that I still had a ton of homework to do when I got home, mainly physics. Mr. Monroe really packed it on tonight.

I sighed, thinking of Mr. Monroe. Of course almost everyone in Forks new about my father's new location and Mr. Monroe was most concerned about it. He asked me to stay after class the Wednesday after I had found out about Charlie.

Once I told Edward that I would meet him outside in a few minutes, I walked up to Mr. Monroe's desk as the class cleared out. Once they did, he began to speak.

"I found out about your father." He said simply.

I sighed. "When did you find out?" I asked calmly.

"I got a call from Billy Black on Monday morning before school. He asked me to check on you."

I blew out a big gust of air. "You can tell Billy that I'm fine. Everything is going a lot better than it was."

Mr. Monroe hesitated for a moment as he stared at me. "Have you by any chance heard from…Renee?" He asked.

I was stunned. "No. I haven't spoken to her since the day she left. She doesn't give a damn about me or my father. If she did, she wouldn't have left."

Mr. Monroe didn't seem to hear the second part of my statement. He looked surprised as he said "You haven't heard from her at all lately?"

I gave him an incredulous look. "Did you not just hear a word I said? I haven't heard from her since she left. That was it."

Mr. Monroe truly looked confused. "Well. I see. Run along now, Bella." He said as he turned his attention back to whatever papers he was grading.

I didn't understand where that all came from. He acted so surprised that I hadn't talked to my mom. I didn't know where the hell she was, and honestly…I wouldn't talk to her even if I did.

"Earth to Bella!" Edward said, breaking me out of my revere.

"Oops." I said with a chuckle. "I zoned out."

He looked at me with concern. "What are you thinking about?"

I sighed. "Just all the homework I have to do still." I said with a chuckle.

Edward looked at me fully, taking his eyes off the road. "The truth."

I sighed. "I hate when you do that." I said sourly.

He turned his eyes back to the road. "Do what?"

"Read me like a book. How did you know that I wasn't telling you everything?" I demanded.

He half-smiled. "Well number one, I don't think you would space out for twenty minutes thinking about homework." He smirked at me. I stuck my tongue out at him, causing him to laugh. "And number two, you are a horrible liar. And number three, you have a tell."

I looked at him curiously. "A tell?"

He nodded. "You only do it when you tell a pretty big lie, but your nostrils flare."

My face blazed. "They do?" I asked, embarrassed.

He chuckled. "Yes. I find it endearing."

I rolled my eyes. "Of course you do." I mumbled. "Well enough bashing my lying skills or lack thereof. If you are still interested, I was thinking about the conversation Mr. Monroe and I had about my mother."

The teasing atmosphere left and it turned serious. "Is it really bothering you again?" He asked with concern.

I sighed. "Well, yeah. I just don't understand why he would think I kept in touch with my mother. Everyone knows that I don't talk to her. I haven't had the chance to, and wouldn't want to even if I did."

Edward sighed as we started driving up the road to his house. "Put it out of your mind. Mr. Monroe needs to mind his own business." Edward said firmly.

I sighed and nodded. He let the subject drop as we pulled into his driveway.

The next day passed in a blur. Everyone could tell that I was slightly out of it and they were all worried. I didn't know exactly what was wrong. I figured it was just everything catching up with me. It had been a very stressful couple of days. So much had changed. So when I was asked, I just said I was exhausted. It wasn't a lie because I was.

But…I was getting a feeling. I had a bad feeling about something, I just didn't know what. And it was driving me nuts. I didn't know why I was feeling this way. What else could possibly happen to make things more insane then they already were?

I got my answer after school.

I met Edward by his Volvo as I normally did after school. He smiled at me as I walked over to him and I couldn't help but smile back at him. He was too good looking and adorable for his own good.

"Hey, love." He said when I was in hearing range. He put his arms around me and pulled me to his chest.

"Hey." I said, smiling up at him. "Can we possibly run to my house really quick? I need to grab a few outfits and a few of my books. And my phone charger. I'm sick of having to share one with Alice."

He nodded. "Sure thing. Hop in." He said, opening my door in a chivalrous fashion.

"What about Alice?" I questioned.

Edward laughed and pointed over to the other side of the parking lot where there was a dark blue Jeep parked. And leaning against it was Jasper. He waved at me with a smile. Alice clearly hadn't seen him yet. I could only imagine her reaction.

"Let's get out here of before the squealing starts." I said with a giggle.

Edward nodded in agreement and shut the door when I was fully inside sitting down. Edward ran around to the driver's side just as I saw Alice take note of Jasper. She started bouncing and then practically sprinted to where he was. I smiled at the two of them as we started to pull away.

"So are we still on for our game of checkers when we get home?" Edward asked in a teasing tone.

"Yes. Prepare to be defeated." I joked. We bantered back and forth like this until we got to my house. I could tell he was relieved to see that I was acting more normal then I had all day. I still had that feeling, but I was doing my best to ignore it.

He pulled into my drive way and unlocked the doors. "Hurry up." He said with a smile. "I'm anxious to beat you." He said with a laugh.

"Oh shut it." I said as I got out of the car. I pulled my key ring out of my pocket and found the correct key to unlock the door…but it was already unlocked. I turned around and gave Edward a funny look, but he wasn't looking at me. He seemed to be admiring the car that was parked across the street. It looked like an Audi or something. I didn't speak car.

I opened the door and peeked inside, not sure if I was going to find an axe murderer lurking around or if Charlie simply forgot to lock the door when he left.

I saw nothing out of the ordinary at first. Everything was just as I had left it except for a few stray cans that Charlie hadn't picked up. I shrugged and went inside the house all the way. It kind of made me sad to be in here now. I hadn't been here since the day I flipped out on Charlie. I sighed sadly and started walking towards the staircase, but a movement in the living room caught my attention. I shrieked and turned around quickly, my heart hammering in my chest.

I stared at the figure that was calmly standing in the center of the living room, their jacket folded over their arms. If my memory served me right, this person hadn't changed much. I would never forget this person no matter how much I may want to.

"The place hasn't changed much." The figure said quietly, their voice soothing. "Charlie was always a very constant man. He didn't like change."

Edward bolted in the door at this point (he most likely heard me scream), freezing once he entered, but I ignored him.

I looked into the eyes of my intruder. The eyes were so familiar…because they were my eyes.

"Mom?" I said quietly, my voice shaking. "What the hell are you doing here?"

Well what did you guys think? Review please!

Also, everyone check out my oneshot that I did end up adding. It's called "The Way I Loved You." It's pure fluff :)

Hopefully, I'll have a new chapter up tomorrow :)

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