Chapter 10: Back to the Present

Disclaimer: I never have and never will own Twilight

Edward's POV

"Bella spent another couple of days in the hospital before she could go back to the hotel. We finished up our spring break in Seattle before we headed back to Forks. No one knew about Bella's pregnancy or the birth. And everything would have gone back to normal, but Bella and I had trouble getting over our son." I let out a small sigh as I picked up the picture of Bella and I that was sitting on my desk. "Alice had convinced us to go to prom saying that we should do one normal senior thing and hoping that it would cheer us up. And for the night it did. We were able to forget all about our son and act like normal high school seniors."

"Where is Bella now?" Rosalie asked speaking for the first time since I started my story.

She and Emmett had rushed over as soon as I had told them I was ready to share. They didn't ask any questions. They just sat down and let me led.

"I don't really know." I mumbled looking down. "She ended up going to the University of Washington while I went to Pomona. I saw her a few times over break during our freshman year, but we weren't able to stay in contact with one another. I think the memoires of our son made it too difficult to see each other. We never did get over giving him up. I don't know if I ever will."

"Does anyone else know besides Jasper and Alice?"

"Esme does, so probably Carlisle does as well since they can't keep anything from one another."

Esme was assigned as my manager when I got my first record deal. She helped me with a lot of things from dealing with the public to helping me find an apartment and decorate it. I don't know if I would have survived that first year without her and her husband Carlisle.

They had become a second set of parents to me, especially since mine weren't around that often. My dad passed away right after my first CD came out from a heart attack. That was the last time I spent a significant amount of time in Forks.

My mom moved back to Chicago after my father died, but she kept the house in Forks for some strange reason. Every once and awhile she would come to LA and visit me and if I had a show near Chicago or Forks we would see each other. But other than that we talked to each other on the phone a few times a month.

My mother and Esme got along well, they probably talked more to each other then I talked to my mother. At least I didn't have to worry about my mom thinking she was being replaced.

Esme and Carlisle were actually moving to Seattle as well. Esme wanted to try something different with her life and she was getting tired of how her clients acted. Carlisle was one of the best doctors on the west coast so it was easy for him to get a new job at Seattle's hospital, the same one where my son was born.

"You've been keeping this a secret for all these years." Emmett said shocked.

"I made a promise to Bella that I wouldn't tell anyone and it's not really something I want my fans to know about. I don't think parents would be too pleased that their teenage daughter is in love with someone who had a child at seventeen. And I don't even want to think about what the paparazzi would do." I explained with a slight shudder.

Nothing good would come out of my secret being leaked.

"So, why the sudden change of heart telling Rose and I about this now?" Emmett asked.

I shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know just something about being back in Washington for good. There are too many memories here and it wouldn't be long before something leaked out."

"You still love her don't you?" Rosalie commented.

"I never stopped." I admitted. "No matter how many girls threw themselves at me or how many girls I dated I couldn't stop loving Bella. I found myself comparing the girls to her and they all fell flat. And it wasn't fair to them that I was thinking about another girl while out on a date."

"So that's why you don't date anymore." Emmett laughed out loud. "I'm glad to hear that you have a good reason why you aren't dating or else I might have to agree with the rumors that you are gay."

Rosalie sent Emmet a death glare before slapping his chest.

"What was that for?" he asked holding the spot where he was hit.

"Must you be so inconsiderate?" she asked still angry.

"It's okay Rose." I said trying not to laugh at Emmett's crude joke. "I actually found the gay rumors sort of funny especially since I knew they weren't true. People would come up with anything just to get a good story."

"So are you gonna chase after her?" Emmett asked being serious.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know, go find her. She has to be around here somewhere. It's not like she can just drop off the face of the earth."

"I don't know." I had thought about finding Bella many times before, but each time I chickened out. There were too many negative "what ifs" that over powered the positive.

"I have to agree with Emmett on this one." Rosalie said "I think it would be good for you to get some closure in your life."

"And if she happens to be single then it's even better." Emmett added.

"Maybe." I said still not fully convinced.

I was scared to find out of she had moved on. I couldn't imagine why she wouldn't. Any guy would want to date her and she was a great girl.

"I bet Esme and Carlisle would be on board with us. And what's the worst that could happen other then not finding her? And if she has moved on then at least you will get to see her again."

I knew what Rosalie was saying was right, I really should go out and fine Bella. For all I knew she could be out there looking for me too.

"Fine I'll do it." I mumbled

I knew there was no turning back now.

"Good." Rosalie smile and pulled me into a hug. "Emmett and I are going to crash in one of your spare bedrooms since it too late to drive back home. We'll call Esme first thing in the morning and get started on finding Bella."

Rosalie and Emmett both stood up while I stayed in my chair behind the desk.

"Try and get some sleep man. Your gonna need to look your best when we find your girl." Emmett told me.

"Will do." I laughed and watched the two go upstairs.

I stayed down in the office for a little longer looking at the picture of Bella and I. My thoughts kept wondering to the past and to the future. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be to remember that year and I was glad that I finally told my friends about what had happened.

Now the only thing left to do was find Bella. There were so many thoughts I had about her. How much did she change? Did she buy my CDs? Had she moved on? Was she happy? Did she still love me?

These questions were endless and I knew the only way to get the answers was to see her again.

I finally put the picture down and headed to bed. I really did need to get my sleep. I didn't want to scare Bella off right away. Plus I needed to scare away any possible suitors that she might have.

A/N: End of chapter 10! I need to thank my amazing beta, luv2beloved, for reading over this chapter for me.

Sorry this chapter is a little late. Some stuff came up and I figured it would be better to update in the morning then at night. I hope it was worth the wait. I know it is a little on the short side, but the next chapter should be a lot longer. I think this chapter answers a bunch of your questions. This next half of the story should be fun, just thinking about it made me force through my writers block so we can get to it.

Please review. I love to hear from you guys with all your questions and hypothesizes about what you will happen in this story.

Next Chapter: Finding Bella