I don't own it, I just play with it. Thanks Steph…

"You know better than to bet against me, right?" Alice asked, not even bothering to glance at the road as she raced toward Charlie's. I just looked at her. What else could I do? What could I say to that? "You're a part of this family, Bella. You're going to remain a part of it."

"Alice…" I began to protest, but she cut me off abruptly.

"We're here." I looked out the window to see Charlie's house. I hadn't even noticed we had stopped moving. Stupid vampire driving. "Charlie'll be here in twenty minutes. I'd ask you if you want me to come in, but you're going to say no, and I'd tell you I'll see you at school tomorrow, but it's going to be sunny until Friday. We're going out of state to hunt, so I'll just say 'I'll miss you and I'll see you at school on Friday', okay?"

"Thanks, Alice." This was one of the things I loved about her. She could be pushy, especially when it came to shopping, but when it really counted, she didn't push. I climbed out of the car and walked toward the front door as if there were cement blocks tied to my feet. "Don't forget to eat something!" she yelled about one full second before my stomach growled. I waved my hand without turning around and heard, rather than saw, her car as it zipped away down the empty street.

I was more machine than human as I reached for the spare key hidden under the eaves and let myself in. Heading for the kitchen, I opened the fridge and grabbed the first thing that looked like food, placing it in the microwave. As I sat numbly at the table and took the first scorching bite of reheated lasagna, I tried not to think, but my mind wouldn't stop, though it seemed somehow disconnected from my body, and –thankfully – from my tear ducts.

I tried to think about my future, but couldn't face it. I tried not to think about my past, but couldn't avoid it. It was probably too late to apply to any colleges. My senior year was coming to an end. The plan had been to move away with the Cullens shortly after graduation, and I had done nothing to prepare for any other contingency. I couldn't freeload off of Charlie. I hadn't saved any money, or even gotten a job. I hadn't lined up a place to live. If I no longer had a place with the Cullens, I was going to have to come up with something – fast. The thing was – I had no idea where to go from here. The thought was overwhelming.

I was saved from my impending panic attack by one thing – Charlie came home.

"Bella?" he asked wearily, shuffling through the door. I could hear his feet dragging as he kicked off his boots and hung up his coat.

"In the kitchen." I called back.

"Hey, Bells. How was your weekend?"

"Umm…" I answered. I was a terrible liar, but I really didn't want to go into this right now. "I… well, not so great." I decided to go with quick and painless… 'like ripping off a band-aid' I told myself. "I broke up with Edward."

The look of shock and utter disbelief on his face was staggering, and the confusion that slowly blended its way into it would have had me laughing in any other situation.

"Oh… do you wanna… I mean, what happened?" he asked, shifting uncomfortably as he spoke and carefully avoiding my gaze. "Do you want to talk about it?" he recovered promptly.

The last thing I wanted to do was relive the past weekend with Charlie. "No, Charlie. Thanks, but… its been a long couple of days and I really just want to go to bed."

"Okay." He yielded, warily. But I saw the way he watched me, his expression guarded; had seen it before, when Edward left. He didn't want to talk about it any more than I did, not really, but he remembered all too well the torment and desolation of those dark days, and had no desire to live through them again. "Get some sleep Bells." I nodded tiredly at him before rising to wash my plate. I had just turned to climb the stairs when he stopped me again "Bells?" I turned to see a hesitant, but uneasy pair of brown eyes studying my every feature. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, Charlie." I assured him, my exhaustion stealing every sign of life from my flat voice. "I'll be okay." And I headed to bed without another word. I could tell that he had more he wanted to say. 'If you want to talk.' Or 'It'll all work out for the best.' Or 'If there's anything I can do…', but I was drained, so I had taken advantage of his inability to gather his thoughts, heading to my room and closing the door behind me without looking back.

I needed a shower badly. I knew I would feel better if I could step into the flowing stream and wash away the stress, fear, sadness, and pain of my day, but I flopped into bed, jeans still on, and covered my head with my pillow, effectively blocking out the light, the sounds, and the rain, letting unconsciousness claim me gratefully.

My alarm took a much deserved trip to the floor as I crashed my hand against it sending it violently tumbling to the hard surface when my dreamless abyss was abruptly – and rudely – interrupted by an incessant buzzing that drilled its way to the center of my brain. The resultant clatter combined with the endlessly grating sound made me want to throw the offending device against the nearest wall and cover my head again, pretending the world didn't exist.

I had already hit the snooze three times, however, and it wasn't Edward's ridiculously fast Volvo driving me today. My poor neglected truck would be in for quite the shock this morning, and if I didn't get a move on, I was going to be late for school.

"Crap, crap, crap." I grumbled to myself as I hurriedly grabbed what I needed and rushed to the bathroom for my morning routine. I was surprised how comfortable it was to have woken alone this morning. Edward had been an integral part of every aspect of my life for a long time, and I thought it would all feel strange without him. As much as he had convinced himself that I couldn't so much as breathe without him, he had never convinced me.

I had put up with his overprotective control and being in a state of constant dependence, but I had never bought into it. I only put up with it because I thought it would eventually change, but the moment I realized he never intended it to change, the time to be tolerant and understanding had come to an end. I was pleased to find even after all that had happened, I was still me. I hadn't lost myself in my reliance on him.

I felt really good as I grabbed some Pop-Tarts and made my way to my rusty, dependable truck. I jumped with surprise, making myself laugh out loud as the deafening engine roared to life. Chugging along the open road for the first time in months, I felt free, and I almost felt guilty at the feeling of freedom and exhilaration – almost.

On the way there, driving under the legal limit, I had some time to think and plan. I would try to reconnect with Angela, I decided. The rest of my friends, I could take or leave – if they no longer had room in their lives for me, I would be okay with that. Angela would forgive my neglect, and I had to believe our relationship was strong enough to survive the injury it had sustained in my carelessness. As I circled the now full lot, I took deep breaths, trying to steel myself for what was to come.

First hour was physics, and with Edward gone I would have some time alone to think before I saw Angela. The extra time was both a blessing and a curse. I could collect my thoughts before plunging into a conversation that would no doubt be painful, but I had the hour alone to stew about what was coming and wonder, as ridiculous as I knew my uncertainty was, whether she would take me back. I spent the hour distracted; lost in thought completely. At the end of class I couldn't have told you a thing about the topic, but I had worked up my confidence. I was prepared.

I found myself nervous as I walked into the crowded calculus room. The small space buzzed with excitement as high spirited students celebrated the long awaited appearance of the sun. Angela spent this period every school day sitting in the seat next to mine, though we seldom even spoke. Edward generally occupied the seat on my other side, and much of the time, my attention with it. Ben sat on Angela's other side, and though they had been together for quite a while now, they spent every moment wrapped up in each other.

Even after all this time, she noticed something as I walked into the room without Edward. Angela had long been used to seeing me without him on days when the weather was nice. The entire school had become accustomed with the Cullens' family outings in celebration of the glorious sun. It was something students and teachers alike looked upon with envy. Angela had always been extraordinarily observant, though, and somehow she knew, even before a word was spoken between us – even before I reached my seat –this time was different.

"Hey, Ang." I greeted her, a smile creeping naturally across my face. She gazed in wonder at my expression.

"Hey, Bella!" she cheerfully replied. Leaning closer, she spoke softly as she continued, her hushed voice almost a whisper "What happened?"

"You wanna have lunch with me today?" I asked, glancing around with a pointed look at the many followers - some subtle, some not - of our conversation and trying to sound as natural as I could.

"Of course." She told me. The bell and the commencement of Mrs. Brooke's lecture promptly ended our conversation, but as Ang and I stole occasional glances at each other when we could, I knew that our relationship had survived Edward, and not for the first time, I was glad to have a friend like her. Halfway through, Angela caught me staring into space as I contemplated the myriad of recent events surrounding my life and recaptured my attention as she slipped me a note. I looked at the rough scrap of paper discreetly as I feigned attention to the task at hand. It contained only four words, hastily scratched across the center, but those four words said a lot about our friendship. 'Looking forward to it.'

The next couple of hours slipped by without notice. Before I knew it I was making my way through the lunch line, my eyes scanning the room eagerly for Angela. As I scooped up a patty of some sort that was supposed to resemble chicken, plunking it down next to my salad and lemonade, I spotted her. Away from our usual table as was possible to get, she sat alone at an empty table in the far corner of the cafeteria, watching me with patient anticipation.

Glancing toward her usual place, I saw Ben already seated there with the rest of the gang. He was in the middle of what looked to be a very animated conversation with Austin. By the looks of their movements, they were discussing the action sequences from the latest martial arts movie. The sight made me smile for more reasons than one reason. Angela had obviously told him to buzz off – in a sickeningly sweet way, no doubt – and they wouldn't be interrupting us any time soon, the others would be entertained by their antics so Ang and I could have some privacy, and we didn't have to listen to the play-by-play.

"What's up, Bells?" Angela asked me, her composed look was curious, but I heard the concern she tried to hide in her voice. This was going to be a very long lunch. Well, here goes….

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