Hello my loves!

Again I am so so so so so sorry for the wait! This chapter was extremely difficult for me to write. I enlisted the help of several friends to finish it. It just... guh...

Anyhow, you WILL have the next chapter either today or tomorrow so never fear! I will make it up to you! I am so excited for this chapter and the next. Especially the next so STAY TUNED!

And DON'T FORGET to read and review Stripped by punkfarie!


The moon peeked through a crack in the drapes, bathing everything in shadows and an eerie blue light. I was lying on my bed on top of the covers just looking around. It'd be a couple for months before I slept on this bed again. The community school was running the course through the summer for people like me who were eager to get into the workplace as soon as possible without having to go to college. There were boxes around the room – only a few, for I didn't have very many possessions that I wanted to take with me – and there was my suitcase packed with the essentials in case I couldn't unpack for a little while.

I kept telling myself that I'd only be in Seattle and in the grand scheme of things a hundred miles and a few months weren't all that important. But then I thought of how she came into my life in barely an instant... couldn't she then be taken away that quickly? And time for her was different; I had 18 years of experience and 15 years of memories to draw on for comparison to a lifetime. She only had months. I would away from her for a lifetime.

With a small groan, I lifted myself into a sitting position and ran my hands through my hair, tugging a little in my distress. I spent the remainder of the night staring at my bedroom door, trying to think of the best time to tell Bella I was going.

The best time presented itself as the sun began to rise. A small click from my door tore my gaze from the window. Bella looked surprised to see me awake, and I wondered what she would've thought it I hadn't climbed under the covers about an hour earlier.

"Hey Eht-waht," she greeted me, sliding in next to me and curling up close.

"Can't sleep?"

"Not tied."

"Tired."

"Tie-ed."

"Very good," I praised, squeezing her with the arm I had draped around her shoulder. "Bella," I began, lying us down. She rested her head on my chest, her arm across my stomach. "I have to go away."

"Where you go?

"School... kind of."

"What is it?"

"I need to learn something important," I tried to explain. She nodded, and then shifted so that her chin rested over my heart, where her ear had just been, and she looked me in the eyes. "So I need to go when everyone wakes up. But I won't be back."

Bella frowned. "Eht-waht sleeps here."

"No. Not anymore. Not for a long time."

"What?" she asked, confusing 'what' and 'why' in the adorable way she always seemed to.

"I'll sleep at school." She frowned deeper, her hold on me tightening. That's when I knew she understood me.

"Eht-waht..." she started, shaking her head and squeezing. "Eht-waht not go."

She looked desperate. I wanted to shoot myself.

"I have to," I whispered, shutting my eyes as though the blindness would also block out the desperation in her voice.

"No. Eht-waht not go. Eht-waht sleep here. Eht-waht be home. Eht-waht be home w-w-..." she trailed off, close to tears. She buried her head into my stomach and I ran my fingers through her hair as it cascaded down her back.

"I'll write to you," I promised, hating the way my voice cracked and the way she was trembling beneath my fingertips. "I'll write every day. Emmett can show you on the computer," I continued, just letting a tear or two fall without caring, because I could feel her own tears soaking my shirt and nothing else mattered but the fact that I was causing her pain.

"I can read," she mumbled, her muffled voice sounding even more miserable.

"Esme can read them for you," I assured her, knowing she meant 'can't' rather than 'can', trying to turn my body so that I could lie down and look at her properly. She kept hiding in my chest, holding too tightly for me to move. I tried again and she whimpered, thinking I was trying to get away.

"No! Mine!" she protested. "My Eht-waht!"

"Bella I'm so sorry," I sighed, managing to move enough to cup her cheek and rub her smooth skin with my thumb.

"You not go," she mumbled, sniffling a little, but possibly coming to terms with it. She was settling down slowly, her grip relaxing.

"The sooner you let me go, the sooner I can come back," I tried, lifting her chin once again with my finger. "And when I come back I don't have to ever go away again, okay?"

She considered this for a while, looking up at me – scrutinizing my expression, searching for lies – and not speaking.

"Come back," was all she said before she moulded her frame to mine. We didn't move for hours.

***

I had been in Seattle for three weeks now. The weather was uncommonly warm, and I thought of the lazy summer days I was missing out on with the boys and Bella. Esme told me the weather was the same in Forks, and I wondered if they took Bella to the beach to play in the water that she loved so much. I thought of her every day, every hour, every minute. Looking up from my books for what felt like days, though it could only have been hours, my eyes found the small pile of gifts that I'd accumulated for her. There were bags and bags of gummi bears – of course – along with a few items of clothing that I'd seen on some of the girls around the community school, and a few other small items that I thought she'd find fun.

Tanya emerged from my bedroom and sauntered over, climbing onto my lap and providing the distraction I so sorely needed. She was good at that, Tanya was. I'd met her in class and we were both missing people at home. The sex was amazing – probably because we expected nothing of each other. We both knew that once we'd done our courses we'd part ways, never see each other again, and neither of us cared in the slightest. We just... needed each other. Just to get through. I didn't really know anything about her. We rarely spoke; we mostly just studied and fucked. Emmett was jealous, as I expected him to be, and he asked for all the gritty details in the emails I sent him. Dirty prick.

"Tense, babe?" Tanya asked, sensing my need for her. "Come to bed for a while."

"In a minute, I've just gotta finish these questions," I muttered against her lips. My hands slid down her sides and she giggled but it didn't sound right. It didn't bubble and chime like it should have. I sighed and shook that thought out of my head. "On second thought, let's go right now," I amended, lifting her and carrying her back to our sanctuary.

***

The sounds of my guitar floated through the box-like apartment, filling the room with the lilting chords of some song I'd heard being played frequently in Alice's room. I stared out at the busy street below, idly plucking at the strings and thinking about how things would have been going back at home that very moment.

It was around the time of evening when Esme would be returning from work. It was a Thursday, so Carlisle would have been home all day with Bella, teaching her everything she needed to know. Alice and Emmett would undoubtedly be in the kitchen, fighting over which take-out menu was going to be used for dinner that night with Rosalie and Jasper waiting, used to the conflict and generally just bored with the entire situation. Carlisle would be finishing his notes on Bella's progress for the day. What would Bella be doing? Ordinarily, the two of us would be sitting at the piano.

The day before I'd left we had been doing just that when she tried to talk to me about something that had happened after her lessons with Esme that I was still trying to understand completely, but with Bella's lack of vocabulary it was hard to gather the entire story and she'd given up in frustration with herself even though I knew it was still bugging her.

"Aspa talk ni Carlisle," she'd spluttered.

"Jasper talks to Carlisle?"

"Yeah. Aspa talk to Carlisle an ni caw da-"

"Slow down, Bella," I instructed, encouraging her to take a few deep breaths before she continued, because I could tell she was getting worked up. "Are you talking about when you went to say goodnight?" I asked. She nodded. "Jasper was talking to Carlisle when you went to say goodnight?"

"Aspa caw-"

"Jasper," I corrected. She huffed and pursed her lips, and didn't say anything more about it.

It wasn't until today that I gave it any more thought. What was she trying to say? Was it important? If it was, would she try and tell anyone else?

I'd spoken to her a couple of times in the beginning but she was averse to the phone, and was mostly silent and in a hurry to hang up. Emmett later explained in an email that she was afraid of bugs coming out of either end of the phone and scurrying into her ear and mouth. They had all tried to explain how ridiculous that particular notion was, but she was adamant about staying away from the telephone – even when it came to me – so they decided to let it go and I was left sending unanswered emails for her to Esme's personal account.

I kept telling myself that I only had to get through tomorrow, and then I could go home. Home to my bed, the rest of my belongings, my family, my piano, my Bella. I'd already said my goodbyes to Tanya. It wasn't very emotional – we just fucked one last glorious time before she gathered her things and left, telling me that I was welcome to call her any time I was in town.

***

I watched the paper burn, the embers and ash floating away just like the hope I had held so desperately onto.

He wasn't ever going to be happy with me. I wasn't ever going to be good enough for him; good enough to call myself a son of Dr. Carlisle Cullen.

I stared long and hard at the smoking remains of the letter he'd sent me, my Volvo waiting for me – enticing me with the thought of Bella but forcing me away with memories of what I'd just read.

Edward,

Congratulations on completing your course. It has been strange without your presence in the house, especially in relation to the newer presence we have. Bella has been missing you. She asks about you every day and we have been in the habit of having you around for so long...

So yes, it has indeed been strange without you in the house. However, I cannot pretend that I am not more than just a little disappointed about the circumstances in which your absence was caused.

Edward, I know I have pushed you into choosing a career (with only your wellbeing and livelihood in mind), but this is not what I had in mind. For Emmett and Rosalie, the bar is perfect. They have never wanted to be far from home and, in all honesty, Emmett has never proven to be the intellectual kind. Alice is well on her way to being a celebrated events co-ordinator state-wide.

I have always wanted the best for all three of you, as I am sure you already know. I would not have taken you in had I not wanted to give you all the best possible life I could, and lead you in the direction to have the best possible life you can then give yourself.

Being a barman, not even in your own establishment, is not the best life for you.

Whatever you believe of your relationship with Bella, the fact remains that she is now my responsibility. She is not your responsibility, no matter what the circumstances of her discovery and initial growth may have been. She is living under my roof, she is learning from me and she will continue to do so because it is my wish for it to be that way.

Now, I will continue to support your brother and sister because they need help getting on their feet while they are establishing themselves. I have always believed that to be a parent's role.

In your case, Edward, I regret to say that I do not wish to support your cause.

If you choose to be a mere barman (as opposed to a journalist, or a professional of any kind, which is what I always thought you would want) then you are free to do so off your own back. Once you are working, I expect you to save enough money for bond. I will not have you leeching off of your mother and I for the rest of your life because you feel some strange bond with a girl who may not even be in our lives much longer. She has grown, Edward, and may not choose to stay with us.

That being said, I do look forward to your return. And I do love you, son.

Carlisle.

***

The familiar streets of Forks felt like a godsend after such a long drive. In the main strip I saw some old school friends who waved at me, a couple of ex-girlfriends who scowled. It felt great. It felt like home.

The swelling green trees looked warm even though the weather forced me to wear a jacket. The sky was grey and low, but instead of suffocating me it felt like a blanket on a cold winter night. I turned the radio off and rolled my windows down, listening to the sound of the air rushing past, mixed with the birds who were hiding in the trees and the distant sound of people shouting hello to each other.

Finally, I turned into the drive and it was like a weight had lifted off my shoulders. This was my home. Esme would never let Carlisle kick me out, especially not while Bella was still with us. The sun broke free of the cloud blanket and glinted off the windows of the house, making it glitter. I could hear Alice screeching as I stepped out of the Volvo, shutting the door behind me.

"He's home! Edward's home!"

I smiled to myself, shaking my head a little as I grabbed a couple of my bags and started heading up to the door.

"Edward's back!" boomed Emmett.

Then there was a new voice, a voice I'd heard before but never like this. It intensified as the front door opened and something small, soft and warm collided with me.