AN: Much thanks to ShearEnvy, as usual. ILY. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews.

Chapter 6: "Silences"

"Her hearing was keener than his, and she heard silences he was unaware of." ~D.M. Thomas

"Thank you for this, Charlie," I said, running my fingers through my hair as we stepped out the front door of the house at a quarter until six. "You sure you don't have plans? I don't want to keep you from anything."

He shook his head. "No problem at all, Bells. I'm happy to clear my schedule for a night with my daughter."

"Well, I'm glad you could find room to pencil me in," I joked. Charlie was wearing his usual Sunday attire - grease-stained jeans and a short sleeved, plaid, button-up shirt with a pair of scraggly, brown hiking boots. It was what he usually wore when he wasn't in his uniform, no matter what the occasion. He once told me that if the shirt had buttons, it was dressy enough for him.

I, on the other hand, decided to really dress up. My black skirt clung to my hips and thighs, ending right at my knees. My gray top was sort of low cut and tighter than I was used to, hugging my chest. It was one of the outfits Jake had slipped into my suitcase, completely not my style.

"I don't look ridiculous, do I?" I asked Charlie as we approached the Cullen's house. I tugged at my skirt and pulled at my shirt, trying to loosen it up. I was anxious and fidgety, feeling shaky in my small black heels. I'd skimped on the makeup, only using a bit of mascara and lipstick, and let my hair hang loose. I felt like I was heading to a job interview, one for a coveted position I was told I had no chance in hell of getting.

But it was one I was determined to get, anyway.

"You look fine," Charlie replied. "I don't know why you're so nervous. It's just the Cullens."

"Yeah, with special guest KC and the Sunshine Band."

Charlie laughed as we stepped up onto the front porch. The walk took maybe fifteen seconds, but the anticipation made it feel like an eternity. I was queasy, my stomach churning from anxiety. Charlie went to approach the door but I stopped him, grabbing his arm in a panic.

"Hold on a second," I said. "Not yet."

"Why?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in question. Why? I had no good answer for that.

He stood still for about a minute before sighing. "I'm hungry, Bella. So either we go inside or we go home and heat up some leftover lasagna, because a man needs to eat. I'm withering away to nothing here."

I rolled my eyes, although it struck me that he actually was looking quite thin. He wasn't bony and likely never would be, but he definitely wasn't as bulky as he used to be.

"Well, I'd hate for you to starve," I said, taking a deep breath and walking up to the door. I raised my hand and knocked, the tapping much softer than I intended it to be.

Damn nerves.

"You're knocking?" Charlie asked. "You must be nervous."

Before I could respond the door was pulled open and Esme's familiar face greeted me with a smile. I hadn't seen her in a while but she looked just as she always had - long caramel colored hair, creamy skin, warm eyes. The sight of her eased my frazzled nerves and I immediately started to relax as she pulled me into a hug.

"Why in the world did you knock?" she asked. "You know this is just as much your home as anyone's."

"I didn't wanna just barge in."

"Why not?" she asked, pulling out of the hug. She continued to smile as she cupped both of my cheeks in her hands, holding me there as she studied my face. I felt like I was under a microscope and normally would be uncomfortable with the attention, but when Esme did it, it just felt motherly. Like she was just a woman worried for her child - no judgment, no ill will.

It was times like this, moments when Esme looked at me like I was her flesh-and-blood, that I really loathed my own mother.

"You look as beautiful as ever," she said finally, letting go and motioning for me to go inside. I stepped past her, watching as she surveyed my father next. I held back my laughter as she fixed his collar for him, smoothing the wrinkles from his shirt. "You need to eat, Charlie. You look hungry."

"I am," he replied, laughing.

Charlie headed for the living room, and Esme hurried off to the kitchen. I stayed in spot, unsure of what to do, before deciding to follow Esme.

I paused in the doorway to the room, seeing her stirring a pot on the stove. She seemed to sense my presence and motioned toward the refrigerator without even turning around to look. "Can you grab the butter for me, Bella?"

"Uh, sure," I replied, opening the door and pulling some out.

"Thanks, sweetheart," she said as I handed it to her. "You don't have to look so uncomfortable, you know. It's just us."

I sighed, wishing I knew how to explain it without sounding like a petulant child. I wasn't exactly uncomfortable - everything just felt a bit out of place. It was as if my safe haven had been invaded, everything touched and suddenly no longer the same. She was there, somewhere, infecting the things I loved with her fake brand of sunshine. She'd tainted them. People who had always been my family were suddenly hers now, too. The thought, alone, made my chest hurt.

Okay, so maybe I was being a petulant child, after all. I never said I was good at sharing.

"Its just been a while," I mumbled. "Being back here takes some getting used to."

"Edward said the same thing," she said, motioning for me to hand her the salt. "I guess it comes along with certain memories, huh?"

"Yeah, it does," I replied. "So where is Edward? And uh... her? I figured she'd be helping."

Esme smiled. "I'm not certain, but I suspect Tanya may not have a domestic bone in her body. I asked her to grab the colander for me yesterday and she pulled out the cheese grater. She offered to help earlier, but I figured it's best to leave it to the professionals."

I couldn't say I blamed her. Esme once attended culinary school and had been the one to get me to take an interest in food in the first place. When I was younger I blamed her for the few extra pounds I had, but now I basically owed her my lifeline. Everything I ate, I always compared it to Esme's cooking. She was fiercely protective of her kitchen and the things that came out of it to the point that even I was afraid to touch stuff.

"So where are they?" I asked when she didn't answer my question right away.

"Oh, they're upstairs," she replied.

As absurd as the reaction was, my stomach sank. "Together?"

Esme gave me a knowing look, smiling one of her gentle 'it'll be okay' smiles. It was the look she'd given me when my mother disappeared, and the same one that had been on her face the entire month before Edward left for college. "Well, last I checked Edward was napping in his old room. Seems he stayed up late last night for some reason."

Another knowing look. Shit, was I that transparent? "Sounds like him," I said.

"Yes. And Tanya's in the guest room, probably glued to her cell phone. That seems to be what she's usually doing."

My brow furrowed in confusion. "Wait, they're not sharing a room?"

"No."

"But they're..."

"Not married yet."

"But he's..."

"Still my son."

I shook my head, having no idea how the hell Esme did that.

"They may be adults, but this is still my house, Bella," she elaborated. "You know the rules here. You may not have always followed them, but you know them."

"One body per bed," I recited. It had started out as 'one head per bed' when we were younger, but that didn't go over very well once Edward got to be a teenager.

"I've got two heads, so I guess I'm screwed,'" he'd said, laughing. "Or maybe not, since I'm supposed to go to bed alone."

"Exactly," Esme said, pointing toward some red and green peppers sitting on the counter. "Can you slice those up for me, dear?"

"Sure."

I grabbed a knife from the drawer and cut the peppers, dicing an onion afterward at her request. I threw it all in a pan so she could sauté it and washed my hands, my eyes stinging because of the gases from the onion. I grabbed a tissue to wipe them, groaning when I noticed my mascara was smeared.

"I'll be back," I told Esme. "I need to go use the restroom."

"Okay dear," she said. "Take your time."

I headed out of the kitchen and saw Charlie sitting in the living room by himself, his attention fixed on the television. I passed through without saying anything, starting up the stairs. I went straight for the bathroom, washing the black smudges from under my eyes as I gazed at my reflection. My hair was frizzing and I ran my fingers through it for about the twentieth time before finally giving up on trying to fix it. I pulled it back in a loose ponytail, securing it with a rubber band I'd put on my wrist earlier, just in case.

I headed back out when I was satisfied I'd done all I could do, slowly making my way down the hall. I reached Edward's old room and hesitated before tapping on the door. There was no noise inside, no sign of any movement, so after a moment I turned the knob. I quietly pushed open the door, peeking inside.

Edward lay diagonally across the bed on his stomach, wearing nothing but a pair of flannel lounge pants. He was cuddled up with a pillow, soft snores echoing from the room. I smiled at the sound, watching him sleep in silence. His back moved with each breath he took, the muscles of his arms taut. He was just as fit as he'd been a decade ago, his skin just as pale as I always remembered it being. He was different, though. Older, obviously, but something about him also seemed to have changed. He seemed jaded, maybe.

I grabbed the knob again and was about to close the door and leave him in peace when a sudden voice down the hall made me freeze.

"You're here!"

I jumped, surprised, and spun around to see Tanya standing outside the guest room. She was staring at me and smiling brightly, wearing a yellow dress and tan sandals. I nearly panicked as she started toward me and went to close the door, but she stopped me before it latched. "Is Edward still asleep?" she asked, pushing the door back open. "Silly man would probably sleep his life away if I let him."

"He's just tired," I said, suddenly feeling defensive. Who was she to say what Edward could or couldn't do? "I'd let him sleep..."

"Oh, he's always tired. That's nothing new," she said, interrupting as she waved me off. "He can sleep later."

She headed straight for the bed, plopping down beside him. The mattress shook and he immediately stirred. "Rise and shine, sleepyhead," she said, in her annoying, sing-song voice. "Time to join the land of the living."

"Ten more minutes," I heard him grumble.

"No more minutes," Tanya said, shaking him. "Up, up, up."

Edward groaned and turned to face her, sitting up with his back toward the door. "Fuck, alright, I'm up."

"Good," she said, reaching over and pressing her manicured pointer finger against his lips. "But watch that dirty mouth."

"You never complain about my mouth any other time," he muttered. "In fact, if I remember right, you like when I do dirty things with..."

Before he could finish, Tanya squealed and covered his entire mouth with her hand. Edward pulled it away and laughed, leaning toward her. She leaned the rest of the way in, their fingers entwining together in her lap as their lips met in the middle. I felt like I'd been kicked in the gut as they kissed softly, neither one rushing the moment.

It was intimate. It was sweet. It was fucking gross.

I closed my eyes, the sight too much to stomach, and turned around. I took a step away when Tanya spoke again, the discontent in her voice clear. "Ugh, morning breath. Disgusting!"

I stopped, peeking back into the bedroom as Edward laughed again and stood up. He turned in my direction, freezing abruptly when our eyes locked. The color seemed to drain from his face as he stared at me, his smile falling at the speed of light. "Swan?"

"Uh, hi," I said. I waved, having no idea what else to do, and immediately felt stupid as his brow creased. Way to look like a fool, Bella.

"Hi," he said, his eyes twinkling with amusement. At least my awkwardness entertained him. "How long have you been there?"

I shrugged. "Not long."

"How long is not long?"

"A bit."

He sighed. "You and your non-answer answers. Do you still always do that?"

"Maybe," I replied, pausing before adding, "maybe not."

He cracked a smile, running his hand through his hair. He had bed head, and I smiled at the sight of it. His hair had always been wild. If he tried to get it to go left it would insist on going right, which was why he used to never bother trying to tame it.

Tanya stood up from the bed and walked over, pausing between us. "I came out of the guest room a moment ago and ran into Isabella."

I cringed as she said my name. "Please don't call me that."

Edward's voice rang out the same time as mine. "She doesn't go by that."

"What, Isabella?" Tanya asked. I cringed again as Edward nodded.

"She goes by..." he stopped, looking at me. I waited for him to say it, but he didn't.

"Bella," I finished the sentence.

"Oh," Tanya said, shrugging like it didn't really matter as she looked at Edward. "Anyway, get yourself together and don't forget to brush your teeth. Ugh, and your hair. It's so out of control."

He nodded, acknowledging what she'd said with his eyes still on me. Tanya kissed his cheek and walked off, heading down the stairs, and I lingered there for a moment before silently turning away. I made it to the top of the steps when Edward cleared his throat, stepping out into the hallway behind me.

"Hey, you look, uh..." he started, his eyes scanning the length of me slowly. It was intense, not at all like the motherly vibe I'd gotten from Esme's scrutiny. "...different."

"Different?" I asked.

He nodded. "Different."

"Uh, thanks."

He smiled and disappeared into the bathroom.

Different... I still wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not.

I groaned as I opened my eyes, my body stiff. I tried to move to relieve the aching but it was impossible, as a heavy arm was pinning me down. I tried to push it off but it wouldn't budge, instead squeezing me even tighter every time I moved. My bladder suddenly felt like it was going to burst and I was starting to sweat, the air in the confined space of the small tent extremely muggy.

"Edward," I whispered, nudging him with my elbow. "Let go."

He grumbled incoherently, but in the midst of it I caught the 'no'.

"Please, Edward," I said. "I really gotta pee."

Another no.

"I swear to God, Edward, if you don't let me go..."

"Who's Bob?" he mumbled.

"Bob?"

"You swore to Bob."

"God, Edward. I swore to God. G-O-D."

"You shouldn't do that," he murmured sleepily. "You'll go to Hell."

"At least I'll have you there with me," I said, trying to pry his arm off again. "Now let me up before I pee on you."

He grunted and finally loosened his grip, rolling over away from me. I sat up and quickly unzipped the tent, crawling out of it and into the morning air. It was fairly warm already, hinting at a hot day ahead. I didn't mind it much - being outside in the heat never really bothered me.

Glancing around at our scattered belongings, I looked for my shoes but they were nowhere to be found. I decided to slip Edward's sneakers on after a moment, having no time to really search for mine, and grabbed my bag of toiletries before heading into the woods. The over-sized shoes flopped, nearly falling off with each step I took as I tramped through the brush.

I stopped after I couldn't see the tents anymore and quickly did my business, heading right back toward the treeline after I was finished.

Even though it had only taken me a few minutes, the scene at the tents was drastically different when I returned. Emmett, Riley and Eric were starting a small grill to make some breakfast, while Edward stood alone in front of my tent. He seemed confused, looking around at the ground.

"Have you seen my shoes?" he asked as I approached.

I pointed at my feet. "Yep."

"You better not have pissed in them, Swan," he said playfully. I kicked them off and he slid his feet into them before starting to walk away.

"Where are you going?" I called to him.

"I gotta piss, too," he said, turning to face me. "Why, do you want to hold it for me?"

I rolled my eyes, unable to stop myself from blushing as the mental image hit me, and he chuckled before disappearing into the woods.

Sometimes I wondered if he knew what he was doing, if he understood the way his words affected me. I might've been his best friend, the one who saw the unmasked version of him, but that didn't mean I was immune to his flirtatious charm.

After all, I was just a teenage girl.

"Are you hungry, Bella?" Riley yelled.

"Uh, yeah," I said, strolling toward them. They were cooking bacon and sausage, and had a bunch of those little boxes of single serving cereal. None of it seemed appealing but I didn't complain, instead grabbing a box of Cheerios and taking a seat in a lawn chair.

Edward came back a few minutes later, taking the seat beside me with a plate of food once it was done. "Want some?" he asked with a mouthful, holding a half-eaten sausage link out toward me. "It's good."

Edward's definition of good food and mine were often very different. "I'll pass."

"Oh come on, try it," he insisted, practically shoving it under my nose.

I eyed him warily. "Did you wash your hands?"

"What do you think?" he asked, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Just eat it."

I shrugged and took it from him, biting off a piece. I had to give him credit - it was pretty good. Riley strolled over and took a seat on the other side of Edward while we finished eating, glancing at us. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," Edward replied, smirking. "Just finally convinced Swan here to put my meat in her mouth."

Riley sputtered, choking on his drink, and I turned bright red. "You're such a pervert," I said, slapping Edward on the arm.

"What? You did!" he said, feigning innocence. He picked up another sausage link, taking a big bite from the end before pointing it at me. "Come to think of it, I really don't remember washing my hands."

I grimaced. "Gross, Edward! You touched your thingy!"

He chuckled as Riley once again started coughing, laughing so hard now he was losing his breath.

"My thingy, Swan? What's wrong with my thingy?"

"Ugh, I don't know," I said. "Wouldn't wanna know about it, either."

"Are you sure about that?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

"Absolutely positive," I said, standing up. "You can keep it to yourself, Edward."

I started walking away, back toward the tent, when he called my name. "You wanna go swimming?"

"Now?"

"Yeah, I need to cool off."

That you do, buddy.

"Sure, I'll put on my bathing suit," I said, making my way into the tent. I zipped up the flap before stripping out of my clothes and pulling my bathing suit from my bag. It was a navy blue one-piece, the bottom cut like shorts while the top tied around my neck. It was new, having been bought at the end of last summer when everything went on clearance.

I pulled it on, a little surprised by how snug it fit. It was sort of low in the front, definitely not like the plain black swimsuit I wore every other year. I situated myself the best I could to keep everything covered and tried to tie it, but I couldn't get it right.

Stepping back out of the tent, I held the top up as I strolled back over to the boys. "Edward, could you tie this for me?"

He stood up from his chair and turned to face me. His body went rigid, his eyes slightly widened and his gaze suddenly intense when he saw me standing there. I couldn't tell if he looked frightened or panicked, or maybe he was just stunned.

No words were spoken. He just stared, and my skin started to warm from the attention. "Is something wrong?" I asked, looking down at myself.

"Uh, no," he said, laughing awkwardly to himself. "You just..."

He didn't finish his sentence and that made me even more nervous.

"I just what?"

He shook his head, seeming to shake off his stupor, and motioned for me to turn around. I did, holding my hair up as he tied my bathing suit in place. His fingers brushed lightly against the skin of my exposed back, causing goosebumps to spring up in the wake of his touch.

Emmett walked over as Edward finished and I let my hair drop back down. His footsteps faltered as he looked at me, his eyes widening just as Edward's had. "Holy shit," he said. "Boobs!"

Mortified, I covered my chest as Edward chuckled behind me. "Took the words right out of my mouth."

We all gathered around the table, Edward and Tanya taking seats directly across from me and Charlie. I watched as he pulled her chair out for her and she smiled sweetly, thanking him as she sat down. It was so gentlemanly, so polite... so not my Edward.

My Edward was no Prince Charming, no Knight in Shining Armor, but he was perfect in his own sorta crass way.

Esme sat down to my right, at the head of the table, and I looked to the empty seat on the other end. "No Carlisle tonight?" I asked, wondering where he was.

"Oh, he'll be here," Esme said, taking her napkin and placing it in her lap as she looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "In fact..."

She trailed off, nothing else needing to be said, as the front door opened and Carlisle's voice carried through the house. "Sorry I'm late," he said, walking into the dining room. "It was a busy day."

"You're just on time," Esme said, picking up her fork and waving at the heaping bowls of pasta and salad on the table. "We were about to dig in."

"Great," he said, kissing his wife's forehead as he greeted her. He turned to me next, grinning wide. "Well if it isn't Bella, the daughter I always wanted."

I smiled as he gave me a one-armed hug, smelling his familiar woodsy cologne that reminded me of my childhood, and Charlie snickered. "I tried to give her away a few times when she was a teenager," he joked. "You wouldn't take her."

Carlisle laughed, squeezing Charlie's shoulder in greeting. "I offered to trade you back then. I couldn't handle both. Edward's phases were far worse than Bella's."

"Not always," Charlie said, shaking his head. "Not that last summer they were both in Forks."

"Yes, but that wasn't all Bella," Carlisle said, taking his seat. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but what happened was just as much my son's fault as it was your daughter's."

I saw Edward visibly tense from my peripheral. "Can we not..." he started.

"True," Charlie said, ignoring Edward's interjection. "He deserves some blame."

"Probably most of the blame, actually," Carlisle said, continuing the conversation as if Edward and I weren't even in the room.

"Maybe even all of it," Charlie added.

Edward placed his elbows on the table, putting his head in the palms of his hands as he stared down at his empty plate. The tension radiating from him was palpable and uncomfortable, seeping into my skin.

"You guys can't blame Edward," I said.

"Yes, we can," Charlie and Carlisle said at the same time, making them laugh and knock on the wooden table. Jinx. Even though they were both pushing fifty, they could still act extremely juvenile when they got together.

"No, you can't," I disagreed. "I mean, there's really no reason to blame anyone. It happened and that's life. You live and you learn. Can we just get over it already? It was ten years ago."

"It doesn't matter if it was ten years or a hundred years, Bells," Charlie said. "People should always take responsibility for their actions."

"And I take responsibility for mine," I said. "If you want to point the finger at anyone, point it at me. I don't blame Edward, so neither should you."

The table grew extremely quiet... so quiet, in fact, that I was terrified they could hear the fierce pounding of my heart. I'd never said those words out loud, although I'd thought them dozens of times over the years.

Edward looked up, his piercing green eyes boring into me from across the table. I glanced at him, seeing the crease between his narrowed eyes and the frown upon his lips. There wasn't anger there, but it wasn't relief either. It looked more like bewilderment - like he hadn't yet decided how to feel about it all.

He'd had a decade... how much longer did he need?

"I'm confused," Tanya said, the sound of her voice drawing me from Edward's gaze. I'd damn near forgotten about her in the midst of it. "What happened?"

Edward shook his head, his posture relaxing as he sat back in his chair. "It was nothing."

Nothing. The word stung like a shot to the heart.

"Nothing?" Charlie said tersely. I could hear the anger in his voice that was reminiscent of another time long ago. Charlie always liked Edward - loved him like a son, even - but he was protective. Most would probably think it was the cop in him, but I liked to think deep down it was his fatherly instincts kicking in.

Better late than never, I suppose.

"I think what Edward meant was that now isn't the time or place for this conversation," Esme said. "It's a little ridiculous to be holding up dinner to argue about something this... irrelevant. My son has flown across the country to be here with his fiancé, and Bella dropped everything to come celebrate the occasion with us. Let's focus on what matters, shall we?"

Charlie grumbled in agreement as Carlisle and Edward both welcomed the idea. I nodded, grateful to be off of the topic, but Tanya remained silent. No one else seemed to notice, but her lack of response was louder than words to me.

I glanced over at her warily, seeing she was staring at me. It was as if she were reading me, trying to find the answer to her question in my face. After a moment everyone started filling their plates with food and she smiled, finally looking away.

The atmosphere was immediately more relaxed, the conversation turning friendly. Carlisle and Charlie talked about their jobs, Edward spoke a little about Harvard while Esme threw in some of her usual wisdom here or there. I remained quiet for the most part, enjoying my meal. "This is wonderful, Esme," I said eventually. "I always loved your Chicken Tequila Fettuccine. Nobody makes it better."

"Tequila?" Tanya interjected. "There's alcohol in this?"

She sounded almost panicked as she immediately dropped her fork, staring down at the pasta with discontent.

"There's a little bit of Tequila in it," I replied.

"I'm not twenty-one yet," Tanya said. "I shouldn't be having Tequila. It's illegal."

I started to laugh, thinking she was joking, but saw her expression was completely serious. What the fuck?

"The alcohol is cooked out of it, dear," Esme said.

"But it's still in it," she said.

"No harm done," Charlie said, using his cop voice. "You can't get drunk off of it."

Tanya didn't say another word about it as she picked her fork back up, but it didn't escape my notice that she refused to eat anymore.

"So how's the city treating you, Bella?" Carlisle asked, unfortunately switching the subject directly to me.

"Uh, good," I replied. "It's been busy working at the paper, but it's nice doing something I love."

"And they're okay with you coming to Forks so suddenly?" he asked.

"I hope," I replied, laughing. "I usually work on my own schedule, so it's not a big deal. I'll have to check in with my boss to get some reviews turned in, so I'll probably have to spend some time in the library since Charlie lacks internet. That's still an option, right? The library?"

Edward, who had been taking a drink of water, choked a bit when I mentioned the library. Tanya reached over to rub his back as he coughed, and I looked away, not wanting to see it.

Jesus, get a fucking room already.

Oh shit, wait... I take that back.

"If you're asking if the library's still standing, then yes," Carlisle said.

Charlie grunted something that sounded like a bitter laugh. "No thanks to these two," he said under his breath.

"You can use our Internet," Esme said, glaring at Charlie with disapproval. "No need to deal with the library."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely. What's ours is yours."

"Thank you," I replied. "Because staying next door is like living in the Stone Age when it comes to technology."

"It's not that bad," Charlie said. "I have an answering machine."

"Yeah, one that takes cassette tapes to record," I said. "They don't even make them anymore. Everything's digital now, Charlie."

Tanya cleared her throat across the table. "Why do you call him Charlie?"

I looked at her with confusion. What kind of question was that? "Because it's his name."

"Yeah, I get that, but he's your dad so why don't you call him Dad?"

"He's always just been Charlie to me," I replied, shrugging. It was how everyone in my life had addressed him when I was younger, so it was just what I ended up calling him, too. He never seemed to mind it.

"Do you call your mom by her name, too?"

For the second time during dinner, intense silence fell over the table. All eyes went directly to me. I wanted to get up and run from the room. "No," I replied.

"So you call her Mom?"

"No," I said again, my tone clipped. "I don't call her anything."

"Oh," she said. "Why not?"

Everyone was still staring, waiting for me to react, but I wouldn't. I couldn't. I just sat there in silence, looking at my plate of half-eaten pasta. My appetite was now gone, the mere thought of eating another bite making me feel like I was going to be sick. The food I'd already eaten was heavy inside of me, weighing me down.

It was either that, or my heart had actually sunk into my stomach.

Carlisle cleared his throat after a moment, drawing everyone's attention away from me. "Can't say I've heard much about your parents, Tanya," he said, trying to be casual about it. "What do they do?"

He shot me an understanding look as Tanya started talking. Thank God for Carlisle coming to the rescue.

"Oh well my dad, Laurent, works for a pharmaceutical company. He's a chemist, you could say. He's always been fascinated by it. And my mom, Irina, was a stay-a-home-mom, but I guess she's more of a housewife now. She wanted to be a dancer for a lot of years, considered that her job. My dad supported her in it, but she's given it up since then. Said she was getting too old for the business and her body isn't what it used to be."

I wished I could say her answer surprised me, but it didn't. It was like Beauty and the Geek. Typical.

"And they're still together?" Carlisle asked.

Tanya nodded.

"Interesting," Esme said. "So I suppose we'll get to meet them in a few weeks for the wedding?"

"Oh no, they're not coming," Tanya said, shaking her head. "They're traveling through Europe for the summer."

Esme looked stunned, almost horrified. "And they can't come back for their daughter's wedding?"

"Well, I suppose they could, but they're not exactly the type," she replied, shrugging casually like it wasn't a big deal. "But they'll send a gift, of course."

"Of course," Esme said, eyeing Tanya warily.

Everyone turned their focus back to their food and for the first time since meeting Tanya, I actually felt bad for her. I sympathized with her. I knew what it was like to be overlooked. I knew how it felt to be ignored. I knew what it was like to have a parent not consider you worthy of being around for.

And there I was, hoping to take from her someone who had noticed her. The one person I knew for a fact she'd be able to count on. I knew Edward's soul. He was generous and loving, exactly what someone like her needed.

I was a horrible, terrible, no-good person - I knew that - and I almost felt bad about it for a moment.

Almost.

"Here, make sure you guys take these," Esme said, setting some containers full of Chicken Tequila Fettuccine on the counter. "There's more than enough to go around."

"Thank you," Charlie said, grabbing them. "Can never have too much food."

He said some quick goodbye's before heading for the door and I lingered there for a moment, not ready to leave. Tanya had gone back upstairs after dinner, saying she needed to make a call, and Edward was sitting in the living room with Carlisle. Esme was straightening up the kitchen and much to my dismay, had forbidden me from helping.

Dinner had finished relatively uneventful. No one yelled. No one cried. No one got stabbed with a fork.

In other words, I was no closer to getting Tanya to go away.

"Esme, can I ask you something?"

"You know you can," she replied as I leaned against the counter beside the sink, watching her wash dishes.

"What do you think about Tanya?"

She glanced at me. "I think she's nice."

"Yeah, but do you think maybe she's too nice?"

She laughed. "Is there such a thing?"

"Yes," I replied. "I mean, when people are really nice -like really, really nice - sometimes it feels kind of like... an act."

"Ah, you think maybe she's not genuine."

"I didn't say all that," I said quickly, even though, okay, that sort of was what I said. It definitely was how I felt. "I'm just, you know, worried about Edward."

"I know, sweetie, but I don't think you have to worry," she said. "I trust my son. I'm sure if marrying Tanya is what's best, that's what he'll do."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," I said, pushing away from the counter. "Anyway, I should go. Thank you for dinner."

"Anytime, Bella. It's good having you here," she replied.

"It's good being here," I said, before walking out. I stopped in the living room to say goodbye to Carlisle, and Edward jumped up from his seat.

"I'll walk you," he said.

"You don't have to. It's kind of ridiculous, Edward. It's only like ten feet."

"Oh, shut up and let me walk you," he said, pressing his hand to my back as he pushed me toward the door. He led me out to the front porch and closed the door behind him, sighing.

Neither of us said anything when we strolled toward Charlie's porch, but I could tell he had something right on the tip of his tongue. I paused at the front door, giving him time to get whatever it was out.

It didn't take him long.

"I haven't told her." His voice was quiet. I didn't need to ask for clarification... I knew exactly what he was talking about. Our fathers had stirred it up at dinner.

"Do you plan to?"

He shrugged. "I probably should. If you were her, would you want to know?"

I hesitated but nodded. "I think I would."

"That's what I thought," he said. "Well, I should get back, now that you're home safe."

"Yeah, thanks for that," I replied. "Who knows what could've happened without you here. Might've tripped over a stick or fell in the grass."

He chuckled. "You never know-you could've gotten attacked by a crazy rogue squirrel."

"Yeah, that would suck," I said, nudging him. "So make sure you're careful on the walk back."

He rolled his eyes before walking away and I headed into the house, immediately hearing Charlie's voice. "...can't do that right now. You know why. We have to be careful or this could blow up..."

He was holding the cordless telephone and stopped mid-sentence when he saw me heading toward him. "I have to go," he said into the phone, hanging up quickly without giving them time to respond.

"Who were you talking to?" I asked.

"Just work," he said nonchalantly, putting the phone back in its base before going into the kitchen.

Work... yeah, right.

See ya next Friday (are you tired of me saying that yet?)