A/N: I'm still here, and I'm sorry, but it's been horrible and I hope you'll understand. I'll explain at the end.

All publicly recognisable characters are the property of their respective owners. No copyright infringement is intended.

Chapter 19

EPOV

I assumed they thought they were fooling us.

"What are they doing?" Bella whispered.

"I'm not sure... you never really can be sure with those two." Emmet put his phone into his pocket right before Alice's phone buzzed.

"They've done this before?"

I never got a chance to answer Bella because that was when Emmet called me.

"Hey Edward, I have the new set of gym equipment over at my place. Do you want to check it out?"

Emmet really was an excellent actor. I might have actually believed him, if it wasn't for their obvious back and forth texting while Emmet washed the dishes and Alice pretended to read a magazine.

Just as I followed him outside, I heard Alice telling Bella, "Come, let me give you a tour..."

I tried to run back in, but Emmet had roughly clasped my forearm with both hands and was pulling me up the pathway.

I didn't bother to fight. I trusted Alice and doubted she would do something reckless or stupid. I hoped she wouldn't.

"Spit it out, Emmet, we're going the wrong way."

What did he want to talk about? Did he want to talk about the failed mission?

I rolled my eyes at myself. He wanted to talk about Bella. I was sure of it.

What would he say? Would he tell me I needed to stay away from Bella? Would he say that I wasn't good for her? I already knew that I was.

"This is about Bella." I finally stated.

Emmet gestured to the bench on the other side of the street.

We crossed and sat in the black wooden bench for another moment of silence. Convinced that I knew what conversation was ahead of us, I took in my surroundings.

Around us was plush perfect grass that I could smell was recently cut. In front of us was a sidewalk. It was decorated by squares, almost a foot apart, in various hues of red. I'd never looked long enough to notice that the shades darkened by the smallest degree as they went along.

Above us was a large tree with widespread, curving branches and randomly dropping leaves. The sun filtered through the few spaces that-

"Edward!"

I sighed. "Yes, Emmet."

"You aren't listening. I said yes, we need to talk about Bella."

"I guessed. What about her?"

Emmet sighed, and I thought I could anticipate his next words. But I was wrong.

"How do you feel about her, man?"

My mouth fell open.

Emmet's POV

He looked at me with his mouth open.

I can't tell you what reaction I expected from him, but it wasn't that.

I looked over my shoulder, 'cause he was staring and I thought some amazing shit was happening behind me that I was missing.

Maybe he didn't hear me again.

So I repeated, "How do you-"

"I heard you."

His tone was sharp, and I should have been expecting it. The way Edward had been acting was unusual and rare, to put it lightly. I couldn't expect Bella's presence to completely change Edward, but I had been hoping for her magic to last a little longer.

"Okay..." I nodded slowly. "So why're you giving me a fish face?"

Edward pulled his fingers through his hair. "Why would you ask me something like that? I had believed that you would tell me to keep away from her as much as possible."

He wasn't making any sense. That was the opposite of my plan.

"Why would I say that? Its almost impossible... you guys are going to live together and-"

He flew up out of the bench and began walking up the sidewalk.

"Emmet, be serious. I'm no good for her. You know me and you know that Bella-"

I had a good idea of what he was up to inside his over-thinking head. He was always putting himself down. I knew he was telling himself that Bella would hate him for who he was I was pretty sure that Bella would like all of him. I felt like I was Alice, and therefore like I should hand in my man-card, but I could feel it in my bones. He would have to determine that himself though. So I cut him off.

"I don't 'know that Bella' anything because I met her at the same time you did! If the woman's smart enough to understand James' fucked up riddle poem, she isn't stupid or naive. Let her decide what she wants."

BPOV

"Come, let me give you a tour..."

The kitchen was beautiful- a sharp grey backsplash, made of various kinds of reflective and non-reflective tile complemented the softer tones around the kitchen. Floating shelves ensured a large amount of counter space and a location for the top of the line appliances.

Alice showed me the living room and the almost sunken family room. I really took the time to admire them; the decor was the furthest from my concerns when I had last been near those rooms. Various shades of blue ran throughout both rooms to catch the light filtering in through the large windows. It was furnished by simple wooden furniture. The theme was continued in the formal dining room.

"This is Edward's room." Alice smiled, opening the door without giving the slightest fuck about his privacy.

She noticed my hesitancy and pulled me right in.

Edward's room was largely black and white, with just enough colour to keep it from looking clinical. From the lamp to the bedding to the large television, everything was sharp cut and clean. Edward's room was the tidiest male's room I had ever seen. He didn't have a large amount of furniture, and the most eye- catching was the bed head. Below the carvings and designs were four vertical built in cylindrical bars. But he did seem to have a large amount of clothing- he had two closets, one walk in and one built in, which Alice opened and showed off.

"This is his bathroom..." Alice showed off his bathtub- it was quite large, with built in pulsating jets and a seat.

"Its almost the same as the one I had at my own home." I shared.

Alice giggled. "It's the most popular bathtub for women. I have one too... helps me stay strong when I'm withholding... things... from Jazz."

I couldn't help but blush and smirk at that statement. I knew all too well what she was saying.

We left Edward's bedroom and Alice showed me the downstairs bathroom.

Upstairs was the library. Three of the walls were covered in books, and a long table and black chairs provided seating. It was almost like a conference room.

"This is where we store all the files, evidence, plans, outlines and equipment."

Alice reached up next to the closed door and easily opened the unnoticeable panel. She typed in a security code and then pulled out three keys on a key ring and put one into the lock.

Instead of the congested cramped look and feel I had expected, the room was bright and organised. On the farthest wall was a large whiteboard, and above it was a window that let in natural light. A curved table faced the board, and in front of each chair was a laptop.

I didn't feel like Edward or the others would want me in that room, so I left quickly.

Finally was the gym. It was spacious and had all the necessary equipment but held some custom equipment. Alice didn't leave the door open long enough for many more observations.

Once we were downstairs and I rethought the tour.

There was one door Alice had simply ignored. It was unusual, because people did not forget a room in a familiar house. She also ignored what looked like Edward's walk-in. Of course, it was possible that the first room was a closet for cleaning supplies, and the clothes in Edward's walk-in probably weren't very different from those that she had shown me, but Alice had taken care to unlock or open every door.

I was never one to just let things go and say it was my overactive imagination. I'd learned to trust my instincts. But I'd put that on the back burner. For now, I would focus on finding firmer footing in my new home, stopping these flashback nightmares and trying to quell my lust for Edward Cullen.

Emmet's POV

We had slowed down our pace and I still hadn't really gotten to the point yet. How did she expect me to casually introduce changing his exercise time and getting rid of the psycho he was having sex with into the conversation without making it obvious? Alice would punch me in the eye if I messed this up. She didn't care how I did it.

"Bella has an idea of what kind of man James is. She has to have figured out at least some of what you did to get her here."

Edward looked up at me, slightly wide-eyed; he looked pained and frustrated, hopeful and defeated, and I couldn't help something in my heart from pulling.

"She already covered most of it." He sighed, leaning against a tree and pulling his hair. "Stealing, killing and so on. She called me out on it. She... she understood."

I wanted to hug him and tell him all the bullshit would work out. I wanted to shake him and tell him to seize the moment, because nothing ever works out. Forget my man card, this was my brother. He had been through enough bullshit to find his Rosalie.

"And she still made you fuckawesome pancakes?" I joked. But I was serious. He realised that I was showing him the fact he'd just admitted- she knew the worst of it, and she still didn't treat him differently.

I didn't understand his argument, though. If she already knew about all of his extra curriculars and she didn't go running for the hills...

"What's holding you back?"

I saw some of his usual hardness return to his eyes before he began pacing away. I let him walk ahead a bit while I rethought my words. The only thing I could come up with was our conversation last year- and then I understood.

I jogged up to meet him, and once I was matching his pace he began, "What's holding me back?" Edward laughed coldly, and I cringed at the empty sound. "Who I am, Emmet. And all the things she doesn't know." He pulled at his hair and picked up pace.

I wanted to punch every tree we passed, because with every step he took, I could feel Edward slipping away from me.

EPOV

How did I feel about Bella?

My every other thought was about her.

I'd found it upsetting to consider the fact that she may have had a boyfriend.

I found her more than attractive- she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen.

But what could I give her? Not a relationship. I wanted to scream. Why was even I considering this?

I had never considered it with any other woman.

But Bella was different, and I'd known it since I'd found her on James' bed, unconscious with bloody hands.

It was then that I figured out what Emmet's real goal was. He obviously remembered our previous conversation and knew what my prerequisites were. Unlikely as it was, there was a possibility that Bella would fit them. Although I highly doubted that, I could get to know her, and I could let her decide what she wanted from me.

I stopped walking and abruptly turned around.

"Emmet, do you think Bella is attracted to me?"

Emmet stood straight, stayed still and turned red before laughing loudly. I couldn't help but turn a little red in embarrassment. Was it really that hard to believe that she was attracted to me?

"That's what you were trying to figure out for so long, Edward? I thought..." Emmet frowned for a second, but quickly smiled again. "Anyway, Edward, she definitely is! She looked like a kid on Christmas morning staring at your flabs!" Emmet laughed, he always found himself funny. "If you saw her face, oh it was priceless..."

I shook my head at him but I felt quite smug. She found me attractive.

But still... what did that change? She wouldn't want...

I frowned at myself. I would not choose for her. I would ensure that I was prepared to offer every side of me that she would desire. And that meant I had to make a call.

I began walking back to the bench that we had been using. I would need to be sitting to do this.

Emmet's POV

I simply followed behind him as he changed direction. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and I wondered aloud, "Who are you calling in the middle of the intervention?"

"Tanya."

I pulled the phone out of his lunatic hand. "Are you crazy? Or just plain retarded?"

"Emmet, I'm getting rid of her not-"

I couldn't hear the rest because I was crushing him to my chest and spinning him around and squealing like a little girl.

"Really?" I asked, not sure if I had misheard.

"Really." Edward nodded and gave me a small smile.

That was what I wanted this conversation to lead to. I thought I'd lost any chance of that happening but Edward saved my ass from Alice's wrath.

He began to type her number in, but I stopped him again.

"Let me get my phone out and you put yours on speaker. Alice and the others will kill me if they don't hear this!"

Once I was recording, Edward pressed call.

"Hello, Tanya?"

"Eddie! Oh, you're calling to tell me to come ov-"

"No, I'm not."

"You- you're going to propose? You should do it in person, maybe when I get back. I'll tell Laurent to drop me to the airport!"

"No, Tanya. I'm not going to propose to you."

"Oh." That woman is so stupid. "So what do you need Edward?"

I think her voice was supposed to sound seductive but it made me slightly nauseous.

I watched Edward sigh, and I could see him stand a little taller, as if a weight was being lifted off of his shoulders. He smiled a little and I couldn't help but feel overjoyed at seeing him smile. There was a point when we'd all thought he'd never smile again. I couldn't help but smile, too. How could I not? His next words, after the year we'd had, were worthy of an all night dance party.

"I'm just calling to tell you that whatever we have between us, it's over."

A/N: Long story short, I was very busy the first week after my last post. As a result, I had written 10

chapters ahead so that I could ensure that the wait wouldn't be that long. Then my computer died, and I had back up, but the last time I renewed it was at chapter 12. After that, my sister got into an accident, someone drove right into her so hard her car flipped over. At one point I wasn't sure whether she was alive or not due to lack of information. I'm almost done chapter 21 though. Hope people don't think I have abandoned my story.