A/N: Well, it's been a while hasn't it? haha. Sorry it took me so long to update this chapter, guys. I got… lazy… but I promise the next one will be faster. Chapter title borrowed from the beautiful Miss Hayley Williams.

Sixteen

Misery Business

BELLA

I couldn't help it. It was embarrassing behavior, yes, and I would live to regret it for sure, but I couldn't help gawking at Edward's gift. I'd been out with guys before Mike, even thought I was in love with a few of them, but that felt like a world away when I saw what was inside of that little ivory box. How could I have ever loved before Edward? He was so indescribably perfect that I couldn't even do him justice.

"Well, are you going to put it on her, Eddie?" Emmett interrupted the awkward silence, being his usual oblivious self.

"Shut up, Emmett!" Alice shouted, smacking her adopted brother lightly on the arm. At least, I think she meant it lightly, but the sound was like a brick hitting a solid boulder. I flinched.

Edward didn't seem embarrassed at all. In fact, his eyes were glowing with a boisterous emotion that I couldn't quite put my finger on as he slid the blue topaz ring onto my right ring finger. Apparently, the happiness was contagious, because as soon as the cool platinum rested on my finger, a grin spread across my face. I didn't care who saw us anymore, or what they thought.

I grabbed Edward's face between my two hands and kissed him with a passion that I didn't know I had in me until that moment. But then, it made perfect sense that Edward would be the one to bring that side out in me. He was, after all, the love of my life. Anyone with eyes could see that.

Without any surprise in his motion, he held me tighter to his chest and kissed me back. Emmett whistled. I couldn't have cared less. I was sitting in his lap, kissing him, and he was kissing me back. The most wonderful, talented, caring, perfect, beautiful vampire in existence was kissing me. And he loved me. It was all too much to take in at once.

As always, I broke apart first. Edward didn't need to breathe, of course, but that didn't mean that I could forget all of my vital organs. He chuckled, pecking me on the cheek quickly once more. I glanced around the room, offering each of my boyfriend's family members a thankful smile before my eyes rested on the topaz-and-diamond beauty once again.

I thought of Mike and was suddenly angry. When had he ever given me a Christmas gift? Remembered the date of our anniversary? Told me happy birthday? But Mike was nothing in comparison to Edward, anyway. Why should he remember all of those unimportant things?

Oh no. They were coming. The tears. I felt them welling up in my eyes before I realized that they were there. It was such a natural feeling to me now. Tears no longer felt foreign as they slipped incongruously down my cheeks.

Edward's elated expression was gone as quickly as it had appeared, and he was suddenly kissing the wet parts of my cheeks. "What's the matter, love?" he whispered; the others had already begun opening their presents from one another. It was their own way of giving Edward and me some privacy, and I felt forever indebted.

"I-I'm sorry… it's just…" I stammered. He shook his head, a smile coloring his face, though it never quite touched his eyes.

"Don't be sorry. I only want to make you feel better, Bella. What is it that's made you so remorseful?" he wondered.

I shrugged pitifully. "Mike, I guess. You two… you're just so different… it almost hurts… I feel so stupid… stayed with him so long…" I was now reduced to mumbling incoherently, shaking my head back and forth against his marble shoulder. He said nothing for a moment, patting my hair and reassuring me in a way that only he could.

"He didn't deserve you, for sure, Bella," he said finally. "No one does. But just because he was so… sick and… abusive… doesn't make you the stupid one."

"No, Edward!" I stood, stalking backward. All eyes in the room were on me. Emmett coughed, his timing off, as always. I couldn't look at him as he stood behind me, reaching out into the space between us, reaching for me.

But I felt slimy. Dirty. I didn't deserve to be loved. I deserved Mike. I had been asking for all of the things that he did to me, and I was asking for the same treatment from Edward. In fact, I'd begun to expect it from him.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

EDWARD

Bella jumped from my lap and sprinted past my family, up the stairs, and into my bedroom. I couldn't be more confused. It was a perfect moment, one that I thought we would remember forever. Our first official Mike-free moment, until she inevitably brought up his name.

"What's gotten into you, love?" I asked, sitting beside her on the floor. She was rocking back and forth in a fetal position, her head in her hands. A twist of pain shot through my stomach like a knife and twisted itself into place. He'd driven her to this. She was so much better than he, yet she felt somehow… deserving of his cruelty.

"I don't deserve this. You… you… you and your family… you're so perfect… so wonderful… I… don't fit… in this… in this… picture… Mike… he knew what I was…" came her muffled reply. I shook my head furiously, pulling her to me. She willingly curled into my lap, resting her face on my chest and she grabbed handfuls of my shirt and sobbed.

"It's so obvious, Bella! You belong here! Here with my family! Here in my arms. You are the only one that doesn't see it. Emmett and… and Alice, she already loves you! We want you. We need you. I need you."

"How could you need me when he told me night after night that he only kept me around for show? That I was lucky to have found him, because who else would take me? That I was useless to anyone except for him, so I'd better not try to find someone else?" she whispered sourly, looking at the carpet, her legs crossed.

I slipped my finger under her downcast chin and lifted her eyes until the agony pierced through my own. "Listen to me, Isabella Swan. You are perfect. I have been alive for almost a century, but it wasn't until I met you that my life began. Mike Newton aside, you deserve much more than anyone on this earth can give you. You've proven yourself self-sacrificing and gentle, yet you don't see these things as I do. I love you, Bella. I only wish I had more to give."

She smiled slowly, throwing her arms around my neck in an embrace. I was smiling too, of course. She was happy. That was all I could ask for.

"I love you, too, Edward," she muttered into my shoulder. "You're my whole world, you know that?"

"Still wish I could do more," I admitted, kissing her hair.

"What more could you possibly do? You've given me everything and never asked for anything in return. I'm the one that should be giving more. I'm just so… lost… and, to be honest, Mike still scares me… infinitesimally."

I stroked her back, pulling her closer to me, if that was at all possible. "You don't have to be scared of him, Bella. I will never let him hurt you again," I vowed.

"But that's such a burden for me to ask you to bear!" she exclaimed, and I feared she was close to tears again.

"You don't have to ask. I'm doing it for you and for me. I love you, remember?"

Fortunately, she smiled again. "I love you, Edward."

"And I think it's pretty obvious that I love you," I chided, kissing her nose. She returned the favor, surprising me with an impromptu kiss on the lips.

I hugged her gently, careful not to crush her fragile arms. She felt so small in my arms, so undefined, so minute, yet so big. She was finally putting up a fight for her independence from Mike.

Then came a dreadful sound that could only be compared to long, jagged fingernails scratching at the surface of a chalkboard at a time like this. Bella cringed into me, and I tightened my arms around her reassuringly. She wouldn't be hurt again. Not if I had anything to do with it.

Her throat constricted, her cool hands were suddenly clammy, and she choked remorsefully. Angry tears boiled in her eyes once again. I caressed any part of her face that I could find, whispered useless things like "It's going to be okay, love" and "Don't cry. We'll figure something out".

I knew they were lies as soon as I thought them. But those three vile, despicable words that had been spoken contradicted everything she and I had been discussing, and confirmed our greatest fears.

"Mike's here, Edward!" Emmett's base echoed through the staircase. Great. Mike.

A/N: Okay, the reason this chapter is so short is because it's been over a month since I updated, and that is just way too long. Thanks for being patient.

C.J.