A/N: …

Chapter 14

"Flight 114 from Raleigh, North Carolina has now arrived." The announcement came over the intercom and Alice's eyes lit up with delight. I smiled weakly and took another does of Tylenol. My head lifted and the pills slid down my throat with the aid of my water.

I had gotten back to the hotel last night around two am and Alice had been at Conley's party still. I vaguely remember Edward helping me get cleaned up and then I collapsed on the bed dead tired. I didn't hear Alice come into the room but I do remember her shaking me awake at 12:30 this afternoon. The pain in my head was much dulled thanks to the insane amount of medicine I had consumed.

"They're here!" She grinned jumping up on the chairs to catch the first glimpse of them.

I waited nervously beside her. I hadn't seen Carlisle or Esme in way too long. Carlisle was still working at the same hospital and Alice said they were pretty happy. They had bought a beach house down by the coast and frequently traveled down to the water's edge to relax.

"I see them!" Alice jumped down grabbing my hand and pulling me through the throng of people. I ran into a couple of people and murmured a quick apology before being bounced back through the crowd like an erratic pinball.

"Carlisle! Esme!" Alice shrieked letting go of my hand.

She approached her adoptive parents and wrapped a thin arm around each of them. Their faces lit up and they hugged her back enthusiastically. I stood watching the reunion of parent and child. It reminded me of one of those Kodak picture commercials.

Alice spoke to them quickly and turned around her eyes flashing to mine. She ran back to me and grabbed my hand urging me toward her parents. These were the people that had helped me through my roughest times and had been practically second parents to me.

Esme's eyes widened and her arms opened. "Bella?" She asked hesitantly.

I nodded the tears blurring my vision. I felt her arms wrap around me pulling me into her familiar embrace. "Oh my sweet Bella. We've missed you so much." I managed to wrap my arms around her and I held on to her tightly.

"Stop hogging Bella." Carlisle's calming voice joked from behind me.

Esme pulled away from me and I could see the tears streaming down her face as well. I was instantly pulled into Carlisle's tight embrace and he held me longer than expected. "What's our second daughter been up to the past couple of years?" Carlisle asked pulling away from me.

I shrugged. "I wrote a book." I offered.

Esme nodded. "It was a wonderful book."

I gasped in surprise. "You read my book?"

Before she could answer Carlisle nudged me. "We all did."

--

We headed out of the airport and climbed into Alice's Porsche. She pulled out into traffic and I spent the ride to the hotel connecting with Carlisle and Esme. I told them about how Riley had broken up with me and when they asked why, I evaded the question.

We arrived at the hotel and the first thing I noticed was that the entire lobby was a frenzy. Hotel Staff shuffled back and forth coming and going with different things in their hands. I had a feeling they were setting up for the wedding reception for tomorrow.

Alice pulled me to the side and she glanced warily down the hall. "I have a bad feeling about this. Conley wasn't sure about the seating arrangements yet." She sighed. "I told her to work on it."

She excused herself and trotted down the hallway toward the ballroom. Esme smiled knowingly and accompanied Carlisle to the check-in desk. I suddenly felt quite lonely and decided to head up to the room. I had slept through most of the hangover and I was in due need of some food. I followed the memorized path and pushed the button for the elevator.

"Fancy seeing you here." A husky voice came from behind me.

I turned to see the bartender from last night standing rather close to me. "Oh, it's you."

He shrugged. "I have a name you know."

I mentally chastised myself and nodded. "Sorry, what's your name?"

He chuckled. "Chace, you are?"

"Bella." I stated eyeing him. "Are you here for the wedding?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you're for the groom right?"

I nodded. "And you're for the bride?"

He smiled. "Yeah, Conley was in a couple of my music classes."

This surprised me. "You attended Julliard?"

He laughed either at my amazement of my comment. "Yeah, bartending is just what I do for money."

The elevator dinged and I stepped in. He stepped in after me and we both reached for the button and his rough hand covered mine. A blush found my cheeks and I pulled my hand from under his.

"So, is that guy your boyfriend?" He asked suddenly.

"What guy?" I asked playing stupid.

He rolled his eyes. "The guy that was practically throwing off testosterone waves last night."

I laughed leaning back against the elevator wall and let my head tilt back. "No, he's dating one of Conley's best friends."

I looked up to see his eyes scrunch together in confusion. "Wow, he seemed rather territorial last night." He paused. "I thought he was going to pee on you."

I laughed. "Yeah, that's Edward for you."

He sighed. "I thought he was with Rachel. I don't blame him for wanting you though." His voice was at a whisper and he picked up a strand of my hair. "You're beautiful."

Another blush crept up on my cheeks. If he only knew my history…

The elevator dinged signaling that we were on the correct floor. Chace silently walked me to my door and I noticed that he had a bag in his hand.

"I guess I'll see you at the wedding tomorrow?" He asked leaning against the door.

I nodded. "Yup, the Best Woman traditionally is expected to be there."

He laughed. "Are you going to the reception?"

I looked at him like he was crazy. "Yeah, why?"

He flashed me his a million dollar smile. "Save me a dance?"

I grinned back at him. "Sure."

--

Alice was going to pick up my outfit for the wedding and then she was going to meet us at the church for the rehearsal. Conley was a little peeved at me because I got her fiancé drunk and no one else in the wedding was staying at the hotel. Therefore, I had to ride with Edward and Rachel to the church.

I climbed in the back seat and tried to make myself invisible. The situation was beyond awkward and I didn't want to get on Rachel's bad side. She had barely said three words to me since I arrived and she seemed to be in support of keeping it that way.

Edward kept glancing back at me and I noticed that Rachel kept glancing at him. I decided to put him in his place and I stuck my tongue out at him. "Take a picture, it'll last longer."

He broke out in my favorite crooked grin that I longed to see on his face. That was my crooked grin and it was the first time I'd seen it in the longest time. My heart fluttered and I smiled looking out the window.

We made our way out of the city and out into the country. After about ten minutes, he abruptly pulled off onto a dirt road. Dust flew behind us and a small church came into view. It was painted white with the stained glass windows like older churches have. There was a church sign and it read "Reeces Chapel" in large letters.

Edward pulled up next to the other cars parked in the grass lot and I quickly climbed out of the tense car. I made a beeline for the front door and made my way up the brick steps. I paused before entering and then took a deep breath. I gripped the doorknob and turned it successfully pushing the door open.

(A/N: The wedding is in the next chapter so I don't want to write the rehearsal out.)

The rehearsal took less time than I expected and before I knew it, I was in the car with Alice and she was telling me about my dress.

"It's exactly like the bridesmaid's dresses except it's black to match the tuxes. You're going to look gorgeous in it!" She grinned.

I leaned back into the seat. I found my mind drifting from the wedding back to California. Riley deserved someone better than me. He deserved a girl who made him first. He deserved someone I couldn't be. Sure, it hurt. I would miss Riley and our life together. I would miss the days on the beach and the mornings he would make me breakfast while I was still in bed. I would miss his goofy humor and his support. I would miss his entire being.

On the other hand, I was happy for him. Riley could finally move on and find a girl that treated him right. He could find a girl that put him on a pedestal and would shower him with love and affection. He deserved someone without the emotional baggage. Someone was out there without the skeletons in their closets.

Alice was still babbling on about the dress and various other things when she whipped into the parking space. I focused back on the conversation and climbed out of the car. She pulled out the dress from behind her seat and walked around to meet me behind the car. She looped her arm through mine and we walked into the hotel together.

Alice insisted on changing before dinner and I agreed with her. I led the way to the room and when I arrived I collapsed on the bed. Alice flitted around the room rummaging through drawers and various other places. I concentrated on the ceiling and started finding shapes in the little dots.

Alice jumped on the bed sending my body bouncing slightly. She crawled over next to me and leaned over me. Her eyes seemed to be studying me for a second before she grinned. "Come on, put on something dressy so we can go to dinner."

I decided on a cute baby doll top with a camisole underneath. I pulled on my black gauchos along with my Mary Jane flats. Alice spruced up my make up and then with a silent nod she pulled me toward the door. I decided that the night had been too tiresome to go to a party but I really hadn't a say in anything.

We arrived at the restaurant quicker than expected and I noticed it was the same restaurant from my first night in New York. A small smile played on my lips and I noticed that this time there weren't any reporters waiting at the door. I hadn't seen the paper this week or even watched much television. Nevertheless, I seriously doubted that the reporters had posted anything about me being Isabella from Edward's song.

Alice parked in the lot and we walked side by side up to the restaurant. Jasper appeared at her side and wrapped an arm around her waist. She leaned in to him and with a little effort from both of them, their lips met. I quickly turned my eyes away feeling that the affection was somewhat too intimate to gawk.

I didn't wait for Alice and continued my way up the steps. A friendly face joined me on my pursuit and I smiled lightly in his direction. "Hello Jordan."

He grinned. "How are you this fine night?"

The corner of my mouth lifted slightly. "Pretty good, you?"

He nodded. "Pretty good myself." He paused. "So, what's up with you and Edward?"

I raised an eyebrow but he didn't falter. "We're good friends. Why?"

He frowned shaking his head. "No, there's something more going on between you two. Don't get me wrong Bella, but Edward and Rachel have a good thing going."

I nodded. "I know that. I'm not trying to rip them a part, okay?"

He paused. "Fine, just I don't want to see Rachel hurt again."

I rolled my eyes and turned my gaze to the ground. "I think Rachel can take care of herself."

With that I ran up the stairs, thankfully not tripping, and opened the door. Heads turned as I walked through and I ignored the stares and glares. Then I did what I do best, I ran straight to the bathroom to leave my problems behind me.

It must have been ten minutes before there were three sharp knocks on the bathroom door. I knew it wasn't Alice; she would of just barged in. "Bella?" His soothing voice cooed from behind the door.

I ignored it and wiped my face off with the back of my hand. I hadn't even registered that I was crying. Truthfully, I didn't even know why I was crying. Yes, I knew that Rachel and Edward were good together. I knew that if I hadn't come to New York they would be happily together. They would grow old together and all that good stuff.

That's not how things worked out though. Edward had confessed that he still wanted me. He had practically thrown Rachel out the window of his mind. He said he was going to break up with her so he could be with me. If this was true, why did it hurt so much when Jordan had said that Rachel and Edward were good together? Why did the truth hurt like taking a blade to my wrist?

The door opened and he slid to the bathroom door beside me. Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around me pulling me close to his side. A fresh round of tears came over me and spilt onto his newly pressed shirt. He held me as I cried rubbing my back softly. I knew I was messed up. He knew I was messed up. Regardless, he still wanted me.

A/N: Okay, so random crying outbursts? Bella's totally a girl and girls have random crying outbursts. Sometimes it feels good to just cry. Did you get the whole "blade to my wrist" thing? This is the first time she's compared her hurt to the same hurt as before. She feels as if she's not worth it.

Hope you liked it! The wedding's the next chapter! I hope you enjoyed Chace in the middle of it.

Kayla! XD