CHAPTER EIGHT

"I don't know what to do," Bella said into the phone as she stopped at a red light. Nessie was on the other end of the line, the last person that Bella had left in the world to confide in.

"Okay, so relay it back to me again," Nessie said. Bella sighed. She knew that her sister wasn't listening to her. She had called her from work and she was constantly distracted.

"I went out with Edward and some of his friends, a completely and totally innocent get together but at the end of the night, one thing led to another and he kissed me. I kissed him. Whatever," Bella said.

"Right. Okay," Nessie said. "So… what are you going to do?" Bella sighed.

"That's what I just said," she answered, shaking her head. She glanced to the rearview mirror. Lana was finally asleep. Bella knew that if she put the kids in the car that one or both of them would fall asleep. Sam was still awake though, playing with a plastic cell phone and sitting quietly.

"Well… I don't know what to tell you, Bells," Nessie said. "I warned you about this. You shouldn't have let it happen."

"Well, I know that much," Bella said. "And it's not like I said, 'Hey you, come over here and kiss me.' I did nothing to provoke him past the bounds of friendship. It was an attraction that I hadn't counted on. Subconsciously I wanted it a little bit but I wasn't about to go looking for it. Now I'm… I mean, I've let him go but… Michael is being a dick lately."

"Oh Bells, you're a mess," Nessie said, sighing softly at the other end. "Have you talked to Michael past your argument?" Bella had told her about the argument first, before the kiss.

"No," Bella said. "He's always changing the subject on me, finding something different to occupy his mind." She stopped at another red light and found herself only blocks away from Michael's office building. She wondered if it would make him happy if they stopped by and said hello. Of course not. Lana was asleep.

"Just bring it up bluntly if you have to," Nessie said. "Just throw it in his face, make him address it. It's a surefire way to get the issue resolved." Bella nodded and proceeded into traffic. She continued to listen to her sister as she spouted off her advice but out of the corner of her eye, Bella swept the scenery around her, realizing that she'd never really been in the neighborhood where her husband worked. Just as she was about to respond to her sister, she saw Michael at the corner, waiting for the light to change. She cradled the phone between her shoulder and her ear and reached out to wave. But what she saw next caused her hand to drop.

A thin, pretty brunette had stepped up behind Michael and surprised him from behind. He laughed, a smile that Bella hadn't seen on his face in weeks and then he turned to her and kissed her, pulling her into his arms as if it were okay to romance someone other than his wife in broad daylight. Bella tried to swallow the lump in her throat but it didn't go away. Tears beckoned in the corners of her eyes.

"Nessie… Nessie, I have to go," she said and she hung up without even waiting for her sister's response. She found herself sitting at the street light, tears pooling in her eyes and grief ripping her heart open. She'd never actually believed that Michael would really cheat on her. She thought that the work excuse was real, that he was really working. She didn't know to believe anymore.

A car honked at her and she realized that the light had turned green. She pushed her foot hard against the accelerator and sped away from the intersection quickly before Michael could see that she'd been there, watching him.

Bella tried to drive, to focus on the road but she was having trouble. She felt like the chicken in the stupid book that she'd read as a kid. The sky was falling on top of her head. As she drove away from that street corner she, quite literally, expecting the world to collapse. She found it hard to breathe and her lungs pulled in heavy breaths. Tears clouded her vision and she tried so hard to keep her focus on the traffic around her. For the sake of her children in the backseat, she kept driving.

Before she'd even made it another two blocks her emotions overwhelmed her and she pulled off onto the side of the road. She gripped the steering wheel so tightly that her knuckles grew white. Anger, sadness, and fear rose in her throat and she let out a sob of despair. The tears fell down her cheeks in waves.

"Oh my god," she cried, bringing one hand to her mouth. She could taste the saline of her own tears as fell against her lips. "Oh god…"

She closed her eyes and cried harder, feeling sadness, betrayal, and guilt all at the same time. Michael had pulled her away from her family, her friends, and her life and she had done so without question or hesitation. She followed him into the unknown because she loved him and she wanted to be where he was. But he had betrayed her and left her alone in the most unfamiliar of cities. She too was guilty of falling under another's charm but it had only happened four days earlier and she had stopped it, thinking only of her husband.

It was obvious that, whoever this woman was, Michael had been seeing her for much longer than four days. She had kissed him in the way that Bella had used to kiss him, back when they first fell in love. Michael had smiled at her, a smile that he'd once given to Bella.

Pulling in a tortured breath, Bella took the wheel again. She had to find someone to talk to. It would be so easy to just call Nessie back and find comfort in her older sister's voice. But Bella needed more than comfort.

Reaching into the passenger seat, Bella opened her purse and struggled to find her cell phone. Bella located Bree's phone number and called her quickly. She answered on the second ring.

"Bree… it's Bella," she said, not even bothering to mask the tears in her voice. "Are you busy right now?"

"No… Why? Bella, what's wrong?" she asked.

"I need… can you watch the kids for a few hours?" she asked, desperately.

"Yeah, I can," she said. "Should I come over?"

"No. I'll come to you," she said, finding a pen. "Where do you live?"

After finding her way to Bree, Bella dropped Lana and Sam off without an explanation or a definite promise of return. Bree seemed to understand and she let Bella go without any questions. Despite the cloud of tears that had formed in her eyes, Bella navigated her way through the city until she found herself parked across the street from Edward's apartment complex. Passerby's glanced to her awkwardly as she dodged traffic and hurried to the lobby doors.

"Edward?" she asked, upon pressing the button to the intercom system that linked back to Edward's apartment. No reply. Frustrated, Bella tried again.

"Please be home," she pleased. There was still no answer. She wiped her eyes and looked back to the street wearily. She wished that she had his phone number or knew where his body shop was.

"God, where are you?!" she growled, drawing the attention from a passing woman. Turning back to the entrance, she stepped up to the door and peered into the lobby, her face pressed against the glass in earnest. Someone had to come down from their apartment or step in from the outside.

"Bella?" Edward asked and as if answering her prayers, she turned to find him standing behind her, fumbling with his keys.

Without a word, she threw her arms around him tightly, pulling herself close to him. She breathed him in, feeling his heartbeat against her own chest. She felt his arms around her in an instant. He held her tightly and she breathed in his scent, cigarettes and the cologne that she loved. They stood there like that for what felt like eternity before he finally drew away and brought his hand to cheek gently.

"I saw Michael with another woman," Bella said as she turned her face to him. He wiped her tears with his thumbs and kept his gaze steady on her. "Outside of his work… only thirty minutes ago."

"Oh… Bella," he said, his eyes finding hers. "I'm sorry."

"I didn't know what to do or who to come to," she said. "You're my only friend, all that I have here."

"You came to the right place," he said, reaching for her hand. "I'll take care of you but let's go inside and get away from all of these people."

Holding his hand tightly, Bella followed him through the building and into his apartment, tears falling from her eyes. Her heart was aching, burning for release from the pain.

"Here, Bella. Sit," he said, leading her to the couch. She did as he suggested and she sat there while he put his things away. She reached for the box of Kleenex on the coffee table and she wiped her eyes, attempting to dry her tears.

Finally Edward came back to her and he sat on the coffee table in front of her. He took her hands in his and leaned in close, watching her face. The gesture was affectionate and for the first time in a long time, Bella felt loved and cherished.

"Tell me what happened," he said. Bella nodded and took a deep breath.

"I just put the kids in the car, hoping Lana would fall asleep and I started driving. I wasn't really going anywhere but I found myself in the neighborhood of my husbands company," she said, looking at him through her tears. "And I saw him on the street with a woman and they were kissing and touching… oh my god…"

She broke down again and Edward pulled her close to him and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face into his neck. He kissed her temple gently, an affection so soft and perfect that Bella felt her heartbeat slow. She swallowed thickly and allowed her sobs to subside as Edward continued kissing her. His lips touched her temple again and then her forehead and her cheek. He kissed her tears away and brought his hand to her cheek gently.

"You don't deserve him, Bella," he said, shaking his head. "No man should treat the woman that he loves that way."

"I know," Bella said, nodding as she looked up at him. She'd managed to stop crying and she brought her hands to wipe her eyes. "But I… I'm guilty of the same, Edward. I kissed you… before I even knew what Michael was doing. I'm just as bad as he is."

"No, you're not," Edward said, shaking his head. He reached out and brushed her hair behind her ears and away from her wet skin. He put his finger beneath her chin and tilted her face to his, looking into her eyes. "You're not. You knew that what you were doing was wrong and besides… I initiated that kiss. You had nothing to do with it."

"But I kissed back. I wanted to kiss you. I wanted it and I knew what I was doing," she said. Edward licked his lips.

"But you stopped it before it went too far," he said. "As far as I'm concerned, you're guilty of nothing."

"I just… Edward, I don't know what to do," she said, looking to him with tired eyes. She was so drained from the crying that she'd been doing that she was ready to give up.

"Do what you think is right," he said. "Infidelity is the ultimate betrayal in any relationship, married or not. You've caught him and you have every right to call him on it and end the relationship."

"But…" Bella started. She couldn't even fathom what Edward was saying. She hated Michael so much for what he had done to her but how could she just let go of him? They'd been together for four years and had been married for three. They had two beautiful children who Bella loved with all of her heart. In one second Michael had jeopardized all of that without even knowing that he'd done so. It was up to Bella now to make the decision that would alter her future forever.

"Come here," Edward said, opening his arms again. She leaned into him again and closed her eyes, welcoming his arm. She rested her head against his chest and slowly let herself relax. His palms were gently rubbing against her back and underneath his touch, her breathing slowly evened out and she had calmed significantly.

"You need to rest for a little while," he said, after a few minutes. Slowly, they drew away from each other and Edward took her hand and stood up. "I have to get back to work for at least a few more hours. I want you to get some sleep, okay? You need to calm your nerves."

She nodded as he led her back to his bedroom. It was small and untidy. The bed was unmade and the sheets were tossed about on the bed. She didn't care. It looked warm and inviting and she could already feel the comfort that sleep would bring her. She sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed softly.

"Where are the kids?" Edward asked, as he arranged his pillows and straightened the blankets. He patted the bed and she scooted back and then slowly looked up at him.

"I called your sister and dropped them off with her," she said. "I was in hysterics. I didn't know what else to do."

"Okay," Edward said, brushing her hair from her eyes again. "I'll call her and make sure that she can keep them for the rest of the evening. Chances are my mom's at home with her and she's really good with kids. I'll take care of everything. You just stay here and sleep, okay? I'll be back in a few hours."

"Okay," she said, lying back slowly. Edward pulled the blankets over her and then leaned over and kissed her forehead gently, his palm falling ever so softly against her cheek.

"Try not to think about any of it, Bella. Okay? Just let it go," he said. She nodded and sighed softly, letting her body fall heavily against the mattress. She felt him drawing away from her. "I'll be back soon."

She closed her eyes as she listened to him retreat. She heard his keys and then the door opened and closed. The apartment fell silent except for the gently purr of the air conditioner in some unknown corner of the room. Taking a deep breath, Bella allowed herself to fall asleep. She curled onto her side and pulled Edward's blankets in close to her. His scent lingered on the fabric and the cologne brought her back to the memories of college when she'd first fallen in love. Only now, as she drifted off into a silent sleep, it was Edward who was tied to the memory. Michael was the farthest thing from her mind.