Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Thanks for all the reviews and kind words. You guys are really all great! Just a heads up: classes have started for me, which means I've got a lot less time to write. I'll still be continuing, but it will be a bit sporadic. I'm going to try to update twice a week. I'll know better once I've worked out some semblance of a regular schedule this week. Now, enjoy…

perfectshadeofdarkblue

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Best Definition of Good Intentions

11 – All That You Left For Me

Alice woke at her usual time the next morning. She pushed the patterned duvet off her small body and pattered down the hall. Slowly opening the door so as not to wake Bella, she made her way to the bathroom and brushed her teeth. On her way back out, she took a good look at her depressed friend.

Bella was curled on her side under the heavy blankets. Alice could see the elastic that once held her brown hair in a pony tail on the pillow beside her. Her hair had come loose during the course of the night and was fanned around her on the pillow. Bella was clutching the blankets, pulling them underneath her chin.

Kneeling on the bed, Alice leaned over and gently shook Bella's shoulder.

"Bella…Bella," Alice urged her awake.

After a few moments of the soft nudging, Bella's eyes fluttered open as she rolled onto her back. She took in her surroundings until her eyes came to rest on Alice. She closed her eyes again and turned back, pulling the blankets over her even more.

"Go away," she whispered.

Alice didn't need to be told twice. She left the room, shutting the door behind her and continued to the kitchen where her mother was sitting at the table. Esme had the newspaper laid out before her and a cup of steaming coffee in her hands. She was fully dressed and ready to start the day, despite the early hour.

"Where're you going, Mom?" Alice asked, taking a place across from her mother at the table.

Esme looked up from the paper to answer. "I've got a few errands to run and wanted to get them down early in case Bella decided to get up today. I was going to stop by her house and grab some clothes for her. Maybe she'll feel better once she's had a shower and put on some clean clothes."

"Chief Swan doesn't care that Bella's staying here now?" Alice asked curiously.

"No, he doesn't, dear. Charlie's going through a tough time with this himself. I don't think he knows how to help Bella while he's suffering. He's able to recognize Bella needs some time, so he's allowing her that," Esme explained.

"You don't think Bella could use having her dad around? He might be the only one she wants to talk to."

"She still hasn't said anything?" Esme said, realizing where Alice's concern was coming from.

"No. I tried to wake her up this morning and talk to her, but she just told me to go away. I don't know what to do," Alice said defeated.

"I know it's hard, sweetie, and it's okay to be worried about her, but there may just not be anything you can do. Bella will come around eventually and all you can do now is be there for her." Esme tried to comfort her daughter, grabbing her hand across the table.

Alice pulled her hand away. "How am I supposed to be there for her if she won't let me?"

"Give it time, Alice. Don't rush her."

The pair sat in silence for a few minutes contemplating the older woman's words. In the quiet, Emmett walked downstairs and prepared himself a bowl of cereal. He sat down at on the couch, turning the television on. While he flipped through the channels until stopping at cartoons, Alice made toast to eat. When she finished, she washed it down with a glass of orange juice then set about preparing something for Bella, in case she'd changed her mind.

Again, she entered the room quietly and placed the tray on the desk. When she turned around she saw that Bella was still in the same position as earlier. After taking in Bella's tired face full of sleep, Alice decided against waking her, opting to try later instead.

"Bella still sleeping?" Alice heard over the click of the shutting door when she was in the hallway.

She looked up to see Edward paused on the stairs. He was still in his pajamas, but Alice noticed he didn't look at tired. She nodded while passing him.

Edward, however, stayed right where he was. In disbelief, he asked, "She's not getting up today again?"

Alice turned on the step to look at him. He'd never so much as mentioned Bella before, never mind inquire about her status. "Guess not. Why does it matter to you?"

Edward wasn't sure whether he should mention his conversation with Bella during the night. He could tell Alice was already upset enough about Bella refusing to get up and talk to her and he didn't want to make her even angrier by saying she'd talked to him. He recovered quickly, saying, "It doesn't. I just thought that after spending all of yesterday in bed, today would be different."

He turned and walked down the stairs in front of Alice to play up his nonchalance. She trailed behind him on the stairs, taking a place on the couch next to Emmett while Edward fixed his own breakfast.

The day continued quietly for the Cullens. While Carlisle was at work, Alice accompanied her mother on the errands that needed running. Emmett and Edward spent the day on the couch, playing video games. Upon Esme and Alice's arrival, Alice joined the game and Esme started preparing dinner. Soon Carlisle returned home and the family ate their first meal together in Forks.

Bella didn't stir until after dinner.

Rosalie and Jasper had made their way over and they were all gathered outside on the porch, basking in the summer air. Jasper was idly fingering his guitar while the conversation carried on around him. Occasionally, he joined in as the group's discussion centered around their favorite baseball teams.

The night was alive with their voices as Bella woke up. She stayed in bed, listening to the exclamations float through the air. She listened as Alice's and Jasper's voices slowly faded out. Bella noticed that as Jasper grew quiet, his playing grew louder. Soon, though, Emmett's and Rosalie's voices blocked out the other sounds as the debate over cars heated up. Not understanding most of what was being said, Bella tuned it out. That was until Edward spoke up.

The group was quiet to hear his thoughts. The sound of his smooth voice over Jasper's delicate playing sounded like music to Bella's ears. She didn't listen to a word he was saying, only focusing on the sounds it made.

And just like that, it was over. Emmett's voice rose in outrage and Rosalie cheered. Edward seemed to have agreed with Rosalie and Emmett felt betrayed at the decision. Laughter reached Bella as the group found the hilarity in the situation. After the outburst of happiness, they fell into an easy quiet. Bella thought it would have been the perfect time for Jasper to start a new song, which she would have joined in singing, but nothing of the sort came.

Suddenly, Bella missed her friends. Feeling a pull to be a part of the group, she quickly got out of the bed and went downstairs. Before stepping outside, she memorized the details of the scene in front of her. She watched, but couldn't hear, as Rosalie spoke to the group. Her eyes weren't focused on anyone in particular; it looked as though she were recounting a story. Bella saw Alice start to talk over her and Rosalie nodded her head as Alice finished the tale. Jasper and Emmett shared a quiet laugh as Edward had a look of disbelief on his face. He spoke one word, but Bella wasn't quick enough to catch it. However, she did see as Alice nodded fervently back and Bella could make out the word "really" on her lips.

Then Jasper looked up and saw Bella watching. Not wanting to do the wrong thing, he simply stared. He didn't want to urge her to join them if she wasn't ready and he didn't want to scare her away. After a moment, his look turned questioning as the group continued to talk around him, too wrapped up in their words to notice he'd stopped playing. Bella offered him a half-smile as she took her first step toward the door.

The sound of the guitar swelled as Jasper suddenly began playing again. Every head in the group turned toward him as Bella silently slide the glass door opened. She paused, waiting for the song to come to here. It didn't until the words accompanied the melody.

"Anywhere you go, anyone you meet," Jasper sang out. "Remember that your eyes can be your enemies. I said, hell is so close and heaven's out of reach."

He looked up at Bella, causing everyone else's gaze to shift. Their eyes got wide as Jasper sang to her, "But I ain't giving up quite yet. I've got too much to lose."

Bella walked through the circle they formed and sat besides Alice. The tiny girl's face lit up as she wrapped her arm around Bella and let her melt into her body. Bella rested her head on Alice's shoulder as Jasper continued.

"Hold me down, sweet and low little girl. Hold me down, sweet and low and I will carry you home. Hold me down, sweet and low little girl. Hold me down, and I'll carry you home."

Alice wiped a tear away with her free hand as the song choice suddenly made sense. Jasper had picked Augustana's "Sweet and Low" for Bella. He must have seen her come outside before anyone else.

"The rain is gonna fall, the sun is gonna shine. The wind is gonna blow, the waters gonna rise. She said when that day comes look into my eyes." This time Jasper wasn't singing alone. Trying to see who the musical voice belong to, Bella looked over to see Edward's lips moving while he stared into the night. He dropped out for the last line, leaving Jasper's voice behind, singing "But no one's giving up quite yet, we've got too much to lose."

Edward sang with Jasper again for the chorus, louder this time. "Hold me down, sweet and low little girl. Hold me down, sweet and low and I will carry you home. Hold me down, sweet and low little girl. Hold me down, and I'll carry you home."

As Jasper sang the chorus again, by himself, Emmett and Rosalie left the gathering and returned inside. Bella stayed in Alice's arms, not noticing when the music faded out.

"Come on, man," Jasper said to Edward, leaving the two girls to themselves.

Edward hesitated a moment, wanting to thank Bella for the previous night, but also not wanting to infringe on Alice's time with her.

The quiet shutting of the glass door was the only trigger Bella needed. She immediately began crying like she had only a few days before. Alice comforted her, more prepared this time around.

"Bella, it's alright. I'm here," she cooed.

"Alice…it was…it was horrible, Alice," Bella sobbed. Her breathing was ragged.

"Shhhh, Bella. Just calm down, it's alright," Alice didn't want to tell Bella everything was okay when it obviously wasn't, but she wanted her best friend to know that, at least while she was there, everything was alright.

Bella took a second to focus on her breathing. Within a few minutes, she'd managed to calm herself. She was no longer sobbing, only allowing the quiet tears to fall down her cheeks, matching Alice's. Alice led Bella upstairs, climbing into her bed beside Bella, never letting go of her once.

"We don't have to talk about it, Bella. But just know that I'll listen, if you ever want to," Alice promised.

"I just…I just don't even know where to start. It's like I can see the whole thing in my head, but can't put it into words. It's too horrible for words," Bella fought against a new wave of tears.

"I know, Bella. I'm sorry," Alice had no other words, no other truths to offer.

"How could she just throw our family away like that? Didn't it mean anything to her? Didn't I mean anything to her?" Bella was searching for answers she doubted she'd ever find.

"Of course, you meant something to her, Bella. She loved you, but I don't know why she did what she did. And we've really got no way of knowing."

"How do we go on from here? What's left for us? What's left for me?"

"There's plenty left for you. Bella, you've got us. We're still your family – I'm still your family. And I'll always be. Remember that. You've still got your dad, too. Don't forget him in all this."

"I don't have him! And I guess I never did. Alice, he didn't even put up a fight. It was like he didn't care, he didn't even try to do anything. It was almost as horrible to watch him just stand there as…" she trailed off, not finding the words to describe.

"Oh, Bella, don't say that," Alice urged. "You still have Charlie. You've got to believe that. He was shocked, so were you. You've got to talk to him."

"I can't. Not now."

"You don't have to know, but you really should soon. Just think about it, okay?"

"Okay," Bella promised as she settled into the sheets. "I'll think about it."