I'm so excited with all the reviews I got from the last chapter. So thanks to all that took the time and especially thanks to babydolcullen!

This chapter is another transition one. But the next chapters will have to do more with the wedding and all that good stuff.

But anyways we haven't heard from Edward in awhile so here we go…

Read on.

Stephenie Meyer owns everything Twilight.

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EPOV

"I mean I'm always over here anyways so I just figured…"

I watched as she struggled for the right words as my mind raced.

"You want to move in together?" I finally said, trying to regain control of my horrid reaction. The fact of the matter was I wanted Bella to move in with me. I wanted nothing more than to see her body curled around mine every morning. I wanted more of her disgusting cooking, I wanted more of her things strewed across my apartment, I wanted more of her scent at every surface. But I also didn't want to rush things. The idea of us not working out because we fell too hard to fast was something I couldn't handle. So here I was, ironically pushing away the very thing I needed the most.

"Yah, don't you?" she said, biting her lip.

I shifted her around in my lap so I could see her clearly. Almost immediately I felt her eyes pull me into their chocolaty swamp and all was lost. I wanted so badly to say yes that for a second I actually thought I would. Looking into her eyes at that moment, I thought I could forget about every worry, every thought and just say yes. I thought I could ignore reality just this once, and react without the need to think. But I knew all too well that the important things in life didn't magically fall into place on a dime. Fate took time. So I cleared my throat and tried to explain as best I could.

"Bella, I do…one day. I just think now is not right."

Oh" she said, and I could see her face fall at my words.

"What I'm trying to say," I restarted, lifting either sides of her face into my hands, "is that I love you and I don't want to lose you…us…because we went to fast. I've waited for you for fifteen years and I'm not about to lose it all because of one bad decision. I want us to take our time."

My words seemed to relax her expression but I could still see her discomfort.

"I love you too" she said, forcing a smile and gently kissing my lips. I tried to deepen it but she pulled away.

"I should go."

"Bella don't-"

"No I have class early in the morning and I'm really tired. I'll uh…call you."

I watched in silence as she piled her dishes in the sink and grabbed her purse. She turned to say good bye and I caught her eyes falter in something I was definitely not supposed to see. And then I just sat there staring at the tastefully decorated walls, realizing for the first time how truly empty my apartment was when Bella wasn't in it.

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BPOV

I left Edward's apartment with the small amount of dignity that I had left. His words rang in my head as I pulled out of his complex and into the night roads of Forks. Two things I was sure of: he loved me but yet he didn't want to live with me. They were such contrasting concepts that I decided I'd rather not contemplate any of it. Instead, I focused on driving home without falling victim to any breakdowns.

Ten minutes later I rounded into my usual parking space. I looked to my right, where Alice's yellow Porsche would normally be but saw nothing. She had moved on to bigger and better things leaving me here stuck in neutral. I sighed and began the walk towards my apartment. Once inside, I slid the keys over the counter and walked towards the bathroom to take a shower. But even the simple act of bathing seemed too much. The cold tiles of the floor, the double vanity with crystal clear mirrors, the soothing water…It just screamed breakdown. So I decided to skip it all together and get some writing done.

Pulling out my laptop, I felt immediate comfort. Writing was simple. Straight forward. If you didn't want to write in complete sentences, you didn't. You could just convey trails of thought, meaningless phrases of ideas with no hint of judgment. There were no rules, except for grammar, which often times fiction didn't abide by. You didn't have to ask anybody how a paragraph was supposed to flow, to move. If you didn't like something, there was always the delete button. But most importantly, you were able to create your own endings. Life, on the other hand, didn't always work that way.

I was on my fourth page of random thoughts, the clock ticking towards midnight, when I heard the door rattle. I figured it was Alice, needing some essential element to a future outfit she had boxed away and refocused my attention on my last paragraph. What I didn't expect was to find Edward, clothed in nothing but boxers and a t-shirt enter my apartment.

"What are you doing here?" I said, tilting up from the position I had slouched into.

He walked over, chucking his shoes and keys against the wall.

"It felt weird without you beside me." He said, taking the laptop out of my hands and placing it on the floor. "I couldn't sleep."

And with one swift movement he lowered his body on top of mine and rested his head on my stomach. He pulled my hand and placed it in his hair. At first glance it would seem as though a full-grown man lying on top of you would become uncomfortable. At first glance it would seem as though a contradiction for him to even be here. Oddly enough, it was neither and within seconds I was scratching at his scalp, I too, surrendering to sleep.

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"Honestly Alice, where are you going to put all these clothes?" I said tossing another dress into the box labeled Last Season.

"Oh don't worry, I will find a place," she said confidently, boxing yet another pair of Jimmy Choos.

I was about to insult her logicality when her phone started to ring.

"Hey babe,"

"The boys are here." She whispered to me, stepping over the various boxes that scattered our apartment.

I followed her into the parking lot where Emmett, Jasper, and Edward sat arguing over which station to listen to.

I made my way over to Edward's window, chuckling at their pointless banter.

"Hey you." He said reaching his arm through the window and pulling me towards his lips.

"Hi" I said, blushing once he let go.

"That's so gross." Emmett said eyeing our direction.

I rolled my eyes and reached through the car to turn the music down.

"Did you guys come to help?"

I heard Jasper laugh and Emmett snort. I guess that was a no.

"We came to take you guys out to lunch. Get in."

I heard the door shut as Alice hopped in. I watched as Jasper's head popped in between the seats.

"Let's go Swan." He said, pulling Alice onto his lap.

I smiled and shook my head. "Can't, I have plans."

"With who?" Emmett said, turning off the engine.

"With your chick."

I watched in pleasure as his facial expression wilted towards apprehension. I pushed into the car once more and turned the music back on high while quickly giving Edward a peck on the cheek.

"You're having lunch with Rose?" he yelled as I rounded the corner.

"Yes Emmett" I said, climbing the steps.

He didn't say anything more but just drove on looking as though he might word vomit all over the seats.

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"I ordered for you, I hope you don't mind."

"Guess not." I said sitting down.

"It's really good." She said giving me a reassuring smile. My eyes traveled around the small restaurant Rosalie had insisted on going to. I had imagined something elaborate with waiters in tuxedos. That was definitely not the case. I frowned as my eyes met a small and comfy setting.

"I'm sure it will be." I honestly hated how blunt I was being but I couldn't help it. This was normal. I wasn't ever nice to any of Emmett's girlfriends. Because quite honestly, they were nothing but ass so I didn't see the point in getting to know someone who was going to be out of my life in a matter of weeks.

"So…" she said tucking a piece of hair behind her ear and looking at me directly.

I gave her sly smile before speaking. "So tell me about yourself."

She gave me an equally powerful smile before answering.

"Well I work at the hospital, as I'm sure you already know. I grew up in New York but moved here, preferring the small town feel. I studied abroad for three years, traveling around Europe which is probably where I found my love for cars. In fact I'm working on 67 Mustang."

"Really." I said, taking a sip of my water. She worked on cars?

"Wow, part time nurse, part time mechanic. Impressive. Maybe you can teach Edward a thing or two."

"It's not that impressive, especially compared to you. Emmett told me your writing a book?"

"I guess that's what my tangled thoughts will be one day." I said laughing.

"What's it about?"

"Best friends falling in love." I said without thinking. And then I panicked because I hadn't divulged this information to anybody. Not Alice, not even Edward. But here I was, nonchalantly spitting it out to a girl I had planned on hating.

"How long have you and Edward been together?" she said abruptly, obviously fitting the scattered pieces of my puzzle together. As blunt as I was being with her, I was beginning to learn how equally straightforward she could be.

"I thought I was going to be the interrogator today."

"Sorry," she giggled, "It's just that Emmett talks about you all the time. I'm genuinely fascinated."

"With what?" I said, a smile spreading across my face.

"With all the history you guys have, you, him, Alice, Edward, Jasper…"

Just then the waiter came with our lunch. And to say I was surprised when Rosalie thanked him in Italian would be an understatement.

"You speak Italian?" I asked dumbstruck.

"And French, Spanish, and a little bit of Dutch." She said, spooning her pasta.

And that was how my relationship with Rosalie began. Simple assumptions. Unexpected answers. And as the afternoon flew by, I was beginning to think I could see her fitting quite nicely in my life.

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The week trailed on with much to account for. Alice had officially moved in with Jasper while Rosalie and Emmett had officially begun planning their wedding.

Edward and I did our best to keep pace with them (or rather I did), but we were still living in separate apartments. And that tiny fact occupied my mind a lot. But pass that discrepancy we were actually doing pretty well.

But, again, since we had no future plans of moving in together I thought I'd redecorate my apartment. I was sick of looking at the red walls and beaded lamps Alice had insisted on buying. So here I was, sipping on some cheap wine and painting my living room an earthy tan. Calm me boring, but I found the color extremely calming.

While applying another coat onto the living room walls, my eyes once again darted to the windows. The weather had made a turn for the worst and was pelting the glass with pouring rain. I shuddered as the sound of thunder rolled across the sky. Taking a step back, I observed my work. I frowned as I noticed the left side of the wall looked darker than the right. Stepping forward to apply what seemed like the fifth coat of paint, I tripped over the bucket lying straight in front of me drenching my feet and hands in paint. And as if being covered in paint wasn't enough, the lights chose that precise moment to shut off leaving me covered in paint and in the dark. I blew a piece of hair out of my face and struggled to get up.

I made my way to the kitchen, tripping over anything and everything. Rummaging through the kitchen drawers, my hand finally rested on the flashlight I was looking for. Suddenly I heard a crack of lightning and looked up to find my entire living room illuminated for a half of a second. My body reacted, my hands dropping the flashlight on the floor accompanying my bellowing screams.

I hated thunderstorms. So much so that I didn't remember the last time I had bared through one without Edward by my side, yapping about what a baby I was being. Yet here I was experiencing my first black out...alone. Oh the irony. Because I couldn't help but think of how comfortable I would be right now, in his soft arms, my head lying on his chest, and feeling safe in our apartment. Unfortunately there was no our apartment. There was just one that closely resembled it with my bras hanging on the bathroom door, my chunky peanut butter sitting next to his preferred smooth, my perfume lying next to his cologne that he never used…Just thinking about the lost potential made me angry.

I jumped as I listened to a distinct "ARMpphhh" coming from outside. Thoughts of myself being drained of blood, cut up into little pieces, and then stuffed beneath the floor boards slowly crept into my mind. My hands darted to my cell phone and I frantically began to dial Edward's number. I leaned behind the counter and waited for him to pick up. Almost immediately the No Signal flashed across the screen. I tried again but to no avail.

My heart pounding, I walked over to the door to make sure it was locked. As I rounded the corner, there was a bang. I stopped moving and stared at the door. Horror flooded my body as I watched it slowly open.

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"You were going to harass your intruder with a paint brush?" Edward asked stepping through the door.

"Oh shut up." I said, placing a hand over my chest and lowering the brush I had absentmindedly grabbed in the two seconds I had thought a mass murderer was breaking into my apartment.

He laughed and shook out of his jacket, shaking water from his hair.

"I seriously thought I was going to end up in some basement chained to walls."

"You watch to many scary movies." He said, kissing my forehead.

"I thought I was a goner." I replied shaking my head.

"You probably would've been based on your poor choice in weapons. What were you going to do, paint me to death?" He said pulling the paintbrush out of my hands and tossing it to the floor. "And why are you covered in paint?" he asked eyeing my hands as he wrapped them around his neck. As much as I wanted to stay annoyed with him I couldn't stop my lips from brushing against his. And the fact that he had drove here because he knew I was terrified of storms made me get all sentimental.

"I fell." I said kissing his lips again. I felt his arm trail soft circles into my back.

"Did you fall into the bucket?" He asked, kissing my neck. I tilted my head to the side and frowned.

"Where's your generator?"

"hmm?" I said, too distracted by his lips to hear what he was saying.

"Generator."

"Don't know." I said, detangling my body from his.

He grabbed the flashlight and pulled on my hand for me to follow him. After much bumping into things, or rather me bumping into things and Edward laughing, we finally found the light box. I leaned against the door and watched him fumble with the light switches.

"Bella, can you please direct the flashlight away from my ass so I can see what I'm doing."

"Oh sorry," I said pointing the flashlight back towards the box. "Even though you have no clue what your doing." I added underneath my breath.

"So how was your lunch with Rose?" he said, trying to distract me from his lack of mechanical skills.

"Since when did we start calling her Rose?" I replied, straining to hold the flashlight posed in the same position.

"We call you Bella. I'd say its fair game."

"Well lunch with Rose went well actually. You know she speaks like ten different languages. I don't know how Emmett managed to get with her." I said leaning against the door.

"Hey give your brother some credit."

I watched as he randomly flipped three switches more switches.

"Edward I think we should just light some candles and call it a day."

"Nonsense, I almost got it."

Twenty minutes later I was sitting across from Edward in the tub in a candle lit bathroom. My leg was outstretched as he softly scrubbed away the paint from my toes.

"Do you think Emmett and Rose are getting married too soon?" I asked nonchalantly, trailing my hand along the edge of the tub.

"I think they couldn't be any more in love. Emmett told me he gives her foot massages every night. I can barely hold your toes without succumbing to nausea."

I flicked some water in his direction and sat up. "I'm serious."

"Your brother is happy," he said tracing circles into my foot, "shouldn't that be the only thing that matters."

"You're supposed to be on my side." I said, snatching my foot away.

I leaned back as he suddenly moved through the water to hover over me, placing his hands at either sides of my body.

"I'm always on your side." He said whispering into the crook of my neck.

"So you think it's a good idea?" I said trying not to be distracted by his lips, his tongue, his eyebrows….

"I'm thinking you look really sexy right now."

"Edward." I giggled as his tongue made its way down my shoulder.

"hmmm?" he said attacking my lips.

And all was lost. I relaxed my body and redirected my attention to his. But in the back of my mind I couldn't quite put to rest the feeling that if I were engaged at this very second, with only a mere two months into our relationship, I would be more than okay with it.

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What did you think? I hope you can agree with Edward's logic as well as Bella's irrational reactions. Review! They of course cause me to update faster!!