This is not chapter 3! This is a different version of chapter 2!
CHAPTER 2: ANGST
"Edward!" Bella called as she ran across the yard towards the Cullen house. "Edward! You're home! You're really home!"
She ran right by Carlisle and Esme, waving a quick hello as she ran into the open front door looking for Edward. She would have kept going, except that she ran into a tall willowy blonde before she could take another step.
"Oh hello," Bella said, politely. "I was just looking for Edward."
"He's upstairs setting up our bedroom," the blonde said. "You must be a friend of his. I'm his fiancée, Jane."
"Fiancée?" Bella repeated dumbly. Her heart shattered in her chest as she offered her hand to the strange girl.
"I'm Bella Swan," she said, the words tasting like poison in her mouth.
"Right! You live next door. Edward mentioned you," Jane said.
"I was just going to welcome him home," Bella said stupidly. "I guess it can wait until tomorrow. I'm sure you're exhausted."
Bella walked out without waiting for a response. Tears streamed down her cheeks as she started the slow stroll home.
"Bella?" Esme asked, hating seeing the look of heartbreak in Bella's eyes.
"I'm just going to go home," Bella said.
"Let me walk you," Esme said.
Bella just nodded.
"You waited for him?" Esme asked as they got to the open door of Charlie's house.
"I did," Bella whispered.
"He didn't mean to fall in love with Jane," Esme said. "It was something that just happened."
"I understand," Bella croaked.
"Let them be happy, okay," Esme said, patting Bella's hair. "She's pregnant. She will need him to be there for her and their baby."
"Can you wait here for a moment please Esme," Bella said stoically, trying to act like every word was not stabbing her in the guts. "I have one thing that I'd like you to give him please."
"Okay," Esme said sadly. Bella was such a sweet girl. Esme knew that even though the young girl had waited for Edward, she wouldn't do anything to come between her son and his new love, especially since she now knew about their baby. Bella grabbed a small binder that she had filled with printed copies of all of her emails to Edward. She had hoped that it would have been a testament to their enduring love... now it was the only way he would know his son.
Bella handed the book to Esme and she promised she would give it to Edward "after everyone had gotten some sleep."
The next day, nobody in the Cullen household even moved before noon. It had been a long two days of travels and Edward knew it was time to face Bella and tell her about Jane.
"I'm going to go and see my friend," he told his fiancée as she woke up. "I want to tell her about us... about our news."
"You mean Bella?" Jane asked. "I met her last night. I already introduced myself so I'm afraid there isn't much news to give."
"You met her?" Edward asked, his mouth going dry.
"She popped over right after we got in," Jane said. "I must have forgotten to tell you since I was so tired."
"Okay," Edward said, smiling tightly at her. He hadn't wanted Bella to find out that way.
He walked down the stairs and met his mom in the kitchen. "Did you see Bella last night?" he asked her.
"I did," Esme said, smiling sadly at her son. "She gave me something to give you."
"Did… Did she wait for me?" Edward asked, feeling like a complete cad because he already knew the answer. He knew Bella.
Esme just nodded and Edward dropped his head.
"We can't help who we fall in love with, Edward," Esme said. "She knows that."
Edward picked up the binder that Bella had left and headed out to the porch. He looked over at the small white house next door. It was dirtier than he remembered and the yard certainly needed work. Charlie must have been working a lot of overtime.
He started reading, flicking through the pages like a mad man as he saw all the emails she had sent and learned of her pregnancy.
Day 276: Anthony is a week old now. I wish he would sleep for more than an hour at a time. He is worth it though. He is worth everything. We love you, Daddy.
Day 368: I took Anthony to Port Angeles by myself today. When I got home my dad's deputy was waiting on the front porch. Charlie was shot during a routine traffic stop. My dad is gone and Anthony is the only family I have left in the world. I don't know what will happen now since I am only 17. I'm scared Edward. I need you. I love you E.
Day 370: Billy Black has agreed to be my foster father for the time being. He doesn't really want me here, especially with the baby, but his sense of duty to his friend is at least opening the door. I love you E!
Day 373: I buried my father today. I held Anthony on my lap and accepted the folded flag that draped his coffin. I don't know what's going to happen now E. I'm so scared. I need you. We need you. I love you.
Day 384: Emancipated minor. I moved back home with Anthony today. I'm on my own for now. I can't wait for you to come home. I love you E.
He didn't get any further than that when his father walked out on the porch with two cups of coffee.
"Wanna talk about it?" Carlisle asked.
"I should have fought harder," Edward said, tears in his eyes after reading everything she had gone through.
"What do you mean?" Carlisle asked.
"She waited for me," Edward said.
"I know," Carlisle said. "Edward, you had to know that she was going to do that."
"I guess I just didn't think about it," Edward said. He sighed before focusing on the now closed binder. Though he knew the answer already, he asked, "Did you read this?"
"Nope," Carlisle said.
"How did you know she waited then?" Edward asked.
"I just know Bella." They sat silently for a moment, both focusing on their coffee cups, before Edward could speak again.
"Charlie is dead," Edward said quietly, letting the words sink in as he said it. It seemed so foreign, yet it was the easiest piece of news he would be sharing with his father.
"DEAD?" Carlisle sputtered. "When?"
"Over a year ago," Edward said.
"Dear God!" Carlisle said. "Let me get your mom. We should go over and pay our respects to Bella at the very least."
"There's more," Edward sighed, knowing the next news would disappoint his father.
"More?" Carlisle asked, turning to look at his son.
"The night before we left... Bella and I... We... we had sex," Edward finally spat out.
"You're telling me this now because...?" Carlisle asked.
"We didn't use any protection. We were young and dumb… and sad. It wasn't planned but we wanted to be together that way... And, well, apparently she got pregnant."
"Edward..." Carlisle gasped, his eyes wide.
"My son Anthony Edward Cullen is 15 months old. He looks just like me."
"Oh God!" Carlisle said.
"What do I do, Dad?" Edward asked, looking to his father for support. "Please tell me."
Carlisle didn't have any magic answers for him, but he talked and listened to his son. They sat on the porch lost in their discussion for over an hour, alternating their focus between the book and the dilapidated house next door. Finally, curiosity got the best of Esme and she came out to the porch spoke to talk to them. It wasn't like Carlisle to lollygag when there was work to be done… and there was work. Jane wasn't worried about Edward. In fact, she had gone to bed for a nap.
"What's up?" Esme asked brightly as she walked out onto the porch, kissing Carlisle on the cheek and ruffling Edward's hair.
"Charlie passed away last year," Carlisle said, feeling the same way Edward had felt when he shared the news.
"NO!" Esme gasped. Tears sprung to her eyes over the loss of a great friend and neighbor. Then her eyes went wide as she thought about poor Bella. "Poor Bella. She didn't say anything last night... Oh… I feel so insensitive! I guess I didn't give her much chance, especially when I was busy telling her about Jane and the baby."
"You told her about the baby?" Edward asked, feeling sick to his stomach.
"I didn't think it was a secret! I just told her that Jane was pregnant and needed you. I didn't want her to try to cause any problems for you two because of your history."
"Jane needed me," Edward scoffed.
"Edward!" Esme admonished. "Jane is your fiancée and the mother of your child."
"Right!" Edward said, looking at his mother. The fiancée status that Jane wore was simply because Esme Cullen couldn't stand the thought of losing her grandchild. Jane had been nothing more than a convenient place for Edward to stick his… "Only Jane isn't the only mother of my child. I slept with Bella the night before we left and she found out later that she was pregnant. I am already a father."
"What?" Esme sputtered, thinking of her words to Bella the night before.
"Anthony Edward Cullen is a spitting image of me. And she did it alone. She needed me and I couldn't even open my email to find out because I was too busy sticking my dick into the first available female I found."
"Edward!" Esme gasped.
"What mom?" Edward said, self-loathing evident in every word. "It's true! And the worst thing is she never tried to hide it. She reached out to me and I ignored it. She wrote me an email every fricking day telling me about everything. She emailed me the day she found out that she was pregnant. She emailed me about being kicked out of school because nobody wanted a pregnant student. And when he was born… She even emailed me when she was scared after Charlie was shot and she had no home for her and my son. And I ignored her. I avoided looking at my email because I thought with my dick and slept with Jane! I couldn't face her knowing that I had betrayed the promises I made to her within weeks!"
"No!" Esme sobbed.
"And now I have ruined my chances with the one girl I have ever loved," Edward said.
"What do we do Carlisle?" Esme sobbed.
"I don't know," Carlisle sighed.
"I have to go over there," Edward said after some time to reflect. "I have to at least apologize…."
"And what are you going to tell Jane?" Esme asked.
"The truth, I guess," Edward said. "For the first time in my life."
"What is the truth, Edward?" Esme asked.
"I don't love her," Edward said. "It was sex pure and simple but then she got pregnant."
"And Bella?" Carlisle asked.
"She was my everything… But I was so tired of hurting and missing her… I just wanted to feel something!"
"What about your son?" Esme asked.
"I can only hope that she'll allow me to have a relationship with him…"
"This is all such a mess," Esme sighed,
"I need to fix it… I need to try," Edward said as he stood up and hopped off the porch. He jogged across the path between the two houses to the front door of Bella's house. He was nervous and excited. He knew Bella would be angry, she had every right to be, but he had to find some way to fix things. When he got to the door of Bella's home, he saw it was ajar so he opened it up and called for her.
All he found was a note.
E -
By the time you read this I'll be gone. Leaving was always an option for me if things hadn't turned out the way I had hoped. I never wanted either of us to be a burden, but I felt you at least deserved to know. Tony is such a great baby, and we have been doing good on our own so don't feel guilty. I don't want that. I promise you that we will have a great life. Love your fiancée and child, you deserve to be happy. And please don't try to look for us. I know you will out of a sense of guilt or duty but it won't help, you'll never find us. Between Charlie's life insurance and my mother's I have enough money to stay hidden for as long as I need to. We won't burden you.
I wish more than anything, that you had still been mine, but I understand. Just be happy with your new life.
Forever
B
Edward tore through Charlie's house looking for some sign that would tell him where Bella went, but apart from the countdown calendar that she had left pinned to the wall, nothing personal remained in the house. Edward ran home and begged Carlisle to call anyone and everyone to help finding her. Carlisle did everything he could, but came up empty. Esme tried too, blaming herself for Bella's abrupt departure.
Poor Jane was left to ponder what she had gotten herself into as the three Cullens went to the nth degree to find the girl. Finally, Esme gave up, realizing it was a hopeless cause. Carlisle followed suit when three private detectives came up empty. But Edward continued on. He knew that whatever there had been between him and Bella was gone, but he needed to talk to her. He needed to have a chance to meet their son.
Once Carlisle and Esme stopped their search, they begged Edward to do the same, even pulling their financial support from the effort. But Edward was not without means himself. He emptied his trust fund and hired private investigators to hunt for her. It was like he was possessed. He spent every waking moment scouring over her emails, and following any clue that came his way. He would have lost Jane if Carlisle and Esme hadn't been there to care for her
Seven months later, Edward's parents begged him to end the obsession with Bella and to marry Jane before their child was born. They wanted to insure that at least one of their grandchildren remained in their lives.
But, Edward still couldn't let it go. He followed every lead, often scouring them on his own. He was actually in Texas following yet another lead the night that Jane gave birth. Eliza Jane Volturi was a beautiful baby. However, her dark hair and skin tone were an obvious give away that Edward Cullen could not possibly be her father. Jane slunk out of town before Edward even returned from his fruitless journey.
Days, weeks, months and years passed. None of which brought Edward any closer to Bella or their child. It wasn't until a cold winter night 14 years after Bella had disappeared that Edward had anything concrete. A newspaper article had led him to Arizona, though he hoped this lead proved false.
As he rubbed his hand over the small photo on the concrete gravestone, he knew that his search was finally over. The single headstone bore two names. Alice and Jasper Whitlock. The date of their births matched Bella and Tony's, the date f their deaths was nearly 10 years previous. A semi, run by a drunk driver had crashed head first into them, killing them instantly. The small picture of the two of them on the stone they only proof that Edward needed to know that Bella Swan and their son lay buried in that small cemetery.
Five years later:
He returned to Forks after that, his 14-year quest over. He lived in the small white house that he had bought years before, right next door to his parents. He got a job working in the hospital as an orderly. His only joy coming from watching college football games, especially his beloved Notre Dame with their 20-year-old quarterback who was destined for the NFL, Emmett McCarty. He was a tall, muscular man with piercing green eyes and an unusual shade of copper hair.
THE END!
DO NOT READ ANY FARTHER unless you want to be confused! If you want to read another ending, return to chapter 1, peruse it again then choose a different path. Please review and tell me what you think. Your opinions matter to me!
