A/N:

Special thans goes to my wonderful beta's, bbwraven... you endlessly put up with my randomness and rambling, thank you for keeping me sane... and Casket4mytears who gets HUGE props for not going James on me for the under usage of my commas and semicolons. I u both HARD!

Disclaimer: Stephanie Meyer owns all, if I did I would be rich. Instead I give Bella attitude.

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next
What happens next
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

Dare You To Move -Switchfoot

BPOV

I sighed and heaved myself down onto the bed in the spare room I was going to be occupying in Rose and Alice's Condo until I could afford to get my own place.

I laid back on the comfortable four post bed and took in my surroundings. The walls were painted a light cappuccino color and the furniture was traditional, made out of dark mahogany. There was a large expanse of windows to the right that made for plenty of natural light during the day and a beautiful view during the evening that overlooked the downtown Seattle skyline. To the right of the bed was a set of double doors that lead out to a connecting balcony.

I lifted my hands and gingerly ran my fingers through my hair while kicking off my heels. Swallowing hard, I bit back the tears that threatened to fall again like they had every night the past three weeks. Why was this so damn hard? On one hand, I was so relieved that my misery with James had finally ended. Finally being on my own and making my own decisions was such a welcome relief. But on the other hand, I still felt like such a failure. I suppose it's because I had worked so hard for so long to make something work and it was all for nothing. And what was even worse was I had nothing to show for it. I can't even say I came out of the marriage with any happy memories at all. The bad memories by far outweighed the good ones.

James was not making things any easier. I don't know why I thought he would leave me alone. He had not stopped calling since I left, and after a week I finally broke down and changed my cell number. Embarrassingly enough, since I would not answer my cell he also started calling up to the bar during my office hours and Jake, one of our lead bartenders, had to threaten him to get him to stop calling. I'm sure if it was not for my close knit "family of friends" at work he would have been up there personally trying to drag me back home.

I palmed my face in my hands and took a deep breath. There was one thing to be thankful for: it was getting easier. I did feel better today. Not good and not great, but better. My head was still pounding but that was to be expected after all the crying I had been doing. But I did feel a little lighter on my feet, like there may eventually be a light at the end of my tunnel.

Rose and Alice, bless them, had been a Godsend. With my parents living so far away, going back to their house had not really been an option - not that I would ever want to impose on them like that. And to be quite honest, as much as I love my parents, the thought of being back under their roof as an adult did not hold that much appeal. So Rose and Alice had very generously offered me the spare bedroom in their plush, upscale, downtown Seattle condo.

Rose, Alice and I have been friends since we were freshman in high school. We were all from a small town called Forks, in the heart of the Olympic Peninsula. When we were younger we all made quite the trio.

Rose was beautiful, a confident woman that commanded control of everything around her--and that had not changed a bit in the last 10 years. She had thick blond hair that hung in long, graceful curves over her shoulders and framed her beautifully diamond shaped face. Rose had a killer body. As a woman who slaved on the treadmill and free weights weekly, you had to appreciate what came almost naturally to her. Her body was slender with a narrow waist and long shapely legs. She had well defined abs and, as she described it, a "killer rack".

Alice, on the other hand, was a different story altogether. Alice reminded me a bit of a pixie. She had dark, shoulder length almost black hair that was worn in a shattered cut framed around her face. She had almond-shaped grey eyes and a short, straight nose. Her high exotic cheek bones added strength to her otherwise subtle beauty. Alice was short, just reaching 5' tall with petite flower-like features. And the way she moved, it was almost electric she was so full of energy all of the time.

I was the quiet one, the one with the level head. Whereas Rose had the confidence and control and Alice had the energy and drive, I had the level head and the smarts. We balanced each other perfectly and we were rarely without each other.

Then, I met James. He came roaring into town in that damn car and I was lost. We just connected. Soon the three of us became four and well, the rest, as they say, is history.

After we graduated high school, James and I got married. Shortly after, he got transferred to Seattle, so we packed up all our belongings--which Rose and Alice considered themselves one of -- and we moved. They have been my saving grace. If it had not been for the two of them I never, would have made it. They were the only two I had ever truly let into my private hell. Rose had been trying to convince me to leave James for years, and I had always come up with one excuse after another. I wasn't ready, it was almost Christmas, I had nowhere to go and the list goes on and on... Not once since I have been here have I gotten an 'I told you so' or an 'It's about time.' I've had nothing but unfailing support.

Last night, in the middle of my crying jag, Rose pulled me onto her lap, wrapped her arms around me and offered me some of the most profound advice I think I have ever heard come out of her mouth. She told me that I needed to stop looking at the whole of everything and letting it overwhelm me and start looking at the little pieces and dealing with them, one at a time. That way, when all was said and done, I would be in a much better state to deal with things and the end result would be much more rewarding.

What Rose said actually made sense to; it occurred to me that I have been so focused on the big picture, on the outcome, that I was skipping all the steps in between. But first things first, I had phone calls to make. I knew what I wanted and where I was going. I knew for a long time where I would eventually end up. It was just a matter of getting from point A to point C. First I needed a lawyer. It was time to put on those big girl panties. I had been avoiding this call for three weeks now, telling myself that I would do it when I was ready. Who was I fooling? I was just making excuses again. It's time to bite the proverbial bullet Bella. Let's go cliff diving!

I pulled out my cell phone and the card that Alice had given me earlier in the week, took a deep breath and dialed. Ring one...ring two...ring thr--- " Aro Attorney at Law, Heidi speaking. How may I direct your call"?

"Umm, yes... my name is Bella"....

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RPOV

I opened up the front door and called out for Bella hoping that she would be in the living room watching TV and not holed up in her room again like she had been every night for the last three weeks.

"Bella! Are you home? Bella!" I called loudly. I dropped my keys in the dish on the table in the hallway and walked through the living area back toward the bedrooms to see if I could find her. When I reached Bella's room I could hear her talking and assumed she was on the phone. I didn't want to invade her privacy so I backed away and went into the kitchen to grab a drink. I opened the fridge, reached in and grabbed a beer, walked back into the living room and sank onto the couch while I waited for Bella to finish up with her phone call.

I lifted the bottle up to my lips and thought back to that Sunday evening three weeks ago.

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3 WEEKS EARLIER ~ RPOV

"Alice! Was that the door? Fuck!" That better not be Emmett I thought. He was early and I was not going to be ready to go for at least another hour. "Alice!! I yelled again at the top of my lungs. "You did tell the guys 8 o'clock, right"?

Alice poked her head out of her door, obviously having not heard a word I was over the loud music she had pouring out of her room.

"What?" She said looking at me "I didn't hear you. Music's pretty loud in here you know." She gave me a sarcastic grin.

"The boys? You told them 8 o'clock right?"

"Yeah, and I just talked to Jazz a few minutes ago. He said he was about to leave to go get Emmett."

The door bell rang again, several times in succession. I reached the door and swung it open, ready to blast the person on the other side and stopped dead in my tracks. What greeted me was not a sight I ever wanted to see again. Bella was standing at the front door clutching her hands. She raised her head up and looked at me, face red and puffy, eyes swollen and looking more miserable then I've ever seen her in my life. She was literally trembling and I could the tears were ready to fall again.

"Rose, I left him," she said in a soft trembling voice. "I didn't know where else to go. I'm sorry I did not call. I wanted to but I could not stop crying and I was trying to concentrate on my driving and so I just drove over here and I hope you and Alice don't mind my just showing up on your door step like this. I mean I know you probably have plans and I can find a hotel-". She rambled on.

"Shit Bella! Come inside."

I grabbed Bella's hand and pulled her into the front hallway and enveloped her into a hug. She sagged against me and collapsed to the floor in a heap, sobbing uncontrollably holding her face in her hands. The pain I felt at my friend's despair was overwhelming. I had seen Bella visibly upset before but it was nothing like this. This was a woman who was completely undone and broken and I had no idea what to do. I crouched down and gathered her in my arms.

"Bella, oh God, Bella. Sweetie it's okay." I tried soothing her as best as I could and was about to try to pull her up when Alice pranced into the hallway to see what was taking me so long answering the door. "You don't ever have to call and you're never an imposition. I'm just glad you're safe and that you're here, okay?" I leaned back and brushed the hair back away from her face and behind her ears.

"Oh my God Rose! What happened?" Alice whispered crouching down with a look of panicked concern on her face.

"I don't know," I whispered, "I opened the front door and she told me she left James and then just...this. Could you call the guys and tell them that we have to cancel tonight? Tell them we had an emergency come up? I'll try to get her to the living room."

I grabbed Bella's purse off the floor and slung it over my shoulder.

"Come on Bella. Let's get you up and into the living room." Very slowly, Bella let me help her stand and we made our way into the living room and over to the couch and sat her down. Alice came back into the room and looked at me questioningly. "Alice, can you put on the pot for some tea?" I looked at Bella, "Then we can talk okay?" Bella nodded her head, closed her eyes and tipped her head to the back of the couch.

Alice came back into the living-room about 5 minutes later with the tray of hot tea, set it on the coffee table and made Bella a cup. Alice sat on the couch next to her and curled around her like a protective mother, and started stroking her hair. We all sat in silence for a few minutes, not wanting to push Bella if she was not ready to talk when I finally spoke up.

"Bella? What happened?" Bella lifted her head, opened her eyes and looked at me.

In a small voice that we had to strain to hear, she started talking, "I left him. He got so angry again for no good reason, just like always. I was just sitting there, taking it like I usually do, and I couldn't do it anymore. I just snapped".

Tears were streaming down her face and when she spoke next, her voice was a little louder.

"All I know is that I couldn't do it anymore. No more of his smart ass sarcasm, no more belittling, no more of him being in control,

"What was he mad about this time?" I asked.

"A fucking phone call! A FUCKING PHONE CALL!!" Bella screamed, balling up her fists in frustration. She took several deep breaths, calming herself down.

"Alice, do you remember when we were talking yesterday when I was on my way home from the bar"?

"Yeah Bella, we were going over inventory reports. Why?" Alice said confusion in her voice.

"Well, James was calling in as we were wrapping up our conversation, and instead of just telling you to hold on, I thought I would be able to get to him in time, so I waited until we were done saying our good-byes and tried to click over. When I did it was too late and he had already hung up. I tried calling him back twice but he would not answer his cell phone and I just knew he was pissed. I called the house phone, thinking maybe he would answer that one, and he did".

Bella started wringing her hands together and I grabbed onto one and just held it, "Go on Bells, it's okay."

"W-When he answered I asked him why he did not answer his cell, and he told me that he was not going to waste his minutes on someone who could not even bother to pick up the phone when he called. I tried to explain that I was talking to you and that we were finishing a conversation about work, but he told me it was a weak, lame and old excuse and that I never answer his calls-which is completely untrue! I ALWAYS answer his calls!! I know what he's like when I don't. He's the one that never answers my calls! Hell, I even pointed that out to him and told him that any time he was on the phone with anyone he never clicked over when I called. He of course denied it and told me he was just playing the same games with me that I was playing with him.

"Guys, I'm not playing games! He was fucking with me and I knew it! So, I got home and started dinner and doing laundry like I always do and the entire evening he just ignored me. I thought maybe he was just going to blow it off like he does some times and then it started." She took a deep breath then continued on.

"He started asking me if I loved him again and if I meant it. Was I being faithful? Did I want him and only him? It was like the Spanish Inquisition incarnate. He was downing me, telling me that I make time for everyone else but never for him, and how no good I was and I was just so tired of hearing it. I couldn't face one more argument or one more day of trying to convince him that I loved him more than life itself and that he was it for me. Love shouldn't be this hard right?

"Alice? Tell me I did the right thing! Please, tell me I'm not making a mistake??" She gulped hard, as tears started slipping down her cheeks. This was a woman facing the hard realities of despair.

Alice was stroking a hand down Bella's hair as a hot tear silently rolled down her cheek.

"You did not make a mistake!" Alice exclaimed in a voice that suggested she was getting more than a little upset, "Bella, You did what was right for you and it's about time you started thinking of yourself rather than just him. If you ask me, you should have been doing it a long time ago. I'm sorry if it upsets you by me saying it but screw him!! He did not know a good thing when he had it and I hope he wallows in his self pity when he realizes what he lost!"

"Alice is right Bella," I said, "You have been so unhappy for so long that you have no idea what to do, do you?"

I bent over and enveloped Bella in a tight hug, and Alice wrapped her arms around the both of us so we were all wrapped around Bella in a protective embrace, and we just held on to her. This was such a big step for Bella even if she didn't think it was. Eventually we all sat up. I picked up the tea I had made and handed it to Bella.

"Here honey have a drink, it will help calm you down some okay?" Bella took the mug and cupped it in her hands sipping it gingerly.

"Bella, I know this is hard right now but this is a good thing. This is your first step. Like baby steps and it will get easier as you go. And you know you always have a place here, no matter what right? You're family and family takes care of each other." I stood her up and grabbed her hand. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up and settled in. If you want to talk some more afterwards, we can but I think you will feel better after a long hot bath and a nice glass of wine."

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BACK TO REALITY~RPOV

I heard Bella open her door and I snapped out of my daze. She walked over to the couch beside me and sat down, grabbing my beer and taking a drink. She looked so much better today then she had in weeks and I was so glad. If she did not snap out of her funk soon Alice and I were going to have to have a huge round of tough love with her.

"Mmmm, that was good. I may have to go get one of my own," she murmured tilting her head back and rolling it back and forth.

"Hey! How's it going today?" I asked her, "I didn't have a chance to talk with you earlier at work."

"Actually, believe it or not I'm doing pretty good." Bella turned sideways crossing her legs and propped her chin up on her elbows, "I got home from work today feeling okay. Better than I have in weeks, even. So when I got home from Lunar Eclipse this afternoon, I laid down on my bed and just started thinking again and for the first time I was able to hold back the tears. I still feel like I have lost so much Rose, so much time, effort and energy. So much wasted love on one man who was so undeserving. I'll never get any of that back and it just kills me! But for weeks I have been holed up in my room dwelling on it, so..."

Bella took a deep breath, exhaled and a small grin full of hope spread on her face and she sat up and looked at me, "I called the lawyer Alice recommended. I have an appointment tomorrow morning to talk to them and see what I need to do to file. He said as long as everything is uncontested this could be over in as little as two months."

I was ecstatic and so proud. She had done it all on her own. I beamed at Bella and when I looked into her eyes I could almost see life creeping back in and dare I say hope?

"I am so proud of you." I took her hand and gave it a squeeze, "I knew you could do it. But let me tell you, if that son-of-a-bitch does anything to contest this, so help me GOD I will tear his balls off and shove them down his throat. You deserve happiness, more than anyone I know and he better not stand in your way another second. Hell, I'll send Emmett over there when I'm done to finish him off if I have too."

"I can't see how he can give me much trouble. I don't want anything he has," Bella said softly but fiercely.

"What do you mean?" I asked a little puzzled by her statement.

"I meant exactly what I said. He can have it all Rose, the furniture, linens, kitchen stuff, pictures, movies, all of it. I don't want anything out of that house; it's all tainted. Besides anything of value I sent off to you, Alice or my parents to keep a long time ago. I have nothing else there. I already took all my clothes and bathroom stuff. I have my car. Nothing else he has is important. So, see? What can he do to me that he has not already done?"

"I see what you're saying Bella, but you suffered for years and half of that stuff is yours. You deserve something."

"No, Rose. I have my freedom, I have peace of mind and I have NO ONE telling me what to do. Everything else is just stuff and I can get more stuff."

"Well you know that Alice and I are here for you. Anything you need and don't worry about work. Take whatever time you need okay?"

"Rose you really are too good to me, defending my honor and all like that!" Bella replied laughing. "In all seriousness though, I really appreciate everything you have both done for me. I don't deserve friends like you two."

"Yes you do, and so much more. One day Bella, you're going to find a man and he's going to treat you the way you deserve to be treated."

"HA! I don't think so Rose! I'm not going there again. I've learned my lesson and I am so not up for all that love bull shit. I'm really happy for you and whatever you and Em may have found and Alice and her "soul mate", if there is such a thing. But personally I don't care if I ever have another relationship again."

Bella got up off the couch and walked into the kitchen, grabbed two beers from the fridge. She popped the caps, and carried them back to the living room settling back on the couch and handed one of them to me. We saluted. I lifted the bottle to my lips and took a generous drink.

Both of us sat in silence for a few minutes each of lost in thought. Bella's statement had disturbed me; I couldn't fathom how she could give up like that. I mean, she wasn't even 30 yet. I was happy she was finally taking the necessary steps to find happiness but I also didn't want her to be alone.

"Bella you can't think like that. No one said you had to go out and start dating right away. Besides the ink's not even dry on the paper. Hell, you just made the call. Give it some time. All I'm saying is that one day you will find that guy. The one that makes your toes curl and your stomach do flip flops? You deserve it Bella. You deserve it more then any of us."

"Thanks Rose, I appreciate the words, I really do," She stated as she took another sip of her beer, "But why would I ever want to put myself in that position to be in that sort of situation again? I'll be happy to be able to control my own destiny. To wake up every morning and not have to answer to anyone, make my own choices. Asking no one's permission for anything, I control my own fate. I don't plan to ever open myself up to that kind of pain again. Not when it took me so long to gain the freedom I finally found."

I gave Bella a big sigh before I finally gave in for the evening. If there was one thing I knew about Bella it was that she could be stubborn as the day was long. Her miserable 10 year marriage was a sure-fire indicator of that. And it was in my best interest to put this topic to bed for the time being and get it back out later, when she was less emotional. Eventually she would change her mind.

"Okay Bella, you win, only for now though. BUT just for the record, this conversation will be repeated for the tiny pixie and revisited at a later date."

"Yes mother Rose," Bella snickered at me. I rarely got all mother hen on her but when I did she gave me hell. I knew she would be teasing me for weeks about this one.

"So, I was thinking that tonight calls for a celebration. What do you say we go get dressed and join Alice at the bar? It's a night of firsts right?"

Bella looked thoughtful for a moment before a wide smile spread on her face. "Rose, that sounds like a great idea!"

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