Baby You Can Stop Running
Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight

Chapter Twenty Two

Alice

I don't remember Edward and Elizabeth, not in the vivid ways that I know Edward does, though he has told me that his memories have faded slightly with time, a truth that I know pains him. But I do know how their death affected him, the way he has carried it with him since he learned the actual truth. If there was any way that I could comfort him, that I could make him feel better I would but any effort was always in vain. The only way he was ever going to move on would require him to actually admit to himself that he wasn't responsible for James, and that wasn't something he was willing to do.

I had hoped, along with mom and dad, that when he left to go to college that things would have changed. That, like with so many others who were venturing off on their own, he would have found a new perspective. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. After many calls from his roommate, I was told that I had to go and see him. Both mom and dad knew that we were connected on a level that rivaled most biological siblings. He however, wouldn't open up no matter how hard I pressed him, so I became friends with his roommate, Jasper. I hadn't expected to fall for him, but it was one of those things that happened slowly, without my knowledge. We spoke frequently on the phone, he kept me informed about Edward's state of mind, and when I would visit once a month, I usually spent the time with him as Edward usually holed himself up in the library.

Jasper became my confidant over those three years that Edward spent at Dartmouth. I was able to tell him everything and anything and he always listened with such attentiveness that it always surprised me. I suppose it was one of the reasons that I fell so hard for him when I finally realized my feelings. He was always there to listen when I cried, cried over the brother that I had lost, cried over the fact that I was afraid I would never get him back, cried over the fact that I was certain that if something didn't change that he would end up hurting himself in a way that would take his life if he didn't accept his past and move forward.

I had gone to New Hampshire in the middle of their second semester when I finally confessed my feelings to him and I was thankful that he felt the same way. Edward of course, spent the whole time ignoring me but it didn't seem to matter, I had Jasper and he would be my connection to my brother for the time being. I could live with that. I suppose it didn't hurt that we spent that whole weekend in each other's arms, a place that until then I had only imagined. We've been together ever since and I can't imagine my life without him, though I'm fairly certain that I'm not going to have to worry about that.

Jasper was frustrated with him and I completely understood. I imagine that it was difficult spending your freshman year of college with someone who barely uttered more than five words a day and spent their entire time buried in biology books. But I did know that as they entered into their sophomore year, Edward did begin to open up a little… Though that probably had more to do with the fact that Jasper was going to be a permanent fixture in our lives, and over the course of the next few years, they had grown to be great friends. Still, I knew that there were things that he was unable to talk about with me or him. Things that I knew he needed to talk about but refused to all the same.

What broke my heart the most was how I could remember the Edward from the past and how he seemed to be gone forever. Burned into my memories was the loving, open brother that had helped me learn to ride my first bike, that punched my first boyfriend in the nose when I caught him kissing another girl, that laughed with me… I didn't know this new person that inhabited his body and I hated it. I had thought that if he could only just open up that things could have been different, that he could have found a way to move on but he was so stubborn that all he could do was cling to the past.

So you could imagine my surprise at how different he seemed to act. How, over the past few days, he was more like the brother of my past than the ghost he had become since Bella had come into town.

Edward had never been good at hiding his feelings from me, though that probably had more to do with the fact that I had the tendency to see into the future, a gift that was unexplainable and still seemed to make the members of my family slightly unnerved. And though he was hush on the subject of Bella, I could see the little changes in him, changes that made me believe that the brother that I had grown up with, the brother that I loved, was coming back to life. Though he would be the first to deny it, his posture had changed. He was more relaxed in his surroundings, and he seemed as though for the first time in years, he was happy. And I knew, that there was only one thing in his world that had changed, Bella.

"I'm just not sure that we should hang all his hope on a girl who might not even stay here in Forks." Jasper stated as we walked down the main street hand in hand on our way to one of the local diners to grab lunch.

"Are you saying you have no faith in my vision?"

"Did you see me coming darling?" He replied, a smile tugging on his lips and I fought the urge to reach up and smooth out the curls of his blonde hair.

"That's different; my own insecurities masked that vision."

"So did you ever stop to think that your own optimism is making you see something you want to see instead of what you really should see?"

"What do you mean?" I questioned, moving closer into his side as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"It's just… She obviously has a past if seeing her ex-boyfriend cause that whole scene the other day… Why would she stay?"

"Because of love."

"I think you are putting too much pressure on this… I think you should just let it play out as it is suppose to."

"But they are perfect for each other!"

"That might be true but you can't force it Alice." He whispered into my hair as he leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of my head.

"I still think I'm right." I grinned.

"I never said you weren't. I just said that you should take a step back."

"Okay… If I promise to not be so pushy will you admit I'm right?"

He laughed and opened the door to the diner. "Okay. You're right. Happy?"

"Always!"

"Now…" He stated as we took a seat by the window. "Can we talk about other things?" He was smiling broadly as he reached forward and cupped my cheek with the palm of his hand.

"Like what?"

"Like the fact that I want you to move to Seattle with me in January."

"I'd love to move to Seattle with you Jasper!" I smiled, leaning across the table and kissing him.

Edward

I couldn't find the will to go back to the house that I shared with the rest of my family. Thanks to times like this, times when all I wanted was to be left alone with my thoughts, I cursed the day that I let Esme talk me into moving in with them. Her words rang through my memories, "Edward it would be pointless for you to pay to rent your own house when we have a perfectly large one here already." "We have barely seen you over the past five years and we miss you." "Please Edward. For me?" I loved Esme, she had, after all, raised me, but I never should have allowed her to guilt me into moving into their house. Sure, I was part of their family, and yes, I always considered her and Carlisle my parents and Alice my sister, but there were times that I wasn't sure they really understood what I was going through, how I really felt. Their constant praise and worship always made me a little uncomfortable. But now, the desire for my own place was stronger than ever. For the first time I felt I had a reason to have my own place.

I had always been a rather private person, though moving back in with my family had changed that slightly. I didn't have the option to spend my time as a recluse, if it wasn't Alice, Esme would be knocking on my door trying to get me to come down. But after everything that happened today, all I wanted was privacy. Was it too much to ask for? I knew that as soon as my hand hit the doorknob and I took my first steps into the large, Victorian home that I would be assaulted with questions that I wasn't ready to answer yet. But it was more than that. If I lived in town, I would have been able to take Bella to my home, and I wouldn't have to worry about how she was feeling, if she felt awkward sleeping in a bed in my parents' home… It was all so complicated now. I felt the sigh escape my lips as I turned my head to the left, gauging traffic before pulling onto the 101. No, I would not go home just yet, instead I would allow the wheels of my Volvo to take me down the 101 for a while as I attempted to sort through the many thoughts that continued to flood my mind.

She hadn't run from me. In fact, her reaction had been so completely not what I was anticipating that it threw me off almost. I had spent the past five years running from everything that I had ever done, running from the past that seemed to haunt me and here she was, standing before me telling me that it didn't matter. It's so difficult to explain how that feels unless you've been in that situation, but the closest I can come to describing it is an actual light at the end of the tunnel. Bella was without a doubt, going to be my savior and I reveled in that understanding. I never would have expected anymore as perfect as her. But what if I let her down? The chances of that were high and it would kill me if I ever hurt her. I was unpracticed in the ways of relationships, this was all so new to me and the chances of failing were high. Bella wasn't the kind of girl that you just have a casual relationship with and that wasn't what I wanted. I wanted everything with her, I wanted to make her mine, and I wanted others to know that she was mine. Forever. But what if I wasn't good at it?

Driving was pointless and after twenty minutes I gave in, Forks was too small of a town. Instead of continuing on the straight road, I made a quick right turn and began the drive down the long country road to the house that I called home. For now. I couldn't help but think that with Bella around, purchasing my own place seemed more appealing than it had before. And maybe I could talk her into moving back to Forks… Moving in with me. Starting a life with me. I found that I had narrowed my eyes as I began to contemplate that. Could I ask her to give up her life in California? I had no idea what she even did there and I could feel my heart race in my chest. What if she didn't want to come here? Could I find work in San Francisco? Surely the city was large enough, and surely there were plenty of hospitals, but would she want me? The thoughts were fruitless, I had only known her three days and here I was contemplating my future with her. If I thought my past would scare her off, my thoughts of the future were sure as hell enough to accomplish that.

Alice was out on the porch before I could even shut the engine off and I tried not to scowl as I watched her in all her anticipation, shifting her weight from her left foot to her right. So much for even thinking that I would even make it into the door before they would begin their inquisition of my day. Not that my day was over. I would just have to wait for Bella to call me. I would have sat in the car, waited for her to retreat back in the house but if I knew my sister, I knew that she wouldn't leave me alone until I divulged each and every word that was spoken this afternoon. Not that I was going to go that far. No, she would have to settle for the cliff notes version.

"Where's Bella?" She questioned as I stepped out, she run down to the car and was standing by my side before I could even shut it. Bella's absence had probably been burning in her mind since she saw the empty passenger seat as I drove down the long driveway. Then again, she could have seen it coming after all. Maybe she thought I had chosen a different path?

"At the hospital with Charlie and Emmett."

"But I was certain she was going to come here." She was running her fingers through her short black hair as she pondered her thoughts. Alice was very, very rarely wrong and I was enjoying watching her inner turmoil. Maybe if I didn't tell her that I was planning on bringing her over later it would give her the hint that I wanted her to back off a little. I was truly afraid that her excitement would scare Bella off.

I shrugged and she closed her eyes.

"Edward!" She yelled. Damn. "She's going to call at 8."

"I hate it when you do that."

"I can't help it." She grinned. "So…"

"So."

"What happened this afternoon?"

"You can see the future. You tell me."

"Just because I can see it… Doesn't mean I can hear everything!"

"Too bad." I retorted as I opened the front door, pushing past my short sister in the process. I hated being so abrasive but at the same time, there were things that I wanted to keep to myself for a while. Things that only I wanted to know and the fact that Alice could see the future, that she knew what was going to happen before me… It only served to frustrate me even more. Granted… Maybe if I was nice enough I might get her to divulge some of that future to me. Like for instance, did she see Bella moving here for good? I shook my head. No… What was the fun in that? I needed to pursue Bella… I needed to show her that I cared about her, that I wanted her in my life. For good.

"You do that." Alice spoke, interrupting my train of thoughts and I turned to look at her, a smile as wide as the Grand Canyon displayed on her small face.

"Do what?"

"You'll see soon enough."

"Alice I really hate it when you do that." I muttered. "Your cryptic messages really get on my nerves. Either tell me what you see or keep it to yourself."

"I know… It's why I do it." She giggled and skipped off into the kitchen while I fought the urge to flip her the bird. "Mom's going to walk down the stairs, wouldn't want her to catch you doing that!"

I groaned loudly before collapsing my body onto the plush white couch. Round one down… One more to go.

"Edward sweetheart when did you get home?" Esme asked and I looked up to see her peering at me from the back of the couch, a small smile pulling at her lips. Alice probably told her too. Where was Carlisle when you need him? I'm being ganged up by a bunch of women who know me well enough to know that I can't lie to them.

"A few minutes ago."

"Where were you? You didn't come home last night." She smiled knowingly. I bit back the sigh that was fighting to escape my lips but I knew that unlike Alice, I could not ignore Esme's questioning.

"I was with Bella." It only took those four words to make Esme's entire face light up and I couldn't help but feel the warmth that radiated from her.

"Is that so?" I nodded and, though I didn't want to tell her everything, I was thrilled to see her so happy. I knew that this was something she had wanted for me for a long time now. "When do we get to meet this girl?"

"Tonight!" Alice called from the kitchen where she was presumably attempting to make dinner. My mother merely lifted her eyebrows as she watched me and I shrugged my shoulders.

"I suppose I wouldn't bet against Alice but she is going to call me when she finishes dinner with her brother and his girlfriend."

"I knew that there was something behind that song… Or shall I say someone…" Her voice trailed off wistfully.

"Esme sweetheart, leave the boy alone." Carlisle's voice filled the large room and she turned to look at him, her smile still wide and I couldn't help but notice his own lightness of being. I envied their relationship, that after some twenty years of marriage they were still so in love. I knew that I would be happy to have one-tenth of their passion in my future. His gaze met my own, pulling me from my thought, and I watched as his face turned serious. "I spoke to Emmett about Charlie and I am meeting with Jessica in the morning."

"Tell me there will be repercussions for her actions. We can't have a nurse who fails to alert the family when something happens. I swear if I had the authority I would have fired her on the spot." I said through gritted teeth. I had my suspicions as to why Jessica had failed to notify the Swan family of Charlie's heart attack and they all involved her jealousy of Bella.

"There will be repercussions, I can assure you that but until I've spoken with her and other nurses who were at the hospital early this morning, I cannot accuse her of anything."

"It's not an acquisition if there is proof on the chart!"

"I know how vested you are in this case Edward. I promise that I will look at all angles." He raised his eyebrow as he spoke, as though telling me that I had to separate my feelings for Bella from the actuality of the case.

"I want to be there when you have this conversation."

"No."

"Carlisle please."

"Edward we both know that you will merely lose your temper and I cannot have that happening." He replied and I sighed. He was right. My anger with Jessica at the moment was reaching record peaks. Her actions had been inexcusable and I did have the tendency to let my temper get the better of me.

"So... How was your afternoon?" Carlisle spoke, filling the silent void that had grown in the room. It was only then that I noted that Esme had likely gone to join Alice in the kitchen.

"Not you too!" I replied, my voice tinged with slight exasperation. "It was… Better than I expected." I watched as he lifted his eyebrows again.

"Care to exaggerate?" I shrugged and he continued to talk instead, letting me contemplate just how much I wanted to tell him. "Well then… I should inform you that Emmett isn't very pleased with your perusal of his sister." My eyes widened with his comment causing me to straighten my posture and sit straight up, my eyes never leaving my father's face. "He likes you…. Don't take that the wrong way. He's just concerned."

"That makes sense. I have always known he was protective over her."

"There's a reason behind that." He started, pausing for only a moment. "It's not my place to interfere and I will not tell you anything that I am not able to divulge but Bella has a past that rivals your own, in a way that has affected the person that she is right now."

"I know." He cocked his head to the side as he stared at me with a contemplative expression.

"What?"

"She told me."

"I hadn't realized…"

"This afternoon." I spoke and he nodded his head. I knew what he was going to ask next, I could see it in his face so I didn't bother to give him the chance to ask. "She knows everything."

"Everything, everything?"

"Everything."

"How do you feel?"

I felt a small smile pull on my lips. "Like a weight has been lifted… I didn't think that anyone could possibly still look me in the eye if they knew the truth but she did… She still wants to be around me."

He smiled back. "Now do you believe that you deserve happiness son?"

"I wouldn't go so far as saying that… But if I have a chance at it I'm not going to ignore it either."

I felt his hand on my shoulder and he gave it a gentle squeeze. "Everything will work out," He spoke softly before releasing his grasp on my shoulder and walking into the other room leaving me alone with my thoughts.

I glanced at the clock, 6:30. If Alice was correct I would only have to wait an hour and a half more before I could see her again, before I could kiss her soft lips and hold her in my arms. Nothing felt as good as Bella in my arms, her soft body pressed against mine, her warm breath against my neck… I wanted nothing more than to be at her side once again. Maybe Carlisle was right. Maybe this was how things were suppose to be. I was supposed to be with her, we were supposed to save each other from the pasts that had spent so many years hunting us. I couldn't continue to deny that anything that felt this good could possibly be bad, and I resolved to forget the past and move forward with my future. A future that included Bella.

Bella

I paced around the house for a while as I looked at the phone number that was scribbled on a piece of paper. Edwards number. It shouldn't have been this difficult, had we not spent the entire afternoon deep in conversation about everything that had been haunting us? So what was calling him so difficult?

"Bella, stop pacing before you sprain your ankle!" Emmett chuckled as Rose snuggled into his shoulder.

"Sorry…" I replied, biting my lip as I looked down at my cell and then to the clock. 7:59. I pressed send and listened to the ringing.

"Bella!" I could almost hear his smile as he answered it.

"How did you know it was me?"

"I wasn't expecting anyone else." His velvet voice made me smile. "So am I to assume you want me to come over?"

"I was hoping to go somewhere else… I don't really want to watch Emmett and Rose all night." I replied walking into the other room so they wouldn't hear me.

"I'll be there soon." He spoke and I smiled widely.

"I'll be waiting."

A/N:

Wow. I'm really glad you all liked the last chapter… And I'm taking into account the comments about a possible sequel. As of right now I am planning on doing a New Moon type story though it might not be what you expect… I wouldn't want to break Bella any more than she already is so not to fret about that… And we all know how I feel about Jacob… So… Anyways I do have ideas for it, it does involve Elizabeth.

So… The next chapter is going to be rather fluffy… And then we are going to move into the drama.

I want to thank my readers and of course, my reviewers!

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Thank you all so much! Hopefully I'll have another update this weekend… I'm heading into finals week though and my thesis is due next Friday but after this semester is over I will be writing with much more frequency… My final semester of college is going to be very easy for me so I will be much better at updating as well!

I hope that you enjoyed the chapter… Some Bella/Edward fluff is coming in the next chapter! Yay! I love fluff.

Now… Off to see Four Christmases!

Looking forward to hearing what you have to say!