As usual, I own nothing. Just a love for our Pretty Boy and all this craziness!

~Flashback~

The light of a new morning slips between the silk panels, and I stretch my arms and legs out to adjust my body. The plush white comforter is too soft, and the sheets are too silky. They are not making my struggle to get out of bed any easier. Rolling my body onto my side, I gather the fluffy pillow between my arms and my head, successfully burrowing my head into the goose down. Taking a quick peek at the clock on the nightstand, I realize that I only have a few minutes to enjoy the comfort of my bed before I have to get up and take a shower. Glancing beside the clock, the frame that sits beside the glowing numbers makes me smile. I can't help but feel the joy in remembering that day, but sorrow quickly follows it. It's my favorite picture of Daddy, Edward and me. It was taken such a short time ago, yet it feels like another lifetime.

Not wanting to delve deep into the haunted ghosts that I live with every day, I finally find the initiative to throw my feet over the edge of the bed and stand. When I find myself walking down the hall and toward the kitchen, I allow myself a quick glance to his bedroom door. I know that he isn't in there, he is up and gone long before I am, and yet, I can't help but hope -hope that today would be different, hope that something might change, hope that my Edward would be the one to walk through that door today.

As I make my way into the kitchen, I see the single plate that sits on the kitchen island. Beside it sits the purple monogrammed lunch bag that Alice bought me for my birthday a couple years ago. While Edward has taken to fixing my breakfast and lunch every day for the past few months, it still doesn't change the fact that it's basically one of the few ways I can still feel his presence in the house, or the fact that when I ask him to actually eat something with me, he finds an excuse to leave.

He has been spending a lot of his time at the track lately, and while I understand his need to cope, I don't understand his need to do it alone.

After taking a few bites of my breakfast, I make my way to the bathroom and get ready for the day.

"Hey! I've been calling you all morning!" Alice blasts in the phone. The woman could call at 2:00 in the morning and yet she would sound like a toddler who just had their first drink of Mt. Dew.

"Hello, Alice. Sorry, I just got finished at school, so I couldn't call you back until now."

Wedging the phone between my head and my shoulder, I dig through my purse to find my keys.

"Well, I just wondered if you could take Emmett to therapy this afternoon? I know it's my turn, but Jazz had a thing come up at the track, and he can't get back home in time. Since my car is in the shop, I don't have a way to get him there. Plus, I really hate to bail out on Rose because she is just now getting back to working with any regularity. She needs to get her mind off things."

As Alice rattles on at a speed of 5000 words a minute, I struggle to find a place to interrupt. Finally, I decide to just be rude.

"Alice! It's okay. I don't have anything to do anyway."

A sigh of relief could be heard through the phone.

"Good, I'm going to cook tonight. Rose is going to come by after work, so you and Em can just come by here on your way back from therapy."

Adjusting my seatbelt and finding my car charger in the console, I hang up with Alice and start toward Emmett's house.

"I really hate those damn lunges. They fucking kill my knees!" Emmett grumbles a I help him into the car.

I couldn't help but chuckle at him. He has found some aspect of the therapy to complain about since the very first session, yet he wouldn't miss them for the world. I think they make him feel like he is actually getting somewhere.

And he is. He only had to use one crutch now to support his weight. It's amazing considering we didn't know if he would ever get out of that wheelchair. But here he is, working hard and finding his way back.

As I get in the car and start the drive to Alice's house, Emmett reclines his seat and starts to stretch.

"This shit makes me so sore."

I smile. "I'm sure it does."

"So..." Emmett begins, but he looks hesitant to continue. This is a tell-tell sign that he is about to say something about Edward.

"Is Edward coming to dinner tonight?"

I take a deep breath and think about how to answer. He never does. There is always something he needs to do or somewhere he has to go. Therefore, I didn't even tell him.

"I'm not sure." I try to sound upbeat, because I know that Emmett feels guilty about Edward's behavior. Something I don't quite understand because only Edward is responsible for Edward's behavior.

Letting out a huff, Emmett throws his head back against the headrest of the seat.

"I wish he would just get over his shit, you know? I mean, I get it," Emmett rubs his sore leg with his free hand, "trust me, I do. But this is getting old. He's pushing everyone away, especially you, and that's not fair."

I know, Emmett. I know.

"Let's just have a nice dinner, okay?" I offer Emmett a gentle smile and silence fills the car.

"You guys are finally here! I've been working so hard all day on the chicken. It's a new recipe." Alice barely lets Emmett and I get in the door before she begins.

"I'm sure it will be great." Emmett is grinning from ear to ear.

"I'm sure you will think so because all you do is eat. Everything." I chuckle as I help him sit on the couch.

"Where's my Rosie?" Emmett looks around, like she's going to pop up from under the end table.

"Oh, she called and said she had to make a quick stop, but then she would be on her way."

Emmett seems to be relaxed as he lounges in front of the TV, so I follow Alice into the kitchen and start to toss the salad that sits on the kitchen table.

"Do you need help with anything?"

Alice stands over the stove and stirs the contents of the pot. It smells delicious.

"No, I think I have the majority of everything finished. Jasper should be out of the shower any minute, and I expect Rose to be here soon."

Moving the components to dinner from the island to the kitchen, I hear Jasper come into the room.

"Smells great, babe. Need anything?"

She smiles up at him and kisses his chin. "Nope."

Smiling to myself, I turn away and keep setting the table.

"Hey Bella." Jasper places a quick kiss to my cheek and takes the plates from my hands.

"Let me get that. Go get Emmett's lazy butt, will ya?"

I smile at him genuinely. With Edward doing his sulking and Emmett so banged up, it's nice to have a male figure that still seems normal. Daddy has been away on business a lot lately, so Jasper seems to be the only life line I have right now.

"Sure."

Walking into the living room, I see that Emmett is looking out the window with a confused gaze. It's not like Emmett to look so serious. When he hears me enter the room, he quickly turns and plasters a fake smile on.

"What's...going on?" I drag out.

"Huh? Nothing. Why? What do you think is going on?" He rushes out.

As I hear footsteps on the front porch, I can only assume that it's Rosalie, and I can't imagine why he would be paranoid. Normally, Emmett is excited and anxious to get Rosalie back beside him. Since the accident, he has been even worse. Seeing him like this automatically sends up several red flags.

The doorbell rings, and I go over to get it. It's another odd occurrence to add to the list tonight. Rosalie always just comes in; we all do.

As I open the door, the biggest odd occurrence of the night hits me in the face.

Edward.

He's standing behind Rosalie, but that isn't the biggest shock. He looks...happy.

He is bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, with his hands in his pockets. Smiling brightly at me, I can't help but return the smile as it has been so long since I've seen it.

When my gaze returns to Rosalie, her eyes are huge in warning, and her smile is tight.

"Edward called and asked me to give him a ride to dinner. Isn't that great?" Her words may have a nice meaning, but it's obvious they are tight and forced. She is as freaked out by this as I am.

"Yeah." I smile at her and then level my gaze at him. It's not that I don't want to scream, 'what the hell is going on,' but in all honesty, I'm so happy to see him look, I don't know, lighter, maybe?

As we all make our way into the dining room, the shocked look on everyone's face seems to become a staple throughout dinner. Edward remains light, jovial and talkative. Very talkative.

"So, what is going on here?" I ask once we finally get in the car and start our journey home.

"What do you mean?" He knows what I mean.

"The plain and simple fact that your hand is on my thigh is what I mean."

Thinking that he would remove his hand upon my calling him out was obviously a mistake. At the mention of it, his tightens his grip and then slips his hand higher-toward the promise land.

"I missed you."

It's simple. It's sweet. It's exactly what I have wanted to hear for almost a year. But's it wrong. This isn't right. This Edward may be closer to the one I once knew, but he's still not him.

"I've missed you, too."

I decide to let it rest and wait until we get home to dig into what's going on here. For the next few minutes, I just want to enjoy the moment.

~Present~

Hanging the beautiful dress on the back of the bathroom door, I realize I feel more like myself now that I have changed into my yoga pants. As I walk back into the bedroom, I run hrough a mental checklist of everything I had brought with me. Considering the dogs trashed so much of my stuff, it is hard to remember what I have left to take back home. I push my hands into the pocket on the front of my sweatshirt, and I realize that I was kind of thankful that I got these old clothes back. I hadn't realized how much I missed them.

As I sit down on the bed to put on my socks and shoes, I hear the door downstairs slam against the wall as it is thrown open. I had hoped to get out of here before he found me, but I guess that wasn't going to happen. Standing, I begin to throw as much of my stuff into my suitcase as possible. A hasty retreat plan is forming in my mind.

I am shocked when the frame that fills the door is not the tall and lean one I expect. Instead, I am face to face with a very angry pixie.

"So you're just going to run off, huh?" She spits at me.

Alice is my sister and my best friend, and as such, she has been angry at me before. Though, I have never seen her look quite like this.

"Didn't you think that we deserved a goodbye? Or that maybe Edward Cullen deserves more than you just running off into the night?"

I jerk my head toward her so quickly that I am surprised it doesn't pop.

"Edward Cullen deserves better?" I am so shocked that my anger doesn't set in immediately. Instead, it begins to increase at a steady pace until my fury is nearly impossible to contain.

"After the mess he made of my life, you can actually stand there and say that to me?" I ask.

Before I realize it, I made my way toward her spot in the doorway. Never one to be outdone, Alice meets me halfway, and we are soon at each other's throats.

"Yeah. I fucking do, little sister. He does deserve better. He's done his time and paid his price. But look at you..." She sneers at me, one eyebrow cocked and a cruel smirk on her face.

"Still running away like a little girl."

My finger flys in her face, and my teeth grind together.

"You put me on that plane. You were there too."

Grabbing my finger and shoving my hand back, Alice stands on her tiptoes, trying to balance our heights.

"I put you on there so you could have a break. Not run away to the other side of the damn country and leave all of us to clean up your mess."

The thoughts were racing in my head, and I could barely contain myself.

"MY mess? Edward made the mess. Edward was the one..." I was quickly cut off.

"Edward was in a really shitty place, and yes, he should have done better. Yes, things should have been different, but they weren't. When he needed you the most, what did you do, huh? Huh?"

I had no response. Alice was voicing the very words that I had feared for years.

"You ran away. That is what you did. You left Rose and me here to do it all by ourselves."

Alice stomps around me and begins to jerk my clothes out, one at a time. With each piece that is removed from my suitcase, another piece is thrown across the space angrily.

"Rose cried herself to sleep every night, scared to death that she was going to lose Emmett. Did she quit?" Alice successfully empties the last of my suitcase and is currently snapping it shut.

Dropping it to the ground, she yells, "No!"

Alice kicks it across the room and levels her eyes on me again.

"Did Jasper or I get to give up when our Edward couldn't get out of bed? No!"

I didn't know what to say. I simply stand there, staring at my sister in a shape that I had never seen her in before. She stomps across the room toward me, standing nose to nose, so close that I can hear her heart thumping loudly in her chest.

"Did I get to walk away when Edward cried in my lap after I told him his baby was gone?"

My breath hitches in my throat, and my eyes go wide.

Never moving her eyes from mine, she whispered, "No."

Taking two steps back from me and glancing around the room, she seems to come to a resolve.

"You aren't leaving until you figure this shit out. I suggest you start at home."

With that, she walks out of the room, back down the stairs and out the front door.

We are getting down to the good stuff now! Next chapter will be VERY worth the wait.

As always, a huge thank you to my girl T, for her amazing beta skills. I have to give her extra props for this one because I made a mess with this chapter, but she saved me! I love you girl!

See you guys soon!