Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

Thank you to Kymclark and KylaPricky. I am thisclose to contacting their mother to ask if she'll adopt me. I heart you two, me love you long time.

WARNING: This chapter deals with drugs and alcohol addiction. If you or someone you know struggles with this illness please get help. No one deserves to be held prisoner by these vices.

BPOV

I pushed past Edward and ran down the hall to Emmett and Renee. Emmett looked as though he was looking at a ghost; which, in a sense, I guess he was. A ghost of what our mother used to be. He looked at me with sheer panic in his eyes. Of course, he had no idea what was going on. Renee noticed me then.

"B-b-bella, I t-tried. I d-d-did, I-I pr-promise I did!" Her voice was hoarse and weak.

Renee's face was black and blue, her bottom lip was busted and her right eye nearly swollen shut. Her clothes were ripped and sullied; she only had one shoe on.

"I know, Mom," I chocked back a sob. "Let's get you inside, ok?"

I tried to pick Renee up, but she too heavy for me. I looked over to Emmet for help, but he's apparently too horrified to process what is going on. Edward placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'll get her, baby. Can you unlock your door for me?" He leans down and lifts Renee's broken body, tenderly supporting her with an arm under her shoulders and knees.

I unlock the door and we all shuffle in to my apartment. Rosalie ushers a still stunned Emmett to sit on the couch. Edward looks at me for direction.

"Um, my bedroom? Please?" He nods his head and walks down the hall.

I stop by the living room on my way to the bedroom and stand in front of Rose and Emmett.

"What the fuck is going on, Bella? Why do I get the feeling that you know all about what this is about?" He asks quietly but forcefully.

"Just let me get her settled, find out what happened, and then we'll talk. Ok?"

Emmett nodded curtly.

I continued on back to my bedroom to find that Edward has placed Renee on my bed and is looking her over.

"She needs stitches on her right eyebrow, her left wrist is sprained, and I think she has a few bruised, if not broken, ribs." He looks to me with uncertainty and shuffles his feet.

"Will you stay with me?" I whisper, suddenly finding my shoes very interesting.

Edward tips my chin up with the tips of his fingers.

"Always," he whispered before gently kissing my lips.

I hugged him tightly, kissing his chest before letting go and walking over to my mother to kneel next to the bed.

"Mom?"

"B-bella?"

"Momma, can you tell me what happened?"

"J-j-james found th-the money you l-l-left for me."

"He did this to you?" That mother fucker!

"I t-told him that I w-wasn't going t-t-to use any-anymore. He got-t angry and t-tore through the h-house. Wh-when he found the m-money he sssaid that it sh-should be h-h-his because that's wh-what I usually spent-t-t on…. stuff." Renee looked at Edward nervously.

"It's ok. Mom, this is Edward. Remember? I told you about him last week?" She nodded her head. "Do you maybe want to take a shower? Then you can get some sleep?" She nodded again.

Edward had his hands shoved in his pockets but took them out and rubbed his hands up and down my arms when I walked over to him.

"Are you alright, baby?" He asked sweetly.

"Yeah. Uhm… could you go get Rose for me, to help with my mom?"

"Of course." He turned to walk away but I stopped him before he could get to the door.

"Um, if you need to go home, I understand." Please don't leave me.

"Do you want me here?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll be here, Bella. I'll wait with Emmet while you and Rose get your mother situated."

I reached up to kiss him quickly, but ardently.

Rose came back to my bedroom and together we got my mother undressed and into the shower. We cleaned her cuts, putting butterfly bandages above her eye until we could get her to the hospital, and got her dressed in a pair of my flannel pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt. I tucked her in to my bed and said goodnight. Rose and I walked in to the living room where the boys were sitting on opposite sides of the room looking very tense. Emmett's glare shot from Edward to me instantly upon my entering the room.

"Bella. What. The. Fuck?" He'd obviously had some time to process this shit.

"What do you want me to say, Em? That's mom. She needed my help and I tried."

"Doesn't look like it to me! What's wrong with her? Who beat her? Why the fuck didn't you tell me? Tell me EVERYTHING." He was trying to keep his voice down, but the anger behind his words was not masked.

I took a deep breath and sat on the couch next to Edward, who grabbed my hand in both of his and began to rub soothing circles on my palm.

"Ok, well. Here it comes…" I looked up to the ceiling as tears started to sting the back of my eyes.

"Back in senior year, I came home from one of Jessica Stanely's parties early instead of staying overnight like I usually did; because some shit was going down that I just didn't want to be involved in. I came home to find mom passed out on the floor. I got really scared because I didn't know if she was hurt or what and she respond to me, she wouldn't wake up."

I wiped the tears that had fallen away and closed my eyes tightly as the memories from that night took over.

"I called 911 and they told me that she had overdosed and needed her stomach pumped and whatever. I rode in the ambulance with her, god, Emmett she was so pale. The paramedics kept mumbling that her vitals we bad, her heart rate was too low and that her blood oxygen levels were low, too. We got to the hospital and they rushed her off. I sat in the waiting room for hours. I couldn't find anyone who could tell me anything about her condition. The nurse finally came out and brought me back to her room. Mom was hooked up to all kinds of machines, she was intebated, had tubes everywhere, and was ghostly pale."

"Where the fuck was I? You didn't think to fucking pick up the damn phone?" Emmett pointed an accusing finger at me.

"You were across the freaking state in college, Emmett! And forgive me, but my main focus was getting mom some help. Not 'Oh hold on a sec, mom, why you lay there unconscious, I'm gunna make a phone call real quick', How does that make sense, Em? I did what I had to do!"

"You had hours in the waiting room, B! Are you so fucking stupid that you couldn't use your fucking brain to pick up the damn phone during that time?"

"Now hold on a second Emmet, don't talk to Bella that way. I won't have it," Edward said, his tone low and deadly.

"No, you hold on a second, bro. You date my sister for a hot minute and you think you have a say? Fuck that. Why are you still even here? This doesn't concern you."

"I want him here," my words were barely out of my mouth before Edward cut in.

"If it concerns Bella, then it concerns me. She asked me to stay, so I'm here until she tells me to go. If you want answers to what is going on, you will control your tone and think before you speak," Edward's statement left no room for argument and Emmett must have sensed that.

"Whatever. Keep talking, Bella. Why the fuck didn't you call?" Emmet huffed and crossed his arms over his chest.

"I was 17 and scared. I just wanted my mother," I sobbed. "The doctor's came in and told me that she was going to be alright, but they wouldn't know if she had any brain damage until she woke up, but she at least was responsive and they were flushing out her system."

Rose brought me a tissue and I tried to daintily blow my nose, but what the fuck- I had a snotty nose and red puffy eyes.

"Thanks Rose," I mumbled and then continued with the story, "Mom woke up the next morning. I told her what happened and asked her what lead up to it. She wouldn't tell me anything at first, but after a while I guess she figured that she had no choice. She told me that she had started drinking after Daddy died, and she had kept it under wraps pretty well. A few months earlier she had met, James, the guy who had just moved in next door. I guess they started talking and drinking and he offered her some stuff. To this day I still don't know what he gave her, but apparently it became a regular thing for her. That particular night she had upped her regular dosage or whatever, and that together with the alcohol sent her over the edge. She begged me not to tell you, that she would get better and that she couldn't bear for both of her kids to be disappointed in her."

"Ok, so that was five fucking years ago Bella, and here she is- all cracked up! Care to fill in the blanks?" Emmett's tone was still sharp, but at least he wasn't yelling anymore.

"I've tried to be there for her as much as I can. I pay her bills, I buy her groceries, I've tried to get her in to rehab more than once. She tries, Emmett, she really does, but that James fucker still has his claws in her somehow and keeps feeding this shit to her. She's had times where she's gone months being clean and sober. The last 6 months have gotten really bad, she can't keep a job, she lives in filth, and she barely lets me help her anymore."

I had broken down in to "the ugly cry"; you know the one where you can't even try to be pretty. Your face is all screwed up and snot runs in to your mouth, shaking sobs rock through your body. Edward held me close and kept handing me tissues, kissing the top of my head and whispering sweet words. Emmett huffed and clenched his hands into fist.

"Well, you obviously are too fucking dense to do what needs to be done. She needs rehab, Bella. How could you have let her get this bad? You should have fucking told me!"

I flinched at his words. They cut me deep like a sharp razor ripping through my soul. I've tried so hard to help my mother. I've exhausted myself and my resources to try to get her better. How could he think that I would be alright with my mother in this state?

"Emmett," Edward warned.

Emmett rolled his eyes and sat back on the couch muttering how stupid and irresponsible I am.

"She was sober last week when I saw her. But, I knew she was breaking. I've got a spot for her at The Orchid Drug and Alcohol Rehabilitation Center for Women in Palm Springs. I was going to take her there on Friday. But I guess I'll take her a few days early," I murmured.

"I can't fucking believe this shit. Rose, let's go." Emmett stood abruptly and grabbed Rosalie's hand and pulled her up from the love seat. He stopped just before he got to the door and turned to me with unadulterated malice in his eyes.

"I am beyond words right now, Bella. No matter what, you should have told me. I am disgusted that you've kept this from me and let her get this fucked up. The way she is now, back there," he pointed to my bedroom, "it's your fault. Dad would have been so disappointed in you."

And with that he walked out the door.

Rose cast me an apologetic glance and followed behind Emmett. I broke down in violent sobs. Edward scooped me up onto his lap and rocked me back and forth. I was clinging to him as though I would fall apart if I let go. He rubbed my back and whispered comforting things that I could barely hear over my weeping.

Have I really failed this family? When I walked in to the house that night after the party I thought my mother was dead. Should I have put her in to rehab sooner? I thought she deserved a chance to do it on her own. When she woke up in the hospital she was so ashamed she wouldn't even look at me. She didn't want me and Emmett to think less of her; she didn't want to let us down. That's why I didn't tell him. How dare Emmett tell me this is my fault. He has no idea how difficult it has been to carry this all on my own. To carry my mother's burden as I carried my own through the rest of high school, college, and now my internship. He's been blissfully unaware while I've been crying myself to sleep with worry for our mother. It's me who has had to carry around the anxiety and fear that Renee would be found dead in a ditch somewhere. I'm the one she called at all hours of the night to come pick her up from some random drug house.

Me.

"He hates me," I whimpered in to Edward's chest.

"He doesn't hate you, baby. He's just upset. He just needs some time to sort through all of this." Edward kissed my temple and handed me tissue after tissue before just shoving the whole box into my hands.

"Thanks," I said with a nervous chuckle. "How are you still here? Haven't you run for the sand dunes, yet?"

"Sand dunes?" He chortled.

"Well yeah, Florida doesn't have hills." His laughter filled the living room and managed to make me smile.

"You amaze me. I never know what is going on in that beautiful mind of yours." He cupped my cheek and gazed into my eyes. "As for why I am still here, I care about you a lot. You had to have known this before now." His eyes are imploring.

"I care a lot about you, too, Edward. Thank you for staying and helping."

"Anything for you, my Bella."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

My mother sat on the couch dressed and ready to go. I gave her a pair of my yoga pants, a grey long sleeve shirt, and a pair of my flip flops since she didn't have any other clothes. The weekend bag on the floor next to her held a few more outfits of mine that might actually fit her. Edward sat on the coffee table in front of her and was stitching up the cut above her eyebrow. He had already braced her wrist. I tossed my cell phone back and forth between my hands, contemplating whether or not to call Emmett. I settle for a compromise and send him a text.

Leaving with Mom in 30 to take her to Orchid's. Do you want to come with us?

I paced the living room for a few minutes before going to the kitchen to get something for Renee to eat. I take my time making a turkey sandwich, going so far as to cut the crust off and slice it diagonally. I cut up an apple and put it on the plate, fill a glass with ice water, and place it on her lap.

"I-is Emmett v-very ups-set with me?" She asks sadly as I sit down next to Edward.

"I don't know mom. I think he's just trying to process all of this," I sigh.

"I-I'm sorry B-bella. I've messed u-up so much i-in your life and n-now your r-relations-ship with your b-brother, too." A tear escapes and she quickly wipes it away.

"No, Mom. This isn't your fault. I promise. Things will be all right. He'll come around."

Renee looks up at me with fearful eyes and speaks just above a whisper, "Do I have to go?"

I sigh. After all this, she's going to fight me now?

"I think it's for the best, Momma. They have better resources than I do to help you. We've battled this for five years. That's too long. You deserve to be healthy." I take hold of her hand and squeeze gently.

She nods her head and finishes her lunch. I grab Edward's hand and motion to the balcony. He nods and together we walk out into the summer heat. Closing the door behind me, I wrapped my arms around Edward's torso. He rubs my back and kisses the top of my head.

"Call me when you get home? Maybe we can go to dinner." He asks. Only family members are allowed to drop off patients at Orchid's.

"Ok. I don't know how long it's going to take though."

"I'll wait for you. Did you call Emmett?"

"I sent him a text like twenty minutes ago, but I haven't heard anything back. I didn't want to tell my mom so it wouldn't hurt her feelings." I rest my chin on his chest, looking up at him.

"That was probably the best course of action." He kisses my forehead.

"This isn't how I wanted you to meet my mother," I sigh.

"Bella, you worry about the most inconsequential things. Whether your mother is the CEO of Yahoo! or a five dollar hooker, I still want to be with you."

Edward leans down to kiss me softly, but I am in need of a little more than that. I twist my fingers in his thick locks and pull him close. Desperate for more, I tilt my head and run my tongue along his bottom lip, begging for entrance. He groans in response and parts his lips, his eager tongue meeting mine in the middle. I moan at the warm, wet, sweet, and minty taste of Edward. His hands clamp on to my hips and he grinds his hardness into me.

"Don't tease me, I have to leave soon," I whimper

"Well then hurry back to me," Edward's voice was low and husky.

I give him one more chaste kiss and lead him back in to the apartment. Renee is sitting on the couch watching TV, looking defeated.

"Mom, are you ready?" I ask hesitantly.

She looks up at me with tear and fear filled eyes.

"Momma it'll be ok. Great, even. You're going to be healthy and thriving."

"I kn-know Bella. It's j-j-just hard. I feel l-like I've failed y-you and E-emmett."

Renee's tiny, broken frame starts to tremble. Seeing her so heartbroken cements in me that this is the right thing to do.

"No Mom, you haven't failed us. I promise you. It takes a lot of strength to overcome an addiction, and you're going to do it!" I hug her close to me and tell her how much I love her and how proud of her I am that she's doing what she needs to do to get better.

We clean ourselves up and grab Renee's bag, I kiss Edward goodbye (he pats me on the ass), and we make our way down to the garage. As we approach, I see that someone is leaning against the side of my car.

Emmett stands up straight when he spots us. He shuffles his feet, shoves his hands into his pockets, and looks from us to the ground and back again. He looks between me and Mom indecisively before moving forward with purpose and picking Mom up in an intense embrace. Emmett whispers something in to her ear and she nods and wipes a tear away. Once he sets her down, Em helps put her bag in the trunk and then helps her in to the front passenger seat of the car. He closes the door and walks over to me.

"B, I know I said some shit to you yesterday that you didn't deserve. Can we go to get coffee or something after we settle this and talk?" He looks uncertain. I don't know that I've ever seen Emmett be so insecure.

"Yeah Em, that'd be nice."

He climbed into the back seat as I hopped into the front and start the car. The drive to Palm Springs is only about 30 minutes, but with the tension in the car it felt like an eternity.

"Emmett, p-please don't be u-upset with y-your sister," my mother pleaded.

"I'm not, Mom. Well, I was. But, I've thought about some things and though I'm hurt, I'm not angry anymore." Our eyes meet in the rearview mirror, his gaze was indeed filled with betrayal.

The Coordinator of Orchid's met us in the lobby when we arrived. We spent the next 3 hours going over treatment programs, amenities, rules, and touring the grounds. Emmett and I held one of Renee's hands each the whole time. After we got Renee settled in her room we went for a walk through the gardens. Lush vegetation surrounded a tall Grecian pergola, a large koi pond, a luxurious pool, and fluffy lounge chairs. The sounds of tinkling wind chimes drift softly through the air on the gentle breeze. Cobblestone pathways cut a trail through the grass and lead way to a group of chairs that circle around a fire pit. I pulled Emmett and Renee over to a small patch of wildflowers and picked three dandelions. I handed each of them one and kept one for myself.

We had done this with our father many times when we were kids. The three of us held the dandelions to our puckered lips and blew the small flowered seeds away from the bulb. We watched as the wind carried the seeds away with wistful smiles on our faces.

"We're in this together now, Mom," Emmett said, pulling us both in to a bear hug.

"Can't… breathe…" I gasped urgently.

Emmett just chuckled and let us go with one last squeeze. I kissed my mother on the cheek, as did Emmett, and we all walked back into the main building of the centre. We exchanged tearful goodbyes before Emmett and I left.

The atmosphere was pregnant with tension as I drove us to a nearby Starbucks. We placed our orders and took our drinks to one of the outside tables. We both avoided the other's gaze, shuffling around uncomfortably. I decided to just jump in with both feet.

"I'm sorry I kept this from you. It was wrong of me to do so."

"Thank you. I'm sorry for the things I said to you, Bella. I wish you had told me, I could have helped, too. I don't think you realize how much you and Mom keeping this from me has made me feel like I'm not enough. When Dad was killed, I knew that I needed to step up and be the man of the family. To protect you two, provide for you, and just be there for you. I feel as though I have failed you, Mom, and Dad by not being the person you came to when you needed help and support."

"I know, Emmett. I really am sorry. I should have come to you right away. I'm not sure why I didn't. I just know that Mom feels like a failure for not being the mother she used to be, the mother she wanted to be, for not providing the stability that she wanted for us. She feels like she isn't strong enough or worthy of us. She thinks she's let us down. I felt like I needed to help her get on her feet before you knew, so that she would be able to hold to at least a small ember of her pride. I thought that maybe if only one of her kids knew of her "short comings" then perhaps she wouldn't feel so bad." I bit my lip in thought before I continued, "You didn't fail us, Emmett. You have protected us; you have provided and been there for us. You're the cornerstone of this family. We lean on you more than you realize; which is why your words hurt me so badly last night. I've been the one who has had to carry around this… this weight. I'm the one who has had to cart around all this guilt and angst for years, since I was 17! I've had to keep it all locked up inside and act like nothing is wrong. You're my big brother, Em, and I look up to you; so when you told me it was my fault that Mom is like this…" I trailed off, shaking my head sadly.

Emmett met my stare with trepidation.

"I didn't think about how young you were, B. I'm sorry. That had to be- still is, a lot to handle. You shouldn't have had to do it alone. How did I miss this, Bells? How did I not see Mom crumble?"

"Well you spend every Christmas with Rosalie's parents in New York, and Mom and I decided that we would tell you she goes to Phoenix to visit Daddy's family for Thanksgiving, when really I spent the day cooking for you and Rose and then taking Mom leftovers later that night. We've only spent time with you when she's sober and able to function normally."

"I thought she was avoiding you and me because we look so much like Dad and it hurt her. Has it really been 5 years since we've spent a holiday as a family?"

I nodded my head in affirmation.

"This year will be different," Emmett asserts.

"In more ways than one," I smile. He stands up and hugs me.

"Let's go, baby sis! I'm hungry and I gotta get home for dinner."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"So, how long will your mom be in the Centre?" Edward asks sweetly.

We were waiting for our food to arrive. Edward was playing with my fingers on top of the tables, lacing and unlacing them with his.

"I'm not sure. It's a 12-step program, and she'll complete the steps in her own time. We can only call and write until step 6, and then we will be able to go see her."

Our plates are placed before us.

"Is there anything else I can get you?" the server asks Edward with what I'm sure she thinks is a sexy smirk and hooded eyes, when in reality she looks like half her mouth has been shot up with Novocain and has a twitchy eye.

Edward is oblivious to her blaringly obvious advances. Good boy.

"Baby, do you want anything else?"

"I do, but you've already promised to give it to me when we get home," I smolder.

Edward visibly gulps.

"We'll take two to-go boxes and the check please."

A/N

*Sings* Iiiiiiiiif you're a cock block and you know it clap your hands *clap clap* =)

Hi kids. Come play with me on twitter. I post teasers and pics and stuff. I talk a lot, and I'd like someone to talk to.

Leave me some love. I tried to be more descriptive this chapter, did I do well? I've been asked to make my lemons more explicit, too. I'm gunna work on that. I promise. It's just that every time I have to reference the genital area on either B/E, I have to fight the urge to use 'anatomically correct' wording and I feel weird writing other words, and it isn't very sexy for B to say "Oh your penis feels so good, put it in my vagina", ya see? I'm working on it, I promise!