Chapter Thirty – (Reunions)

BPOV

"What time is Alice coming over?" Tanya asks as she makes us a cup of tea.

"She said lunchtime, so around twelve, I think?"

"Cool. What are you girls gonna get up to?"

"You mean what are we gonna get up to," I reply, quirking my brow at her and looking at her pointedly. She rolls her eyes at me before sitting next to me on the couch, handing me my cup.

"I thought you'd want to spend some time alone with her," she says nonchalantly, shrugging her shoulders.

"We have plenty of time to hang out by ourselves. It's our first day back, as if I would exclude you."

"Right, well, we have an hour to spare. Do you want to finish unpacking some stuff before she gets here?"

"Sure, why not."

When Tanya and I finish our cups of tea, we head back out to my truck and bring in the loads of boxes that are filled with all of our belongings. We leave them in the middle of the living room, unpacking them one at a time. We start with the box that says 'kitchen' on it, packing away the cutlery, pots, pans, cups, glasses, tupperware and china. Along with the sandwich maker, slow cooker, popcorn machine and milkshake machine. The next box is the living room, which is filled with paintings, books and ornaments that Tanya and I didn't want to part with from the apartment back in Cali. I take the liberty to put all the books on the bookshelf while Tanya hangs up the paintings. We then place the rest of the stuff around the living room, on top of counters, coffee tables, shelves, window sills.

There's a knock at the door just as I'm placing a pot with fake pink and white peonies in it, on the fireplace railing. Excitement and nerves overtake me, butterflies fluttering throughout my stomach as Tanya runs to open the door. All I can see is Alice's right arm. I want to go meet her there, but my feet just can't seem to be able to move. I stand there anxiously, waiting for one of them to say something.

"Hey, you must be Alice. I'm Tanya," she greets her, extending her hand to Alice. Alice takes Tanya's hand in hers, no doubt smiling at her kindly.

"Hi. Um, is Bella here?" she asks hesitantly.

"Yeah, she's inside. Come on in," Tanya replies kindly.

Alice steps inside, glancing around. As soon as she looks up and meets my gaze, a grin spread on her face.

"Bella!" she exclaims, sprinting towards me.

My feet suddenly remember how to move and I close the rest of the distance between us. I bend down as Alice pounds into me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I wrap my arms around her waist and hold onto her tightly.

"Hey," I whisper.

"I can't believe you're here! I've missed you so much," she says, her voice cracking with emotion.

"I missed you too."

"Why did you leave?" she asks sadly, stepping out of our embrace.

"Do you want a cup of tea?" I ask her, changing the subject.

"Bella." Tanya says sternly.

"You are going to tell me, right?" Alice asks uncertainly.

"Of course I will. I just – can't I explain while we drink tea?" I ask, laughing lightly.

"I'll make it," Tanya offers. "You two get talking," she adds, smiling at both of us before walking into the kitchen.

I sit down on the couch and Alice sits down next to me.

"Are you okay?" she asks concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Just don't know where to start."

"Start from the beginning," she replies softly, taking my hand in hers and smiling at me reassuringly.

I take a deep breath, letting it out slowly before explaining my life story. Alice sits there, smiling at me sadly, squeezing my hand for comfort and asking questions to help her understand more. We sip our tea slowly as I continue to tell her the rest of what happened. When I'm done, she has tears in her eyes, she wipes them away before engulfing me in a tight hug.

"So that's why you left? Because you were scared Edward was going to leave you?" she asks, her voice sad.

"I know it's stupid, but yeah," I reply quietly. "I know I shouldn't have left, I know that was the wrong thing to do. But I guess people do crazy things when insecurity and fear overtakes them," I add, letting out a sigh.

"Well, other than that, how have you been? How was life in California?" she asks, enthusiastically.

"It was hard at first, but I got used to it. Tanya was amazing to me, she's actually the one who convinced me to come back to Forks," I tell her, looking over at Tanya and smiling at her.

"Oh shucks," she jokes, waving her hand in front of her as though to dismiss the compliment.

"Well, thank god you met her," Alice jokes. "What did you do while you were down there? Did you enroll in a school or something?" she adds.

"I worked at Garrett's diner with Tanya."

"Garrett?" she asks suspiciously.

"Yeah. He's a great friend; he's like a brother to me. I made some really great friends up there, Alice. They're going to come up and visit one day. You'll absolutely love Kate! She reminded me so much of you."

"And Alec and Felix are also pretty amazing," Tanya adds.

"Yeah, they are," I reply through a chuckle.

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun," Alice says softly.

"It's good to be home though," I reassure her, "I've missed everyone so much. How are they all doing, anyway? Jazz, Rose and Em all graduate soon, don't they?" I ask.

"Yeah, they do. They'll be so happy you're back to see them graduate!" she replies excitedly.

"When does school go back?" I ask. "I need to re-enroll, even though I'm going to be extremely behind," I mumble.

"Oh, it doesn't start back until Wednesday. You still have time."

"I need to go job hunting," Tanya says through a groan.

"The people at the Forks diner are looking for people. I could put a good word in for you, if you want?" Alice asks Tanya.

"Really? Thanks, Alice," Tanya replies gratefully.

"Don't worry about it, I'm happy to help. After all, any friend of Bella's is a friend of mine," she says confidently.

"Um, Alice?" I address her hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Do you reckon we could go to your house so I can see Edward?"

"Oh. Bella, I don't know…" she replies uncertainly.

"Please? I want to see the others as well," I plead with her.

"Well, you heard what Edward said on the phone last night. He's very, well, his emotions are all over the place at the moment. He doesn't know what to feel. He loves you, I know he does, but I'm scared about how he'll react when he sees you. I promised you I wouldn't tell him you're back, and I've kept that promise, so he's also going to be very angry at me when he finds out I knew you were coming back all along. And you've never seen him lose it the way I have, I mean, when you left, he became very broken and he lashed out at everyone. He got into a lot of physical fights with some of the boys at school and got suspended for it. I'm not saying he'd hurt you or anything, he'd never do that, but he might be so taken aback by your presence that all the painful memories might come rushing back and he might lash out at you and say some terrible things that I know he'll regret," she rants, all in one breath. I sit there in shock, taking in everything she said until a laugh escapes me.

"It's nice to know you still have difficulty talking at a normal pace," I joke.

"Jesus Christ, girl. Are you even a human being?" Tanya asks, shocked.

"Ha-ha," Alice replies, rolling her eyes. "But seriously, Bella. If you really want to go, we can go. I'm just warning you of what his reaction might be. He may have gotten a lot calmer now and he's apart of the big brother program and everything, but that doesn't mean he's not hurting," she adds softly.

"I know. I just need to see him, to talk to him. I want to see the others too."

"Okay, let's go then," she replies standing up from the couch, looking over to where Tanya sits. "Are you coming too, Tanya?" she asks politely.

"Sure," Tanya replies cheerfully.

We all grab our things before heading out the door. We hop into Alice's yellow Porsche and make our way over to the Cullen's house.

"I can't do this."

"Bella, breathe," Tanya says, latching onto my hand as I go to walk away.

"You have nothing to worry about," Alice reassures me.

"Um, I'm pretty sure I do. What if he doesn't even want to see me?" I ask sadly. My eyes go wide as I realize Edward isn't the only one I'm reuniting with today. "Oh my god, is Rosalie home? She's going to want to stomp my head into the ground," I add, fear clear in my voice.

"If she even tries to touch you, I will make my fist connect with her face," Tanya says seriously before glancing over at Alice. "No offence," she adds, causing Alice to smile understandingly at us.

"No, it's okay. I know what Rose is like, so, I'll try and stay in front of you so I can defuse her rage."

"Why am I doing this again?" I ask quietly.

"Because you love him," Alice replies, her voice just as quiet. She smiles at me sympathetically before lightly shrugging her shoulders.

I close my eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Here goes nothing," I mumble, placing one foot in front of the other and making my way up their front stairs.

Alice runs ahead, walking through the door before us. She glances around, tip toeing towards the living room before quietly running back to where Tanya and I stand at the front door.

"Everyone is in the living room," she says softly. "Except Edward," she adds, her eyes meeting mine.

"Oh. Okay," I reply, my voice quiet and broken with nerves.

"Are you ready?" Tanya asks softly next to my ear. I swallow the lump that's formed in my throat before squeezing her hand and nodding my head. Alice smiles encouragingly before heading back into the living room.

"Hey guys!" she greets them cheerfully. "Look who I found," she adds, turning around to face us as we walk into the room. Three eyes go wide, three jaws drop and there are three sharp intakes of breath.

"BELLA BUTTON!" Emmett exclaims as he jumps off the couch. I can't stop the grin that forms on my face as he charges his way towards me excitedly, his arms extended in front of him. When he reaches me, I wrap my arms around his neck as he winds his arms around my waist, spinning me around as he holds onto me tightly.

"Em. Can't. Breathe," I say through a breathless laugh.

"Oops, sorry. I forgot how tiny you are," he says sheepishly, setting me back down on the ground.

"Where have you been?" Jasper asks, pulling me into a hug as soon as I'm out of Emmett's arms. I wrap my arms around his waist and hug him back tightly. "We've missed you," he adds quietly.

Rosalie scoffs from behind him. "Speak for yourself," she says icily. I glance over at her as I break out of mine and Jasper's embrace. As soon as my eyes meet hers, her expression automatically turns into a scowl.

"Babe," Emmett says sternly.

"Don't babe me! How do you expect me to act?" she asks incredulously.

"Maybe in a more civil matter, perhaps," Jasper says seriously.

"Are you fucking shitting me right now? After what she did? You've got to be kidding me!" she replies exasperatedly.

"Rosalie…" I address her hesitantly, her eyes narrowing even more as I try to speak to her directly. "I know what I did was wrong, and I'm so sorry for putting all of you through that. I have reason as to why I did what I did and if you'll let me explain –"

"And why should I let you do that?" she asks cutting me off.

"I feel so horrible about everything –"

"I don't give a shit how you feel! I confided in you at one stage and you could have confided in me –"

"I'm trying to confide in you now!" I cut her off, annoyance seeping into my voice.

"Are you serious?" she asks incredulously. "It's too late for that shit! You're the one who decided to run off with no explanation at all, leaving my brother heartbroken," she adds, her voice filled with venom.

"Rose, everyone deserves a second chance," Jasper adds seriously.

"Not her. She's nothing but a heartless little bitch!" she says angrily.

"Shut your fucking mouth. Don't you dare talk to her like that!" Tanya yells at Rosalie.

"And what are you going to do about it?" Rosalie taunts.

"Oh, I may look harmless, but trust me, sweetheart. I'm far from it," Tanya threatens.

"Come on, guys. Stop it!" Alice pleads.

"You! Don't you even dare talk to me again. I can't believe you knew she was coming back and didn't tell any of us!" Rosalie yells at Alice.

"Oh, for fuck sake, Rosalie! Do you have to be so fucking conceited?" I yell at her.

"Oh snap," Jasper says through a chuckle.

"What the fuck did you just call me?" Rosalie yells before lunging at me. I automatically take a step back in shock as Jasper winds his arms around her waist and pulls her backwards, Emmett joining him straight away.

"Fucking hell, what is with all the yelling?" Someone yells from the front door. Rosalie immediately stops struggling against Emmett and my whole body tenses as everyone in the room goes quiet. That voice could only belong to one person. Edward.

I turn around just as he walks into the living room. He stops in his tracks, his eyes going wide as soon as he sees me. "Bella," he says breathlessly, the tone of his voice filled with shock. I finally meet his gaze and it takes all the strength that I have inside me not to run into his arms at the pain I see in his eyes.

"Hey," I reply, my voice quiet.

"What are you doing here?" he asks softly, his voice breaking a little.

"I needed to come back. I missed everyone, and I wanted to, well, needed to explain why I did what I did to all of you," I reply, my voice hoarse. "And I missed you so much, I couldn't stay away anymore," I add quietly, my eyes not leaving his.

"Why don't we all sit down?" Alice asks, he voice quiet. As soon as she speaks, Edward's eyes snap to hers, hurt and anger clear as day in them.

"Did you know she was coming back?" he asks straightforwardly.

"I, uh –" Alice sputters.

"Of course you did. Stupid fucking question," he mumbles angrily.

"Edward, please don't be mad at her. I made her promise not to tell anyone," I tell him pleadingly. He looks back to me and I automatically take a step towards him, my heart constricting in my chest as he takes a step backwards away from me.

"Don't –" he begins.

"Edward, please, can we talk?" I ask hesitantly.

"Why don't you just leave? You're only making things worse," Rosalie chimes in, her tone icy.

"Shut it, Rosalie," Edward says angrily before glancing back towards me. He lets out a heavy sigh before turning his back on me. "I can't," he says quietly before walking away. I stand there in shock for a few seconds before I feel someone pushing me forward.

"Go after him, Bella," Jasper says quietly.

And that's all the encouragement I need to run after him.

"Edward, wait!" I call out as he heads out the back door. "Edward, please!" I call again after I make my way through the back door. He stops walking, standing with his back to me.

"Edward?" I address him hesitantly.

He slowly turns around but avoids my gaze.

"I'm so sorry," I tell him, my voice finally breaking with emotion.

"So I've heard," he replies nonchalantly.

"I knew it," I say through a heavy sigh.

"Knew what?" he asks confused.

"I knew you wouldn't want anything to do with me. I knew you'd hate me," I mumble.

"I don't."

"It certainly feels like it."

"I don't hate you," he replies seriously before sitting down on the bench seat and placing his head in his hands.

"I heard what you said to Alice last night," I tell him honestly.

"You were on the phone with her?"

"Yeah."

"I can't fucking believe her," he says angrily.

"Please don't be mad at her, Edward. I don't want you to fight with her because of me."

"Well, you're a bit late for that."

"I never meant to hurt you."

"Well, you did."

"I know," I reply softly. "But I didn't leave because I didn't love you, Edward. I was scared because I love you."

"Don't."

"I never stopped loving you," I continue determinedly.

"Bella…"

"Edward, please, let me explain," I plead.

"Bella, stop!" he shouts. He shakes his head before meeting my gaze. "I'm sorry, I just can't deal with seeing you right now," he adds quietly.

"Okay," I reply, my voice quiet. "I'm sorry," I add, the tears finally falling down my cheeks as I turn my back on him and walk away.

"I know," I think I hear him whisper just before I close the back door.

When I head back into the living room, the tears don't stop streaming down my face. Tanya and Alice jump up off the couch as soon as they see me.

"Are you okay?" Tanya asks concerned, wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"What happened?" Alice asks softly.

"Who fucking cares," Rosalie mumbles, causing the tears to flow even more. Tanya whips her head around to face Rosalie.

"Seriously, you need to shut your fucking trap," Tanya says icily. Rosalie narrows her eyes at Tanya before standing up out of the couch.

"Rose," Jasper says in a warning tone.

"What, you're just gonna let some random bitch talk to your sister like that?" she asks incredulously.

"When my sister deserves it, yes," Jasper replies seriously.

"What the fuck is wrong with all of you? How can you just accept her back with open arms?" she asks angrily.

"Because everyone deserves a chance to tell their side of the story, baby," Emmett says soothingly, trying to calm her down.

"I'm sure Bella has a perfectly good reason as to why she left," Jasper adds.

"Well, I don't give a shit what her reason is," Rosalie says icily. I don't know what comes over me but I feel as though I have steam coming out of my ears. I clench my fists at my side, causing Alice to look at me warily.

"And I don't give a shit that she's back –"

"God Rosalie, SHUT UP!" I yell, my temper finally reaching it's boiling point. Everyone looks at me in shock as I continue. "The whole world does not revolve around you! I don't give a fuck if you don't care that I'm back or if you think I don't deserve to be forgiven! I'm back because I wanted to explain everything to all of you in person! So until you stop being a stubborn bitch and let me explain what I've gone through and why I've done what I've done, you do not get the right to judge me!" I add angrily, turning my back on her and walking away.

"Whoa, who knew she had it in her," I hear Emmett say before I slam the front door.

I sit down on the top step, wrapping my arms around my legs and resting my head on top of my knees as the sobs begin to escape my chest. It's not long before I feel two people sit on each side of me. Tanya sits on my right, rubbing my back soothingly while Alice rests her head on my shoulder.

"Do you want to go?" Alice asks softly.

"Yeah, is that okay?" I ask, my voice hoarse from crying.

"It's fine. Em and Jazz said they understand. They're both pretty pissed at Rose, which has got her in an even more foul mood."

"Can you stay at our house tonight, Alice?" Tanya asks. "I think Bells could really use an old friend right now," she adds quietly.

"Of course. I'll go get my stuff," Alice replies before standing and heading back inside.

"It'll be okay, Bella," Tanya whispers.

"You don't know that."

"He said he still loves you," she reassures me.

"Sometimes that's not enough," I reply, my voice breaking as the tears begin to fall down my face again.

Tanya scoots closer to me and wraps her arm around my shoulders. I lean into her and rest my head on her chest as a new round of tears and sobs begin. She continues to rub my back soothingly and plants a kiss on the top of my head.

"You guys ready?" Alice asks timidly as she walks down the steps and faces us.

"Yeah," I reply, wiping my face as I stand up. Tanya winds her arm through mine and I lay my head on her shoulder as we walk down the rest of the steps and over to Alice's porch.

"I'm really sorry about Rose," Alice apologizes as we climb into her car.

"It's not your fault, Alice," I reassure her.

"And it's not yours either," she replies seriously.

"Alice, I know she's your sister and all, but fucking hell, she has some serious issues that she needs to sort out. I can't believe the way she was acting. I have never met anyone so frustrating in my life," Tanya says frustrated.

"I've never seen her that upset before," Alice replies honestly. "She doesn't show emotion much. She acts tough on the outside, but she's really fragile on the inside. I think she was just hurt because of how you left. She's got it in her head that you should have gone to her and spilled all your problems onto her, because she told you about her past," she adds thoughtfully.

"Life isn't all about tit for tat," Tanya says through a sigh.

"I know, but Rosalie is really hard to understand sometimes. She can be a really great person, even Bella can attest to that," Alice says defensively, glancing back at me and Tanya in the back seat. "Rose isn't always a bitch; she's very passionate about what she believes in and if you hurt one of her family members she'll make you pay for it, that's just how she is," she adds quietly.

"Yeah, she is," I add softly.

"Okay, I get it. But someone needs to buy her a damn stress ball or some shit," Tanya mumbles, causing both Alice and I to laugh lightly to ourselves. Alice continues to glance back at me through the rear-view mirror, occasionally smiling at me apologetically.

I must have fallen asleep on the short trip home because Tanya lightly nudges me awake just as Alice opens my car door. A yawn escapes my lips as I drag myself out of the car and towards the front door. Once we're inside, I trudge my way down the hallway towards my bedroom with Alice and Tanya following behind me.

"You can sleep in Bella's room," Tanya tells Alice politely, planting a kiss on my forehead. "Night guys," she adds before walking into her room.

I change into my pajamas, not even caring that Alice is in the room. She shrugs her shoulders before she begins to change as well. I crawl into bed, feeling completely exhausted. Alice climbs in next to me and rolls onto her side to face me. She smoothes the hair out of my face and tucks it behind my ear.

"He'll come around, Bella. He loves you," she whispers.

"I hope so," I mumble, my voice muffled by the sheets.

"I know he will. He just needs some time to get used to the fact that you're back."

"I told him I still love him."

"Just keep telling him that, keep trying to talk to him and spend time with him. Prove to him that you aren't going anywhere until he listens to you. I know what my brother is like, but I also know what you're like. I know how stubborn you can be, so use that stubbornness to your advantage. Don't give up on him," she replies encouragingly.

"I'll never give up on him," I whisper back before exhaustion finally overtakes me and I fall soundlessly to sleep.

So, Bella reunites with Alice, Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie and most of all, Edward.

There's clearly a bit of angst and tension and a lot of issues that need to be sorted out, but that'll work out eventually.

Sorry for the late update My Beta Jenndur and I have been super bust lately!

BUT I've finised chapter 31 and 32 and am now working on chapter 33. So from now on, the updates should be more frequent :)

Thanks to everyone who are still sticking with the story and dropping me some reviews. Also thanks to everyone who are adding this story to their alerts and favourites.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

- Nat :)