Author's Note: Hey, peeps! I'm back. I know I'm taking a lot more time to update, but I've been pretty distracted lately. The time has come for me to decide on next year's schedule, and my head is about to explode with so many options laid out before me. So please be understanding. Also, I'm starting state testing next week, so I'll probably be even busier…and even more distracted. Try to be understanding, okay? I'll still try to update as often as I can. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 18

Bella's Point of View

The weekends were horrifying. The silence around the house was aggravating and still scary, even in broad daylight. I would sit stiffly in the living room or my bedroom all day, frozen in fear. It didn't help matters that my parents didn't come or call either.

On Saturday, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone ringing. I had been tossing and turning all night long, thinking about our fight, and I'd finally fallen asleep at five in the morning.

But, of course, certain pixies had no thoughts whatsoever for my well-being, and called me at exactly nine in the morning. Four hours of sleep did not help my mood.

"What?" I barked into the phone, my voice hoarse and horribly scratchy from crying all night long. I could feel my eyes swollen and bloodshot as well.

"Well, someone's in a mood," Alice said, sounding offended. "Are you still in bed? At nine in the morning?"

"You're the one who's strange, waking up somebody who hasn't slept all night long at nine in the morning," I grumbled, my eyes closed.

She paused. Then, in a strange voice, she said, "You didn't sleep?"

"No," I sighed wearily. "It was a very long night."

"Why didn't you sleep?"

"Because I couldn't," I snapped back. "Get to the point, Alice. Why did you call me?"

Alice seemed to be hesitating. Whatever reason she had for calling me, I knew it was about Edward. I wondered what had happened when he'd gone home last night. No doubt he'd been just as upset as I'd been. We had never had such a huge fight in all the years we'd been friends.

"Tell me, Alice," I said with emphasis. I was more alert now at her hesitation. Something must have happened to him. I was curious and worried now.

"Well…" Alice lowered her voice. "I'm not supposed to be calling you. Edward came home last night, looking super angry and distracted. He didn't even look at us if we called his name. He told us to butt out and not to talk about it with you. If he knew I was calling you to tell you this, sister or not, he'd probably beat me up."

My eyes opened slightly. "Is he okay?"

"I don't think so," Alice said. "He's locked himself in his room and won't come out for breakfast. I think he's awake, but who knows? Maybe he was awake the whole night, like you were. And…Carlisle had a bit of a hard time last night, trying to get him to open up his door so he could treat his hand."

"His hand?" I asked, my voice slightly higher. "What happened to his hand?" I thought back to last night. He'd done nothing violent during our fight that would require him to treat his hand. Then perhaps on the way home…?

"So he came in and made a loud ruckus," Alice said, sounding bored. "I don't know what the hell you guys were fighting about because he wouldn't tell us, and I'm pretty sure you won't tell me either, but he was pretty mad. And frustrated."

"Quit stalling and tell me."

"We let him go upstairs, and Em and I were telling Carlisle and Esme what happened at the dance when we heard a really loud…sound. It was like glass breaking and clattering onto the floor, you know?"

I sat up so quickly that my head spun. "What'd he do?" I asked, urgency in my voice.

"Emmett jumped up with this serious expression on his face and he led the way upstairs to his room. We found the door locked, and then…" She stopped abruptly.

"What?" I asked desperately. "What?"

Her voice sounded strangled. "We heard him crying."

My heart stopped. Edward didn't cry. He never cried. It wasn't him. No way.

"We still didn't know what the sound had been, but it sounded like his cries were like…echoing. So then we figured he was in the bathroom. And then, Carlisle assumed that he had broken the mirror on the bathroom wall. He became really desperate to get inside because he was afraid Edward might be hurt or something."

My lips parted, and I felt the tears coming again.

"We tried to get him to open up for, like, ten minutes. When he didn't, Carlisle sent Esme down to the kitchen drawer for the key. So we opened the door and went into the bathroom and…" She sounded nauseated. "Oh, God. I don't even want to think about that again. It was so…horrible."

"What happened?" I whispered.

"Pieces of the mirror were scattered everywhere on the tile floor. And Edward was standing in the middle of it, looking at the cracked mirror with this crazy look in his eyes and crying and…and his hand…" She gulped. "His left hand was totally covered in blood, and it was dripping down onto the white floor…"

I couldn't believe it. Edward… The sanest person I knew had finally gone crazy. Because of me. I had made him like this.

"Then what happened?" I asked softly after a while.

Alice sighed. "Carlisle marched right up to him and dragged him to the emergency med room in the house. They didn't come out for a long time. I don't think they were talking, but rather, he had a lot of glass in his hand. When he finally did come out, his hand was bandaged heavily, and he looked dead. He went back into his bedroom, slammed the door and locked it, and he hasn't come out since then."

I bit my lip. "God," I muttered to myself. "Edward…"

"What did you fight about?" Alice asked desperately. She was dying to know. "I've never seen him like this before. What made him so mad? What'd you tell him?"

I considered not telling her. But then again, why not? They would figure it out eventually anyway. Besides, telling her personally was better than taking the long way around and waiting for them to guess, then verify with me again.

"We…had a fight," I said reluctantly.

She coughed. "I kind of guessed that. Amazing, isn't it?"

I smiled slightly, humorlessly, then sighed heavily. "He came over…and it was raining, so even though I didn't want to see him, I let him in." I lay back down in my bed and closed my eyes. I spoke like I was in a trance as I relived the memories of last night…

"Yeah?" she prompted.

"He was telling me that everything was a misunderstanding, and that it was Tanya who kissed him…" My voice became a monotone. "I told him that I already knew and that he didn't have to make any excuses. And then he confessed to me about his feelings."

She gasped. "No way! Seriously? He did? Then why is he so mad?" She paused. "You didn't tell him that you didn't like him back, did you?" she yelled suddenly.

"I told him…" I hesitated. I sighed despairingly. "I told him that he didn't have to say anything. I could pretend that nothing happened, and that everything could be back to normal."

"You what?" Alice shrieked. "Are you an idiot? No wonder he's pissed!"

"And then, he wanted to know if I really thought that he wanted me to pretend," I said, ignoring my friend. "I told him yes, and he began yelling that he would rather shout out to the whole world about his feelings. I told him…I told him that maybe it was a mistake. Befriending him. I told him that maybe we needed a break from each other."

Alice seemed to catch her breath. "Are you serious?" She sounded exasperated. "Oh my God… No wonder…" She sighed angrily. "That was stupid, Bella. He wanted to tell you that he loved you."

"I couldn't believe it. Seventeen years, Alice. Seventeen years of friendship, and all of a sudden, he wants to be more than we are right now? It didn't make sense!"

"But you love him too!"

Her sudden outburst made me hesitate. How could she know so easily when I had only found out myself a couple hours ago?

She seemed to take my silence as a confirmation. "See? You two are just making this so much more difficult for each other. Honestly. Where's your maturity?"

"Down the drain at the moment," I sighed. "But I don't regret it, Alice."

"What?" she barked sharply.

"I mean, we had to have a huge fight one of these days," I said. "We'd been getting along well for too long. It was inevitable. Of course, whether we'll be back to being friends again, I don't know… Not after such a huge fight."

"You don't even sound upset," she said reproachfully. "He was crying, Isabella. Crying. He doesn't do that, and you know it."

"You don't know half of it," I retorted. "Why do you think I was awake the entire night? I was crying too." I sighed. "I don't want to be apart from him. Without him, I feel empty. Uncomfortable. I don't know when, but he became a part of me. But right now…I don't know. Our pride is pretty important at the moment."

"Your pride?" Alice asked, sounding like she'd just swallowed a lemon. "Jeez. Well, it is true that you both have huge prides…"

I pursed my lips together, my eyes closing. "Can we hang up now? You know what happened last night, and I'm sure you're dying to tell the others. And I want to sleep."

"Okay, I guess," Alice said doubtfully. "Do you want us to come over later?"

"Do whatever you want."

"Okay…" She hesitated. "Feel better, Bella. I don't like that you said those things to my brother, but you're my sister too. I guess I can't really take sides, huh?"

I smiled wryly. "Do whatever you want," I repeated. "I don't really care anymore. My life's messed up in every way either way."

She sighed. "Bye, Bella," she grumbled dejectedly.

"Alice."

"Hm?"

I took a deep breath. "Is… Do you think he'll be alright?"

Her voice softened considerably. "He will be, but I don't know how he's feeling right now." She paused, then added thoughtfully, "I think I'll get the key and go bother him. You know, see how he's…coping."

"Don't annoy him too much."

"Don't worry, I know when to stop. Get some sleep, Bella. Rose and I'll try to come over later." She hung up, leaving me to relax in relief.

I rolled over and became still. Exhausted, I wandered off to dreamland.

AN: What'd you think? I think it's pretty sweet that even though they had a fight, she's still worrying about him. Reviews, please!