Author's Note: Hi, guys! It's been so long! Heh. Heh. Heh. But seriously, I'm really sorry. I began testing last week, and I still have another week of state testing left. I've got a Biology state test tomorrow, and then I have Geometry on Thursday and Friday. My two worst subjects: science and math. Shudder. But anyway, I'm done studying for Bio at the moment, because if I study more, my head will explode, so I thought I'd update. So…enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.

Chapter 19

Edward's Point of View

I stared up at the ceiling of my huge bedroom blankly. I was lying down on my bed, sprawled widely like a starfish.

I thought back to last night, when everything had gone wrong. When everything had spiraled downwards. My life sucked. It hadn't been twenty-four hours since our fight, and yet, I already missed her like hell.

I was tempted to go down to my car and drive to her house. Or even call her to hear her voice. But I didn't have the strength to do it. I didn't seem to be able to move. The bed was so comfortable, and I didn't want to change my current position…

My bandaged left hand twitched slightly. There had been a lot of small pieces of glass yesterday, and it had taken Carlisle a while to get them all out. While he'd been working, we hadn't said a word. He knew that I needed some time alone to think things through, and for that, I was grateful.

Since the glass had been in quite deeply, it should hurt. My hand. It should've hurt a lot, throbbed and bothered me until I exploded from frustration.

But it was funny. Weird. After my fight with Bella, nothing seemed to hurt me. These numerous cuts in my hand? It was nothing compared to the huge gaping hole I now had in my chest. How could anything hurt more, when half of myself was gone?

I couldn't even feel anything in my hand. I hadn't taken any painkillers or anything, but it didn't bother me at all. Maybe it was because my entire body was feeling numb.

I closed my eyes, remembering her beautiful face. Bella. My Bella. I wondered what she was doing right now. Was she still upset? Was she feeling confused from my sudden confession? Or was she still sleeping without a care in the world?

Instinctively, I made a loose fist with my good hand. I remembered the way I felt every time I held her hand. The electric current between us was something truly unforgettable. And I wanted to feel it right now.

A sudden rattling noise at my door interrupted my thoughts. My eyes stayed closed, but now, I listened carefully.

Five seconds later, my bedroom door opened widely, and Alice flounced in daintily, closing the door and locking it behind her. She slipped a key inside her pocket.

I was annoyed. Didn't she understand that I wanted to be alone? Didn't she see that I was in no mood to entertain her right now?

"Hey," Alice said, joining me. She sat carefully on the edge of the bed to my right. "You okay?" Her voice was soft.

My eyes were still closed and my face betrayed no emotion, despite my irritable thoughts.

"Edward?" she prompted.

"I locked that door for a reason, Alice," I said, my voice monotone. I sounded dead.

She seemed slightly surprised that I was talking to her. "Sorry." Then, her face clouded. "But I wanted to see how you were doing. Aren't you hungry? Come on, Edward. Let's go down and get you some breakfast."

"Did you talk to Bella?"

She hesitated, taken aback by my sudden question. "Yes, I did, actually." She paused, and I felt her wary gaze on my blank face. "Are you angry?"

"I guess I can't stop you from calling your own best friend," I said. "How is she?"

"She said she's been up the whole night," she responded. "We hung up after about five minutes so she could sleep."

So she did care that we'd fought. That made me feel a little better. I'd been going through horrible imaginations the whole night, thinking that maybe…just maybe…she really didn't care about me at all.

"She sounded really worried when I told her about your hand," Alice continued. "Maybe you should call her."

"Sleep…" I mused, ignoring her now. "That sounds really good right now." My eyes opened and I stared up at the ceiling again.

Alice clucked her tongue. "Look at those dark circles underneath your eyes, bro! I can only imagine how Bella would look like! She's already pale as it is…" She sighed. "Rose and I are going to go see her later. Are you sure you're not coming?"

"Keep her company," I said, changing position and rolling over to face my back toward her. "Don't upset her."

There was a pause. Then, she said in a ruefully amused voice, "Isn't it funny? She told me the exact same thing."

I listened, curious.

"When I told her I was going to go get the key to come see how you were, she told me not to bother you too much. You two…you're always worrying about each other. Maybe it's time to start finding yourselves…and worry about each other later."

She got up and walked to the door. She paused. "Will you come down later for lunch? Esme's getting a bit worried."

My eyes still closed, I reached out to my bedside table and searched blindly for my remote. Finding it, I turned on a button, and immediately, the sound system came on, and classical music filled the room.

"Maybe."

Not entirely satisfied with my answer, my sister left my room.

Wasn't it amazing? I laughed mentally. She actually managed to provide a slight comfort instead of being a nuisance.

For once in her life.

Bella's Point of View

I was totally messed up. I could feel it. My hair was impossible, my eyes had dark circles underneath them, and my body was aching.

I dragged myself out of bed as the doorbell continued to ring without a pause. I glanced at the clock, my eyes trying to adjust to the bright light.

It was twelve-thirty. I'd slept for another three and a half hours, and yet, I felt like I hadn't slept at all.

Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair, trying to tame it unsuccessfully. I caught my reflection on a picture frame in the hallway, and I realized that I still had my makeup on. To my amazement, even after all those hours of crying, it was still intact. No flaw. At all. I couldn't help but marvel at Alice's skills. What had she put on, glue?

I opened the door and squinted my eyes when the sudden bright light caught me by surprise.

"HELL!"

I flinched at the loud noise. After hours in the silent house with no sound at all, it was definitely hell in my ears.

"What did you do to yourself, Bella?"

This time I recognized the two girls on my front porch. I stared at them blankly for a while, wondering what I was supposed to do. Exhausted, it seemed as though my brain was taking a vacation. I completely blanked out for a second.

And then, they were looking at me expectedly. And I remembered.

I stepped to the side, scowling slightly. They entered right away, still gawking at me.

"Stop looking at me," I mumbled. "I know I'm a sight." I began toward the stairs again.

They followed me, exchanging maybe-she-lost-it looks behind my back. When I started toward my bedroom again, Alice grabbed my arm and said, "Oh, no, you don't. You're not going back to sleep. You're going to the bathroom and take a nice, hot shower. Here." She dropped her hand and dug through her bag, taking out the makeup remover. She handed it to me.

Sighing, I took it and headed toward the bathroom instead. After about ten minutes, I came back out, wearing the clothes Rose had set out for me. I didn't even know what they were, but at least they were comfortable.

"I hope you appreciated the sweats I gave you," Rose said disapprovingly when I joined them in the kitchen. "I thought I'd give you a break from dressing up, under the circumstances."

"Thanks," I grumbled. "Why are you are here?"

"To see how you were doing," Alice said promptly, setting down a plate of heated ravioli in front of me.

"What's this?" I asked blankly. Alice didn't cook. Rose didn't either.

"Esme," Alice said simply. "She's worried about you. She all but threw the food in my hands before I left, ordering me to feed you."

My lips twitched. Touched, I stared down at the delicious-looking ravioli. Esme filled the mother category in my life. She had taken over the position when Renee became irresponsible many years ago.

I picked up the fork and began to eat silently.

"You look like hell, Bella," Rosalie said. "Did you really cry the whole night?"

I didn't reply.

"Of course she did," Alice said, rolling her eyes. "Edward didn't seem to have gotten any sleep either. Those dark circles…" She shuddered delicately. "But you look worse. Anyhow, I'm guessing that you guys won't be seeing each other any time soon."

"What are you going to do now?" Rosalie asked. "You guys die without each other." She scowled reproachfully.

"We'll live."

They raised their eyebrows. "Really?" Alice asked. "Because this isn't living. Losing sleep, not eating, crying, and hurting one another? That's living?"

I shrugged, keeping my eyes on the plate. "We'll live," I repeated. "Somehow."

"Right," Rosalie repeated. "Somehow." She sighed impatiently. "This is getting ridiculous. Bella, you love him too, don't you?"

"Of course," I said automatically.

"Not in a brotherly way," she shot at me.

I paused. "I…I guess…in a way."

Alice scoffed and flipped her hair like Rose sometimes did. "What's that supposed to mean?"

I sighed, setting down my fork. "I think I do see him as a boy, but I don't think it's love. I think it's just a crush."

"Oh, brother," Rosalie mumbled. "Poor Eddie."

I frowned. "Hey, at least I'm not saying that I hate the fact that he confessed. It was a relief to hear it from him personally and actually see the sincerity. I was worried; what if he wouldn't like me back? What if Alice was really lying?"

"I wouldn't lie about something like that," Alice said. "That's too mean, even for me."

I studied a perfectly shaped ravioli. "How is he?"

"He's messed up," Alice answered.

I sighed shortly. "Personally, I think he would be better off without me. I should never have befriended him in the first place." I pushed the plate away from me.

"Hey!" Alice said, frowning heavily. "You're not saying that ever again. That's exactly the kind of thing you said to him that pissed him off! You think he regrets becoming friends with you? You think he regrets that he ever started loving you? Even after your fight last night, he'll never regret any of those things, Bella!"

I stared morosely into nothing. Alice's words did describe Edward's personality perfectly. "He's just loyal, that's all."

"No, it's something called love," Alice retorted. "Love is a powerful force. Do you understand? Now, I'm not saying that you were wrong, and that he was right. I'm not saying that you were right and that he was wrong either. I'm just pointing out the fact that you guys depend on each other. You've done so since you guys were practically babies, and if you think you can start living on your own without each other, you'll both die."

"She's right, Bella," Rosalie said gently. "Edward loves you, and you only. He'll never change. I think the thing for you to do is to call him and make up."

I placed my head down on the table.

"Don't you miss him at all?" Alice asked impatiently.

I sighed again. "Yes, I do miss him."

"And he misses you too," Alice pointed out. "Then what's so hard about it? Just make up and start going out. I would be one step closer to having you as my sister, and you'll both be happy together. It's a win-win for everybody."

"That's easier said than done."

"Shut up!" Rosalie moaned. "I just want to put you two in a locked room for twenty-four hours and see if you can still make excuses about your relationship."

"It's not that easy," I mumbled. "We've been friends for seventeen years. I don't care how long his crush on me has been going on, but to me, he was just a friend and a brother all my life. I can't just change that overnight."

"Oh, my god," Alice sounded like she had just swallowed a frog. "I seriously want to make you lie down in your own driveway and run you over with a car. Seriously. That's how frustrating you are right now."

Just then, my phone rang.

"I hope that's Edward," Rosalie said, eyeing my phone.

"Dad," I said, emphasizing my greeting as I shot my friends a look. "Did you change your mind about coming back?"

Charlie sighed. "Not really. I was just calling to see if you were okay. I'm sure Renee didn't call at all, so I was assuming that I would have to play the responsible parent."

"Come home, Daddy," I said quietly, tracing the edge of the table. "I need you."

"Why, did something happen?" Charlie asked, abruptly alarmed by the moroseness of my voice.

Alice and Rosalie exchanged looks, then rose from their seat. Alice gestured that they were going to leave so I could talk to Charlie alone. I waved halfheartedly as they left.

I felt relieved that they'd left me alone. I didn't need to hide what I felt underneath anymore.

"Bella?" Charlie asked worriedly. "What happened?"

I smiled ruefully. "I had a fight with a friend."

"You did? Who? Rose? Alice?"

"Edward," I sighed.

"Edward?"

"Edward," I confirmed. "You see why I need you, Dad? You need to come up from La Push. Now."

"Well, I don't know…"

"Mom is at Phil's," I said in a hard voice. "She doesn't call. She and I had a big, fat fight. And then, I had another big, fat fight with Edward Cullen. They're both being impossible. So are Alice and Rose. So I need you, Dad."

He sighed. "Alright, alright. You win. I'll come up tonight, after fishing one last time with Billy. Is that okay with you?"

Relieved that the house would no longer haunt me of its loneliness and silence, I smiled brighter than I had in a while. "Thanks, Dad."

He grunted before hanging up.

Maybe I could find comfort in his words. Charlie always managed to make me feel better. Feel warm and comforted inside…

I needed a distraction from the drama in my life. I headed upstairs to study.

AN: What'd you think? Reviews? Pretty please, with a cherry on top and gummy bears and yogurt chips and chocolate and blueberries on top?