Author's Note: Hi, everyone! You were probably wondering what happened to me, huh? I'm still alive, and I'm back to update! I was just very distracted (and busy) because second semester finals are coming up, plus the last day of school! Anyone excited for summer? Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight.


Chapter 26

Edward's Point of View

I smiled sadly as I stroked her hair. Her words stung, but I pretended otherwise. It was precisely why I had come here in the first place, because I'd known that it wouldn't change anything. At least I could be here with her.

Bella seemed content enough in my arms. She didn't have any trouble drifting off to sleep. There was another thing that wouldn't change: my love for her, and her sisterly love for me.

"If only you could love me the way I love you," I said quietly, touching her cheek lightly with my finger. "Then everything would be perfect." I sighed.

This doesn't change anything.

I knew that Bella wouldn't be very pleased if she found me here in the morning. Although she was used to the idea of us sleeping on the same bed, it probably wasn't a very good idea, considering the circumstances.

I pulled the sheets over her body, then began to untangle myself from her.

"Edward."

I froze, thinking she was awake. One look at her, and I knew that wasn't the case. I'd forgotten that she talked in her sleep. It had been a long time since I'd slept with her…

Slowly, I relaxed and paused in my task. Her sleep talking was always interesting.

"Edward…" Bella sighed, twitching closer to me. "Don't…don't go to her…"

I listened without moving, watching her angelic face frown in pain. So she dreamed about me. And I was hurting her, even in her dreams. What a jerk I was.

"Don't go," she insisted. I was surprised to see a tear leak from the corner of her eye. "Don't leave me alone… I need you."

I blinked rapidly in confusion. When Bella sleep talked, the subject of her dialogues were usually things that were troubling her in reality. The things she worried about, such as her parents fighting, school…and apparently, me.

"I love you," I whispered softly, even though I knew that she couldn't hear me. "I can never truly leave you."

"Stay," she pleaded. "Please."

I brushed the stray pieces of hair around her face. "I'm here."

She startled me when she grabbed my wrist. "You don't love her."

Dumbfounded, I could only look down at her. Did she try to strangle people in her sleep now too?

"I see you," Bella murmured. "I only see you." She paused, then whispered, "I love you."

I froze automatically at the words. I must have heard wrong. I must have…

"I love you," she insisted. Her voice choked. "You're not the only one," she whispered. She sighed deeply, let go of me, then rolled over. She didn't speak again.

As for me, I couldn't move or speak. It couldn't be true. Not in the way that I hoped. She'd said that she loved me numerous times before. It didn't mean anything…

Still, I couldn't help but hope. Maybe she'd come to realize her feelings through our fight. And hopefully, still intending on making her mine wasn't a totally hopeless loss after all.

Bella's Point of View

When I woke up in the morning, I felt pain. There was slight pain developing on my lower abdomen.

Groaning slightly, I rolled over and found the bed empty. Edward must have gone back into his room in the middle of the night.

Despite knowing it was wrong, I couldn't help but wish he'd stayed. I'd had so many nightmares about him leaving me in the middle of the night…

I glanced at the clock. It was six-thirty, exactly the time when I usually woke up to dress for school. I had forgotten to set the alarm, but I'd become so used to waking up at the same time that it had become a habit.

As I made myself presentable in the bathroom, I couldn't help but wonder what my house would look like right now. Messy, no doubt. Broken glasses and vases…furniture shredded…crooked picture frames…

There was a knock on my door. "Yes?"

"Breakfast is ready, Bella," Esme called through the door softly. "Come down when you're ready, dear."

"Okay," I called back.

I dressed quickly in some jeans and a T-shirt I'd found in the closet, then pulled a dark hoodie over my head. The baggy sweatshirt did absolutely nothing for my figure, but it didn't matter right now. The pain in my stomach was becoming almost unbearable.

Still trying to ignore it, I trudged downstairs and joined the Cullens and the Hale twins. They all looked up when I walked in.

"Hi, Bella," Jasper said, waving with his fork.

"Hi, Bella," Emmett repeated, his mouth full of sausages and eggs.

"Hi, honey," Esme said, pouring me a cup of orange juice when I sat down. "Did you sleep okay?"

I paused slightly and glanced at Edward, who was carefully keeping his eyes down on his plate, before answering. "Sure."

"Good," Carlisle said. "I thought perhaps that you wouldn't get to sleep. You know, from the stress."

"I probably wouldn't have," I agreed. "But an angel visited me in the middle of the night and helped me to sleep."

"Angel?" Alice repeated, her eyes narrowing. "I didn't go anywhere near your bedroom."

"You're no angel, Alice," Emmett told her. "You're more like a devil."

Alice shot him a cross look. "And you're no teddy bear either."

"Hey," Rosalie said, nudging her. "Whatever you say, he's still my teddy bear."

Emmett winked at his girlfriend, making me want to throw up. I probably could have done it without much trouble, considering how I bad I felt right now.

Edward smiled briefly before hiding his smile behind his glass of orange juice. He caught my eye before he looked away.

Carlisle raised his eyebrows while Esme glanced at Edward. "I see."

"Why aren't you eating, honey?" Esme asked when she noticed me drinking only my juice. "Do you want something else."

"No, no," I said quickly. "These are fine. It's just…I'm not very hungry." I winced when another stab of pain poked me in the abdomen.

"Are you ill?" Carlisle asked, immediately concerned.

"I feel kind of sick," I murmured, tipping my glass slightly as I played around with it.

Edward's eyes flashed up to me, and I saw the worry in his eyes. Alice was more verbal.

"Oh, no!" she cried. "You shouldn't go to school! Stay home!"

I shook my head. "I shouldn't miss school."

"But if you feel sick…" Carlisle trailed off.

"I'm fine," I insisted. "It's not that bad."

But this was a lie, because my pain was getting steadily worse. But I tried not to show it as we all filed into our cars to go to school.

"Are you alright, Bella?" Rosalie asked when we arrived. "You look kind of pale."

"She's always pale," Jasper said. He took one look at me and said, "You're right. She does look paler than usual."

"Go home," Alice ordered, grabbing my arm. "No, go back to our house. Esme will take care of you. Go."

I shook her off. "I'm fine!"

"Edward!" Tanya bounded up to us and slipped her arm into his. "Hi, guys. Hi, Bella. I'm glad you're here today."

Edward seemed to remember something, and his eyes narrowed when he glanced at her. Tanya ignored him.

"Why wouldn't I be here?" I asked, confused.

"Oh, no reason," Tanya said, smiling. "I'm just saying."

"You should go, Tanya," Edward said pointedly. "The bell is going to ring soon, and your first period is on the other side of campus."

"I probably should, huh?" Tanya said cheerfully, smiling slyly. "Well, I'll see you all later. Oh, and I should probably tell you… The whole school is excited because the drug dog is coming to our school today!"

"Drug dog?" Alice repeated. "You mean, from the police station? Why?"

"Oh, just a checkup around school, you know," Tanya said. She looked so mischievous that I couldn't help but frown slightly. "I can't wait! The dog will be going around school, entering classrooms… And you know how cute those things are. Well, see you later!" She flounced away.

"That's strange," Emmett muttered. "Why would she mention something like that?"

The bell rang just then. My friends still looked worried about me, though they didn't say anything else about leaving. They waved as I walked slowly toward my homeroom first period.

"Bella?" the teacher called, taking attendance.

"Here," I said, and I knew I was clear for the rest of the day. None of the other teachers took attendance because homeroom always did.

This was lucky because by the end of first period, I could hardly walk. The pain in my abdomen caused cold sweat to form around my face, and my eyesight was slightly blurry. I had a horrible headache as well.

Giving up, I headed toward the parking lot instead of going to second period. I must have been too sick to drive, but somehow, I made it back to my house.

The entire house was empty again. Empty except for broken vases and furniture scattered all around and frames uneven on the wall.

I was in no shape to clean up right now. I changed into comfortable clothes slowly, then collapsed on my bed. I thought I passed out when a huge jolt of pain hit my stomach.

When I regained consciousness, I was aware of the heat coursing through my body. My shirt was sticking to my body due to the sweat. I had a terrible headache. My heart was beating fast, as it worked doubly hard to repair my body. I felt horrible.

I wondered what could have woken me up when I felt like I could sleep for years. Then, there was a sound in the usually silent house, and I wondered if there was a burglar.

My bedroom door flung open, and suddenly, Edward was right next to me, looking extremely worried. "Bella!"

I tried to swat him away when he touched my forehead. "You're not supposed to be here."

"Neither are you," Edward shot back. "Come on. I'll take you to the hospital."

"No," I insisted weakly, then groaned when another wave of pain hit me. "I'll be fine."

"I don't think so, Bella," he said. "You're someone who never ditches school. I knew something was up when you didn't show up during Biology."

"What time is it?" I whispered, panting slightly.

"Three-thirty," he answered. "School's over."

I muffled a scream when the abrupt pain shocked me. I finally knew what this was. Stupid…

"Where are you going?" Edward asked, bewildered. "You can't get up right now."

I staggered unstably toward the bathroom. "Just leave, Edward. I'll be fine."

"Not likely, Bella."

I closed the door in his face and sat down on the toilet. Sure enough, blood was leaking.

Blinded by the pain, I made a loud ruckus as I dug around the cabinets desperately for a pad. I found one, but it was all I had. I'd forgotten to buy them at the grocery a few days ago.

Still, I was in no shape to go anywhere. So I flushed the toilet and washed my hands before opening the door. I stumbled into Edward's arms, who caught me easily.

"Bella, I don't think…" He trailed off, watching me stumble toward the medicine cabinet. "What are you looking for?"

I found the bottle and opened it. But nothing came out when I shook it. I cried out angrily as I dug deeper into the cabinet.

"Bella!" Edward grabbed my hands. "What's wrong with you?"

I ripped myself away. "None of your business. Leave, Edward. I'll be fine. Go."

He watched me stagger back into my bedroom and close the door. I collapsed back on my bed and lost consciousness almost immediately.

Edward's Point of View

I was alarmed by her behavior. Bella was never this aggressive, even when she was sick. What made her so desperate?

I knelt down and picked up the empty bottle, which had dropped to the floor. My confusion cleared immediately when I saw the label: Menstrual Painkillers.

Alarmed, I glanced toward her closed bedroom door, then slipped into the bathroom. It was messy here as well. I was pretty sure the loud commotion she'd made earlier in the bathroom was because she had been looking for something specific.

I looked through the contents but didn't find anything. This explained everything.

I didn't even think to be embarrassed. This was bad. Bella had very bad cramps when she was on her monthly cycle…

I knew I couldn't help her with this. As much as I hated to, I consented to leave the house. I glanced at the messy living room before rushing out the door.

As I pulled out of her driveway, I called Alice.

"Hello?"

"Alice," I said urgently. "I need you to be dressed and ready to leave in ten minutes. Do you understand me?"

"What? Why?"

"Just do it. I'll tell you later."

"Okay," she said, though bewildered, and hung up.

I stopped by the grocery store and looked for the correct aisle. After a moment of hesitation, I collected a bunch of pads of different sizes. I had no idea what to buy, but it was the best I could do. I picked up another bottle of her painkillers, then walked quickly toward the cashier.

She raised her eyebrow as she scanned the items. "Are you going to be wearing these?"

I flushed. "No, they're for my…friend."

She smiled understandingly. "I see. She must have some bad cramps." She held up the bottle of pills before dropping them into the plastic bags. "Here you go. I hope she feels better."

I smiled briefly before rushing back to my car.

When I stopped abruptly in front of my house to let my sister inside the car, Alice had a lot to say.

"Where the hell are you taking me, Edward Cullen?" she demanded when I accelerated back to Bella's house.

"Bella," I said tersely. "She's sick."

Alice was concerned immediately. "What?" Her expression was disapproving. "Why didn't you stay to take care of her? Some friend you are."

"I would have stayed," I said. "But I can't."

"Why not?"

I reached into the backseat and retrieved the plastic bags. I dropped them in her lap.

Frowning, she looked through them, and her confusion cleared. "Oh."

"Just take care of her," I said, pulling into the driveway. "I think it isn't just because of the monthly thing…but the stress that's built so far is affecting her as well."

Alice nodded. "Okay. Don't worry, Edward. I'll take care of her." She slipped out of the car and ran inside the house hurriedly.

I sighed in relief as I leaned my head on the headrest. Although I couldn't be with her, at least Bella would be taken care of.


AN: Aw, how sweet of him. I really need someone like that by my side. But no, I don't have any boys in my life. Sigh. The sad truth. Reviews?