Whew! Well, it's finally done! Sorry for the delay in getting this chapter up! I was on vacation and had a friend from out of state visiting (btw, WaxPattz is one creeeeeepy dude...seriously...he leers...NOT. HOT. If Rob's as creepy in person...*shudders*...but I digress...) I had mucho going on in real life, and it was kickin' my fanny! Heat. Work. Inability to focus. Inability to focus on MY fanfic and stop reading other fanfic's LOL Anyway, I managed to get this chapter done and get it up. Yahoo!

Thanks to everyone who's continued to read and review my little story. I do hope I don't disappoint any of you.

Please enjoy this installment, and if you like it, kindly show me some love...and spread the love around~tell your friends :D

Business as usual: Twilight, it's characters and it's situations do not belong to me. They are the offspring of the magnificent mind of Stephenie Meyer. I just hope it wasn't her who dreamed up the jorts...

Please enjoy!

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Chapter 24: Do You Remember Rock & Roll Radio

Carlisle sat in the warmth of the car, watching. Waiting. Waiting for the right time. It was nearly three-thirty in the afternoon. He hadn't called Edward yet, nor had Edward called him, but he was quite sure his son was a nervous wreck. More of a wreck than he'd been since finding out that he might have a child. He knew Edward well. The anticipation alone had to be killing him. He hoped that he'd called his mother and perhaps been able to find some comfort in her voice, because, very soon, this would all be over. One way or another, Edward would have his answers.

He waited patiently, parked in front of the house, watching. It was much nicer than the home the family had resided in back in Seattle. It looked like Garret must be doing well. The move must have suited him. He had to admit that it was a beautiful house, with black shutters, neatly clipped hedges and a pristine white door. It reminded him of Ferris Bueller's house, for some reason, and he smiled at the thought.

"Bueller...Bueller…Bueller," he said aloud in a monotone voice and smiled to himself yet again. If anyone had seen him, they would have taken him for insane, he knew. If anyone had seen him parked here for over two hours, they would have not only taken him for insane, but they would have called the police to have him taken away by now. But this was a pretty good neighborhood. Upper middle class to be sure. And there was no one home. People were either out working or doing their holiday shopping. He needn't worry about the police coming to take him away. Not today.

He adjusted the heat in the cozy car and reclined his seat just a little to get more comfortable, sighing as he did. They didn't make cars like this anymore, he knew. A silver 1992 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, it had been purchased by Old Ed Masen shortly before he had taken ill and was essentially still a brand new car. While Jenks had kept it clean and well tuned, but rarely used it, opting instead to drive the big old black boat of a Cadillac that Ed had loved so much before purchasing this shiny silver thing of beauty.

A short time later, Carlisle's patience was rewarded when a light blue late model Toyota hatchback pulled up in front of the large white clapboard house. He perked up in his seat, knowing that this was what he'd been waiting for. The banged up car idled noisily, belching a thick, white cloud of smoke from the exhaust pipe. But still Carlisle waited, eyes intently focused on the little blue car. He sat still, trying hard to make out the dark figures inside the car, and failing miserably since it appeared that every window in the vehicle had fogged up. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a girl wearing a puffy black North Face jacket got out of the car.

She looked different than he remembered. Her naturally curly hair was now sleek and straight and much shorter than it had been, but still that same vibrant red color. She seemed taller, perhaps a bit thicker than before. Her face appeared fuller, her cheeks less rosy. But still, it was her. Just a more grown up version than the one he remembered. She was a young woman now. This was what he had been waiting for.

He watched as she bounced up the path and into the house, the pink backpack slung over her shoulder bobbing up and down as she ran. And still, he waited.

When he felt an appropriate amount of time had passed, and it felt right, he got out of the car slowly. His heart pounded in his chest and he began to breathe hard, but he forced himself to remain calm. It would serve no one, least of all Edward, if he didn't retain his senses, if he hyperventilated before he got any answers. He crossed the street with quick, deliberate steps, digging his hands deeply into his coat pockets. The icy frost of the wind nipped at warm his cheeks.

Without hesitation, he marched up to the front door and, taking a deep breath, rang the bell. He could hear the deep gongs as they reverberated inside. He closed his eyes, praying to get all of the answers he sought easily, even though he was prepared for a battle.

The door opened quietly and he heard a small gasp.

"Carlisle?"

He smiled warmly. "Hello, Kate. How are you?"

"Carlisle Cullen?" She pulled the door open more, her voice and eyes disbelieving. "Oh my…it…it is you," fear gripped her voice as her hand covered her gaping mouth.

"In the flesh," he smiled warmly as his blue eyes flashed at her. He could tell by the expression on her face that she knew this wasn't a social call.

"What are you doing here," her whisper was accusatory. She knew very well what had brought Carlisle Cullen to her front door.

"Oh, Kate," Carlisle continued to smile at her. "I think we both know why I'm here."

"You have no business here," she hissed.

"Well, I think I do," the smile slowly faded from his lips. "We had an agreement, Kate, and someone violated that agreement. I can say without question that it wasn't me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Oh, you know, Kate. You know. I believe you have something of my son's inside."

She glared at him. "You should leave now, Carlisle."

"I can assure you, I'm not going anywhere without the answers I came here for," his voice was smooth, even, calm.

"Hasn't your family taken enough from us already," her voice sounded desperate.

Carlisle looked the tall, slender woman in front of him over. She looked…exhausted. Her usually rosy complexion was sallow. She wore no makeup and the line of gray at the top of her head told him she was badly in need of a dye job.

"My family's taken no more from your family than you've taken from us," he assured her in a soft voice. "I'm not here to take anything from you," he shook his head. "I'm here for answers, and to right a wrong that you've committed against my son."

"A wrong committed against your son?" Her eyes hardened. "Because of that horny little bastard that you call your son, we had to leave our home! Leave our lives," she spat at him. "We had to start over halfway across the country!"

"As a wise man once said, it takes two to tango, Kate," Carlisle quirked his eye brow at her. How dare she insinuate that the fault of this entire situation lay with Edward. He knew for a fact that quite the opposite had been true, that running away together had been an idea that Victoria had pushed Edward into. "I have to say," he continued, "that it looks like you're doing quite well here, Kate. Much better than you ever did in Seattle. The move seems to suit you," he smirked. He didn't want to be confrontational, but she was leaving him with no other options.

She glared at him for a long moment before finally speaking. "You need to leave now, Carlisle."

"I'm not leaving without what I came here for, Kate."

"There's nothing here for you."

"Oh, but there is, and you know it."

A tear rolled down her sad, sallow face. "We had to leave. We can't fight you. We don't have the means…the power…the influence to fight you."

"I'm not here to fight with you, Kate," his voice was gentle, soothing. "I'm here to get answers for my family, for my son, and to set the record straight."

"Why can't you leave us alone? Your precious son has done enough damage to my family," she sobbed.

Carlisle's hands fisted at his sides. He had had quite enough of the accusations, of the blind eye being turned to her daughter. "You want to talk about damage being done? Do you," his voice was a low hiss. "Well, how about this? How about the fact that, thanks to your husband dragging him across the floor, my son permanently lost part of the mobility in his arm? How's that for damage? Or, how about my family having had to leave Seattle two months ahead of schedule, and live in a damn back woods motel for almost three months until the house we were building was complete? That my children had to leave school in the middle of the semester with barely enough time to say goodbye to their friends, which is something they've still not completely forgiven my wife and I for? Or, how about this? My wife, for her part, having to stay behind, alone in Seattle, in order to provide her interior design clients with replacement decorators and to supervise the movers packing up our lives so that my family could leave swiftly in order for your family to save face…is that the kind of damage you're talking about being inflicted?"

Kate looked down at her feet, feeling her face flush. She knew it wasn't fair to put the entire blame on the Cullen family. It was just the easiest way to get through each difficult day. She rubbed her hands over her face, wiping the angry tears away, and sighed.

"I'll have to talk to Garret first," she sighed.

Carlisle heard noise behind Kate and looked up.

"Mom, is that Demetri?"

"No, dear," Kate called over her shoulder, trying her best to sound as normal as possible. "It's…"

But it was too late. Victoria appeared behind her mother's shoulder, eyes wide at the vision before her.

XXXXXXXXXX

Edward sat on a hard wooden bench on the small porch attached to the house just off the kitchen door. An overhang sheltered him from the lightly falling snow swirling around. He used to love sitting out here when he was little. The cherry red kitchen door was one of those funky old fashioned kinds that was made up of small clear window panes. You could swing open the top half of the door, letting the fresh air inside. His grandfather used to send him outside to play in the summer, leaving the top half of the door open in order to keep an eye on him and to be able to hear him. Of course, the open half of the door would inevitably lead to flies getting into the house, and eventually his grandfather would yell for Edward to get his butt back in the house as he swatted at the offensive flies with a rolled up newspaper.

Edward smiled at the memory. Like so many memories he had in this house, it was a happy one. He took out his lighter and lite up his last cigarette. He had chain smoked his way through the afternoon, declining when Jenks asked if he would like something for lunch. He didn't want anything to eat. His stomach was a giant, nauseous knot. What he did want was another pack of cigarettes, but he couldn't very well ask the butler to pick him up a new pack. That would just be…weird. He would have to ask his father to bring home a couple of packs for him when he called…if he called.

His hand shook as he brought the half smoked cigarette to his trembling lips. His entire body had not stopped shaking since he had heard Bella's voice on the other end of the phone line instead of his mother's, as he had expected. He still couldn't believe that he'd done that. And it wasn't even her cell phone number that he had called. It had been the house phone, the number he rarely ever dialed at all. What the hell had he even been thinking that he dialed her number instead of home?

"You were thinking about that stupid fucking chicken," he chastised himself out loud yet again.

And his sister. Alice. He just couldn't get over it. Alice had been at Bella's house. He had heard her. Heard her clear as day saying, "Hang up the phone, Bella. Just hang up the damn phone." He ran his hand through his hair nervously for the thousandth time. At this rate, he would be bald by the time he was twenty.

And Bella had done it. Bella had listened to Alice and had just hung up on him. She hung the damn phone up. Before he could find his voice, find his breath. Before he could say anything.

Hang up the phone, Bella. Just hang up the damn phone.

He had to admit it to himself. He'd deserved it. Yep. Everything he was getting now he deserved. He'd been ugly to both Alice and Bella. Ugly to the people he loved the most in this life, to the people who loved him. Mean to his beautiful, loving mother, the woman who wanted nothing more than for him to be happy and feel loved always. He'd been downright cruel to his compassionate and caring father, who had always sacrificed for him and had only his best interest at heart. And he had been inexcusably acid tongued and toxic to his sweet, albeit flaky, sister Alice. Alice, who had always been the only one of his siblings who had been on his side, no matter what. But worst of all, he'd been downright horrible to his beloved Bella.

Bella.

Bella, who loved him, despite his many flaws. Or, perhaps she loved him because of them.

Bella who didn't have to love him, but did anyway.

Bella, who had chosen him.

She chose him.

She chose the weird Cullen. The angry Cullen.

She'd wanted him. Sought him out. Found him at work and smiled at him. Made him feel special. Made him feel normal.

And she'd changed him. Changed him for the better. Created a new Edward Cullen. The Edward Cullen he had always hoped he could be, even if only for the briefest of moments.

And now…now he had to live with himself. Live with the after effects of what he'd done. What he'd done years before. What he'd done mere hours earlier.

He had lashed out at everyone who loved him. He had wanted everyone he loved to feel as bad as he felt. To know what it felt like. To feel his pain, even if he had to inflict that pain on them himself.

Now, he was alone. Alone and suffering. In a way, what he'd done to his family who had stood by him in his time of need, and to Bella, who was there for him no matter what, was far worse than anything Rosalie had ever done to him. There was no love lost between himself and Rosalie, that much as certain. Everyone knew it. She did what she did to hurt him because she hated him, and for no other reason. And he knew that. It was what she did. What she had done since joining their family. But even after being intentionally hurt by Rose, he'd gone on and intentionally hurt the people who he knew loved him. The people who stood behind him, supported him. The people who had always held his hand and dried his tears. And he knew better. He knew that what he did was much worse than anything Rosalie had ever done to him.

Regret was a bitter pill, one that we are forced to swallow alone. Edward took his medicine, swallowed his pill, but he didn't enjoy it one single bit.

He sighed, taking another deep drag on his cigarette, and pulled his phone from his jacket pocket. His ungloved hands were red and chapped from the cold as he dialed a number and held the cold phone to his ear. His call went straight to voice mail.

"Hey, Alice…it's…um…it's…me. Um," he sighed, knowing what he wanted to say to her, but not knowing exactly how to say it. "Um, I heard you earlier, and…you were right. I don't deserve for any of you to talk to me, least of all B…Bella," he sighed again. "So, um, I just…I just wanted to tell you that I'm sorry. I'm a giant ass," he paused, running his hand through his hair again. "I love you, Alice." He hit end and took one final puff on his cigarette before snuffing it out and burying his face in his hands.

His phone rang, startling him. He grabbed it, flipping it open quickly.

"Dad," he asked breathlessly.

"Edward?"

"Oh…Alice...," he couldn't hide the disappointment in his voice.

"Sorry to disappoint you," she snorted.

"No, I just thought you were Dad," he sighed.

"Is everything ok," she sounded concerned, something he didn't deserve. It was obvious that, without a word, she'd accepted his apology and had moved on, without so much as the verbal slap on the wrist he deserved.

"He went to Victoria's house…" his voice trailed off.

"Do…do you know anything yet?" She lowered her voice.

"Why are you whispering?"

"I'm at Bella's. We're decorating for Christmas."

Christmas…something he hadn't even stopped to think about.

"Oh," his heart hurt a little more, knowing that it should be him there, helping her put the lights and decorations on the tree. "Is she there?"

"No, she went up to the attic to see if Charlie had any more lights for the tree stashed up there somewhere. That's why I called."

"Oh," he said again.

"Have you found out yet?"

"No, I'm waiting for Dad to call me," he took a deep breath before continuing, feeling the weight of that impending call. "He went to their house," he repeated again.

"I'm sorry," she sighed, her voice gentle. "I know this has to be absolute torture for you."

He sighed. "Oh, it is. I…I can't think straight. That's…that's how I dialed the wrong number," he frowned to himself.

"I figured that had to be a mistake," she said slowly.

"I meant to call Mom. It was just an accident." Like the broken chicken, he thought. "I didn't mean to do that to her."

"Oh," her voice was small and filled with disappointment.

"Would you rather I called her on purpose and then said nothing?"

"No…I know you wouldn't do that, Edward," she sighed. "You're not that cruel, although the last few days…"

"I know. And I'm sorry. Alice, I'm so sorry. I promise I'll apologize to everyone that I've hurt when I get home."

"When are you coming home?"

"I…I don't know," he stood up, his legs feeling frozen stiff from sitting on the bench as long as he had.

"You're waiting to find out before you decide," it was a statement, not a question.

"Yes…yes I am," he hesitated. How could he possibly explain to her? How could he tell her how much he felt here? How this felt so much like home when Forks, the place he called home, felt so foreign and cold? How could he make her understand that here, in this house, in this frozen, windy city, was warmth and comfort and…memories. So many memories. Mostly good. Mostly happy. He'd been too young to understand the pain of the absence of his parents. He'd been to innocent to understand the loss of his grandparents. No, in this place, he was still the happy seven year old boy wearing the Sammy Sosa uniform. He never wanted to leave here again.

"Edward," she sighed. "I need to go. Bella's coming downstairs."

"Ok," he closed his eyes, swallowing hard.

"Let me know the moment you find out, ok?"

"I will."

"Edward?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

His voice stuck in his throat. "I…," he began but his phone beeped, signaling an incoming text message.

"Edward?"

"I…I have a text," his heart raced so fast he could hear his blood swooshing through his head.

"Go read it and let me know!"

"O-ok," his voice trembled."

"I love you!"

"I love you too," he managed quickly before pressing the end key.

He sat there, staring at the little animated envelope as it danced across the screen of his phone. Fucking dancing message.

His hand shook as he pushed the button to retrieve the message.

For a moment, Edward could not breathe.

XXXXXXXXXX

Alice reached as high up as she could, slipping a hook around a fresh evergreen bough. A dazzling cascade of clear crystals glistened in the light as she gently set it spinning with a flick of her finger. She smiled, happy that she'd talked Bella into an early morning run to Port Angeles to get more ornaments. There was no such thing as 'too much' in Alice Cullen's world. Everyone knew you couldn't have Christmas without crystals. She had no idea what Bella had been thinking when she bought her decorations. While he loved her fuchsia and lime color scheme, she couldn't believe that Bella hadn't picked up any crystals or anything black. Black grounded your look and pulled it all together. Silly Bella. Didn't she watch HGTV? Now, thanks to their little jaunt, the Swan's tree was spectacular, in Alice's estimation, with the cascades of clear and black crystals accentuating Bella's theme, making it funky, with a bit of an edge and a dash of class. Alice smiled to herself, satisfied that her work here was done.

Bella stomped down the stairs, Doc Martins clomping.

"I can't find it, Alice," she frowned.

"It's ok, Bella. We probably used it somewhere and just can't find where."

Bella looked around, distracted. She knew there was another strand of black crystals somewhere. She'd been holding them when…she sighed. She'd been holding them when she answered the phone. She slipped into the kitchen and found the missing strand on the counter next to the telephone. She frowned, brow furrowing as she picked the crystals up off the counter. Damn you, Edward Cullen.

She shook off her sad face and squeezed her eyes shut. Screw him. He didn't want her or her comfort. He didn't want her love. He was on his own and she was going to be damned if she'd let him bring her down. Not now. Not at Christmas time. Not after decorating this house within an inch of its dismal, stinking life.

"I found it Alice," she called out loudly as she went back into the living room. "Now, where do you want it?"

Alice pointed to the highest branch on the tree. "It has to go up there. Otherwise the tree won't be balanced."

"It's not going to fall over, Alice," Bella scoffed at her.

"I didn't say it would fall, Bella. I said it would look off balance. There will be more over here than over there." She waved her hands up and down in a frantic gesture that would have been comical had Bella not completely understood what she meant.

A sure sign of early onset insanity, she thought, understanding Alice Cullen's hand gestures.

"Ok, ok, I get it. I just don't know how we're going to get this up there," she stood there, with her hands on her hips, looking at the high branch that Alice was determined to have a cascade of crystals falling from.

"Think Charlie would put it up there for us," Alice asked innocently.

"I think Charlie would sooner hang the two of us up there, Alice," Bella shook her head. As if on cue, Charlie Swan was heard loudly cursing a blue streak out on the front porch. The front door swung open, slamming into the wall, and he stomped loudly into the living room.

"Well, I hope the two of you are happy," he sulked, holding his ungloved hand out to them.

"What?" Bella looked at her father.

"Lookit that," he pointed to the thumb on his right hand. "Lookit the nail!"

Bella walked over to her father and took his hand, delicately turning his it over in hers.

"I don't see anything."

"You don't see anything? How could you miss it?" Charlie was exasperated as he rolled his eyes.

"What am I looking for?" Alice came up behind her, looking intently over her shoulder at his hand.

"I slammed my thumb with the damn hammer, that's what you're looking for!"

"But…there's nothing here," Bella shook her head.

"Oh, it's there. It's there," Charlie yanked his hand away before he shrugged out of his heavy jacket, tossing it on the sofa and heading toward the staircase. "That fingernail's going to be black and disgusting by morning. I'll be lucky not to lose the nail," he shouted down to them as he stomped up the stairs. "I'll be in the can!"

Alice skipped away to the front window, looking out. "Did he finish hanging the lights?"

"I have no idea," Bella shook her head and sighed. She flopped down on the sofa, eyes downcast.

"Aw Bella, it's ok. He's just not used to this," Alice sat down softly on the cushion beside her. "He hasn't decorated for a Christmas since…well, since the divorce. He'll come around."

"He's been a Scrooge all weekend with the decorations," she frowned hiding her face in her hands. "I don't need him to be a Scrooge. I need him to be a George Bailey."

"Oh, Bella," Alice brushed her hair from her face. "Even George Bailey was a Scrooge before he understood what was important. You'll see. Just like George, Charlie will get it…and he won't even need Clarence," she smiled at her friend.

They heard the toilet upstairs flush.

"I had no idea your house was like Archie Bunkers," Alice mused as she bumped her shoulder into her friends', trying to elicit a smile as Charlie once again clomped down the stairs.

Charlie appeared and gruffly shoved his arms back into his jacket. "I hope the two of you are happy with yourselves. I'm outside, freezing my butt off to put a billion lights up for you two, and I'm breaking my fingers doing it," he zipped is jacket. "This ain't Disneyland, ya know!" The front door slammed behind him.

Alice smiled as she stood up.. "Smart man. He knows there will be no living with me if he doesn't finish those lights."

Alice's phone chirped and Bella froze.

"That's your phone."

"No it's not," Alice held her arms behind her back and skipped nonchalantly over to the tree. "If I stand on a chair, I think I can reach that branch, Bella."

"Alice Cullen," Bella stood up, placing her hands on her hips. "That was your phone! I know the sound that stupid iPhone makes when you get a text, and that was a text noise!"

Alice turned to look at her. "If it'll make you any happier," she moved gracefully over to her purse, digging with dramatic fashion into it until she fished out her phone. She glanced at it quickly and tossed it back into her bag. "It's just Jasper."

"No it's not," Bella breathed. "If it had been Jasper, you would have checked the text."

"Don't be absurd, Bella. I don't jump every time he says to."

"It's Edward, isn't it? He's gotten the news," Bella moved slowly toward her friend. "He knows something. And you won't read that text in front of me."

"Pffft," Alice shook her head. "Why wouldn't I read a text from Edward in front of you?"

"Because…because…" she looked around and bit her lower lip. "I…I don't know. Because it could be…bad?"

"How bad could it be, Bella," Alice flopped down on the sofa, the old cushions puffing up around her. "You already know it's one of two choices…yes or no."

"Then why won't you read that text?"

"Maybe I don't want to," Alice folded her arms across her chest.

"You don't want to know…do you," Bella sat down on the edge of the sofa, watching Alice.

"Ok, so maybe I don't want to know if my brother has a kid, ok? Maybe…maybe I just want this all to go away so we can go back to being Edward and Alice and…Bella."

Bella looked down at her hands, picking at a blob of tree sap that had stuck to a finger. "It's never going to be like that again, Alice."

"I know," Alice exhaled as though she'd been punched in the stomach. "You think I don't know? But…I can dream it, can't I?"

"You can," Bella nodded. "But it won't do you any good."

"If I don't know, then I can pretend," Alice whispered.

"That's seriously delusional, Alice," Bella leaned back against the sofa. "And I know you're not delusional."

"No, just sad."

"Things will definitely change," she sighed.

"Things are already changed. We can't ever go back, Bella."

Bella looked over at Alice, watching as big tears rolled slowly down the tiny girl's cheeks. "You don't know that for sure."

"He's not coming back, Bella."

"Of course he is," Bella took her hand. "He has to come back. He has to finish school."

"He can go in Chicago."

"But his family is here," Bella insisted.

Alice looked into Bella's chocolate eyes with big, wet black eyes. "But his happiness is there."

Bella felt her breath catch. She was talking about Victoria. Bella had been right. He still loved her and Alice knew it.

"Not her," Alice shook her head, reading Bella's mind, and Bella exhaled with relief. "Edward was happy when we lived in Chicago, Bella. We all were. None of the Cullen family drama and bullshit had happened. His grandfather lavished love, attention and gifts on us. He was popular in school and he played ball. He was…happy."

"He never said anything to me about Chicago," Bella closed her eyes.

"He hated talking about our life there, Bella. It hurt him too much to."

"He was happy?"

"Very," she nodded. "We all were."

There was a lengthy silence as the two friends sat side by side on the sofa. Alice finally broke the silence.

"Chicago was home. You know what they say about home, right?"

"No…what do they say?"

"Home is the place that, when you go there, they have to take you," she smiled sadly at Bella. "It's where you fit in, Bella."

They looked at each other for a moment, before Bella closed her eyes. "And you're sure he won't…won't…come back here to Forks?" She had to force herself to say the words, stuck in her throat as they were. For, as much as Edward had hurt her this weekend, she still held out hope that when he returned with his answers, whatever they would be, they would be able to reconcile and move on with their life together. The idea that he would remain in Chicago was one she'd never thought of while the thousands of scenarios for the outcome of this episode raced through her mind as she lay in bed at night.

"If there's any way he can conceivably figure to stay there, he will." Alice sounded absolutely positive that they'd seen the last of Edward Cullen. "I mean, I don't mean to be such a Debbie Downer, but, well…you do realize that I know him a lot better than you do, right?"

Bella nodded. "Indeed, you do."

"He's probably just reveling in all the good memories right now, even with this uncertainty hanging over his head. And it's making him remember how good it felt to be so happy."

"I thought I made him happy," tears rolled down Bella's cheek. She couldn't help it.

"Oh, but you did, Bella," Alice took her hands in hers. "You did! For the first time since we left Chicago, Edward was happy. Truly happy. And it was because of you."

"But…I'm just not enough," her voice was small. "Now, he's got his precious Victoria and…and…maybe…a…child with her…there."

"Believe me, it has nothing to do with her," Alice reassured once more as she smoothed a lock of stray hair away from Bella's face. "Edward doesn't want her back," she shook her head. "He just wants to be happy again."

"Alice, can you do something for me?"

"What is it, Bella?"

She closed her eyes, swallowing hard before she could speak. "Can you read that fucking text message?"

Without a word, Alice dug her phone from her purse. She tapped on the device a couple of times and stared at the screen.

"Ahhh," she gasped.

XXXXXXXXXX

Aaahhh...what did Alice see?

I dunno...I guess we'll find out next time, eh? :D

Yes, I am evil, thank you very much :)

Again, many thanks to every one who's continued to read my little story, and thanks to the new readers who've come on board. Please let me know what you think by leaving a review.

Oh, and if you like it? Then, spread the love and tell your friends :)