Chapter Two: Inside my Chest

Edward's POV

"I declare the Class of 2014...officially graduated!" The high school principle exclaimed. Everyone stood up and threw their caps in the air and I smiled broadly as I watched the scene around me unfold. This was what we'd been working towards for twelve years and it was finally here. Friends hugged each other, boyfriends kissed their girlfriends, moms wiped their tears.

I just took a deep breath before going into the large crowd to find my best friends, Jasper and Emmett. The three of us grew up on the same street and we'd been best friends since our mothers put us in the playpen together.

"Cullen!" I heard Emmett shout behind me and I turned around to see him barreling through the crowd. Even though he was the big, bad quarterback, he never hid his emotions, and when he finally reached me, hugged me so tightly I thought he cracked a rib. "We fucking did it, man! We graduated!"

"Fuck yeah we did!" Jasper laughed as he and his girlfriend, Maria approached us. They were perfect together and I wasn't sure how much longer Jasper was willing to wait to propose. Marriage came early in his family, his mom was only nineteen when she married his father, so it wasn't strange that he'd been saving up for her ring since he was sixteen.

"Fuck!" I shouted, just glad I could scream that word and not be scolded for by a teacher. It just felt so good to finally be free. "I gotta go find my parents or I'm gonna hear about it for weeks."

"We'll be here." Emmett assured me as he gave Maria a hug. I walked away and scanned the crowd for my parents, finally finding them in the back of the gym. Mom had a tissue in her hands still and Dad was holding her close to his side. Being their only some, I expected a lot of emotion from both of them. Mom walked over and hugged me tightly, maybe even tighter than Emmett had.

"Congratulations, baby." Mom cried as she cupped my face with both her hands. "You've done so well."

"Thanks, Mom." I blushed. She still babied me even though I hadn't really needed her since I was eleven. I was a boy, but I was more self sufficent at ten than most thirty year olds. Its just how it was. I was a fast learned and once I was shown a few times, I got the hang of it. I'd been playing fluent piano since I was nine years old.

"Carlisle, aren't you going to say something?" Mom asked. Dad was very involved in my life, but he was always in the shadows. He let Mom fuss over me, but I always knew what he was thinking. He was always proud of me and I always knew. Even if he just gave me a nod.

That's just how we were.

"Good job, Edward." He smiled as he hugged me. "I'm so proud of you." He whispered so only I could hear. I nodded and tried not to get emotional over it. It was just high school, it wasn't very hard. But, that was easy for me to say. I didn't have a photographic memory or anything, but like I saw, I read something once and understood it. I was in AP classes as a freshman while most kids weren't in them until junior year.

But, even though I was Valedictorian with scholarship offers to Stanford and Princeton for their pre-med program, I was headed to Boston University to pursue a teaching career. When I told people what I wanted to do, all they could do was stare at me. Dad was one of the top neurosurgeons in the country and Mom was a celebrated lawyer. But, they always told me to do what I loved and...I loved kids.

For graduation, we needed a certain amount of community service hours and the first job I got was at one of the nearby daycares when I was just a freshman. Being with the kids all week opened my eyes and I started requesting more and more hours at jobs where I'd get to work with kids. By junior year, I was set on having kids in my life all the time and set my eyes on teaching.

It's what I loved and if I had to live in a small apartment for a while rather than a five bedroom house, I'd be happy.

Kids were just my life and I couldn't really explain why.

I found Emmett and Jasper again and we all headed back to my place for a celebration and cake. It was great having all three families together again. As we got older, we usually didn't participate in the dinners our parents had together and it had been a long time since we were all together. I think the last time was Christmas Eve.

But, it was great. Emmett's Granmother and Whitlock's were second parents to me and I adored Emmett's little sister, Alex like my own and Jasper's older brother, Liam, taught me everything, just like he taught Jasper. The house was filled with laugher and noise again and I couldn't have asked for a better graduation night.

"So, when are you finally gonna fuck her?" Emmett asked, pointing to the blonde across the room. It was the end of school party at the abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. Most of the senior class was there and even some juniors snuck their way in. He was pointing to Kate of course, the girl who'd been trying to get me into bed since sophomore year.

She just wasn't my type. I wasn't a virgin my any means, but Kate was the polar opposite of what I wanted. Emmett prided himself in his man whore ways, but I was proud that the only girls I'd slept with were my girlfriends. I lost my virginity on my sixteenth birthday to my girlfriend of one year and I was okay with that. I personally thought sex should mean something, but it wasn't like I was judging anyone for thinking differently.

But who knew where Kate had been and I didn't not want to wind up in bed with her. She wasn't really worth the time.

"Never," I sighed as I grabbed another beer. Jasper and Maria had disappeared to do God knows what, leaving Emmett and I alone. I loved him, but every time we were together he was only trying to get me laid. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"Dude, you need to get laid." Here we go again. "You haven't fucked anyone since Bree and that was three months ago."

"I've been busy." I shrugged. It was true. With AP tests and finals at the end of the year, it was almost a good thing Bree and I broke up when we did. I barely had time to eat let alone time to spend with a girl. It was a mutual breakup and we were still one good terms. We just weren't in love.

"And then you didn't have sex for almost a year after you and Heidi broke it off."

"Heidi and I were together for three years, Emmett." I reminded him. It was true. I was madly in love with her and it killed me when I heard she'd been sleeping with Alec on the side while I studied. "Please, give it a rest."

"I hope you find someone at school." He told me. "I don't want you getting blue balls or anything."

"Just because you need to have sex every night to be satisfied doesn't mean everyone has to." I rolled my eyes and I could tell I'd struck a nerve. Committment was hard from him. His parents got divorced when he was nine and his mom dumped him and his sister on his grandma a year later. He told me it was pointless to get attached to someone if they were just going to leave anyway.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "But sometimes stability is a good thing."

"Tell that to my drunk dad and dead beat mother." He huffed and stormed away. I saw him talking to Kate and rolled my eyes. Of course he was going after the girl he was going to try and hook me up with a few minutes ago. But, I ignored it and found our other good friend, Alex in the crowd.

Alex understood me. It was easy to get along with him and he never tried to hook me up with anyone. He'd had his heard broken a few times He didn't fuck random girls and believed in the same thing I did.

As much as I wanted to be able to just go off and have sex with a different girl every night, my parents taught me differently. My dad taught me women weren't a toy for us to play with whenever we want. And, my mom told me time and time again of the consequences of sex with random girls. Although she was highly successful now, she'd had a rough upbringing. She knew all about the consequences.

So, what they taught me stuck in my head.

I was okay with that.

"Where's Emmett?" Jasper asked as he buttoned up his shirt. I laughed at his rumpled hair and handed him a beer.

"He's pissed because I didn't wanna sleep with Kate." I sighed.

"He's still trying that?" He laughed. "What's up with him?"

"He's been acting weirder than normal lately." I shrugged. "I'm just glad he's coming to Boston with us. It'll be a good change of pace for him." Jasper and I were headed off to Boston University while Emmett was going to Lesley. I was very lucky to have my best friends coming to Boston with me. Most kids didn't have that chance and we swore to stick together like glue while we were in the city.

"A new city isn't really going to change him, Edward." Jasper shrugged. "The only thing that will really change is the girls there won't know how big of an ass he can be."

"He's not an ass," I defended. "He's had a rough life and I get it." I shrugged. "I just want him to amount to more than just the heartbreaker."

"Me too," Jasper sighed as we saw Emmett and Tanya coming out of one of the bedrooms.

The summer flew by and before I could even blink, it was August and the three of us were heading to Boston the next day. Our parents and Emmett's grandmother were letting us drive to Boston together while they followed us. Emmett had forgotten about our fight the next day and we didn't let petty drama ruin our last summer.

If we hadn't already been inseparable, this summer would have fixed that.

We spent the fourteen hour drive laughing, jamming, and eating. I think we forgot that our lives were going to change dramatically once we got there, but none of us cared. We just wanted to spend our last day of freedom doing what we've always done.

Goofing off.

But, after two days on the road, we finally drove into the city. The car hadn't been so quiet since we'd first learned how to drive and we had to pay attention and concentrate on the road. I looked over and saw Emmett's hands were in his lap and he was just staring at them and looked in the rearview mirror and saw Jasper staring blankly out the window. I was glad I was driving or else I probably would have lost it.

We met Emmett's Grandma near campus and he got out of the car and into hers. We had our goodbye back in Chicago and it wasn't necessary to do it again. We were going to see him soon...there was no need to cause a scene. Jasper and I headed towards Boston U, and it was starting to hit me.

Luckily, it was complete chaos moving in so I was distracted for a while. My roommate, Felix, seemed like a cool guy, but I was already regretting not rooming with Jasper. People told us time and time again not to because it would be good for us. And, I'm sure it would be. But, as I sat on my bed after my parents had gone to their hotel, I just wished Jasper was here.

The weekend passed by too quickly. We were in meetings and taking tours and we barely had time to breathe let alone explore.

"Well, this is it." My mother whispered as we stood at their car at the end of the weekend. I honestly didn't want them to leave, but I knew they had to at some point. It was my turn to be on my own, but I had no idea what to do. I was an only child, my parents and I had always been close.

"Yeah," I nodded as I stared blankly at them. I never realized how hard this moment would actually be when it came.

"Look, don't be afraid to call." Dad told me. "We'll always answer and it's normal to feel scared and alone."

"I know," I nodded. "I'll call. I promise."

"I love you, baby." Mom said as she finally let the tears fall. I smiled at her before giving her a tight hug. Once she let go, I turned to Dad and even he couldn't help himself. He was crying too. I gave him a tight hug and then, it was time for them to leave. I watched as my mom sobbed getting into the car and nodded at my dad before he got into the car.

I didn't stick around to watch them drive away, that would have driven me crazy. So, I ran back upstairs to the room and found Felix setting his computer up. He let me be for the night and by the time morning came, I was feeling better. This was a learning process, but I didn't have to do it by myself. Jasper was right down the hall and Emmett was only a few minutes away.

I could do this. I had to do this.

The first week wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Classes were pretty basic and I saw Jasper a lot more than I thought I would. I wasn't feeling homesick anymore and the people on my floor were all pretty awesome. I knew I'd made the right choice in coming here, even if it was a days drive away from home.

"Come on!" Emmett wined over the phone as I walked back to my dorm after my last class Friday afternoon. "Get Jasper and come to this party with me you wuss."

"Jasper's been in a mood lately." I sighed. Ever since he'd said goodbye to Maria, all he's done was sit with me while I did homework. It was getting annoying.

"Then come by yourself." He sighed. "I need at least one wingman tonight, and he can't do this for four years."

"Yeah, I know." I said. "But, imagine if you were in his position?" Maria had stayed in Chicago because it was too expensive for her to go out of state. I felt bad for him, I don't know if I'd be able to do it, but he needed to learn to go on without her. "I'll talk to him."

"You need to come even if he doesn't though,"

"I will. I swear." I told him and hung out. I finished the reading I was doing before going down to Jasper's room. He turned me down like I thought he would so I left him there. He had to get used to it, but I wasn't going to spend my Friday night with him while he sat there. I met Emmett at his building and we made our way over to the frat house.

"Excellent." Emmett smiled as he saw a group of girls walk past by us. I just shook my head at him, but I was determined to have a good time tonight. "Are you gonna even try to get laid tonight?"

"Maybe," I shrugged. "We walked further into the house and found where the keg was being stashed. We got a drink and he continued his search for a hot girl to have sex with. After a while though, it was getting stuffy in the small house so I made my way outside for some fresh air. There were people already puking in the bushes and looking around, I knew this party was going to get busted eventually.

"Cai, I said no." I heard a girl whining, but I couldn't see anything. "Cai, no!" She cried and I walked over to where the voice was coming from. I looked over and saw a guy pushing a pretty blonde girl up against the house, pulling her top down.

"Hey!" I shouted at him as I ran off the porch. "She said, no!"

"Who the fuck are you?" The guy yelled as he laid off her and pushed me. "Get out of here, freshman."

"I'm going to call the cops on you if you don't leave her alone." I threatened. Dad told me too many horror stories of college girls coming to the hospital after a brutal raping. I was not going to let this happen to her. "And I'm not kidding."

"I'll deal with you later." He snapped at the girl and then slapped her before walking away. I wanted to chase after him, but I couldn't leave her alone. I turned to her and my heart just melted. Despite the large red mark on her cheek from where she was slapped, she was absolutely beautiful. She had blonde, curly hair and her skin was pale white.

"Are you okay?" I asked, even though I knew she wouldn't be.

"I think so." She nodded. "Thank you for standing up for me. Not many people will do that here."

"He shouldn't have been treating you like that." I whispered as I pushed the hair out of her eyes. Looking closely, I noticed that she had green eyes, just like me.

"That's not the first time it's happened." She whispered. "I just...I didn't want to deal with him in the morning."

"Have you reported him?"

"His Dad is the police." She whispered. "They won't do anything."

"But..."

"I'm Tanya." She cut me off. "I'm a sophomore here at Lesley."

"I'm Edward." I smiled. "I'm a freshman at Boston University."

"Oh, a big shot, huh?"

"The biggest." I laughed.