Chapter Eighteen: Lights Will Guide

Edward's POV

Five Months Later

The next five months I spent with Bella were like a dream. It was just so easy to be with her, and it was really unlike anything else I'd ever had. She was everything I wanted and more. I was so deeply in love with her it hurt. I was also falling more in love with Ava every time I saw her outside of school. Bella was the most amazing mother and it really showed in Ava.

Things were also going well in Jasper's life as well. Him and Alice had started seeing each other regularly, and finally made things official on Valentines Day. It was so nice seeing him genuinely happy again, and I only had Alice to thank for that. She brought him out of his shell again and we felt like we really had our best friend back.

The weather was starting to warm up in Seattle and Bella was rushing around, trying to plan Ava's eighth birthday party. She wanted to do everything by herself, as usual, and wasn't letting anyone help her plan. She especially wasn't letting anyone help her financially. I was starting to worry that she was working herself to death, but she continually insisted she was fine.

"I wanna help," I told her as we walked around the party store, getting decorations. Ava had decided she wanted a Sofia the First party, and Bella was desperate to make her happy since they hadn't had the most grand parties so far.

"No," She shook her head, checking the price on some paper plates with Sofia's face on them. "I need to do this. I'm her mother."

"Accepting someone's help doesn't make you less of a mom, Bella." I whispered, taking the plates from her.

"You're her teacher." I argued. "If you help pay for her birthday and other parents find out, they'll want you to pay for their kids parties."

"People know we're dating, Bella." I reminded her. "I think it would be okay."

"No," She told me, throwing the plates in the cart and walking away. I took a deep breath before following her to the next aisle. I kept my mouth shut for the rest of the trip, and bit my lip when I saw how taken back she was by the final price. I didn't want to get into another argument with her about money.

Once we got home, we went to store the party stuff in a closet in the main house. We went upstairs and I smiled at the pictures plastering the walls. The first few were of Bella growing up, and further down the hall Ava start popping up.

"This is my favorite," I smiled, pointing to a picture of Bella when she was probably thirteen. She was dressed in an eighties costume, sticking her tongue out.

"That was our vintage phase." She said, cringing. "Alice dressed like she was from the sixties and Rose was the seventies."

"How long did it last?" I asked curiously.

"A week." She answered honestly. "We ran out of clothes from our parents closets." She told me as she opened the door to one of the closets. I kept looking at the photos at the wall, and my heart melted when I saw Bella holding Ava at her first birthday party.

"Dang, she was cute." I whispered, looking closely at the picture. Ava was sitting on Bella's lap, clapping her little hands together. Bella wasn't paying attention to the camera at all and was too busy smiling down at her daughter.

"Still is," Bella reminded me. "That's one of everyone's favorite pictures. Even Jake has a copy." She told me, grabbing my hand and leading me downstairs.

I knew Bella was starting to feel anxious. Jake had never missed Ava's birthday and he wasn't going to get out until the beginning of May. We already explained this to Ava, and she seemed fine, but Bella knew better. She knew it was breaking her little heart to not be able to see her Dad on her actual birthday. I suggested moving the party, but Bella wanted to keep her life somewhat normal even though Jake couldn't be there.

"I gotta take you home," She sighed, looking at her watch. "I still have to pick up groceries for dinner and pick Ava up from Jason's."

"Can I at least cook for you guys?" I offered as she grabbed her jacket off the back of a chair. "Please."

"Some other time, Edward." She sighed, leaning into me and resting her head on my shoulder. "I'm exhausted and just wanna do something quick and watch a show with Ava."

"If I cook, you don't have to." I pointed out, gently rubbing her back.

"Are you begging me to stay?" She asked, lifting her head up and looking at me.

"Yes," I nodded. "I am because lately you've been trying to do literally everything yourself. You're going to burn out, Bells, and I wanna help."

"I'm the mom." She spat, turning to walk away. "This is my responsibility."

"Not everything is." I said, chasing after her. "You've taken on the responsibility of two parents, and you can't keep doing this by yourself."

"I've been doing just fine, Edward."

"Maybe, but you're not going to last much longer." I said gently. "Let me help you. Let me relieve some of the pressure."

"I'm taking you home." She said flatly as she grabbed her jacket and ran out the door. I took a deep breath, deciding what my next move should be. I didn't know if I should just do what she wanted or continue to try until she broke. I figured, since she was in such a sour mood, I would just go home and figure out what to do later.

When I got home, I began pacing around my living room. Bella was a fantastic mother, but lately she had really been working herself to death. Ever since Jake's court date and his sentencing, she was taking off way more than she could chew. I was starting to get worried, and I knew I couldn't be the only one. I looked at my watch and knew that Chief Swan would still be at the station. I grabbed my things and headed downstairs.

The drive to the station didn't take very long since it was a Sunday afternoon and I got downtown relatively quickly. When I walked inside, the officer at the dest told me Charlie was in his office. I saw him sitting at his dest through the windows and made my way to the door.

"Chief Swan?" I asked as I knocked gently on the glass door. He looked up from his paperwork and frowned. "Can I talk to you?"

"Is everything okay?" He asked, removing his reading glasses. "Bella?"

"She's okay." I nodded as I sat down in the leather chair in front of his desk. "I'm just...really worried about her?"

"Why?" He asked, sounding concerned.

"Well, lately, I've noticed that she's trying to take on the weight of the universe. I've tried offering help but she insists on doing everything herself, and tonight she wouldn't even let me cook for her and Ava."

"She's stubborn, Edward." He sighed. "You know that."

"I think this is going way beyond stubborn, sir." I said. "I know that you know her way better than I do since I've only known her for a few months, but please trust me. She's working herself to death."

"I have noticed that she's been more frantic lately." He eventually said. "I thought it was just because of her classwork."

"Her classwork is slipping, Chief." I told him. "She's picked up way more shifts at the store, and she isn't focused on school anymore."

"She told her mother and I that she picked up another class which is why she asked us to watch Ava more."

"She did pick up another class," I told him. "But, because she's paying for another class she's working more to pay for it."

"Oh, Bella." He sighed. "I don't know what to do in this situation." He shrugged. "This is more of her mothers area."

"Then talk to Renee." I shook my head. "Just do something because...I'm honestly afraid of her falling asleep at the wheel, sir."

"She's a good driver." He argued.

"Yeah, but she isn't getting enough sleep." I too him. "She's staying up way later, stressing out about getting everything done."

"I'll talk to her mother," He nodded after a long pause. "Thank you for caring so much about my daughter, Edward."

"I love her, sir." I admitted. "I'd do anything to keep her safe and out of trouble."

I went home that night and made myself a salad for dinner. I hated that I went to Charlie to tattle on her, but it was the only thing I could think of doing. She wouldn't listen to me, and she was close with her parents. I figured if anyone could snap her out of this it would be her parents, since her friends had also already tried.

Just as I was getting into bed, my phone rang. I saw her name pop up on the screen, and took a deep breath. I didn't think this was going to be a very pleasant conversation.

"Hello?" I whispered, bracing myself.

"You told my Dad that I was going to fall asleep at the wheel?" She seethed. Damn it, Charlie. He wasn't supposed to tell her everything I told him. "What the hell, Edward?"

"You are working yourself to death, Bella." I told her once again. "What was I supposed to do? Sit back and watch you try and do everything?"

"You're supposed to trust me!" She screeched. "You're supposed to trust that I know what I'm doing and have everything under control! God, what is with people lately?"

"Bella,"

"First Alice and Rosalie. Then you and now you've brought my parents into it?" She asked. She was starting to get emotional. "I'm fine!"

"Look, I don't want to say something I may regret." I said after I'd taken a deep breath. I loved her, but I was honestly starting to get a little pissed off that she was being so stubborn. I just wanted to help, and she was making it impossible. "I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Fine," She huffed, hanging the phone up.

The next day at work was probably the worst day I'd ever had. I didn't sleep much since all I could think about was my fight with Bella, so I was exhausted. And, to top it all off, it was like they had put something in the water supply because none of the kids were listening to me.

I just wanted to get home and fix things with Bella.

I had never been so happy for the last bell to ring because that meant they were all going home and I could finally relax. I sat down at my desk, and chose not to interact with the parents unless they came up to me. But, when I saw Charlie walk inside to pick Ava up, my heart sank. This wasn't their day to pick her up.

"Hi, Pappy!" Ava squealed, running up to him. She hugged his leg and I slowly walked over to him. By the look on his face, I knew something was wrong, so I grabbed Seth from his classroom to take Ava and keep her occupied.

"Chief, what's going on?" I asked, my voice shaking.

"Bella is okay," He assured me, but that didn't make me feel any better. "You were right. She fell asleep at the wheel this afternoon on her way home from work."

"No," I whispered, going to my desk to collect my things. "Where is she?"

"When she fell asleep, she was on a neighborhood road and she wasn't going very fast." He explained. "She hit the car in front of her at a stop sign."

"Where is she?" I asked again.

"She's at the hospital, with a few bumps and bruises but she's fine." He told me as I began to walk out of the room. He grabbed my arm and pulled me back. "Edward, I would have called you if it was something serious."

"She's really okay?" I asked, trying to keep it together.

"They're keeping her overnight to be safe, but she'll be fine." He told me. "She'll be sore for a few days though." I nodded before he let me go and I walked out to my car. I didn't even care we weren't supposed to leave until three o'clock.

I made my way to the hospital Charlie said she was at and got all of her information. Renee was waiting outside her door and smiled when she saw me. She walked over and gave me a big hug before we both went to the door. I knocked gently and turned the knob.

"Hey," I whispered, trying to stay completely calm. She turned her head towards me and gave me a weak smile. "You're Dad came by the school."

"Ava?" She asked.

"I think he was going to take her home." I told her. "He said there wasn't a reason to get her all worked up."

"Kay," She nodded. "You were right." She whispered as I gently sat down on the edge of her bed. I grabbed her hand and brought it up to my mouth, kissing it softly. "I almost killed myself today."

"Nothing serious happened," I reminded her.

"I could have been on the highway, Edward." She told me. "Or Ava could have been in the car. I could have seriously hurt my kid because...I'm too stubborn to admit that I can't do it all."

"But you didn't." I whispered. "Yes, things could have been worse, but they weren't." I told her, squeezing her hand. "You're okay...this time."

"Edward," She stopped me. "Please, I don't need another lecture. Dad already gave me an earful."

"We care," I shrugged. "Bella, I'm here to help. Sure...this isn't the kind of relationship I thought I would have at my age." I told her. "I didn't think I'd be dating a single mom, or the mom of one of my students for that matter. But I'm in this and I want to help."

"I just don't want to be a burden." She whispered, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm the one who was dumb enough to get pregnant at seventeen, I should have to take responsibility."

"Taking responsibility and accepting help are very different, Bella." I told her. "Not accepting responsibility would be if you gave Ava to your parents while you went to college and lived that life. Letting me cook dinner for you and pay for things every now and then is just accepting a little bit of help."

"I'll try and let people help more." She eventually said, looking up at me with those beautiful, brown eyes. "I'm really sorry that I yelled at you last night. You were just trying to help, and I would too stubborn to let you."

"I'm over it," I shook my head. "I'm just glad you're okay."

"Thanks for being you," She said, bringing her hand up to cup my cheek. "And caring so much about Ava and I."

"There isn't anything I wouldn't do for you, Bella." I told her. "Or Ava. She's a pretty good bonus part of this relationship."

"She is, isn't she?" Bella laughed and it was so god to see her smile. I hadn't seen her smile or heard her laugh in months.

"You have a beautiful smile." I smiled. "Have I ever told you that?"

"Phew, then those three and a half years of braces were worth it." She giggled and I felt this relief of pressure off my chest. Bella was starting to see more clearly, which I meant I could start breathing more easily.

Bella was able to go home the next morning, and I took a day off of work to spend time with her and just take care of her. For the first time in months, she let me cook for her and didn't put up a fight when I offered to clean up their apartment.

It was nice just to be with her again. Really be with her. There wasn't a giant cloud looming over us anymore. Don't get me wrong, I loved all the hard work she put into everything she did and I loved that she was taking care of Ava all by herself, but the last few months were so different.

I also demanded that she let me do something for Ava's party. I really loved that little girl, and I wanted her to have the world, just like Bella did. I told her not to worry about the food or the cake. She only protested a little bit and I knew that we were moving in the right direction.

After lunch, there was a loud knock on the door and I went to get it while Bella used the bathroom. When I swung open the door, I was surprised to see Alice standing there. Her was was all blotchy and her eyes were bloodshot.

"Alice?" I asked.

"Where's Bella?" She asked, pushing past me. "Is she okay?"

"She's a little banged up, but she's fine." I told her as she made her way upstairs. "Alice, are you okay?"

"Jasper...we had a really big fight." She told me as she sat down on the couch. "I just really want Bella."

"Ali?" She asked as she slowly made her way back into the living room. "Alice, what's the matter?"

"I'm gonna go grab some work from my car." I told them, backing out of the room and making my way back downstairs. I went and sat in my car, contemplating if I should call Jasper or not. I decided against it since he'd probably be at my apartment later that night.

I just hoped this wasn't him getting cold feet and finding ways to push Alice away.

I was finishing grading a spelling test when the door to the garage opened. Alice walked out with her arms crossed over her chest and made her way towards my car. I opened the door and stepped out, waiting for her to get to me.

"Thanks for taking care of her." She smiled weakly. "I wouldn't have been any help at all."

"Yeah, of course." I whispered. "Everything okay? Do I need to whip Jasper into shape?"

"No," She laughed. "But, thanks for offering."

"Hey," I sighed, grabbing her arm. "Really, let me know if there is something I can do." I said and she nodded before making her way back to her car.