A/N: Thanks team Shiffy x

Chapter 14

Edward's beach house was breathtaking and totally not what I had been expecting. The entire downstairs was open plan and decorated in an ultramodern finish. The back wall was made from a large sliding patio door, which was open. It led to a small decked area that overlooked the beach.

"You want a drink?" Edward asked, walking over to the kitchen.

"Sure?" I said, following him, but it came out more of a question than an answer. I sat down at the kitchen island and watched him open the fridge. I was surprised when he pulled out two beers.

"Supplying underage teens with alcohol is a felony, you know," I said, taking the beer from him.

Edward smirked. "I'll keep that in mind." He sat down at the other side of the island from me and took a sip of his beer. "So, how did you find out where I lived?"

"I asked around. Plenty of girls seemed to know where it was."

Edward laughed. "I can assure you they don't."

That was good to know. Wait, why was it good to know? I thought I had made it clear that I didn't want anything to do with Edward, at least in that way. I sighed to myself in frustration. This couldn't happen.

"What has you so deep in thought?"

"Nothing," I said, taking a long drink of the beer.

"You know," he said, pointing his bottle towards me. "You overthink things too much. You need to learn to just go with the flow and stop thinking the worst."

"I don't think-"

Edward cocked his eyebrow at me. "I heard what you said earlier Bella. You think if you care about someone they're going to die. You can't live your life like that."

"You don't know what I've been through," I hissed.

"I've lost people, too, Bella. I know how much it hurts, but you can't hold onto that shit. You gotta let it go. Do you think your parents would want you to throw your life away?"

I set the beer down. "I didn't come here for a lecture. I just came here to see that you're okay and now that I have, I'll go."

Edward sighed. "You need to quit that shit too."

"What!?"

"Running. Every time someone says or does something you don't like, you run."

I scoffed, standing up.

Edward got up from his seat and came to stand in front of me, cupping my face. "I know you're hurting Bella. It's okay to hurt, it's okay to be afraid, it's what you do with that pain and fear that counts. I want to help you, but you gotta let me in."

His eyes locked on my lips as he slowly angled his head to the side and leaned down to kiss me. His kiss was soft and warm, loving and gentle. As much as I knew I should pull away, I couldn't.

I wasn't sure I could fight him any longer.