A/N: Thanks for all the reviews, folks! Please keep 'em coming. I love to hear what you think as the story progresses. :)

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns all things Twilight.

Chapter 20

Edward took a swig from his water bottle as he approached Bella's apartment building. It didn't do much to ease his throbbing head and churning stomach. He adjusted his glasses, hoping he didn't look as bad as he felt. Leah had tried to persuade him to wait until he was feeling better before he spoke to Bella, but he knew it was now or never. He had to bite the bullet. As he got closer to the front door, he saw a familiar blonde figure pressing the buzzer. "Rosalie?"

She turned around. "Oh, hi Edward. Are you here to see Bella? I didn't realise you guys were friends."

"I could say the same to you," he grinned, awkwardly, running his hand through his scruffy hair. "I didn't think you two were on speaking terms at the moment." Edward still wasn't entirely sure what Bella and Rosalie had fallen out over. He couldn't believe Bella was still mad at her friend over the business with Emmett, but he knew women could be hyper-sensitive about things sometimes, so maybe that was it.

"Not that it's any of your business, but that's why I'm here. I've been trying to apologise for days, but Bella hasn't been answering or returning my calls. I figured she couldn't ignore me if I showed up in person." Rosalie looked up sadly at the buzzer. "I guess I was wrong."

"Maybe she's out," suggested Edward, feeling a rush of disappointment mixed with relief. He'd been building himself up to confront Bella on the journey over here, but now he'd arrived his nerves were getting the better of him. Perhaps fate had stepped in and let him off the hook.

"No," Rosalie shook her head. "Bella answered the first time I buzzed. She told me now 'wasn't a good time', whatever that means. I know she's just trying to avoid me but I'm not leaving until she lets me in." Edward suddenly felt a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach that had nothing to do with his hangover. Maybe Bella's date with Liam had been a success. Such a success that they'd ended up doing the horizontal Riverdance back at Bella's apartment last night – and maybe a repeat performance this morning. Was Liam still at Bella's apartment? Edward resisted the urge to heave. He took a sip of his water and tried to calm the feelings of anger building up inside him like bile. He turned to leave when the front door suddenly opened.

"You!" spat Rosalie, as a blond guy looking about as rough as Edward felt walked out of the apartment building.

"Rosalie," the guy muttered, putting his head down and shoving his hands into his pockets as he tried to walk past her. She reached out with lightning speed and grabbed his arm.

"Not so fast, Mike!" she said venomously. "Don't think you can just walk out of Bella's apartment without so much as an explanation. What the actual fuck are you doing here, asshole?" Edward's ears pricked up as he heard Rosalie say the guy's name. Mike. Bella's ex. The pink strap-on jerk. Suddenly he wasn't in such a hurry to leave. He needed to know what was going on.

"Jesus, Rosalie, would you ever give me a break? I feel shitty enough as it is," grumbled Mike, trying to pull away from her vice-like grip. Edward could see Rose's blood red fingernails digging into the skin on Mike's arm. He hoped it hurt. Even if it didn't, he was pretty sure the hard slap round the face she gave him did.

"Give you a break? Are you for real, Mike? You really think you deserve a fucking break after everything you've done? You break Bella's heart into a million tiny fragments and then leave the scene of the crime quicker than you can say 'pink dildo.' Well, while you were off playing 'hide the sausage' with your little slutbag of a PA, some of us were left behind to put Bella back together, piece by broken piece. So forgive me if I'm not about to sit by and watch you shatter her all over again."

Edward watched as Mike gulped, rubbed his cheek and turned a darker shade of green. "Look Rose, just take a fucking chill pill, okay? Bella doesn't need you to fight all her battles. She just kicked me out. Literally." Edward felt a little laugh escape his lips, as he imagined Bella throwing this ass-hat out onto the street. "Oh, you think that's funny, do you?" said Mike, breaking away from Rosalie and squaring up to Edward.

"Actually, yes," replied Edward, standing up straighter so he was looking down at Mike. His head was still spinning and his stomach was in bits, but he wasn't about to let that stop him from telling Mike what he thought of him. "I also think you're a dick."

"Excuse me, Specs?" snarled Mike. "But who the fuck are you to have an opinion about me?"

"I'm a friend of Bella's. And you'll never know what you've done to that poor girl. But I do. So if I want to call you a dick, I will. You're a dick."

The blow landed squarely in Edward's gut before he knew what was happening. Bella's ex had lashed out with a closed fist, sending the churning contents of Edward's stomach straight up his gullet and out of his mouth, spraying Mike with a shower of vomit. Mike let out a strangled scream of disgust. Edward could hear Rosalie laughing in the background. He didn't know whether it was because the alcohol was now expelled from his body, or because Mike was covered in his puke, but Edward suddenly felt much better. He wiped his mouth and smiled at Rosalie, who was wiping tears of laughter from her eyes.

"Way to go, Edward!" she cheered. "It's nothing more than this twat deserves. Get out of here, Mike. And don't even think about coming back." Mike skulked off without so much as a goodbye, angrily wiping Edward's vomit from his face as he left. "Are you okay, Edward? While I know the sight of that idiot would make anyone want to throw up, I'm guessing that's not what made you puke."

"Er, no. I overdid the drink a little bit last night. But funnily enough, I'm feeling much better now," he laughed. "We should probably go see if Bella's all right."

"I'll go. I expect she'll be a mess. She'll only want her best friends around her right now. I'll call in Alice for reinforcements. You should go home and clean yourself up."

"It's okay, Rosalie. I'd really like to see if she's all right. I'm worried about her." Edward thought back to other day in Bella's apartment, the pain he could see in her eyes as she'd told him about Mike. He just wanted to hold her in his arms again, to stroke her long hair and make everything right.

"Look, Edward, I'll text you and let you know. I have your number."

Edward sighed. He knew Rosalie wasn't going to budge on this. "Fine. But tell her I was here to see her, will you?"

"Sure," said Rose, with a tight smile. "Now I think it's time you went back to bed, Edward. No offence, but you really look like shit."

oOo

"Jessica dumped him. That's why he was here." Bella pulled the bed covers closer around her neck and stared numbly at the ceiling.

"What? That asshole! Ugh, I wish I'd know that when I saw him downstairs. I would have kicked him in the balls so hard… Except he probably would have enjoyed that." Rosalie made a fist and punched the palm of her other hand in frustration. "So you're telling me that whore dumped his sorry ass, he got drunk and came straight round here, grovelling for you to take him back?"

"Yup," answered Bella, simply. She felt emotionally – and after a sleepless night, physically - drained and didn't have the energy to elaborate. She just wanted to drift off into a dreamless sleep and forget about everything that had happened in the past twenty-four hours.

"God, Bella, I'm so sorry," said Rose, stroking her friend's hair. "But you should be so proud of yourself for staying strong, for kicking him out."

"That's just it, Rose. I wasn't strong, not at first." She told Rosalie how Mike had turned up the night before, how she'd nearly given in to the pull of happy memories and old, familiar feelings. How she'd let him stay and been prepared to hear him out in the morning. "If he hadn't let slip that he'd come round because Jessica ditched him, he could still be here now. I'm an idiot, Rose. A complete idiot." Bella broke down in tears of frustration and regret.

"Don't say that, Bella," said Rosalie, sternly. "Don't you dare put even an inch of blame on yourself. This is all Mike's fault, every last bit of it. He had no right to show up here, no right to mess with your feelings. At least he got what he deserved earlier…" Rose grinned wickedly.

"What are you talking about?" asked Bella.

"Your new 'friend' Edward threw up all over him outside. It was fucking hilarious! You should have seen the look on Mike's face." Rose chuckled at the memory.

"Wait – Edward was here?" Bella sat up and wiped away the tears. "What- why was he here?"

"Bella, I just told you your motherfucker of an ex-boyfriend got puked on and you just want to know about Edward? I thought you didn't even like the guy?"

"I don't. I mean, I didn't. It's only… he was really drunk at the bar last night and I just wanted to know if he's okay."

"Well, he was just fine until Mike punched him in the stomach and made him blow chunks."

"Mike hit him?" Bella felt a pang of concern for Edward. There'd been plenty of times when she'd wanted to give him a smack herself, but she didn't like the idea of someone really hitting him.

"Yeah, right after Edward called him a dick," laughed Rose. Bella gasped and couldn't help but smile weakly. She never knew Edward had such balls. He really was going up in her estimation day by day. "Now come on, Bella," said Rosalie, soothingly. "Try and get some sleep."

Bella closed her eyes, worried she would see Mike's face etched on the inside of her eyelids. Instead, she saw nothing but the crooked smile of Edward Cullen.