Hey everyone! So, this is your lucky night! I have a extra long chapter for you all tonight. I hope it makes up for my absence this weekend. My mom is coming into town tomorrow, so I will be away from FF until Sunday night. Maybe if you are all really nice, and Santa is feeling a little generous, there might be an update on Sunday night...huh...huh? Sound like a plan?

Anyway, you all blow me away. The Love of a Friend is over 500 reviews! I can't thank you enough. While I can't make everyone happy with how I have planned for this story to go, I am still thankful for the review I get. Thank you all for reading and trusting in me to give you the best story that I can give you.

I am still without a beta, so if you want to help me out, let me know. So in the mean time, all mistakes are mine.

As always, lets give some love to Stephanie Meyer for giving us all Twilight.

BPOV

Three Months Since Bella Left

Ugh, the show if finally over! Burlesque dancing is no joke! Between the tight corsets, and barely there two pieces, I hate to admit, sometime I miss Miss Irina! So here I am, sitting in front of my dressing table taking off my fake eye lashes. The show ended about twenty minutes ago, and here I sit, quietly on my own, coming down from the high of the performance. I go through the motions of everyday life. I wake up, I eat, I clean, I go to work and dance, I go home, I go to bed and wake up and do it all over again. I try to be social with the people I work with a the club, I really do try. I always wake up and say, today is the day that I am going to snap out of this haze of a life I have been walking through and start to live again.

But, in the two months that I have been here, away from him...it hasn't happened. I am starting to get scared that it will never happen. I don't know why I am mopping, I'm the one who did this to myself; I am the one who walked away. I walked away from him, he didn't walk away from me. I am the stupid one here. But, I was protecting my heart, I thought. I seemed to have only broken my own heart in the process. I sigh as I put my lashes in their case, to be ready for tomorrow's show. I slowly begin taking off the rest of my stage make-up when I feel someone behind me. I look up and see Maggie and Charlotte standing behind me.

"Hi girls." I say going back to taking off my make-up.

"Hi Bella." They reply. And then they just stand there. Pretty soon I hear clicking of glasses and a see a bottle of tequila sat down next to me on my table.

"What's this?" I ask looking up and seeing Liam and his boyfriend Peter, as he sat down the tray with five shot glasses, lemon wedges, and salt.

"This, my dear girl, is an intervention! Quite frankly, we are sick of the mopping. You are one talented dancer, but you aren't having any fun with it, and you certainly aren't having fun in life. So we..." Maggie gestures to the other three around her, "are going to pull this you out of this depression that has taken over your life."

"You're going to get me drunk, and then think I will spill my guts to you?" I ask laughing.

"Nah! You my dear, are just going to tell us what happened in life to make you so sad all the time. The tequila is just to numb the pain once you are done talking." Says Liam.

I let out a sigh as I throw my make-up remover towel in the trash can next to my table. "I really appreciate the concern, but really I..."

"Da da da da da!" Liam interrupts me. "Bella, look, we really aren't trying to be nosy bitches. Well, maybe a little," he say laughing, "but in all honesty, we really like you. And we are worried about you honey." He says, grabbing my hand and giving it a squeeze.

"Bella, it isn't healthy to be this depressed all the time." Charlotte says grabbing a chair from a nearby table and sitting next to me. "Please, just talk to us."

I look up and sigh. I close my eye and turn around to face everyone. As I turn around I notice the others have followed Charlotte and are all sitting in chairs. I take the bottle of tequila, open it and pour myself a shot. I take a lick of my hand, shake some salt, lick again, down the shot, and suck on a piece of lemon. I shake my head as the bitter heat slides down my throat. A tiny groan escapes me. I pull my knees up to my chest and look up at the four of them. "I met him when I was ten years old on the playground after some older boys pushed me off the swings." I begin. I figured if I was going to tell them, I may as well begin where it all started.

I tell them everything. All about my mom leaving, about Charlie hating me, about Charlie beating me, about the Cullen's taking me in, I tell them my whole story, leaving out the Mafia parts of course. When I finally get to the part about Tanya, I stop and pour us all a shot and pass them around. We all lick, drink, and suck. After a few moments and a deep breath, I begin to tell them about Tanya, and the pregnancy, and leaving.

The entire time I am telling them everything, I can't seem to look at them. I either keep my eyes down, or fixed on the wall behind them. When I am finally done and I look up at them, I notice they all have tears in their eyes. Finally Peter stands and gives me a hug, and for the first time in two months, I let someone comfort me, and I let a few tears fall.

Peter pulls back and again, pours all of us a shot. I down it and shake the bitter heat down my throat again.

"Holy shit Bella!" Maggie breaths out, as she sets down your shot glass. "I figured it was a boyfriend who did this to you, but...holy shit!"

"He isn't a bad person, he...he...Edward and the Cullen's lives a complicated life. Things are expected of him. They have been expected of him since he was born."

"Man, his name sound familiar." Peter says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Edward Cullen. From New York." He scratches his head. "Did he happen to go to Bayford Prep?"

"Y...y...yes." I answer timidly.

"Holy fuck! Bella! Edward fucking Cullen! As in Mafia Prince, Edward Cullen!"

I just sit there stunned! Fuck me, he knows Edward!

"I went to Bayford Prep. I was in Edwards grade, but we never hung out. Everyone..." I see his eyes widen in realization, "...holy shit you're his Bella!"

"What do you mean?"

"Seriously. He talked about you all the time. There was an unwritten rule, no one fucked with Cullen's Bella. That is just the way it was. The boys were scared as fuck, and the girls were jealous as hell."

I just laughed, so that is why hardly any of the boys talked to me, and I was pretty much shunned by most of the girls. "I went to Bayford too. Though I was two years behind you guys." I say.

"I left my junior year when my parents moved here for my dads job. That is why you don't look familiar to me." He says leaning back in his chair, a serious look takes over his face. "You know he'll find you. If he doesn't his father will. The Cullen's aren't someone you can hide from."

"I know, but I think I know how to stay under their radar. Zafrina is paying me under the table, so it won't show in the system that I have a job or pay taxes, which is where they would get most of their information. My apartment is under a different name, and I don't have credit cards. Plus my cell phone is a pay as you go. No contract."

"All well and good, but just...be careful."

"I will. They would never hurt me. Yell and scream at me for running, yes, hug and kiss me and try and drag me back, yes; but hurt me...never."

I roll my neck around to get the cricks out and look at the clock. "Holy shit, it is 2am!"

"Damn! We have rehearsal before the show tomorrow! We better get going." Charlotte says. Everyone is packing up and cleaning up.

Fifteen minutes later we are all heading out the door saying good by to the cleaning crew. "Hey, thanks again you guys. It...it means so much that you all..." I begin, but am cut off my Maggie.

"Hey, don't. We got your back. Just, don't keep us out anymore, OK?"

"I won't." I say, giving them all a hug good bye. I turn and start to walk home, and for the first time in two months, I don't feel so sad. I am not happy, but I don't feel as sad as I have. Maybe...just maybe.

EPOV

"It looks like everything with the warehouse transfer went well. It has been a few months in the new location and shipments seem to be going well." I say.

"Yeah. Nothing has come up missing, so that is good. I still have Alistar down there keeping an eye out." Jasper says.

There is silence, so I look up at him, "What Jasper?"

"There is something odd going on in Aro's camp. I have been having some of the guys keep an eye on them since the Alec thing, to make sure we have a heads up when they come after us."

"What makes you think they will come after us?"

"Ed, you put Benjamin and Tia in hiding, letting them think you killed them, and then you left Alec a bloody mess with a hole in his knee, and threw him in Aro's turf for him to find! You are starting a war."

"Yes. He is trying to steal from me, and take over. He has to know it isn't going to happen."

"Anyway," Jasper says, sighing, "Some of the photos came back with someone we know in them. Charlie Swan." He says, tossing a folder onto my desk.

"What the fuck!" I breath out. I haven't seen this fucker since the day we took Bella out of that house when he beat her. Just hearing his name makes my blood boil, now to see his face next to Aro, I am livid. "What the fuck is he doing with Aro?"

"I haven't been able to find anything out, but my guess is that Alec told him your weakness for Bella, after your reaction to his comment."

"Fuck!" I yelled, slamming the photos down. "Get me some information on why Charlie Swan is with Aro." I told Jasper, and he quickly began typing on his phone, setting things up.

A knock comes from the door, "Come in." I yell.

"Sir, I just wanted to get you sign off on the set up I organized in the VIP section for the private party tonight, as well as the inventory from the bars, and a list of what needs to be ordered for stock." Siobhan, the new club concierge says, handing me some papers.

I take the papers from her and look them over. I sign off on the private party and hand that paper work back to her, along with the paper work on the bar inventory. "I am going to look over the stock list a little more. I will get it back to you before the end of the night." I say to her. She nods and turns to walk out the door. "Thanks Siobhan." I say as she walks out of the door.

"She seems to be working out well." Jasper comments.

"Yeah. She is great. Really organized. She has even taken over in organizing some of my personal appointments."

Jasper just nods as he checks his cell phone. There is another knock at the door. "Come in." I say again.

Siobhan walks in again, with an packing envelop in her hand. "Sir, I forgot this, it came in the mail today. It was addressed to you personally, not in care of the club, so I didn't open it." She said as she walked over and handed me the envelop. She turned and walked out the door, and I was left staring at the all too familiar handwriting. Bella.

I gasped. "Who is it from?" Jasper asked, jumping up from his seat and now standing next to me.

"Bella." I said as I tore it opened. As I did my eyes met with another white envelop. I opened it and was met with cash wrapped in a sheet of paper. The memories of the last time I was in her apartment came back to me, her letter I found that day. "I took $2,000 of the money that you didn't think I knew you stashed behind the picture frame in the bathroom. I promise I will pay it all back as soon as I get settled and find a job."

I unwrapped the money from the paper and handed it to Jasper. I flipped the paper over praying there was something written on it. Thank God there was.

Edward,

Here is the money that I borrowed when I left. I am sorry that it took so long to get it back to you, but I am finally settled.

I debated on writing anything, but I knew that you would be worried. I am doing OK. I have a job and a small apartment. Please tell Carlisle and Esme that I am doing OK and that I am safe. I miss everyone, more than you all know.

I hope you are doing good.

Bella

I handed the letter to Jasper and grabbed the packing envelop. It was her handwriting, but the from address was a shipping label for dance supply company in New York. Fuck! She was too smart sometimes.

"Get in touch with this company and see if they sent anything to Bella in the last three months. I am sure it will come back with nothing, but I want it checked anyway." I say to Jasper.

"He grabs the letter and makes his way back to his seat and reads it. "She doesn't know."

"No." I whisper, shaking my head.

"Fuck!" He hisses.

"Fucking Tanya." I say closing my eyes.

Three months prior

It's had been three days since the second DNA test had been run via amniocentesis and now Tanya and I are waiting in my dad's office for the results. Mom is sitting propped up by the window sill behind my dad's desk, Tanya is next to me as we sit across from my dad. We are waiting for the doctor to get there with the results.

I keep running my hand through my hair, nervously pulling at it, while Tanya is playing with her finger nails, her hands visibly shaking.

"Tanya." My mom says in a low voice, "Is there something you need to say before the doctor gets here?"

"I...I..." She looks to me, then back to my mom, and finally lowers her head letting out a sobbing sigh. "I thought if I loved you enough, I could get you to love me back. I hoped that one day you would look at me the way you look at Bella. I tried to be everything for you, but in the end, you never even glanced back at me once she became your girlfriend." She was now crying and wiping away her tears with the back of her hand. "I was stupid one night and went home with someone I shouldn't have."

She turned and looked at me. "You have always been so nice to me, never treating me badly like everyone else in my life. I didn't want anyone else to be this baby's father. So...I...I...I lied. I bribed the doctor to fake the test results the first time around. To be honest, I don't know the father's name. I just..."

She was silenced by my mom slapping her across the face. "You stupid, little bitch!" My eyes widened. I have never seen my mom physically attack anyone. "I lost my daughter because you are a pathetic whore." With the words out of her mouth my mom let another slap go across Tanya's face.

My father jumped up and grabbed mom around her waist and dragged her back behind his desk.

I looked at her, shaking my head. It took everything in me to not take out my gun and shoot her for what she has done to my life. I had to keep telling myself that a man must never hurt a woman. "God help you! Get out! Don't look back! You no longer have a job. I will send your final paycheck and a severance check to you." She just looked at me with tears in her eyes and nodded. She stood and walked out the door.

I just sighed and let my head drop. I leaned forward and put my head in my hands, my elbow resting on my knees. I felt my mom in front of me, taking my head in her hands. I didn't even realize I was crying until I felt her wipe my tears away. "We'll get her back Edward."

I just let it all out and let myself go weak in her arms. "I promise you, we will get her back. She belongs here. We didn't loose her at Charlie's hands, and we won't loose her from this."

I just nodded, letting myself to cry in my mom's arms.

"I'm not giving up Jazz." I say looking at him.

"I'm not either. We'll get her back Ed." He said, looking at me. "I'm going to follow up on this dance supplier." He says, getting up and walking out the door.

I nod, looking down at my phone, knowing that I had to make a call to my parents. Dreading it, as I picked up the receiver.

So, what did you all think? Did we like it? Let me know. I love you all so much, and I will see you all in a few days.