Edward looked at the phone in his hands for the hundredth time, willing it to ring or willing himself to find the courage to call her. He knew he had to be the one to try to fix this. He had to fix it. He needed Bella.

Sitting nearby with a beer bottle in his hand, Emmett shook his head. "You know she's not going to call."

Edward's shoulders seemed to slump a bit more. He was about to suggest that maybe he should call her when Emmett continued, "And, you know she's not going to take your call either."

Edward let his head fall back against the couch and he closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Some random sports competition was playing on the television, but neither one of them were really paying attention to it.

Emmett had suggested that they go somewhere, drink, and talk things out, but somehow they had ended up at Edward's place, which Emmett found rather strange since they had never really hung out there. Not much talking had taken place either, but then Emmett wasn't sure that there was much to say. Edward had screwed up in a major way and in the process he'd lost Bella and Emmett had felt forced to resign from his job. Emmett just hoped it was the wake-up call that Edward needed.

He knew that Edward had wanted to come back to his place in the hopes that Bella would show up. From what little information Rose got, that wasn't going to happen. Rose had only been getting a bit of information from Alice, but what little bit had trickled down to him sounded pretty bad. He wasn't even sure if Bella had a job anymore.

"What am I going to do, Em?" Edward asked, finally opening his eyes and turning his stricken look to Emmett. Emmett was about to reply when his phone rang and sighing he said, "Give me a sec."

Answering the phone he said, "Hey, Rose."

The conversation seemed pretty one-sided after that and Emmett only responded to whatever Rose was saying with an, "Mmmhmm," or a sigh. It wasn't till he had been on the phone for a while that he said, "Are you sure that's a good idea?" He waited for a moment and then said, "Yeah, we're here now." It was then that Emmett looked at Edward as he spoke into the phone. "Right. I'll let him know." A few more words were spoken and then Emmett smiled a bit and whispered, "Yeah, love you too, babe. See you soon," before he ended the call.

Through the conversation, Edward had just sat there, looking at Emmett. When Emmett had finally let Rose go, he spoke, "I assume you're supposed to let me know something."

Emmett stuck his phone in his pocket. "Well, I'll tell you some of what she wanted you to know, but I'll keep the rest to myself since it involves a few choice names that don't bare repeating."

Edward nodded and frowned, closing his eyes again as he slumped further into his seat.

"Bella's on her way with Alice and Rose," Emmett finally said.

"What?" Edward's eyes flew open and he sat up in his chair. "You mean Bella's on her way here right now?"

Emmett nodded and Edward flew out of his seat. "Does she want to talk this out? What should I tell her?"

Emmett's frown grew and he sighed, running a tired hand over his face as he responded, "She's willing to talk, but Rose said it'll only be for a bit."

Edward nodded, feeling hope for the first time since the horror of the previous evening and he actually smiled a bit at Emmett. "I know that we can work this out."

Emmett seemed to fidget at his best friend's words and he seemed hesitant about saying something, but it wasn't as if Edward noticed as he started to tidy up the already immaculate place. "How far away are they? How soon do you think they'll be here?" Edward asked anxiously.

"Edward…" Emmett said, concern evident in his voice.

"Do you think I should change? Do I have time to shower?" Edward continued as he fixed some pillows on the sofa where he'd been sitting.

"Edward," Emmett tried to interrupt again.

"No, there's probably not time to shower. I don't want to leave her wai...," before Edward could even continue Emmett interrupted. "Edward! Listen to me! She's coming to get her things!"

Edward froze and looked at him, eyes widening a bit at the realization of what Emmett had said. "Her things?"

"Yeah, the girls are just coming to help her get her things," Emmett said, looking at his friend, pity in his gaze.

"But…why?" It wasn't as if Edward didn't know the answer to that question himself. He knew he had done something horrible the previous evening, but perhaps if he could talk to her, if he could explain. Was this a break or a break-up? His heart cracked at the idea of the first and shattered at the realization that it might be the second.

They would work it out. They had to.

Even if Bella wanted to get her things, that didn't mean that it was over. He wouldn't let it be over. He needed her.

In his mind, he still had time to rectify the situation.

At least he thought he did. Then Emmett spoke the words that indicated that that might not be the case, "She's leaving. I'm sorry, bro, but she's getting her things because she's leaving DC."

A/N:

First, let me start off by apologizing for the short chapter. I wanted to get something out to you guys though and this is what I have time for right now. Second, please excuse the delay. In the last month things have gotten ridiculously busy. I now hold 3 jobs (a full time job + teaching 2 courses for the local university + some other part-time work at another institution) and I'm closing on a house next month. If you have ever bought a house, you know how tiring and endless of a process it is. Apparently I'm a masochist for letting this all happen at the same time. It's the perfect storm of stuff taking up all my time!

A few weeks ago I was actually nominated by the Lemonade Stand for Fic of the Week by evilnat. I was hoping to submit a new chapter at that time and direct y'all to vote, but there wasn't any time to do so. I am sincerely flattered by the nomination. Believe it or not, but this is the first time I've been nominated for anything in the FF world. I didn't win, but I still did get a lot of new readers directed my way.

Thank you again for reading and commenting! I enjoy reading every single comment!

If anyone has recommended you to this story, please, let me know who they are!

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