Okay, so this is the first time I'm splitting a scene just for the sake of splitting it. It got really long, but I'm still playing with the end, so for now… here's part one. Enjoy!

I still own nothing, except the typos. Those are usually mine. :)

Deep Breaths…

~(~)~

Bella practically drops the phone in an attempt to slide her finger across the screen to unlock it.

Having realized a thing or two after her lunch with Tia and her conversation with Charlie, she's looking forward to speaking with Edward. She's nervous to the extreme, but as her father would say, she's ready to call a spade a spade.

Deep breaths… she tells herself in an effort to calm down.

It works, sort of. At least until she checks the voicemail Edward left for her.

It's not his usual, lighthearted message. Instead of being as smooth velvet, his voice sounds a little harried and perhaps even a bit frantic. It catches her off guard and she finds her mind slipping in an unhelpful direction.

While common sense tells her that he's most likely out of sorts over the run-in between their parents this morning, she can't help but compare the tone of his voice to similar messages left in the past; times when he'd sworn he'd given up the drugs for her, only to slip and come begging for forgiveness. Or times when his career hadn't gone as planned and he expected her to drop everything going on in her life and take care of him.

Not that he's asking that of her now, she reminds herself. At least, not that she can tell.

But forever cautious when it comes to Edward, she listens to the message again.

"Hey, Bella… It's me… If you get this and you have a few free minutes, could you call me? It's not an emergency, but… well, it's been an, uh… an interesting morning and I kind of needed to talk to you. Call me back as soon as you're able. Thanks. Yeah… okay, bye."

Listening to it a second time, she's even more convinced his stress is related to the Charlie-Esme affair this morning, but she still makes a point to double check the lock on her door and inform the front desk that she'll fetch her next client herself before returning Edward's call.

He picks up right away, making her smile despite her nerves.

"Bella?"

"Yeah, it's me. I'm sorry I missed your call. Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm so glad you called back though. It's been a hell of a morning."

"Oh?"

"Oh, yeah. I found out first thing this morning that my own sponsor is in jail for DUI and then..."

"Oh, Edward, I'm so sorry," she says, cutting him off in her surprise.

"Thank you. It was not a nice way to wake up."

"I can only imagine. Are you…all right?"

"Umm, I'm okay. I actually called about something else, to be honest. I might not have bothered you otherwise. I know you're at work."

"I am, but I don't have anybody for another twenty-seven minutes. I'm all yours until then."

He's quiet a moment and she cringes in embarrassment, dropping her head to the desk with a soft thunk. She hadn't meant to start flirting with him.

"Well, thanks," he finally answers, clearing his throat lightly. "I guess I should just get to the point though, twenty minutes isn't long."

"Twenty-seven minutes," she corrects, picking her head up from the desk.

"Right, so, um… my mother called me a little while ago and started ranting about…" He clears his throat again. "Well… if you can believe it, she called about your father. I don't suppose you've spoken with him today, have you?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact, I have. I was on the phone with him when you first called."

"Oh… so did he mention the situation with my mom?"

She laughs softly. "He might have."

"Great. And here I was hoping to get to you first."

"It's the thought that counts."

He sighs. "So what all do you know?"

She leans back in her chair. "Well, Charlie told me he pulled your mom over for running a red light this morning, at which point they apparently had some sort of misunderstanding because she thought he was targeting you specifically. I guess he was just surprised it wasn't you driving your car and she jumped to conclusions."

He chuckles lowly, but with little humor. "That sounds about right."

"Just out of curiosity, why was she driving your car?"

"She had a flat this morning and I was still dealing with the DUI drama, so I switched cars with her and offered to take care of the tire for her in exchange for her working this morning at the store. Monday is usually one of the days I work so she can have a day off, but I was going to be late with everything going on anyway."

"Ahh."

"Yeah. So… did your dad mention everything they discussed? Because apparently–"

"Esme's under the impression that we're dating?" she finishes for him. "Yes, my father did mention that."

"Oh."

Bella giggles softly, making Edward sigh.

"I suppose you'd like an explanation," he says.

"Well, I'm guessing it was a miscommunication, at least, I'm hoping it is anyway."

"It is. Completely. I promise you."

"I believe you. You wanna share how that happened though? I was a little shell-shocked when Dad told me and to be honest, it sparked a little miscommunication of our own."

"What do you mean? He wasn't angry with you was he?"

"He wasn't angry at all, he just decided to throw our 'Spring-Break-Shocker' back in my face again, said he wouldn't be happy if… Well, never mind that part, but let's just say he told me not to keep him in the dark in the future."

"Did he honestly think you and I would, I don't know… do something like that again?"

"Oh, no, I think he was just trying to make a point because he thought I'd been keeping things from him."

"I'm so sorry, Bella. Honestly, I never once told her that I was seeing you in anyway outside of simple friendship. I was fairly clear about it too, not that I divulged a lot of details or anything, but…"

"Like I said, Edward, I believe you."

His relief is palpable even through the phone. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

~(~)~

Part Two coming soon. :)