Yet another exhausting chapter. I literally cannot wait to go to sleep.

A lot happens in this chapter. A lot more than I originally planned actually.

Please review and pardon any mistakes. I got on a roll and just want to get this chapter up asap.

Anywho, enjoy the chapter! :)

Watching someone fight an addiction isn't an easy thing to do.

Even though he still won't admit anything, Edward is clearly going through withdrawal and it's killing me and his entire family to watch it. His mood swings pretty much suck, even though he's doing a much better job trying to keep them in check. He goes from being happy and satisfied to angry to depressed within an hour. It's more exhausting for him than it is for us, but each night when I lay down to go to sleep, I'm immediately pulled under.

Edward, on the other hand, rarely sleeps. The deep purple circles under his eyes show that he hasn't been sleeping well, even though he denies it repeatedly. In the two weeks it has been since we had our talk in my bedroom, Alice suspects he's gotten about twenty hours of sleep. She says she can hear him wandering the house at all hours and, once in a while, she can hear the faint strains of his piano as he plays songs that sound fit for a funeral.

Basically, while it's hard for us to see him like this, it's got to be even harder for him to be like this and not be able to stop it.

It's pretty much a tradition now for me to come to the Cullen's house after school. Charlie has been working a lot of shifts at the police station lately, so when I go home, it's just me and Velma. And she can be really horrible company sometimes.

As I walk into the Cullen's house today, I'm surprised by everyone's attitudes. Carlisle and Esme, who normally welcome me so warmly barely give me a smile as they run around the house, dusting and sweeping.

Edward is nowhere to be seen, but Alice runs down the stairs with a panicked look on her face.

"Bella!" she exclaims as she grabs my hand. She pulls me quickly up the stairs behind her. "You have to come with me. We need to get ready!" Alice sounds as though she's about to burst into tears and I'm even more confused and worried.

"Ali, what is going on?" I ask as she pulls me into her room. She slams the door behind us and I jump. "Is Edward okay?" I ask, suddenly worried. I had seen them at school not even an hour ago. What could have happened since then?

Alice locks the door and looks at me seriously. "Did Edward ever mention someone named Tanya?"

I bite my lip. "A few times in passing, but he's never said anything important about her," I say. "Why?"

Alice sighs and sits down on the side of her bed. "She's…well, she's pretty much the one I blame for Edward's downfall. My parents do, too. The minute he did that film with her, he started acting different."

I feel my eyes get huge as I look at her. "OH! Tanya Denali!" I exclaim. "Duh. I should have figured that out earlier," I grumble as I think of the movie I had watched a few weeks ago, starring none other than Edward and Tanya

Alice nods. "Yeah, well she's the one who got Edward into drugs and drinking. He was still a good kid before he knew her. Yeah, he could act a little spoiled, but I could deal with that," she explains. "But then she comes in and convinces him that he's better than everyone else and introduces him to cocaine. Ever since then…" she shrugs sadly.

I nod and think back to when that movie was released almost a year ago. That's when I started to see magazines covered with pictures of a trashed looking Edward on the front.

"So what does she have to do with anything?" I ask.

Alice puts her face in her hands. "She's coming to stay the weekend with us," she says with a grumble.

I freeze and raise an eyebrow at her. "Why?" I ask.

Alice stands up and walks over to her closet and begins pulling things out as she answers. "I don't know. She says she 'misses Edward' and that she has 'like, so much time off.' She's just going to screw him up again!"

I shake my head and walk over to Alice. I place my hands on her shoulders and force her to face me. "Alice, take a deep breath. How does Edward feel about this?" I ask.

She shrugs. "I haven't seen him since we found out. He's in his room getting ready which is what we need to be doing!" she screeches as she pulls away and dives back into her closet.

"For what?" I ask as she tosses clothes in my waiting arms.

"Mom's planning a really nice dinner for the family and Tanya. She considers you apart of the family and honestly, I'd be so grateful if you stayed," she says as she holds a dress up to me.

I shrug. "Alice…I don't want to intrude on this. I mean, it may make Edward uncomfortable if I'm here while she is. I don't want to overstep my boundaries," I explain.

Alice hugs me close to her. "Please, Bella. I don't care what Edward says. I want you to be here for me. If there's anyone that can keep me calm during this, it's you," she says with a smile.

I raise an eyebrow. "I think Jasper could help as well," I say with a smirk.

Alice blushes immediately and I laugh. "Well…that's different…I mean, well…just-"

I laugh. "Alice, stop. It's fine. And I'll stay if you really want me to," I tell her with a grin.

She thanks me with a huge smile and then holds a dark blue dress out to me. "Then throw this on. I'll take care of your hair and makeup," she says to me with a large smile.

I take the dress from her hesitantly. "Why are we dressing up?" I ask.

She pulls out a purple dress for herself. "Publicity. We don't want Tanya to tell the paparazzi that she that we made her eat plainly at the dinner table without four courses," Alice practically sneers. "So we told her to dress up and be ready for a four-star meal."

I nod as I look at the dress in front of me. The material feels almost silky and I have to admit it's gorgeous. Alice slips off her clothing without warning and pulls the dress on quickly.

"Hurry up! We want to be ready when she arrives!" Alice says as she shoves me over to the corner. I quickly strip off my clothing and slip it on.

"Can you help me tie the straps?" I ask as I hold the front of my dress up.

Alice hums a yes and runs over, tying the straps around my neck quickly. She tells me to sit down on the bed and with expert hands, she fixes my hair quickly so it's half up in an elegant ponytail. She throws some curlers in my hair and, while she lets them do their job, she quickly fixes up her own hair and makeup.

She smiles at herself in satisfaction before she hurries over to me and takes out my curlers. The hair she releases spring into bouncy curls and, after all of them are out, she runs a brush through it gently, sprays the brush with hair spray, and runs it through my hair again.

After handing me her mascara and telling me to put some on, we're both ready to go downstairs. She unlocks her door and as we exit the room, I hear the click of a door at the other end of the hallway. I glance over to see a dashing looking Edward and I can't help but smile.

Damn it, he is so attractive.

He's not wearing anything over extravagant, just a light blue dress shirt and black dress pants with black shoes, but he looks like he's ready for the red carpet. I watch as his nimble fingers tighten his watch around his wrist and after he's satisfied, he looks up at me.

He just stares at me for a long moment before he smiles at me. He walks over and grabs my hand gently.

"You look beautiful," he says. He reaches up and brushes a strand of my hair behind my ear, causing me to blush.

I smile back at him. "You don't look too bad yourself," I say as I squeeze his hand. "How are you holding up?" I ask. I hear Alice's heels click down the stairs and realizing she's giving us a moment.

He shrugs. "I think it'll be good to see her," he says as he averts his eyes. "She was really important to me at one point in my life. I've kind of missed her."

I feel my stomach drop as he says that and I can't help but feel inferior all of a sudden. He has a right to miss her and no one has ever indicated that they were more than friends.

But that doesn't stop me from feeling as though I've been betrayed in some horrible way that I just don't understand.

The doorbell rings in the distance and I pull my hand away from his.

"We should get down there. Don't want to keep your guest waiting," I say softly.

I have to be supportive. I need to be strong for Edward and Alice.

I click down the stairs slowly and, after a long moment, I can hear Edward follow behind me. When I make it to the bottom of the stairs, I literally stop in my tracks at the sight in front of me.

Much to my dismay, Tanya Denali is even more beautiful in real life than she is on camera.

Her strawberry blonde hair rolls down in luscious waves to her waist, and her bangs fall into her eyes in a way that makes you notice how blue they are. Her skin is tan and flawless, and her figure is the perfect hourglass.

She's perfect.

I watch as Tanya leans forward and hugs Alice gently before her eyes trail back to me and Edward. Her eyes land on me just long enough to make me feel judged before they jump over to Edward and light up.

"Edward!" she squeals loudly.

He laughs his perfect laugh and walks forward, quickly enveloping her in a hug which she returns passionately.

My stomach turns again, but I remain standing quietly in the back.

After the hug gets uncomfortable for everyone else, Carlisle clears his throat.

"Tanya, this is our good friend Bella. The kids met her at school," he says with a gentle smile in my direction.

Tanya holds onto Edward's hand as she walks over to me with her hand extended. "Nice to meet you, Bella," she says in her bell of a voice.

I smile back. "Nice to meet you, too." I'm disgusted by my own voice for a moment before I realize how ridiculous I'm being.

"Oh Esme," she says as she turns around. She still has Edward's hand clasped tightly in hers. I can feel his eyes on me, but I choose to ignore him and focus on the conversations happening in front of me. "Something smells fantastic!"

Esme smiles and I'm surprised to see it looks a little strained. "It should be ready shortly," she says. "Why don't you guys go into the sitting room while Carlisle and I go and finish up?"

I watch as Tanya drags Edward into the Cullen's living room while I hang back for a moment.

"Are you coming, Bella?" Alice asks. Edward comes to a stop, dragging Tanya to one as well, as he awaits my answer.

"Yes. I just have to…call my dad. Let him know that I'm going to be here for dinner," I say with a shrug.

Alice smiles. "You can just spend the night," she tells me. "We have a lot to talk about." Her smile is almost evil as she turns away from me.

I stare after her, Edward, and Tanya as they make their way into the living room and, as soon as they are out of sight, I practically run to the bathroom.

I do text my father and tell him my plans for tonight and remind him to make sure Velma's food bowl is full.

Then I stare at myself for a long moment in the mirror.

What is wrong with you, Bella? Get ahold of yourself! I think to myself. You're confident. You're snarky. Don't let one bitch get to you.

But then I stop myself and think about it.

Why was she getting to me?

Edward has never said anything about them being...together. But the way she greeted him? And the hand holding? That has got to mean something more than he was letting on.

But why is that my business? Edward Cullen has the right to date anyone he wants. And if he wants to date Tanya, that is no one's business but his own!

Then why does the thought of them dating make me want to rip her hair out? Why does the thought of him being with anyone drive me completely insane? Why does the image of him tucking a piece of hair behind Tanya's ear make my stomach clench up painfully?

I know that I'm attracted to him. I mean, I've always found him attractive, but after that night in my room…well I found myself attracted to more than just his looks. I like it when he smiles and when he laughs. I like it when he casually puts his arm over the back of the chair I'm sitting in until it slips down over my shoulder. I like it when he holds my hand.

"Mom?" I asked her as she stood in my kitchen preparing dinner for my father and I. "I have a question."

"Yes honey?" She started to stir the noodles and my seven year old mind celebrated in the fact that we were having 'sghetti for dinner.

"How did you know that you wanted to marry daddy?" I asked.

My mom laughed. "Why would you want to know a silly thing like that?" She asked as she ruffled my hair.

I shrugged and blushed. "Because I think I want to marry a boy in my class," I admitted. "He's real cute."

My mom laughed again and crouched down in front of me. "Only grownups are allowed to get married, sweetheart. But I knew I wanted to marry your daddy…when I knew that going a day without seeing him would be worse than…" she trailed off and looked around the room. "Going a day without seeing him would be worse than never eating spaghetti again."

She laughed at me as my eyed widened. "Wow!" I yelled. "I don't think I could ever like anyone that much!"

My mother smiled gently. "Well you won't just like them, baby girl. You'll love him. And when you love that special guy, you'll know."

I shake my head and come back to the present. That all happened before my mother left, before I became cynical about all things romantic.

But as I stand here, staring at my mother's eyes, I start to realize that maybe, just maybe, I've been wrong all along.

And while I'm far away from ever admitting that I love anyone, I can admit that I like Edward.

And being in like is the scariest feeling I've ever experienced.

So there's that.

I hope you guys liked it! I promise that Tanya will not be around for long. She'll do her damage and then get the fuck out. And there will be more Velma love in the next chapter.

So review and stay tuned for another chapter! If I get enough reviews, I'll update tomorrow!

Lots of love,

Emilia Elliot