13

She watched as her pancake man walked back into the house after hurrying outside when his phone rang. There was a sad look on his face, one that had her wondering what he had just been told. His eyes met hers, and he tried to smile, tried to hide the sadness, but he failed. She had seen it the moment she told them about the night he came for her, the night her world shattered around her. He had stolen her away from everything, everyone who used to care about her. At least they did. They didn't care about her anymore, did they?

Except her pancake man and his family, Edward, and her Rosie. They seemed to want her, but she made them sad. That's why didn't talk about him. It made people sad. Not that she'd had any people, of course. No, she hadn't had anyone, because she had been a nothing, a nobody. All she had was him, and she hated him.

Her pancake man walked over to where she and Edward sat, her holding baby Beth. She had fallen asleep in her arms after eating all of her milk. She was a good baby, a sweet baby, and she couldn't help but wonder what her baby would have been like?

"Are you hungry again?" Carlisle asked, sitting on the edge of the coffee table so he was facing her and Edward.

She bit the inside of her lip, feeling James, Rosie, Emmett, Alice, Esme, and Edward look at her before she nodded. "Can I have more pancakes?"

Carlisle smiled, this time a real smile that touched his eyes. "How about if we try something other than pancakes?"

She frowned. "But I like pancakes."

"I do, too, but maybe we could have soup," he suggested.

She grimaced.

"Okay, okay, not soup," he laughed, and everyone else smiled.

"How about," Edward said, reaching for over and placing his hand on top of hers, cradling Beth with her. "Grilled cheese. I love grilled cheese sandwiches."

"Okay," she whispered, keeping her eyes locked on Edward's. "Can I help you make them?"

"Hell yeah!" he laughed. "Give Beth to Carlisle, and we can go make everyone some grilled cheese."

She looked down at the sleeping baby, not wanting to give her up, but knowing she had to. Beth wasn't her baby, after all. No, her baby had been taken away because she wasn't gentle, not a good girl. He said she hadn't deserved her baby, that her baby would be better off without her.

"I've got her, Bella," Carlisle said, sliding his hands under Beth and lifting her out of her arms. "Do you want to help me put her down in her crib?"

She nodded, biting the inside of her lip.

"Okay, come on."

Carlisle stood with Beth in his arms and started for the stairs. She quickly followed. Beth's room was on the other side of Esme and Carlisle's. He pushed open the door and they stepped inside. She stood in the doorway, looking around. The walls had been pained a soft sage green, and there was a dark crib, dresser, and rocking chair. There were shelves on the walls that held books, and stuffed animals. She walked over and picked up a teddy bear off the one of the selves. It was brown and fuzzy with a red nose and large black eyes. Just like her Blue. She'd lost Blue a long time ago, of course. He didn't let her have any type of comfort. Maybe he would have if she'd been a good girl, but she hadn't, and he told her so every chance he got.

"Come on," Carlisle whispered, coming up behind her. He placed on hand on her back while the other slipped the teddy bear into his hand. "I'm hungry. Didn't get any breakfast, since you ate all the pancakes."

"I like pancakes," she whimpered, tears flooding her eyes as she looked up at him. "He took her away from me. Why would he take her away from me?"

"I don't know, sweetheart," Carlisle whispered. "Can . . . can you tell me when he took her from you?"

She shook her head, and pulled away from her pancake man. "I'm hungry. Can we eat now?"

Carlisle frowned, but nodded.

She shifted her eyes back to the teddy bear before she hurried out of Beth's room and back downstairs. Edward was standing at the base of the stair. He smiled and held his hand out toward her. She couldn't keep the grin off her own face as she placed her hand in his and allowed him to lead her into the kitchen, past Emmett and Rose, Alice, Esme, and James. She could feel them watching her, always watching her. It was both a comfort and made her feel uneasy. Why were they so interested in her? She was a nobody, after all. A nothing and she didn't matter, not to anyone but him.

"Okay," Edward said, clapping his hands together. "We need bread, butter, and cheese."

She stood in the middle of the room while he walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a tub of butter and a package of sandwich cheese. He placed them on the counter and grabbed a loaf of bread from the panty. He placed it on the counter, and looked back at her.

"I thought you wanted to help," he chuckled, reaching for her.

"I don't know what do to," she murmured, placing her hand in his and allowing him to tug her closer toward him.

"I'll show you." Edward released her hand, and she missed it immediately. "First, we need a couple of butter knives."

Edward reached into a drawer and pulled out two silver butter knives. He held one out to her, which she took. "Next, we need bread. Now, how many pieces do we need? Let's think. Two per sandwich, and there's me and you, of course. That's four pieces."

"Rosie and Emmett," she whispered. "That's four more, right?"

"That's right," he said with a smile. "And I suppose we need sandwiches for James, Esme, Alice, and Carlisle, too. That's eight more."

"What about Beth?" she asked, biting the inside of her lip.

"Beth's asleep. She'll get more formula in a while," he told her, and she nodded. "Now, that's sixteen slices of bread. I'll butter eight, and you can do eight. Deal?"

She nodded, but just stood there, watching as Edward pried open the container of butter and used his knife to scoop a large amount of butter, which he then started spreading on one side of the bread. She mimicked his action, and a few minutes later, they had buttered all the bread.

"Now, for the fun part," he snickered, pulling out a large griddle and placing it on the counter, plugging it into an electrical outlet. He reached past her and picked up a can of cooking spray and sprayed the top of the griddle. "That way the bread won't stick, you see?"

"Oh," she whispered.

"Now, we place one piece down for each sandwich, so that's eight down, right?"

She hummed her agreement, unsure he was right or not, but she loved the sound of his voice. It was calming and made her feel better. But why? Why was he calming to her? She didn't understand, and it scared her. Everything about the last two days scared her. She'd longed stopped caring about anything, or anyone. Told herself it was easier. Can't miss who you don't care about. Besides he was all she knew anymore. Even now, even remembering her Rosie, her mommy and her daddy, her Uncle James, she didn't really know them, did she? Rosie wanted her to be her sister, but what was a sister? She hadn't been one in so long, too long. Would Rosie really want her if she knew what he'd done to her?

"Hey, why are you crying?" Edward asked, turning and placing his hands on her face.

"I don't know," she whimpered. "I . . . I . . . I."

"Hey, you know you're safe here, don't you?"

"Safe?" she asked. "I'm safe here with you?"

Edward nodded, using his thumbs to wipe her tears away. "We're not going to let him near you again, Bella. Not ever, okay? You're our family, and we take care of our family."

"Family?" she whimpered.

"Yes," he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. She could feel the warmth of his breath. Unlike when he was close to her, she felt comfortable with him, but why? Why did they care about a nothing like her?

"My . . . my family, and I won't let anyone hurt my family again," he added.

"Again?" she murmured, causing Edward to frown and pull away from her. She missed the feel of his hands on her face immediately. "What do you mean 'again'?"

Edward shook his head and started placing the bread on the griddle. "Grab the cheese."

She turned and picked up the package of cheese, sliding it into the counter next to him. Edward covered her hand as he reached for the cheese, looking down at her with a sadness that had her heart aching. Tears flooded her eyes at the mere thought if someone hurting him, but why? She had just met him, hadn't she? Why was he affecting her like that? And why did he want to help her? She was nothing, a nobody.

"Hey, no more tears," he said, trying to smile. She could see the strain behind it though. "Let's get these cooked for everyone, okay?"

She nodded, and tried to put on a brave face as they placed slices of cheese on the bread and then the other slices of bread on top of those. Edward grabbed a spatula and started flipping the sandwiches over, showing the toasted side. A few minutes later, they piled all the sandwiches onto plates and carried them into the living room, where everyone was seated on the couches, waiting in awkward silence.

"Wow, those look good," Rosie said, scrambling to her feet and hurrying over to Bella. She placed her hand on her shoulder gently, softly, tentatively. Sisterly, even. "Did you try one yet?"

She shook her head.

"Oh, I bet you'll love it. Almost as much as pancakes."

"I really like pancakes," she whispered, swallowing thickly as everyone watched her.

"Me too," Rosie said with a smile and tears in her eyes. "Can I help you pass them out?"

"I guess," she murmured.

One by one she and Rosie handed everyone a sandwich. Nobody even looked at them until she had settled back onto the couch next to Edward, who nudged her with his shoulder. When she looked at him, he gave her a subtle wink and picked up his grilled cheese and took a bite. She licked her lips as she looked down at her own sandwich and picked it up. It was warm and soft, yet crunchy on the outside, too. It felt heavy, unlike the fluffy pancakes she enjoyed so much. She could feel everyone watching her as she lifted it to her mouth and took a small bite off the corner.

"Oh," she whispered, smiling as she looked up at Edward. "It's very good."

"I told you you'd like it," he snickered, taking another bite before looking at everyone. They were staring at her, which did nothing to make her feel comfortable. "Guys, you're being weird again."

"Oh, sorry," Carlisle groused, but before he could say anything else, the sound of Beth crying came through the baby monitor sitting on the coffee table.

Her eyes widened and she looked at Edward and then Carlisle and Esme. "Can . . . Can I go get her?"

"Of course," Carlisle replied, taking her plate from her.

She smiled as she scrambled to the stairs and hurried up, slowly opening the door to Beth's room as not to startle her. She walked over to the crib and picked Beth up, cradling the baby against her chest. Tears flooded her eyes as she turned and slowly walked out of the room and downstairs, being as gentle as she could. If he were here, she would have been able to prove that she wouldn't hurt her baby. Of course, if he were here, he would have killed them all. He didn't share her with anyone.

Thank you for all the amazing reviews!