I don't own Twilight. What I own is my character's behavior, personality, background, and the plot of the story.

Author's note at the end of the chapter.

Edward gets in the car right as Maya calls him. "How did it go?" Maya asks excitedly not bothering to say hello.

"I don't know," he tells her sounding depressed as he puts the seatbelt on and turns on the ignition.

"What do you mean? She either took the bait or didn't give a fuck," she tells him.

"She didn't give a fuck," he tells her.

"What?"

Edward pulls out of the parking as he thinks over what happened inside then tells her, "She wasn't happy. That is for sure, but she wasn't sad either. She was quiet."

It was like she didn't even hear him. His words didn't even register. He had hoped that the minimalist approach would help him figure out where Bella is. Anything more and it would have tipped off Bella to his lying and she wouldn't even have cared to begin with. He had hoped that she would show some reaction, be angry or passive-aggressive. Anything to show that she cares, that the idea of him moving on hurts her as much as it hurts him. Instead, all he got was indifference. Just like how it was after the accident and right before she left him.

Maya hums considering what he told her then states, "It could be that she didn't care enough to react, but that's unlikely because she is the one who has been pushing you to date. I think she cares but doesn't want to show."

"You think?" Edward asks sounding unsure. What if Bella pushing him off to date is a by-product of guilt rather than care? Maybe she has a boyfriend but doesn't want to break it to him until he is already in a relationship. That way, he won't have the upper hand as both of them are in a relationship. Maybe since Bella knows that he is the argumentative and disagreeable type, she thought that if she reacted positively, he will act in the opposite direction, so she decided to keep her happiness to herself.

"I know," she replies. He can practically hear her smirk. Despite knowing her for less than 24 hours, Edward feels like he has known her for years. She is a couple of years younger than him and has enough confidence and arrogance in her pinky to last ten people a lifetime. After he broke the ice between them by telling her his sob story, they got to officially talk. Her recklessness and passion for life feel palpable. Maya feels like an amalgamation of everything good and bad in him.

"I never asked you, why are you helping me?" Edward asks trying to change his thoughts.

"Aside from being a hopeless romantic?" She asks. "Yes," Edward replies.

"I am bored," Maya tells him.

He barks a laugh at that then they chatter for a couple of minutes as she tells him about her experience as an ER resident until Marco calls and he hangs up with her to talk to him. Marco tells him to come over to his place as he has important things he needs to tell him.

"Hey Marco," Edward greets him at the door and then steps in.

Before he can reach the couch, Marco tells him, "We just landed some of Denali's associates in jail," Marco tells him.

"This fast?" Edward asks in surprise leaning against the back of the couch to face him.

"Turns out Vicki knew more than she was initially letting on," Marco tells him then walks to the kitchen and pours two cups of coffee for both of them then launches into a detailed explanation of who they are and the evidence they have against them.

"How would Victoria know anything? She was just one of his soldier's wives," Edward replies confused by Victoria's ability to single-handedly land two business associates, a government official, and a federal judge.

Marco barks a laugh and then tells him, "James was pimping her to those men to get some brownie points with his boss."

"God the fucking asshole. Can I shoot him?" Edward mutters in disgust. Pimping, grooming, and abusing, every time Edward thinks there is nothing worse he will learn about James, he is surprised by a new disgusting thing.

"We will get him. Victoria has a lot on him, but first, we need to take down all of Denali's associates before taking him down or we will tip Denali off."

"I will the guy lighting up fireworks when that happens," Edward tells him.

"I will be the one helping you," Marco tells him raising his hand to high-five Edward. Edward high-fives him back and it only comes to his mind after he leaves his house that he never imagined that he will ever be on speaking terms with Marco, let alone be friends.

"So what's next on the agenda?" Edward asks after a couple of seconds of silence.

"Now we need to lay low to not bring the attention onto us," Marco tells him sipping his coffee.

Edward nods his head and tells him, "That's good. So you and Charlie will be able to attend the barbecue at Bella's place then?"

The both of them haven't attended one since he moved in with Bella as they were too busy balancing their official assignments and going after Denali behind the scenes.

"We will try," Marco tells him.

"Marco Polo," Cece yells as she swings open the door and throws herself at him.

He picks her up and twirls her around then drops her down just in time for Edward to reach the door and give him one of those one-armed hugs. "Where is your girlfriend?" Edward asks as he leads him to the backyard.

"She is still not feeling very well," Marco mutters frowning.

"She will get better man," Edward tells him patting him on the back.

"I hope so," Marco mutters to himself.

Edward stops once they reach the doors to the backyard and tells him, "You don't need me to tell you where to go. You have probably been here more than me. I have a little girl I need to reprimand in private for opening the door with adult supervision."

"Don't be too hard on her," Marco asks him.

"I can't make any promises," Edward calls back.

Two hours later their group had finished eating and were scattered around her yard. Charlie is somewhere in the house making tea, Marco is on the phone checking with Amanda, and Cece's giggling fills the air as Edward chases her around the backyard.

She hears the sound of a chair being dragged in her direction and looks up to find Charlie trying to balance holding two cups while placing the chair in the right spot.

"Hey," she tells him as she helps him place the chair.

"For you," Charlie tells her handing her a cup after sitting down.

"Thank you. That makes me feel special," she tells him smiling then takes a sip.

Charlie smiles at her as he tells her, "You are welcome. You are my special person, my favorite one."

Bella rolls her eyes at him and tells him, "I better be. I am an only child."

"See? My only one," Charlie argues smiling.

Bella rests her head on his shoulders and tells him, "You're the best."

He kisses her forehead and then asks, "How are things going?"

"Good," she tells him then takes a sip from her tea.

"Look at me sweetie," Charlie tells her and once she complies, he continues, "Save yourself and me the asking. You can't lie to your dad."

Bella sits straight and looks at the bushes Cece is hiding near as she replies, "I am just surprised that I care."

Confused by her vague answer, Charlie tells her, "I don't understand."

"I don't either," Bella tells him shrugging.

Hello lovely people,

AUTHOR'S ANNOUNCEMENT: One of you guys recently requested a one-shot. It was so much fun to write and I am very proud of the result. It's called Let Her Go. Please check it out and tell me what you think of it.

When I initially wrote this chapter, it was around 600 words, but when I started editing, it somehow more than doubled. Don't ask how.

What did you think of Maya and Edward? What will happen next on that front? What will happen with the investigation into Denali? Do you think Bella will crack? And isn't Charlie the sweetest dad ever? Tell me your thoughts in the review section.

Until my next update,

Stay Safe