AN: So sorry for the delay! My internet was out for a week and things were quite busy at the farm. But anyways, enough excuses, here is the next chapter (sorry it isn't longer, but I really wanted to get an update done after my absence). Thank you to everyone for reviewing, I am so grateful to have you along for the ride with me.

Carlisle's POV

We took off walking down the road, Bella glancing behind us every few seconds. In doing so, she caught her foot once or twice on the cracks in the sidewalk and I reached out to steady her.

"He won't be following us, you have nothing to fear now," I said softly. We reached the car and I placed her things in the trunk before opening the door for her. She was silent as we settled into the car.

For the next ten minutes I weaved through downtown Eugene, making my way to the other side of the city where a small nature preserve lined the Willamette River. Neither of us spoke as I drove. My instincts, unaccustomed to reacting to rage such as I felt with Will, took several moments to simmer down to their usual inert state. Bella stared out the front windshield, unmoving except for a slight tremor in her hands. A symptom of an oncoming withdrawal perhaps. Or simply nerves from what she had gone through. Only once I had parked and turned off the ignition did she finally shift in her seat, stammering out a "thank you." Hesitantly, I reached over and gave her hand a light squeeze. Her skin was cool and clammy to the touch.

"Walk with me?" I asked.

Without looking in my direction she nodded.

The trails along the river were calm. The sun was still thankfully blocked by a low layer of cloud cover and the dreary weather had kept people from swarming the riverbanks. We took our time, but ultimately came to rest on a bench tucked into one of the more heavily-forested sections of the path. She leaned back against the wooden slats, still refusing to meet my eye.

"How are you doing?" I asked, concern infusing each word.

She looked torn, as though deciding whether or not to tell me something. After briefly closing her eyes and swallowing thickly, she mumbled, "I'm fine."

It was obvious to us both that she was anything but fine. Instead of saying as much, I asked another question, "Are you injured?"

"No." I could hear how she ground her teeth together.

I wanted so desperately for her to open up to me, but I knew it could not be forced. Things would have to happen on her terms, in her own time. And I had to make sure she knew that. I had a feeling she was keeping her distance out of fear that I would push her in one direction or another. But now that I knew how things had ended with Edward, how her thoughts and feelings and opinions had been manipulated, I took it upon myself to make sure that no matter what happened next, her autonomy was never treated with such disregard ever again.

"Bella?" I waited for her to turn and look at me, her brown eyes weary, "I'm not going to ask you the hard questions. Not yet. Not ever, if that's what you wish. But I want you to be safe. And I want you to be healthy. And maybe that is with us, and maybe it is not; which truthfully, I would mourn. But I would respect your choice. Either way, I promise to help in any way you ask of me. The documents you asked for are in the car. And should you simply want to take them and go, I..well, I won't stop you."

Bella's POV

As soon as Carlisle finished talking, I turned my gaze back towards the river in front of us, forcing my eyes to stay open to keep from crying. He was so earnest. His words made me feel seen, made me feel like a whole person. Not just a "distraction". And not just whatever I was to Will. A body? A mule? But it was for that same reason that I felt so undeserving. I was not the same person he had known back in Forks. Too much had happened, I had made too many mistakes. Surely he didn't know what he was saying when he said I could come back to them. Between the events in my own recent past, and the things Edward had said, it seemed impossible to imagine any kind of future with the Cullens.

And yet… I couldn't ignore the sense of calm that tugged at me whenever I pictured myself being with them again. Of having someone take care of me, without expecting anything in return. Plus, what kind of future awaited me if I didn't accept his offer? I knew if I stayed in Eugene there was a chance I'd end up back at Will's. And I wasn't sure my chances were much better in any other city. As pathetic as it made me feel, I knew I would get drawn in with a similar crowd if left to my own devices. And then there was Victoria. Sure, I hadn't caught a glimpse of her, but that didn't mean she wasn't still out there, biding her time. She likely knew that I was aware of her trailing me. She probably liked the idea of me waiting in fear, squirming. It felt like my options were running out. To hear Carlisle say he wanted me to be well, and to be safe, surely that meant they still cared for me; and that he wasn't just saying that out of obligation as a doctor?

I knew he wouldn't expect me to answer him right now. But something told me this was my last shot. Not because he wouldn't give me another chance (I was sure he would), but because I likely wouldn't survive ignoring his offer in order to remain on my current trajectory. As terrifying as the realization was, I knew that accepting his help was the only option. Breathing deeply through my nose, I chanced a quick glance in his direction. He gave me a small but warm half smile, and then turned to stare at the river.

"I'm so tired, Carlisle." As I spoke the words, it felt like a weight had been lifted.

His smile disappeared as he nodded and moved to get up, "Of course, let me bring you someplace to rest. Where would-"

"No, I mean- I'm just tired. I can't do this anymore. I feel like I am too far gone, like I have messed things up beyond repair." My tears fell freely now, as my insecurities, fears, and shame came pouring out of me. Releasing me from their suffocating grip. Carlisle sat back down and turned to face me, his expression affectionate. He hesitated, then held open his arm in my direction. I leaned in and allowed him to pull me towards him.

"Bella, I am so proud of you. I assure you that nothing has been broken beyond repair. You have been hurt, more than I am probably aware of, but you are here now. And you are safe. You say that you are too far gone, but I will do everything within my power to bring you back."

The more he spoke, the harder I cried. But I realized I didn't want to try and keep up my ambivalent exterior any longer. It was too exhausting. My entire body began to tremble. It felt as though a chilly fog had settled over us. I pulled away from Carlisle's hug, though oddly enough it made me feel even colder; and out of habit, my arms wrapped themselves around my torso as though to hold each piece of me together.

"Bella? I think you may be beginning to have some withdrawal symptoms." His eyebrows knit together in concern. I stifled a moan as I realized he was right. He kept talking as I began to wonder whether I might be sick. "I cannot, and will not, force you into recovery. For in my experience, those with the most success are those who choose that path, not those upon whom it was forced. If that is what you want, then of course I am ready to do whatever is necessary to help you. But if you are not ready, then simply say the words."

A sudden wave of nausea rolled through me. It was as if his words set in motion all of the symptoms that I typically stifled by swallowing another of Will's pills. I could feel my arms and legs prickling up with goosebumps. This was it, I needed to decide now. But I was surprised to realize that the choice was glaringly easy.

"I want to stop." I told him, managing to hold his gaze with my own.

The sprawling grin that pulled up the corners of his mouth conveyed his joy. "You don't know how relieved I am to hear you say that."

I found myself speaking the next words without even realizing that I had made such a decision. But as soon as I had uttered them I knew them to be true, "And, I think…I think I'd like to see Esme. But not the others, not yet."