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"Are you sure you can handle her?" Bella whispered, glancing toward the stairs to make sure her mother wasn't standing there as she brought her hand up to the side of her left arm. It wouldn't be the first time Renee had snuck up on them while they discussed her, and she made it clear Bella shouldn't be 'gossiping about her like a little cunt.' Bella had the scar to prove it.

"Yes, Bella, I'm sure I can handle her," Heidi said, drawing her attention back to her. "Demetri is going to come overnight with us. You know she's worse when the sun goes down. And Felix and Jane have already said they can be here if we need them. We have a support team in place for a reason. Just let us do what you pay to do."

Bella bit the inside of her bottom lip as she once again looked at the stairs. "I shouldn't go. I should just stay here. You know she doesn't like it when I'm not here."

"No, Bella!" Heidi exclaimed, and when they heard movement upstairs, she cringed and mouthed, 'sorry'. Once they were sure, Renee wasn't coming down, she spoke again, this time her voice was lower, "You need this break, Bella." She sighed. "You're only twenty-five years old, yet you act like your forty."

"I feel forty," Bella grumbled.

"Look, I know you don't want to hear this, but it might be time to consider finding a facility capable of taking care of her and her needs more efficiently than you, or I, can."

Bella shook her head. "I can't do that, Heidi. She's my mom!"

"I know, honey, I know." Heidi put her hands on Bella's shoulders. "I'm not saying you have to decide now, and you can be pissed at me, but I snuck some brochures in your bag of some places I've worked with in the past. Just take the next few days to relax. Maybe sleep, or have a margarita or two," she teased, though there was an underlining sadness in the words. "I promise she's going to be all right here with us. Be a little selfish for a change, Bella."

Bella nodded. "Okay. I'll check in a couple times a day, all right? If she gets too hard to handle, you have to promise me that you will tell me, Heidi."

"I wouldn't expect nothing less, but we have everything under control. I give you my word, Bella, that your mom is going to be okay, and so will you. It's good to let loose and enjoy yourself every once in a while."

Though she wasn't sure she was making the right decision, Bella had to admit that she was looking forward to a few days away from Renee, away from the responsibility she took on without question. She just hadn't been prepared for how hard taking care of her mother was going to be.

Bella made the mile walk to the ferry and settled on the back deck with her suitcase next to her. It was a bit ironic, she thought. Renee had bought her the suitcase eight years ago when she was getting ready to leave for college, telling her she hoped it would take her on many adventures. Now, she was using it to escape her mother, even if it was only for a few days.

Her phone chimed in her pocket and she dug it out, sighing when she saw another text from Alice. For three weeks now, Alice had been texting her multiple times a day, ever since Bella slipped and told her she was coming to the reunion at Baker Lake. Of course, Bella hadn't replied back to any of them. First, Alice called and called and called, and when she didn't answer, she started texting, asking her to call, begging her to answer the phone when she called. Bella couldn't explain why she didn't reply, or why she didn't answer. There wasn't a good reason, she just knew if she did, the floodgates would open and she wouldn't be able to close them again.

Besides, Bella wasn't entirely sure she would really be able to go. When she reached out to Heidi, who confirmed that Renee had in fact fired her again, she promised that she wasn't quitting, just knew that when Renee got to that point, it was better to just humor her. She said she had been close and hadn't left until she saw Bella walking toward the house, and it was only then that she knew Renee would be okay.

Except she wasn't okay. She would never be okay again. Maybe Heidi was right. Maybe it was time Bella looked into a long-term facility for her mother, but could she send her mother away? Her mother may be a psychotic bitch at times, but she was still her mother? It just wasn't something she was prepared to do. Not yet, anyway. Once the ferry stopped, Bella made her way onto the mainland and headed to the bus station, making it just in time to board her bus that would take her to Baker Lake.

—WL—

When Bella was a little girl, she had always wanted to take a bus ride across the country. She romanticized it, but being stuck on a Greyhound Bus for the better part of four hours was not as much fun as Bella thought it was going to be, but she didn't have any other choice. She didn't have a car anymore, having sold it two years ago to help pay for her mother's expenses, and she couldn't afford to rent a car. Every cent she made went to bills. Renee's home healthcare alone took the majority of what she made working, and her disability checks barely kept the house over their heads. If it hadn't been for his pension fund, they would have ended up on the street.

Bella thanked the bus driver as he stopped at the Newton's Marina at Baker Lake. Once she had her suitcase, she headed inside to grab a bottle of water before making the two mile walk to the lake house. It was already hot outside. She had just paid for her water when she heard the door to the marina open and close and when she looked back, she smiled when she saw the person standing there.

"Hey, Bella," Alice Whitlock said, her lips curving into a wide smile.

Alice was beautiful, always had been. She had long dark hair and the brightest blue eyes she had ever seen. Though she wasn't shorter than Bella, she had a delicacy about her that made her seem pixie-like almost. They had been best friends for the better part of the last two decades, one of the only people who knew all her secrets. He was the other, of course.

"Aren't you going to say hi?"

Bella tried to smile, but her eyes filled with tears as she whimpered and said, "Hi."

"Oh, Bella." Alice rushed across the marina and wrapped her in a tight hug. "I've missed you so much."

"I missed you, too," she cried, wrapping her arms tightly around her, not wanting to let her go.

"Um, excuse me." Startled, they pulled part and looked behind Alice at a tall man with an awkward smile. "I just want to check out, so . . ."

"Oh, sorry." Alice kept her arm wrapped around Bella as the two moved out of the way.

"No problem," he said with a smile and then proceeded to pay for his items.

Alice sighed and looked back at Bella, bringing her hand up to her face. "I didn't think you were really going to come."

"I know."

"But you're here, so let's get going."

"How'd you know I was going to be here?"

Alice laughed. "Got a text this morning from someone named Heidi, who shared your bus schedule with me."

Bella nodded. "Figures Heidi would interfere."

"She's a friend?" There was a note of jealousy lacing Alice's words that Bella understood. She had all but shut her out for three years, yet Heidi was someone who knew what Bella had been dealing with.

She shook her head. "She takes care of Renee when I'm working."

Realization crossed Alice's face as she nodded. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"She's not any better?"

"No," Bella whimpered, trying to be discrete as she wiped her tears away. "If anything, she's only gotten worse."

"Oh, Bella." Alice tightened her arm around her. "Let's get to the house, okay? Almost everyone is already here."

"Do they know I'm coming?" she asked, but what she really wanted to know is if he knew she was coming.

"Just Ben," Alice admitted, reaching around her and taking hold of Bella's suitcase before she could stop her. As they walked outside, she added, "I wasn't sure you would really come, and I didn't want to get everyone's hopes up." Alice spared her a glance. "Especially his."

"Alice," Bella whispered, her eyes closing as she shook her head. She opened her eyes and looked at Alice. "He's going to be so pissed."

"No, he won't," she scoffed. "Maybe at first. I don't know. But if I told him you were coming, and then you didn't, it would break him, Bella. I couldn't do that to him again."

Bella nodded, knowing Alice was right. Her decision to end her relationship with him hadn't been easy, for either of them, or their friend group, but Bella did what she had to do. Her mother needed her, and it wasn't fair to expect him to give up everything for her. It was hard enough that Bella had had to give up her own dreams, she wouldn't let him give up his, too. No matter how much she loved him, and she did love him. Even still, he owned her heart. He always would, too.

"Come on, Bella, this weekend is about reconnecting and having some fun."

"Fun?" Bella said with a laugh. "I don't think I know what fun is anymore, Alice."

"Shit, girl, me either. Between work and our families, Ben and I barely have time to do anything, but sleep anymore."

Alice led her over to a small silver Toyota Camry and popped the trunk. Once she had placed her suitcase inside, she closed the trunk and walked around to the driver's side, putting her hands on top.

"Ben made me promise not to smother you with love, so if I come on too strong, you have to tell me. I've just missed you so much, Bella."

She smiled. "I missed you, too, Alice, and I could use a little smothering of love."

"Well, get ready for it, because once everyone sees you, they are going to go nuts."

Bella laughed, but inwardly, she wasn't so sure. Once upon time, she would have believed that her friends would have done anything for her, but that was long before she cut them off, before she turned away from them, before she found herself trapped in a life she never wanted.

A few minutes later, Alice pulled up in front of a large blue lake house with white shudders and a large wrap around porch. There were two porch swings and white wicker chairs, and Bella couldn't keep her eyes from filling with tears as she climbed out of the car. Some of the best moments of her life had been spent at this house with these people. In fact, she had been here with him when she got the call that changed her life. The call that sent her reeling into a world of pain and heartache.

There's been an accident, they said over the phone. You need to hurry, they may not make it, they said. She did hurry, and while her father hadn't made out alive, her mother lived. Physically at least. The mother she had grown up with died that night, only to be replaced by a mean, angry hateful version of Renee Swan, who hated her only child.

"Bella."

Startled at the sound of Alice's voice, she turned and walked to the back of the car, reaching for her suitcase, only to have her hand pushed away when Alice grabbed it instead.

"You ready?"

Bella nodded, unsure if she really was ready or not. She followed Alice up the front steps to the front door. Alice looked back at her before she opened the door and stepped into the house. Even from the porch, Bella could hear everyone inside, laughter and happiness. She almost turned and hurried away, but then she heard his voice, his slow southern drawl that had her melting in his hands. She could picture the way his lips would curl up on one side when he smiled at her. Just at her, though. That was her smile and only hers.

"Hey, come on," Alice said, reaching for her hand, and though Bella both wanted to walk into the house and turn around and run, she found herself unable to move.

"I can't," she whispered, unsure she would hear her, but then she heard everyone stop talking and she knew everyone had heard her.

Alice started to speak, but when she heard movement behind her, she threw Bella a look and stepped out of the way just as he moved into her view.

He was still as beautiful as she remembered. He would tease her that men weren't beautiful. They were supposed to be handsome or fetching even, but to her, he had always been beautiful. He still wore his brown hair on the shaggy side — her favorite — and his eyes were a mix of blue and hazel, all depending on the lighting. He was tall, almost a full foot taller than her.

He smiled her smile as he stepped out onto the porch, and whispered, "Cricket?"

"Hey, Jay," she whimpered, and as a tear slipped down her face, she felt Jasper Whitlock pull her into his arms, holding her against him for the first time in three years.

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews so far! Now, as I said this is not canon. There will be no Edward and Bella. This is a Jasper/Bella story 100%. I understand if you can't read anything else, but to those willing to give it a chance, I appreciate you.