This one took a while to finish, but it's finally done!! I started a new job and have been flat out, so haven't had as much time to write. I've also had a little writers block. Hopefully the next chapter comes easier than this one did *fingers crossed*

EPOV

The last four days had passed by so slowly, it felt like I could actually feel the passage of time. Each day seemed to move slower and slower. I knew I shouldn't expect to hear anything from Bella, but that didn't stop me from constantly checking my phone. Of course, this only made me more cognizant of the trickling of each and every minute - like waiting for a pot to boil.

The only calls or messages I received were about work, or from Alice, who I had been actively ignoring. I needed to cool down and think, and I couldn't do that without space from my sister and her need to always have the last say. She had been insistently trying to get in touch with me since Monday, bombarding my phone with texts and leaving me voicemail after voicemail. Ignoring her was bound to be driving her crazy, and I was surprised she hadn't cracked and involved Mom and Dad, like we were children, and she was dobbing me in. Alice had always hated being ignored, so it was only a matter of time before it all blew up in my face.

I kept trying to find distractions by immersing myself in work, but I was blocked. The piece I'd been working on the Dracula game seemed to die on my fingertips whenever I tried to play it. Even moving on to a new commissioned project had resulted in nothing by stagnation and blank pages. Every time I put my fingers to the piano, the notes just swirled around my head in a chaotic jumble, unable to find any order.

A knock at my door intercepted my alternating between staring at the lines of blank music script on my computer and checking my phone to see if I'd received a message I'd not heard arrive.

"Yeah?" I called out as I swivelled towards the door, seeing my mother poking her head around as she pushed it open fully.

"Your father will be home soon, and we'll be heading out shortly after that. Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" she asked as she came in. Every couple of weeks, my parents went out to dinner with Carmen and Eleazar. They tried to go to a new restaurant each time, and because they had been doing this since we'd been in high school, they'd been able to try almost all the well-reviewed eateries in the city, and even some of the not so well reviewed ones. Consequently, they always knew the best places to go, no matter what kind of food you were in the mood for.

I tried to give my Mom a smile, but it was too tight to seem happy. She had asked me if I'd like to go yesterday, obviously trying to get me out of the house and out of the mood I'd been sinking into since Monday, but I had turned her down. I still wasn't in the right headspace to see anyone, and especially not Eleazar and Carmen, as I'm sure I would find it difficult to not tell them about Bella. I didn't want to take any more choices away from her, and telling the adoptive parents of her twin that she existed seemed like something she should have a say in. "Thanks Mom, but I still don't feel up to it, and I don't want to bring down your night."

"Darling, you know Carmen and Eleazar would love to see you, and no one would feel like you're bringing anything down."

"I know," I said, my smile more convincing this time. Even though my relationship with in-laws had been strained since Maria died, I knew they cared about me just as much as they always had. "I'm just still dealing with things in my own way, and I'm not ready."

My mother sighed "I hate to think of you sitting here alone tonight," she said, the concern not leaving her face. "I don't know what's been going on with you two, but maybe you should call Alice and hash things out?"

My expression darkened, even though I tried to keep the annoyance off my face. "Has she been calling you to make me talk to her?"

"You know what your sister's like," she replied a little guiltily. "She hasn't told me any specifics. Just that you'd had a disagreement and were ignoring her messages."

I knew my mom wasn't the one I was annoyed at, so I took a deep breath to calm the last of my nerves. I wasn't even that mad at Alice anymore, just frustrated with her need to control every situation, and needing to punish her a little. "I just need a break from her and all her… Alice-ness," I told her. "I'll talk to her eventually, I just need her to know that she can't manage everyone and everything."

Mom laughed a little in response, alleviating some of the tension that had settled over us. "Good luck with that! We've been trying to teach her that since she was old enough to boss us around."

One thing I hadn't thought of was that now that it was Friday and she wouldn't have to be up early for work the next day, and also knowing that our parents wouldn't be home tonight, Alice would probably make her way over here to force me to talk to her as soon as she could. I knew it was childish of me to keep avoiding her, but I didn't particularly feel like being an adult about it at the moment.

"Maybe I'll go see a movie, or something," I put forward. "Just because I don't feel like being around people right now, doesn't mean I have to be totally isolated. Sitting at home alone every night isn't going to help feel any more normal, right?"

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Mom said, beaming. Her enthusiasm had me smiling, too. "There's a few different things out at the moment, so you'll have a good selection depending on your mood."

~oOo~

I made sure to be leaving at the same time as my parents on the off-chance Alice was lying in wait for their departure, not that her very noticeable, canary yellow vintage Porsche was anywhere to be seen as I drove down the street. The cinema was the one closest to my parents' house, but it had an underground carpark, so at least it would be a safe hiding place from Alice if she happened to drive by.

I picked the film that would be starting the soonest, one starring two very well known, older actors playing two Popes. The theatre was only half full, with most of the centre section already filled by couples out for a Friday night, so I found a seat out of the way against the wall. I seemed to be one of the youngest there, and certainly the youngest person to have come alone.

I barely paid attention to the plot of the movie, and if someone asked me afterwards what had happened, I don't think I would be able to tell them. The score, however, was beautiful. Early on in the film there was a simple, yet haunting three note refrain that stuck with me. As I watched the story unconsciously, the notes swirled in the storm of thoughts whirling around my brain. Like windchimes in a hurricane.

It was nearly nine o'clock by the time the movie was over, and I could feel how empty my stomach was. With how fuzzy and distracted my mind had been lately, I had forgotten to eat anything for most of the day. I walked down the street looking for somewhere to grab something to eat, unwilling to go home where I would most likely be alone in the large house. The idea of quieting the growing noise that was making it hard to think with a few drinks didn't seem wholly appealing, either.

Most places were busy, but I finally found a bar that was still serving food and had somewhere for me to sit. I ordered a serve of nachos and a beer, which I finished even before my food arrived. The cold brew did little to help ease the restlessness of my thoughts, so when the waitress came to deliver my plate I ordered a whisky, hoping that the harder liquor would finally soothe me.

As I picked at my food, the notes that had stuck in my head from the film rang over and over. It felt like they would drive me insane. Parts of compositions I'd tried to put down over the last few days swelled and jumbled, adding to the cacophony of music ringing in my head. Not even the loud crunching sound of chewing corn chips, or the growing warmth from the alcohol could drown it out.

My phone buzzed in my pocket for at least the twentieth time this evening as I flagged the waitress for a refill of my drink. I'd put it on silent for the movie, but I had still been able to feel it vibrate when it rang. I'd ignored it until now, but it seemed the slight intoxication had worn away the last of my resistance. As I had since leaving the diner on Monday, I hoped it was Bella finally reaching out. Of course, it was only Alice, as were all the other texts and missed calls I'd received all evening.

The waitress delivered a new drink as I rejected the call. I ordered another before she even left and drained my glass quickly. Ignoring the voicemails, which I'm sure got increasingly irate as the night wore on, I read through the message my sister had sent.

A: Can we please talk tonight?

A: Please answer your phone

A: I know Mom Dad are going out. I'm coming over

A: Where are you?

A: You're not at the bar. Are you seriously hiding from me?

A: GOD DAMMIT EDWARD! Stop being such a baby!

She was right about me being a baby, but I couldn't make myself care. Putting my phone down, I went back to picking at the nachos, which had started to go cold. My new drink arrived, so I sat nursing it while trying to order the thoughts and sounds that were still churning through my head.

After ordering another drink, I found myself once again on Bella's Facebook page. As I'd done many times before, I flicked through her photos wishing that her account wasn't private so that I could see more yet unwilling to request her friendship. Even though it still felt like an invasion of her privacy, I couldn't help wanting to know everything about her. I wanted to know what she was passionate about, what her hometown was like, where she'd travelled to, who were the people she loved and spent her time with. I wanted to know if she was like Maria. Were they similar when they were growing up? Did they share passions? Did their hopes and dreams match? Were their personalities as identical as their appearance?

As I studied each image for what was probably the hundredth time, the refrain that had stuck in my mind from the film and the notes that had been swirling unsettled all week began to pair up to create snippets of a melody. It wasn't enough of a song to make any sense, and it was starting to drive me crazy. It was like I could see where each new section of the tune should be, but I didn't know how they were connected.

I lost track of how long I sat at the back of the bar, drinking, and humming to myself while I tapped out the tune in my head on the table, but it seemed like only a short time when the waitress came over to let me know they were closing out peoples tabs for the night.

"You got some way to get home tonight?" she asked as I signed the receipt slip and added a good tip.

"I'll order an Uber now," I said, and even I could hear the slight slur in my voice.

"Great," she responded with a kind smile. "I hope you have a good night."

The cool air did a lot to sharpen my senses again as I stood outside the bar waiting for my ride to arrive, but now that I was standing I could feel the full intensity of my intoxication. My head was starting to pound, and I wasn't sure whether that was due to the large amount of whisky I'd consumed or the unfinished song that was frustrating me. The driver tried to make small talk after I first got in the car, but he soon gave up when I ignored him in favour of continuing to hum to myself and drum my fingers against my thigh, as if it would produce music if I pressed hard enough.

My parents' car was in the driveway, but the lights in the house were all out, so they must have already turned in for the night. As I stumbled up to the house, I fumbled with my keys. I knew I should go straight up to my room and crawl into bed, but my head was too full, and I knew I would just lie there, staring at the ceiling with busy thoughts and floating uncomfortably as the alcohol roiled in my stomach.

I didn't need the lights on to find my way to the library. The light streaming in from the glass wall at the back of the house was enough to guide my path. That didn't stop me from bumping into the side table and nearly knocking over a vase, though. When I finally plonked down on the stool at the piano, I switched on the lamp that stood beside the instrument and cast a warm spotlight over the keys.

Trying to be quiet, I began to play the fragments of the melody that had been bubbling up from my subconscious all evening. It seemed to be a lullaby, though it was anything but soothing to me at the moment. Over and over, I played the beginning refrain, but had to stop each time after reaching a crescendo when the notes refused to order themselves to my liking. I tried picking up in different sections that had formed, but these too abruptly stopped with nowhere to go. I couldn't connect the sections or make the composition make sense, and all I could do was pound harder and harder on the keys in my irritation.

"Edward," a voice called to me, but I was so entrenched in my frustration that it was easily ignored. It wasn't until the loud voice of my father came from right beside me that I was shocked out of my drunken trance. "Edward!" he said loudly, laying his on of his hands on top of mine to still their movement. "What are you doing? It's nearly one in the morning."

"I had to get it out of my head," I slurred, looking up at him languidly.

My father regarded me with the critical eyes of a doctor. "Are you drunk?"

I couldn't suppress the slight smirk that twisted my lips. "A little."

"What's going on?" my mother asked as she appeared in the doorway, tightening her dressing gown around herself.

"He's bloody plastered, Es," Dad sighed. "Help me get him up to his room."

With one of my parents on either side, they lifted me up and away from the piano and out into the now lit hallway towards the stairs. My feet were sluggish, the numerous drinks I had had were finally catching up with me, and Dad had to practically drag me up the stairs while Mom stabilized and pushed me from behind.

"Darling, what happened tonight?" Mom asked when we'd finally reached the top. She nodded to my father in silent communication, and he went back downstairs to turn off the lights while she continued to lead me to my bedroom.

"I couldn't do it, Mom," I mumbled. "I can't do anything right anymore."

"What couldn't you do, Darling?" she questioned gently.

"I screwed it all up, and now she's never going to talk to me again." My drunk brain skipped around, not making much sense.

Mom's eyes scrunched in confusion. "Alice? Of course, she's going to talk to you again. She's been trying to get in contact with you all night."

We'd at long last reached my room, and the sight of my bed felt like seeing water after being stuck in the desert for days. "Not Alice," I said as I lurched towards it. "Bella."

Perplexed, Mom frowned as she lifted my legs, which dangled over the side of the bed, trying to make me more comfortable. "Who's Bella?"

"Her sister," I mumbled around a burp or hiccup, I wasn't quite sure. I could already feel sleep tugging at the corner of my consciousness as I gazed blearily up at my mother.

Hands on her hips, she stared down at me. That definitely confused her more than anything I'd previously said. "What on earth are you talking about?" she asked. "Whose sister is she?"

My eyes had drifted closed, and the softness of the pillow was making it hard to concentrate anymore. "Maria's", I answered with one last deep breath, before oblivion claimed me. I was passed out before I could hear my mother's response.

There you go! What do you think?

Edward's always a been someone who bottles things up, instead of sharing things with people who might have a different (and let's be honest, better) perspective. Hopefully he learns to trust that other people can help him, and stops being such a hard head!