47

Tanya Denali lived with her parents in a small white house on the outer edge of Dyersville, Iowa. According to her Facebook posts, they had held a funeral service for Kate the day before. Also, according to her Facebook posts, a large portion of her friends and family had been sharing the news articles about Bella and Edward's interviews. Many of them seemed to be in the same camp and blamed Bella and Edward for Kate and Mike's murders, even if it was only by association.

Four days had passed since they found themselves standing outside Jessica Newton's San Francisco condominium. They had planned on visiting Tanya Denali sooner, but as soon as the media realized Bella was in the city, it had become almost impossible to leave the hotel. They opted to bunker down for a couple of days before managing to slip out the back of the hotel in the middle of the night. Now, they were parked in front of the small, white house on the edge of town. The sun had just started to set, leaving a dull orange glow in the sky.

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Charlie asked, drawing Bella's attention. "I mean, stress isn't good for the baby. Right?"

Bella grinned. "Probably not, but how do you know that?"

"I mean, I'm not an idiot."

"You Googled it, didn't you?"

Charlie opened his mouth but promptly closed it. "Maybe."

She and Edward laughed while Carlisle and Esme shared a look of amusement.

"I was curious."

"You know what they say about curiosity, Charlie," Bella quipped.

"I just want to be informed. Not like I ever went through this part."

Bella frowned and looked out the window. "No, I know."

"Hey," Charlie called out to her, causing Bella to look back. "This is a good thing. A baby . . . a baby is a blessing, a chance to start fresh."

Bella bit the inside of her lip. "I know."

"We don't have to stay if you're not up to this," Esme said, shifting and placing her hand on the back of the seat.

Bella knew it was killing her not to touch them, not to be able to hold their hands and soothe away the fear and doubt inside their hearts. But she couldn't. This was something they would have to deal with for the rest of their lives, Irina had told them. She recommended several therapists who specialized in child sexual trauma, including Dr. Banner, who Edward had seen twice a week for almost fifteen years. While they hadn't seen him in person, they had sat in front of him, huddled together over the phone, and expressed their deepest, darkest fears.

"We can come back tomorrow, dear," Esme suggested.

"Tomorrow . . ." Bella shook her head. "We're here now. I just . . ."

"We just don't want to be one more person hurting that girl," Edward said, covering her hand with his and lifting it to his lips. "Just like Jessica, Tanya needs to know that Kate was important."

"Just when we think you can't get any stronger," Esme said, smiling. "Okay, let's go."

Esme was the first to exit the vehicle, followed immediately by Carlisle and Charlie. Bella and Edward shared a look before they climbed out of the back of the car. Rosalie, Alice, Emmett, and Jasper stood beside the front gate. While Rosalie and Alice were watching them, Emmett and Jasper were scouring the area for any sign of the media. The last thing they wanted was for Tanya and her family to be thrown into the middle of their world more than they already had.

The front door opened, and everyone turned as Tanya Denali stepped out onto the porch, letting the screen door close behind her with a loud, echoing thud. Her social media pictures showed her all dolled up and beautiful, but the simple way she wore her strawberry blond hair in a messy bun with loose strands around her face was somehow more elegant. She looked like Kate, Bella thought. They had the same shaped eyes and noses, even jawlines.

"I can't believe you actually showed up here," Tanya said before anyone could speak.

"We know this was a lot to ask. Just give us a few minutes," Rosalie said, glancing back at Bella. "Please."

Tanya closed her eyes for a moment before nodding and waving them toward the house. "Make it quick."

Edward wrapped his arm around Bella as they all walked through the white gate, along the stone pathway, and onto the porch. Tanya opened the screen door before waving them inside. She closed it behind them and led them into the farm-style living room. The walls were a soft sage green and were covered in photographs of Kate, Tanya, their parents, and family.

Bella was particularly drawn to one of Kate and Tanya when they were little girls, maybe around ten and five years old. They were in Disneyworld, a pair of Mickey Mouse ears perched on top of their heads and blue T-shirts with white lettering that said, "The Happiest Place on Earth." There was an innocence in their eyes she'd never seen in her own.

"I would offer you coffee, but I'm not exactly feeling hospitable at the moment."

Bella turned back to Tanya. "And you shouldn't."

"I saw your interview on The Carmen Show. Is what you said true? About your childhoods?"

"Every word," she replied, sitting on the couch with Edward on one side and Charlie on the other. "But we're not here to talk about The Gathering of Twilight."

"Why are you here?" Tanya asked, sitting on the couch across from them. "My sister was murdered inside your house."

"I know, and I am . . . We are so sorry. Kate was —"

"Don't," Tanya cried. "Don't sit there and tell me how amazing and wonderful my sister was. That's all anyone has told me! Like I didn't know exactly who Kate was. She was my sister. My sister and I needed her!"

"I'm sorry," Bella whimpered. "To be honest, I didn't know Kate all that well. My . . . my interactions with her were limited due to my . . . my trust issues."

"Trust issues? That's your reasoning for not getting to know my sister?"

Bella opened her mouth to reply, but Tanya kept speaking. "She called me the day she landed you as a client, you know? She was so excited. She said you were going to be the next big thing. Of course, she was right, wasn't she? You became America's Sweetheart, and she died. Seems totally fair."

"None of this is fair," Edward murmured, drawing Tanya's attention. "You can sit here and blame her, blame me, blame all of us for failing Kate. You'd be right. We . . . We inadvertently put her in Ben Cheney and Angela Weber's sights, which we will live with for the rest of our lives. But at the time, we didn't know who was stalking us. We just . . . we just didn't know."

"And before you started being stalked?" Tanya asked, tilting her head to the side. "Why didn't you take the time to get to know her in the last five years she worked as your publicist, Isabella?"

"Isabella was busy. She —"

"I was selfish," Bella murmured, cutting Rosalie off as she tried to defend her. "I let my fear get the best of me, and I can't explain why. My issues are my issues, and I refuse to sit here and defend how I chose to cope with my life. I wish I had been strong enough or brave enough to let go of that fear and had gotten to know Kate the way you did, the way other people did. But I didn't. I just . . . I didn't. Kate didn't deserve to die the way she did, Tanya. And when we fought for our freedom, we fought for her and Mike Newton, too. We fought for all the children hurt by those inside The Gathering of Twilight, and we fought for you, too."

"For . . . for me?"

"For those who lost their loved ones because of them, because of people like Ben Cheney and Angela Weber," Edward added. "For everyone who loves us."

"Did she know? About everything you'd been through? Did Kate know?"

"I don't know," Bella admitted. "She . . . Kate knew bits and pieces of my life, things I haven't known for very long. I think, in her own way, she was protecting me, and not just my reputation, either, but me as a person. I just wish I could have done the same for her. I truly do."

"Me too." Tanya brought her hand to her chest, toying with a heart-shaped charm dangling from a long silver chain. "I don't understand why they went after her, why you didn't protect her more. I doubt I will ever understand, and I don't want to. I . . . Just . . ." She took a deep breath. "She told me your music was going to change the world. Don't let her death be in vain. Don't let the world forget her or why she died."

"We won't." Bella stood. "I know you've already held her funeral, but I'd . . . I'd like to cover all the expenses."

"You can't buy us off."

"That's not what I am trying to do. I'm . . . I'm just trying to do the right thing."

"The right thing?" Tanya stood, putting her hands up in front of her. "The right thing would have been keeping her safe. Save your money, Isabella."

"I —"

"You should leave now," Tanya said, her tone making it clear she was done.

Bella sighed and looked at Rosalie. She nodded, dug the check they'd already prepared out of her pocket, and gave it to Bella, who laid it on the coffee table.

"I know this . . . this doesn't make any of it better. Use it to pay for her funeral or donate it to her favorite charity. Use it to finish your education. Just . . . I'm sorry. I am truly sorry."

"So you said," she quipped, folding her arms in front of her.

Bella nodded, sharing a look with Edward as they let themselves out.

—TB—

"Are you okay?"

Bella felt her shoulders tense as she turned, finding Edward leaning against the bathroom door. After leaving Tanya's house, they checked into a small hotel in Manchester, which was about twenty miles from Dyersville. As soon as they got into their room, she headed straight for the bathroom, where she curled up inside the tub and cried.

Cried for herself and Edward, Tanya and Kate, Mike and Jessica, and all the families affected by The Gathering of Twilight, the Volturi Brothers, and Ben and Angela. They'd ruined so many lives and destroyed so many young, innocent children. While their parents had chosen to flee, to attempt to save them from a life filled with pain, others had left their children to suffer. Women like Felix's mother, who only left when The Gathering grew tired of them.

"No," she admitted. "I am not okay."

"Stupid question, I guess." Edward sat on the floor next to the tub. "Guess we couldn't expect both visits to go smoothly, huh?"

"She wasn't wrong, though. We . . . No, I spent five years with her as my publicist and never took the time to get to know her. I was so wrapped up in myself to even see anyone else."

Edward nodded. "You're nervous about meeting with the label, aren't you?"

"I am," she admitted, leaning her head against the wall. "Mostly, I'm worried they won't want me anymore."

"Because we told the world the truth."

"Yeah."

"Well, I mean, that's a possibility, isn't it?"

She nodded. "I thought I hated being America's Sweetheart, Edward, but I can't imagine not being her anymore."

"Then don't."

"That easy, huh?"

He smiled. "No."

"Did you see the look on your parent's faces when you told them about the baby? I thought your mom was going to have a stroke."

"What about Charlie? I think he cried."

Bella laughed. "A little."

"Can we go back to the bed? This floor is killing my ass."

She nodded and let him help her out of the tub. They then settled on the bed. While the room wasn't the caliber she normally would have stayed in had the label been footing the bill, it had a certain charm. The walls were a dark red, the bedding was bright white, and there were pictures of flowers on the wall.

"Can we talk about something?" he asked, rolling onto his side and facing her.

"Yes?"

He grinned. "Why'd you make that sound like a question?"

"I don't know." She mimicked his position, laying her hand on his chest. "What's on your mind?"

"Well, eventually, the world is going to find out that you . . . we are having a baby."

She nodded. "Yes, and?"

I mean, I don't want our baby in the spotlight."

"I don't either," she admitted.

"You don't?"

She shook her head, and he sighed in relief. "I want our baby to have as normal of a life as he or she can. More normal than we had, at least. The media will soon find out about the baby; we won't be able to stop that, no matter how hard we try. But if I've learned anything over the last few months, Edward, is that we're not alone. We have a pretty amazing family, and we need to learn to trust them."

"It's not them I don't trust. It's the rest of the world."

"I feel the same way."

"You do?"

"How can I not after everything I've learned about myself, about you, about our parents? I just . . . We have one more stop to make before we can really move on."

"Jacob."

Bella nodded. "He's my family, too. It's not his fault our dad was a dick."

"Do you think about them?"

"I try not to. Do you?"

"Sometimes. Mostly I just . . ." Edward sat up with his knees bent in front of him. "I don't understand how they could have gotten caught up in a group like that in first place. I mean, they had to have known what they were like, right?"

"I can't see how they didn't. Not like we were the first of Twilight's children."

"I'm not going to lie to you, sweetheart. You getting close to Jacob kind of scares the shit out of me."

"Why?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. I . . . He's had a rough life, too, and maybe what he told us is true, you know, that he was just looking for a way to connect to his sister. But why didn't he tell you who he was?"

"I didn't exactly make myself available to anyone, Edward. Except for Ro, I barely spoke to anyone." Bella frowned. "Except Angela. She was one of the only people I let close enough to actually touch me."

"We should have done a better job vetting everyone around you. There were just so many. Then, we focused so much on Marcus Volturi that, I think, we didn't thinkit could be anyone else."

"I mean, you weren't entirely wrong, were you? Ben and Angela may have been acting alone, but they were . . . what? Influenced by the videos they found inside the compound. In the end, Marcus Volturi and his brothers were responsible for everything you and I have been through."

"I guess you're right."

Bella shifted so she was facing him. "We'll go talk to Jacob and then the label. After that, we're going to the cabin, and we're getting married. Then we'll prepare for our baby, which means we probably need to find a new house."

He grinned. "I mean, we can live with my parents."

"No way," she scoffed with a laugh. "I'm ready to have you all to myself, love."

"Forever?"

She nodded.

"Forever."

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Big shout out to Sunflower Fran for being an amazing beta and friend. See you next Saturday!