21

Bella sat in the middle of the bed, legs folded under her, cell phone in hand — where it had consistently been over the last seven days. She had waited until she got back to Charlie's before she chanced a glance at it to see Edward's response to learning he was getting a nephew.

And she hadn't been disappointed.

"Wow, a boy. A son. Congratulations, sweetheart."

She couldn't explain why her heart fluttered when he called her 'sweetheart.' Bella hadn't spoken to him since the morning he walked out of their hotel room, but he'd snuck into her bedroom twice and left her sunflowers. And each time, she found herself longing to speak to him again.

Bella shifted to the edge of the bed, picked up her shoes, and slid them onto her feet. She'd begun to pack what she wanted to take with her as soon as the sale of her new house went through. She'd called Jessica the next day and put in an official offer and would be closing in a week. As scared and nervous as she was, she was excited, too.

Rosalie had volunteered Emmett to help Charlie and Jasper move her into the house, and they had been tossing ideas around for the nursery, the living room, and her bedroom. She picked up her phone and dropped it into her bag before heading downstairs. She was on her way to Minneapolis to search for furniture with Rosalie and Jasmine, who were due to pick her up in ten minutes.

Bella had just walked out of her bedroom when the doorbell rang. She hurried downstairs and threw it open, prepared to give Rosalie a hard time for being early. But instead of her best friend standing on the front porch, she heard herself gasp and take a half-step backward.

Because standing on the front porch was Esme Platt . . .

"Hello, Izzy."

"Hey," she whispered before clearing her throat and saying, "What . . . what are you doing here?"

"Figured I would pop in on you the same way you've been popping in on me over the last few months." Esme gestured toward the house. "May I come in?"

"Oh, yeah, of course." Bella stepped backward and waved her inside. "How'd you know where I live?"

"Probably the same way you figured out where I lived, and worked," she quipped as she stepped around her and into the living room. "Garrett told me about your visit last week. You know . . . who you are, where you're from, etc. Woodbury isn't that big. Asked a few people, and here I am."

Her eyes shifted around the room but stopped on the mantel over the fireplace. She looked at Bella before walking over and picking up a picture of Bella and Carlisle at their high school graduation. They left Woodbury that night and never looked back.

"This is him, isn't it? This is . . . this is Carlisle."

"Yes."

Esme blew out a thick breath before she returned the picture, and turned back to her. "You've known who I was since the first time you walked into the cafe, haven't you?"

"Yes." Bella sat in her father's chair, placing her hand on her stomach. "I should have told you who I was, but I didn't know how."

Esme nodded and sat on the couch. "How about you just say, 'Esme, my name is Izzy Cullen. My husband was a brother you didn't know existed.' You could have led with that."

"What would you have said if I did?"

"Honestly, I don't know," she admitted. "All of this . . ." Esme shook her head. "Garrett told me that since he died, you've been paying my rent."

Bella pressed her lips together.

"That's what I thought," she muttered. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"Because you shouldn't lose everything just because my husband lied to you." Bella scooted backward in her chair. "I didn't know about you, about the foundation, or him paying your rent until after he died. And when I found out, I didn't know how to handle it. I still don't, to be honest."

"I just . . ." Esme closed her eyes for a minute, her hands curling into fists as she took a deep breath. Once she'd opened her eyes, she asked, "What was he like?"

Bella couldn't keep from smiling as she spoke. "He was loving and caring, tender and gentle. He had an amazing sense of humor and loved to sing even though he was tone deaf, But he'd sing at the top of his lungs when his favorite song came on."

"What was his favorite song?"

"Pour Some Sugar on Me by Def Leppard."

"Of course it was," she muttered. "That's Dad's favorite song, too."

"I didn't realize that."

Esme frowned. "He told me he wasn't a very good father to them, to Carlisle and Edward."

"That's a bit of an understatement."

"He was abusive?"

Bella hesitated before saying, "It's not really my story to tell, but yes, he . . . he use to beat them all the time. Edward more than Carlisle, but they both suffered a lot at his hands."

"And I thought it was bad that he just ignored me," Esme whispered.

"Neglect is neglect, no matter how it happens."

Esme nodded. "My mom is bi-polar, and when she's manic, she's . . . she's a handful. She used to tell me all the time that it was my fault he left her, that I wasn't enough to keep him around. I thought when she married Phil, things would get better, and they have to a point, but when she goes off her meds and . . . Well, it's hard for him to handle her, too."

"I'm sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"I just am," Bella confessed.

Esme tilted her head to the side. "I don't know what else to say to you."

"I know that feeling." Bella rubbed her belly. "I wanted to tell you the truth from the beginning, but I . . . Well, to be honest, I was angry he hadn't told me about you."

She nodded. "How long were you married?"

"A little over ten years, but we'd been together officially since we were sixteen. Best friends since kindergarten. I was around twelve when my feelings for him changed into something more, I guess."

"How . . . how did he die?"

Bella felt her entire body tense.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to answer."

"No, no, it's fine." She took a deep breath before saying, "He was killed in the line of duty. He, um, he was a police officer in New York."

Esme nodded. "Oh."

"Yeah."

"And what do you do?"

Bella smiled. "Right now, I'm just trying to get my life together and prepare to have a baby. Before I got pregnant, I was a dancer. Ballet."

"I took ballet when I was little. Fell off the stage during my first recital and broke my leg. Never went back."

"Did you enjoy it? Before you broke your leg, I mean?"

"No," Esme laughed. "I was more into science than ballet, so I traded my ballet slippers for science camp every summer. Always knew I wanted to become a doctor."

"What kind of doctor are you going to be?"

"I don't know yet," she admitted. "I'm still trying to decide. A lot to consider. If I can even stay in medical school."

"Why wouldn't you be able to stay?"

Esme stood, reached into her back pocket, pulled out a check, and dropped it on the coffee table. "I, um, I'm going to have to take a semester off to find a cheaper place to live. And I'll have to work more at the café. This is all the money you've paid over the last few months, Izzy. I can repay the rest, but it's going to take me some time."

"I don't want that money back."

"I don't want it, either," she quipped. "I'm not for sale, Izzy. I don't need charity, and I certainly don't want it. I've been taking care of myself for a long time. And I thought . . . When I graduated high school and got the letter from The Swan Foundation, I thought I was finally being seen as more than the daughter of crazy ole Victoria Platt. I thought I had earned this prestigious honor, only to find out it was all a lie, Izzy. My entire life has been one big fucking lie. So no, I don't want that money or anything else from you or the so-called foundation."

Esme turned and hurried out of the house before Bella could as much as stand. She picked up the check and unfolded it, finding it made out for every penny she paid Mr. Gerandy.

"Um, hello?"

Bella looked toward the door, finding Rosalie holding Jasmine's carrier in one hand and her eyes flickering to the curb.

"Who the hell was that, and why was she crying?"

She sighed. "Her name is Esme."

Rosalie's eyes widened as she looked out the front door. "Oh."

"I'm guessing Edward's told you about her?"

She nodded. "After you and I got into that stupid fight."

"What'd he say?"

"He kind of jumped my ass for talking about Carlisle like that to you. Said you were going through enough without adding more bullshit to your shoulders. Then he told me about Esme and everything. I'm sorry, Izzy. I had no idea about any of it."

"That makes two of us."

Rosalie shifted Jasmine into her other arm. "Let's do this tomorrow or the next day. I think . . . I think you have somewhere else to be."

Bella nodded. "Thanks, Ro."

"You're welcome, Izzy. I'm just a phone call away if you need me, okay?"

"Okay."

Bella waited until Rosalie had Jasmine back in the car and was behind the wheel before she picked up her bag again, stuffed the check inside the front pocket, and left the house.

She climbed into her car and headed toward The Oasis.

—RtW—

Edward's Jeep was parked on the side when Bella pulled into the parking lot. She took a deep breath before she headed toward the front door, finding it locked, of course. It wasn't even noon, and they didn't open until five. Sighing, Bella slipped her phone out of her purse to call him, but before she could, she heard the lock turn, and when she looked back, she found him standing in the doorway in only a pair of black and white pajama pants hanging dangerously low on his hips.

Just over his heart was a sunflower tattoo with the initials I.M.S. in cursive lettering. She shifted her eyes from the tattoo to his face, raising an eyebrow.

"There's a reason legitimate tattoo parlors have policies in place against tattooing drunks and drug users, Izzy."

"Oh, I see." She bit the inside of her lip. "Can I come in?"

"Thought you needed time and space to figure things out?"

"I do, but I had a visitor this morning."

"Who? My old man?"

"No," she said slowly. "Why would he be visiting me?"

"He shouldn't be, but . . ." Edward shook his head. "He showed up a few days ago, asking about you and Carlisle. Guess he finally heard he died."

"Well, I guess that explains why Esme showed up at my dad's house this morning."

Edward's eyes widened, and he stepped backward, still holding the door open for her. "Yeah, you should probably come inside."

"Thanks." She walked past him, hearing him inhale a deep breath. "Do you live here?"

"I do," he said, locking the door behind her. He waved toward the back of the bar. "There's a small loft upstairs. Come on up. I was about to have some coffee."

Bella followed him through the back of the bar to a set of wooden stairs that led to a thick, iron door. He pushed it open, and she couldn't keep from smiling when they walked inside. It wasn't much bigger than his bedroom at his parents' house, but there weren't any holes in the walls, and he actually had furniture.

"This is . . . nice."

Edward laughed and walked over to the bed, grabbing a black T-shirt off the floor and pulling it over his head before hurrying into the small kitchen area. "It's a dump, Izzy, but it's mine, so . . ." He picked up his coffee pot. "You want some?"

"I've already had the one cup Dr. Black allows me to have."

He nodded and poured himself a cup before placing it back under the brewer. He then opened the fridge and grabbed a small bottle of orange juice before handing it to her.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. You can sit wherever you want."

Bella sat in the corner of a black corduroy sofa, opened her juice, and took a sip. Edward dropped into a matching black armchair, his eyes on hers as he sipped his coffee.

"So, are you going to tell me about her visit?"

"She asked about Carlisle, about me paying her rent over the last few months."

"You were?"

"Of course I was. I couldn't . . . I couldn't let her lose everything just because he died."

"You know she's not your responsibility, don't you?"

"He made her my responsibility when he lied to me about her and then died."

Edward placed his cup on the floor before bracing his elbows on his knees. "Did she ask about me?"

"A little."

He nodded.

"She asked about your dad, about the abuse. Said he told her he wasn't the father you deserved."

Edward scoffed. "Talk about an understatement." He paused before asking, "Was she mad?"

"Yeah, yeah, she was pretty upset. Guess she doesn't like to be lied to, either."

"Not like I haven't wanted to talk to her a million times, Izzy."

"Then why haven't you? She's your sister, Edward!"

"I know who she is!" he yelled, standing. "I know everything about her, everything. I know how she graduated valedictorian and worked two jobs in high school so she could apply to over fifty colleges and universities. She was wait-listed for Harvard and Yale, Izzy. But when she got her scholarship to the University of Minnesota, she had to take it. So, when Harvard called and told her they had a spot for her, she turned them down because she couldn't afford to pass up a full ride. And all through undergrad, she worked as much as she could to save for medical school. Every penny. Every fucking penny because he was too fucking lazy to take care of her any more than he took care of me or Carlisle. But at least he didn't put his hands on her."

"He wasn't there for her, either."

He sat back in the chair. "Well, that's the one thing we have in common, I guess."

"I think you have more in common than you think, Edward." Bella took another sip of her juice. "I've been worried about you since we got back from New York."

"You have?"

She nodded. "I . . . I didn't mean to hurt you, Edward. I just . . ."

"You didn't hurt me," he lied. They both knew he was lying. "I shouldn't have told you how I feel. I made things harder for you."

"You're the only person who has made any of this bearable. My dad and Jasper, they mean well. I know they want to help, but they can't because they refuse to look past the lies and see the Carlisle they think they knew. The one you knew."

"They love you, Izzy. They just want to protect you."

"I know. Just like you think you're protecting Esme by staying away from her. Doesn't make it right."

"Doesn't make it wrong, either."

Bella smiled softly.

"Ro told me you're buying the little house over on Huckleberry Lane."

"Didn't realize you and Ro talked about me so much?"

"We don't. I stopped by to talk some business with Emmett, and he got a phone call. So, while he was in his office, I took advantage and held my beautiful, amazing goddaughter, and Ro just happened to drop into the conversation that she'd gone with you to look at the house."

"Ah, I see."

"So, you're really buying it?"

"I am. Should close on it next week. Gotta get a ton of furniture and household items, seeing as I got rid of everything when I left New York. Talk about really starting over."

"How's your dad taking you moving out?"

"He's in denial," she laughed. "Told me at least ten times in the last three days that I can turn Jasper's room into the nursery since he's not allowed to move back home."

Edward laughed. "Something tells me your dad and Jasper would not do well under the same roof again."

"No shit. They bicker like a couple of old ladies when he and Alice bring the girls over for Sunday lunch."

Edward smiled. "It'll be good for you and your son to have your own place."

"My son," she whispered. "I still can't believe I'm having a boy."

"Me either." Edward picked up his cup. "He would have been a good dad, Izzy. Carlisle, I mean. He may have his faults, but he did love you and would have loved his son the way a father is supposed to."

Bella picked up her bag. "I should probably go."

"Yeah." Edward followed her downstairs, and to the front door of the bar. He turned the lock, but before he opened the door, he looked down at her. "You really think I should go see Esme?"

"I do. She deserves better from all of us, Edward."

He nodded and turned back to the door. "Would you go with me?"

"Yes."

"Just like that?"

"You flew across the country with me, Edward. I can make the trip to the city with you." She placed her hand on his chest, feeling him shiver. "I've missed you, Edward. More than I thought I would."

"I missed you, too, sweetheart."

Bella dropped her hand and hurried to her car. As she drove out of the parking lot, she thought about the tattoo on his chest . . .

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews! Big shout out to Sunflower Fran for being a great beta and friend. See you next Wednesdaay!