3

"Are you sure? Are you really sure?"

Carlisle sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "No, but again yes." He gave her a weak smile before he shifted over and laid next to her on her bed, his fingers grazing over the plaster cast on her right arm, causing her to tense. "I love my brother, Izzy, I do, but I can't . . . No, I won't sit back and watch him ruin his life the same way they did. We barely made it out alive, for fuck sake. How can he . . . ." He shook his head, dragging his hands over his face and through his hair before lobbing his head in her direction, tears filling his green eyes. "I love him, Izzy, but he's not my brother anymore, and I won't let him hurt you again. Not ever again."

"But —"

"You and me, Izzy. You and Me versus the world. Forever."

She smiled and reached over, her fingers slipping under the hem of his shirt. "Forever sounds good. I love you."

Carlisle leaned over, his lips pressing against hers. "I love you, Izzy. I love you."

"Hey, Izzy," said Edward Cullen.

Bella felt like the air had been knocked out of her as she stood in the doorway. Edward Cullen hadn't been a part of her life since she and Carlisle left town. Even though he was a year older than Bella and Carlisle, the three had been close, closer than close, until drugs and alcohol turned the once all-state football player into a junkie. Edward would rather steal what didn't belong to him than give two shits about how his behavior affected them, especially Carlisle.

The decision to cut him out of their lives hadn't been an easy one for Carlisle, who said goodbye to the only family he gave a damn about the night they left Woodbury for New York. She was going to dance her way across the city, and Carlisle was going to serve and protect. But now he was dead, she was alone, and Edward Cullen was standing in front of her.

"Izzy," Edward said again, reaching for her, but she pulled backward as her eyes shifted from him to the woman standing next to him.

Shorter than him by a couple inches, the woman had long blond hair that she had pulled back into a loose French braid that only few women could pull off. She had bright blue eyes and a protruding belly. Her name was Rosalie Hale McCarty, and once upon a time, they had been friends.

"Oh, my God, Izzy? How are you?" Rosalie asked, her eyes shifting from Bella to Edward, her smile faltering as she turned back to her. "It's . . . it's been a long time."

"Not long enough," Bella quipped, her eyes filling up with tears before she looked over at Edward, who was staring at her with an intensity that scared her. She hadn't been prepared to run into him, either of them, but especially him. Last she heard he was out in California, not in Woodbury. "Not even close to being long enough."

Bella pushed her way past them, ignoring the way Edward tried to grab her hand.

"Izzy!" he called out after her, but she kept moving until she was safely inside her car.

Faster than she ever thought possible, she had the thing started and was pulling out of the parking lot, heading toward her father's house. She could feel herself shaking, her eyes burning as she struggled to keep the tears from falling, from losing control — again. She was almost at Charlie's house when she remembered that she needed to pick up her prescription for pre-natal vitamins, so she turned around and headed toward the pharmacy. She had to wait almost an hour for her prescription, wasting time by flipping through trashy magazines that spread more lies than truth.

When she finally arrived back at her father's house, she was surprised to see Rosalie sitting on one of the white wicker chairs on the front porch. Sighing inwardly, Bella should have expected this, she thought as she climbed out the car and walked up the short pathway, stopping at the bottom of the steps. Rosalie had never been one to 'let things go.' Even after she and Carlisle left town, she called for weeks, for months, sent text messages, stupid, ridiculous emails. She had been there the night Jacob died, too; the night he climbed in behind the wheel of the car. Bella had begged him not to, pleaded with him to think for once.

"It doesn't make you a coward to not accept a dare," she had told him, but Jacob just smirked and had said, "A man's reputation is all he has, Swan, and I've got a rep to protect."

Jacob died and she and Carlisle left town, tried to start new, start fresh, start over. And they had. For ten years they had the most amazing life together, and just like with Jacob, one night was all it took for her perfect little world to crumble down around her. And now, Carlisle was dead and she was alone.

"What are you doing here, Rosalie?"

"What do you think I'm doing here? And since when do you call me Rosalie? It's been Ro since we were like ten years old, Izzy," Rosalie scoffed, rubbing her belly. And when she just stared at her, she sighed and said, "I haven't seen you in ten years. I wanted to catch up."

"Catch up, huh?" Bella shook her head as she climbed up the few stairs and unlocked the front door. "Maybe you should have thought about that before you let him get behind the wheel of the car."

"I didn't let Jake do anything. Nobody ever did," Rosalie rebutted, forcing her way into the house. "He was stubborn. You know that."

Stubborn was an understatement when it came to Jacob Black. All you had to do was challenge him to a dare and he would do it. Skinny dip, kiss a girl, steal a street sign. He was fearless but in the end, he paid the ultimate price.

"Come on, Izzy. I've missed you," Rosalie pleaded.

Bella sat in her father's recliner, bracing herself on her knees as she struggled to keep from openly weeping. "I missed you, too."

And she had. More than she wanted to admit. New York had been lonely, loud, and harder than she thought it was going to be. For the first few months, Carlisle and Bella barely saw each other. He was busy in the academy and she had class all day, every day. She'd fall into bed at night, tired and sore, muscles she didn't even know she had aching from her classes. The New York Ballet Company demanded only the best from their dancers, and she was determined to given them her best. But the nights, the nights were the best. When he held her, when he touched her, when he loved her with every part of his body and soul, when he reminded her that they were together for better or worse, in good times and in bad, until Death due them part. She just hadn't expected death to come after only ten years.

"Did you?" she asked, sitting on the sofa with a groan and her hands came to rest on her stomach. "Doesn't seem like it. You never came back, not once in ten years. You and Carlisle just left everyone behind."

Bella closed her eyes, fighting the urge to cry.

"I'm sorry," Rosalie whispered. "We all wanted to come out for his funeral, but, well, Edward didn't think you would want any of us there, and Billy wouldn't clear me to fly."

"It's fine," she lied.

Bella hadn't wanted anyone from Woodbury to come, except her father. She'd called him in the middle of the night, the words, 'Daddy, daddy, he's gone. He's gone, Daddy," barely leaving her lips before she broke down, unable to speak anymore. Charlie arrived in a matter of hours, still finding her curled up in the corner of their apartment, her knees pulled to her chest, her face stained with tears. As he knelt next to her, wrapping his arms around her, all she remembered was saying, 'He left me, Daddy. He left me alone.

Taking a deep breath, Bella bit her lip before asking, "How far along are you?"

"Thirty-one weeks tomorrow." Rosalie smiled and once more rubbed her belly. "A little girl. Found out I was pregnant just after Emmett's last deployment. Thank God for Edward. I would have been lost without him."

Bella's eyes widened.

"Guess you don't know," Rosalie said, frowning. "About three months ago, I fell the stairs at Mother's house. I was home alone, and started having a lot of cramps. I was convinced that I was in labor. I had twisted my ankle, so I couldn't get up or walk. Edward happened to stop by with a delivery of liquor Mother had ordered for her annual Memorial Day party."

Rosalie gave Bella a look that she understood all too well. The Hale's were known for their parties. They had always been the social event of the summer, and more than a few times, she, Carlisle, Rosalie, Edward, Emmett, and Jacob had snuck in and stolen booze, gone out to the lake and partied.

"Anyway, he found me and took me to the hospital. Luckily, I wasn't in labor and the baby is fine, but he's just always been here, especially since Emmett hasn't been able to."

"Can't believe you and Emmett are still together," Bella quipped. "With the way you two used to fight."

"Yeah, it was hard at first, but we've been married eight years and counting," she laughed, rubbing her belly. "Most of those years spent apart. Thank God that's over."

"What do you mean?"

"Emmett put his papers in. He's leaving the Army, said he wants to be a normal dad." Rosalie smiled. "He's actually due in tonight. Throwing a little surprise party down at the 'O'. You should come."

Bella pressed her lips together as she shook her head. The 'O', or otherwise known as the Oasis, was a small dive bar just outside the city limits. She had spent more nights during her high school years than she should have inside those walls. That's where they had been the night Carlisle kissed her for the first time, when he touched her for the first time, when he told her that he was in love with her. The Oasis had always been their place, just theirs.

"Come on, Izzy," Rosalie pleaded, reaching for her hand, but leaning away and Bella pulled backward. "Please?"

"I don't know," she whispered. "I just . . . I'll think about it."

"Well, I guess that's about as good as I can hope for," Rosalie snickered as she pushed herself up to her feet. "I'd better get going. Mother's expecting an update on the baby, and she doesn't like to be kept waiting."

Rosalie walked over to the front door, her eyes drifting to the vitamins she had picked up from the pharmacy, and when she looked back at her, she had the same sad, pity-filled look in her eyes that her father had, that Dr. Black had, that everyone had when they looked her since the night Carlisle died.

"I won't tell anyone that you're pregnant," Rosalie said, quietly. "You are pregnant, aren't you?"

She sighed, but nodded. "How'd you know?"

"The vitamins. Same brand Billy prescribed for me. Make sure you take them with food. They messed my stomach up."

"Thanks for the tip."

Rosalie's smile slipped into a frown. "I'm really sorry about Carlisle. He was one of the good ones."

"Yeah, he was," Bella whispered.

She waited until Rosalie was in her car before she closed the door, falling back against the thick wood. She slid to the floor, wrapping her arms around her knees as she gave in and allowed her tears to fall freely down her face. Carlisle Cullen had been one of the good guys, until suddenly, he wasn't anymore.

—RtW—

Bella was sitting on her bed when her father arrived home from work, trying not to get lost in her memories. Trying, but failing. The memories of her trying to stretch after a class while Carlisle was perched up behind her, his hands on her breasts and his lips pressed against the side of her ear. She would laugh and push him away, only to have him lay her on the floor and have his way with her. Or the first time he laid her on her bed, his hand slipping into the front of her pants, the feel of his fingers inside her, his tongue, all of him. Bella found herself in tears more times than she should have.

Charlie had called three times that afternoon. "Are you okay? Do you need me? I can come home if you need me, Izzy. Just say the word."

Her father worried too much about her, though he would say a parent could never worry too much about their child. As she dropped her hands to her abdomen, she wondered how true that was. Would she be one of those mothers who obsessed over her child day and night? Would she cut the edges off their sandwiches? Or make their Halloween costumes every year? Did she even know how to make a Halloween costume?

When she heard the front door open, Bella climbed off the bed and picked up the handful of sonogram pictures Dr. Black had printed for her, and headed downstairs, stopping when she saw her brother with Charlie. She hadn't told Jasper about the baby. He, too, worried too much about her.

"Oh, hey, Jay," Bella murmured, trying to slide the pictures into the back pocket of her jeans, but Jasper grabbed them out of her hand before she could. "Oy, give them back!"

"Holy shit, Izzy," he exclaimed, his eyes growing wider as he flipped through each one. He shifted his attention to her as the pictures fell from his hands and scattered on the floor. "Why didn't you tell me?"

Bella sighed and knelt to pick them up. Standing again, she brought her hand up to her chest. "I, um, I was going to, but, I don't know, I guess I just needed some time to get over the shock."

"Did he know?" Jasper asked, quietly.

Bella sucked the inside of her lip between her teeth as she shook her head. "I had just found out that morning. Hadn't had the chance to tell him yet."

"Oh, wow." Jasper closed the gap between them, his arm wrapping around her waist and his other hand resting against the back of her head. "My baby sister is having a baby."

"Yeah," she whimpered, placing her hands on his chest between them, fisting his T-shirt. She couldn't keep her tears from falling, from seeping into his shirt as they dripped down her face.

"The other morning, when you were sick, that's because of the baby?" he whispered.

Bella nodded. "Been rough the last few weeks."

"It was for Alice, too." Jasper released her, but brought his hands up to her face, using his fingers to wipe away her tears. "You'll be a good mom."

"I hope so," she whispered.

"I'd better run. Just stopped by to pick up Cassie's hair bow. She's insisting that she has to wear it tomorrow. It's picture day, and apparently, this bow, and only this bow, will complete her outfit." Jasper rolled his eyes, but smiled before he looked back down at her before he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I'll call you later, okay?"

Bella nodded and watched from the doorway as he rushed to his truck and climbed in. With a wave in her direction, he pulled away from the curb and headed home to his wife and daughters. Jealously filled her heart at the prefect family her brother had, the one she would never be able to give her baby.

"I should have warned you that he was coming by," Charlie groused, and when she looked back at him, she saw him staring at one of the sonogram pictures. "Doc says the baby is healthy, right?"

Bella nodded. "Said everything looked perfect. I'm due in the middle of May."

"Good. That's real good." Charlie looked up at her, his lips curving into a smile. "Bet he was surprised to see you."

Bella hummed. "As was Leah Clearwater. Apparently, she's been working for Dr. Black for a few years now. Still hates me, so I'm sure it won't take long before the whole Goddamn town knows I'm pregnant."

"And that's a bad thing?" Charlie asked.

Bella frowned. "Just hard enough being back here without him. I never thought I'd be preparing to raise a child on my own. Carlisle's supposed to be doing this with me, Dad. It was supposed to be both of us, but he's not here, is he?"

Bella left her father standing next to the front door as she turned and walked back upstairs. Closing the door to her bedroom, she sat down on the edge of her bed, placed her hands on her knees, and tried to calm her racing heart. When she and Carlisle left Woodbury, they never intended to come back. He hadn't, but she had — alone and pregnant.

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