14

Bella pulled on the zipper of her small suitcase. Though she'd been tempted to pack all her clothing, she only packed enough for the next few days. Edward was due to arrive in five minutes, and she was still trying to decide how she was going to tell Charlie that she was returning to New York. He would not be happy that she was heading out of town or that Edward Cullen was going with her. But there were questions Bella needed answers to, and while she wasn't sure she would get them by going back, she didn't know what else to do. She couldn't keep living in the land of what if or why anymore.

She heard a vehicle stop outside the house and hurried over to her window, seeing Edward's red Jeep parked in front. She grabbed her backpack and jacket off the bed and hurried downstairs just as he rang the doorbell.

Biting her lip, Bella yanked the front door open, but before she could greet Edward, Charlie said, "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I'm here for her," Edward said, gesturing to Bella, who shook her head and shoved her bag into his hands.

"I'll be right out."

"Yeah, okay." Edward looked past her at Charlie before he turned toward his Jeep.

Bella closed the front door and turned toward her father. "That was rude."

"That was . . ." Charlie scoffed. "Where the hell are you going, Izzy?"

"Back to New York."

His eyes widened.

"Just for a few days, Dad. I promise."

"But why? It's almost Thanksgiving, Iz."

"And I'll be back before then, I promise, but . . ." She bit the inside of her lip before she said, "I don't know, Dad. I need some . . . closure, or whatever."

"Closure?"

She nodded.

"And you need him to what? Take you to the airport?"

Her eyes flickered back to him.

Understanding filled Charlie's eyes. "He's going with you, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"I could go with you."

Bella shook her head. "No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't want you to, Dad."

"But . . . but why not?"

Bella brought her hand up to her chest, her fingers toying with the neckline of her T-shirt. "Because if you go with me, you'll try to shield me from the truth about Carlisle, and I need to know who he really was."

"And you need Edward to find out who Carlisle was?"

"He needs to know who his brother was, too, I guess."

"I don't like this, Izzy. The last time you went anywhere with him, Jake died."

"I know."

Charlie gripped the back of his neck. "I can't talk you out of this, can I?"

She shook her head.

"Fine, when are you coming home?"

"A few days."

"Like three?"

"I don't know, Dad;when I get what I'm looking for, I guess."

"You know, the last time you went to New York, you didn't come home for ten years."

Bella reached back and gripped the doorknob. "Woodbury isn't my home, Dad. Hasn't been in a long time."

And even though she saw the hurt in her father's eyes, she opened the door and walked out of his house, down the front steps to Edward, who was leaning against the side of his Jeep. He didn't say anything as he opened the door, allowing her inside. As he hurried to the other side, she looked back at the house, finding Charlie looking out the front window. He placed his hand on the glass, and she mimicked the action, feeling her eyes fill with tears.

"You ready, Izzy?"

She nodded. "As ready as I will ever be."

—RtW—

Seated outside of terminal D, Bella had her phone in her hands, staring at the text message she'd just received from Jasper. He'd called, but when she ignored him, he sent a series of text messages calling her everything from selfish, cruel, stupid, and reckless. She hadn't replied to any of them, but seeing as they were diehard iPhone users, every one of his messages showed read.

"Guess they haven't forgiven me, have they?"

Bella frowned. "No, but I don't think they've forgiven me for leaving, either."

Edward hummed.

"Why'd you come back to Woodbury, Edward? You moved to California after we left, didn't you?"

He shrugged. "California wasn't home, I guess. I mean, sure, I managed to get clean and sober, but I missed you," he said, shifting his eyes to her. "And Carlisle, Jake, Emmett, and Ro, too. So, I came home, and then Mom died, Dad bailed, and I was left alone."

"I'm sorry, you know, for letting him push you away."

"He wasn't wrong about me, Izzy. I was a fucking mess. I just . . . I just wish I could have proved to him that I wasn't a screw-up anymore."

"Me too," she murmured, reaching over and covering his hand with hers. He looked down at her fingers before his eyes flickered up to hers. He turned his hand over, threading their fingers together. "He would have been proud of you, Edward."

"Too bad he didn't give me the chance to show him, huh?"

Edward released her hand before he stood and walked to the men's restroom.

Bella sighed as her phone vibrated, and looking down, she saw another text from Jasper. This one was an apology she was sure came more from Alice than her brother. Again, she ignored the message, not ready to deal with him. He still had the love of his life, but she didn't, and she had no idea how to navigate life without Carlisle.

"Here." Edward thrust a bottle of water into her hand. "You need to drink more water."

"I do?"

He nodded. "Dr. Black said it's important for you to stay hydrated when flying while pregnant."

"He did, huh?"

"Yep."

"You called him?"

"Of course I did," he scoffed. "Google gave me conflicting information, so I said fuck it and called Dr. Black this morning. He assured me it's completely safe for you to fly as long as I make sure you eat, drink a lot of water, and move around to keep from getting deep vein thrombosis."

Bella laughed. "Wow."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just surprised, I guess."

"Why?"

"I don't know. You never seemed like the kind of guy who would go the extra mile like this for someone else."

"You're not just someone else, Izzy," he replied, tilting his head to the side. "You're the mother of my niece or nephew. That makes you my family. My only family."

"You have Esme."

Edward inhaled a sharp breath. "Izzy."

"I talked to her after I left the O a few days ago."

"What'd you tell her? Did you tell her about me and Carlisle?"

"Of course not, but she kind of already knows. I mean, she knows she has two half-brothers."

"She does?"

Bella nodded. "She said your dad started calling her and coming by her apartment."

"Son-of-a-bitch," Edward snarled under his breath. "Why can't he leave her alone? It was bad enough he fucked up mine and Carlisle's lives; he has to go after her now."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"The day of Mom's funeral."

"Where's he been?"

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Vegas, last I heard; working in one of the casinos, trying to cheat the house, I'm sure. Surprised he's still breathing, to be honest."

"Do you think he knows about Carlisle?"

"I don't know, Izzy. Was he in contact with him?"

"Not that I know of, but I'm starting to realize there's a lot I didn't know."

"Did you look in his laptop?"

She nodded.

"And?"

"Well, once I got past all the pictures of me, of us, I found some files about the foundation he created as a cover in order to pay Esme's rent. He, um, he named it after me."

"What'd he name it?"

"The Swan Foundation. From what I can tell, he 'created' it in June after Esme graduated from high school and started paying her rent the following September, and he never missed a payment. Even made a website with testimonies he made up."

"How much was he paying?"

"Almost a grand."

"Jesus."

"We paid twice that much for our apartment in New York."

"And I thought my five hundred dollar mortgage payment for the Oasis was steep."

Bella laughed. "That's all you pay?"

Edward nodded. "Old Man Banner loved me."

"No shit. That bar has to be worth a lot more than you paid him."

He laughed. "For the record, I offered more, but he refused to accept it."

"Why not?"

Edward lolled his head in her direction. "He said we were the closest thing to family he had, and he wanted to keep the Oasis in the family. He sold it to me for just enough to catch up on the taxes and put a little extra in his pocket. He died a year later."

"Cancer, wasn't it?"

Edward nodded. "Stage four lung cancer. Never smoked a day in his life but ended up with lung cancer. He went through several rounds of chemo and radiation, but in the end, he just . . ." He frowned. "He talked about you and Carlisle and Jake a lot."

"You were with him when he died?"

"Me and Ro. Emmett was deployed, but Ro and I stayed with him daily for the last four months of his life."

"Did Carlisle know?"

"I don't know. I texted him, but he never replied, and I'm not a diehard iPhone user, so I don't know if he ever saw it," he teased.

Bella laughed. "Android through and through."

"iPhones are overrated and expensive."

"And better," she teased.

"Flight 2356 to New York is now boarding."

"That's us," Edward said, standing and offering his hand. "You ready?"

"Not even a little bit." Bella placed her hand in his and stood. "But let's face our fears together."

Edward laughed. "Together."

—RtW—

Their flight from Minneapolis to New York took just over three hours, and amazingly enough, they managed to hail a taxi with ease. Bella gave the driver the address for the hotel she had reserved, unbeknown to Edward, of course. He had paid for their airline tickets; she'd be damned if she was going to let him pay for their hotel costs, as well.

The look on Edward's face when they walked into the Hyatt Grand Hotel had Bella laughing, and she looped her arm with his and led him up to the concierge, a young woman with a beautiful smile.

"Welcome to the Hyatt Grand. My name is Heidi; how may I help you today?"

"We have a reservation for Izzy Cullen," she said, digging her driver's license out of her bag and placing it on the counter.

Heidi picked it up, looked from it to her before handing it back and turning toward her computer. A moment later, her smile faltered just a smidge before she spoke again. "I am so sorry, Mrs. Cullen, but there was a glitch within our system, and even though you reserved two rooms, only one was saved, and we are fully booked otherwise."

"Oh." Bella looked from her to Edward and back. "You don't have any other room available?"

"I'm sorry, but the hotel is hosting a comic book convention, and . . . I've been authorized to give you a ten percent discount, and dinner on us, but I'm sorry, we only have one room left."

"Does it at least have two beds?" Edward asked, placing his hand on the counter.

Heidi cringed and shook her head. "Queen, but there's a couch."

Bella scoffed and looked over at Edward. "We can find someplace else."

"I'm afraid that's going to be very difficult, thanks to the convention."

Groaning, Bella placed her hands on the counter. "Okay, we'll take it, I guess."

"If you're uncomfortable, Izzy, I can find someplace else," Edward muttered, placing his hand on the small of her back.

She shifted her eyes to him. "It's fine, Edward, but I get the bed."

He smiled. "Deal."

"I just need your card." Heidi cleared her throat. "For your room, I need your credit card."

"Oh, yeah, of course." Bella started digging into her bag, but before she could pull her card out, Edward slapped his on the counter. "No, I'm paying for our room."

Edward smirked. "Funny, because that's my card she's has right now."

Bella narrowed her eyes. "I'll just put the money in your account."

"And I'll just spend it on something for the baby. I'm thinking he or she needs a drum set."

"Oh, you fucking asshole." She slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes shifting back to Heidi. "Sorry."

"Don't be," she laughed before handing Edward back his card. "You two are so adorable together." And before she could assure her that they weren't together, Heidi went on to say, "You're in room eight twenty-two. Elevators are on the left. Just call down to room service when you're ready, and they will bring you whatever you want on us. Go crazy and get dessert."

Bella smiled. "Thank you."

"Let me know if you need anything."

"We will," Edward said, placing his hand on her back before leading her to the elevator.

Their room was on the left side of the hallway, and when they walked inside, they saw a queen-sized bed and a small, black leather loveseat that not even Bella could lay across comfortably.

She turned toward him, and he shrugged his shoulders.

"I'll sleep on the floor. Won't be the first time, probably won't be the last, either."

She smiled. "But you're not the same sixteen-year-old who camped out on my living room floor."

"No, I'm not, but we don't have a lot of options. We'll just make sure we get an appetizer and dessert from room service."

She nodded and placed her bag on the bed before she turned and sat, her hands roaming over her belly. "I thought coming back to the city would feel . . . like home again, but it doesn't."

"Does Woodbury?"

She shook her head. "He felt like home."

Edward pressed his lips together.

"I'm sorry. I know you don't think he was the man I believed him to be, but I just . . . I don't know, Edward, I didn't see him the way you and Ro apparently did."

"I don't know who he was, Izzy. Was he the little brother I loved and protected? Or, was he the man who stood in front of me and told me I wasn't his family anymore when I lost myself to my addiction?" Edward paused before speaking again, this time just over a whisper, "I would have given anything to have my brother back. Anything, but you."

Bella inhaled a sharp breath, but before she could say anything, he turned and walked out of their room. The door closed with a thud, and she bit the inside of her lip as she pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened her photos. She scrolled down until she found the picture she was looking for. It was of her, Carlisle, and Edward. Jake had taken it the night he died. Carlisle had his arm around her waist, his forehead pressed against the side of hers, and a smile on his lips. Edward was looking down at her, an almost wistful expression on his face. Why? Why was he looking at her like that? And how had she never seen it before?

The door opened, and Edward returned, carrying a filled plastic ice bucket and a handful of plastic cups. "I called down and have them sending some root beer up."

"I love root beer."

He smiled. "I remembered. Heidi told me she's comping dinner tomorrow night, too. Said she feels guilty for the mix up."

"She doesn't have to do that."

"That's what I told her, but she's insisting." Edward placed the bucket and cups on the table before plopping on the sofa, sliding off the edge, and hitting the floor. "Son-of-a-bitch, that's slick."

Bella laughed and reached her hand out toward him. "Just sit on the bed, Edward. It's more comfortable than the floor."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not, and you're not going to pay for our flight and our hotel and then sleep on the fucking floor. Just don't make a big deal out of it, okay? We can build a pillow wall between us."

He grinned, stood, and sat next to her. "Like Jake insisted we do because, in his words, two dudes can't share a bed without a pillow wall."

"Yeah," she murmured. "I miss him."

"I miss him, too. I wish I hadn't dared him to race me that night, Izzy. Why'd I do something so fucking stupid?"

"You weren't thinking clearly. Neither of you were."

"I knew better."

"Well, I knew better than to get in the car with him, yet who was the dumbass who climbed into the front seat?"

Edward frowned. "Charlie was pissed as hell at me. First time he'd ever compared me to my father. Shit stung more than I can admit, Izzy. Last thing I wanted to be was like him."

"You're not. He . . . He's an asshole, Edward. He treated you and Carlisle like you were burdens."

"To him, I guess, we were."

"But you weren't, not to the rest of us who love you."

Edward inhaled a deep breath before he looked down at her. "Are you hungry?"

"A little."

He nodded and reached across her, picking up the room service menu. "Pick whatever you want. I'm . . . I'm going to take a shower. Then you can take one while we wait for the food, okay?"

"Yeah, okay."

Edward walked to the bathroom but stopped when she said, "Thank you."

"Why are you thanking me?"

"Because I couldn't have come back here without you, Edward. So, just thank you."

He smiled. "I'd do anything for you, Izzy."

Thank you for all the AMAZING reviews. Big, huge thank you to Sunflower Fran for cleaning up my messes. See you next Wednesday!