Hey friends, I've been working hard to bring you another chapter! Thank you for reading and all of the kind feedback (or the not so kind words towards Edward, lol). Bella is stubborn, so let's see if she will let him explain everything.

I laid in bed, staring at nothing in particular. The room was flooded with warm light, but it still felt so cold. I had the quilt pulled around me tightly. My phone on the side table began vibrating and I simply flipped to my other side. I closed my eyes and felt them water. I wrapped my arms around myself and continued to lay there.

My phone rattling against my side table for the countless time pulled me from a restless sleep. I blinked, taking in the change of light, rays peaked through my blinds strategically, illuminating a folded Washington State University t-shirt belonging to him. I shivered.

My bladder betrayed me, as I could no longer stay under the quilt. I robotically stood, goosebumps swept over my skin as I was no longer protected by the quilt. I stumbled to the bathroom. After using the toilet, I washed my hands methodically. I squinted at my reflection, noticing large purple bags had formed under my eyes. My hair was tangled up in itself. I couldn't stand to look at my reflection any longer, as the ghost of the blissfully happy girl lingered.

I went back to my room, not having the appetite for anything to eat, although I hadn't eaten since having that piece of...I couldn't complete my thought. I curled up once more under the quilt, desperately for Aunt Irina's comfort, someone's comfort. I had never felt such utterly alone.

I squeezed my eyes shut in an attempt to keep my head above the wave of pain which crashed violently over my chest.

The doorbell rang, followed by frantic knocks. Again, the bell, followed by knocks. I couldn't bring myself to even lift my head. More buzzing from the nightstand. I closed my eyes once more to find peace, but the feeling never came.

"Bella!" a voice called sounding miles away. My eyes blinked open. Frenzied knocks assaulted the door. "Bella, please!" he shouted. I stood on shaky legs and walked into the living room. The curtains and blinds were drawn, not that they had a purpose now, the sunlight had long disappeared. The night created cold shadows.

"Bella," he whimpered. Moving to the door, I pressed my back against it and slid down onto the floor. "Please talk to me," he said, defeated. "I can't lose you," his voice broke. I heard a faint thud, vibrating the door, then a soft sliding sound and then another thud. He must have sat against the door, mirroring my position. I rested my chin on my knees as tears slid down my cheeks, splashing onto my legs.

"Edward," a delicate voice appeared.

"Mom, I fucked up. I fucked up big time."

"Let's go, son," she murmured.

"I need to talk to her," he uttered.

"I know, honey. Come with me, stay the night with us." I heard movement, then footsteps retreating. Suddenly I was alone once more.

Barely managing to pick myself off of the floor, I retreated to my bed. I grabbed my phone to power it off but managed to see the notifications on my lock screen.

10 missed calls: Edward Cullen

3 missed calls: Alice Cullen

10 New Voicemails: Edward Cullen

2 New Voicemails: Alice Cullen

27 Unread Messages: Edward Cullen

4 Unread Messages: Alice Cullen

3 Unread Messages: Bree Tanner

1 Unread Message: Angela Webber

I instantly felt bad. I had ignored messages from Bree. She was probably wondering why I never made it to the gallery.

11:38 AM Bree Tanner: Hey boss, coming in today?

12:42 PM Bree Tanner: Is everything okay? Edward came here looking for you.

5:13 PM Bree Tanner: Closing up for the day. I really hope you're okay, Edward came in four times to see if you were here.

Great. I texted her back quickly.

Bella Swan: Sorry about being MIA, I'll be in tomorrow.

I promptly ignore Alice and his texts and scrolled to Angela's.

6:19 PM Angela Webber: Hey! Can you help with some last minute things for the wedding Monday?

Guilt flooded through me once more.

Bella Swan: Sorry for the late reply, I can help you on Monday. What time?

I turned my phone off and coiled into a ball beneath the quilt as I had been for the entirety of the day.

I woke to my alarm, stiff and sore. I uncurled from the tight ball I had been in for the past twenty-four hours and my muscles ached in protest. The light in the room made the room appear cheery— the polar opposite of how I felt.

Sighing, I remembered my promise to Bree and forced myself out of bed. Imagining how unpresentable I looked, I started the shower, stepping in as soon as the water was hot. After washing my hair and such, I stood under the stream until the water ran cold, lost in thought. I dressed in leggings and a t-shirt one or two sizes too big. The folded WSU shirt on my dresser mocked me.

Feeling a sudden burst of energy, I grabbed a box from the spare room and tossed the shirt the folded shirt inside. It landed with a pleasing thump. A spark ran through me as I remembered where bits of him lingered. I dug through a drawer to find a pair of swimming trunks, throwing them into the box. Dragging the box to the living room, I violently added a blanket he had given me for our movie nights. I added a pair of flip-flops, two beach towels, and a pair of sunglasses.

Lastly, I took the apple pie off of the counter and vigorously scraped the rest of the pie out of the pie pan into the trash. I flipped on the sink and scrubbed the pie pan heatedly until I was satisfied and my knuckles ached in protest. I glanced at the clock, realizing I was an hour and a half late. I grabbed some celery I had previously cut and shoved it into a plastic baggy and into my purse. Noticing the box in the middle of the living room, I folded the top down and drug it out to the front porch. I pushed it against the wall and gave it a good kick.

Going back inside, I locked the door behind me, tossed my phone in my purse, and went out the back door to retrieve my bike. Pushing it through the side gate, I took a deep breath. I hopped on my bike, whipping into the street, passing Esme's house as fast as I could. I could have sworn I saw a curtain move in a window.

I pumped the pedals as fast as I could, wanting to get inside and out of the world that didn't slow down, despite the entirety of my world crashing down. Out of breath, I parked my bike on the side of the gallery and locked it in its usual place. I took a moment to prepare myself for the day ahead and to catch my breath.

I opened the door, letting it swing shut behind me. Bree sat at the desk and her head snapped up upon my entrance.

"Bella! What happened yesterday?" She said, standing to walk over to me.

"I, uh wasn't feeling well. Sorry, I ignored your texts, it wasn't my intention."

"Oh, it's okay. I was kinda worried when Edward showed up four different times looking for you."

"I had my phone off," I tried to give her an explanation.

"Oh, okay," she nodded.

"You think you can handle the gallery again today?"

"Yeah, do you need to go home?"

The idea was so very tempting. "No, I'll be in the back. Um, I'll be really busy, so don't grab me unless someone wants to buy something. Pretend I'm not here."

"You got it, Boss. Is this like a sort of test?" She grinned.

"Yeah, we can call it that," I replied as I walked to the studio. "Remember, I'm not here!" I said over my shoulder.

I flipped the lights to the studio and let out a huge breath. I sat down in one of the plush chairs I had and turned on my phone, which was definitely a mistake, as soon as it loaded, it began buzzing, notifying me of more missed calls, texts, and voicemails.

August 14th 9:29 PM Angela Webber: Thanks, you're a lifesaver! Come over around 6?

The rest of the notifications were from him, and I wasn't brave enough to open his messages, Alice's messages, or their voicemails.

Should I even listen to them? Alice is just defending his lies.

A fierce heat burned through my veins.

Had all of the Cullen's known?

How could they open their family to me if they didn't know? Alice, I thought she was a real friend. I always had some trouble making friends, as my Mom always monitored my friendships growing up. But, Alice...why didn't she tell me?

"It's not my place to tell,"

Bullshit.

But then again, blood is thicker than water.

I was embarrassed, mortified. How could this whole thing been swept over my head? I searched through memories, trying to find some kind of sign and when he lied to manipulate me.

The texting. He would have his phone sometimes, occupied with texts.

His boundaries. He lied about being a virgin, right? The texts from Tanya implied they were sleeping together. No wonder he would leave and wouldn't stay the night. He had to drive thirty minutes to Daytona Beach.

Was I just not good enough for him? Why wasn't I good enough for him?

I unlocked my phone, opening the Facebook app. I painfully typed his name in the search bar and clicked on his profile. I tapped his friends' list and searched for Tanya in the search bar.

Tanya Denali, 1 mutual friend

Going to her profile, I got a good look at who this woman was. She was breathtakingly beautiful. Long blonde hair, that shone with red highlights in her picture on the beach. She had amazing curves, something I couldn't compete with.

Graduated from Washington State University

So he met her there? And she just happens to live thirty minutes away? I scrolled through her photos and stopped short at one in particular.

A photo taken three years ago. Tanya was all dolled up and he stood behind her. She looked at the camera while he had an arm around her waist and was smiling looking over her head at something out of frame. I skipped to more photos, finding more of the same. He was in photo after photo. He looked mostly the same, but younger him had a bit longer, untamed hair. More scruff on his chin. The last photo was dated a year ago. I went over to her relationship status.

It's complicated.

Damn right.

I felt sick, my empty stomach churned at the new information I was presented. I went over to my own profile and changed my relationship status to single, making it invisible from my profile. This social media search stole energy out of me, I quickly exited the app.

My eyes roamed around my studio, my safe haven. I felt so unmotivated, which honestly scared me a little. I got up from my chair and went over to the painting of the sea from the balcony. I picked it off of the easel and shoved it in a closet. I was nearly finished with it, but I suddenly hated it. It reminded me of how naive I was. How dumb, how foolish I was.

I opened the closet once more and pulled the canvas out. I ripped it from its stretcher bars until only the canvas remained. I crumpled it up into a ball and threw it across the room.

I still wasn't satisfied. I picked up every brush I had laying around and cleaned them. This took a while with the sheer amount of brushes I had accumulated. My hands turned pruny in the sink from the water. I scrubbed the laminate counts forcefully and I laid out all of the paint brushes to dry.

Next, I collected every tube of paint. I opened a cabinet to put them in, arranging them by color. The shelves were still cluttered, and I made a note to go through them. I scrubbed every table, stool, and chair I had, even spraying the plush chair with Frebreeze. The floors were next. I swept every square inch of the concrete floors of the studio until my back ached. I mopped as well, filling the bucket from the sink. The studio now smelt of cleaning solution and I relaxed a little.

As the floor dried I organized every cabinet that lined the two walls. I threw away things I didn't need and scrubbed the doors of the cabinets. When I had cleaned and organized everything in a frenzy, I sat on a stool with an empty canvas before me. I lifted my brush but couldn't make myself to make a stroke on the canvas. I don't know how long a sat there, with the brush poised.

I set my brush down, confused. Painting came so naturally to me. Why wasn't I able to start? I sat there, blinking at the big empty canvas, all of a sudden feeling so small.

Suddenly I heard a commotion coming from the gallery.

"Is she here? I need to talk with her."

"No, Bella is not here, can I take a message?" Bree said nervously.

"Bullshit," he shot back, "I see her bike outside."

"Oh, that bike? Uh, that's mine." Bree stammered. "High school kid, can't afford a car yet," She laughed anxiously.

"Bullshit."

I heard footsteps echo off the wood floors of the gallery towards the studio. I started panicking. I wished desperately the door had a lock. I turned my back to the door facing my canvas, closing my eyes to brace seeing him.

"Hey! You can't go in there!" Bree desperately yelled. I heard her footsteps dart across the wood floor attempting to catch up with him.

It was too late. He had already swung the door open. I inwardly winced.

"Bella," he murmured, voice laced with some emotion I couldn't quite name.

The wall I had built around myself whispered, don't let him in, don't let him manipulate you.

I didn't turn around.

"Bella, please let me explain everything, it's not what—"

"It's not what it seems?" I interrupted, voice laced with sarcasm.

"Yes," he whispered, his voice was closer now. "Please let me explain…" he trailed off. I slowly turned around.

A surge of false confidence burned through me as I turned around to face him. "What if I don't want you to explain? What if it wouldn't change my mind?"

"You don't understand," he said, defeated.

"You're right, I don't understand. I don't understand how I could be so foolish to let you in so quickly. I don't understand how your family would know how you were using me...for God knows what since we never even had sex, and not tell me. You're twisted. You saw my vulnerability and you took advantage of it. You saw my hurt, and you lied to me. I let you in...I told you things I wouldn't dare tell anybody else because nobody is constant in my life. Not my parents, relationships, most friendships. You saw a broken girl and took advantage."

"Bella, I never lied to you," He pleaded.

"Bullshit," I spit, furiously. "Yeah, you never told me you had a little fuck buddy living thirty fucking minutes away, so you never had to cover up any fucking lies."

His eyes went wide and he faltered.

"I don't know who I'm madder at. You, or me, for falling into your trap so fucking easily." I stood abruptly, knocking the stool over with a loud crash.

"I know I fucked up," he said. I snorted and crossed my arms. "Tanya…" he tested, "is fucking nothing to me—"

"Nothing but a pretty face to fuck, huh?"

"Please, Bella."

"I'm sorry, I don't really have time to listen to you try to make up excuses. I need you to leave. Now." I glared at him.

"Love, please," he begged.

"Don't fucking call me that," I hissed.

"Can we just talk?"

"Fine, we can talk. On my terms."

"That's all I ask, to talk."

"Tomorrow. I'll meet you at the beach at seven."

"I'll let you understand—this whole misunderstanding." He reached an arm out towards me but stopped midway.

"Now, I need to get back to work."

"Thank you, Bella. I'll see you tomorrow." He took a couple of steps backward, looking at me in a way that made me uncomfortable. I didn't respond. I turned my back to him as he left As I heard the squeak of the door as it swung closed, any ounce of confidence dissipated.

My breathing quickened on its own accord and I wobbled as I grew light-headed. My legs gave out and I crumpled to the floor. The racing of my heart seemed to echo against the walls. My chest grew tight, and I gasped for air.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

Five.

Six.

Seven.

Eight.

Nine.

Ten.

I placed my palms and my cheek on the cold concrete to ground myself. I closed my eyes and slowly gained control of my breathing. My heart still beat wildly in my chest, but I was able to stand.

"Bella!" Bree exclaimed as she pushed open the door, "I am so sorry! I told him you weren't here, but he ignored me." Thankfully, she hadn't heard our argument.

"It's okay, Bree. You couldn't have stopped him anyway." She smiled at me sadly. "I'm going to take off actually. You don't need to come in tomorrow. Enjoy the day off, I know school is coming up, so soak up the summer while you can."

"Thanks, Bella. You're not mad at me?"

"No, Bree. Not at all."

She smiled in relief and spun around to get back to work. I gathered my purse and flipped off the lights as I walked through the door.

"See you later, Bree," I called out to her. Outside, I unlocked my bike at swung my leg over it and pushed off the ground to leave. I took the long way home, winding through main street, coincidentally passing the bridal shop where Alice worked. I glanced at the shop and saw her dusting the front window display. We made brief eye contact, and her eyes went wide. I pushed the pedals with all my might to get out of there.

I found myself at the docks, walking my bike over the uneven planks of wood. Yachts and sailboats bobbed in the ocean, all perfectly lined up. Laying my bike down against the grass, I wandered down the piers, looking at all of the boats.

I hadn't been on a boat since that fateful day.

"Can I help you with something?" I whipped my head around in surprise, locating the owner of the voice. It was a guy sitting on the edge of a boat, he appeared to be cleaning some rubber baits. He had tan skin and long black hair, which half of it was pulled into a man bun at the crown of his head.

"Oh, I'm just looking," I began.

"Ah, I see," He said nodding with a twinkle in his eye. "Are you from around here?"

"Yes," I nodded, looking up at the giant sail of the boat next to me.

He stood up, and hopped off the side of the boat onto the deck. He was dressed casually in khaki shorts and a red and white striped shirt.

"I'm Jacob," He said putting his hand out after wiping it haphazardly on his shorts.

I took a few steps and placed my hand in his. "Bella." He shook my hand and released it. My hand dropped to my side.

"I'm not from around here," he began, "I'm checking Clear Lake out for the summer."

"How are you liking it so far?"

"Actually, I like it a lot. Reminds me of the small town I grew up in, just on the coast. I'm a mechanic, so it's pretty easy for me to find temp work."

"Clear Lake sure does grow on you," I said.

"Yeah, sure does," He said, grinning at me. "So, Bella, what do you do?"

"I'm an artist. I own the gallery in town."

"Are ya any good?"

"I hope so," I gave a small smile.

He threw back his head in laughter. When he was done, he pointed at me casually, "You're pretty funny."

I shook my head in disagreement.

"So, Bella, I'm usually not this forward," Somehow I got the feeling he was exaggerating, and that he was typically very forward, "But, would you like to grab coffee sometime?"

"That's very nice of you, but I'm not really in the position to date right now."

"You've got a boyfriend?" He asked.

"No," I replied quickly.

"Well, what's the harm? Just two people grabbing a coffee, getting acquainted, you know, as friends."

"As friends," I repeated.

"Yup," he said, popping the "p". "I'm always looking for more friends," he smiled.

"You know what, sure," I said, surprising myself a little. But then I started thinking...what if it was good for me to make new friends? Get my mind off things? I know I haven't been coping very well the past couple of days…

"Awesome," he said, goofily flashing two thumbs up. "So let me give you my number, so you can text me a time that's good for you."

Slipping my phone from my pocket, I handed it to him.

"Man, you've got a lot of unread texts and missed calls," he said as he tapped my contacts. "Are you a group message or something? Those can be so annoying."

"Something like that," I shrugged.

"Alright," he began, "Jacob Black," he said as he typed his name in. "There's the number, and I'll just text myself to get your number. What's your last name?"

"Swan."

"Huh, fitting. It was nice meeting you, Bella Swan, and I look forward to our coffee date. Uh, I mean date as in just a plan—you know, not a date, just a friend date," He corrected.

"I get it," I said chuckling a little. "I'll text you." He gave a wave and jumped back onto the boat, which I assumed was his now, and picked up the rubber bait he was cleaning.

I glanced at him one last time as I headed down the deck towards my bike. I rode home, lost in thought, not noticing the car parked out front until it was too late.

Alice.

I ignored the car, heading straight for the gate.

"Bella!" Alice called, running from her car.

I twisted around, anger rising. "What, Alice?"

"Can we talk?" She pleaded, her blue eyes swam with emotion.

"What is there to talk about?" I put a hand on my hip.

"There is so much to explain," she said.

"Yeah, that's what he said too. Will it change things? Probably not." I pushed my bike with force back towards the backyard.

"Bella, it's really not what you think,"

"What am I supposed to think, Alice?" I turned around once again. "Some beach blond texted him, called him. I heard her voice!"

"She's crazy!"

"Yeah, and I might be crazier." I muttured.

"Bella, I never told you because I thought—"

"You thought you were protecting me? You thought 'it wasn't your place'? That it would break my heart? Because newsflash, Alice, it did. It broke my heart, and it's still breaking." My voice cracked.

"I thought he already told you. He should have been the one to tell you about her."

"Yeah, like the guy who's cheating is going to admit that…" I snorted.

"I'm sorry I hurt you, Bella. It was never my intention." She looked at the ground and tears pooled in her eyes.

"It might have not been your intention, but you still did it."

"I fully accept my actions, but please just hear him out. He deserves it."

"He doesn't deserve anything from me."

"Listen to him, and then we can talk."

"I know you're his sister, but I thought you were my friend too. I don't know whose side you're on."

"There doesn't need to be sides."

"It sure as hell feels like it."

"I want to justify myself. I should have handled things differently. I just wish everything played out differently."

"I'm busy. I've got a business to run and a house to take care of."

"After you speak with him, please just give me a chance?" she implored, her eyes shining.

"We'll see. We'll see if it even makes a difference." And with that, I stomped towards the gate, threw my bike down and ran into the house.

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