Hello all! Welcome back to Riptide!

As promised, I'll answer a couple questions from reviews and PMs!

There was a question regarding where Charlie lived and that whole timeline.

Renee lived with Irina from the ages of 13 to 19, then moved to Georgia. She met Charlie there and he's from Hartwell, GA. After Bella was born, the Swan family moved to St. Petersburg. When Renee and Charlie divorced, Charlie moved back to his hometown of Hartwell while Renee took Bella to Phoenix. I hope this clears things up a bit!

Q- "Why does Bella fully not trust Edward anymore, he wasn't actually cheating."

A- Bella did not lose her complete trust in Edward. Her reduction of trust stems from her previous relationship with Paul, as he emotionally manipulated and abused her as well as cheating on her. While Bella and Edward take time to rebuild their relationship, Bella feels very insecure, as feelings from the past resurfaced. They need time to grow close again.

Q- "When are we going to hear from Edward?"

A- This chapter is in Edward's POV!

Thanks for the questions, and I hoped I cleared some things up.

Thank you for your support and reviews! Reading each review truly brings me joy (and inspires me to keep writing ;) )

Please leave your thoughts, I love to read them!

Edward

The trip to Orlando was busy yet uneventful. I drove in Emmett's truck with Bella while he rode with Jasper. It was only about 45 minutes to Orlando, but Bella managed to fall asleep on the way there.

"Edward," she had murmured.

"Yes, baby?" I had my eyes on the road, as I knew if I looked at her I would be distracted. But she had only been talking in her sleep. My heart swelled when my name was on her lips, especially unconsciously. In her sleep, she was beautiful. Her loosely braided hair laid gently on her delicate shoulder. Her long dark lashes fluttered every so often and those soft, pink lips parted ever so slightly.

We had finally made it into Orlando, despite some traffic. The boys and I had first decided to stop at a hardware store, buying sheets upon sheets of plywood. Thankfully, my apartment had storm shutters, as well as Emmett and Rosalie's house and Alice's apartment. Mom had replaced the windows of her house with hurricane resistant glass while also installing steel storm shutters for added protection. That left Jasper's house, Bella's house, and Bella's gallery to be shuttered up with plywood. Emmett's garage door at home and the three bay windows at the garage also needed some extra bracing. Emmett, Jasper, and I spent hours planning how to prepare our houses for the upcoming weather.

We also picked up a couple of generators, hardware, first aid kits, and a few other things we thought were necessary. I had grabbed some plastic bins for Bella as well and she gave me a thankful smile.

We had arrived in Orlando just as the hardware store was opening and thankfully the lines weren't too long to check out. As we loaded up the trucks, we noticed just how busy the store was. The checkout lines were now twisting and turning. I could tell this made Bella nervous, as fellow people bought supplies to prep their homes. It made the hurricane more real. I had pulled her to my side and kissed her forehead as she endlessly tried to help the boys and me load the beds of the truck with the heavy sheets of plywood.

With an adorable, frustrated huff, she grabbed the stacks of plastic bins and shoved them into the back seat of the cab.

"Watch out there, Edward, you've got an angry kitten." Emmett laughed. Jasper shoved him playfully and joined him in laughter. I smirked at them giving them a quick not-so-friendly hand gesture.

We decided to stop at a diner for lunch, as our shopping excursion had taken longer than previously anticipated and we still needed to fill up some gas cans. Bella pulled up a place nearby from Google Maps and easily routed us there.

We had just climbed out of the truck as Emmett and Jasper made their way over to us across the parking lot.

"Finally, I'm starving!" said Emmett, cradling his stomach.

"He wouldn't stop bitching about it on the way over here, quick, somebody shove a burger in his mouth." Jasper chuckled.

Bella rolled her eyes at them. Yup, she definitely fit in with us. She reached for my hand as we walked towards the entrance.

"Table for four, please." Jasper smiled at the hostess.

"Oh, alright," she said eying our group. She sat us at a booth and handed us our menus.

"My name is Zafrina if y'all need anything," she said, flipping her curly black hair over her shoulder. She gave an extra wide smile towards Emmett, which he blatantly ignored.

We had placed our orders and now awaited our food.

"So, let's discuss the game plan for the rest of the day," Emmett said seriously. "So we need to go to Bella's studio, the garage, and Bella's, Jasper's, and my house to get things done."

"I think it's best if we split up," Jasper interjected, "Emmett and I could head to the garage and add those extra braces to the bay doors while you work on Bella's house, you two."

"I know Rosie will want to double check on the garage before we leave."

"I don't need to do too much at my house," I added, "The windows all have steel automatic storm shutters, just like Mom. I just need to pack a few things."

"I feel like I have so much to do," Bella said, defeated, "I don't really know what to do."

"We are going to help you out, love," I said grabbing her hand from her lap and resting our hands on her thigh beneath the table.

"Yeah, Bella, don't worry about a thing, the Cullen men are here to help."

"And one Hale," Jasper grinned.

"You're going to be hella prepared," Emmett mirrored Jaspers smile.

"I really appreciate it, guys." She said, "I'm glad I have all of you in my life." I couldn't help myself by placing a kiss on her temple.

"We are trying to leave for Charleston by Thursday afternoon. That leaves us today and tomorrow to finish up preparing our properties and packing. We can try to avoid as much traffic as we can if we leave early too. Since Aro isn't expected to close in on the coast till Wednesday. But this storm has already been hella unpredictable. A mandatory evacuation hasn't been issued...yet...so we need to try to high tail it out before one is issued, or all hell is going to break loose on the roads." Emmett discussed. "You're coming with us to South Carolina, right Bella?"

Three pairs of eyes looked at her expectantly.

"I haven't decided yet," She replied softly.

"What?" Jasper questioned, "You're thinking of staying?"

"I don't really know."

"You have to come with us, Bella," Emmett said fiercely. "We can't let you stay at home alone during a fucking hurricane."

She winced.

"I can't let you stay, Bella. Please come with us." I begged.

"Fine, I'll go," She took her bottom lip into her mouth.

"Thank fucking G—" Emmett shook his head and huffed.

"I'll need to bring some things I'm too worried to leave behind." She added quickly.

"We're going to be taking all of our cars, so we will have plenty of room," Jasper said.

"Plus that covered trailer I have," Emmett interjected.

Before we could speak more about the subject, our waitress appeared with our food. Emmett had ordered a large chicken fried steak with cream gravy and a hearty side of steak fries. Jasper's eyes lit up as his plate of grilled chicken smothered in queso and grilled onions and bell peppers was placed before him. I had ordered grilled salmon with mixed veggies. Bella, claiming she wasn't too hungry received a small grilled chicken caesar salad.

Emmett and Jasper were too caught up eating their lunch to continue the conversation. I watched Bella closely as she ate. She moved the lettuce around her bowl taking only a few bites. Was she feeling unwell? As she pierced a piece of chicken with her fork, I noticed how her jawline appeared a little sharper than usual.

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked her quietly.

She looked up at me from her salad and nodded. I wasn't too convinced, but I didn't want to ask any more questions in front of Emmett and Jasper.

After we were finished eating, Bella took the rest of her salad to-go and we headed back to our respective vehicles.

"We'll see you guys soon, Jasper and I are going to make a stop at the garage first," Emmett said, slapping me on the shoulder. "We've got to reinforce the bay doors. I'll be by Mom's within a couple of hours."

"Alright, sounds like a plan," I replied. We went our separate ways. Bella surprised me when she grabbed my hand. "Are you sure you're feeling alright?" I gave her hand a squeeze as we neared the truck.

"I'm just thinking," she said, her deep brown eyes meeting mine. The sun shone over her face, the hazel flecks in her eyes were highlighted and the small spray of random freckles dotting her nose appeared more noticeable. I took in the feeling of her small, soft hand in mine, relishing in our physical contact which has been limited as of late.

"What are you thinking?" My eyes scanned her face for any unpleasant emotions.

"My dad," she replied gently.

I knew Bella and her father have a tense relationship. As she told me stories of her youth, her admiration for the man shone. She had been close to her father before she moved to Phoenix. Honestly, I had a bit of a hard time understanding what she could be feeling from her strained relationship. I could only imagine, as my Dad and I have always been close. She lost her dad's relationship while mine had only strengthened. Despite my lack of full understanding, I tried my best to be there for her as she missed her father. I could only offer my love and ability to listen.

"Do you have any plans to talk with him soon?" We had reached the truck and I opened the passenger door for her.

Once she had climbed into the truck, she responded. "I would like to call him again before leaving for South Carolina."

"That sounds like a good plan," I said before shutting her door and making my way to my side of the car. I hopped in and started the engine, making sure the air was on full blast, the Florida sun gave no mercy today.

"I was thinking about visiting him."

"Yes, I remember."

"Do you think...we could visit him on the way back from South Carolina? We have to pass through Georgia anyways."

"Perhaps we could visit on the way up? Where exactly does he live?"

"Hartwell. It's a pretty small town."

"I'll have to look at in on a map."

"You wouldn't mind stopping?"

"Not at all, Bella. I know how you miss your father. You should take some time to see him while we're on the road." She grinned at me and grabbed my hand that was resting on the center console.

"You know how grateful I am for you?"

"Hmm?" I hummed back.

"I'm so appreciative of your help, especially in prepping for the hurricane. I don't know what I would do without you." Her tone was thick with emotion. I glanced at her, Bella's eyes swam with intention which reiterated her words.

"You're welcome, love." My heart swelled with gratification and pure admiration. I brought our joined hands up to my lips and pressed a chaste kiss against her hand.

"I'm a bit nervous to see my Dad, I haven't seen him in two or three years." She thought aloud, her eyes transfixed on the blurred terrain outside her window.

"If he's anything like you have described, there is no reason to be nervous." Again, I wondered to myself how a man who was so involved in his child's life would let his daughter go so suddenly. It appeared he stopped keeping in touch with Bella within the year they had established residency in Phoenix. I had an odd feeling Renee had been lying to Bella about her father. How could he not want to love on her? Sometimes it took all of my strength to be less physical with her. I always wanted her in my arms, lips peppering light kisses, fingers tangled together.

Would Renee stoop so low in her quest for control she would cut out Bella's dad from the picture?

Fuck.

I definitely think she would. Renee was a sore subject with Bella and I never wanted to upset her, so I held my tongue.

"Will we be taking your Volvo?" She asked, pulling me from my realization.

"Yes. Emmett is going to be pulling that covered trailer, so we can put your boxes inside there if that's okay.

"Yes, that's fine." Her eyes drifted back to the window.

When Bella dealt with anxiety, it pained me not to be able to help her. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around her tightly and whisper reassurances in her ear. I felt powerless. My brief training in med school over anxiety didn't equip me to encounter it so closely. I was taught how to help manage it within patients. Bella was meant more to me than that. I squeezed her hand in mine, hopefully communicating my support.

The rest of the drive was filled with easy conversation. I undeniably felt more ease between us. Long gone were the short awkward conversations we held since my massive fuck up. Relief and hope flooded my veins.

At the time when shit hit the fan, I didn't understand the importance of not discussing Tanya. I felt she was in the past, all of my romantic and most of my friendly feelings towards her had dissipated. Tanya had a lot of growing up to do, especially when I first met her. She still has issues, issues that need to be worked on by herself.

Unfortunately and quite sadly, I was the only person she could turn to during her father's sudden death. I had never seen her so distraught. Tanya made it a point to always look so put together. Seeing her grieve and pulled into the depths of depression was hard for me, I had never seen her display such emotion. She used my compassion against me, implying she would harm herself if I ever disappeared from her life. She claimed I was the only other person other than her father to truly care for her.

When she had started calling and texting me about meeting up with her, I was weary. I met with her once or twice, to check up on her. Back then, I had convinced her to start seeing a therapist, but it only lasted so long. She fell deeper into depression, experimenting with drugs and abusing alcohol, which only made her more paranoid and delirious. She mentioned over a phone call one night, after crying to me, she had a difficult time determining between her crazed dreams and reality.

I really thought I could handle her. My pride got in the way, obviously, as I monumentally fucked up undoubtedly the best thing to ever happen to me—Bella.

I could only beg for forgiveness at her feet. I would do whatever it took to earn and be worthy of her love. The past few weeks had been tough, but I could feel our relationship budding once more.

Bella and I finally pulled up to her house and I parked behind my Volvo against the curb. She smiled at me lazily, unclasping our hands to get out of the truck. I got out as well, meeting her on the other side.

"Alright, where do we begin?" She asked hands on her hips.

4 years ago…

"Hey, Cullen, ready to go?"

"Yeah, just a sec, Sam."

"Hurry up, dude, I still have to stop and grab some more beer."

I rolled my eyes at Sam and shoved my wallet into my back pocket. I turned off the bathroom light to meet Sam in our dorm room. He sat on his bed, texting.

"Okay, let's go."

Sam looked up at me and put his arms through his leather jacket. I followed him out of the room, into the hall and across the street to the parking garage. I pulled out my keys, as I already knew Sam was going to get way too fucked up to drive. He smiled at me appreciatively and slid into the passenger seat.

After stopping at a liquor store, we headed to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. Cars were parked all along the street as people floated around the front lawn of the impressive three-story house. The sun had already gone down, but the party was just starting. We brought the cases of beer inside and set them in the kitchen among the countless other choices of alcohol. A clear punch bowl was filled with a blue punch with oranges and strawberries bobbing around. The music was loud, I could feel the bass pumping throughout my body. Sweaty bodies filled all of the rooms, some dancing to the music, others kissing, and others looking very uncomfortable. Freshmen. You can always tell who the freshmen are.

Sam spotted this girl Emily he had been telling me about and ditched me. I grabbed a cold Coors Light from a cooler. I opened it and took a sip before attempting to maneuver my way outside to the backyard.

I turned my head for a brief second, trying to locate Sam in the mass of people, accidentally running into someone.

"Shit! Sorry," I mumbled quickly.

"Oh!" A female voice replied in surprise.

I caught her arm in an attempt to balance her.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going."

The girls long curled strawberry blonde hair moved over her shoulder as she looked up at me. She was pretty. She had light blue eyes and fair yet perfectly tanned skin. She wore a striped dress with a denim jacket over it.

"It's okay, I'm just glad I didn't spill my drink!" She giggled, taking a sip of blue punch. "I'm Tanya." She pushed a stray curl behind her ear.

"Edward."

"Are you part of Pi Kappa Alpha?"

"Nah, my roommate is though. He invited me."

"Oh, I see! I'm in Tri Delta."

"Nice," I replied, smiling.

"What's your major?" She asked, her red lips pulled into a breathtaking smile.

"Pre-med. Yours?"

"Business. So you wanna be a doctor? How noble."

"That's the plan. I wouldn't consider it noble though." I ran a hand through my hair. "You want to be a businesswoman?" I smirked.

"That's the plan," she smirked back.

Tanya and I chatted for the remainder of the party. She told me she more about herself and I shared some of my life with her in return. Something really drew me to Tanya. Whether it was her quick wit or charming beauty, we exchanged numbers and began hanging out.

2 years ago…

"Edward, you don't know what you're talking about, baby," Tanya cooed, running her hands down my chest and gripping my dress shirt.

"Seriously Tanya? I can't believe you…" I said furiously, pushing her hands off of me.

"Eddie, baby, please," She cried, not letting go of her death grip on my shirt.

She and I had just gotten back from a charity event Mom was hosting—I decided we were leaving the event early. We had flown all the way to New York City from UW to attend. I managed to shake Tanya off of me and I stormed across her hotel room.

"I don't fucking understand, Tanya."

"It's not what it seems, baby." She followed me, snaking her arms from behind me, gently scratching my chest.

"Then explain it to me!" I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Look at me," she said, trying to turn me around. I did as she asked, trying to withhold my glare. My thoughts were weary. She led us to sit on the bed, her floor-length gold sequin dress made a soft swishing sound as she pulled my arm.

"Daddy and I had an argument," tears filled her light blue eyes. "He cut off all of my money. I needed to pay for the semester."

Her answer didn't satisfy me. "So you thought to lie and deceive others—my family—was better than asking for help?"

"I was so ashamed, Edward. I've never had to think about money before. I panicked." She looked at her lap, a couple of tears rolling down her cheeks.

"You created this fake charity and asked my Mom to donate to it, fully intending to keep all of the money. That's fucked up, Tanya." My face scrunched in disgust. I had learned tonight all about her scheme with "All Things Lovely", a charity organization she had "created" for high school-aged teens who were facing life-threatening illnesses. Her charity was supposed to help those teens attend school dances by providing dresses, tuxes, hair and makeup, and even a limo at no charge to the families. She had roped my parents, using my mother's compassion against her for a $15,000 donation for start-up costs and to help the first kids as homecoming was approaching. I had no fucking idea how she thought she would get away with this. I didn't know at the time, but she had actually spent almost half of the money gambling. Tanya was planning on asking more of my parent's friends and my grandmother for more "donations".

"I know I fucked up, Edward!" She spat, standing up taking a few steps away from me. "I fucking panicked, what was I supposed to do?"

"There were a lot of fucking things you could have done. Sign up for a loan, talk with financial aid, hell, I'm sure I could've even helped you out and you could have paid me back." My eyes followed her as she paced, full of fire.

"I needed the money!" she screeched, "Mommy and Daddy aren't always there for me to bail me out, Edward." a sneer appeared on her face.

Her words hit me like a truck.

"What the fuck, Tanya!? I never have asked my parents to bail me out with their money. Yes, they support me financially while I'm in school. I work fucking hard, Tanya. I put in the work in all of my classes. Med school is fucking hard. You don't know what you're fucking talking about." I snapped. Thoroughly enraged with her accusations, I stood up and pivoted to return to my own hotel room across the hall. "I hope you find yourself on the next flight back to Washington. You are uninvited from the rest of the functions for this trip. Don't worry your selfish little head, I'll pay for your fucking flight, just like how I paid for this fucking hotel room, your dress, hair and makeup and whatever the hell you bought while shopping yesterday." I slammed the door behind me, not stopping to hear whatever shit she was spewing.

1 and a half years ago…

I nervously pressed the phone to my ear as I listened to it ring. With each ring, I grew more and more anxious. I hadn't spoken to Tanya in over six months. The other day I found out Mr. Denali had passed away. Of an accidental overdose. Despite how our relationship ended, I knew I needed to check up on Tanya. She had been part of my life for the past four years. After sending her home from New York, I confronted my parents about Tanya's scheme. Surprisingly, they hadn't wanted to press charges. It made my blood boil to know Tanya had stolen money from my parents, and they didn't want to retaliate back.

"She must have really needed the money, Edward. Tanya wouldn't have done something like this if she wasn't absolutely desperate. Although I wished she had asked for help in a much different way," Mom had told me. Sometimes her kindness and ability to forgive astounded me.

"Edward?" Tanya's voice sounded much different than her usual poised self I was used to. There was a sense of defeat mingled in her voice.

"Tanya," I said, running a hand through my hair, "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Edward…" she trailed off. "You have no idea what your call means to me." I could tell she had begun to cry. "I know our relationship didn't end on friendly terms, I appreciate your kindness. I never fully appreciated you, Edward, and for that, I'm so terribly sorry."

"I appreciate your apology, Tanya. I was just calling to offer my family's and my condolences. I understand you're going through a difficult time."

"Thank you, Edward."

"Let me know if there's anything we can do for you and your family during this difficult time."

"You're still so sweet, Edward. I'm moving to Daytona permanently. I think it's what he would've wanted...I'm just so confused, Edward, how was I supposed to know he was sick?"

"People can hide parts of their life pretty well, especially if they're ashamed...You have the right to feel confused and hurt. I've got to go now. I'm unable to make it to the funeral, but I wish I could be there to pay my respects. Your father was a great man, Tanya."

"He was," she whispered, "Thanks for calling. I hope to see you soon, Eddie."

"You're welcome, Tanya." With that, the line went dead and I released the breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Just get that last screw in, and then we should be good," Emmett called over to me. With his help, we installed the plywood makeshift storm shutters to all of Bella's windows. Her gutters were cleaned, shingles checked, and large items from her backyard like the table and chairs and her bike were all securely stored in my parent's garage. Emmett was currently finishing up clipping some branches from the tree in her front yard.

Bella was inside packing some boxes for the trip. I double checked all of the plywood to see if it was all properly secured to the brick. Emmett met me, still holding the shears in his hands.

"I'll get started on Mom and Dad's house. Dad should be ready to get started and Jasper is coming as well. You can help Bella inside if you want," He added, eyebrows shrugging suggestively. I gave a quick shove in annoyance.

"Your house is set? The garage?" The sun burned high in the sky, only a couple of hours until its descent into the horizon.

"Yeah, man. Jasper helped me out with the house. I called in Jacob to help Jasper and me at the garage too. That guy sure is strange," he shook his head.

"Jacob?" I asked.

"Yeah, he's a temp, but he asked to stay for a few more months, maybe until December. He hits on almost every woman who stops by the shop. He's like an eager puppy, it's fucking annoying. Don't worry, I fended him off of Bella. He sure has the hots for your woman, dude," He smirked.

"What do you mean?" my eyes narrowed.

"Bella came to the garage a couple of weeks ago to talk to Rose, you know, when everything went down. He basically peed on her and claimed her, but I shoved him back into his place. I've got your back bro, even if you fuck up every now and then."

"Don't fucking remind me," I muttered darkly. "What did she say to him?"

"Well apparently he had the fucking nerve to ask her out, but with that 'just as friends' shit. Apparently, she needs to text him to plan it, but I let her know he just wants into her pants. That shut her up real quick. She was surprised and said she wasn't going to text him then because she's not looking for that kind of shit. She held her own, I'm real proud of her because Jacob can be a real bitch. He sure knows his shit with cars though." Emmett said regretfully.

I shook my head in amusement. I knew something like this would've happened one day. Bella is so undeniably beautiful, other men are bound to notice. But she chose me. Even while our relationship was rocky, she still chose me.

"Sucks for him, because she is unavailable. He better move on to the next girl." I smirked. Emmett just threw his head back in laughter, clapped me on the shoulder and turned around to walk across the yard to our parents' house.

Thoughts?