Disclaimer: The plotline may be mine but the characters are all Stephenie Meyer's!

Marriage to the Rescue

Chapter 1 Best Friends

Edward's POV

"Bella? What the hell happened? Are you okay?" I demanded, rushing up to her in alarm. Never in the sixteen years that I had known her had I ever seen Bella cry like she was crying now. I'd taken a walk to the small meadow that Bella and I had discovered just a short distance away from the Forks Park when we were ten, not expecting to find her here like this, crying her heart out with her arms around her knees that were pulled to her chest. As far as I'd known, she'd had an important date tonight with her boyfriend of four months, Jacob Black.

"Not now Edward." she sobbed, "Leave me alone. Go home."

I sat down next to her and pulled her into my arms, letting her sob into my chest, she didn't protest.

"I could never do that Bella, not knowing you were here so upset." I let her cry herself out for a bit, but she never stopped and I was beginning to get increasingly more concerned. "Calm down Bella. Shh." I soothed, stroking her hair soothingly. My heart gave a pang at how right it felt to be holding her like this, but I couldn't think like that now, not when my best friend was so upset.

Eventually she pulled back and wiped her face on her long sleeved shirt, I smiled slightly, Bella had never really cared about appearance, it was one of the many things I loved about her.

"What's wrong Bella?" I asked in concern.

"Jacob and I broke up." She stated in way that made me know there was more, a few more tears slipping down her cheeks.

I was trying so hard not to show my relief, as much as I was glad Bella had been happy, Jacob Black was a jerk. I'd once caught the mongrel making out with the town slut, Lauren Mallory. I'd tried to warn Bella but all that had happened was a huge fight between Bella and I so I'd tried to mind my own business from then on.

"I'm sorry." I really was, I hated to see her hurt or upset.

"That's not all." She sniffed and turned to face me, her deep brown eyes filled with pain, "And I really don't know how I'm going to tell you and my family."

"Best to just tell me, you know I'll still be your friend no matter what." I told her honestly. I might've wanted more for the past two years, but if friendship was all I could offer to Bella, I would deal with it.

"Do you promise?" she sounded unsure.

"Of course."

Bella took a deep breath, "Jake was always so dazzling and wonderful and about a month ago, he said that if I loved him, I would take the relationship to the next level and…"

"You slept with him, didn't you?" I asked flatly, already guessing the answer, I had never known anger and hurt so intense. I hated that Jacob had been allowed to touch Bella in a way that I would probably only ever dream of doing and I was angry at the fact that after doing something so special with her, he'd just tossed her away.

"Don't judge me right now Edward!" she yelled, "I regret it okay? Especially now that I'm pregnant!"

Silence followed her outburst. She was pregnant? I was speechless. My mouth kept opening and closing but I couldn't get the words out.

"Are you sure?" I eventually managed to get out. But deep down I knew it, she'd been throwing up at the strangest moments lately and she'd been distant and acting weird all week.

Bella glared at me, "After eight pregnancy tests, I think I'm pretty sure."

I put my arm around her shoulders in comfort although I was feeling so many different emotions right now it was scary.

"Does he know?"

"Yes. I told him tonight." More tears streamed down her face, "He told me that I was just trying to trap him into marriage and that even if I was telling the truth he wanted nothing more to do with a dirty whore like me."

I wanted to punch the guy's lights out more than anything in that moment after hearing how small and dismal she sounded.

"I can't tell my parents." She said, panic evident in her tone.

"They love you, they'll accept it." I cringed at the lie that none of us believed.

"No they won't, they'll want to disown me! I might be twenty years old but I can't face them and I can't raise this baby on my own!"

"Bella everything will be fine, I promise." I stood up, I could barely keep my emotions in check right now and I knew I couldn't help Bella while I was like this, "I'm sorry, I have to go Bella." Then feeling like a prized jerk, I ran away from Bella. From the one woman I'd always love as more than a best friend. But something more seemed even more out of reach now.