Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or its original characters. No copyright infringement is intended with the posting of this story.

A/N: Please accept my apology for the delay in getting this chapter up on FFn. I had a plot bunny attack my brain a few weeks ago and it refused to let go of me. If you haven't seen it yet… my new WIP is titled, Nothing Gold Ever Stays. It's a coming of age story with E and B where they spend their summers together on an island with their families throughout their lives into adulthood, and I am CRAZY excited about it. I'd love it if you'd give it a chance and check it out.

Much love to my beta, myonlyheroin. Any and all mistakes are mine thanks to my twitchy fingers.

More down below in my closing A/N, but for now let's jump back in with E and B.

Dominos Stacked

Chapter 17

...Edward…

As soon as I'd pulled up to the gas station, I spotted Bella sitting outside on a curb under a palm tree. It looked like she was talking to someone on her cell phone. When our eyes met, she instantly stood up and ran to me, then threw her arms around my body and held me tightly against her.

"He hasn't come back around, but I saw him drive by two minutes after I'd hung up with you. I talked to my dad. He's going to call Billy and tell him what's going on, so he can warn Jake to back off before I have to call the police."

She actually called her dad.

This surprised me.

"It was a very short conversation. We're still not okay."

Apparently, she could tell that her calling her father had surprised me.

I was smirking.

She smacked me in the arm after cracking a crooked grin, then let out a soft sigh, "I… I just know the only person who will get Jake under control at this point is his dad, but I was hopeful it wouldn't have to come to that."

I nodded my head and opened the passenger side door of my car for her, then leaned down to kiss the top of her head after she'd taken her seat, "You're okay now. He's not going to bother you if I'm around. I won't let that happen," I promised her. She smiled up at me, but I could tell it was forced, and that frustrated the hell out of me.

"She fired me, Edward."

"You're boss?"

Bella let out another rushed breath, then pressed her lips together to slowly nod her head two times, "She told me not to come back… That they don't deal with drama there. She's honestly hated me since day one. Jake just gave her the excuse she needed to finally let me go."

"You'll find something else. You don't need to worry about that right now." It was clear she was already panicking about where her next paycheck might come from.

As soon as I'd shut her door, she was looking down at her phone.

With her eyes slightly dazed, and her hands trembling in front of her, I knew she was already texting Alice.

When I got into the car and buckled my seatbelt, there was a different kind of panic on her face.

"Billy is calling me."

"Ignore him."

I put the car in reverse, and quickly switched gears to pull us out of the gas station while my eyes stole quick glances in her direction. She seemed to be calming down, but her hands were still shaking, even with her phone resting in her lap.

"Wait... Where are we going?" She'd finally looked up long enough to notice we weren't heading back towards our apartment.

"Jasper's. He's at work, but I have a key. I figured it was better to not go back to our building right away. I called him, he said it was fine to hang out there."

She agreed to my plan with a nod from her head, then reached over and placed her hand over my leg to give it a gentle squeeze, "Thank you for coming to rescue me again."

"I always will. You're with me now. I'm just pissed he's not accepting that and making things more difficult than they have to be."

"He just never actually expect me to go out and challenge everything. He believed I'd stay back in Wake Forest, and wait for him. I've changed everything, and he's reacting now without thinking."

I wasn't quite sure what she meant by that, but I could tell this was not the time to question her. Right now, I just needed to focus on getting her to think about other things so she'd be able to find a way to relax again.

We drove in silence after that, but Bella's hand never left my leg. When I parked my car in front of Jasper's place her phone began to vibrate again right as she was opening her door.

"It's Billy again. He's not leaving any messages. I guess I should probably answer it."

"Okay, but if he gets loud with you just hang up."

I could see the stress returning to her eyes.

This pissed me off.

"I'll meet you inside."

That was her way of telling me she didn't feel comfortable with me listening in on the conversation she was about to have.

After accepting that fact, I leaned over and kissed her lips, then pushed my door open to leave her behind in my car with the key still in the ignition.

Once inside Jasper's, I went into the kitchen to see what he had in his fridge. After finding it basically empty, I plopped myself down onto the couch to turn on the TV, but my eyes quickly wandered towards the window where I could see Bella talking very animatedly into her phone.

She didn't look happy.

Once again, a Black was messing with her head and her emotions.

I was now determined more than ever to change that and help her forget all about their existence. No matter what it would take.

Without thinking twice, I ran back to the fridge to open us both a bottle of beer, not even caring that it was barely noon, then set some chill music on the stereo after I'd turned off the TV and turned the lights back down.

I wanted her to be able to come inside and just let go.

I didn't want her to sit here and allow Jake's immaturity to continue to control her every waking thought.

A few seconds later, Bella appeared in the doorway looking about as lost as I'd ever seen.

"Baby, I told you to hang up!"

"I know. I did. Just not soon enough. It's done though. Billy is bringing him home for a few days. My dad… he's pretty much disowned me completely… the things he said-"

"You called your dad again?"

"He was there with Billy."

She looked like she was about to cry.

I was not about to let that happen.

"Stop. No more. I don't want to talk about any of them anymore. They don't matter. You're done. They're done." I handed her a beer and pulled her into my arms to hug her against me, then felt her phone buzzing from her pocket between us.

Without even saying anything, I took it and tossed it across the room where it landed with a bounce onto the sofa.

"Done."

She released a soft sigh from between her lips and nodded her head before standing on her toes to kiss me. "I know, you're right. There is nothing left to say to any of them. I just need to figure out what I'm going to do for money."

I shook my head and placed my finger over her lips. "We're not worrying about any of that either. I'll do whatever it takes to provide for the both of us."

"Edward-"

"Shhh!" I demanded, then began walking us further into the living room area of Jasper's apartment. "You'll let me take care of you. I am not letting you go back there. Now, I want you to sit down and forget about everything you've had to endure this morning."

She smirked and raised her brow while keeping her gaze locked with mine, "Is that an order?"

"It's whatever you want it to be. All I know is, you will not be touching your phone for the next couple of hours."

"Oh, is that all you know?"

She grinned wider, and I brought my lips down to meet hers again, kissing her several times. Each time, a little longer and harder than the last, "Well, I guess I do know a few other things. Sit." I gave her a light push backward, and she plopped down onto the sofa holding her arm out to steady her beer.

"It's actually a little early to be drinking."

"It's five o'clock somewhere." I teased back, then grabbed up her phone to put it someplace else after I'd watched her glance down at it several more times once she'd taken her spot on the couch.

As soon as I was sitting beside her, she surprised me by setting down her beer bottle and straddling my hips over the cushions, "You let me go to bed pretty early last night."

"Yeah… I kind of liked watching you sleep."

She laughed and rolled her eyes while her fingers began to get lost in my hair.

Just then, my own phone began buzzing from the pocket of my jeans right where she was sitting over me.

"Is Jasper going to be home soon?"

"No," I grumbled after shifting her over so I could see who it was that had decided to ruin our moment, "Emmett is calling me. It must be important because I'd told him not to bother me for a couple of days."

Bella grinned, then increased her grasp around my torso with her legs and dug her head further against my chest, clearly not wanting to let me go, "Nothing to hide, Mase, go ahead and answer it," She challenged.

I could feel her smirking against me.

She didn't think I'd actually do it.

"Hey, Emmett. This better be-"

"What the fuck is going on over there, E?! Are you trying to ruin your life, or just being a complete idiot?"

I quickly tapped Bella's hips signaling for her to get up, then sat myself up straighter beside her, "What- what are you talking about?"

"What the hell are you doing on the site?! Aro is about to lose his ever-loving mind. He's on total damage control."

I had no idea what he was even talking about, "I'm not online. I'm not even home."

Then it hit me.

I hadn't shut down my laptop.

I hadn't even locked my door.

Fucking Tanya.

"It must be my ex. She got into my room. It's got to be her. I had to leave, and I rushed out without even thinking-"

"Just get your ass down here. Aro shut down your account, we will get it back online later, but he wants to see you right now."

Fan-fucking-tastic.

"I'll come by later."

"No, you'll come now. Whatever you're doing can wait, and you better have something else besides, 'oops, my ex did it, my bad', when you get here, bro. Aro's out for your blood."

I hung up the call without saying anything else, then got out a few expletives under my breath as I reached over for my shoes, "I have to go into the office. Tanya found a way to fuck with my life a little more."

"Can I come with you? I- I don't really want to be alone."

Honestly, I didn't feel comfortable myself, leaving her here all alone.

For all I knew, Jake could have followed us, and he might even be waiting across the street for another opportunity to get into Bella's head.

"Yeah, get dressed. You're sitting in the car, okay?"

I'd be sure to pay attention to our surroundings during our drive, just to make sure no one else was following us across town.

Bella did as I said, and I grabbed my phone again to send Jasper a quick text about our change in plans for the time being.

I couldn't imagine this day getting any worse at this point.

On our way out the door, I called Tanya, but she, of course, sent me straight to voicemail.

That was fine.

I would be packing up all my shit and getting the hell out tonight anyway.

Where I would go, that had yet to be figured out, but it was without question happening.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Our drive across town had been quiet.

Bella had apparently already learned the signs for when I needed some silence and this was one of those times.

My hands were gripping my steering wheel so hard, my knuckles would literally turn white at every red light we'd stopped at.

When we pulled into the parking lot, I parked next to Emmett's Hummer, then leaned over to give her a quick kiss, "I won't be too long. Stay here, then we will go find something to eat and figure out our lives some more." I teased with a smile, hoping she'd match it with one of her own.

I was starving, so I knew she probably was as well.

She nodded while tugging on my shirt to bring me in for one more kiss. When she released me, she was still grinning against my mouth.

"Lock it when I get out." I prompted right before closing the door. She nodded and gave me a thumbs up, then blew me a kiss from her hand.

When I got inside things were quiet and the break room was empty. Emmett's door was open, but he wasn't inside. I walked myself further down the hall under the buzzing fluorescent lights then took in a deep breath before reaching Aro's closed door.

As soon as I'd knocked, he shouted for me to enter.

"You came. Good boy. Sit, Cullen."

Emmett was already sitting in one of the other chairs across from Aro's desk.

He was also purposely avoiding making actual eye contact with me, which made me even more nervous.

"You've created quite the headache for me."

"It wasn't me."

"Right, your ex. Yada, yada, yada. I don't give a fuck who it was. Bottom line, I've lost a shit ton of money in the last two hours."

I didn't know what to say about this, so I stayed quiet and looked down at my feet.

He had every right to be mad.

I'd messed up.

This was my blow to take.

"We have two choices here, as far as punishments go. Either you can tack on another month to our deal, or you can go with Emmett to a party Friday night."

My eyes narrowed, and I looked over at Emmett who was still avoiding my stare.

Is this a joke?

More fucking blackmail?

"What are you talking about, Aro? What kind of a party?"

"Networking. For the company. Interested investors. You'll be familiar with the venue. Emmett told me you used it the other night for your girlfriend's little birthday party."

My jaw tightened and my fists began to clench at my sides from where I was still sitting across from him.

"It's a dinner party. You, Emmett and two of the girls will go to represent Stolen Moments dot com, and be the faces to the voices of our company here. Three hours out of your life. I think Bella will be able to survive three lousy hours without you."

I shifted forward in my seat the very moment her name had left his tongue.

Emmett was still being absolutely useless.

That pretty much solidified that this was a terrible idea.

"Three hours on a boat? This Friday?"

What else was I going to say?

He was threatening to add one four more weeks to my damn contract.

What was three hours on a boat with investors in comparison to an entire month of taking even more phone calls and chatting on a laptop while jerking off here in the office?

"That's all, nine to midnight —Friday night. Emmett will pick you up at your place. Do you have a suit?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Good. Here." He pushed a business card across his desk towards me, and I picked it up.

"What's this?

"A card for a doctor friend of mine. Go get your hand looked at. He does a lot of favors for me."

My brow raised again, but I slowly took the piece of cardstock from the slicked surface of his desk, then stuffed it into my side pocket.

"Thanks." I mumbled while shifting my weight in my seat again, "Can I go now?"

"Yeah, you can go. Make sure your ex doesn't fuck with me anymore, or I'll find a way to press charges next time and make her life a little less comfortable."

I smirked and cocked my brow, "Maybe you should go ahead and do that this time."

He'd actually be doing me a HUGE favor if he did.

"Nah, everyone gets one, Get Out of Jail Free card. You can let her know she's used her's up, and I won't be as generous the next time she decides to cross me."

"No worries. I'll be packing up my stuff and getting out tonight. I'm not sure where I'll go yet, but when I figure it out, I'll let you know."

"You sure will," Aro added with a deviant wink that sent a chill down my spine.

Emmett said nothing and was still refusing to look my way.

I would most definitely be calling him later tonight to see what I could get out of him.

For now, I just needed to get Bella and I out of here.

I stood up with a low grunt and said goodbye, then slammed the door behind me after I'd exited the room without opening my mouth again.

Bella was busy texting on her phone when I got back to the car.

She was smiling, though.

That was good.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I have to do this thing Friday night. With Emmett." I quickly explained, without even taking a second to think over the fact that I should probably have thought all of this through before I'd gotten into the car with her.

"What kind of thing?"

"A dinner, with investors. I'm supposed to wear a suit. Sounds like a night of yawns and yuppies."

She smirked, but I could already see the wheels in her head turning, "What night?"

"Friday, nine to midnight. Alice will be happy to have you all to herself for once." I tried joking, but her pout was clear as day. "At least I'll be getting paid for it." I didn't know if that was true, but it sure as hell better be or Aro and I would have another problem.

"Okay, but why are we turning into Home Depot?"

"I need to get some boxes to pack my stuff into."

When I looked at her again, she was grinning wider than I'd seen all day.

The fact that I was getting myself out from under Tanya's roof for good had apparently made her very happy.

"Alice said you can stay with us."

Now it was my turn to look surprised as hell.

Sure, I'd pretty much been staying over there as if I were already living there, only going next door to work a couple of hours a day, but this would make things seem a little more legit… a little more, serious.

Just yesterday, she'd agreed to be my girlfriend. Today, I was moving all of my stuff into her place?

This was fast.

Even for us.

"Not forever. She said it would be okay until you figure out something more permanent. You can store your boxes in the hall and share my bedroom with me… if you continue to buy us groceries and pay the water bill." She explained still grinning.

It was the most obvious decision to make.

So why did I feel so nervous about it?

"I mean, if you don't want to, I'll underst-"

"No! I do! I do want to! I'm sorry, my head is just all over the place. I'm wondering where I'll work. I guess I can start going back into the office during the day."

"What I can't sit in the corner and watch you work your magic?" She played with a devilish grin.

The more I thought it all over, the bigger my smile got.

This could be good.

Us living together.

Really good.

I didn't care that most people would probably think we were rushing into things. It felt right, and that's all that mattered.

I was ready to take this step with her, and who knows, maybe in a few months, she would be ready to get a place with only me.

Jasper would probably kill me for setting things up to where Alice might actually reconsider his offer to move in with him, but that wasn't my problem to worry about.

When we got back to our building, Bella came up to my apartment with me and insisted she come inside to help pack my things.

I'd purposely scouted out the parking lot before parking and walking us up.

Jake was nowhere to be seen and he hadn't attempted to contact Bella once.

Charlie had sent Bella a simple, one-sentence text message, letting her know everything had been taken care of.

So far, he seemed to be telling the truth.

Once we got inside, all the lights were turned off and things were quiet.

Tanya's car was in its usual spot downstairs, but that didn't mean she hadn't gone out with a friend or called an Uber.

"Just stay behind me,"

Bella kept her hands on my hips and remained silently cautious. When we got to the kitchen, I could see the lights on in my ex's bedroom, but I wasn't about to go knock and start anything. Instead, I took us into my unlocked room, then quickly locked it behind us.

She began opening the boxes right away so we could get to work, and I took a second to smile at her in action.

Thankfully, there wasn't much to do since I'd already been living out of two suitcases and a couple of poorly packed and stacked crates when I'd moved all of my stuff into here from the master bedroom.

We emptied the closet together and then began dumping my book collection into the last of the boxes.

That's what actually took us the longest.

"You have so many books!"

"Yeah… it used to drive my dad nuts."

"How's your own book coming?"

I smirked at her question, "Honestly, I haven't worked on it much since your family came to town."

She forced a frown, then walked toward me to drop her arms over my shoulders and bring her body up against mine after looking me in the eyes, "Well, I promise to give you lots of time to write once you're my roommate."

"Well, I think I'd rather spend most of my time holding you in my arms and kissing your lips, beautiful." I teased, leaning down to meet her mouth with my own.

"Hm, I could live with that too, but I also want you to finish that book, so I can read it!"

I nodded and gave her a playful wink from my eye as I released her from my grasp then let out a huff, "Ready to get this stuff out of here to move me further into your life, B?"

She grinned with her eyes lighting up and kissed my lips one more time to affirm she was indeed ready for this massive new step of ours.

After opening the door, we found the other room still dark which was a gift in itself. We walked down the hall together, then out the front door where she escorted me into her own apartment and turned on all of the lights.

"Let's see what we can fit in my room. We can probably stack most of these in the corner by my dresser. You really don't have much, and the less noticeable your things are, the longer Alice might let you stay."

"The sofa and dining table next door are mine, and the wall unit and TV, but I can replace it all. Whatever it takes to be done with her and have her out of my life for good."

Bella smiled again and nodded in agreement, then took my hand into hers and we headed back over to get the last of the boxes. When we went inside this time, Tanya was waiting.

"What's going on?"

At first, I ignored her, and we continued down the hall into my former bedroom. Bella's grasp increased around my hand, but I pulsed it three times so she would know everything was going fine. I felt her relax beside me and smiled down in her direction.

"Edward! What is this? Are you really this mad over me playing on your little porn site? Does she even know what you've been up to?!"

Bella paused, and I looked down into her eyes again, only this time I found them heated with rage.

"She knows everything, and my boss also knows it was you pretending to be me on my laptop."

"Aw, what gave it away? Me asking who wanted a free blow job, or me calling everyone on that creepy site a bunch of sad, lonely perverts? I cannot even believe that's what you've been up to in here! I mean, I knew you were getting desperate," She'd paused to purposely glance right at Bella, then returned her attention back onto me, "I just never thought you'd actually do… that. Talk about degrading!"

"I made the decision to do whatever it would take so I could get the hell out of here and cut you out of my life for good, Tanya."

My ex scoffed at my words, then crossed her arms in front of her chest, "So what? You're just moving out now? And going where?"

"He's moving in with me." Bella spoke up, then squeezed my hand again.

"Aw, well, you must have very low self-esteem, honey, if none of this bothers you."

I could instantly feel Bella tense up beside me, but I didn't want her to get into anything with Tanya because of me, so I took a purposeful step forward to put some space between the two of them and looked my ex directly in the eyes, "Bella and I are together now, and I am happier than I have ever been thanks to her. Here's my key, you can keep everything else. It's all replaceable, just like you were." After that, I guided us back into my bedroom to get the last of my boxes without saying anything else.

Bella looked like she was still on the verge of exploding.

"Don't pay attention to her. She's angry and she says things to try and make other people feel just as miserable as she does when she doesn't get her way."

"Let's just go." Bella grumbled after lifting up another box into her arms.

"I'll get the rest and meet you next door." I told her, then leaned over to kiss her forehead. She forced her lips into a smile and shook her head as I gathered the last of my stuff to follow closely behind her.

On my way out, I found Tanya blocking the front door.

"Why are you doing this? It was only a joke, E. You- you can't just leave!"

"You've attempted to fuck up my life more than once at this point. You messing with my job was the final straw. Too many lines crossed, Tan. This is the obvious move for me. Accept it. I've moved on, and this is me hammering the last nail into the coffin of our past to prove that fact to you. Now please, move."

"Wait until your parents hear about what you're doing for money! Don't think I won't tell them!"

I scoffed at her words and took another step towards the door after she'd finally started to move out of the way.

"You mean my father who is about to go to Prison? Please, by all means, make that call. I'll just be annoyed I didn't get to see his face when you told him."

My rebuke struck a nerve, but I didn't care.

Once she was no longer blocking the exit, I kicked the front door all the way open with my foot and turned my body to slide past hers with the two boxes I had stacked in my hands.

"Goodbye, Tanya. Please, by all means, don't feel obligated to say hi when we do bump into each other in the elevator."

She let out a loud sob and ran to the back of the apartment after that.

My God did it feel good to rip that last staple from my skin.

I had no idea what she'd thought would happen, but this clearly hadn't been it.

She'd deliberately tried to sabotage my livelihood, on top of all the other bullshit she'd continued to rain over my head on a daily basis since we'd broken up. How much more she thought I'd put up with was an absolute mystery to me at this point.

"Is she throwing stuff yet?" Bella questioned after meeting me at her front door with a stressed look on her face.

"I don't think there's much left she hasn't already broken, to be honest." I joked back, then dropped my boxes down to the floor to bring Bella into my arms, "Home sweet home."

Her smile was more relaxed now, and that helped me calm my own anxiety and also kiss her again to enjoy this moment a little more.

"I like the sound of that… just don't say it too loudly in front of Alice." She quipped while hugging me against her. "I'll clear out another drawer for you, I really do want you to make yourself at home here… with me."

Hearing her say that caused me to swiftly lift her up into my arms and I began carrying her towards the sofa so we could just relax for a little while since we hadn't gotten to do that all frigin' day ever since all hell had broken loose.

"Let's just watch some TV like a normal couple for a little while. Maybe even take a nap?" I suggested with a smirk. She had no objections but insisted she make us lunch first.

Tanya never made me lunch or dinner for that matter. She was the type to order in or force us to go out when she was actually wanting to put food in her mouth, which was a rarity in itself. I followed Bella into the kitchen and began helping her get stuff out to make us both a sandwich. After that was finished, I found something on TV for us to watch while we ate together and silently processed our day and everything that had happened since we'd woken up in each other's arms.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

A few hours had passed, and we were busy in her room getting my stuff organized when we both heard a loud knock at the front door. Bella jumped up from her bed without even thinking twice.

"Wait. It might be him. Let me get it." I warned then began walking past her. She was, of course, right behind me at my heels with her hands at my hips.

When we got to the door, I looked through the peephole but didn't see anyone.

"Stay behind me, I'm going to take a look." I softly prompted her, then took the doorknob into my hand and turned it.

Once it was open, I stepped out and looked to the right towards my own apartment door and froze in place.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

My father turned to face me and forced a nervous smile after taking a step closer with his hands stuffed into his pockets.

"Tanya just told me you moved out. You didn't go far, I see."

"You need to leave," I growled, my eyes narrowed and fists clenched at my sides.

"Not until we talk. For months, I've given you all the space you've asked for, but you're going to give me five minutes of your time, before I go away for five years tomorrow, Edward. You owe me that much."

I shook my head in a defiant manner, but Bella tugged on my arm to bring my attention over to her.

Just seeing her face helped me relax.

"You must be Bella. Rose has told us so many wonderful things about you."

She smiled nervously and nodded her head, then leaned over to whisper into my ear that we could talk inside.

She'd give us the privacy I'd need to speak my mind without holding back, but she would stay if I'd want her to.

I wanted her to stay.

"Fine. Come on in, dad. You get five minutes. Starting now."

A/N: So E is finally going to talk to Papa C. Will Bella be the buffer they need to have a civil conversation?

Lot's happened in this chapter again... From Tanya overstepping to Edward being given a brand new assignment at work... what do you think was up with Emmett... And how long will Billy keep Jake away?

The dominos are being stacked, but how will they fall?

*I'd love to hear your thoughts!*

*Leave me your words in a review and I'll reply with an Outtake from Bella's POV when she talks to Alice about Edward moving in with them "temporarily".*

Psssssssssst... In other news, Two Makes Five was nominated to possibly be one of the top 10 completed fics in June! I'd love it if you'd hop on over to, TwiFanfictionRecs dot com, to cast a vote for Care Bear and Stalker. *wink*