The Twilight Twenty-Five
Prompt: Prelude
Pen name: Addicted to Edward
Pairing: Edward/Bella for now, will be Edward/Jasper later
Rating:M

Summary: Sometimes love is found where you least expect it. Edward Cullen is a depressed loner when he meets Jasper Whitlock. Jasper soothes Edward's soul, but he has his own demons to conquer. Can Edward and Jasper heal each other?

A/N: This is the first of 25 chapters that will be my submission to the Twilight 25 challenge. This story has been consuming me for the past few weeks, ever since the wonderful Michelle M Marie planted the most delicious vision in my head. You'll just have to wait and see. She is also my pre-reader and I love her for it! Check out my profile to find her link and give her some love!

A HUGE thanks goes out to my PTB betas who have been wonderful. I'm surprised they haven't gone running for the hills yet to get away from my obsessiveness. Thank you so much, SueBob, Maggie Cullen, Brandy, and Kendra.

Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight, just a soft and cuddly Edward blanket. If I did own Twilight, Edward and Jasper would spend a lot more time together...

Chapter 1: Prelude
Music Inspiration: Bella's Lullaby -- Carter Burwell
River Flows In You --Yiruma

Three Years Ago...

"Will you be home soon, love?" I asked, trying to cradle the phone on my shoulder without hitting any buttons. It was a lost cause.

"Yes. I am just finishing up and then I'll be on my way."

"See you soon."

"I love you," she replied softly. I smiled, imagining the blush that would be on her cheeks as she said the words.

"As I love you."

I placed the phone back on its base and rushed back to the stove. I never was very good at multitasking when it came to Bella, even just talking to her on the phone. The tomato and meat sauce was bubbling over the edge of the pot now, leaving red splotches all over the white stove.

"Dammit," I muttered as I mentally added that to the list of things that I'd have to clean up before Bella got home. At least the sauce wasn't ruined.

I moved the pot off the heat. Reading the recipe three more times to make sure I was doing everything properly, I layered the sauce with the noodles and the cheese in the pan. When I finished, it wasn't the neatest lasagna ever created, but the recipe promised it to be delicious.

I checked the recipe again to ensure that covering the dish with aluminum foil was correct. I set the timer to a few minutes before the suggested time, just in case. Can't serve my Bella burnt lasagna, after all.

I surveyed the kitchen to assess the damage. The salad was tossed so I didn't have to worry about that, just the scraps of chopped vegetables I'd left scattered over the counter. The garlic bread could wait until the last fifteen minutes of baking, and I had the butter out to soften to make it easier to spread. The pots and bowls stacked in the sink threatened to topple over onto the floor. And, of course, the hardening sauce splattered on the stove. And the counter. And the floor. Fuck me.

It was a twenty-minute trip from the University library to here. I could get this place back to normal before Bella got home, no problem. I never understood how she was able to create her culinary masterpieces without making messes like this. If she saw what I'd done to her pristine kitchen, she'd never let me in here again. Which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing…but I do like to surprise her now and then.

The kitchen was back to order with minutes to spare. I set the table and then lit two long candlesticks placed in the center.

I sat at my piano, running my fingers up and down in scales, warming up so I could properly serenade my Bella when she arrived home. I began to play the piece I'd composed, inspired by her, losing myself in the music.

I jumped when the oven timer buzzed, marking forty-five minutes passed. Still, Bella was not home. I checked the lasagna, removing the foil to allow the cheese to brown. It smelled delicious.

I called Bella's cell phone. It wasn't unlike her to get lost in a book at the library, even one she just caught out of the corner of her eye on the way out the door. The phone rang and rang and finally, her voicemail greeted me. "Bella, just wondering where you are. Call me."

I returned to the piano. She was probably on the way home. Ever the responsible one, Bella almost never answered the phone while she was driving.

When the oven buzzed again, fifteen minutes later, I started to get worried. I removed the lasagna from the oven and placed it on the counter to set. I'd do the garlic bread when she arrived so it'd be piping hot.

I called her cell again, and this time, her voicemail picked up right away. "Bella, love, I'm getting worried. Please, call me."

I sat back down at the piano, breathing deeply to calm my nerves. Everything's fine, there's a perfectly logical explanation. But a feeling of dread was starting to spread through me. What if her old truck broke down and she's stranded on the road? Maybe she was calling for a tow truck when I called her. But she'd know to call me if she was in trouble, wouldn't she? That I'd come to help her right away?

Ignoring the growing knot in my stomach, I started playing again. I forced myself to restart the song each time I finished, focusing on each and every note and chord to distract myself from Bella's absence.

After another half hour, the candles on the table were still burning. And Bella was still not home. I called her cell again but didn't bother leaving a message this time. I called every one of her friends whose phone number I could find. None of them had seen her or heard from her all evening.

I couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. I dialed one more number.

"Charlie, it's Edward."

"This is a surprise. What can I do for you, Edward?"

"It's Bella. She should have been home over an hour ago. I can't reach her on her phone and none of her friends have seen her and –" The longer I spoke, the faster my words came.

"Whoa, slow down. I'm sure everything's fine –"

"It's not, I know it's not. She was just at the library working on a paper. She should be home by now. Something's wrong, I know it. I just…didn't know who else to call. I know you can help."

Charlie sighed. "Listen, Edward, as Chief of Police, I can tell you it's too early to call the police. If they started a missing person's case every time someone was a little late coming home, well…nothing would get done."

"I know, but –"

"As a father, though, I hear your concern. If you're worried about Bella, that makes me worried. But we can't jump to conclusions so quickly."

"Maybe I should go look for her."

"No, I think it would be better for you to stay home. If she comes home soon, which I'm sure she will, you won't know it. Or if she tries to call home, you'll want to be there."

"I just feel so useless sitting here."

"I know. Tell you what. Call me when you hear from her or when she gets home. If another hour goes by with nothing, I'll call the Seattle Police Department. I can't promise they'll do anything, but I'll try. There's not much else I can do from here in Forks."

"Thanks, Charlie."

"You got it. And, please, call me the minute you hear from her."

I'd hoped to feel better after talking to Charlie, but I didn't. I began to pace, trying to prevent the horrible images in my mind from forming. Bella lost and scared. Bella in a car accident. Bella hurt. Or worse.

Every noise I heard in the hallway of the apartment building had me opening the door, hoping to see her. It was never Bella, always some other neighbor.

The candles on the table had burned themselves out by the time the phone rang again. I answered before the caller I.D. even registered.

"Bella?"

"No, sorry, Edward."

The knot in my stomach tightened. "Charlie."

"I called the Seattle P.D. just like I promised. They agreed to send a patrol car out to the campus and travel the roads between there and your apartment as well as the surrounding area, but beyond that…they won't really do much more until she's been missing for twenty-four hours."

"I should be out there too, helping…"

"No, Edward. They want you to stay there, in case she comes home or in case…in case the hospital calls…" His voice wavered at the end, but he cleared his throat. Back to Police Chief Swan. "And I agree with them. Let them do their jobs."

"Okay, if you think that's best."

"I do. We'll find her."

* * *

I had no idea what time it was. It could have been hours. It could have been days. My relentless pacing should have worn a hole right through the floor. Charlie's words were the only thing that kept me here. The feeling inside me that I should be out there, looking for her, was harder and harder to fight back. My hand was on the doorknob when the phone rang.

When Charlie's name appeared on the caller I.D. instead of Bella's, my stomach dropped.

"Edward…" His cracked voice on the other side of the line confirmed my worst fears. Something horrible had happened.