We meet again. I apologize for the long delay in chapters. I had to work through a few months of Writer's block for this chapter to work. I would like to take a moment to thank: MCGT (.net/u/1932192/mcgt) and Her Mighty UberGeekness (.net/u/2129343/Her_Mighty_Ubergeekness). Without both, I would have been lost. I love you ladies.

Lastly - very exciting news! Amore Vietato was nominated and won an Emerging Swan Award for best Supernatural WIP. Thank you to everyone who gave this story a chance. I love you all!

Since it's been awhile, a re-cap:

I took a deep breath. "You're not the only supernatural being that mates for life, Jake," I whispered. Instantly Jake was standing, swiping is arm across the table in front of me and spilling the contents to the floor. A pained moan filled the room as Jake continued to let his aggression out, smashing furniture and trinkets to pieces.

Michelle and I watched his tirade, not stopping him, but not afraid either. We both knew we were safe. We both knew we weren't the source of his anger, and soon enough he would tire himself out. Jake's large frame began to violently shake as the words 'I'll kill him, I'll kill him' repeated under his breath.

"Uh oh," Michelle whispered. Suddenly she was on her feet. "Bella, outside. NOW!"

I stood and watched as Michelle crossed the room and placed both her hands on either side of Jake's face, quietly murmuring 'shhhh' as she rubbed her thumbs across his cheeks. I turned and walked out the door, sitting myself on the top porch stair.

You should have kept you damn mouth shut, I thought as I buried my face in my hands and waited.

If I was perfect then this would be easy
Either road is plausible, on both I could drown
I walk through the center with no rules to guide me
I realize it's difficult, but now I can see

The minutes ticked on as I waited on Jake's small porch, my face never leaving the safety of my hands. The house was quiet and I briefly contemplated going back inside but couldn't, not sure how I was supposed to face Jake after having made him so angry.

Finally the front door opened and I lifted my head to watch Jake and Michelle step onto the porch, hand in hand. He was no longer shaking, but his face was still tense.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm usually a lot better at controlling my temper," he said quietly. His eyes were trained on his feet. I felt my heart sink at the realization that he couldn't even bear to look at me. He didn't need to explain it, I knew what had almost happened: Billy had almost had a mammoth sized wolf destroy his living room.

Small, angry tears invaded my vision, flowing freely down my cheeks. My best friend had been so angry, so disgusted by me that not only was he unable to look at me, but he had almost phased in his own home. I stood up and frantically swiped at my tears.

"No, I'm the one who's sorry, Jake. I'm sorry that I hurt you, that I angered you to the point of almost phasing, and disgusted you to the point where you can't even look at me. But I couldn't help it, Jake, no more than you could with Michelle. It is out of my control, and you know what, I'm okay with that.

"He is everything to me, the same way she is to you. And if you can't accept that, then you of all people should know that they come first. I love him, Jake." My words died in my throat as the realization of what I had just said crashed into me. I had said it...I had said, out loud, that I loved him. I hadn't even thought about it, the words had just come. I looked up at Jake. His face was a mix of surprise and horror. I clamped my hand over my mouth and turned, flying down the steps and into my Jeep, slamming and locking the door.

More tears fell as I fumbled with my keys, trying to shove them into the ignition. Jake was knocking at my window, calling my name, but I ignored him and finally got it to fit, starting the car and throwing it into reverse. I drove for a few miles before the tears clouded my vision to the point I couldn't see. I pulled over to the side of the road and let the sobs overtake me. I didn't cry often, but when I did, I went all-out. The tears that fell were for a million things: my slowly crumbling friendship, the new love I had found, the realization that I might just be able to tell Edward with words how I felt, the choices I would be forced to make, and the people I was destined to hurt. All of those things curled and tightened around my heart, causing me to sob harder.

After awhile the tears had run dry and I pulled my car back onto the road, destined for home. Though where that home was, I wasn't yet sure. It felt as if my home was with Edward now, but it was all too soon, too fast. I knew better than to question my feelings for him, but what about everyone else? Undoubtedly they would all have an opinion regarding our relationship. You're too young, you've only know each other such a short while, you're moving too fast, take some time and date before you settle down.

However, I knew there would never be another. I would not "date" anyone else, I would never want anyone else. My life was with Edward now, until the time of my death, either my mortal one or my immortal one. I would never question my feelings for him, but as I drove down that deserted stretch of road heading home, I did begin to question his. What had caused him to behave so uncharacteristically as to pin me against a wall and verbalize such a raw, dirty thought? What possessed him to grind his hips into mine, allowing me to feel his desire? He had spent weeks avoiding me, and up until that point, we had only shared one kiss.

I had never witnessed the Edward who stood pressed against me earlier, but I had enjoyed him. Thoroughly enjoyed him. I just needed to know where he had come from, what had changed. I made a mental note to ask him the next time we had a moment alone, along with a promise that I would tell him I loved him.

I pulled into the driveway and quickly stole a glance in the rear view mirror. The evidence of my sobfest was fading, but if you looked closely, you could tell. I was banking on Charlie being too preoccupied to notice. With a heavy sigh, I climbed out of my car, grabbed my bags and headed inside.

I heard the TV in the living room going as I stepped into the foyer. I dumped my bag unceremoniously at the foot of the stairs and leaned against the door frame.

"Hey, Dad," I said, giving him my best "I'm fine" smile. He looked up at me from his recliner and narrowed his eyes. I should have known that the Chief of Police wouldn't miss a thing.

"What's the matter, Bells?" he asked, placing his hands on the arms of the chair and raising himself from it. He crossed the room, lifted my chin to look him in the eyes, and then pulled me into a crushing hug.

"Nothing to worry about, Dad. I promise," I whispered into his shoulder.

"Does this have anything to do with the fight you and Jake had?" he asked, releasing me to once more look me in the eyes. The shock he must have seen there had him laughing.

"Oh don't look so surprised, Bells. I may be old, and a man, but I'm not oblivious. He called here awhile ago, said that he needed to speak with you right away, that you misunderstood, he was sorry, and to please, please call him." As he said the last part, his voice had risen to a whiny, high pitched tone.

I burst out laughing at my father's impersonation, imagining that was probably exactly how Jacob had sounded.

"Yeah, well, thanks for that message, Dad. And the laugh. But, he can just wait. Let Michelle entertain him until I'm ready to talk," I answered, waving my hand in the air dismissively.

"Oh, la, la," Charlie sang, returning to his chair and picking up an earlier discarded can of beer. "So your fight was over a girl? I didn't think you felt that way about him, Bells."

"I don't. It wasn't about his girlfriend, it was about my boyfriend, and it seems that young Jacob is displeased in my selection of men," I said bitterly, throwing myself onto the couch across from Charlie.

My confession caught Charlie off guard and he choked on the sip he had taken from his can. "Your boyfriend? Since when are you seeing anyone?" Charlie asked.

I thought about my answer for a moment. Obviously, there was no way to tell Charlie that I had become someone's 'mate', or that that someone was a 109 year old vampire. He also had no way to comprehend the choices this would lead me to make. Seeing as how I was fairly sure that Edward and I would be in the company of each other quite often, lying to Charlie was not an option. Omitting parts of the truth however, most certainly was.

"Well it's been building, really. It started out as a mutual dislike of each other, which then grew into friendship and then I found out we both had feelings for each other, and so it only became official the other day," I finally answered, feeling only slightly uncomfortable having to talk about boys with Charlie. When I had first come to live here I had resigned myself to the fact that I would most likely have to eventually talk to Charlie about subjects usually reserved for Mother/Daughter bonding.

"Ah ha, and which fine citizen of Forks has caught my daughters attention?" Charlie asked, smiling at my obvious discomfort.

"That would be Edward Cullen," I mumbled, covering my eyes in anticipation of Charlie's reaction

He was quiet a moment, and I opened my fingers and peered out at him. He was reclined back in his chair, absently rubbing his mustache with his free hand. Finally he cleared his throat. "And there it is, the real reason you wanted to spend the weekend with Alice," Charlie said, shaking his head.

"No, Dad, I swear. I had no idea he felt the same way I did until yesterday," I blurted out, desperately trying to get him to understand I hadn't tried to deceive him. There were enough lies that were eventually going to have to pass through my lips, so telling him the truth when possible was critical.

"Bells, relax. While I'm not thrilled you wound up spending the weekend with your new boyfriend, I do trust you, and I believe you. Just, you know, make sure you're...uh...safe, ok?" Charlie's cheeks flushed a deep red, reminding me I was more like him than I had originally noticed.

"Ugh, really, Dad?" I laughed as I stood up, walking over and giving Charlie a quick kiss on the cheek. "I'm going to go unpack, shower, and go to bed. It's been a long weekend."

I retrieved the bag I had thrown and slowly climbed the stairs, my body exhausted. As I opened the door and stepped into my room, the overwhelming scent of Edward hit me like a freight train. I shut the door and leaned against it briefly, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply the wondrous smell that was him. The small hairs on my neck and arms stood straight up, creating a prickling sensation, and leaving a trail of goose bumps across my flesh. I knew this sensation, knew what it meant. I felt it every time Edward was close. His scent wasn't residual, it was present. Hewas present.

Slowly I opened my eyes, and though my vision was unfocused and blurry in the dim, evening light, I trained them at the chair in the corner. It was the most logical place for him to be.

"Edward."

Silence. For a moment I thought that I was imagining him here.

"Bella," he finally answered.

I stood a moment longer, staring into the dark in the direction his voice had come from. Internally I high fived myself for having guessed correctly at his positioning, and therefore avoided looking like a complete asshole. I waited until my eyes had begun to adjust and then crossed the room, flipping on the bedside lamp.

"What are you doing in here?" I asked, turning to look at him. His face was turned as he was stared out the window into the darkened forest. He didn't answer, and he didn't move. I took a few steps towards him and tried again.

"Ok, let's try this one…how did you get in here?" This time he turned to look at me. His eyes met mine and I could see they had changed from the normal Carmel into a deep black. He raised his hand and pointed his thumb in the direction of the window. Something about the gesture seemed familiar, almost as if I was experiencing déjà vu.

I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at him. I studied the planes of his face, the curve of his nose, the fullness of his lips. I felt my heart rate speed up at the memory of those lips pressed against my flesh. His mouth curved upwards in a half smile as he chuckled. I mirrored his smile and waited for him to start explaining.

He sighed and turned to stare out the window again. "Do you have any idea how worried I was, Bella?"

"Worried? Worried about what?"

"You, Bella. I was worried about you. One minute you're driving down the highway and then poof, you're just…gone. I have never been so scared in my existence, and by the time I saw it, it was too late to stop it, so I panicked and took off to find you. It wasn't until just before dark that I remembered-there was no other explanation. You must have gone to see the mutt, which based on your conversation with Charlie just now, it seems I was correct."

He paused to take a deep breath. "I almost broke the treaty, Bella. I almost crossed that line, went down there and brought you back. What were you thinking?"

I could see the anger seething under the forced, calm demeanor he was exuding. I was acutely aware of his struggle to control it. The average person wouldn't have been able to see it, but I had studied him long enough to know the signs: the way his fists clenched and unclenched as he spoke, the way his jaw twitched with every sentence. Even his voice had dropped an octave, becoming dark and dangerous.

I felt my own anger rise and bubble, lingering just under the surface. I closed my eyes and took a long, deep breath. Anger on anger would not benefit either of us.

"What I was thinking, Edward, was that I wanted to go see my oldest and closest friend. Something I do not need your permission to do. If you almost broke the treaty, then that is on you, not me." I forced my words out slowly, struggling to keep my anger and my voice in check.

"Bella, do you have any idea—."

"Wait. Hold on one damn minute. What do you mean 'by the time you saw it'? Were you following me?"

He tilted his head to the side and scoffed. "No, Bella, I didn't follow you. I'm not that much of a creep."

"That's funny, coming from the guy who broke into my room through the window and sat in the dark, waiting for me to come home. You could have called, you know, like a normal person."

"In case you forgot, I'm not a normal person, Bella," Edward countered, arching his brow.

"So that makes it OK for you to… you know what, just…never mind. Let's get back to the question at hand, please. If you weren't following me, then how did you see it?"

"Alice," he answered, turning to look out the window again. I stared at him, waiting for him to continue. After a few seconds of silence, it appeared he wasn't going to offer up any more than that one word answer. Frustrated, I stood from the bed and walked to him. Kneeling, I grabbed his chin and attempted to turn his face towards mine. He didn't resist and I felt relieved that he wasn't going to fight me.

"I'm gonna need more than that, Edward. Alice what?" I asked, still holding his face towards mine.

"Alice saw you," he answered, his dark eyes searching mine. I dropped my hand to my side and stood up.

"That's impossible. I thought Alice couldn't see me."

"Normally she can't. However, this afternoon she could. When we participated in Carlisle's little experiment, remember? I didn't see it then because I was so focused on hearing you. She managed to hide the vision from me long enough that once I finally saw it, it was too late for me to do anything." He tilted his head back against the rocking chair and closed his eyes.

I stood for a moment, in shock. I had wondered what Alice had seen, but there hadn't been any time to ask her.

"Edward, look at me." Slowly, almost methodically, his eyes found mine.

"If you knew where I went, why are you so angry? Why almost break the treaty just to bring me back?"

"They are dangerous, Bella. Unpredictable, undisciplined, unstable. You had a fight with him…with Jake, did you not?"

"Yes, but-," I started.

"Do you have any idea what could have happened if he had lost his temper? If for one moment, he was not in control? He could have phased. The consequences of which could have been fatal. Fatal, Bella. Do you understand?"

I nodded as the image of Jake destroying his father's living room flashed through my mind. I had come close. Too close. Except Jake hadn't lost control. He pulled his anger in enough to keep me safe, ussafe. In my mind, he and Edward were on equal footing in the control department.

Edward stood and wrapped his arms around me. "You are everything to me, Bella. The reason I exist. I could not go on if something happened to you. I just want you safe. You're so fragile, so breakable."

Instantly my muscle's tensed and I went rigid, still enveloped in Edward's embrace. He had struck a nerve and I could feel my anger intensify once again. I pushed against his chest until he let me go and I took a step back, narrowing my eyes at him.

"What is it? What's wrong?"

"While to your kind I may seem weak, to my kind I'm pretty goddamn tough. You keep trying to make Jake into the bad guy, but what about you, Edward? You honestly think that you and your family pose no threat to my safety? Just one slip, Edward, one momentary lapse of control, and I'm dead."

Edward let out a growl and he leaned down to look me directly in the eyes, placing his hands on either side of my face. "That is not a possibility, Bella. Neither I, nor my family, would ever, ever, harm you, do you hear me? You will always be safe with me. You have to believe that." His eyes were frantic, searching mine with a quiet desperation.

"I do believe you, Edward. I also trust you, but ... I trust Jake as well. Now you have trust me. I have accepted the dangers associated with my choices, and I've made peace with them."

He shook his head as he stood back to his full height. "It's not you that I don't trust, Bella. As for you accepting the dangers … well that's a very naive position to take, don't you think?"

"No, Edward, I don't. The fact remains: it's my decision and not yours. I'm telling you, just like I told Jake, I'm not discussing this anymore. If you don't like it, feel free to leave." I gestured towards the door for emphasis.

We stared at each other as the seconds passed, neither one willing to back down. Finally, he sighed and settled himself back in the rocking chair, once again staring out into the darkness beyond the window.

I grabbed a set of pajamas from the dresser and made my way into the bathroom to change. As I sat on the edge of the tub, I took a few deep breaths, desperate to clear away the residual feelings of anger. It infuriated me that two of the three men in my life were hell-bent on protecting me from the other. Both viewed me as weak and incapable of surviving in their world. Jake hated Edward, and Edward hated Jake. Yet, I loved them both. That was a huge burden to bear; a heavy weight to carry on my shoulders.

Nothing I said, nothing I did, would ever change this fact. I could only sit back and hope for the best; hope that one day they would come to an understanding. Until that day though, I would have to deal with the anger, the jealousy, and the fear.

I rushed through my nightly routine, anxious to get back to my room. A part of me was hoping that Edward had stayed, while the other part, still angry, wanted him to have left. As I walked down the hallway, I worked to reconcile those two parts. I hesitated a moment outside the door, my hand wrapped around the knob. I took a deep breath and pushed it open. I smiled when I saw Edward in the same spot he had been when I had left him.

He turned to look in my direction. "You look relieved."

"Well I wasn't sure what to expect. So yeah, I guess I am." I crossed the room and slid under the covers, Edward watching as I settled myself in the over-sized bed. I could feel the distance between us, like we were each standing on opposite banks of a deep chasm. It made my heart ache to physically be so close to him, but mentally and emotionally so far away.

"Stay with me?" I asked as I patted the open space next to me. The corner of his mouth curved upwards as he nodded and stood from the chair. As he crossed the space between us, he slowly pulled at the hem of his shirt, lifting it above his head. He stopped at the edge of the bed, his back towards the window, and the limited amount of moonlight that filled the room pooled behind him, blanketing him in a soft, white light. Never more had he resembled an angel than in that moment, and I recognized him for what he was; my salvation.

I heard him kick off his shoes before he climbed into the bed next to me, taking care to tuck the covers between us. Immediately I tore them away and pressed my flesh against his. He sighed, but instead of tucking them between us again, he simply pulled me closer into him, wrapping his arm around me and allowing me to use it as a pillow.

We lay in bed for a long period of time, not talking, just content to be on the same side of that gorge. My entire body hummed with contentment. Earlier I had wondered where home was, wondered if it was all too soon. The answer came to me then, in the dark and quiet night, as my body twisted with Edward's; it didn't matter if it was days, weeks, months, or years, home would forever be in Edward's arms.

Chapter Title and Lyrics: "Crossroads" Avenged Sevenfold.

Phew. This chapter gave me some serious issues. It just didn't want to cooperate! I hope it turned out alright. I am in the process of working on 18, so never fear. xoxo - BJL