As we all know, Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight and its characters. All else is from my imagination. I look forward to hearing what you think of this story idea.

Summary: Every one else sees a washed up never-was who peaked in high school. Edward sees his life as over before it began. When she comes home, how far will Bella have to go to reach him. Will she be strong enough to face rock-bottom with him, or decide that love is not enough for two, when only one is willing to try.

The light streaming through the window caused Edward to groan and squeeze his eyes tight as he rolled to face the wall next to the mattress on the floor. The stench of morning breath ricocheting off the wall was enough to make him open his eyes and sit up. Too much coffee in the morning and too much liquor at night. The effects on his dental hygiene were revolting.

Though no one was around to hear him, Edward groaned aloud as his joints and feet ached under his girth. The kitchenette in the efficiency apartment was cluttered with wrappers and empty plastic containers from TV dinners gone bye.

Edward cursed as he heard the trash truck in the alley. He pushed the refuse to the floor on the other side of the small counter that separated the living and sleeping area from the cooking area.

While the coffee pot brewed his mid-morning energy supply, Edward rummaged for the cleanest clothes he had. As much as he wanted to avoid life outside his micro-fortress, he needed to replace some necessities and get more frozen dinners.

Across the small town, Bella Swan arrived at her fathers house. After hugs and luggage arranging, she and her father, Charlie, settled in for an evening of catching up.

"Daddy, would you be okay with me moving back?" Bella tried to keep her voice level. As an accomplished investigator and all-around observant Dad, Charlie Swan knew there was more to Bella's request than being home sick.

"What happened, Kiddo? You didn't flunk out, did you? Oh, God! You're not pregnant!" Charlie started pacing as his mind raced to any mention his daughter made of boy or boys who might be responsible.

"Geez, you're such a typical dad sometimes. I'm not pregnant and I didn't flunk out. I just... it's harder than I thought. I didn't realize how much Forks had become home to me until I got to school." Bella shrugged. She and her father had spent two good years getting to know each other before she left for Wheaton.

"Of course you can come home. I... I never thought you'd want to, but you're always welcome back, baby." Charlie pulled his little girl in for a tight hug.

"You don't think I'm a failure?" Bella whispered.

"No! No, of course not. You're aren't giving up on school, you just want to do it from here? Y'know, even if you don't want to go back to school, we'll make it work. You can take classes at the community college or something." Unfamiliar with the display of emotion and how to properly comfort his daughter, Charlie risked pulling Bella to his lap and stroking her hair. He was pleasantly surprised when she wrapped her arms around his neck and relaxed into his chest.

"Thank you, Daddy. I was scared that you wouldn't want me to come back because of how ready I was to leave. I wasn't exactly nice about living in Forks." While surprised by the gesture, Bella realized that she needed to sit in her daddy's lap and took all the comfort that snuggling close offered her. As the scent of Charlie, warmth and the mild spice of his cologne, wrapped around Bella, she realized that his smell would always be home to her.

"Don't give it another thought, Bella. Where ever I am, you are welcome to be. I love you, Kiddo." Father and daughter sat in companionable silence, drawing comfort from each other in their new-found connection.

While father and daughter reconnected, Edward was shuffling through the supermarket. Without much thought, he tossed frozen dinners into his cart. He glared at the girl who walked by while taking note of the four packs of cookies in his cart.

Memories of his wretched breath prompted the purchase of a new toothbrush and toothpaste. Beyond that, Edward couldn't muster the care to find more than a bar of Ivory and a stick of Right Guard. Who the fuck wants to smell like the beach anyway? Last time he'd been, it smelled like salt and dead fish. Pushing away the memories of family and vacations, he almost cracked a smile as he considered the scents in a 'Shrek' line of body care products.

The check out girl was someone he remembered from high school. No one bothered trying to engage him in conversation any more. He wasn't going anywhere, he wasn't doing anything, he hadn't seen good ol' so-and-so.

He returned to the relative safety of his apartment and considered getting a computer so he could order his meagre supplies from the internet and avoid the locals altogether.

He knew what time it was by the sounds coming from the pub below. Eight o'clock during spring break was different from eight o'clock any other time. The sounds of young voices, full of hope and excitement made Edward want to retch. He sat in front of his TV with the half gallon of milk and the bag of cookies and worked very hard to ignore the sounds of celebration assaulting him from below. Fuck them and their futures.

- F -

"Man, it feels so good to be on a break! I can't wait until graduation next year. This one has been kicking my ass!" The young man hollered at his companions.

"Newton, it's fucking accounting. How hard can it really be? Everyone knows you're coming back and working for Daddy anyway. Who cares if you make A's or C's, you've got a job as soon as you decide to come back." Mike Newton sneered at his old rival, Tyler Crowley, and turned his attention to the girl next to him while conversations turned toward what everyone was doing now.

"I heard Bella was back in town. Has anyone seen her yet?" At the mention of her name, the brunette sitting alone in the corner started paying closer attention.

"Not yet, but you know I am so going to call her up!" Tyler added.

"She does not give two shits about your small-town ass, Tyler. That girl couldn't wait to get out of this town. You weren't even a speed bump." Mike replied.

"As if you fared any better. Shit, all I remember her doing was studying." Eric Yorkie added.

"Well, I remember that she had a thing for Edward Cullen." Jessica Stanley said before pulling Mike's attention back to her.

"Cullen. What a fuck-up he ended up being. Have you seen him? He's like, three hundred pounds now. You should see him. He came through the store yesterday. Bought like, a ton of junk and waddled his fat ass right back out." Lauren Mallory sneered.

"Are you kidding? I thought he got a free ride to Dartmouth or something? Like a baseball scholarship, right?" Tyler asked, surprised to hear that his high school hero had fallen so far.

"You didn't hear about that? Where have you been?" Lauren was always ready to spread gossip. "He was out with his girlfriend one night and this guy started hitting on her, like, right in front of him or something. So, Edward stands up and is all, like, 'she's with me so back off' and the other guy just takes his pool stick and starts beating on him. His shoulder was shattered and he had, like, a really bad concussion. Somehow his girlfriend had managed to get out of the way and called 911, but the damage was done. I heard she ended up leaving him after he lost the scholarship, too." Lauren sat back, pleased that she had the entire table's attention. She loved holding court.

"That's awful. Though I don't see how that makes him a fuck up." Tyler said.

"It makes him a fuck up, because he didn't even try. He just gave up. You know he had to have gotten an academic ride, too. He never left town. I mean, he lives over this bar for chrissake." Lauren sneered.

Silent tears traced down Bella's cheeks as she listed to that awful girl talk about the beautiful boy she loved in school. Without drawing attention, she made her way to the back of the bar and up the stairs to the apartment.

She knocked with more force than usual to compensate for the sound of the TV blaring over the noise from the bar. She waited, straining her ears for any noise that would indicate Edward was going to answer. At last, she heard the turn of the lock and held her breath to see the face she has missed.

"What?" Came the voice, rough from disuse.

Bella hid well her shock at his appearance as she focused on his eyes."Hi, Edward." She offered a small smile.

His mouth opened and closed, unsure of what to make of the apparition in front of him. He closed the door before the swell of emotion could overtake him.

Each stood in silence staring at the closed door. Bella laid her palm flat on the door and pressed her forehead to it, not knowing that Edward's position mirrored hers.

"Please, Edward, let me in. You're not alone. I know you feel that way, but you aren't." She whispered to the door.

"You left." Edward responded, too quietly for Bella to hear.

I'm beginning this story with no Beta. If you are interested and a picky grammarian, I'd love the extra set of eyes.

Thanks -A.