A/N – Last chapter :) More later

Bella POV

I stood still, watching the door, hoping to God that Charlie would come back and let me apologize. I don't know how long I stood there, but my chest was starting to hurt from the lack of breath.

Stone cold, gentle hands met my arms and a small voice was in my ear. "Bella, breathe."

I shook my head and continued to stare. He had to come back.

But I involuntarily shuddered in a much-needed breath, and with it, all the panic that had built up.

I broke free of Edward's arms just as Alice yelled "Edward!" and started running. Out the door, down the stairs, and to the road, trying to catch up with Charlie, though I knew in the back of my head that he was long gone.

There was a rock on the floor that I stepped on and my ankle twisted under me, but before I could fall Edward was there to catch me. Of course.

I felt a scream building up. "Edward, let me go!"

He pulled me towards the garage and let me go once the doors were closed, locking them. Then he let me go.

I walked right back to the door, and even know I knew it was locked, I jiggled the handle to try to escape.

"Let me out, Edward." There was an acid in my voice that he winced at.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

I huffed my breath out. "I want to go find Charlie!"

"I'll take you."

He walked to his car and opened the passenger door for me.

I weighed my options, seeing if I could make a run for it. A sense of déjà vu returned to me as I remembered blood typing day a million years ago.

I ran to the passenger door and sat inside, buckling myself in and waited, only when I turned to look over, he had already started to pull out of the driveway.

We got to Forks very quickly, fast enough that when I had pulled my eyes away from my hands and feet and looked out the window, we were already at my house. The driveway was empty, the lights off, and Edward's voice answered my suspicions.

"He's not here."

I sighed and got out of my seat, heading for the door. I heard Edward slam the car door behind me. He went ahead and unlocked the door or me, opening it and letting the dim light from the moon in.

I sighed and turned to Edward. His nose was turned up and he smelled the air.

"Nobody's been here since earlier."

Anyone could see that; the magazine Nurse Lannet left on the table was still open, the cushion on the chair in the living room on the floor from when Edward rushed me out. The phone was on the kitchen counter instead of on the receiver. Nothing had changed.

He'd have to come home eventually. I'd just have to wait it out.

With one last look at Edward for now, I walked up the stairs, and I felt his presence behind me. I went into my room, grabbed my shower bag, and then went to the bathroom.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth, but the warm water dripping down my chin felt really good, so eventually I stepped into the shower and let the hot water run down my back.

Errant thoughts ran through my head; I have a pile of homework to do; it can't possibly be midnight already; my room is a bit messy…nothing really of importance, luckily…just random thoughts.

But then too soon, the hot water ran out and I was cold again, and the real world behind the bathroom door was waiting for me.

I sighed and shut off the water, the overwhelming sense of the world on my shoulders almost bringing me to tears. But I bit them back. There was no use for them this time.

Once I was ready, I walked to my room, my feet dragging across the floor. Edward was on the bed, twiddling his fingers and staring at the floorboards.

He looked up almost immediately after I walked in and smiled slightly, and I couldn't help but smile back. The world seemed at ease for that one moment in time.

I turned off the light, walked to him, and curled into his chest while he wrapped a blanket around me to keep me from shivering from his cold body.

I let my thoughts wander again, pointless nothings drifting in and out, and I was on the verge of sleep when an almost silent sob shook me out of my stupor.

I blinked a couple of times before I realized that Edward was the one sobbing.

In a hurry, I turned around to face him, and his expression, I predicted, would haunt my nightmares for a long time.

I couldn't form the words, but the question was in my eyes.

He sighed, trying to clear the expression on his face.

"I wanted to ask you something," he said.

"So ask me." Only with the way he wasn't looking at my eyes but at my wrists, I figured I already knew what it was he wanted to ask me.

And then he said it. "Why'd you do it, Bella?"

My breathing staggered. How could I possibly answer his question without making things worse?

"Bella, please," he begged.

Tears hit my pillow. "You're going to hurt."

He pleaded with me one last time, and how could I resist? His voice was indescribable.

I sighed. "I did it because I couldn't bear having you away anymore," I answered. "Because I was too weak to stop myself…because you left."

His sobs were silent, but piercing, grating against the hole in my heart. Through the sobs, he muttered "why". I sighed again. "It's a long story…

"When you left…they found me after a couple of hours on the floor of the forest. I didn't react to anything. All I remember from that night was that there were fires, bonfires up on the reservation, celebrating the fact that you and your family had left. And then time passed. The celebrations stopped, and people moved on.

"Well, everyone except me, of course.

"Those first few weeks were agonizing…I try not to remember any of it. The doctor, though Charlie refused to let him see me, threw words around, mostly "catatonic". And he tried to get me to leave to go to Florida with Renée. That's when everything started to come into focus.

"I threw a huge fit. I couldn't leave…even if I knew you weren't coming back, how could I? Being here was the only thing I had left to make sure that you were real, that I hadn't been going delusional for the past half of the year. So they let me stay.

"I became the poster child for perfect children. Or I could've been if it weren't for the lack of feeling and emotion. I was a blank person. I did my homework, got the top grades, my chores were always finished early…but the person inside of me left with you."

I sighed, cringing when I remembered the first time. "I was in the kitchen with Charlie, making dinner. He was reading the newspaper, looking almost as much of a zombie as I did, and I was chopping peppers for a dish I can't remember. And I missed and sliced my finger open.

"The most beautiful thing happened then. I heard your voice. Not much of it, and it didn't last long, but it was there, and it was enough to make me jump and drop the knife, which was when Charlie looked up and help me clean my hand. It was a tiny accident, but it changed everything.

"It wasn't just your voice, though. What you said, or what I imagine you said, anyways, was what hit me. " I smiled bitterly. "You said 'Be Careful' and growled a bit when Charlie poured the rubbing alcohol on the cut

"I was entranced, thrilled with hearing you after such a long time. But the next day came and your voice faded away.

"Two days later, I tripped outside and scraped my hands on the pavement. Again, you 'spoke' to me. That time you huffed and said 'Bella' in that exasperated tone you have. I hadn't pieced things together yet, but eventually it became clear. You weren't there if I stepped on a thumbtack, or if I got a paper cut, or bit my tongue…but things like if I tripped down the stairs, or if a car got too close to mine on the highway. That's when I'd hear you. Your voice would come to me when I was in danger, or after I got hurt. It kind of made me hysterical, so I went looking for risky things, and eventually it led to the kitchen knife and me…at one in the morning. And your voice in my head, of course—"

"You…you did this just to hear my voice? Bella, how could—"

"No, not just to hear your voice. I needed to know that you weren't just a figment of my imagination. And then one day…it started to become too much. I knew I was mutilating my sanity every time I'd hear you and that day I snapped."

I sighed, wiped my face, and looked up into his eyes. "And now we're here."

I watched him as he stroked my hair, kissed my arms, my cheeks, my hands, but never my lips, and that was good. How much more could I take until he left? Just this was good enough.

He muttered apologies through his sobs and I didn't know how to respond. So I just listened to him, the holes in my heart grating open.

Time passed. I don't know how much, but it was a long time before he calmed down, which was a relief, because the last sob lifted the heavy weight off my chest.

At some point later, there was movement downstairs. I probably wouldn't have noticed, but Edward sat up and turned his face towards the door.

He frowned and looked at me sadly. "Charlie's home. I think he's going to need some help getting up the stairs…"

I flew out of bed and threw the door open. Charlie was holding on to the banister for dear life, trying to get up the stairs into bed.

Sighing, I went down to meet him, for once not giving him grief about his drinking, and threw his arm over my shoulder. He let me take the lead.

"I'm so sorry, Isabella," he said quietly.

I just nodded, looking at him as he turned his face up towards my door. Tears shone off his face from the moonlight from my open door, and prickles met my eyes. He didn't say a word when he saw Edward standing there.

"It's okay, Dad…"

I helped him through the door, out of his shoes and into bed.

He immediately laid down and went straight to sleep, looking almost peaceful.

Edward met me at the door, his hand held out waiting for me.

I turned back to look at Charlie one more time.

"I'm going to make things right."

Smiling, Edward took my hand, and we closed the door behind us.

A/N – FINALLY! AN ENDING! Oh man, I'm sooo sorry this took so long to get out! I had a thesis paper to do, midterms just passed, I'm failing my EMT class, my English class, and my US Govt class, and I'm out of excuses. It's been almost a year since I updated this. Wow. That's really bad -_- At least I'm done! There might be an epilogue if I'm ever dozing off in class and I find something productive to write about. But for now this is it! I hope you liked it! :)

-skitzo