AUTHOR'S NOTE For my faithful readers of Without Hope, I am still writing that, but I have been toying around with this idea for a while and wanted to post. For any new readers drawn in, hello! Please remember to review, even if you want to tell me you hate it!

P.S. This is NOT, I repeat NOT a Bella and Edward have a baby story.

DISCLAIMER The Twilight characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer. And anything else you may recognize... well, I don't own those either.

May 2005

It was at Alice's insistence that I bought the test.

I had been in denial for almost three weeks when she began to ask questions. Almost every other day I had my head in the toilet. It was in this position that Alice found me on Saturday morning when she came to take a shower. I had tried to play it off as if it were nothing—told her it was probably food poisoning from that new restaurant we had tried the night before. But Alice was not stupid and she had her spies who had reported to her otherwise. Damn Rosalie and her big mouth. Alice's sister-in-law knew something was wrong two weeks ago when she heard me throwing up one day after school.

"Bella," Alice started, kneeling down on the floor next to me after I told her for the second time it was nothing. "This isn't nothing. You've been sick for at least two weeks now."

"I ate lunch in the cafeteria that day," I argued. "I told Rosalie that."

"So you suddenly contracted food poisoning from the same food you've been eating for four years." I nodded. It could happen. "The same food Edward and I ate and we were fine?"

I scowled. "Yes." I knew the argument was lost, but it didn't stop me from trying.

Alice was quiet for a moment, her breathing steady. I didn't chance looking at her, knowing exactly what she was thinking.

"Bella," she said finally. "Are you late?"

By almost three weeks, I thought to myself. Not trusting my emotions, I nodded slowly.

She nodded as well and then stood, retrieving a wet washcloth. I wiped my face and then sat silent for a few minutes. Alice had disappeared into her room and reemerged fifteen minutes later. She reached down and took my hand. After adjusting my bangs, she led me out into the yard and to her car. She drove me to Port Angeles where we stood in line with three different tests in my hands. She hadn't said a word since we left Forks and she still didn't as she took out her credit card and swiped it through the machine.

We dodged her mother once back at the house, hurrying up the stairs. Alice locked the door behind us and then looked at me expectantly.

Five minutes later, all three tests were spread out in front of us on the bathroom counter. I hadn't watched as the results developed, too scared of the inevitable. And then, Alice's sharp intake of breath told me all I needed to know.

At eighteen, the last thing I wanted was to be pregnant. I had been accepted into one of the best architecture schools in the United States on a full scholarship. I had dreams of owning my own business and putting my name on thousands of construction and other design projects. When I found out I was pregnant, I was two weeks from graduating high school and three months away from beginning my college career. When the doctor confirmed I was six weeks along, my college future didn't look as bright and a career was completely out of the picture.

When Alice had looked at me that day and confirmed my biggest fears, the first question she asked was, "What are you going to tell Edward?"

I didn't know. Which may explain why Jasper had been recruited. Being Edward's best friend, I knew Jasper would be able to keep him calmer than I would ever be able to. After Jasper broke the news, Edward looked at me first, his expression blank. I felt sure he would be upset that I hadn't told him right off and instead confided in Alice and Jasper first. Instead, he threw his arms around me and kissed my forehead. Then he proceeded to do something very un-Edward like. He dropped down on one knee and asked me to marry him. I was shocked. I had never seen Edward express this short of happiness. But, regardless of everything my mother had ever told me about marriage and how worried I was about Edward's out of character emotions, I said yes. Hell, I had thought, I'm already pregnant. Two weeks later, we stood before a judge at the courthouse and I became Mrs. Edward Cullen.

June 2005

In the beginning, my life seemed like it would get back on track. I had moved to Illinois in order for Edward to stay at the University of Chicago and I registered at the community college with hopes of one day transferring to Cornell. Edward was less than two years away from graduating with his Bachelor's in Business Administration, and he promised we would move into a house after the baby was born. My earlier worries of being a teen mom were disappearing and I genuinely felt as if everything would be fine.

It all fell apart that Wednesday. If being pregnant at a young age had seemed like a tragedy, it was nothing compared to how I felt at that moment. That morning, shortly after I had woken up, I begin to feel sharp pains in my lower abdomen. If I hadn't known any better, I would swear I was already going into labor. I called Edward, who left in the middle of his economics class to rush me to the hospital. But even going ninety m.p.h., we were still too late. As I lay on the uncomfortable hospital bed, staring at the too white walls, I tried to ignore that doctor as she told me that news. I had a miscarriage. I lost the baby.

The doctor had not been able to give us a solid reason as to why, which annoyed Edward to no end. He spent nearly an hour on the phone with Carlisle, who only confirmed that sometimes, these things just happen. Afterwards, Edward crawled into the bed with me, him holding me, and me holding him. I cried loud and hard, soaking through Edward's shirt; his tears come slower, softer, landing on my head as they fell.

At eighteen, being pregnant isn't so horrible. It's being attached to that unborn baby, preparing for it, accepting it, loving it, and then having it taken from you so suddenly that is.

March 2006

"Bella! Where in the hell did you put my red tie?!"

I sighed heavily and stood up, shutting the door of the office. I was tired of it. And with a midterm in four hours, I didn't have time to deal with it. Edward and I had barely been married six months before I began to question our relationship. Ever since we lost the baby, things hadn't been the same between us. And with each passing day, the fighting escalated and the arguments increased. The romantic in me missed the 'us' that we had once been—in high school, we were the couple everyone envied, voted "Cutest Couple" two years in a row. Even when he went away to college, and everyone thought we would break up, we only proved them wrong by building a stronger relationship. When I found out I was pregnant, it seemed as if we were destined for failure once again. Who would have thought that it would all come apart when it was just the two of us again?

I heard him banging around in our room, looking for that damn tie. Today was his first day at the new firm where he would be interning and he wanted to make a good impression. Obviously, he felt as if he had to have the red tie in order to do this. A moment later I heard him curse loudly and the dresser hit the wall.

The argument had increased within the past month, and part of me know it was due to stress. Edward was taking on the heaviest load possible—interning during the day while taking eighteen credit hours at night. I was working almost as much, determined to obtain my associate's degree and head off to University. I still hadn't told Edward I had been accepted to Cornell and would be leaving for New York at the end of the summer. The crumbling of our failing marriage only added to my assurance that being accepted and leaving was my fate.

I sat down at my desk, shuffling through the paper, looking for my flash drive. It was then that the divorce papers surfaced. I had been to see a lawyer two weeks prior. We had drawn up the paperwork in no time at all. I kept it simple—I only wanted my truck and personal items, all of which I paid for myself anyway. I didn't want any of Edwards' money. I had already applied for student loans and knew that with a part time job and the small college fund my father still have tucked away for me, I would be fine on my own.

The doorknob turned and I fumbled to cover up the documents. I turned on my laptop and ignored my husband as he entered the room, mumbling under his breath. He sat down at his own desk and began packing up his briefcase. I took notice of his green tie—the one I thought looked better on him anyways—and smiled smugly to myself. I honestly didn't know where his red one was, but it amused me that he couldn't keep track of a simple tie.

"What's so funny?" His voice cut through my thoughts and my smile quickly faded into a frown.

"Nothing." I narrowed my eyes and pushed the flash drive into the port, pulling up my files. "I have a midterm this afternoon and I am just happy that it is almost over with."

"Oh."

We sat in silence for a moment before my eyes darted to the drawer where I had hid the divorce papers. I took a deep breath, making my decision. I reached for the handle and then spun my chair around.

"Look, Edward, we need to talk."

END AUTHOR'S NOTE I know there are a lot of holes in the prologue, but the actual plot of the story takes place in 2016, and this was just background knowledge. Also, to clear up any confusion in the future, Edward is a year older than Bella. Alice is the same age as Bella. Jasper is the same age as Edward. And Emmett is three years older than Edward, and Rosalie is two. Confused? Yeah, I guess that didn't clear up any confused, just caused more. Oops. Also, it was pointed out to me by a friend that Edward was too happy about the baby thing and the marriage, but oh well, it serves the purpose of the story. It won't be all love and hearts and happiness in the following chapters.

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