Edward said something in Eclipse along the lines that if he had found Bella when he was human, he would've done anything to win her hand. And I've toyed around with the idea of doing an AU where they're all human. So when I should have been studying for finals, I started this. :) I'm going to get back to First Quarter eventually, but I want to branch out a little.

Please know this: all the characters (for the most part) will be involved. And I'm taking some liberties (because not all the Cullens were these ages at the same time) but I'm proud of this story so far. Without sounding arrogant, there are some GREAT chapters ahead.

Standard disclaimer. I own nothing.

Chapter One – Abandoned

"Eat your supper, Edward."

Her eyes were somnolent, clinging to that quiet desperation, afraid to let it loose. She didn't want me to know how deeply affected she had been by this. Silent suffering always seemed to be her strong suit.

It had been two weeks. Two weeks and he hadn't come back.

My father had always had a violent temper, and lost his patience frequently—a trait he so effortlessly passed onto me. Several times he had made those hollow threats, keeping a suitcase packed by the door. It had been the assumption that he would never actually follow through.

The doorway sat empty, his bed sheets unturned.

She had been strong, insisting that everything would be alright. Her unbridled optimism shone brightly, masking her true sadness. But our thin walls betrayed her façade, revealing her tears for the dark.

I had stopped chewing from my scarce plate, beginning the same argument we had every night for the past two weeks.

"We're not discussing this, Edward." She said, sipping her water glass.

"Mom..."

"No." She said through her gritted teeth. "It's out of the question, Edward. You're finishing school first."

"I don't see the point." I scoffed, setting down my unused fork. "We need the money."

She grimaced. "We'll make do. All of your teachers rave about how bright your future is." Her emerald eyes averted, now distracted with the remains of her mashed potatoes. "I won't let your father take that away, too."

I had never felt such a passionate hate for anything as I did for what that man did to my mother. He had vowed to love her until the end of time, and abandoned us when things turned bad.

I clenched my jaw, suppressing such hateful thoughts from escaping. "I'm the man of the house, now. I should be making my own decisions now."

"You may be a man, but you are still my son." Her fury evaporated quickly, like a small branch tossed into the flames. "I want you to have every happiness I did not have. A good education. A career." She looked down morosely. "A wife, who will love you no matter what you do." A small crack in her pretense appeared. Her eyes swelled with tears. She took one frantic breath. "Edward, promise me."

I forced down another bite. "Promise what?"

"Promise me you won't run off somewhere without telling me first." The crack became a chasm, her face turning pink from the coming tears. "Promise me you'll never leave like your...father..." She gulped heavily on the last word, and I instantly sought to calm her.

I abandoned my place at the table, wrapping my arms around her tiny frame, beginning to shake with tears. "I won't. Mom, I promise. I will never leave you."

"I'm being...selfish! Keeping you around, forcing you to the university. I'm a monster." She sobbed, her whole body trembling in my arms.

"No. You're not being a monster. You're...trying to protect me." In my head, I was calculating. She would need me now that I was under the legal age of service. In a few months I would be 18. She would not be able to control me then. I could satisfy her now, and break her gently to the idea.

And if I could not convince her, I would end up breaking my promise.

"You're a coward."

Emmett McCarty was never any good at keeping his opinions to himself. He threw the tattered softball to me with his usual ferocity.

"You're 18. You can sign up any time you want."

He shook his head. "We made a deal. I do it, you do it. I'm not going by myself."

I scoffed. "And I am the coward?"

"It's not cowardice," He sneered, "I'm trying to give us both the same oppourtunity. I'm thinking only of you, Eddie."

"Don't call me Eddie." I scowled, hating his irritating nickname for me. "And I can't." I looked down, my cheeks burning with shame. I really wished I hadn't decided to share this information. But I had passed the point of no return. "I promised my mother."

Emmett's childish lips shuddered slightly, holding back laughter. "You're such a mama's boy, aren't you Eddie?"

He continued with his taunting for the rest of the afternoon. And I bore it stoically—if he were to know the true motive of the promise, he would shut his imprudent mouth. There were days I wondered how our friendship had managed to last this long before we came to blows. My temper, his juvenility. A match of the century.

"Edward!" My mother called out from the window of our apartment. Suddenly it was if I were five again, being called by my mother to wash up for supper. Emmett departed without a word, chuckling and muttering some insult about me as he walked off.

I ran up the stairs, leaving the humid May evening behind, and returned my mother. I shut the door behind me, each step cautious and deliberate.

"Sit down, Edward. We need to talk."

My hopes rose impulsively. Perhaps she had changed her mine. I could taste the glory of being a soldier, as if it were molasses dangling on my lips. The sweet flavor intoxicated me, blinding me to all rational thought.

She laid down the crumpling piece of paper. "I've received word from a childhood friend of mine. Dr. Cullen." She smiled faintly at his name. "He works in a hospital in Minnesota." She pursed her lips, her face cautious. "And he has invited us to spend the summer with him at his estate."

Silently, she gauged my reaction. I was unsure of how to react. It was if I had forgotten how to feel. I was so blinded by anger, anger that I would not be signing up for the army as I had planned, that I was now filled with complete apathy.

"You're angry." She said, so intuitively. In that moment, I wished she had not been so insightful. Complete blindness seemed nice right about now. "I think it's a lovely idea. Get out of the city, see some new sights. He lives out in the country, it's a beautiful place, or so he says." She chuckled warmly, and returned her gaze to me. "Edward...please tell me what you're thinking. It's driving me insane not knowing."

My voice was small. "I don't care. It's not as if I have any plans for the summer, anyhow."

Normally, she would've pressed the issue. Delved deeper. Try and figure out what the true problem. But she had been so captivated by the notion of this vacation, she did not care to prod any futher. She had gotten the answer she had wanted.

"We're leaving in two weeks." She stated, rising from her seat. Now her face was lightened by a brilliant smile. For the first time in two weeks, she had been truly happy. As if there was no empty doorway, no unturned bedsheets.

And I were to rob her of that happiness, I would truly be the most selfish monster.

I resigned myself to silent torture, hardly my strong suit. I would endure this summer visit, for my mother's sake. Even if it killed me.

So...what did you think? Liked it? Hated it? Wanted to vomit a little? Your opinion matters!! :) If it sucks, tell me. I won't be hurt.