UPDATE: I WILL NOT keep writing this if I don't get at least 3 reviews! (That's fair, right?)

Preface:

I couldn't stop the pain that shot through me like bullets in my empty, lifeless veins. I couldn't believe I had let this happen. The one person whom I cared for more than life itself, was gone. I tried, and failed, to hold in my tearless sobs. I couldn't live without her. I wouldn't even try.

Chapter 1: EPOV

I longed to see Bella with every fiber of my being, but my mind kept reminding me why I was away in the first place: for her. Had it been any other reason, I never would have left at all. The words I had told her were not at all true, and I hated lying to her, but I did it for her safety. The only thing I could do for Bella now was track Victoria down, and rid of her myself. It was all I could do to distract myself. But, with all the room in my head to think, I worried about what distraction I could come up with to keep me away from the love of my existence after that task had been completed.

Despite what I would have liked to believe, I was a horrible tracker. I could never stay on Victoria's trail for more than a couple of days before I set off on another wild goose chase. What made matters worse was Victoria had full knowledge of my following her, so she went out of her way to make it that much more difficult to follow her trail. She'd loop around whole cities, only to head in the same direction as before. I couldn't help but think how much Alice would help. Victoria might have even been taken care of already if Alice was here.

But I couldn't talk to Alice. I hadn't talked to any of my family since they'd moved from Forks. I'd vanished too, needing some space. They'd known about my leaving Bella – that was one of the main reasons they moved. If they stayed once I'd taken off, people would start to worry, not to mention how upset Bella would be having a constant reminder of me – my family. I knew she still loved me, almost as much as I loved her. I constantly worried how she was doing, and sometimes had half a mind to call Alice and ask, or stop by one night to watch her sleep just once more. But I knew I couldn't. If I ever saw her again, I'd never, ever, be able to leave her, I knew that.

So I did my best to distract myself. Every time I thought of her, it was like a thousand knifes to my dead, broken heart. I never thought about her if I could avoid it, knowing the pain it would bring me. I could only hope she didn't feel anything for my absence . . .

I sighed, snapping myself out of my wandering thoughts. Focus, I told myself. Concentrate on finding Victoria. I almost growled at the thought of her.

I continued running through the forest until Victoria's scent went in two different directions. I froze at the fork in her trail, undecided on which to follow. Finally, I chose the path that smelled fresher, and began running again. After about an hour, I suddenly found that her scent was completely gone. Alarmed, I tried to head back to her trail, but found nothing. It was as if someone had entirely erased her scent. I searched for the trail for hours. Finally, I just gave up searching.

"Great," I muttered, running my hand though my hair in frustration. "Just great."

Not only had I lost her scent, but I had absolutely no clue of where I was. I had been so wrapped up in following Victoria's scent, and in my own hopeless thoughts, that I had payed no attention to where I was going.

I was about to begin searching for a nearby city or landmark of some sort when my cell phone rang. This alarmed me; I'd specifically told Alice not to call me unless Bella was in danger, and there was no one else that would have any reason to call me. I quickly removed my cell phone from my pocket, and brought it up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Edward!" Alice's voice hinted that there was something horribly wrong. "Look, I–I know I wasn't supposed to call you but –"

"What happened?" I questioned sternly, very worried about Bella's safety. If she was hurt...

"It's Bella, she's...she's going to..."

"Going to what?" I asked angrily. "Just spit it out, Alice."

"Suicide, Edward." her voice was shaky. "She's going to commit suicide."

I froze. I was unable to move anything, nor could I think straight. Suddenly, my trance was shattered.

"Edward? Are you still there?" Alice asked, obviously worried.

"When?"

"I got the vision this morning. I called earlier, but I guess you couldn't get a signal."

"So we still have some time?"

"Well...I...I'm really not sure. My visions of her have been...different than usual."

"Different how?"

"She just...disappears. She'll be doing some everyday activity – like doing homework or eating or talking to someone when she just vanishes. She's making choices to do something that I can't see, Edward. I've been getting worried. And then, suddenly, I see her jumping off a cliff! I mean, she's been miserable, but suicide?"

Her words echoed in my mind as I let them sink in. She just disappears. She's been miserable. She jumped off a cliff. I had tried to tell myself that she'd be better off without me ever since I decided to leave. I tried to tell myself she'd get over me and be happy. I'd been horribly wrong all along.

"Alice? Go check on her – make sure she's okay. I'm on my way."
"Already heading to Forks. I don't need you to help me decide to stop my friend from committing suicide." she joked.

"This isn't funny, Alice." I snapped, my forefinger and thumb already pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Just trying to lighten the mood, Edward. I'll talk to you when you get there." She hung up, and I snapped my phone shut as well, placing it back in my pocket.

I didn't have time to search for my Volvo, or to look for a nearby car to 'borrow', so I just ran. I headed in the general direction of Forks, whizzing through the forests and across roads when I came to them. I avoided being out of the cover of the forest as much as I could in my haste, but I wanted to get there, and if that meant a few humans saw a blur fly in front of their car, so be it.

I ran for what seemed like days, trying to block all thoughts from my head as I went. I knew that if I started thinking, my mind would wander. And it would always seem to come back to Bella, no matter what I thought about.

Finally, I passed the 'Welcome to Forks' sign, and I began running faster.

A/N: Hope you like the first chapter! I'd like to know what people think is going to happen to Bella (I will tell you she doesn't really commit suicide).
Let me know if you like it so far! If not, I just won't keep writing it

Please review! Thanks!
Beth H