Hey everyone! I have had a killer writer's block until recently. This is the story that inspired me to write and hopefully will rub off to finish my other stories. I'm hoping you guys like this one as much as you liked Stay Through The Night, which I do have to write an epilogue for. Anyway, let's get to it.... hope you like it.

As usual, Stephanie Meyer own Twilight.... I just own a new computer. Enjoy!

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Chapter 1

Welcome Home

Isabella sat impatiently on her bed, reading the same line of the same book for the past two hours. Her excitement and anxiety just couldn't keep her sanity under control as she flung herself off the bed and started jumping up and down, screaming and giggling. She was insanely happy... with more focus on the insane at the moment.

"Bella, what's wrong?" her mother, Renee, opened the door, looking stunned by her daughter's eccentric behaviour.

"Did you hear?" Bella squealed. "Did you hear? Edward's coming home!"

Renee's body slumped against the door, crossing her arms with a smirk slipping on her lips. "Yes, I heard. Are you that excited?" she asked teasingly.

Bella sprinted across the room, grabbed her mother roughly by her arms and glared into her eyes.

"It's been ten years. Ten years mom, that I haven't seen him. Ten years since he's been away from me." She whispered earnestly. "I don't know how I survived that long without him." Her eyes now downcast as her fingers slowly retreated from her mother's arms.

"Hey." Her mother said gently as she placed her fingers lightly under her daughter's chin, tilting her face to look deep into her soulful eyes that were now awash with emotion. "Don't be like that. He's home for good and you could spend all the time in the world with him. The Cullens are having a party tonight so why don't you look for something nice to wear to impress him, okay?"

Bella's smile stretched across her face and she hugged her mother tightly.

"Okay. I'm gonna call Alice and have her come over to do my make up and stuff. Is that alright with you?" Bella asked eagerly, now tipping on her toes, bouncing.

Renee stepped back and took in the movement of her daughter. Not much about her personality has changed over the years, only her body and she laughed and shook her head while walking away from Bella, who was still balancing on her toes, bouncing for joy.

"Fine, give her a call but make sure you get dressed on time or else we'll be leaving without you."

A fulminating screech erupted from Bella as she started jumping in glee. Renee quickly removed herself from the vicinity just in case Bella decided to bounce her to death. Bella ran to the phone, picking it up and quickly dialing her best friend, Alice's number.

"Hello, Alice? You NEED to get here ASAP. This is the first and the last time I'm gonna ask you this soooo....." Bella took a deep breath and quickly spat it out. "I need you to dress me up and make me pretty!"

Bella pulled away the phone in time laughing as Alice screamed into the phone from the excitement of having the opportunity to dress Bella up. She's been waiting a long time on getting Bella to put on make up.

"I will be right over, Bella. Do not, I repeat, do not do anything without me." Alice said fiercely as she hung up.

Bella couldn't believe her good fortune. Ten years ago, her best friend, the love her life was sent to boarding school in England. They had promised to keep in contact but after he moved to another school, he never did write anymore. She always thought of him. She dropped on her bed and stared at the ceiling, her mind drifting away, bringing memories to the surface.

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"Edward, are you sure this is safe?" Twelve year old Bella asked her best friend as they sneaked out of the Cullen's house during a party down to the river behind their house. Edward held Bella's hand tightly, making sure she didn't fall in the dark, also because he just needed to hold her hand.

"It's fine Bells. No one would know we're missing anyway. They're all too busy having fun." He turned to her, giving his trademark crooked smile.

In no time they were in sight of the river. He pulled her towards a log that they had pushed there some years ago and sat close together. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her close to him. Bella blushed as she laid her head on his shoulder. The euphoric feeling of being in Edward's arms and the warmth of his body relaxed Bella's body, molding her more to Edward's side. He noticed how she was melting into his side and felt elated. He was dreading this, he knew that he couldn't live without her but he had to do this.

"Bells?" he whispered reverently.

"Hmmm?" she hummed in reply.

He ran his hand through his hair roughly and his other hand made his way to her hair, slowly massaging her nape of her neck.

"There's something important I need to tell you. You know why they're throwing the party, right?" he asked sceptically.

Her big brown eyes were now staring back into his emerald green ones, her body now pulled away as his hand hung limply on her shoulder.

"No. It's just a party, right? Like the ones the always have?" she was confused by the question and it was heard in her voice.

He shook his head as he looked her. Edward felt his eyes sting with the pain of tears but he held it back. He needed to be strong, for her... and for himself or he would never live with the pain of hurting her.

She knew something was wrong by the change of the colour of his eyes. What was now a vibrant emerald green had turned into a darker, sinister deeper green and she was scared. Scared by the question he had asked.

He took a deep breath and looked at her intently. He took in the look of her beautiful brown eyes and how full of questions and emotions that are now filling her eyes, her nose that was slightly crooked when she had broken it when they were 8 and she walked into his door, and those lips, those full, plump lips that he always wanted to taste. She never looked more beautiful to him than she looked now. He couldn't look at her and break her heart so he pulled himself away from her, his chest ripping into pieces as he pulled away. He was breathless in pain. Why did it have to hurt so much?

"Edward, what's wrong?" Bella jumped up and wrapped her arms around him, her face on his back as her fingers interwined on his stomach. She was hoping to comfort him but the anxiety was wrecking havoc on her mind. He placed his hand over her fingers and rubbed it gently.

"Bells, I'm leaving." He murmured, not having the strength to say it out loud.

She pulled away from him as if he was a pillar of fire and burnt her body. "What?"

He turned around quickly just as she started walking backwards, away from him.

"I'm leaving Bells. They're sending me to boarding school in England. I don't know how long I'll be gone for. They say it's the best for my education." His eyes now trained on the breaking girl in front of him. Why did he have to break her heart?

As soon as her back hit tree, she clutched onto it for dear life. Her breaths were now become shallow and darkness was now creeping into the sides of her vision. How could he do this? Why is he leaving me alone?

He saw her mind going into overdrive and run up to her quickly, holding her tightly to him.

"I don't want to go. They're making me go. If I had my way, I'd stay here with you and everyone. Please believe me! I don't want to go." His voice cracking with pain as his tears flowed from his eyes.

She looked up at him and held on to him tightly. Sobs were now filling her body and she just held on tighter to him.

"Don't go, Edward. Please, don't leave me."

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Bella's eyes instantly opened as soon as the vision of her twelve year old self cried out those words. She took a deep breath in and slowly letting it out, allowing her body to relax. That was the last time she ever saw Edward Cullen.

She lazily lifted herself from the bed and walked to her cupboard. Soon Alice would be here and she wouldn't have the time to compose herself. She started looking through her clothes as the shuffle of feet floated to her ears from the outside of her door from her walk up balcony.

"Come on in Alice. I'm just checking to see what you can work with."

Everything happened in succession after she heard the deep clearing of a throat. Her nose was assaulted with the familiar scent of musk, cinnamon and cloves as she spun around and took in those emerald green eyes and the unruly bronze mop of hair on his head. Those lips now turned into his signature crooked smile.

Bella felt all the air had been punched out of her at the look of this familiar stranger than stood behind the flowing sheer curtains. The words automatically flowed from her mouth before she even realized that she spoke.

"Welcome home, Edward."