Hi, all! This is my very first fic, and I'm super excited to share it with you. So please, be gentle!

She ran. Running was... therapeutic, in a way. It helped her miss him just a little less. Because she did miss him. So much it sometimes hurt. His warm brown eyes, his smile, his infectious laugh.

She came to a stop, a smile on her face and tears in her eyes as she recalled her favorite memories of her favorite summer. The best memory being the night they spent in the gazebo holding each other.

She walked into the house, shutting the back door behind her. Noticing the kitchen was empty, she called out, "Ang? You here?"

There was no answer for a moment, then she heard a faint, "Back here, Bells!"

Bella walked down the hallway, saying, "I should've known you'd be back here. You're always back here."

Angela, Bella's sister, was holed up in her art studio, working on her latest art project. She looked up and smiled when Bella entered the room. Her long chestnut colored hair was piled on top of her head and secured with several colored pencils, and her square, black-framed glasses were sitting slightly crooked on her nose. Bella giggled.

Angela's brow furrowed. "What is it?" She asked.

Bella stepped forward, straightening the glasses. "You had that whole 'crazy artist' vibe going," she said, still smiling. "What are you working on now?"

"I'm hoping to enter this collage in the contest at the rec center next month," she said, gesturing to the various materials strewn across her giant art desk.

"Nice. I want to see it when it's done, kay?"

Angela nodded. "Of course. You know it won't be seen by anybody until you see it first."

"Good. But right now, I stink, so I'm gonna go take a shower."

Angela snickered, turning back to her work. "Please do. I don't need your smelly ass stinking up my studio."

Bella gasped, mock outraged. "Hey! I smell like roses, I'll have you know!"

Her sister snorted. "Like dead, rotting roses, maybe. Go shower, dork."

Bella left, but not before smacking her older sister lightly across the back of her head. "So mean."

Once in her room, Bella reached under her bed. She pulled out a small, plain cardboard box, the same box she pulled out everyday. Sitting right on top was a dingy, once white, extremely wrinkled envelope. Pulling it out, she took out the piece of paper that it held inside, unfolding a wrinkled, tear-stained letter. Taking a deep breath, she started to read the words that she knew by heart.

"Dear Bella,

I can't tell you how amazing this summer has been. I can never forget it, or you. I don't think I'll ever be able to perform another concert without wishing I could see you in the front row, supporting me and cheering me on.

From the first time I met you backstage, to the last time I kissed you, the 3 months we spent together were the best time of my life. I don't think I've ever felt so alive, and I doubt I'll find that feeling again without you.

While I want to say that we'll always keep in touch and be able to do the long-distance thing, I don't want to make you empty promises or get your hopes up. I'm still on tour, and I know you'll be busy in college. Hell, you'll probably even meet someone new. So I figured I'd write you this letter instead and say goodbye.

I... I can't express to you how much I fell in love with you. I'm sorry I never told you before now, but I didn't want to make your leaving any harder than it had to be. I miss you already, and you just left this morning.

I hope that I'll get to see you again someday. Someday, when we're both ready and can be together. But until then, I'll keep your memory with me always.

I do love you. Do your best to remember that, and please remember me.

I'll always love you, B

Edward

Bella carefully folded the letter and put it back in its envelope, tears in her eyes. Sometimes she got angry at Edward for not having told her he loved her before she left. Because by him telling her this way, she never got a chance to tell him that she loved him, too. But she knew why he did it. So that she could move on and go to college and be successful.

She had written him a few letters, and dialed his number more times than she cared to admit to anyone. But she never sent the letters, or connected the calls. She lied to herself and said that it was because she didn't want to bother him while he was busy on tour and recording, but deep down she knew it was because she was scared. What if he had found someone new? What if he had forgotten her and their summer together? Bella knew it was better to just let it all be a bittersweet memory for the rest of her life.

Slowly, she put the letter back in the box and pushed it back under her bed. Wiping away her tears, she went to take her shower.