A/N: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters…they belong solely to Stephanie.

I cringed as I heard the words escape from her mouth. I never meant for it to end up this way. I loved her, why couldn't she see that? Why couldn't she see that I loved her too much to let her end up with someone like me? Surely she could see the pain that this was causing me. But of course she couldn't, because she couldn't see pass the stone façade I had worked so hard to establish. Sure she could see my eyes, my warm butterscotch eyes, but today they would give nothing away. But she could hear me; well at least I hoped she could hear me. Because right now all I could hear was her sobbing, and all I could see was her shaking; and I wondered if anything I was saying even mattered. I could hear her sobbing and trying to form words, but all that came out were guttural vowels and whispered consonants. I never meant to hurt her this way. I never meant to hurt her. I told her from the very beginning.

"You really shouldn't like me." I said with a crooked smile plastered all over my face. I played up the bad boy act by throwing my cigarette on the ground and snubbing it out with the toe of my boot. Rubbing my semi-greasy copper colored hair I looked over at her. That defiant look that always screamed Like hell you're going to tell me what I should do! was creeping its way onto her face. It always started at her eyes, one minute they were smiling at you all clear and brown, the next they were challenging you and growing darker by the minute. By the time the rest of her body caught up with her eyes you wouldn't even know that those blackened orbs had ever been the lightest of chocolate browns. It was the cutest when her little hands would form into fists, as if she actually thought that she would punch you. Adorable, really.
"Oh yeah, and why's that?" She asked me; of course she thought she knew the answer. I wish I could have told her then what I really was, what she was really getting herself into. I wished I could have just said, "Because, because you're going to fall in love with me, and I'm the worst possible thing for you. I'm going to hurt you, and then your father is going to hate me. And your friends will hate me, but all of them will shut up when you tell them that I'm the best thing that ever happened to you. And they'll all sit there shaking their heads whispering amongst themselves 'You could do so much better.' But you'll ignore them and return me to that fragile place in your heart where I will always hold a spot. And I'll make sweet promises to you, promises about magnificent trips, and a life of eternal happiness. And when you finally think it's all going to be okay, I'll slowly start to pull away. And you'll fight even though your body screams to just let go, but since when have you ever listened to your body, or anyone else for that matter?" I wish I had said that to you on that first day. But not even I could predict what was going to happen, there was one who could, but I ignored her. I could never predict all the people that would step in and out of my life. Yet greatest of all, I never could have predicted that I would fall in love with you along the way.
So instead I just said, "Alright, make your own mistakes, but don't you ever say I never told you so."

I could do nothing but just stand here watching tears cascade from her eyes. I'm sure that if I could see them I would see that they were a shade of brown that no one ever wanted to see. It was the color of a girl crushed beyond belief, metaphorically speaking of course. And her shoulders, her shoulders are shaking. And not even I can hold her still when the sobs start to overtake her. Her hair, so light and soft shimmers as it is vibrated ever so slightly. And her hands, oh those lovely hands. They're curled into hooks, not knowing whether it is time to fight, or wipe away the tears. They're curled half way between wide open palms and tightly closed fists. She's pulled her knees to her chest and it won't be long before she will be lying down, absolutely fetal. I wished I could comfort her in some way, but I was the cause of all this pain. I wish I could be gently stroking her hair, her cheeks, her arms, anything. But I couldn't. I had screwed up too many times. But maybe now I could make things right. Maybe I could leave, and make her life a little less dangerous. Maybe now she could have a chance at a normal life. Maybe now she could have a future that didn't end in either her death, or her immortal life. Maybe it could be as if she'd never met me. And greatest of all, maybe I could give her a chance to truly be happy. If she stayed with me, there would always be someone who didn't think I deserved her. And she would fight them with every ounce of her being to defend me. And it would kill her, slowly, because she would fight her friends, and her family, and every other person we knew. Because they could all see what I could see, that I was nowhere near good enough for her. But she couldn't see that. All she could see was what she had disillusioned herself to see. That I made her happy and that was good enough for her, but that lie was not good enough for me. Besides, it wasn't enough for me to just make her happy, she needed someone who could make her happy, and who could protect her from pain. That's the one that I had screwed up on so many times, because I was the cause of her pain. My life, who I was, that was the cause of her pain. She deserved to be with a man that didn't have a horrible past, someone that could look at her and keep his promise to protect. I couldn't do that.
"I'm not good enough for you." I mumbled, I knew it was futile to attempt this reasoning on her, but she needed to hear me say it.
"No, you're wrong." She cried through her sobs. "You're wrong. You don't know how good you are. My life was dull, bland, colorless until you showed up. Now I see colors that I didn't even know existed. You did that for me! Who else do you think could possibly do that for me? No one, that's who!"
There was someone, I know there had to be, because if there wasn't, then I would be an asshole for the rest of my life.
"There is someone, he's out there I know--"
"Shut up Edward! You couldn't possibly know that. I watched you fight against me, I watched you fight for me, I watched you fight your kind, I watched you fight your family...and now, what? When did happiness become not enough?"
"When the pain I caused you outweighed the happiness. When the hurt outweighed the sorrow."
"You do not cause me sorrow." She was pacing now. Pacing was what she did when she was trying to argue her point. When her body had to move as fast as her brain. "Edward, I love you. When did that not become enough?"
How could I dispute her on that, when did love not become enough?
"Did you hear me Edward?!? I said I love you! Say something!" She's trying to get me to cave now, she knows that I can't say no to her tears and her questioning my love for her. But I have to be strong, I have to fight her to save her. I have to fight her to make her happy.
"You know I love you. You know I would give anything for you. All I want is for you to be happy, and I can no longer do that. And I will no longer stand by and watch me hurt you again. I refuse...I refuse to..." I couldn't speak past the lump that had formed in my throat. "I refuse to hurt you anymore. I can't even tell you how much I love you without hurting you. Can't you see that all I want is for you to be happy? Can't you see that I love you too much to see you end up with someone like me?"
"There is nothing wrong with who you are! This is bullshit Edward and you know it!"
"But there is, because no matter how hard I try, I'm always going to be what I am and I am always going to disappoint you. I'm always going to hurt you. I'm always going to let you down. I don't want to do that anymore! I don't want to hurt me! And I sure as hell don't want to hurt you! Please understand, I'm doing this because I want it to be the last time I hurt you."
"You don't hurt me." Her fight is going out now, now all that is left is desperation. She is going to cling to anything that she thinks might get me to stay. But I can't stay; it's for her own good. And in time she'll see that, not today, not tomorrow, but she will see that.
"I love you. I will always love you, but I love you too much to watch you throw away your life to be with someone like me. You may not see it that way, but someday you will. But please, just always know that I love you."
I stayed next to her enough for her to whisper out an 'I love you too' before I ran. She won't be alone for long, I left a note, Charlie would know where to find her. And even if he didn't, he would call in reinforcements. That much I had made sure of. And when he finds her she will slowly be surrounded by the one person that loves her more than his own life. But I, I will be alone, in a dark place, holding myself as the tears tried and failed to pour from my eyes. But I will thank God, or whoever, that she is not alone as she goes through this.

A/N: I'm not sure if any of you guys like this, I'm sure if you do I could try my hand at creating more of a story around this. If not, that's cool, at least I gave it a try right?

P.S. Reviews are mighty lovely!~