Parameters: After the fight with James, Edward saved Bella by sucking the venom out of her. Feeling extremely guilty about putting Bella in danger in the first place, he decides to leave Forks and Bella, never to return again. The story begins right after Carlisle, Edward and Alice have taken Bella to the hospital.
Chapter 1: Loss and leaving
Edward POV:
Alice turns around and looks at me with wide eyes. Then she yells at me 'WHAT?! You're leaving her? You're leaving Forks? After everything that has happened?!'
My dear sister and her visions, they can be a real pest sometimes, the visions I mean of course. I have just decided to do exactly what she just accused me of. I'm going to leave Forks and with that Bella. Alice clearly had a vision of me leaving as I made my mind up just now.
In a voice filled with regret but determination I answer 'Yes, Alice. I'm leaving. Especially after what has happened today. I've put Bella in danger and I nearly got her killed, she isn't safe around me. I should have known better than to get involved with her in the first place. She is a human, she can't be around monsters like me, like us. I knew from the beginning that she would get hurt in one way or another, but I was too blinded by my love for her to see clearly.'
I am reading Alice's thoughts right now and I can tell she is furious with me. All of sudden her thoughts become more calm and I turn around to see Jasper standing a few feet away from us. He probably sensed Alice's emotions through the strong connection they have and decided to come and see why his wife is so upset.
'Edward, Alice, what's going on?' Jasper asks while stepping closer to Alice and draping an arm around her shoulders to calm her down some more.
'I was just telling Alice that I have decided to leave Forks. She doesn't agree with my decision.' I tell him.
Jasper looks at me intensely for a few seconds, trying to read my emotions. I don't try to block him and give his mind access to mine. There is a myriad of emotions in my head right now, regret and determination the ones that stand out most. His eyes seem to shift a bit and I can see that he understands that I have to leave. He nods at me and then he turns to Alice, who has been watching him intently the whole time.
'Honey, I know you don't agree with the decision Edward has made, but I just read him and his mind is set. There isn't anything either of us can do to change his mind about this.' Alice looks at him stricken for a moment and it seems like she wants to protest, but right at that moment another vision hits her. When she snaps out of it she looks at Jasper, shock and sadness clearly visible on her features. What she says next shocks me a bit too.
'You're leaving too? Why Jasper? Why the hell can't you both stay?'
Jasper proceeds to take both of her hands in his. With a pained expression he begins to explain 'Alice, you and I both know how hard I have been struggling to control my hunger around humans and we both know it hasn't been easy. Eventhough being around Bella was getting easier for me, I don't think I can control myself after smelling her blood tonight. I haven't been able to get the smell of it out of my mind. I just don't think that I can show any restraint at the moment. So it is better that I leave for a little while.'
I think that if Alice could have cried, she would have broken out in tears at this moment. She flings herself at Jasper and clings to him with all she is worth. I decide it is best to give them some privacy and to let them say their goodbyes. Jasper catches my eye and I tell him:
'I'll wait outside for you by the car.'
He nods at me and turns his attention back to Alice, who is still hugging him fiercely. I walk out of the hospital, into the parking lot. I am in emotional turmoil, but I can't loose my resolve now. I have to leave, I have to leave tonight, for Bella's sake. I know me leaving like this will cause her great emotional pain, but if I stay I will not only cause her that, but physical pain too. I can't stand the thought of doing either to her, but I have to choose the lesser of the two evils. I just hopes she finds it in her heart to forgive me some day.
Alice POV:
That a vampire's heart doesn't beat and that we're technically dead, doesn't mean that we can't feel emotions like joy or sadness. What I'm feeling now is the latter. Seeing the vision of Edward leaving us made me feel sad, because he is my brother and I love him. But Jasper telling me that he is leaving us, or rather me, too, makes me not just feel sad. It is breaking my heart into tiny pieces.
Ever since we got married, we haven't spend more than two or three weeks apart. And those few weeks apart have always been hard on us. Now he is leaving for God knows how long, and I can't even stand the thought of that. I want him to stay, I need him to stay!
I lift my head from where it has been resting on Jasper's shoulder but I keep holding on to him. I tilt my head up further and start to speak:
'Jasper, pleaseā¦'
'No Alice', he just totally cut me off, he never does that, which makes me realise he's dead serious about this, 'I'm not prepared to argue about this. I know that you don't want me to leave, and frankly neither do I, but we both know that it is best for now.'
I stare long and hard into his eyes, and see the same things in his as I had just seen in Edward's. Sadness and determination. I drop my head in defeat. There really is no point in arguing with him, or pleading with him to stay.
'For how long will you be gone?' I ask him in a defeated voice.
'I honestly don't know, my love. It could be 3 months, it could be longer.' He releases me with one arm and I feel his finger under my chin, lifting my head up for me to meet his gaze.
'I don't know for how long I'll be gone, but I do know that I'm coming back to you, that I promise you. And I'll stay in touch while I'm away from Forks. I'll call and write every week, so you know where I am and how I'm faring. I'll also make sure that Edward does the same.'
'Do you promise?' I know he will do everything he has just told me, but right now I just need some extra conformation. I'm about to say goodbye to my husband and I won't be seeing him for a long time, so I need to know for sure that we'll at least keep in touch.
'Yes, I promise.' He smiles a little smile at me, but the emotion doesn't reach his eyes. Then he speaks again 'I have to go now, Edward's waiting for me.'
I let out a sob and burry my head in his shoulder again, while he hugs me fiercely. We stay like this for a few minutes, until I feel his arms loosen. I lift my head up and tilt my mouth up to his. We share a soft and lingering kiss, that will be our last for quite some time. Eventually we break apart, not because we need the air, but because it is really time for him to go now.
He starts to turn away from me slowly and I keep holding on to his hands until he is out of reach. We hold each other's eyes, up until he rounds a corner and disappears from sight.
I feel like I am going to break down. But before I get the chance to, Renee steps out of Bella's hospital room and walks towards me.
'Alice, Bella has just woken up. She's asking for Edward. He said he was going to get some coffee, but that was about twenty minutes ago and he hasn't returned yet. Do you know where he is?'
Bella. Lost in my own misery, I had almost forgotten about poor Bella. Who I now had to go tell that Edward, the love of her life, had left Forks and with that, her.
