This begins when Bella finds out Edward plans on killing himself by breaking the rules the Volturi enforce.

"Bella, please. Don't go. Stay… For me?" Jacob's eyes bore into my own. He needed me to stay, but I needed to save Edward.

"Jacob… I can't. But I will come back to you. I promise. Wait for me?" I refused to look away from his eyes. I hope that he understood that I would not only come back to him, but I could come back for him.

Jacob sighed and side-stepped out of my way, he knew that there was no stopping me. My mind was made up. As Alice and I drove off, I looked back to see Jacob looking longingly after us. I saw him tremble slightly and could swear I saw his mouth move before he transformed and ran off into the woods behind Charlie's house. I hoped he would wait for me. I knew it was cruel to ask him to wait, but I wasn't doing the same thing as Edward, I wasn't leaving Jacob because it was the best. I was saving someone I loved and promising to come back to the one I needed.

The whole trip seemed a blur. I remembered Alice dropping me off as close to the square as she could. I remembered the pang of desperation as I watched the second hand inch towards high noon. I remembered the feel of Edward's cool skin slamming into my own as I pushed as hard as I could to get him back into the shadows. He said something about heaven not being what he expected. But despite all my best efforts, the Volturi didn't think it was good enough. I clutched to Edward's arm as we walked through the cold corridors of the underground maze. I wished it were Jacob beside me; he could make this cold bearable.

I heard a voice greeting me from behind and looked over. He eyes weren't red, amber, or black. Her skin was the pale perfection I had come to expect. Yet, all the other members of the group, each of them a vampire, ignored this woman. I looked up at Edward, "Is she?.."

Edward looked back at the smiling woman, "Human? Yes."

"Does she know about?.."

"She knows that we are vampires, yes. She hopes to be one of them eventually."

The little vampire in front laughed. "Or she might be dinner."

The cold demeanor of the small one in front made me shiver. How could anyone want this kind of life? The completely accept that they would drink the blood of humans for the rest of eternity? This thought process made me stumble in my steps. It was the life I wanted so badly not that long ago. I was glad for two things; the first that Edward couldn't read my mind for whatever reason, and the second being that I was naturally clumsy, so Edward wouldn't notice me trip.

What had happened in the room just hours before was a nightmare I knew I would relive every night for years to come. I couldn't believe becoming a vampire seemed so desirable just months before and now that I no longer wanted it, the enforcers of the vampires were demanding it. I knew that if I refused being changed now, the Cullens would be punished. I knew too much. And of course… Volturi justice had two options, live and die. The Cullens got their "live" already, next time it would be die. I couldn't let the Cullens be hurt because of me, but I couldn't be one of them either. I didn't want it. I would have to give up Jacob to become a vampire. He is a werewolf first and foremost. The mortal enemy of vampires… And to become one… Just the thought hurt too much. I had been through too much already, I couldn't deal with this too.

I couldn't remember falling asleep, but when I woke up with the familiar chill in the bed beside me, it freaked me out. I jerked up and out of bed, which, knowing my natural lack of grace, means I fell out of bed. "Edward? What are you doing here?"

Edward's black eyes looked hurt for a brief moment. "I thought you would want me here. I mean, you did rescue me."

I shook my head. "Edward… I can't… It's just that…" I took a deep breath in. This was not going to be easy. "Edward, I can't let you hurt me like that again. I saved you because I love you, and I always will. But I can't just let things pop back into place. You left me. You tore a hole in my heart that has only just started healing."

Edward looked up in shock before his face became calm. "You're right. I'm no good for you. I just thought… Because you saved me and all…"

"Listen, I love you Edward. I will never love anyone the way I love you, but I can't pretend nothing happened. Do you have any idea what happened the day you left me?"

"Not really. I mean, Alice told me you were okay in a sense. I couldn't make myself care for you the way I did when I left."

"Well, when you left me, I thought I was going to die in that forest. And the worst part? I didn't care. You were my life Edward. My life. For months I sat around in a depression until Charlie told me to go out. And then I decided to be even more stupid and began doing dangerous things just so I could see or hear you. And do you know who kept me going? Do you?"

Edward sighed. "No, Alice couldn't see you so many times this summer. Listen Bella, I'm…"

I shivered hearing his sultry voice saying my name. I couldn't let him go on if I was going to do what I needed to do, "Jacob. He was there for me when you decided that what was best for me was to let me wallow in self pity."

Edward jerked back, "Wolf boy?"

"Yes… Wolf boy." I assumed Alice had told Edward everything, including who I had been hanging out with so much lately and how that was the reason for her voids in her sight. "He made the pain I felt after you left almost go away. And I've fallen for him Edward." I looked away. I was angry at Edward for leaving me, but leaving him was breaking my heart as bad as it had been broken when he left me alone in the forest. "He… That is to say, I haven't told him yet. But I love him. Not the same way I love you, but I do love him. And he would never leave me alone in the forest because it was 'for the best'. I can count on Jacob, but I don't know if I can count on you."

Edward looked at his feet, no trace of a smile in his eyes now. "I know I've always told you that you should avoid me Bella… But what I didn't expect was how much it would hurt when you finally took my advice. I do have to ask though… Why did you save me?"

"I told you. I love you. I couldn't let you kill yourself over me. I wanted to show you I was alive. I'm no one worth dying over Edward. And I certainly wasn't going to let you die over a lie. I didn't know how I was going to handle seeing you again, but I've decided that maybe I should give Jacob a chance. I can see a family with him."

Edward nodded, his resolve set. "It's what's best for you. I won't bother you anymore."

He had said something along those lines before, but this time I remembered the pain it put me in. Instead of having a numb feeling wash over me, the hole that was finally healing tore open again. I resisted the urge to wrap my arms around myself to hold myself together. "I'll miss you Edward, and I'll never forget you." With that, Edward was gone. For the first time, I really looked around. I was in my room, and I was sure that I would be grounded for life as soon as Charlie realized I was awake. It was worth being grounded knowing I had saved someone I loved so dearly though. I was no one to die over, and I would do it one hundred times over to make sure no one suffered for me.

I heard a soft thump behind me, and knowing it couldn't be Edward, I spun around to see my favorite boy standing there. His tan arms and impish smile never looked so attractive as they did now, "Bella, I think we need to talk."