Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. The characters used belong to Stephenie Meyer, but the plot (what little of it there is) belongs to me. Please do not repost this story.

PROLOGUE

...

The door slams shut.

I don't dare look up. It might have been my imagination, but I swear I could feel my entire universe shake with the force of it.

She'll be back. She always comes back. We've had this fight before, and we'll get past it, just like we always do.

I grab my keys from the side table and head to Bliss. Halfway there I change my mind and head to Sassafras—I need a drink. Or five.

I make my way to the bar and order two bourbons. I make quick work of the first and then find a seat where I can nurse the other.

We'd been going in circles for the last five months. The current job offer in Atlanta would significantly lighten our financial burden, but she knows that if I leave LA any chance of a career in this music industry will be dead to me.

I lift my glass to my lips only to realise that there's nothing left. Still feeling tense and frustrated, I decide it would be better to head home.

My heart pangs when I find the apartment empty. She must be really mad at me this time. I toe off my shoes and drop onto our cold bed without another thought. I'm exhausted and my eyes close as soon as my head hits the pillow.

...

I wake to the sound of closet doors opening and closing. I throw my arm over my eyes and grumble.

"Baby, come back to bed. We'll find whatever you're looking for later."

"What are you talking about? I don't have time for this!" She sounds agitated.

My eyebrows furrow. "Why are you in such a hurry? Have you got a meeting?"

She huffs the way she usually does when I've angered her.

"I don't have time for you to play dumb, Edward. My flight leaves in 4 hours, and I'm not done packing!"

My eyes shoot open, and I nearly fall out of bed—my legs have tangled in the sheets in my rush. The scene in front of me is straight from my nightmares. Two suitcases lay open on the bedroom floor while a couple of unfolded boxes are leaning against the wall. The open closet door reveals two empty shelves.

"Wha… what are you doing?" I nearly choke on my words. My throat feels as dry as a desert.

Her hands still over the pile of clothes she is folding. Her stance is rigid, but I can see her taking a deep breathe.

"Edward, please…" the request catches in her throat "…I can't rehash last night. It was already painful enough. If I like the job, Maggie will come and pack whatever I couldn't fit into the suitcases and ship it to me."

This doesn't make sense. I can feel my head spinning. This cannot be happening.

We fight. She leaves. She cools down. And then she always, always comes back to me.

I'm trying to figure out what to say when I hear her zip up a suitcase. Before she can reach for the second one, I'm holding her in my arms. She keeps her eyes averted, hidden behind her bangs, but I can see that they are red-rimmed. So I do the only thing I can think of—I beg.

"Baby, please. You can't honestly even consider this. We have a life here. We have our future. I…" my voice cracks "…I love you, so much."

Tears are running down her pale cheeks. But then she grasps my hands and moves them away from her body.

"I know you do. And we did have a future. But we don't anymore."

As her hands let go of mine, they feel like lead weights falling to my sides. I feel numb. My brain can't comprehend the words that she just spoke.

I stand frozen as she stares at her feet. Then, without another word, she grabs both suitcases and walks away from me.

The door slams shut.

...

AN: Hi! So, this is my first multi-chapter fic—it'll only be about 7 or 8 chapters. I originally planned to write an o/s for the Ho Hey Contest, but that inspired this, so I decided to just run with it :) If all goes as it should, I'll be posting twice a week: Wednesdays and Sundays.

I'd love to hear what you guys think of this! Please leave me a review or say hi on Twitter ( hummingbirdFF)!

All thanks goes to my incredible beta and friend, bigblueboat—she fixes all my grammar mistakes and puts up with my neurotic tendencies during the writing process!

*Check out the Ho Hey Contest entries here: www dot fanfiction dot net/u/4392156/

*And the song that started it all—Ho Hey by The Lumineers: www dot youtube dot com/watch?v=zvCBSSwgtg4