Hey guys! I'm glad to see that you guys liked the last chapter! So…on with the show…story…whatever

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight.

Edward's Pov

I heard the gunshot before I saw it. I saw it before felt it. I had been shot. Blood poured out of the little area above my heart as the yells of the rest of my team filled the air. I collapsed, standing becoming too much of an effort. More gunshots rang out as more men ran out to help me.

"Edward, stay with us, man," yelled Jace, who had become a close friend of mine since I had joined the military, which was about four years ago, not too long after I left Forks. I began to see black.

Faces began to come to mind. Carlisle, Esme, and Alice looked at me with sympathy, pride and disappointment. I never knew you could show those three emotions on one face at once. I gasped for air, my breathing becoming jagged.

Her face was the last face I saw before I blacked out. Her brown, doe eyes looked at me and she had a smile etched onto her face. We were in the meadow I had found a long time ago. I took her there the day I told her I loved her. She was wearing a white sun dress, a dress I figured I would never in a million years see on her.

Something was different about her, though. As I took a closer look at her, I saw bruises. They covered her face and arms. Most of them were in the shape of hands. I looked at her eyes again and noticed something I hadn't seen before. Instead of a vibrant, chocolate brown color full of life, I saw lifeless, dull brown. It didn't make her any less beautiful than she already was. She was also twice as skinny as the last time I had seen her, not that she had been a pound more than petite.

She looked at me as if to say 'help me'. I reached towards her, but before I could touch her, a hand materialized and clasped over her mouth. The hand pulled her into dematerialization. I was alone. Eventually, everything went black. It was as if I had fallen into a sleep I couldn't wake up from.

The first thing I felt was shear pain when I woke up. Then, I noticed that I was in a bright room. I looked to my left and saw that my left shoulder was covered in gauze. I tried to sit up as I heard the voice of Lieutenant Lightwood.

"Rise and shine, sleeping beauty," he said from his chair across the room. I just grumbled and situated myself so I was sitting up in a comfortable position.

"How long was I out, sir?" I asked in a groggy voice.

"About a week, maybe more," he said in an uninterested voice.

"When do I go back?" I asked. I didn't know if I would go back, but a guy could hope.

"You aren't. Your injuries are too severe for you to continue in the service," he said in a 'congratulation' voice. He didn't know why I left. "Well, well, well. You had me thinking you were dead, Mr. Sleepy pants," said the voice of Jace Wayland. He entered the room and plopped down on the chair. I stared at him with a look that was somewhere between confusion, disappointment, and embarrassment.

"Shut it, Wayland," I growled and stared at the ceiling as two thoughts ran through my head: one, Jace was still the same idiot that I left him as, and two, I was going home to the family I had abandon in.

"Cheer up, Cullen. Well, at least I would. This is the first time all week Wayland has been sober," said Lightwood.

"Eh, it's true," said Jace. "So what did I miss before I came in here?"

"Just that our old pal Edward over here is going home," said Lightwood as he nodded my way.

"Oh shi-I mean…uh…great?" said Wayland. He knew why I had joined the military. He knew that the Edward that I had left behind in Forks was completely different than the Edward that was in the military. I made him swear that he wouldn't tell anyone about my life in Forks.

"What is the matter with you two? Most people would be jumping for joy if I told them that," said Lightwood.

"It's nothing, sir, just family problems," I said lightly.

"Whatever you say, Cullen, just know this, there is a reason you didn't die when you got shot," said the lieutenant. Was that guy on crack?

"I'll keep that in mind, sir," I replied. I doubted I would remember that tomorrow.

"Well, I'll leave you two to chat, I have things that need to be done," said Lightwood as he walked out of the room. Jace was reading a magazine while Lightwood and I were talking.

"I have to say, Edward, it can get really annoying when Lieutenant Lightwood goes all Ghandi on us," said Jace as he put down the magazine.

"So what are you going to do when you see her again?" he asked.

"Who knows? I'll probably just avoid her. She probably hates my guts right now. Maybe I'll make amends. Who am I kidding? She probably has a boyfriend or husband that will happily pulverize me. She has Emmett to do so," I rambled on. Jace held his hand up to get me to stop talking.

"You are completely wrong man, she probably hates more than your guts. She probably," I cut him o f before he could finish that sentence.

"Shut up, Wayland," I said as I gave him a death glare.

"Whatever. Just promise to keep in touch with me when you get back to Forks, man," he said with a half smile. I smirked and nodded.

The plane ride to Forks was nerve wrecking. I constantly worried if my parents would accept me back. Would I have to live on the streets? No, Carlisle and Esme would never allow that. But then again, I always said I wanted to become a doctor right by my father's side. I could barely eat anything on the flight, my stomach swarming with worry and guilt.
My shoulder began to ache and I tried to calm down. I was suppose to stay in Forks as long as my shoulder was injured, which would be a long time. It was bandaged and there was an evident mark where it had been bleeding.

I was dressed in my camouflage cargo pants and white t-shirt. I wore brown Doc Martens and my dog tags. I wore no jacket because it was suppose to be a rather warm day in Forks. Plus, I was used to much colder weather.

My knuckles turned white as the plane began to land. This was it. No turning back now. The moment I had been dreading since I left Forks was going to happen in an hour. I had never been so nervous in my life.

Chill Edward said my calm side. That was the side that I relied most on when I was in situations like this, which wasn't often. I got off the plane and went to where a bus would be that drove people to Forks. I got on and stayed in a secluded area where there weren't many people. Over all, everyone was quiet or asleep. I think I would be calmer if I called my family ahead of time. Don't get me wrong, I did try to call them, but they changed their number. Just my luck.

The hour went by too fast and soon everyone was getting off at the bus stop. It was a long walk to my old house, but it would be easy for me. I started to trudge to the large house. I took deep breaths and kept my cool, something I usually managed. The driveway seemed twice short as I walked up it. Little things I passed reminded me of her. The flower that for some reason bloomed every year I had called Bella's flower didn't bloom this year.

I felt like less of a man than I ever had before. I felt weak, like a coward. I felt like a plague, and that I had wiped out my family and friends. It was a feeling that I had tried to avoid for a long time.

I kept a straight face as I lifted my hand to knock on the door to my family's house. This was the moment of truth. No going back now. I hesitantly knocked on the door and silently prayed that things would go well.

The door opened to reveal the brilliant face of my father. His face had many emotions on it as he looked at me, none of which I could register.

Suddenly, his hand pulled back, and he punched me right below my left eye. I took the punishment. It hurt terribly, but it's what I deserved. He seemed shocked. The old me probably would have punched him back. I brought my hand up to lightly touch the area where he had punched me. It would probably be bruised tomorrow.

"What is all the commotion out here?" asked the sweet voice of my mother, Esme. She was just as stunning as I shad left her. She gasped as she looked at me. Tears began to streak down her pale cheek as she threw her arms around my neck.

"My baby," she sobbed into my shoulder. I rubbed her back silently as she continued to cry. I had to move her arm a slight bit to relieve the pressure she was putting on my wounded shoulder.

"It's ok, ma. I'm here," I whispered. I expected this. I deserved to feel the guilt for putting her through this. I took a deep breath and gently pushed her back.

"Where have you been?" asked Carlisle.

"I don't know if you would believe me," I mumbled as I stared at my shoes.

"After hitting you square in the jaw and not having you return the favor, I am prepared for anything," he said with his jaw set. Huh, running away really had pissed the old man off.

"Well…um…you see," I was cut off by a tinkling laugh and a masculine chuckle. Oh yeah, I forgot about them.

"What's up with all the ruckus, mom? I could here you from in my r…" said Alice as she walked into the foyer with Jasper in tow. So they had finally gotten together. She cut off her sentence when she realized I was really her.

Before I could comprehend it, Jasper was punching me at an alarming speed. It was really starting to hurt. I was trained to be able to fight him off, but I couldn't find the strength, no, the will to do so. I deserved it.

"I hate you," Alice screamed at the top of her lungs. "Why did you and Bella have to leave us? Huh? You've torn up the Hale family. Rosalie and Jasper don't even talk to each other anymore. I promised Jasper that if he ever saw you again, he could beat the crap out of you." I was about to push Jasper off of me when I realized something she said.

"What are you talking about? I haven't seen Bella since the day I left," I said with a confused look on my face. I felt a jab of pain go to my heart as Bella was mentioned. Jasper stopped punching me and returned to Alice's side.

"Well then where have you been? I don't see any piercing on your face so I can cross off running away to join a band off my list," said Alice impatiently as I quickly got back to my feet.

I scratched the back of my head and sighed. I doubt they would believe me if I told them I was in the military. But, I couldn't lie about that kind of thing. "Well…I joined the…uh…military." They were silent.

I looked around and saw blank looks on everyone's faces. They didn't believe me. And even if they did believe me, they were ashamed of me. I just knew it.

Esme silently looked at my wounded shoulder. I then noticed that my bandage was bleeding through and you could see it under my thin white shirt. She looked at me with tears in her eyes.

"What happened?" she asked with her voice quivering. Here comes the part I've been waiting for.

"I was shot. It's not that bad though. I was fine just after a few days," I mumbled.

"Not that bad," she yelled. This was the first time she had yelled at me since I got here. "Not that bad. You could have been killed, Edward Cullen. People don't get shot everyday and this isn't something you can slide. If you would have never left you would never have to be in this position. How am I supposed to know that you won't leave again?" With that, she left the room crying with Carlisle.

"You should leave for a little while. We're all processing this and you being here isn't helping," Alice said in a soft voice. I wasn't expecting Alice to be this calm. She gave me my old keys to the Volvo. I left the house and headed to my car. It was the same as how I left it. It was almost as though no one had touched it since the night I left. I drove to an old bar in Port Angeles thinking only one thing; nice going, Edward.

I. Am. So. Sorry. My real life has been so hectic that I haven't been able to relax at the computer. I know this chapter wasn't that great and that's because this was more so a filler chapter. I'm updating my other story, The Savior of Seattle, so please, please check the story out. I will update much sooner and also, there are TONS of songs that I think go good with the story. Tell me if you want a list of them. Also, one last SUPER IMPORTANT THING. This might sound stupid, but I need help finding a picture. It's a picture of Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart lying in the sand. She is lying on top of him in a non-seductive way and I think he has his hand behind her neck. Anywho, I really want to find that picture so I can clip it to Polyvore for some of my fanfic pictures. If you have a link to a website with that picture on it please leave it in the reviews or PM me it.