A/N: Here is chapter 2. It started off when Edward arrives home from his rebellious years, but morphed into Esme and him fighting. My writing take a life of its own.

He just didn't understand. He did not deserve this. After all the things that had happened in the past years, and they welcome him back like this? Edward was really beginning to reassess their mental stability. The boy was the farthest thing from a prodigy at this point, yet they treated him like one. Society was really confusing.

So many lives were lost, so much blood spilled. To tell anyone the truth, Edward Cullen no longer saw the justice in his killing criminals. All the maybe-not-so-innocent lives that had been snatched were catching up with him, and he was coming to loathe himself more with each passing day.

From Esme's thoughts, he could tell she was worried, but she never voiced these observations… out loud. Carlisle was just as worried at his abrupt depression, but was better at covering it.

"Edward?" He looked up to find his motherly figure, Esme.

"Sweetie, you can't be so hard on yourself."

"I killed people." He replied.

"Yes, but they weren't innocent."

"They might as well have been." The adolescent sighed.

"Edward…" The motherly figure warned.

"Esme, I don't want to talk about this."

"Well I do!" The woman said, her patience thinning for the first time since Edward had met her.

"Fine. I killed numerous people and drank their blood for ten years. Sure, they were criminals and disobeyed the law. The lines are all starting to blur right now. I am angry with myself. I am a monster, Esme! I am going to go to hell."

"You are not, Edward!"

"How do you know!?!"

"Because I know you! If you stopped being so stubborn and hard-headed, you might just look at it from a different perspective and see what everyone else does!" The bronze haired angel narrowed his eyes and pursed his lips into a grim line.

"Nothing is going to change what I did, and no amount of penance will ever cancel it out. I have earned my one-way ticket to hell, and I might as well accept it. I would advise that you do so also." With that, he spun on his heel and stormed from the room, leaving an unhappy Esme in his wake.

"Edward, you have got it all wrong again." Bella sighed.

"Excuse me?"

"You are my angel, not vice versa."

"Bella…"

"Edward. Stop it now. I have already heard this speech a million times. I don't need it again."

"Well it seems to me you do, since you always tend to "conveniently" forget." She glared at the boy for a moment before storming away.

"Where are you going?" He called warily.

"Oh look, I have "conveniently" forgotten. Sorry." She called over her shoulder, drenching every word in sarcasm.

"Bella!" The boy called out after his girlfriend. She continued to walk on, ignoring him. "Bella, how can you even find truth in those words? You know my history." He was following her now, talking to her with a slightly raised voice.

Bella whipped around quickly. "Yes, I do know your history. Key word: history. Why can't you accept that it happened a long time ago and move on? I believe you have done enough holy things to exchange that ticket for hell!" Edward felt a little deja vu at her statement, but quickly brushed it off. Esme appeared at the top of the stairs, startling Bella, but taking no notice.

"I agree with Isabella." She remarked, staring her adopted son in the eye.

"Of course you do." He murmured, breaking her intense hold.

"I have tried to tell Edward the same thing for a while now." The motherly figure explained, facing the brunette. The younger girl smiled, nodding and continued to talk to Esme all the way down the stairs. The bronze haired boy turned back toward his room, only to be stopped by the rest of his family.

"They're right and you should know it." The pixie said, eyeing her brother. Edward didn't answer, just brushed past them and sat down on his couch, sighing.

He knew they were right, but he would never be able to forgive himself for all the lives he took in those ten years. The thing was, he had already done so, and just didn't know it yet. Either that, or he just refused to admit it.

A/N: There, this one is okay, I guess. I would have liked to focus more on Edward's thoughts, but oh well. Maybe later. I hope you liked it.

Meghan