Author's Note: Hi everyone! You've all given me such lovely, wonderful reviews, and I feel so loved. I really hadn't planned on getting really involved in this story quite yet, but the demand for updates was more than I expected. So here it is: the next chapter!

By the way, I don't own Twilight. Or "Womanizer". Haha.

Enjoy!

The door swung open before I was on the porch, and Esme threw herself at me.

"Edward," she cried without tears. "I missed you. More than I can say."

"I know, Esme. I missed you too."

"Please, Edward. Don't leave us again," she begged. "Stay. You'll be happier here."

Carlisle appeared in the doorway behind her. He smiled slightly.

"Esme, dear, let's not rush into things. Edward has only just arrived. Give him time to say hello to everyone." I nodded once in his direction, a silent thank-you.

You're not staying, are you?

I shot him a pleading look. It begged for understanding.

I know, Edward. Leaving Forks has been hard on you. But we all loved Bella, and your being gone doesn't do anything to help the fact that we miss her. Your leaving is hard on all of us. Esme especially.

I stared at him, a mask of pain and frustration on my face. Did no one understand the pain I was feeling? Of course everyone missed Bella, but none of them had the same connection to her that I did. She was my other half, for Christ's sake! Did Carlisle actually believe that everyone else could begin to want her back as much as I did? Impossible.

We don't have to talk about it now. But we will talk.

I nodded once again and followed Esme into the house. I would speak with Carlisle, but it would not change anything. I was leaving again. I couldn't stay here, or everyone else would be miserable. There was no reason for my existence anymore. I didn't do anything besides hunt. And suffer. That was my life now.

"Hey, Edward!" Emmett pried himself away from his video game long enough to clap me on the shoulder, and he sank to the floor once again and was lost in his own world of aliens and superpowers.

Everyone else said their hellos, but Alice, usually the bubbliest of all, said a small "hi" and went right back to singing Britney Spears's "Womanizer" in her head. I eyed her suspiciously, but she shrugged and continued the song.

Lollipop. Must mistake me for a sucker to think that I would be the victim of another "say it, play it how you want it". But no way, I'm never gonna fall for you. Never you, baby. Womanizer, woman, womanizer, you're a womanizer. Oh, womanizer. Oh, you're a womanizer baby. You, you, you are, you, you, you are, womanizer, womanizer, womanizer, womanizer…

"Alice, may I please speak to you alone for a moment?" I asked pleasantly. I saw her tense for a second before she replied.

"Sure. Could you guys give us some privacy?"

Carlisle nodded his head and led the rest of the family out the front door. Alice turned to me and smiled politely, all the while singing that song in her head.

Maybe if we both lived in a different world, it would be all good and maybe I could be your girl. But I can't, 'cause we don't. You…Womanizer, woman, womanizer…

"Was there something you needed, Edward?"

I glared at her.

"Edward?"

"You're hiding something. And I want you to tell me what it is."

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said defiantly.

"Don't you? Why have you been mentally singing "Womanizer" since I was close enough to hear your thoughts?"

"I happen to enjoy that song."

"Really? Because I was under the impression that you detested Britney Spears."

"Edward, can't you just trust me? You don't want to know what I saw."

An image burst into my head, but I barely caught a glimpse before Alice started singing again. Barely. I had seen a broken Bella, curled up on the floor of her bedroom.

My unneeded breath caught in my throat.

"So it's about Bella, then?"

Alice nodded somberly.

"Please, Alice. Please. I need to know. What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with her, Edward. Yet."

"What do you mean by that?"

She hesitated.

"Well…you see…she sort of…oh, hold on. I'll show you." She closed her eyes and brought her previous thoughts to the front of her mind, where I was able to see them clearly.

Bella was standing in front of her bathroom mirror, attempting to use cover-up to hide the red blotches produced by her crying. That in itself was odd. Bella rarely used make up, and when she did, it was just a subtle layer of eye shadow. The next image flashed across my mind, and I saw someone hold the passenger side door of a Suburban open while Bella climbed inside. The person holding the door had looked strangely like…no. It couldn't be.

But it was. As I picked the final image from Alice's head, I knew that it would be burned into my mind for the rest of eternity. It was one of Bella, sitting in a crowded movie theater. I felt a growl rumbling in my chest as I noticed the person sitting next to her.

Mike Newton.

That vile, loathsome, pathetic excuse for a human sat next to my Bella, but that wasn't even the worst part. He was pulling "the move". He fake-stretched, his one arm falling across her shoulders. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, biting her lip. Then it ended.

"What the hell was that?" I asked Alice, my voice shaking with fury.

"Now, Edward. It's not what you think…"

"Not what I think?" I roared. "Because I think that she was on a date with Mike Newton! I think that he actually had the nerve to touch her! I think that--"

"Okay! Maybe it is what you think. But Edward, she didn't have a choice! Mike called to ask Bella out, and Charlie answered the phone. He said yes for her, and wouldn't let her back out of it. She didn't want to go! That's good!" I groaned.

"Alice, he had his arm around her. He had his arm around my Bella!"

"Newsflash, Edward. She's not your Bella anymore. You gave up all rights to her when you decided to leave Forks. She's fair game, now."

"Don't you ever say that. She's mine. I don't care how far away from her I am, and I don't care how much I don't deserve her. She is mine. Always."

"Edward, honestly. Go back to her. You know you want to, and you're helpless without her. Just go back."

Nothing had ever sounded more appealing. If I decided to leave tonight, I could be back in Forks by tomorrow afternoon. Back in my Bella's arms.

"I can't. I can't do that to her."

Alice snorted.

"You can't do that to her? Look what you're doing to her now, Edward. You're literally killing her!"

She let another picture slip into her mind. Bella was sitting on the floor beside her bed, clutching the comforter in her small hands. She had her knees pulled up to her chest, and her head resting on her knees. I could see her trembling violently as her sobs echoed around her. This must have been the crying fit that she had been trying to hide with make-up. I wanted more than anything to comfort her, but she was unreachable. Just a picture in my head.

"Edward? Edward!"

I opened my eyes and was surprised to find myself on my knees.

"Are you alright?"

I dropped forward, slamming my fists against the floor. I heard the wood splinter, but I was too far gone to care. My body shook as I sobbed tearlessly, and Alice just stood in front of me in shock.

"Edward, I'm sorry. I didn't think…"

"I need her, Alice," I choked out. It was the first time I had fully admitted it to myself, let alone anyone else. "I can't survive without her. It—it hurts too much."

"Oh, Edward." Alice sank to the floor beside me and wrapped her arms around my still shuddering frame. "Go back to her. She would take you back."

"Did you see it?" I was curious now. Why hadn't she told me this?

"No, but I know Bella. And she's just as miserable as you are, if not more."

I was tempted. I could be with her, make her happy. I wouldn't feel this sharp, unbearable pain any more. But I couldn't. I couldn't end her life like that.

"Alice, no. I won't. I can't. As hard as staying away is, it would be even worse to take her life from her. She deserves a life."

"Are you honestly so stupid? Do you really think she wants to live if you aren't there? She's close to suicidal, Edward!"

I stopped breathing. Bella couldn't—no. She wouldn't kill herself for me.

"Breathe," Alice commanded. "I said she's close. I would see any plans like that long before she acted on them. She needs you. Go back."

"No. That's my final decision."

Alice gasped.

"What? What is it?"

Her face was blank, and I could tell that she was having a vision. I watched as the scene played out in her mind, a furious snarl escaping my throat. I was on my feet in one one-hundredth of a second.

"Forget I said all of that. We're leaving for Forks. Tonight."

A/N: How'd I do? I personally love this chapter, but I'm a little bit biased. So I think you should tell me what YOU think. I would love to know. Please review.

Love you all.