EDWARD

"Edward! Wait!" I turned around, wondering if maybe I had given up too easily. Maybe she wanted me to fight for her as much as I wanted to. There were tears running down her cheeks and I gave into my natural urge to wipe them away. She trembled beneath my touch and I let myself briefly hope it wasn't over yet.

"I can't watch you leave again and not try and stop you."

"Just say the word and I'll stay." God, Bella… please say the word.

"It isn't that simple," she bit her lip. Oh, I missed that.

"Why not?" I challenged her.

"Because I love Jacob," she spoke each word with determination.

"You love me too," I reminded her solemnly, hoping my words were still true.

"You left me once. How do I know you won't do it again?" Her voice was shaky and uncertain.

"Because I came back."

"After you promised you wouldn't." I bowed my head with despair.

"I know."

"How do I know you won't leave again?" She repeated.

"Because I love you." Suddenly the sweet smell of Bella was overpowered by the stench of the mutt.

"So do I. And I have a history of keeping my promises," Jacob interrupted. Against my natural instinct, I kept my posture completely vertical.

"If she tells me she doesn't want me… I'll leave right now and never come back," I promised. And I would. I would keep my last promise to her no matter how much it killed me… or caused me to live forever with pain, as my case would be. Both Jacob and I stared at Bella, wondering whose heart she was about to break.

JACOB

"Edward! Wait!" What?! That ridiculous sob story and cheesy speech had been enough? I had even thought for a short moment that maybe I was worrying over nothing. Maybe he had really hurt her beyond anything an apology could fix. My heart ached for Bella's sake if that were the case, but soared selfishly for the possibility that seeing him again was what she needed to get over him once and for all, allowing herself to move on with her life and move on with me. But when she called him back, I knew all hope was lost. Even if it didn't happen tonight, it would only be a matter of time before she broke my heart and begged him back. I listened for his response to her request, but it wasn't Edward who spoke next. It was Bella.

"I can't just watch you leave again and not try and stop you." Oh, Bella.

"Just say the word and I'll stay." I clenched my fists and resisted phasing.

"It isn't that simple."

"What not?" Yeah, why not? She either loved me or she loved him, right?

"Because I love Jacob." Those words should have made me want to sing. But I knew Bella better than that. I knew that tone. She said she loved me as an excuse not to let herself fall for him again; not a reason why she couldn't.

"You love me, too." No shit.

"You left me once. How do I know you won't do it again?" Oh no. This wasn't good for me. She wanted him to convince her to go back to him, and he was going to do everything he could to do just that.

"Because I came back."

"After you promised you wouldn't." I'm glad she at least wasn't making this easy for him.

"I know." Is that all the bloodsucker had to say? Even I could do better than that.

"How do I know you won't leave again?" God, Bella. Make this worse for me, why don't you? She was basically begging for a reason to forgive him. I could no longer just sit back and pretend I couldn't hear them anymore.

"Because I love you," he told her as I entered the room.

"So do I," I said furrowing my eyebrows. "And I have a history of keeping my promises," I added with false hope that I could still change her set mind.

"If she tells me she doesn't want me… I'll leave right now and never come back." Yeah, never come back. I've heard that before. Both Edward and I stared at Bella, both of us waiting for her to say the words that would break my heart.

BELLA

"Edward! Wait!" There were tears falling and I couldn't help but feel wonderful when Edward's cold fingers wiped them away. "I can't watch you leave again and not try and stop you," I explained.

"Just say the word and I'll stay." It would be so easy. Things would continue as though he had never left. But he did leave. Could I forgive and forget that so easily?

"It isn't that simple," I bit my lip.

"Why not?" I wanted to scream at him, because you left me!

"Because I love Jacob." It wasn't a lie. But it wasn't anything more than an excuse either.

"You love me, too." Why did he have to go and say that?

"You left me once. How do I know you won't do it again?" I wanted him to make it all better.

"Because I came back."

"After you promised me you wouldn't." I felt guilty for saying that when I saw the shame in his eyes. Then I immediately got angry at him for making me feel guilty about being angry with him.

"I know," he said quietly.

"How do I know you won't leave me again?" I begged him to make it all better.

"Because I love you."

"So do I," Jacob interrupted. How long had he been there? "And I have a history of keeping my promises." Oh God, Jacob, shut up.

"If she tells me she doesn't want me… I'll leave right now and never come back." I grimaced at the thought. Suddenly, both pairs of eyes were on me. I quickly realized they were waiting on me to make a decision. To choose between them. To break the heart of someone I loved.