Dear readers,

Dear readers,

I just want to thank you for your patience while I took some time off to complete Breaking Dawn. I was not sure how the final book would tie into my story so I decided that I would break and complete the book before continuing on. Although I did enjoy the story, the direction the final book takes does in no way reflect the path I choose to lay out for our characters in my fiction.

In saying that I want to assure my readers that there will be NO SPOILERS included in my fiction and you can safely read my chapters for the duration of the time it takes you to complete Breaking Dawn.

Edward's POV

Bella's return from cemetery was unsettling. She had wished to go alone and I accepted that and stayed in her bedroom. I could have wandered the house if I pleased because there was no one here to make my presence here feel out of place. Not any more.

She didn't have to explain to me why she was going for me to understand. Charlie's will had instructed that he was to cremated and that he wished that his ashes were to be spread, not concealed in a jar. Bella only knew of one place where he would spend all eternity willingly and that was over Renee's grave. Bella had always told me that he had never gotten over her mother. What could I expect? It was impossible for me to get over Bella.

I sat on Bella's bed, still. I heard her old truck pull up but I did not hear her get out and that's what took me by surprise. She just sat there like a statue in her own grief. I watched her from her bedroom window and wondered why she did not come upstairs to rest a while.

Over the past few days her heart had been too broken for her to hate me with all her passion. I never imagine that her heart could break any further than the damage that I had done but I guess I must have been mistaken. She had even let me go as far as to hold her while she wept over the loss of Charlie but I didn't push it. I expect that any day now the healing would start to begin—as it does in most humans—time heals all. She will learn to hate me once again. Perhaps more profusely now that her attention is no longer split.

"Bella?" I whisper after making the quick journey from her window to out side of the old truck. She is just sitting in there looking out at the rain pounding on the windshield.

"I want to be alone now, Edward," she mumbled between the small space that her dry lips allowed her to open for speech.

"I want so much to give you that, Bella, but I can't leave you," I whisper and watch as her expression turns from hopeless sadness to unrelenting hate.

"You did it before—you can do it again!" she snaps at me, the words pierce me like a poison tipped harpoon.

"Bella I—," I want to tell her that I'm sorry but the words don't want to come out, perhaps because I know that it will bring on a string of tears that I don't wish to see from Bella. I move to the other side of the struck quickly and get in the seat beside her and watch as she sits up a little at the sudden movement.

"Don't say that you're sorry," Bella whispered and I reach over to touch her face but pull back before she notices my movements.

"Even if I am?" I asked her calmly and watched as her eyes filled with tears.

"Especially if you are," she said and all it took was one blink for them fall and roll down her cheek.

I watched as the tears fell from her chin onto her lap and I shifted across the seat, closer to her so we were sitting just an inch apart. I didn't want to push her; I wanted her so badly to come to me like she had last night when she leaned her head against my shoulder. I wonder if she knew that I knew she was awake.

"He left me the house, everything. But now that he is gone," she spoke out in weariness, "I have no reason to stay here anymore."

I nodded, listening to her speak.

"I came for you Bella, come with me."

I watched her head tilt down and her hair tumble down her shoulder, my eyes caught the glimpse of a soft, fading bruise that I knew I put there, at the nape of her neck. My hand gently pushed her hair away from the area revealing more bruises that were starting to fade.

"I will understand if you don't," I whisper and notice her eyes flicker up into the mirror when I press my cold hand against the tender bruises, hoping that it will be some relief to her. I never meant to cause her pain and I had no excuse for my jealous outrage. It was wrong of me.

"Where?" she finally asked me after a silent moment of contemplation within herself which made me a little bit nervous.

"Alaska," I said quietly, "Carlisle decided it was best to move north and separate Jasper from human contact for a good while. We own a town there."

"You own a town?" Bella looked at me in disbelief.

"Ghost town," I whisper and offer her a little smile at her astonishment, "it went dead after the gold rush and we bought up the property years ago."

"And Carlisle is with Jasper?" I ask.

"Everyone is there; the entire family is there, Bella."

"Alice," I hear her whisper with a yearning in her voice.

"She's misses you so much—Bella, I know that I've put you through a lot and I just want you to come with me, even if you won't be with me the way that I want you to be. Just being here, beside you like this is enough if that is all you ever want."

Agreeing to come with me on the condition that she doesn't have to make any immediate decisions in regards to our relationship, we find our selves in my Volvo heading up north to Alaska. I gave her the option to fly but she said she needed time to think so I accepted her reasoning and helped her pack a few things to take with her. Mostly clothing and an old photo album was all she packed there were a few other things but she kept them concealed and although I could easily peek past her and see them with a high level of discreetness I chose to give her, her privacy.

She's sleeping now with her forehead pressed against the glass, I wonder what she is dreaming about. So far I haven't heard her speak in her sleep so I hope that means that her dreams are peaceful. Peaceful dreams are all I can hope for her after the months and months of agony I've left her in and now the cold grief she's in is just not fair. She's such a beautiful soul and does not deserve any of this.

"Edward?" I hear Bella whisper.

"Yes, my love?" I look over to her for a moment, she must be dreaming. Her eyes are still shut and her breathing in uniform. I hear her stomach growl a little and I smile, I've missed her humanness.

My eyes quickly glance around as I search for some place to stop so we can get some food into Bella. The road doesn't have much on either side except for a gas station here or there. My eyes catch a road side diner up ahead and I pull into the lot and gently put my hand on Bella's shoulder.

"Hm?" she looks up at me.

"Ready to eat?"

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