Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse or any of the characters found within them. They all belong to Stephenie Meyer who I thank for letting me play with them for awhile. No copyright infringement is intended by this story.

CHAPTER SEVEN – RUNAWAY

As I drove away from the Santa Isabella orphanage, I felt as if my heart had vanished and had been replaced by a gaping hole. During the past few months I had tried so desperately to distract myself with tracking Victoria and in just a few hours, all the pain had come rushing back to me even more intense than before. I needed to get away from the city to think. The happy Christmas sentiments floating through everyone's minds were becoming too much for me to bear. Instead of the dull hum of voices that I always heard in any urban setting, the voices in Monterrey sounded more like screaming fans at a rock concert. If I had not known that it was impossible for a vampire to have a headache, I would have thought that I was having my first migraine.

I drove from downtown Monterrey into the national park in the mountains that surrounded the city. The piercing voices flooding my mind finally began to quiet until the only voice I could hear was my own. Once I exited the car, I opened my mind and listened carefully to ensure that no humans were nearby and then darted off into the sunny wilderness.

Isabella. From the moment Father Aguilar mentioned her name, I could not distract myself from the agony of my separation from her. How was it possible that the only person I spoke to in Monterrey happened to work in a place named for my angel? It was an astounding coincidence. As soon as I had heard her name mentioned out loud, the floodgates had opened. I had tried so hard to avoid music of any kind since the dark day that I left Bella in the hope that avoiding music might somehow lessen my pain. Yet, as soon as I stepped into the cathedral and heard the boys' choir singing Christmas carols, I began to hear the lullaby I wrote for Bella in my head. The sound of Bella's lullaby after such a long time overwhelmed my mind and interrupted all of my other thoughts.

I pushed myself faster and faster as I ran, dodging through the large trees that covered the landscape. If anyone had been able to see me, they would have believed they had seen a shooting star. I wondered if it was absurd for a 100-year old vampire to consider running away. Right now, it was all I could think of doing. If I could just continue running long enough, maybe I could refrain from thinking or feeling.

Unfortunately, my ploy did not work. In fact, my race over the mountains just enhanced the sound of Bella's lullaby in my head. Now, instead of hearing the piano version of Bella's lullaby, my mind had added the sweet voices of a boys' choir to accompany it. The sound was both soothing and agonizing. It painted a picture for me of everything I had ever loved and lost – Bella's smile, her eyes, her blush, and her heart. Maybe hearing things that were not there was a sign that I finally had cracked. I wondered if that was even possible for a vampire. Certainly Rosalie had been telling me for years that I was crazy. Maybe it was true.

No! I knew what was wrong with me. I needed my Bella. Nothing in this existence made any sense without her. She was my everything.

After reaching this conclusion, I finally forced myself to slow down. I began to follow the sound of rushing water to a small waterfall that cascaded down the side of the mountain. Adjacent to the waterfall, I found a secluded clearing where I could focus on the thoughts running through my mind. The clearing did not compare to my meadow in Forks, but it was sunny and picturesque in its own way. Green grass carpeted the ground and the bubbling waterfall glistened in the sun. The only thing it was missing was a beautiful brunette with deep chocolate brown eyes and a breathtaking smile.

I sat down in the grass near the waterfall so I could feel the warm southern sun on my face. I closed my eyes and let my mind drift. Is it possible that I was meant to meet Father Aguilar? Was the Santa Isabella orphanage a sign that my Bella was thinking about me and missing me as much as I missed her? I wished there was some way I could know for sure that I was doing the right thing by staying away from her. You could always go back to her and beg her to take you back, I thought to myself. Impossible. I knew that was not an option. I was barely strong enough to leave in September when I was certain it was the only way I could keep her safe. By going back I would only endanger her life again and I knew that I never would have the strength to leave her again. The first time had very nearly killed me and I was practically indestructible.

What if she has moved on and is dating Newton, now? Or someone else? As my thoughts drifted into that dangerous subject, I felt the urge to break something. I hoped that Bella realized how insincere and disgusting Newton's mind was. He never would be good enough for her. Nor would anyone else. No one could ever love Bella as completely as I did. My thoughts continued to drift along the same lines for hours. Before long, it was twilight again. I stayed in the mountains that night using hunting as an excuse. I could not force myself to chance listening to more happy Christmas thoughts in Monterrey.

During the night, I argued with myself over what I would do next. I knew that I should continue running away from Forks and Bella, but I wanted so badly to see her again. On the other hand, I wanted so desperately for Bella to have all of the human experiences that I could never give her and the safety I could never guarantee. Ultimately, my selfish nature won out. I decided that the best course of action was a compromise of sorts. I would continue to track Victoria and once I caught up to her and made certain that she would never pose a threat to Bella, I would allow myself to go back to Forks to see for myself that Bella was safe and happy. If she was happy and moving on with her life, I would let her live the life she was supposed to have with no monsters. If she was as miserable as I was, I would beg her forgiveness for lying about the depth of my feelings for her and would show her how truly and completely I will always love her.

All I had to do now was locate and eliminate Victoria as quickly as possible. Then, once I finished my task I could see my Bella again. Easier said than done, I thought. Still, I felt a small surge of hope that she may still want me and the ache in my chest lessened a little. Part of me was already certain that Bella had begun to move on with her life as I requested, but I refused to allow that part of me to overshadow my hope.

When I reached my rental car, I immediately detected the scent of another vampire. It was Victoria. I wondered how she could have wandered so close to my car after so many days. Before now I could not locate even a trace of her. It almost seemed like she purposely had left me a breadcrumb trail to follow like in a child's fairy tale. I could not fathom what would motivate her to do so. Surely, she did not think I had tracked her this long just to wish her a Merry Christmas. She had to realize that my motives were much less friendly.

As my mind raced over the possible reasons why she would do something so foolish, I decided that it did not matter. I had come too far to give up now. I had to finish this obligation in order to see my Bella again – even if it was only from a distance.

I followed Victoria back into Texas. No matter how fast I traveled, I always seemed to remain at least several hours behind her. Unlike my previous experiences following her trail, however, this time Victoria seemed to travel in a straight line. I did not lose her scent in any of the small towns along the route to San Antonio. She finally seemed to stop at the San Antonio airport. When I reached the airport it was nearly dawn. Victoria's trail already was several hours old, but I was able to follow it to the ticket counter for TAM Brazilian airlines. What could she possibly want in Brazil, I wondered.

Wow. Isn't he a tall drink of water? I think this one might just make my day. What a cutie. Come over here to me baby and I will tell you anything you want to know. I looked up and saw a middle-aged woman with long bleached blond hair grinning at me from behind the counter. I repressed my urge to grimace and instead managed to give her a weak smile.

"Can I help you with anything sweetheart?" she said. I'm sure I could do something to put a big grin on his gorgeous face.

I tried my best to ignore the pictures that accompanied her thoughts. "Yes, ma'am. Could you please tell me which flights have departed within the last eight hours?" I guessed that Victoria could not have been any further ahead of me than that.

Cute and a gentleman – what a combination. "Of course, sweetheart. The only flight we had last night was an 11:45 p.m. flight to Rio de Janeiro. That's in Brazil." How I would love to go to Rio with this cutie. They say that attending Carnival is an amazing aphrodisiac . . .

I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to will away her lascivious thoughts. "Just to be clear, there have been no other flights on TAM since that time?" I asked.

"That's correct. Are you interested in going to Rio, sweetheart? Our next flight is in just a few hours?" Maybe I could put in for some vacation time and go there with you.

I groaned quietly at the idea of having to listen to her thoughts all the way to Brazil. "Actually, I would prefer to take an evening flight. I would like to purchase one first class ticket for tonight." I tried to keep my annoyance with this ridiculous woman hidden until after she confirmed that I could get on the 6:00 p.m. flight.

"You're all booked. You aren't going all the way to Rio by yourself, are you?" If you are, I'm definitely scheduling some vacation time.

Ugh. I desperately needed to come up with a convincing lie to keep this silly woman from following me. I quickly decided to play up my youthful appearance and blame my family. "No, ma'am. I am meeting my family there for winter break. I did not think I would be able to go with them, but last night I decided I did not want to stay home alone. Thank you for your assistance. I know my mother would appreciate your kindness." I cringed at saying something so childish, but it was much better than the alternative. As soon as the woman handed me my confirmation, I sprinted out to my car to wait out the sun and ponder what Victoria could be planning. I felt my cell phone buzzing, but I switched it off without even bothering to look at the caller ID. I did not want to talk to Alice about my trip to Brazil. I just wanted to go there, destroy Victoria and return to my love as quickly as possible. This was one plan that I did not intend to over-think.