Bonjour, lovely readers! I took me a while to get this chapter sorted out. I knew what was going to happen, it just took me a bit to get everything to fit together.
If you go to my profile I have a link to a picture of what Knox looks like.
The next chapter will be in Edward's POV. I hope I can get it right. But for now:

Enjoy! :D

Runaway

Edward and I sat side-by-side in the middle of my bed watching Knox swim around his new home. His cheeks were still puffed up like he was threatening the glass walls and rubber plants. I couldn't help but smile at him. Already I could see why Edward would want me to have a pet. Knox was calming and made my room feel more positive.

Our sides were squished together even thought we both had room to spread out. I didn't want to be separated from him. I didn't want to have space between us. Every centimeter his body touched mine burned and tingled and relaxed. It was such a wonderful feeling. It sent tiny shivers down my spine. I could feel Edward react in the same way.

I turned my face away from Knox and looked over at Edward's face. He turned to look at me. His eyes were shimmering with the sunlight that was flowing through the window. It made me think of the forest with the golden sun behind it. He reached over and took my hand in his. He brought it to his mouth and kissed the back of it. I smiled at the feel of his lips on my skin and my body tried to move closer to his.

"Tell me a story," I said.

"About what?

"You."

"Those are all horror stories. You don't want to hear them," he told me. The light dancing in his eyes dimmed a bit. It made my stomach ache. I had to make it come back.

"Nothing ever made you even remotely happy?"

"The happiest memory I have after my first foster home is probably the first time I head classical music. I've listened to it ever since. Would you like to hear that story?"

"You listen to classical music?" I was constantly learning to never judge people by their looks around Edward. Outside he was tough and stoic even. Always so cut off and seemingly cool. But on the inside he was one of the most hurt individuals I'd met. He was always making me look at him in a different light.

"Yes, do you?"

"I listen to my favourites."

"What's encompassed into that category?"

"I'll tell you after you tell me your story." He smiled his crocked smile. I couldn't help but smile back. I flipped over onto my back to get comfy. He mimicked my movements.

"Deal. It wasn't really the first time I'd heard classical music but it was the first time I ever actually listened to it. I was twelve and in my second foster home. I was at a street fair. An entire street was blocked off and devoted to the celebration of the beginning of summer. There were tons of shops with huge sales on and little booths where you could get your face painted or an airbrush tattoo. There were demonstrations and lectures going on, and on one end of the street there was an orchestra.

"I was all by myself. Just wandering around and I just stopped in front of the orchestra's performance area to tie my shoe but I was completely stunned by the sound they made. They played Beethoven's fifth symphony. After that I took a seat in one of the fold out chairs set up and listened to them for the rest of the day.

"A single piano was rolled out for the last song of the day and a woman sat down and played Beethoven's Moonlight sonata. After that I started to teach myself how to play the piano. The house I was in at the time had an old piano that was never used and no one minded if it fiddled around with little tunes. In other homes I'd usually find a music store and hangout there enough that the store's owner wouldn't care if I spent the entire day playing on the store's keyboard.

"I just remember the sound that all the string instruments made together. I chilled me to the bone and warmed me up and I had no room left in my body to feel any kind of emotion except absolute wonder. It was like my own personal get-away in other homes. The music kept me sane a lot of the time.

"Now tell me, what are you're favourites?"

"Well you've named one already. Moonlight sonata. There's only a few more. My very favourite is Debussy's Claire De Lune, I absolutely love that piece. Then there's Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky and Four Seasons by Vivaldi. That's about all I can name. There are a few others that I only know by the tune."

"You are truly amazing." His words caught me off guard. I wasn't sure how to respond.

"Umm…" he laughed quietly and lightly at my puzzled state.

"I'm going to leave for now. I told Emmett I'd play some video game with him. I'll call you later to remind you to feed Knox." Then he leaned over so that his face was hovering a few inched over mine. "May I?" he whispered.

"If you don't, I will," I told him. Then we closed the space between our lips and had our first real kiss.

His lips were soft against mine. He didn't try to deepen the kiss and neither did I. We weren't ready for that. We were still testing boundaries. The other person's as well as our own. How much were we willing to put between us? Could we take the pain that inevitably came with being close to someone? There was no doubt that we needed each other, but was what we needed, a relationship like this? This kiss had my mind screaming, YES! to the last two questions.

The kiss left my lips burning when his touch was gone. They craved more. "'Bye," I whispered. I kissed him one more time quickly and then he got up off the bed and started for the bedroom door with a huge smile on his face. I'd made the shimmering light come back to his eyes. I lied on my bed, my heart hammering in my chest, my thoughts swarmed with so my questions I wasn't sure if I'd ever get around to answering them all. I heard the back door close and knew he was gone from the house. It made me frown a little to know he wasn't coming back upstairs to lying down beside me. I took one long breath and let it out slowly to calm myself.

"What the fuck, Bella?" I screamed and flipped over to see Jacob standing in my door way, brow creases, lips pursed.

"It's nice to see you, too, Jake. But could you knock next time? You know, fist against a solid surface. Make up a little rhythm if you want. All the cool kids are doing it. You kind of gave me a heart attack." He didn't say anything back. He just stood in my door way. His body was stiff and he looked extremely upset.

"What the hell was that, Bella?"

"An explanation of what knock-"

"No, that kiss." My eyes widened.

"How did you see that?"

"I saw you two lying in here. I slipped into Alice's room and spied. Who is this guy, Bella?"

"You know who he is. Don't be stupid, Jake."

"Not what I meant. I want to know how much you know him! He looks like bad new to me."

"I know more than you think I know. We need each other."

"Oh, you need each other?" scorn dripped from his words.

"Yes."

"Bella, look what happened to the last person you needed. What if that happens again? We've all been trying to help you through life the last few years and this boy just prances in and makes you feel all better in six days? Do you know how much pain we've gone through, too? This affects everyone."

"W-what? Am I really that much of a burden? I actually affect everyone?" I felt so selfish. I'd never thought about how much I'd been hurting other people. "I'm sorry." I got up from the bed and ran down the stairs. I tripped into the kitchen, grabbed the keys for the Astro and headed outside.

"No, Bella, I didn't mean it like that!" I slid into the driver's seat and slammed and locked the door seconds before Jake got there. I rolled the window down.

"Really, Jake? How did you mean in?" but I didn't give him time to answer. I started the van and pealed out of the driveway. His Rabbit wasn't at my house so it must have been at Emmett's. I turned the opposite way of Emmett's and just drove, as fast as I could.

I didn't cry. I'd had enough with crying. I thought a lot, though. Jake had said one thing in particular that was nagging at me. He was right; I'd only known Edward six days and already we were kissing and telling each other our life stories. It almost seemed absurd. But my mind kept reassuring me. It doesn't matter how long you've known him. You don't feel bad around him. In fact you feel positively great. You don't shy away when he touches you and you never feel threatened around him. He doesn't want you to forget Cory, just feel better about him being gone.

But was he worth upsetting all my friends? Yes, my heart practically sang. Surely they wouldn't be sad that you are happy, said my brain. I felt so stupid for not seeing the pressure I put on them. I was like a time bomb just waiting to go off. And when I did they took the full blow. All my crying and wailing and sobbing and pleading and sleep-talking. All of my days that I'd spent locked in my room wishing I didn't exist. Those days I couldn't find it in me to eat. When I simply gave up on school work. They were always there. Every one of them. Just waiting to try and take some of the tension from my shoulders. They were there. To hold me together, to keep me healthy, to make sure I passed the grade, to make sure I came out of my room. How could Edward fix what they'd barely kept together? It was so unfair and I didn't know how to make it better.

I should just leave them alone. All of them, even Edward. They all had lives. Lives that they couldn't live to the fullest with me dragging them down. Edward would be living with Emmett soon, I wouldn't have to worry about him being hurt or shipped to a new place every other month. They would all do much better without me. I would go home, pack a small bag, hide out in the tree house for now and then tomorrow I'd take the Astro to Port Angeles and fly out to Seattle. From there I'd get a small apartment, a job and I'd be out of everyone's hair. I had a bunch of money saved up for college, but I never actually wanted to go anyway. Hopefully no one was awake early tomorrow morning. I'd have to leave the Astro in the driveway and I didn't want anyone seeing me when I picked it up and left.

I was pretty sure I'd be okay to go home and get a bag of clothes without suspicion. Renee and Charlie and Ali would be looking for me if Jacob had told them I'd just driven off and I wasn't home yet. The sun was close to setting.

I was already unknowingly driving back home. I was two streets from my house without it even registering in my head. I parked in the driveway and kept the keys with me when I was home, and went inside. First I went upstairs and packed a bag of clothes and my wallet. I scanned my room quickly to make sure I didn't have anything I really wanted to take with me. A piece of paper taped to Knox's bowl caught my eye and I went over to see what it was. It was a note and I knew who it was from by the hand writing. It read:

Feed Knox.

Don't do anything rash.

Alice is in hysterics and Emmett looks like he's going to kill Jacob.

Plus I need someone to help me stay off the smokes. Four days now, by the way.

See you soon,

Edward

I quickly sprinkled a few flakes of fish food into the tank and watched Knox circle below it and then attack it. I think he had some kind of shark complex. I'd miss him quite a bit.

It hurt to know I probably wouldn't see Edward for a long time. It made my heart ache. But I knew being here with everyone would give him strength. They always gave me strength. I knew he could quit without me. He'd already told me that once he made a decision he carried through with it. He didn't need my help. He'd be better off without me there to breakdown on him over and over again.

I went down to the kitchen and grabbed an apple and wrote a note.

I'm sorry I've hurt everyone. I didn't mean to. I hope you can all see that.

Love you all, so much. I'll call you soon.

Love,

Bella

And then as an after thought I put:

P.S. Congratulations on four days, Edward. The first two weeks are the hardest. You can pull through. Don't worry; I know you can do it. Don't forget to feed Knox.

Then I left the note on the kitchen table, took the emergency flashlight from a cupboard and made my way across the road to the forest. The sun was still mostly up but under the tree cover it was already gloomy. I flicked on the flashlight and followed its beam of light to the wooden slat ladder. I climbed up and hoisted myself into the tree house. With just me inside I could curl up and still have a fair bit of room. The pillow and blanket was still up there so I laid them out and fell asleep without any trouble at all.