Hello everyone! I hope you are all enjoying your summer thus far, I know I am. Thank you to all of you that reviewed my last chapter. I really, really, really appreciate it! Enjoy!

Disclaimer:

Me: I do own Twilight.

Edward: You do not.

Me: Oh shut up Edward! You're just grumpy because I took you away from Bella.

Edward: True. So can you please just do the disclaimer already? The sooner you do that the sooner I can get back to Bella.

Me: (Sighs in defeat) Fine, I do not own Twilight. There. Are you happy now?

Edward: Tremendously. (Flashes his dazzling crooked smile)

EPOV

I looked at my beloved Bella one last time. It was almost as if her eyes were trying to communicate one final message to me. I discarded the notion quickly. It was obvious that Bella had moved on. Our journey together had ended as quickly as it had begun.

I swiftly exited her house in one quick movement. There was no need to linger. She was with Jacob now, I had to accept that.

As I walked home I couldn't help but wonder why Bella had suddenly changed her mind. It had been only days earlier that she had professed her true feelings for me. It had been apparent then that I was all she wanted. How is it possible that you could be so in love, but in one split second completely change your mind?

My feelings of course had not changed. Deep down inside of me I feared they would never change. My heart was broken and I could never begin to repair it.

"Edward," Alice screamed as she ran out of our house. She looked around quickly with a confused expression. Where is Bella, she thought. I thought you were going to bring her home. I smiled meagerly. It was the best I could do.

"She did not want to come home with me Alice," I explained numbly. "She chose an alternate plan. She wishes to be with someone else, someone who is not me." My sister shook her head in pure disbelief.

"No," she disagreed. "No, Edward this cannot be true. I saw her…"

"You must remember that your visions are subjective Alice," I said pushing past her. "Bella has decided to live a different life. This life does not include us and we must respect that."

"She is lying," Alice said in attempting to peer into the future. "She has made no decision. If she did then I could see the result of her choice. Right now I see nothing Edward. She had made no choice at all." I could see that I pained Alice to even consider that Bella had changed her mind.

"She has made her decision Alice," I said with a harsh tone. My anger was beginning to seep through and I feared that I could not control it.

I had made such a fool of myself. I had somehow convinced everyone including me that Bella would be more than happy to become a part of this family. It turned out that only did she not wish to be with me, she also desired to be with my enemy.

"Edward you cannot give up," my sister protested. "I know that Bella was lying. I'm asking you to believe me." A fire began to blaze inside me. I pounded my fist against one of the many trees' that surrounded our home. It split into two before descending to the ground.

"She wants to be with someone else," I shouted.

"Who else is there," she questioned me. "I have been watching her future Edward. As far as I know she has only ever wanted you." I placed my nose between the bridges of my finger and shook my head continuously.

"Jacob Black," I said between clenched teeth. "That is who she wants Alice. Not me, not any other man."I began to walk away before turning back to face my stunned sister.

"I will not attempt to philosophize this," I told her. "We must all respect her wishes. It is her life after all."

"I do not believe those are her wishes Edward," Alice said. She grabbed my arm forcing me to face her pleading eyes. "I do not know why or even how this happened, but I do know how Bella truly feels. I am asking you to trust me Edward. Go back; do not allow her to know of your presence. I can assure you that if she does not know you are there the truth will be discovered." I considered her words for a few moments before my entire body erupted with anger.

"No," I shouted. "I will not to that. You will not do that either. Alice you are not to disrupt her future in any way. From this point on you are to avoid using your gift when it comes to Bella. She has made her choice so now let her live her life!"

I walked somberly into the household. Carlisle and Esme were standing by the doorway with omniscient expressions across their perfect faces. I turned away from them quickly and walked towards my room.

Once I arrived I began to throw all of my belongings into empty boxes. I would leave for Italy tonight whether I was alone or accompanied. I could no longer bear living in this town.

I decided at that moment that from now on life would be different. I would do everything to move on like I was supposed to. I would leave Bella and I would begin a new life. The only problem was I didn't know how to let her go. She was too much a part of me.

Even when I had not known her, I had dreamt of her. For as long as I could remember she had been a part of me. In the back of my mind I had seen her as an alternate life. She was what could have been if I had not been changed. Bella was my destiny, but it was time to realize that I was not a part of her's.

I packed up the last of my boxes and ordered my first class plane tickets. At 7:45 I would depart from Seattle and Bella would hopefully depart from my heart.

BPOV

Time passes, even when it seems absolutely impossible. It had been three months since I had told Edward goodbye. I had not seen him at school; I had not seen him in town. It was as if he had never even existed.

Jacob had seemed extraordinarily happy lately. He was over at my house every night. Charlie was thrilled by this, I could not have been more miserable. I was being forced to live the life of a slave girl.

To Jacob I was nothing but a meaningless show horse. On the surface we appeared to be the perfect couple. We were always together and we were always smiling and laughing. During the months since Edward disappeared I was able to perfect this charade.

Life as I knew it was over. Edward would move on, of this I was certain. I however would not. The vision of his perfect face would forever linger in my heart.

In my dreams life was more bearable. It was the only place where Edward and I could meet. In my dreams he would hold me. He would tell me once more that he loved me and that he wanted me. It was the only place where we could actually be together without Jacob's knowledge.

"Hey Bells," Charlie said as he walked towards the door. Jacob had just left and I was finally enjoying some peace and quiet. Unfortunately today I could not hide my tears. Lately I had been so angry that whenever I was alone I would cry.

"Hello Charlie," I addressed him as I carried a load of laundry to the washer. "How was your day?" I quickly wiped away my tears and grabbed him a beer from the refrigerator.

"Pretty boring actually," he said as he opened the can. "Thanks." He took a long sip before he spoke again. "Was that Jacob I just saw leaving?"

"Yeah," I said in a monotone. "He was just here for a short visit. He invited me to La Push tonight for some party. I would understand if you would want me to stay home." In my mind I was pleading for him to stop me from going. La Push was always the last place I wanted to be.

Jacob and the rest of the pack were celebrating the departure of the Cullen's, again. They had done this at least five times already. It was so painful having to celebrate the departure of my only love.

"Of course you'll go," Charlie said in a demanding tone. "I would never forbid you from going to La Push, you know that. Besides, you and Jacob are a new couple. I know you hate spending time away from him and I don't blame you. He's a good kid."

Charlie adored Jacob. He thought of him as a son. He also thought of Jacob as the perfect gentlemen. If only Charlie knew the truth. Jacob was always trying to pressure me into doing things I didn't want to do. He also always wanted to be alone with me. I never let our relationship become physical. It had been nearly three months and I still refused to let him kiss me.

"Dad," I said cautiously. "You know, I was thinking. It's been a few months since I've been here and I…I was thinking of going home to visit Mom." Charlie turned away from the TV he had just been watching to stare at me.

"You want to go home," he said in a sullen tone. "But I thought….I thought you were happy here Bells. I mean what about Jacob?" I dug my nails into the washer nearly breaking every one of them. Why did everything always have to be about Jacob? Did I no longer have a life of my own?

"I miss her Charlie," I nearly whispered. "I miss my mother." Charlie placed his hand on the back of his neck and looked away from me. "It's just a visit dad. I'll only stay for a few weeks. It's summer vacation so I don't even have to worry about school."

"Have you talked to Renée about this yet," he asked me. I nodded my head to indicate that I had. "When did you want to leave?"

"As soon as possible," I said as I cleared my throat. "I talked to the airline this morning and they said that I could leave tomorrow morning. I'd arrive at Mom's about five o'clock. She already offered to pick me up."

The truth was I had been planning this for weeks. The last time I talked to my mom she sensed that I was unhappy. She begged me to come home even if it was just for three or four weeks. This time I couldn't resist her offer.

"What about Jacob," my father asked me. "Did you even talk to him about this yet?" Jacob was the only obstacle in my plan. He would not like the fact that I was going alone. But the truth was I was nearly eighteen years old and I did not need my fake boyfriend's permission to go home.

"No," I told him honestly. "But Jake is going to be fine with it."

"And if he's not," Charlie inquired.

"Then he'll have to be," I sneered. I was no longer afraid of what Jacob might do to Edward. By now I was sure that Edward was no longer in Italy which meant he was no longer in danger. He would also never step foot in Forks, he had no reason to.

After I finished the laundry I headed up to my room and began to pack. I continued to do so until seven thirty when Jacob arrived. I heard the door bell ring and slowly made my way downstairs.

"Jake," Charlie said as he answered the door. "It's good to see ya kid."

"You too Charlie," Jacob said as he entered through the doorway. He looked around until he saw me standing on the staircase. He winked at me causing me to flinch.

"Ready to go babe," he asked reaching for me. I nodded once before joining him downstairs. Twenty minutes later I found myself in La Push. I had no idea how I had gotten there. This seemed to be happening to me a lot lately. Days would pass before I had any idea what was going on.

"Are you okay Bella," Emily, Sam's girlfriend, asked me as she sat down beside me.

"I'm fine," I lied. "I'm just a little bit tired. I didn't sleep very well last night." She smiled understandingly before giving my shoulder a little squeeze. I wished I could tell her the truth. It would have been nice to have at least one person know.

I really did like some of the people of La Push. Emily was one of them, though I despised her boyfriend. Sam seemed to controlling to me. He reminded me too much of Jacob.

A few hours later Jacob was sitting beside me with his arm around my shoulders. The bonfire before us was raging. Everyone sitting around it was smiling and laughing, everyone but me that is.

I couldn't help but feel like crying. Everyone that surrounded me was happy and in love. I felt like the third wheel to all the happy couples. I wanted to be with Edward. I wanted him to be the one sitting beside me. I would give anything for only one more moment with him.

"Smile Bella," Jacob said pinching my shoulder. I did as he instructed before excusing myself. Jacob tried to follow me but I told him to stay. Before I knew what I was doing I was running. I had no idea where I was going but I didn't care. For the first time in months I felt free.

Though I couldn't stop falling I continued to run. I ran past the boundary line, I ran past the confines of Forks. It wasn't until I spotted a large white mansion with massive windows that I stopped. The name on the mail box read "The Cullen's".

I gradually made my way to the front door. I peered inside to find that everything was deserted. You could hardly tell that anyone ever lived there. Everything was dark, and quiet. I fell to my knees as the sobs wracked my body.

Ever so slowly I picked myself up and opened the door. I had never been inside the Cullen Mansion. I only ever dreamed of doing so. It surprised me that they had not locked the door but at that moment I did not care.

I walked in and eyed my surroundings. Everything was covered in white linen's. They had not taken their furniture with them either.

I looked up to see the grand staircase. To the left I could see that it veered into a series of rooms. There was only one room that I needed to see. I had to see for myself that he was actually gone.

I quickly climbed the stairs until I found his room. I knew it was Edward's room. His scent still lingered. Everything was left untouched accept for a few shelves. Only one CD was left behind. I gingerly grabbed it in between my hands. It was the only piece of him that I had left.

On his desk sat a blank journal and a pen. As tears continued to cascade down my face, I crossed the room and sat down at his desk. I took the pen in my hand and began to write.

Dear Edward,

By the time you discover this I will already be long gone. I wish I could have told you this myself but that isn't possible. Edward, I did what I did because I love you. I lied to because I love you.

Jacob never meant anything to me. The only reason I became his girlfriend was to save you. Jacob threatened to kill you if I didn't agree to become his.

The day you came to La Push to save me the wolf pack made a plan to kill you. Jacob changed their minds but only for his personal game. He wanted me and only me. So I lied and told you that I didn't want you. Edward, I love you, I have always loved you and will always love you. When I told you I didn't want you, it was the very blackest kind of blasphemy.

It was the hardest thing I have ever done. I knew the people I would lose, the people I would hurt. I wished there was some way that I could be the only way to suffer, but that would be impossible. Edward I love you and I am so sorry. Please forgive me.

I love you,

Bella

I tore the page from the journal and placed it on top of his desk. I then addressed it to him and left the room. Shortly after this I left the Cullen mansion forever.

Through the dark I somehow managed to find my way home. I packed the rest of my things and called a cab to come and take me to the airport. I left a note for Charlie explaining that I was leaving early.

Once I arrived at the airport, I booked my luggage and boarded my plane. Ten hours later I was in Florida where my mother waited for me with open arms.

"Oh Bella," she cried as she held me tightly. "You're home! You're finally home!"

"Yeah," I said weakly. "I guess I am." I had escaped Jacob, at least for a short while.

Yay! We made it to chapter 10! I hope you guys enjoyed it and I hope that you will take five seconds to review! Have a great day and thanks for reading!