A/N Hi, guys! Here is the next chapter and for those calling me an SOB you need these chapters and this time apart so I can have my HEA! I would never keep them apart for too long! Anywho, please read and review!

BPOV

I had been back in Forks for a week now, and it had been the longest of my life. Every day I thought about Edward and my friends. I wondered if he missed me, or if he hated me. I wouldn't blame him if he did.

It had been the hardest moment of my life, to walk away from him. But I couldn't see a way to stay. Jacob was awake and asking for me. How could I stay and be that selfish when Jacob was awake, scared, confused, and asking for me? How I could leave Edward? I loved him more than anything. How could I have just walked away?

For a week, I had thought about nothing but that day, and how in a perfect world, I would have been able to stay with Edward. But that would mean wishing for Jacob to sleep through his entire life.

I was so confused. And I was miserable. I hadn't been sleeping or eating properly. I spent most of my time at the hospital with Jacob and it took everything I had not to run back to Utah and beg Edward to forgive me for leaving him.

When I had come home, Charlie had warned me not to tell Jacob about my 'fling' with Edward. That the doctors had told them that any stress could damage his recovery. I had to agree with that.

He had lost a great deal of weight and his muscles had atrophied from disuse. He seemed like a shadow of his former self. Jacob had always been loud and opinionated, but sometimes, he could be so sweet and gentle, you wouldn't have guessed that he could be the same guy.

Now, he was quiet and solemn and no one could have blamed him if he had been angry at the world and its mother, but I'd never seen any anger in him…frustration, but never anger.

He had woken up believing that he had just had the car accident, and had cried when he'd been told that he'd lost so much time.

I had spent a week at the hospital with Jacob all day, and then going to my old house at night, only to stare up at the ceiling and wish I was home. Charlie would notice sometimes, and scold me for my selfishness. Jacob needed me and I was thinking about another man. I had to agree with him there. I was disappointing my dad again. Would I ever be able to make him proud of me? I was a monster. I'd betrayed Jacob by loving another man. And I'd betrayed Edward by leaving. My poor Edward, who already had trust issues when it came to love, but had let me in anyway.

I was at home, Billy was with Jacob, and had just got out of the shower when I ran into Angela in the hallway.

Angela had been one of my only friends in Forks and I'd kept touch with her over the years.

"You scared me," I scowled at her, clutching my hand to my chest.

"What's going on with you?" Angela asked bluntly, her hazel eyes filled with concern.

"What do you mean?" I hedged.

Angela scoffed. "Don't play dumb with me," she warned as she followed me into my bedroom. "I know you. Something's happened. I thought you would be happy that Jacob was awake."

"I am!" I insisted, horrified that she'd think different, and ashamed that I must be acting otherwise.

She rolled her eyes as I sat on the bed, drying my hair with a towel.

Angela turned around to give me privacy so I could pull on my thick bathrobe. "I know you're happy that he's awake, but you're not happy." She added quietly after I'd told her she could turn around.

I bit my lip, trying to hold back tears that always seemed to be at the surface.

Angela pulled me on to my bed, the bed where we had spent so many years gossiping and dreaming of the future. She looked into my eyes for a moment. "It's a guy." She stated with confidence. Sometimes she reminded me of Alice when she talked like that.

Unable to lie to my childhood friend, I nodded my head.

"How did this happen?" She demanded.

I took a deep breath and sank back onto my pillow. "I met him when we moved to Utah. He lived next door." I explained with a smile, feeling better just by talking about Edward. "I couldn't stand him at first, he was such a player. Then we became friends and like some clichéd teen movie, we fell in love."

"You love him?" She murmured.

I nodded. "I always knew I would. From the moment that I saw him, something shifted. Like my heart knew from that very first glance."

Angela was quiet for a long time before she demanded. "Then why the hell are you here?"

I just sighed. "How can I leave him? He's been through so much without me adding that while he was in a coma, I was out living my life and falling in love."

"Bella, Jake was in the coma. Not you. What were you supposed to do? Watch your life go by? You were eighteen. Bella, if this guy makes you happy, then hold onto him. True love is hard, but it must be fought for."

I frowned at her. "Did you honestly quote Prince James?"

"Yes," she answered. "It's true Bella. Love is too rare, and too important to just throw away."

I felt my eyes fill with tears. "I miss him, so much." I admitted.

"Tell me about him," She encouraged.

And I did. I told her everything about him, the good times, and the bad times. How he made me feel when he looked at me, when he held me in his arms. How he me laugh and was sexy as hell behind that bar.

Angela never interrupted, she just watched me with a smile on her face. "You can't do this, Bella. You have to go back to him. You're happy there."

"I know, but how can I, Angela? How can I leave Jacob when he needs me? How can I let Charlie down, again? I've always let him down. Do you know what that feels like? No matter what I did, I could never get him to approve of me."

Angela rolled her eyes. "Charlie is a dick. He's always made you feel like shit, and he knows it. He uses it against you. Don't act this way, Bella. Don't listen to this music, or watch these movies, or read those books. It's always going to be something with him, Bella. He's a prick, who wants to control you because he could never control your mother. When are you going to let him stop doing it to you?" She demanded.

I gasped. "I'm not."

"Yes, you are. You love Edward, not Jacob. I get why you want to stay and help him, but you're only hurting yourself and Edward by doing it. You need to stand up for what you want."

I just stared at her. I didn't know what to say to her.

Sighing, she got to her feet. "I have to go and meet Ben. I hope you realize that it's them who've always the problem, Bella. Not you. And I hope you figure it out soon."

And then she left.

I sat out on the porch swing, later that night looking up at the night sky. It was around three in the morning, but, yet again, I couldn't sleep. When I would finally fall asleep I would have the same nightmare that I'd had been having since I left.

The six of us were on the lake, laughing and joking, Edward looking more amazing than ever, the sun shining in the background. Then suddenly, the sun disappeared, and my friends were gone. And so was Edward. And I was all alone.

I looked at those stars and begged them for answers. It reminded me of this song I liked. Well, the chorus, anyway. Airplane by ., featuring Hayley Williams.

If I could wish anything, it would be for a pair of ruby slippers so I could go back home. I sighed. I had to stop thinking of Jenkins as home. This was my home. This is where I belonged.

The tiny part of me, the part I so was desperately trying to keep hidden away asked me, if you belong here so much, why are you miserable?

I jumped when my phone started blaring away. Who would be calling at three in the morning?!
I froze, phone in hand, when I recognised the ringtone. I shouldn't answer. No, I should just turn off my phone, go inside, and try to go to sleep. Yes, that's what you should do, said my little voice, but not what you're going to. Answer the damn phone.

I couldn't ignore it. I didn't want to. So, with a deep breath, I answered. "Edward." I whispered, tears already filling my eyes.

"Do you remember the first time we kissed?" He asked. No greeting, just straight to the point.

I closed my eyes as I let the sound of his voice flow through me. Deep and husky, reminding me of candle light and silk sheets, reminding me of his touch, his smile, his laugh.

I smiled slightly. "Yeah."

"It was in front of everyone. I had just finished that song. God, I was so nervous." He chuckled.

I frowned. "That wasn't the first time we kissed." I objected. The fact that he couldn't remember held the tears back.

"I know." He told me and I could hear the smile in his voice. "But, that time you pulled away. I count that night as the first time we kissed."

"Oh." I replied, unsure of what to say next.

"I watched this film yesterday and, I knew you'd like it. It was something about a girl getting married, but the guys an ass, and she ends up going back to her ex-husband because he's the one who loves her and knows her better than anybody." I flinched, wondering if he was actually talking about us. "And I wanted to call you. I know you say you don't like cheesy movies, but I know you do."

"You were going to call me?" I asked quietly, ridiculously happy because of it.

"I pick up the phone to call you about twenty times a day. Whenever I hear something or see something, I reach for my phone and then, as I'm dialling, I remember."

His voice sounded so bleak, so lonely. Yet, I knew him well enough to know his eyes would be filled with tears. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to stop the flow of my own tears.

"I do, too." I admitted.

"Yeah?" He asked sounding a little better.

"Yeah. I was in my car, and this song came on, and I couldn't think of the name and I thought, 'Edward would know', and I already had my phone out before I realised."

"Bella," he whispered.

"I miss you." I blurted out and immediately hated myself for it. I was the one doing this. I had no right to tell him that.

"You know what I regret, Bella?" He asked.

I froze, scared of what he would say. "What?" I asked quietly.

"I regret letting you go. I regret not tying you to my bed and telling the rest of the world that they can go to hell."

My breath hitched and I fought desperately to stop the tears before he realised. The last thing I wanted was him knowing he had made me cry.

"Baby, please don't cry." I smiled slightly then. He was Edward. Of course he would know.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered. "I miss you so much." The lump in the back of my throat refused to leave no matter how many times I swallowed.

"Then come back to me." He told me simply, quietly, yet hopelessly.

It ripped my heart out. That was all I wanted to do. Run back there if I had to. "I can't. He's already been through so much. He's lost so much. How can I tell him I love someone else?" I asked and this time, I was the one who sounded hopeless. It ripped my heart out to say those words to him, to deny him anything.

"I know." He told me. "I guess if you were the type of girl to leave someone who needed you, you wouldn't be the girl I love."

That didn't make me feel better. By staying with Jacob, I was hurting Edward. That went against the grain.

"I love you, Bella. I always will." He said with feeling.

"I love you, too…forever." With that, the line went dead and my heart, if it was possible, shattered even more.

I looked back up at the sky, waiting for my shooting star. Letting the tears come. Letting myself be overwhelmed with the pain, the grief, and even the anger at why fate, or whoever the hell was up there, let me meet my soulmate, knowing I would have to leave him.

I felt lost and confused. If my heart was with someone else, why was I here? Why was I doing this to Edward and myself? Why not pack my things, book a taxi and be on the first flight back to Utah? I just wanted Edward and the girls and my friends. I wanted to wake up tomorrow, be in my room, and turn over to see Edward lying there asleep. I wanted to walk down the stairs and see everyone around the table. Rosalie, holding a cup of hot coffee, Jasper, too. Both of them scowling at Alice and Emmett as they bickered over who gets the last pancake. Alice getting her way, and Emmett sulking for the next hour. Me and Edward just sitting there, watching the chaos around us. Smiling at each other, knowing not one of us would want it any other way.

I actually stood up; the need to be with them was so strong, before I remembered the answer to all of those questions.

Jacob.

He loved me and he had just woken up from being in a coma. I had watched films and read books about someone waking up and finding out that the person they loved had moved on. I promised that it wouldn't happen to Jacob. So, though everything in me screamed in protest, I knew I couldn't leave. I couldn't be so selfish. I had been selfish by falling in love with Edward and breaking his heart. I had to think about someone else. I had to do what was right for Jacob. He had already lost so much. It would kill him to lose his fiancé, too.

With that, I sat back down and let myself go numb. I just didn't want feel anything anymore

APOV

Rosalie and I sat on the couch, watching as Jazz and Emmett paced our living room. They reminded me of caged animals. The past week had been difficult for all of us. Edward was a wreck, we were sad over Bella's abrupt departure, and the guys felt helpless. Their best friend was a shadow of himself, barely talking or eating anymore.

"Why? Why did she do this?" Emmett growled.

"You know why." I told them softly, leaning my head against Rosalie's shoulder, feeling tired suddenly.

"Is this how she gets her kicks or something? Make Edward fall for her, let him open up his heart, finally, and then leave without a second glance?!" Jazz demanded, Emmett nodding his head in agreement.
It seems they had decided to take out their frustrations on Bella. Which, of course, we would never stand for.

We jumped up, glaring at the loves of our lives.

"I would shut up before you say something you can't take back." Rosalie warned them. She didn't raise her voice, but the ice in her tone had the effect of a whip, making both of them flinch.

Emmett sighed. "I know, I know. I love Bella, you know I do. We both do. But, we just feel so helpless." He raised his arms and then dropped them back to his sides, in defeat.

Jazz sat down and rubbed his hands over his face. "I can't stand seeing him like this anymore." His voice was barely above a whisper and I was instantly at his side, wrapping my arms around him.

"I know you don't understand, but you have to see it from her side. She truly believes that Jacob loves her. It's like they brainwashed her or something. Although, she never felt the same about him, she loves him as a friend, but nothing more, she never has. You can't imagine the guilt she feels over it. The guilt she felt when they blamed his accident on her because he was on his way to visit her at school. She only accepted his proposal in the first place because she thought she could force herself to love him. Force herself to want to be with him. I know she loves Edward. But, she just can't bring herself to hurt Jacob, even if he does deserve it." Rosalie explained, rubbing Emmett's back, trying to get him to calm down. It worked and he wrapped his arm around her, pressing his face into her golden hair.

"She has to come back. She has just has to." Emmett murmured into Rosalie's hair.

I met Rosalie's gaze, looking into her big blue eyes, knowing what she was thinking. "She will. She'll find her way home." She promised.

BPOV

We were in the lake, the sun shining brightly and I'd never seen a sky so blue. Emmett and Rosalie were over in that rust-bucket boat teasing each other, while Alice and Jasper were laughing in their own boat on the opposite side of the lake.

Edward and I lay on the bottom of our boat, looking up at the sky and holding each other in our arms. The sun made his eyes sparkle, and his bronze hair shine.

He leans over and kisses me with a passion I had all but forgotten. "I love you, Bella. Come back to me," He whispered.

With those words, the sky turned dark and I felt so cold. A clap of thunder sounded and I shot up. I looked up at the dark sky and then glanced at the others. They were gone.

"Alice? Rosalie?" I called out, afraid. "Emmett? Jasper?" Silence was my only response.

My eyes searched the water. It was untouched.

"Edward, where are they? I can't find them!" My heart was frantic as I searched the water for them, again. Hard rain started to fall, drenching me.

"Edward, they're-" I turned to him, only to find no one there, "gone," I whispered.

They were all gone and I was alone.

I sat up with a jolt in my bed. Sweat pouring out of me. I'd had this dream before, but never that vivid.

"They're gone," I whispered.