As many of you have patiently been waiting for this story...I hope to not disappoint you with how it turned out.

Much gratitude to Frannie for hosting the Song to Story contest which brought One Look to life, and for being an amazing beta.

I ran away like a coward.

I ran away, knowing exactly what I was leaving behind.

I ran away despite the undeniable pull dragging me back to Forks.

If I stopped for even a fraction of a second, I'd succumb to my most selfish desires.

Bella didn't need me around, preventing her from living her beautiful human life. It might take a while before she forgot me, but when that happened, she'd realize I wasn't good for her.

We were so different.

She was the most precious and beautiful person I'd ever encountered. She'd always live in my heart because she was my heart now. I would never get over the pain I'd caused myself, but she would.

Alice had made sure to show me time and time again what would happen to Bella if I left. The image of her ashen face and the shell of who she was, broke my heart in a million pieces. I hoped her feeble human memory would forget me eventually, that she'd get over me. I relied on that fact.

My feet carried me to the Port Angeles harbor. I was about to dive into the ocean and swim to the other end of the world when I heard a voice. At first, I wasn't sure why it sounded familiar, but the viler thoughts it conjured, the clearer it became why I knew it.

I growled loudly. It seemed as though Carlisle hadn't dealt with all the low-lives who'd dared to corner Bella last spring as he had promised.

I was running in the direction of the voice I could hear clearly from several blocks away. He was alone tonight, and he had a young girl trapped against the wall of a building.

He didn't even know what happened to him as I pushed him away from the frightened girl, slamming his back against the fourth floor of the brick building behind him. I held him by the throat, glaring into his large eyes. I had no trouble keeping my balance on a metal rod protruding from the building. Adrenaline spiked in his blood as he struggled furtively.

"Remember me?" I snarled, tightening my hold on his neck. He was growing blue, which meant I was crushing his windpipe. I didn't once think of Carlisle and how disappointed he might be in me.

I brought us back to the alley – now empty. This scum's victim had run as soon as she'd been away from his claws.

I slammed his head to the asphalt, his scent exploding in the air when his skull cracked. I pushed his chin up, then lowered my mouth over his throat. My teeth sank into his butter-soft skin, and the familiar soothing feeling of being sated again, after decades of animal blood, enveloped me.

The idiot still struggled, gurgling for help. His terror made his blood taste even more delicious.

Only when he was drained, and I took a step back, did I realize I'd crossed a threshold of never going back to Carlisle's ways. There was no way I was ever going to return to his family, anyway. My plan had been to run as far away from Forks as I could, and only when and if I gained control over my heartache, I might seek my family, whom I'd disappointed once again.

Now, the choice was simple. I was destined to a life of solitude, drinking my sorrow away, by saving helpless women who might find themselves in Bella's position.

This was how I would find my redemption.

The chapters will be longer, I promise. This is the introduction to Edward's life after leaving Bella on her birthday.

Updates: every Wednesday.

Thoughts? I'd love to hear your opinion.