I woke up in my bed. It seemed like a million years ago since I was last here, but it had only really been nine days. I had missed a week of school, and now I was back. I couldn't have told you what the rumors were like, mostly because I didn't know yet. I had gotten in late last night, and, as with my previous return to Fork, Charlie didn't have much to say.

"Grounded?" I had asked.

"Yep," he had said.

"How long?" I asked.

"Until I think you learned your lesson," he said.

"Yes, sir," I said.

I hadn't said anything more for most of the ride home.

"They found your truck at the bus station," he said after many miles.

"Oh," I said, trying to hide my surprise. "Did I have to pay to get it out of impound?"

He gave me a don't-be-silly-this-isn't-the-big-city look.

"It is at home," he said.

"Good," I said, relieved. "That's good."

Just as we were pulling into the outskirts of town, he spoke up again.

"You remember anything about what happened?" he asked.

"No," I said. "I was at Mom's. Got in with the spare key. I was there for a few days, trying to figure out what to do. I mean, what I did was sort of extreme, and once I calmed down, I was just scared that you and mom would be really mad. I went to the library downtown and that is about the last thing I remember."

"Did anyone see you?" he asked.

I looked at him, "Yeah, dad. Lots of people."

"No," he said. "I mean, did you see any of your friends while you were there? Anyone you know?"

"Not that I know of," I said. "Why?"

He frowned.

"I heard a weird report, is all," he said. "Apparently there was a shooting at a hotel nearby. They checked the security cameras and didn't see anything. It happened in a blind spot and they only just got a few shots of the people involved."

"That's too bad," I said, slowly, confusedly. "Who died?"

He frowned, "No one. That's the weird part."

"What is?" I asked.

"They found enough blood that there should have been a body," he said. "But it didn't turn up. Weirder still, none of the blood was human."

I frowned at him, "What do you mean, not human?"

He shrugged, "From what I understand, it was a lot of different species, all mixed together. They identified bear, cougar, and deer. But witnesses say it came out of a person, a pretty lethal chest wound."

"I see," I said. "Why is this important?"

"I don't like it," he said. "First Mike, then you, and now this. Something stinks and I can't put my finger on what it is."

I had left Charlie alone as much as I could after that. I had eaten dinner and showered, changed my clothes and my bandage, and went to bed.

The Cullens had helped my alibi immensely. My bag had showed up at my mother's place. My bed looked like it had been slept in, dirty clothes in the hamper, food and leftovers in the fridge. I had opened my bag and found the note in the first pair of socks I went to put on.

Bella,

You went downtown to the library. The rest is up to you. I will miss you.

Alice

It had nearly broken my heart all over again. Somehow, I hadn't imagined that they would all be going. I wasn't sure what I had expected. I had been too scared to ask Charlie, and he didn't say anything about the Cullens.

I shook off sleep and got up. My routine for school felt oddly familiar, yet also nostalgic. I did everything I normally did, right up until I walked out of the house. Not silver volvo waiting for me; just my truck, roaring to life in its usual way. I drove to school.

I was halfway across the parking lot, digging in my bag to make sure that I had everything, again, when I heard the thwap thwap thwap of oncoming footfalls. I looked up, just in time to see Jess storming right at me, the fiercest look I had ever seen on her face, tears in her eyes.

"Jess!" I backpedaled, "I-"

She caught me up in a hug that nearly took us both down. It was so tight, I had trouble breathing for a moment.

"Never," she whispered. "Never, never, never, ever do that to me again. Ever."

I hugged her back, my bag nearly falling off.

"I'm so sorry, Jessica," she said.

She pulled back, tears falling in streams down her cheeks.

"You scared me," she said. "Jeez, I don't know what I would do without you."

I dug out a pack of tissues and handed them over. She wiped her face.

"I won't," I said, "believe me. I am done with the theatrics."

She laughed.

"What?" I asked a bit defensively.

"I know you, Just Bella," she said. "You don't do things by half. Just take your relationship with Edward."

Her face fell. I wasn't sure why until I realized that mine had fallen first.

"No!" she said. "Then the rumors are true!"

"What rumors? I asked.

"That Doctor Cullen got a fellowship as some amazing hospital in some third world country, and that the Cullens are leaving."

I swallowed, touching the bandage on my neck.

"I don't know about all that, but yeah," I said. "The Cullens are leaving."

"But," she said, looking just as teary as before, "what about you and Edward?"

I felt my lip tremble.

"NO!" she cried, hugging me again. "Oh, Bella! I am so sorry!"

She pulled back, "Wait, is that why you left, why they haven't been in school all week?"

I didn't say anything. I didn't have to.

"You are entirely forgiven," she said. "I mean, I am very angry at you for disappearing at the hospital like that, but Mike getting stabbed and then that… I can see why you bailed."

I started walking to class. She looped her arm through mine.

"I missed you, Just Bella," she said, laying her head on my shoulder.

"We match," a voice said.

I looked up, and Mike was standing there. He looks paler, like he had been recovering from a long illness. Something about his face looked more mature somehow, like his illusion of safety was somewhat diminished. Just then, I caught the bandage on his neck too.

"Huh," I said, looking at his. "Yours is bigger."

"That's what she said," said Tyler, as though coming out of nowhere. "Hey there, Just Bella. I heard you were single."

"Oh, my, god! Tyler!" said Jessica harshly. "If you are trying to pick up my best friend on the rebound after the week we both just had, I'm sending you back to the hospital."

Tyler raised his hands, "I was just-"

"Just be elsewhere!" demanded Jessica. "Am-Scray!"

Sufficiently cowed, Tyler meandered off, Mike not far behind. We were nearing the buildings when Angela appeared, Ben not far behind. She smiled and hugged me and welcomed me back before returning to him and going her own way. I was so grateful to my friends.

Classes were what I expected. My teachers had loads of work for me to make up, and only Mr. Mason welcomed me back. Jess was my shadow, hanging with me as much as ever. I managed not to start crying in our usual bathroom meetup between second and third, but it was a close thing. When we got to the cafeteria and their table was empty, I just about lost it.

"He's really gone," I whispered.

I had been holding onto hope that he wouldn't listen. I was holding on to the idea that he didn't want to give up, that he would stay and fight for me, fight through everything, that I was worth risking and failing for again. I was wrong.

Jess hugged me. She took me through the line and we got our food. She got out first and was back after setting down her tray to lead me to our table, so much so that I could have closed my eyes if I wanted. I kept my eyes away from their empty table, and the empty table that had been ours. I ate in silence with Angela close and Jess closer. The group was rambunctious and happy and just normal. It was distracting and equal parts gut wrenching and exactly what I needed. When lunch was over, Mike took me to Biology.

"What do you remember?" he asked. I knew what he meant.

"Not much," I said.

I wasn't about to ask, but he spoke up anyway.

"It was rough," he said. "I just remember looking for you two, hoping that the girl talk would end soon so I could see Jess again. I know it sounds stupid to miss her while she went to the bathroom, but yeah, I did. Someone grabbed me from behind. It was so strong."

"The grab?" I asked, confused. He didn't clarify.

"I have never felt so helpless, so powerless in my life," he said. "I just knew one thing."

He put a hand on my shoulder. We both stopped walking.

"I knew what was important to me," he said. "Jessica. You. My friends. My parents. Everyone who cares about me. All of you, you helped me do everything I could to fight, to stay. It helped. It helped a lot."

He gave me a brief, very heartfelt and utterly unromantic hug. When he pulled back, he looked at me.

"You're my friend," he said. "If you ever need to talk, about anything, I can listen. I may not be great at it, but I can learn."

I nodded, "Thanks, Mike."

"I think I am going to go by Micheal now," he said.

"Okay, Michael," I said. There was a beat of silence, and we both started snickering.

"No," he said. "I think I will always be Mike."

We went to Biology. Mike stood by me for the beat of misery as I beheld the empty chair beside my usual one. He offered to switch partners, and I said no. I could endure this. I would have to endure it and more. He was still my partner in Gym, and for that, I was grateful.

I got home and started doing a week's worth of schoolwork. I had finished all of English and most of Government when I went down and started dinner. Charlie got home just as I was finishing up.

"Hey, Bells," he said, walking into the kitchen. "I got some news today."

I knew what was coming and didn't look at him.

"I'm… sorry, Bella," he said. "We don't have to talk about it. I know… it can be hard… being left… anyway. I-"

I hugged my dad. I hugged him hard. It was everything I could do not to cry. But then, he reached up and held me and stroked my hair. He didn't say anything. He was just there and solid and my Dad and he held me. The tears came, quiet and fast. When I was done, he let me go and said nothing else about it. I cleaned up and put dinner on the table and we ate in companionable silence. He told me he would get the dishes and good night. I went up to my room, somehow feeling happier and the more miserable than I ever had while in Forks.

I finished Government, showered and was about to go to bed when there was a knock at my window. I nearly swallowed my tongue, but without a thought, I opened it. Alice slipped silently into my room.

"Please keep your voice down," she said.

I wanted to hug her, desperately, but I was not going to try and have her reject me. My heart could take that just now.

"Why are you here?" I asked.

She nodded, "I knew it. I knew it would be like this."

I frowned, "You knew? Knew what?"

She shook her head.

"I knew that Edward would catch up with us," she said. "I knew that there were only three ways this could go. I knew it. One, we would get you on that plane. He is a terrible tracker, and he wouldn't have found you, not before we could have finally brought him down. Two, he would have gotten to you and killed you, which was one of the more likely scenarios. And three, you would have gotten through to him."

She shook her head, "And yet, you two managed to beat all the odds and do the worst of the latter two. I wasn't ready for that. I had done all I could. I sent a message to the rest of our family after he had left Forks, letting them know to come to Phoenix, but stay on the outskirts of town, ready to come when I messaged them. And they did. They were moments away when he fed from you. Had you stalled just a bit longer, they might have gotten there before he took blood from you. But, had you waited too long, he would have killed you directly once he knew that he might lose his chance."

She looked at me, saw the horror and misery this discussion was inspiring in me, and gave me a stern look.

"You need to hear this, Bella," she said. "You need to know it all, good and bad."

I shut up.

"Edward," she said, and sighed. "I am breaking the rules, being here. He said we were to have nothing to do with you again, but he doesn't dictate my actions. I knew you would need this."

"Need what?" I asked.

"Closure," she said. She took my hand.

"Ask," she said.

I swallowed, "What will happen to Edward?"

She smiled grimly, "That isn't any of your business anymore."

She said it easily and simply, without malice or rebuke. She just said it.

"And me?" I asked.

She closed her eyes and looked.

"Your future," she said, "is as undecided as you. You are free to choose whatever life you want. Not every future is open to you, but many are possible."

"Will…" I asked, but girded my loins, "will he and I…"

She shrugged.

"He hasn't made the decision yet," she said. "Until he does, I won't know. And when he does, I don't know what choice you will make."

"Will I…" I asked, trying to get the words out, "…move on?"

Alice gave me an encouraging look that I had no idea how to feel about.

"Do you want to?" she asked.

I thought about it.

"I don't know," I said.

She just smiled and didn't say anything, giving me the space to continue, should I choose.

"I want the life I thought I was getting when I first got together with Edward," I said. "But I won't, ever. That isn't me moping or feeling dramatically bereft; even if he came back right now, said everything I could want him to say, that he is sorry, that he learned the error of his ways, that he had changed, and did, not just said but did, everything I required of him to know that he had really changed and he was ready to try again, it wouldn't be anything like I imagine it. He proved that, even before he decided to try and kill me."

I blinked. Something new had occurred to me.

"He didn't apologize," I said, awed.

Alice smiled, "I thought you were done with apologies."

"Yes," I agreed, "but he didn't own it. He didn't take responsibility for it. He was still acting like what happened was bad luck or a divine sign that he truly was a monster. He refused to see, and I say this without blame, the fault lies with him."

She hugged me. It felt like she was squeezing my heart, exclusively.

"Finally!" she said. "Thank you. At least you see that."

I looked into her face as she pulled back.

"He doesn't?" I asked.

She shook her head, "He is being a right jerk about it. He is pretty much wallowing in the most unhelpful way."

"Unhelpful?" I asked, urging for more.

She sighed, "He isn't doing anything. He isn't moving forward. He isn't looking to learn or to grow or to get better. He is stayed, stilled, stuck in the belief that he is a soulless, worthless, unerring monster who will always destroy that which he cares for the most. If he doesn't shape up soon, Carlisle is going to kick him out."

I looked horrified, and she laughed.

"He needs to change," she said, "not to benefit us, but himself. He will never be happy if he stays as he is. If he can't learn from the support of his family, he will have to figure it out for himself, with the harsher and more painful world as his teacher."

I understood.

"What about me?" I asked. "What do I need to do? To be ready. Not just if he comes back, but if I… if someone else might…"

She smiled at me, a real and deep and genuine smile.

"I adore you, Bella," she said. "If we are never sisters, I will consider it one of the worst, if not the worst, tragedy of my life and never forgive Edward his foolishness."

She took my hands.

"Live," she said. "Don't become stuck, as Edward is. Take heart in the fact that this is just a day, one of many. Happier times will come again for you, as soon as you are ready to receive them. What happened will only hurt and hold you back as long as you are getting something from the pain and inactivity. Let go as soon as you are ready, and not before, and do not stay overly long in grief, even if it means risking getting hurt again."

I understood that too.

Edward, who's name I had been avoiding even thinking, was now in my past. He may never be anything to me again but my past. I loved him, but moving on didn't mean I loved him less or that my love was a lie. It just meant that I was moving on. I deserved to be happy. So did he.

"I hope he figures it out soon," I said. "For his own sake."

Alice nodded, "Me too."

I hugged her again.

"The heck with Edward," I said. "You are my sister. No matter what."

"Stop it!" she gushed. "You are going to make me wish that I could cry."

I looked at her as we pulled back without breaking the embrace.

"Vampires can't cry?" I asked.

She laughed quietly, "We can. It is just less frequent than you humans, and it's messy. It is something we are lucky if we do every hundred years or so."

I smiled and took Alice's hands.

"Will you visit?" I asked. "You don't need to tell me about him or anything. I just… I am going to miss you."

She beamed, "I will, if I can and should."

I nodded.

"Maybe we will take a trip over the summer," she said. "I haven't been to Europe in a spell. Or Asia. Hmmm. We will have to see how things play out from here."

I nodded again. She moved to the window.

"I love you, Alice," I said. "Good luck."

She smiled over her shoulder.

"You too, Bella," she said in parting. "Live the fearless and regretless life I know you are capable of. Be happy."

And with a whisper of movement, she was gone.

I stood in my room, staring at the open window. My life and relationship with Edward had been something entirely new. I had been a creature of unbridledly day before coming to Forks. Edward, a creature of undeniable night, had met me. Together, we had had our own little twilight, where day and night met. It could have gone either way; I could have gone either way. I could have gone back to day, or creeped deeper into night.

I closed the window.

Nodding once, I went to bed. I had one dream that night. It was a farewell.