Author's note: This chapter has been difficult for me to write. Firstly, because I find it difficult to write from a guy's perspective; secondly, because I wasn't sure I'd manage to get Edward's state of mind right.

Thank you so much for the reviews! Yes, Bella as a doctor… I think she'd make a good doctor. I wanted to make her a teacher first because I'm training to become a teacher myself, but I figured making her a doctor would give me more options.

Just as a reminder: The book and everything in it are property of Stephenie Meyer; I'm only borrowing them.

REUNION

EDWARD

My cell phone was ringing.

Opening my eyes, I slowly turned my head. The sun had set while I'd been lying on the floor, pondering as always, and I hadn't even noticed. It should have worried me, but it didn't.

Reaching for the cell phone, I remembered just in time not to accidentally crush it. I picked it up and glanced at the display. For a split second my eyes refused to relay the information to my brain, then I recognized the name and dropped it. Still ringing, it skidded across the dirty floor.

Why wouldn't they leave me alone?

As if I didn't know. They were worried. Worried I'd finally lost my mind. Worried I'd do something rash. Which, of course, was ridiculous. I'd had plenty of time to think, and I'd told them so.

They wouldn't believe me.

I called them every few months. I didn't want to talk to anyone, but I didn't have a choice. If I stopped calling they'd come after me, and I wasn't ready. Sometimes I wondered if I'd ever be.

We miss you, Esme had said the last time we'd talked, over two months ago.

I smiled bleakly, the phone still ringing.

Not all of them did.

In seven years I'd only spoken to them face to face once. Two years after we'd left Forks Carlisle and Jasper had visited me in Brazil. They'd surprised me and timed their arrival cleverly; I hadn't been able to escape them without drawing too much attention to myself, the last thing I wanted.

They'd only wanted to talk, and so I'd listened. They'd wanted me to consider coming home. They'd pleaded, they'd argued. Well, Carlisle had. Jasper had only come to deliver a message. When I'd seen him by Carlisle's side I'd been surprised. We hadn't talked since her birthday party, and although I'd forgiven him for what he'd almost done our relationship was different now. Only when I'd picked the message – Alice's message – out of his mind I understood. He'd come because she wouldn't.

I still remembered Alice's message. My kind didn't forget. You have torn our family apart, Edward, she'd said, her stern expression painfully clear in Jasper's mind. You're coming back won't change that. You're not welcome here anymore.

Jasper had agreed, not because he thought leaving her had been a mistake, but because in doing so I'd hurt Alice, too. He'd replayed her message over and over again. His way to punish me.

I snorted at the memory.

As if he had to.

They'd left, Carlisle disappointed, Jasper glad. I hadn't seen either of them since.

Finally the phone stopped ringing, and silence fell again. Silence gave me time to think, didn't distract me. That's why I'd chosen to come here. Siberia was sparsely populated; nobody would disturb me. The small stone cottage I'd found and lived in for three years hadn't been inhabited for a very long time.

The perfect place for me. I wanted to be alone.

At first I'd tried. Tried to give my life meaning again, a purpose, and so I'd tracked Victoria. Tried to track Victoria. She was a threat. With us gone, there was nobody to protect her, so I couldn't allow Victoria to ever return to Forks. I'd followed her to South America, but I'd lost her trail and never found it again. She must have gone into the ocean, and there was little change I'd ever find her again.

Again I'd failed. I'd already failed her in so many ways, so it shouldn't have mattered, but it did.

Water trickled down the walls. Drip, drip, drip. Rain had pooled inside the damaged roof, and it was only a matter of time before it would come crashing down. I didn't care. I was only sorry it wouldn't be enough to crush me.

My thoughts were dark, darker than usual. I hadn't fed in some time, and being hungry made me even more depressed. I'd realized a long time ago that this was exactly why I let myself go hungry in the first place. Punishment.

If only I could cease to exist. Of course, there was a way. I had to go to Italy and threaten to expose us to the world; the Volturi would kill me within seconds.

But I wasn't ready for that. Death was final. I'd run away when things had gotten difficult. I would not run away from the consequences of my decision.

I would not take my own life.

Yet.

The cell phone started ringing again.

I sat up. My shirt, blood-stained and wet and the only one I still owned, clung uncomfortably to my chest. I tore it off and tossed it in the corner, then retrieved the phone. Carlisle calling again. For a full minute I considered crushing it. If I only closed my hand and exerted the right amount of pressure, it would crumble into dust.

But I couldn't. If I did, I'd have to get a new one and I was in no fit state to be seen by other people. So I just turned it off. I needed to conserve energy anyway.

It was just past midnight. Go, I urged myself. You need to feed.

But I couldn't move.

Then I caught the scent. A deer. It was close, just outside the door. I was upwind; the deer didn't know I was here yet. Its scent was delicious. My throat burned, and as I listened for the wet thudding of its heart, the whisper of blood moving through its veins, I found I could love after all.

I took it down before it knew I was there, before it had time to panic. Blood spurted as my teeth broke its delicate skin and found the carotid artery. The blood was hot on my bare skin. I dropped the drained deer and sniffed the air. There was another one not far away, and I went after it, allowing instinct to take over. Like I ghost I darted through the forest. My mind was focused now. Find. Kill. Feed.

I didn't realize I was being hunted. When I finally did, it was already too late. My attacker slammed into me with the force of a cannon ball. His arms closed around my torso, but now I was prepared.

Emmett cursed as I slipped out of his arms.

"What do you want?" I hissed, perched on the branch of a tree. Emmett craned his neck, and his eyes narrowed as he looked me up and down. You're a mess, kid, he thought.

I chose to ignore the remark. "What do you want?" I asked again. I already knew, of course. They were here to bring me home.

"Polite as always," a second voice said, dripping with sarcasm. My jaw clenched. Rosalie, stunningly beautiful despite the fact that twigs clung to her hair, emerged from the trees, her expression matching her thoughts. Coming here had been a waste of time.

Well, I hadn't asked them to, had I?

Emmett glanced at Rosalie, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm not going home," I said.

Emmett scratched his head, thinking. Esme wanted to talk to me, and Emmett had offered to come and get me. Rosalie had tagged along. She just wanted to confirm what she'd long since suspected. He's lost it.

"You don't have to stay," Emmett coaxed. Emmett coaxing wasn't something I'd seen before, and I almost smiled. Almost. The corners of my mouth twitched. "Just come home for a couple of days. It would make her happy."

Rosalie didn't agree. Neither did I.

"I can't," I whispered. "I'm sorry."

Emmett, who'd never been very patient, resorted to what he was best at. He grabbed the trunk of the tree which was at least twice as wide as he was and heaved it right out off the ground, dirt flying in every direction. I leapt down, and he tossed the tree aside to come after me. I'd always been faster and I was taking full advantage of my speed now. I raced through the forest so fast I was almost invisible. Emmett was still behind me. He wouldn't give up.

I wheeled around – I smelled water, and I thought I might be able to use the river to confuse him – and slammed right into Rosalie, who'd obviously taken a shortcut to cut off my way. I'd been so focused on Emmett, I had neither heard her move nor picked up her mind when she got closer. It only took me a split second to leap to my feet again, but Emmett was already on top of me. His massive arms closed around my torso, and I knew there was no way I could get away now.

"Gotcha," Emmett panted for dramatic effect, and Rosalie rolled his eyes at him. He stopped instantly. "Fine," he grumbled. "We're leaving," he told me. "And you're coming with us. Our flight leaves at noon tomorrow, so we should hurry."

I glared up at him, and he laughed. "Sorry, kid. I promised."

I didn't get a chance to escape. They'd brought me fresh clothes, and Emmett all but sat on top of me when I got showered and dressed, and I could tell he was enjoying himself.

Rosalie wasn't. She stood watch outside the bathroom – just I case I managed to escape Emmett, which was highly unlikely – and her thoughts were hostile. I tried not to listen.

I was beginning to feel like a prisoner. They wouldn't leave my side even for a second, and eventually I gave in. There just was no point. Emmett promised me they wouldn't force me to stay if I didn't want to.

Two days later we were back in the States. Emmett had left his car at the airport, so there was no need for the rest of my family to come and pick us up. They didn't talk much on the drive home. I sat on the backseat and tried to think of nothing. After seven years I was back. It wasn't as painful as I'd thought it would be. Instead I felt empty. Empty and dead.

We arrived at the house around nightfall. They'd moved to Virginia a year ago, near Richmond. Once Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and Emmett had graduated from high school – again – they'd relocate to Anchorage to be closer to Tanya, Irina and Kate. I wouldn't stay for sure, then. Somewhere above the Atlantic and despite what I'd told Emmett I'd briefly considered it. But Tanya had been interested in me from the beginning, and the thought of her trying to beguile me was more than I could bear just now.

Esme's face lit up when we walked inside. She hurried to meet me. "I'm so glad you're back," she murmured. "I've missed you so much."

I smiled and kissed the top of her head. "I've missed you, too." She turned to lead me into the living-room and my smile wavered.

Emmett had lied to me. Well, not exactly. He'd told me Esme wanted to see me – I'd seen her tell him so in his mind – but without my ability Emmett hadn't been able to see the reasons for Esme's request. And he hadn't been told on purpose. There was something they wanted me to now, something I was to learn first-hand from Alice and which neither Emmett nor Rosalie had known about.

Alice was upstairs. Jasper was with her, and I knew neither of them had forgiven me for leaving her, even after all this time. But she wouldn't lock me out of her mind, and she showed me what she'd seen. Flashes of Victoria. I growl rose in my throat, and Emmett startled. Esme raised her hand to tell them it was okay. What Alice had seen was indistinct and blurry. Victoria was back in the States but, as far as Alice could tell, nowhere near Forks. Nobody knew where she lived now, of course, but Alice was sure she'd see it if Victoria decided to go after her again.

"Thank you," I said quietly. They'd been right to let Alice show me. If Emmett or Rosalie had told me what she'd seen I might have – overreacted. It was also the reason Carlisle had tried to reach me. He'd wanted to tell me Emmett and Rosalie were coming.

Silence. Esme sat down on the sofa; she didn't know what to say anymore than I did. She was worried. She'd expected me to be better and thought I was worse.

I didn't know what to say. With my family I'd always felt at ease. Why were things so different now?

Because I'd left? Because I'd forced them to leave Forks and leave behind a girl they loved just as much as I did?

Tyres on the gravel.

"Carlisle," Esme said quietly.

"I'll be outside then," I replied just as quietly, and went outside.

Carlisle smiled when he saw me. "I'm glad you're home." He put his hand on my shoulder, but he wasn't able to hide how worried he was, either. He was hoping I'd stay for a few days, if only to make Esme happy. She'd truly missed me.

"Maybe," I allowed, and Carlisle nodded.

The night was warm. Carlisle had planned on going hunting. It had been two days since I'd fed and I hadn't fed nearly enough. As long as I was here I couldn't allow myself to slip. They'd never let me out of their sight again.

Then I'd just have to leave for got.

But I wasn't there yet. "Mind if I join you?" I asked, trying to make it sound casual.

As it turned out that was exactly what Carlisle had hoped.

"Yes," he said, smiling, and dropped his bag by the porch.

We walked into the forest.