Disclaimer: Once again, I own NOTHING. Nada. Not even the pattern on the bedspread, probably.

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The rest of the day was miserable.

I took a couple of wrong turns on the way home (due to my wandering head and a genetic lack of concentration) and ended up on the complete wrong side of town, with absolutely no idea how to get home. After about thirty minutes of guessing, my directionally-challenged self made it safely home.

When I got upstairs, I discovered Edward sitting in my room, flipping nervously through the dictionary that I'd left lying on my floor.

"Hello."

He started noticeably at the sound of my voice, but regained his composure quickly. "Bella."

"What are you doing here?" I went and sat next to him, puzzled by the look on his face. He seemed apprehensive, scared, threatened… "I thought you weren't going to hang around in my bedroom anymore." I teased.

"I needed to talk to you. I couldn't get a hold of you on your cell phone, so I decided I'd just wait for you here." I'd left my cell on the kitchen table this morning.

"Oh, sorry about that. So what's up?" He put down the dictionary and turned, slowly, to face me, keeping his eyes on the bedspread, following the intricate patterns that decorated it.

"Bella I'm leaving."

The blood drained from my face. There were no words I could say, nothing I could do to explain to him how his words had made me feel, so I simply said one; "What?"

"I have to leave." He sighed, wringing his hands anxiously in between his knees. "I'm going up to Canada. Personal business." He looked into my eyes for the first time. "It will probably be nothing…"

"Nothing? You're leaving, Edward!" Tears welled in my eyes. "You're coming back, right?" He remained silent. "Edward?"

"I may not return."

"Edward!"

"This is dangerous business, Bella! I wasn't going to tell you, I didn't want you concerned… but you had that dream and I already felt guilty…" The tears were flowing freely down my face now, and I could tell what he was saying was hurting him just as much. "I'm not trying to hurt you, Bella."

I tried to compose myself best I could, wiping the tears from my face and brushing the hair from my eyes. "So," I began, sniffling and silently reminding myself he's just a guy, just a friend… "Wha… what are you going to do?"

He drew in a deep breath, trying hard not to absorb the wave of emotion that was coursing through the room. His eyes were a pale tawny color, soft but disturbed, and I could feel his stare burning through my eyes, sending hysteric messages to ever nerve in my body. "There's been a threat." He stop moving completely, staring straight ahead into nothing and gripping tightly the side of my bed. "They want us out of here."

"Who?" I pried, still holding back emotions. "Who wants you out?"

"It's another clan. In Canada. They know we're here, and they want this town." His face was drawn up in what seemed like agony. "They know we aren't preying on the people here- to them that's a waste of blood." He opened his mouth then closed it, like he was going to say something but couldn't bring the words past his lips.

"What?"

"It's nothing." He breathed, turning away and nodding his head, I guess hoping I'd dismiss it. "Nothing."

"I don't believe you." I moved closer to him. "Please, Edward, just tell me…"

"It's nothing!" He stood up, his face pale and his eyes burning black. "Just leave it be, Bella! We're all in danger!" He began pacing. "It's you they're after. They know you know. That's what they don't want. They don't want us to exist, not in reality, not in memory."

I tried to wrap my head around the reality of the situation. "So they want to kill us all?"

"In blunt terms, yes," Edward said plaintively, "and unless we destroy them first, that's exactly what they'll do."

There was nothing I could do to change his mind. I could sense that. But I knew, deep down, that there was something I could do to help him, one thing, anything… "Edward, bite me."

"Excuse me?" He turned sharply around, a look of slight amusement prying at the edges of his pain stained face.

"Turn me into a vampire." The tears where back. Please let him say yes, just let him give in, just this once…

"Absolutely not."

"Why?" I cried, throwing myself to the floor, "Why not? It's my life, not yours! What's it to you if I make that decision?" As the icy tears slid down my cheeks, a sense of hollow resentment began to creep through me, resentment for the fact that I was what I was, and not what I wasn't…

"You know why it concerns me, Bella?" He said. "It concerns me because I'll have to watch you be tormented by the sheer harshness of life for the rest of eternity."

"But…"

"I'm not doing that to you."

There was nothing left for me to argue, no other cards for me to play. His face held a look of determination, and I knew it was a loss. I was crying still, but I hardly noticed. Edward is leaving me. He could be killed. I could be alone.

"You know I love you, Bella."

I couldn't respond. Too much thinking. Instead I curled up in a ball on the floor, bleeding my emotions from my eyes into the floorboards to prevent Edward from seeing them.

"I just don't want to hurt you!"

"Edward, I'd rather be killed next to you than live without you!" I practically screamed, shocked at the desperation I heard coming from my voice. You can't expect me to live my life not knowing where you are, how you are, if, in fact you are… Edward I can't live like this!"

"If you go with me there's a chance you won't live at all. Everything will be fine, Bella, we'll destroy them, they won't hurt you… I'll protect you. Don't worry." He sat down and hugged me close, wiping away my tears with his hands. He ran his fingers through my hair. "I love you so much."

It was so easy to love, yet so hard to forgive. "Edward…" I had my doubts about this whole thing. "What if you… you… don't come back?"

"That isn't going to happen," he said, stroking my face with the back of his fingers, "I'm sorry I scared you."

I pressed my face up against his chest; his heart beat strong in my ear and I was once again reminded of his mortality. No matter how difficult, how strong he was, he could still be destroyed. "Edward…"

"Bella, please." He stood up. "Please just let me go. It will make things better." He grasped my hand and pulled me to my feet, then held me to keep my knees from collapsing. "You are in grave danger, Bella. This is the only way to save you."

"Save me…" I echoed. How could he save me if I might never see him again?

"I'd better get going. The sooner we get there the better." He let go of me slowly, making sure I could hold myself up. "I'll miss you, Bella."

"No!" I reached out to grab him, thinking in vain that my human strength could somehow keep him here… "No…"

And he was gone.

There were no more tears. All I could do was stare into space, carefully analyzing the few feet of space where I had last seen him.

It could be the last time…

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