I have been reading fanfic for over 15 years now, but this is the first time I'm actually posting anything. My first fanfic fandom that I ever read was Twilight and I felt it fitting that the first I post also be Twilight. I welcome any criticism and I hope to grow as a writer here for the time being. Enjoy!

"You're…leaving? Me?" I stammered, barely able to get the words out my mouth without choking on them. I could hear my pulse pounding in my ears and feel my hands clamming up in shock. I couldn't process what I was hearing.

Edward's eyes remained cool. "It's what's best for…everyone involved. I cannot keep pretending and you will be better off living a normal life. Without me and without my family. Soon you will easily forget me and it will be as if I never existed."

I scoffed, but the sound was muffled by a near sob. "You know that's not true! I love you, Edward. I can't just forget that." I turned my head and roughly brushed the tears that had fallen. "I can't believe you'd even say that," I muttered.

"You're human, Bella, and -"

"That has nothing to do with this! Me being human doesn't negate the fact that you're ripping my goddamn heart out of my chest right now!," I practically sobbed.

Something flashed in Edward's golden eyes just then, but was quickly extinguished.

"I am… sorry that this is hurting you. But I am not good for you and- and you are not good for me either," he said.

I felt like I had been slapped. How many times had I thought- or even said to him, for God's sake!- that I wasn't good enough for him? I staggered backwards until my back hit the base of a large tree.

"So, what? This was just some- some fling we had, and now you're tired of me and moving on?" My hands balled into tight fists at my sides. The longer I had to look into his unflinchingly cold eyes, the more anger started to rise in my chest. "I guess you never loved me then, right? Because if you really loved me, you wouldn't be leaving me like this. So, I can only assume you've been lying to me this entire time. And I fell for it!" I laughed bitterly, "I know you told me you're a good liar, but this really takes the fucking cake, Edward! You deserve a goddamn Oscar for this PERFORMANCE!"

"Bella, please just- "

"No, Edward, I won't 'just' anything! God, do you know how much this hurts me?"

Edward took a step towards me but stopped himself from getting closer. I couldn't stop the tsunami of words coming from my mouth.

"Not to mention your family! Alice is supposed to be my best friend, my sister! You know I've never had many close friends, and I thought Alice loved me for me- regardless of you. Was that all a lie, too?"

The words kept tumbling from my lips. I felt as if I was listening to myself speak outside of my body.

"Carlisle and Esme? You know what they meant to me! Even Emmett I thought of like a big brother or a good friend at the very least. Was everything a fucking charade?" I was heaving in and out, my heavy breathes echoing off the trees surrounding us.

Edward seemed at a loss for words- a rarity I couldn't even take pleasure in. He took a hesitant step towards me again. "Bella…I-we-," he couldn't seem to articulate whatever he was trying to say. He exhaled loudly and dragged his hand roughly through his hair, leaving pieces of it sticking up in all directions. I would have giggled at the mess he was making in any other situation.

Finally he spoke. "I cannot speak for my family- "

"You're a mind reader, for fuck's sake, Edward! You literally know exactly what they think!"

Edward took a step backwards, seemingly thrown off by my foul language and anger. I wasn't used to displaying this sort of emotion, least of all to him, but something had snapped in me. I would not- could not- take this lying down. My feelings for him were too strong, too important to me. Maybe his feelings weren't real, but mine were.

Taking a deep breath, I said, "Edward, look- nothing you say right now is going to be a valid excuse for faking or-or exaggerating your love for me- "

"My love was not fake nor exaggerated, Bella!" Edward burst out. His eyes widened, clearly not having meant to voice that thought. This was the first thing he had said during this conversation that actually sounded genuine, that sounded like the Edward I knew and loved.

Something in my mind clicked. I'm going to kill him!

"Edward…", I choked out, "you- you're not doing this to-." I sucked in a deep breath before spitting out the rest of my thought, "This is some sort of backwards way of you trying to protect me, isn't it?"

His eyes frantically searched mine, his eyes wide and liquid gold.

"Bella, listen, I-"

"IT IS, ISN'T IT?!" I nearly screamed at him. My feet had a mind of their own and suddenly I was right in front of Edward, toe to toe, with my hands slamming into his chest.

"You ASSHOLE!" My hands formed fists, and started pounding on his chest. I knew he would barely feel the power behind them, but the action was statement enough.

"Bella, please!"

"How could you, Edward? How can you love me- I know you do!- and leave me like this? You can't make this decision for me, just because you think it's what's best!"

The dam inside me broke with a loud sob. Tears poured down my cheeks, and my feeble attempts at punching him stopped. Finally, Edward touched me. He wrapped his arms around me, my arms curling into my chest.

When he spoke, his voice sounded like he would be crying if he had the ability.

"I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Bella," he murmured fervently into my hair, his face pressed to my head.

I don't know how long we stood like that, but eventually my tears subsided. I took a deep breath and tilted my head back to look into Edward's eyes. They were gold again, swimming with emotion.

"Can I say goodbye to your family?," I whispered. "Please?"

Edward blinked.

"Edward? Please, I know you wanted to just leave it at this, but I just want to say goodbye to them. I won't make a scene or try to convince them to stay- I want to see them one last time."

"I can't do it," Edward whispered.

"What? Did they already leave or you just won't let me see them before they do?," my anger was starting to rise again and I could feel my cheeks becoming splotchy with heat.

"No! I- I mean, no that's not what I meant. They were supposed to leave this morning but I can't-"

"What do you mean 'supposed to'?"

He shook his head. "I thought I could do it. I thought if I just ignored everything in me screaming to stop lying to you today, that I could go through with it because it was to protect you. And that means so much more to me than my own feelings." He looked into my eyes, his hands softly gripping my forearms. "But you're right, Bella. Of course I love you. My love for you has never been fake, or exaggerated, or a lie. I love you so much that it aches, Bella. But I thought that leaving and giving you a clean break would be the only way I have left to protect you."

"Edward, that's -"

"You didn't see yourself in that hospital bed, Bella!", he hissed. "He broke your bones and hurt you, and none of it would have happened if it weren't for me! In the ballet studio, I had to- God, Bella, I had to suck the venom out and I- I almost couldn't stop! And now my own brother attacked you! My very presence in your life causes you to get hurt," his voice broke on the word, "over and over again."

Edward pressed our foreheads together and whispered, "I cannot keep causing you pain, Bella. It's killing me. And I am absolutely terrified that it will kill you."

I leaned back from him and put my hands to his cheeks. His hands circled my waist and rested on my hips. Touching him, and feeling his touch grounded me before I began speaking calmly.

"Edward, I can't begin to understand what it felt like to see me broken like that. Nor could I imagine the restraint and pain of sucking out the venom like you did to save me. I don't know the complicated pain of seeing Jasper try to attack me because of a paper cut, or the everyday struggle you go through to be near me without giving in to your nature."

I took a deep breath and looked directly into his eyes.

"But, sweetheart, my number was up before any of that happened, before I even met you".

"Bella-"

I pressed my fingers to his lips to silence his protests and said, "Let me finish."

"Do you know why neither of my parents questioned the excuse you made up for my injury after James' attack?"

"They chose to ignore their instincts and believe the more palatable lie?"

I rolled my eyes. "Edward, my dad may not seem quick on the uptake but he is a police chief. He's not an idiot and he wouldn't believe a half-assed lie. My parents believed it so easily because it had already happened to me before. I have fallen down stairs, and broken bones, and hurt myself by accident so often that this wasn't even a stretch for me! I am constantly being injured, without any help from you vampires. And I - don't interrupt, I'm not done- I would have already been hurt multiple times since arriving in Forks, again, without you vampires having anything to do with it."

I sighed. "Edward, I would have been killed by Tyler's van. I think we both know that. The angle and speed that it was coming at me," I shook my head, "there's no way I would have survived that. But you saved me. And then again, in Port Angeles, when that group of men tried to attack me. Either I would have been left for dead or I would have wished for death. You, Edward, have kept me alive far more times than you have put me in danger."

His lips were on mine then, his hands on my hip and back, pulling me close. I reached up to tangle my hands in his hair and pressed myself even closer into him. I could almost feel the desperation and relief in his kiss.

Finally, I unwillingly stopped to catch my breath but did not stop pressing my body into his. If anything, I crushed myself closer to him and murmured into his lips, "I love you, Edward."

"I love you too. So damn much."

I giggled and Edward raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing. I just…," I flushed, "I find it weirdly hot when you curse."

"How charming."

"Hey! You hardly ever do, so I know that when you do, it means the emotion behind it is strong," I shrugged. "I'm the same way."

Edward's hand tucked a loose curl behind my ear. "You've proved to have a bit of a potty mouth, love," he smirked. He then leaned in and whispered, "and I also find it weirdly hot."

I blushed and changed the subject back to the matter at hand with a sigh.

"Are you staying then?" I whispered.

"Do you still want me to? After what I just put you through?"

"I always want you, Edward. That's not going to change. So if you love me and are willing to deal with what this human-vampire relationship entails, dangers and all, then so am I."

Whatever he was about to respond was cut off by a ringing in his back pocket. His brow furrowed when he read the caller ID, "Alice?"

"Put me on speaker, please!" She must have been yelling, because even without vampire super hearing I could make out her words from here.

Edward rolled his eyes, but complied with his sister's demand.

"Hi Bella! I couldn't wait any longer to apologize to you. You know that I do love you and we are sisters, regardless of anything my moron of a brother says or does!"

"Hey!"

I laughed at Alice's words and couldn't help the surge of relief in knowing I still had her friendship.

"Anyway, I'm sorry I had to let this play out the way it did. There were two strongly possible ways of this going- thank God this is the one that played out!- and I couldn't interfere in any way or it wouldn't work out. Edward, I'm honestly shocked you believed me when I said I wouldn't peek into this future discussion. As if I could leave something as important as this to you and chance! Oh! Before I go and let you two finish your non-break up, Edward what you were about to say to Bella- DON'T! It was going to just make things worse and-"

Edward snapped his phone shut and growled something under his breath. He shoved the phone back into his pocket and took my hands in his.

Rolling his eyes he said, "Since Alice has deemed my previous response as wrong, I will attempt to rephrase it better. I won't pretend that my opinions can change as quickly as our discussion has, but I know that what you said has truth to it. Being human, regardless of vampire proximity, is dangerous. You are not indestructible nor immortal and I cannot fathom a world without you in it. Even if I had somehow left you, death is still a part of all life and once your time came…I wouldn't have been okay. So, I will try to adjust my perspective on this".

My eyes were wide and my jaw slightly ajar. Edward scoffed at my shock.

"Seriously? Am I that bullheaded that you can't believe I may be willing to compromise on this?"

"No! I just um… am surprised a little bit is all. But it means everything to me that you're willing to see this from a different perspective. Because I love you too and I don't want to be in a world without you either."

Edward hugged me to him again and pressed his lips to the top of my head. With his arms around me and the threat of him leaving gone, I felt warm and fuzzy.

I could hear the smile on his face when he said, "You're stubborn too, you know."

"Oh, I know. But you love me."

"Always."