A/N: How long has it been since I've updated? I'm so sorry! School, work, my other story...I hope I haven't scared off the few of you that have been reading this.. :/

P.S. This was going to be the last chapter but I took it a step further AND I already have the last chapter written up...let's just say, things get kinky ;) haha. Please leave feedback, I want to know how many of you are still out there reading! Thank you :)

Chapter Five: Bad Endings=Bad Beginnings

A loud yawn escaped my lips and I reached out for the usual stony grip awaiting me most mornings, but I felt nothing. Instead, my hand brush against a crumpled piece of paper. I sat up, the events of last night rushing back to me all at once.

I let out a groan and looked down at Edward's words. My thumb ran across Edward's lavish handwriting before setting it back down. With a sigh, I let myself fall back down on the bed.

I closed my eyes and thought about his last words. Stay Calm. Snorting loudly, I trudged out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. This would defintely be a long day of school, a very long day...

That morning was the first of many mornings of discontent and loneliness. Edward had promised he'd be gone for three days tops! But it had turned out to be a whole week, and now, as I gazed out the window like some pathetic loser, I thought to myself, "How could essentially dead blood make him so squeamish? Hadn't he been exposed to this long before last night?" I blushed at the thought and slumped my shoulders in defeat.

I looked up from the unchanging scenery from out my window and glanced at the digital clock. It glowed red as I read the time, 9:40. The fact that it was dark out did not defer my hopes of Edward's return, but as the time read out 10, those hopes were beginning to diminish. By now, Edward would have snuck in. The depressing thought was slightly dulled by the memories of his body pressed against mine, his fingers trailing across my face, hair, arms...

I shivered and closed my eyes.

It was a good thing Edward was a vampire, otherwise thoughts of car accidents and hospital rooms would have been making me insane. Of course, if he wasn't a vampire he wouldn't have left me in the first place...

A dull ache began to form on my temple.

"Great," I muttered. All this thinking was giving me a headache- and on top of that, all the lies I'd had to tell Charlie about Edwards whereabouts were beginning to take a toll on me.

Once again I let out an exasperated sigh of frustration. I tapped the window sill with my fingers in a slow, rhythmic beat and thought aloud, "When will you be back?" Thinking it was finally time to go to bed, I was startled by a murmur.

"Hmmm..."

I snapped my head back and could barely suppress a yelp of joy.

"Edward!" I lunged at him. He caught me with expert-like arms, the force of my embrace hadn't moved him an inch.

"Damn...I'm guessing you were beginning to miss me?" He chuckled, his eyes sparkling in amusement.

I tried to punch him in what I hoped was a teasing way, but as soon as my hand hit his shoulder, I let out a hushed cry.

"Crap!" Edward shook his head and said in an exasperated tone, "Are you kidding me Bella? I thought you were smarter than the average 18 year old!"

I smiled at him sheepishly and shrugged.

"Guess I'd forgotten you were made out of stone...you've been gone for forever!"

Edward rolled his eyes, "Hardly, Bella." My shoulders slumped and I turned away. I bet I sounded like such a needy girlfriend. Just great.

His next words were more gentle and he turned my chin to face him.

"But I will admit 7 days was much too long-I'm sorry...I would have been back right away but..." at that his voice fell and he gave out a deep sigh.

"What is it?" Now that the issue of his too-long absence was at the surface, I couldn't help but wonder why it had taken so long.

"Please don't hate me Bella." I was taken aback.

"What do you mean?" My voice had lost all traces of teasing and a large knot was beginning to form at the pit of my stomach.

Edward hesitated before uttering out a single word.

"Alice..."

"What about Alice?" I asked a little too quickly.

He sighed and shook his head.

"Well, we went to the midwest...and Alice made a bit of a detour. To say the least." My eyes narrowed and I asked, "What kind of detour?" Images of naked woman and the playboy mansion sprung to mind.

"The Mall of America."

His words hung in the air and then they sunk in. It took all the control I had to not make my voice sound like a shriek.

"Are you telling me. That you were gone this long...for some shopping." My voice was shaking and my face was blazing hot.

"Bella dear, please, hear me out." Edward's eyes were wide with shock-even at the eve of his return, he had been met with warmth and forgiveness from my part.

"No," I shot at him, "I've been waiting for you like some lost puppy, coming up with all these stupid, stupid scenarios in my stupid head and you come here and tell me you've been out shopping?" My voice cracked and I stood up, my hands shaking.

Edward was stunned into silence and his shoulders were sagged like some lost puppy.

"Good," I thought.

He finally found his voice.

"I'm so sorry Bella, I didn't know it would take this long and Alice insisted this was the perfect opportunity for you to get a whole new wardrobe and I knew you wouldn't like it but I figured as long as you're on your period I should just give it some time to go away..." If I wasn't so angry at the stupidity of it all, my pining for his return, the pity I felt for myself, his absence, I would have thought his run on sentence was the funniest thing in the world.

But I didn't.

I turned away from him.

"Please leave," I said in a low shaking voice.

There was a sharp in take of breath, and I knew he'd heard.

I guess you could say Bella's kinda bi-polar...haha.