A/N: The Edward chapter! I was a bit anxious about writing him but oddly enough, it seemed to come easier, even easier than the Bella chapters. So hopefully I echoed the original Edward and didn't butcher him horribly. He's not going to be exactly the same because this isn't your standard New Moon, as you know. So, here's chapter 3…. :)

Disclaimer: All recognizable places, characters, etc…do not belong to me. I make no profit from any of this. Seriously.

(Edward)

I stirred from the closest thing I could get to sleep. My throat burned with the familiar dry, prickling sensation indicating that I needed to hunt. It was the only way I kept track of time. Much like a human's sense of time is directed by the cycle of the sun, mine was led by my thirst. I sat up on the bed in my lavish hotel suite. I had been staying here ever since I arrived in London. With the almost constant rainfall it was an ideal place to be. Usually I could safely go out in the day. When the sun would shine through the clouds there was always an abundance of shadowed areas and shops nearby where I could take cover until the gloominess descended over the city again.

By now my thirst was raging. I could assume at least another two weeks, possibly more, had gone by. Another two weeks alone, away from my family and the only love I had ever known. Sweet, beautiful Bella. There was never a second when I didn't think of her. Her scent, her smile, everything about her was burned into my memory.

An exasperated sigh escaped my throat. I had never felt like such a failure in my entire existence. My attempts at tracking that despicable Victoria had gone horribly, horribly wrong. I lost the trail nearly three weeks ago. Her scent was long gone and after skimming through the minds of the humans I could see no trace of the fiery haired vixen in their thoughts. No one had seen her. She might not even be in London at all. I knew the time was approaching for me to relocate again, but I could think of no place to go. I only knew that I had to find Victoria. That was my top priority. If I couldn't be with Bella, I could at least keep her safe from revenge-seeking vampires. I desperately wanted to be home, to be in Forks. But that was the one place to which I could never return.

More than ever I longed to be human. I craved the seven or eight hours of sleep I could have each night to escape my self-inflicted misery. But even then I know my dreams would torment me. I had no source of escape. The agony consumed my every second. I had no "distractions". What a ridiculous lie. I laughed aloud, bitterly. Nothing in the world could cause me to forget what I had given up.

I didn't want to leave. There was nothing that could ever have kept me away from her. I was much too selfish for that. Despite the constant danger I continually put her in, I couldn't stay away. Never in my existence had I wanted anything more than just to be close to her. To feel the warmth of her radiating skin as it brushed against the coldness of mine. It had always amazed me that she actually wanted to touch my alien flesh.

But the incident at the birthday party drove me over the edge. I swore never to hurt her and I did. It was a simple paper cut, but because of me Bella's entire arm was injured. I didn't blame Jasper for the way he reacted. How could I? I knew how much of a struggle it still was for him to control his thirst. It was my fault everything got completely out of control. I never wanted her to see the kind of monsters we truly were. But she had.

Seeing her blood spilled before me was overwhelming. The scent crashed into me like a speeding train and even after restraining myself for years the demon of my true self took over, urging me to go in for the kill, to take what my body burned for. But it wasn't just a human I was passing on the streets. It was Bella, my sole reason for existence and I wanted to kill her. At that moment nothing mattered but the need for blood. The demon didn't care that I desperately loved the girl, that I would sooner tear myself to pieces than to ever harm her. I looked into those beautiful brown eyes like I had so many times before and I wanted to pounce forward and bring her neck to my lips. And I was so close to doing it! I was completely revolted by myself. More than ever I resented that side of my nature. Not even love can save me from my demons.

So I left. There was nothing else I could do. For once, I had to think about something other than what I wanted. I had to think of Bella first, her safety and her need for humanity. She needed to live a normal life whether she wanted it or not. And so I had to hurt her yet again. The lies burned my tongue like acid as I spoke them to her that day in the forest. I was certain the emotional anguish it inflicted would be enough to kill me but I wasn't that lucky. It was unbelievably frustrating that she believed my lies so easily. Did she have no faith at all in my love for her? As if I could ever live a single second without wanting her. Ridiculous. I was no good for her. A monster like me didn't deserve to be loved by someone as pure as Bella. It hurt to know that I had left her alone with the belief that she no longer mattered to me. But she was finally safe from her greatest danger and I would keep it that way.

My only hope was that somehow she could grow to forget me. Part of me never wanted that to happen, but she would never be happy if she was unable to. Forgetting her was impossible for me, and I would deal with the consequences of that fact. If she could not forget then she would not move on. Her short human life would be spent pining over the loss of what we had, just as I was doing now. But that was unacceptable for Bella. She had to forget and go on with her life, no matter how much it would hurt both of us.

I reached into the inside pocket of my light brown jacket and felt around for the soft band of cotton. I pulled the item out and examined it. A girl's hair tie. It was a simple thing really, but to me it was everything because it had been Bella's. I had taken it from her room shortly before I left. It was silly of me, but I wanted to take some part of her away with me. She would always be in my thoughts, I knew, but I wanted a physical reminder and it had to be something unimportant, something she wouldn't miss. The hair tie was perfect. It was once a dark red but over time its color had dulled significantly. I wrapped it around my palm and brought it to my face, inhaling deeply. The scent was still there but only very faintly, reminding me with a stab of pain just how long I'd been away from her.

I had to get out of the hotel room. My thirst was becoming more extreme by the second and I could no longer ignore it. It had definitely been longer, much longer than two weeks. If I didn't hunt now I could end up doing something terrible to one of the humans and I would not do that to Carlisle. I had been dormant for far too long and I could feel the slight stiffness in my legs as I rose from the bed.

I walked as slowly as possible through the hotel exit and out onto the street. It was early afternoon but nevertheless, the clouds hung thick and gray over the city, holding a promise of rain. I caught sight of my reflection in the window of a nearby sweet shop. My eyes were pitch black as I knew they would be, given how long it had been since my last hunting trip. I could strongly smell the blood from the passing humans and it was overpowering. A young woman with short brown hair turned and smiled at me seductively. The natural urges in my body were pleading with me to take what I wanted. Just one. Lure one of them away, no one will know. I shook my head angrily and increased my pace, getting as far away from the woman as I could. There was no chance I was going down that road again. I could never go this long without feeding again. It was making me crazy.

My pace was brisk as I headed for the city limits. My body craved the exhilaration of running, though it no longer brought me the feelings of joy and freedom as it did before. Once I was certain no one would see, I took off towards a grove of trees far in the distance, reaching it within a matter of minutes. The foliage was thick and dark as I approached. I stood motionless and silent, listening. After a few minutes I heard what I'd been waiting for. The footsteps of a creature softly rustled along the earthen floor. It was much too soft a sound for a human to hear, but I picked up the sound as clearly as if it were coming from a foot away, rather than several yards. I sprinted towards the animal and as I neared I could smell the delectable scent of blood pulsing through its veins and hear the gentle rhythm of its heartbeat. The drought in my throat burned painfully, urging me forward.

I could see now that the creature was a small wild fox. How disappointing. I knew it wouldn't be too large of an animal but I was hoping for more than this. I would have to hunt for several hours to sate my thirst if this was the only game nearby. The fox never had a chance as I leapt at it. My hands locked around its neck, snapping it effortlessly. It let out a high-pitched yelp, whether out of pain or surprise I did not know or care. The only thing I was conscious of was the sweet, crimson liquid flowing onto my tongue as my teeth bit into the fox's warm flesh. I drained every drop, ravenously, before lifting a tree and tossing the fox's limp body beneath its roots and securely replacing it.

It went on that way for a few more hours. Much to my dissatisfaction, foxes were the only animals around so I had to make do. I lost track of how many I had consumed before my thirst was at last fulfilled. I looked down at my attire. I was a bloody mess. Usually I was very neat and careful while I fed but I was not used to denying myself for so long. A ruined set of clothing was a much better situation than a dead human at any rate.

By the time I returned it was late evening. The city buzzed with the spirit of London's nightlife. I headed down the street that led to my hotel, doing as best as I could to avoid any attention. Of course, I was never fully able to escape the curious stares of strangers. I wandered along a lesser traveled road in a poorer neighborhood in an attempt to remain inconspicuous.

I looked up at the blackened night sky. The stars were absent tonight, hidden beneath the thick blanket of clouds. I was not even able to find the moon, though I was certain it, too, must be somewhere amongst the encroaching darkness. The sky appeared empty and blank, much like I felt. Like the stars, the points of being in my existence were missing, buried beneath some insurmountable force. But the stars would shine again. My life was destined to remain in darkness.

A gentle tugging on the end of my jacket stirred me from my thoughts. I looked down to see a young girl of eight or possibly nine years of age. Thick, curly waves of russet hair fanned out around her shoulders and spilled halfway down her back. Her dark brown eyes were glistening in the streetlight as she gazed up at me. She wore a tattered hat and clothes of poor quality, but she was beautiful all the same. I realized in an instant that she bore a heartbreaking resemblance to someone else.

"Excuse me," she said timidly, with a heavy English accent. "Would you like to buy a flower? I grow them myself." She extended the basket that had been clutched in her hand towards me, which was bursting with tulips. They were red, as red as the blood that had been dripping from my lips only minutes ago. I ignored that and smiled down at the little girl. How interesting. I wasn't aware people still sold things like flowers among the streets. They had done so when I was last in London but that was many years ago. It was good to see that some things never change.

"I would love one." She beamed and pulled a long stemmed tulip out of the basket and handed it to me.

"Thank you," I said, reaching for my wallet.

"You're an American?" she asked when she saw the bills I was flipping through.

"Yes. I'm very sorry, I only have American currency. Will that do?" I'd been using my credit card during my stay and so had not bothered obtaining any British pounds.

"Sure. Let's see." She rested her free hand on her chin and was silent for a few seconds, thinking. "All right, then. That'll be twenty-five cents in American money." She nodded, satisfied.

I chuckled. "Are you a human calculator as well?"

Her cheeks flushed lightly. "I like arithmetic. It's my best subject in school. I'm the best in the whole class."

"That's certainly very impressive." I commended and she smiled. I held out a twenty dollar bill.

She frowned. "I don't have any change."

"It's no problem. You keep it." I folded the bill into her empty hand and those big brown eyes of hers gazed up at me in amazement.

"But this is enough for eighty tulips. I definitely don't have that many."

"You're very good," I said with amusement. "But it's fine. I only want one." Before she could protest I added, "Please, keep it. I have no dire need for money."

"Are you sure?" She gaped at the bill.

I nodded once and chuckled at her expression. She thanked me and tucked the money away in her pocket. Her expression turned curious. "So, you're an American then?"

"You could say that," I said with a smirk, twirling the flower between my long fingers. "But I'm not particularly tied to one place at the moment. I enjoy traveling far too much. London is one of my favorite cities."

"Have you been to many other places?"

"I've been pretty much everywhere." Being forced to move every three or four years does that to a person.

"Wow." Her eyes popped open in awe. The girl's face became dejected. "But don't you have a home?"

"Yes, my home is in a little town in Washington." I knew in my heart that home was wherever Bella was.

"Surely you want to go back though," she stated. "I couldn't imagine being away from home for very long. I would miss my mother and brother too much. Don't you miss your family at all?"

"Very much so," I replied honestly. And I knew they missed me and that I was hurting all of them, especially Esme, by staying away.

"Then why don't you just go back?"

I had asked myself that same question many times. Why didn't I just go back? I was clearly useless at tracking. What good was I doing anyone in the state I was in? I needed inspiration.

"It's complicated," I sighed. She looked up at me and I knew she was expecting a better answer than that, but I shook my head.

"Well, whatever you do, make sure it's the right thing."

"The right thing…" I echoed, more to myself than to the girl.

"That's what my brother always says," she continued. "You have to find out what the best thing is for everyone and just do it. The hard part is finding out what that thing is."

Her words struck me hard. She was right. I had to do the right thing and lying around moping in a hotel room somewhere certainly wasn't it.

"I wish I could go to America," she said, obviously sensing the need for a subject change. "I've never been outside London once in my whole life."

I snapped off part of the tulip's long stem and bent down to her level. "Someday you will," I whispered as I pushed her hair away from face, tucking the flower behind her ear. She giggled. "You know, you never did tell me you name," I said.

"Oh, I'm-"She was cut off by the nearby sounds of someone angrily walking towards us. I wasn't surprised; I heard the angry thoughts coming half a mile away as there was no one else in this part of town. I quickly stood up to my full height and took a step back.

A woman who I presumed was the young girl's mother approached. When she caught sight of me her eyes, also a shade of dark brown, flew wide open in terror and she let out a shriek. I flinched, remembering all the blood on my clothes. I must have looked like a murderer with the way I was dressed.

"Stay away from that man, Callie!" She snatched up the little girl's hand and began pulling her away. I stared intently at the woman, listening for her mind. He looks as if he's butchered half the city. Now he's going after my daughter. I'll kill him first.

"Please," I began softly, moving towards them slowly. "I have no intention of harming your daughter. I was merely buying one of her flowers. You have a very sweet girl here." I smiled down at her fondly.

The mother still gazed at me in horror, her eyes never leaving my clothes. Finally, she looked up at me. "Your shirt and pants are covered in blood!" Her tone was full of disgust and revulsion.

I locked my eyes with hers, using the full force of my gaze. I spoke with the special voice I used for humans. "I was out hunting foxes," I said smoothly. That part wasn't a lie. She just didn't know exactly how I hunted. "I returned only very recently and have not yet had a chance to change out of my clothes. I'm terribly sorry if I've frightened you."

My goodness, he's handsome. His eyes are such a strange, beautiful shade of gold. Why do they look like that? How curious. No, no but he's lying. He's trying to cover up for what he's really doing out here. Despite what she was thinking, I could see it in her eyes that I was beginning to affect her. "B-but," she stammered, "Why are you empty handed then?" I knew he was a killer. He probably hid the bodies in a dumpster somewhere.

Humans could be so absurd. I chuckled. "My friend is taking care of that. I do the hunting and he does the skinning. Sometimes we trade but his aim is terrible. It takes us all afternoon to get a single kill." I ran my hand through my hair in mock exasperation.

"Oh," she said, looking down. Her mind told me she bought my story. She looked at me, laughing lightly. "I'm sorry. I saw my daughter and all that blood and jumped to the wrong conclusions."

"It's perfectly understandable," I reassured her. "I would be a little wary if I encountered someone who looked like me too." And I would be especially wary if they drank from humans. It was never good to run into that type.

"Well, it was nice talking with you…" She paused, realizing that she didn't know my name.

"Edward." This came from Callie, who was smiling shyly up at me.

"Edward," the mother repeated with a nod. "But I have to get Callie home and ready for bed." The girl pouted in an adorable way.

"Certainly," I replied. "Enjoy the remainder of your evening, and please, take care of yourselves." She nodded and pulled once more at Callie's hand. The girl turned back to look at me as her mother started to tug her down the street. "Goodbye, Callie." I winked at her and a rosy red warmed her cheeks as she turned away, smiling bashfully.

I stood and watched until the pair disappeared into the darkness before I headed back to my hotel. It was time for me to go. I had been wallowing in misery and self-pity for far too long now. I had to remember what I was doing, what my new purpose in life was. I had to do the right thing. Victoria was long over due for death. The thought of her ever hurting Bella was too much to bear. Losing the trail was no reason to give up. The only place I could think to go was Canada. We had tracked James all the way to Vancouver last spring when he was pursuing Bella. Possibly, he went there only to hide, or maybe there was some place there that meant something to him. I couldn't be sure, but either way I was going to find out. I checked out of the hotel and dialed in the number for the airport on my phone and booked a flight. I had found my inspiration.

Not quite sure when the next chapter will be up. It's the last three weeks of the semester here in good old college and the professors are all trying to squeeze in those last minute tests. Hopefully, it won't be too long though. :) The next chapter is going back to Bella. All chapters will be in her POV unless it says otherwise.

Also, I'm a Photoshop nut and I've edited pictures of everyone in my Twilight cast to make them look as close as possible to how I see them. So, if you're at all interested in seeing what my characters look like you may want to check that out. I'm thinking I might put them up in my profile along with the next update. Not sure yet.