A/N: Hello again. :) Here we go with another chapter. It's Edward's POV like I mentioned in the note last time. I didn't realize originally how important his side of the story was going to be, but I think it adds to it rather than just having him drop in randomly at the end of the story or something like that.

I had hoped to be getting out chapters sooner but I've got classes right now. I was thinking I was going to finish it up by the end of the summer but I don't think that's going to happen because I want to make this story the best it can be and that's going to take some time. Just remember that even if the updates take a while I'm definitely not tossing out this story. I'm just up to my ears in work. :)

Disclaimer: All the good Twilight stuff belongs to Stephenie Meyer and no profit is being made.

(Edward)

I stepped off the plane early in the morning with nothing but a plain, black duffel bag. It was empty but for a few sets of clothes that I didn't need. The bag was just another prop to blend myself in better with the humans. The airport that I was striding through was continually full of busy, chattering travelers. I winced as all of their thoughts hit me at once, a vast array of voices overlapping one another in my mind. Usually, I was successful at blocking them out but it was different now. The last twelve hours had been so distracting that I could not regain my focus and I was suffering because of it.

My phone had been ringing so much that I had seriously considered hurling it out of the window or simply crushing it between my hands. Most of the time it was Alice. She was the only one who didn't seem to understand that I needed my time away. She called every now and then but I never liked hearing what she had to say. I was always reminded of how much my family missed me or how heartbroken Esme was at my continued absence. As if I needed more reasons to hate myself.

So I stopped answering her calls. I knew I'd really hear it from her later, but at the time it didn't matter. I needed to think, to plan. I couldn't get caught up again in all the mistakes I had made. My reservations were made in a hotel near the edge of Vancouver. I had decided to check in there first and then I would head out and search the woods outside the city. James had run through them once, possibly several times before that. I was going to find out why he had chosen to go there in particular. I knew it was a farfetched idea but it was all I had and it was definitely better than wasting time feeling sorry for myself.

I walked through the lobby to retrieve my room key and the woman behind the desk blinked her large blue eyes at me. I didn't need to read her mind to know her thoughts. Honestly, it was all a bit ridiculous the way the women acted around me. I took the key from her outstretched finger and hastily retreated. I could see a look of disappointment flicker across her face as I headed for the luxurious, carpeted staircase.

I took the steps two at a time, going as slowly as I could in the presence of the nearby humans. I strode down the length of the corridor and approached my room when I heard a thought that caused me to freeze in my tracks.

Where is he?

I knew that "voice" and it was very angry. What in the world was she doing here? Why couldn't I be left alone?

I sighed and turned the knob. The door swung open and I saw the tiny frame of my sister, Alice, glaring at me. One hand rested on her narrow hip and the other clutched a large, bright orange tote. Her eyes were dark and piercing while her foot tapped impatiently. Jasper sat up on the bed across the room looking defeated. I couldn't imagine what the reason for her obviously extreme anger was. That is unless she had finally had enough of my ignoring her phone calls. But she surely wouldn't bother to track me down just for that when she could let me have it when I next checked in.

"What the hell is wrong with you Edward?" The tapping of her foot had ceased but her gaze was as fierce as it had been when I entered the room.

"Excuse me?" I asked, annoyed. "The better question is what is wrong with you. What are you doing here in my room unannounced?"

"I had to come!" She said, furiously. "I saw…" Alice hesitated as a look of worry momentarily replaced the anger. "I saw you drinking from a human. Edward, what are you thinking? If Carlisle knew-"

I cut her off. "I didn't kill the woman. I could never do that to Carlisle or to myself. I thought about it briefly but I didn't act on my impulses. Why are you acting like this anyway? We all get those same urges. "

"I know that, of course." She stopped and whirled around abruptly. "Jasper, will you cut it out?" Only then did I notice the soothing waves emanating from my brother who was still sitting quietly on the bed. Alice turned back to look at me. "It's just….I know how you can get when you're upset. You're not yourself. "

Now I was even angrier. I took one long stride so that I was mere inches from her unusually perfect face. My voice was a low, tight whisper. "And so you think I'd kill someone? I swore I'd never go down that path again no matter what happened to me. Never again, Alice!"

Her anger dissolved and she frowned. "I'm sorry, Edward. I was just worried. I know that you would never-"

"It's okay," I said, sighing. "Let's just forget about it."

She nodded without saying another word. Jasper spread his hands apart. "How have you been?" He asked softly.

I shook my head wordlessly, my anger forgotten. They didn't need me to elaborate; they already knew I was no better off than I was when they'd last seen me. I was worse.

"Well," Jasper continued, trying to keep the flow of conversation going. "Everyone's doing really well. Rosalie and Emmett are visiting Japan and Carlisle and Esme are back in Forks so-"

"What?" I all but screamed the word. My rage was boiling again, hot and fast. I swore under my breath and tried to speak calmly but I was failing at it. "I thought I'd made it clear that she was not to be bothered. That she was going to live her life without any further interference from us."

"Calm down, Edward," Alice quickly hissed. "They aren't there because of Bella. She's not even there anyhow."

"I-"I froze as I took in the new bit of information. "What do you mean she isn't there? Has she gone off to college already?"

Alice looked at me skeptically. "Have you been living under a rock?"

"What?" My patience was burning out quickly. "Tell me what you know about Bella. Why isn't she in Forks?"

"She's in Los Angeles, last I heard," Jasper said.

"Bella's gone into the entertainment industry," Alice explained. "She's a recording artist, Edward."

"Quite popular already," Jasper added.

It took a while for it to hit me. Even then it still made no sense. I gazed at the pair of them in confusion. "Bella? How can that be? That's honestly the last thing I'd expect from her. It doesn't seem possible."

"It came as a surprise to me, too." Alice said gently, resting her pale hand on my shoulder. "But then it all sort of made sense considering my vision and-"

I shook her hand away. "You had a vision about her. Damn it, Alice."

"You just hold on a minute," she said, irritably. "I wasn't looking for her future. Bella and I spent a lot of time together so I'm naturally more sensitive to her now and the vision just happened. I don't know why but it did. So don't go yelling at me about it."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

She rolled her eyes. "It's a bit hard to do when you never answer your phone."

Here it comes. She's going to give me the talk about alienating myself from the family. I knew I couldn't avoid it for long. But I was surprised because what she said was not at all what I was expecting.

"I wouldn't have told you anyway," Alice muttered, looking away.

"Why?" I tried to keep the hurt out of my voice. Alice always told me everything. It was a heavy blow to see for myself how far apart we'd grown in my absence.

"Well, it wasn't a good vision. It wasn't good at all." She sat down on the bed next to Jasper and put her face in her hands. Jasper's arm stretched around her shoulder lovingly.

I waited as patiently as I could. Finally she looked up.

"I saw Bella in her room, sitting on her bed," Alice began. "She was playing the guitar, which I found surprising."

I nodded. I, too, was taken aback by this for I never knew Bella had musical talents.

"She was singing a song and the words she sang were so…heartbreaking." She shook her head as she spoke. "And then I saw that she was crying. It was such a sad song. I really don't think she'll ever record it. It was much too personal."

"About me?" I asked, but I already knew the answer.

Alice nodded. "I didn't want to tell you what I saw because I knew it would upset you."

"It's alright." I swallowed and stared down at my feet. "It's just as well. At least now I know that she's moved on like I wanted. She'll forget in due time. Humans always do." I looked up and gazed out of the window blankly.

"She won't forget. Don't you see, Edward?" Alice asked sincerely. "You and Bella are made for each other. It's not some silly human relationship like I know you think it is. This is more than that. This is….fate, destiny. It's written in the stars. It's something beyond your control and hers."

"Alice," I said, warily. "Have you been watching those late night psychic programs again? Because you know they're absolutely-"

"No, no," she said quickly, cutting me off. "Those frauds are good for nothing more than entertainment value. They could stand to learn a thing or two from someone who can really see the future. But that's not the point. What I'm saying is that your relationship with Bella is different than most others. It's out of the ordinary."

"I'll say it is," I muttered angrily. "What kind of boyfriend wants to kill his girlfriend and drink her blood every second he's with her?"

"That's not what I meant," she snapped briskly. "I just think that you and Bella are meant to be together. You love her and she loves you. She'll never get over you just as you'll never get over her. You are supposed to be with her."

I scoffed. "Why would an angel be meant for a demon?"

"You're only a demon if you choose to be," she replied softly.

I swept my hand through my hair and walked over and sank into a chair next to the window. A moment later Alice was beside me.

"So you really had no idea of what was going on with Bella?" She asked gently.

I shook my head, still stunned by the idea of Bella being in the music industry. "I wonder how Charlie feels about her doing this," I mumbled, more to myself.

"Oh, he's thrilled. He misses her, of course, but he's just happy to see her up and doing something with herself after, well, you know."

I knew. "She didn't really move on at all, did she?"

Alice bit her lip. "I think she's expressing her sorrow in a different way. But I think, overall, she's doing better. I went over to Charlie's to see how he was doing and he was talking to her on the phone and he did sound truly happy. I don't think he'd be happy if Bella wasn't."

"No," I agreed. "So did you talk to him?"

She shook her head. "I stayed out of sight. I'm sure he knows we're back in town, though. I may go over and speak to him later."

"I'll go with you," I said.

"Bad idea," Jasper said from across the room, though I heard him as clearly as if he were standing right beside me.

"Of course," I muttered, realizing how foolish the idea was. "He'll likely blame me for everything as he should. He wouldn't listen to anything I had to say."

"Yes, unfortunately that is the way of things right now," Alice said softly. With some obvious effort she looked up at me and smiled. "Don't worry about it, Edward. I'll talk to him."

"Alice," Jasper called with a weakness in his voice I knew all too well. "Isn't it time we-"

"Oh, of course," Alice quickly replied. And with that she bounded to her feet. "We need to hunt but we'll be back later." She walked over and joined Jasper who was waiting by the door. "I almost forgot. Here." She reached into her tote and pulled out a thick magazine and tossed it on the bedside table. "You might find something in there you like," she added with a wink.

I noticed Alice was smiling hugely at me as she grabbed Jasper's hand and shut the door to my room behind her. I frowned in confusion as I reached for the magazine she left. It was something of the sort of thing human teenagers might read. I flipped to a section that Alice had marked and stared in shock at what was there. I could swear I felt my heart lurch forward even though it had long since been dead. There on the page was Bella, or Isabella as it called her. She was just as beautiful as I remembered. No, she was even more beautiful, though I noticed in her face that she looked thinner and a bit weathered. The magazine listed an assortment of facts about her which I already knew and it included an article about her upcoming album.

On the opposite site was an address that Alice had circled several times and put asterisks around. Fan mail? She couldn't be serious. How often do famous people even read their letters? Alice usually had some strange ideas but this was in another league. I studied the address and muttered to myself.

"You're crazy, Alice," I said, shaking my head. Several floors below in the parking lot I could swear I heard the faint sound of her musical laughter.

Reviews, as always, are appreciated. :) Also, the edited pictures of my cast are up in my profile as well as a bunch of rambling about why I picked who I picked so you can go check those out if you want.