Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight. No copyright infringement of any kind is intended.

"Yet Esme couldn't help blaming herself for Edward leaving their family for the second time. If she could convince him he deserved Bella's love, her family could be happy and whole again."

III. November 2005

To my family,

I apologize for my behavior this past month. My actions and words have been infantile and you don't deserve this. For this reason, and for my inexcusable conduct last night, I have made the decision to leave Ithaca for an extended period of time. I have made arrangements to stay with Alistair in England for a few months, working on a project of my own with his help.

To Carlisle and Esme: you have been better parental figures in this life than I could ever ask or wish for. Don't think for one moment you could have changed things; I have my own fate to carry out. I love you both very much, and I'm praying my absence will take no longer than necessary.

To Rosalie—I'm sorry for the way I spoke to you last night. It was uncalled for and I said most of it in anger. Contrary to what I said, I will miss you, and I'm asking you to please keep the Aston-Martin and Volvo tuned-up for me while I'm gone. And to Emmett, I'm deeply sorry for destroying your game system. I shouldn't have let my temper get the best of me. I've ordered another system for you—it won't be released in the States for another six months, but it should be arriving sometime next week.

Alice and Jasper—I feel as though it is you who I have inconvenienced the most through this ordeal. I apologize for this, and I hope my absence gives you some of the peace you deserve. Jasper, please stop blaming yourself for what has happened. This was something I would have decided to do regardless of what happened at the party. Alice, I'm begging you to stop looking out for Bella's future. You are not to communicate with her, or return to Forks for any reason. I just want her to have a normal life—and we cannot give her that.

I will keep in touch. If you need to reach me, you can e-mail or call me, or send your letters to Alistair's address.

Forever a Cullen,

Edward

It was inconvenient sometimes, to be stuck in the mind of a seventeen year old.

Esme wondered sometimes if Edward's body had been given a few years to mature, whether his temper would have been more manageable. Sometimes, he seemed much like the child that he appeared to be. For example, last night, when he completely destroyed the gaming system that Emmett had been innocently playing. His temper left him unable to brush off the snide, uncalled-for comments from Rosalie while they sat in the living room, and Esme had honestly been scared for her daughter's life when she pushed Edward over the edge. Not that it wouldn't have been deserved.

And now, sometime in the silence of the night, Edward had abruptly decided to abandon Ithaca for London. A city on a continent an ocean away. A decision only a teenager would have been content making so quickly and irrationally.

She briefly wondered whether Edward had ever even seen London. But she didn't like to think about the time Edward had spent away from her and Carlisle in those early years.

Esme spent her nights worrying that Edward had been left emotionally inept because he was changed so young. At seventeen, one is still discovering their place in the world, and he had never even considered the concept of love; his world was filled with war and patriotism and fighting. It was true that Alice was the same age, but her human life was so drastically different, and her abilities left her with a different understanding of the world. Esme suspected Edward's gift, his ability to hear the deepest, most intimate thoughts of the people around him left him even more cynical of love and the emotions that accompanied it.

Whereas the love shared between the coupled Cullens was inexplicably simple and just as immortal as they were, human attraction was, more often than not, shallow, fleeting, and more complex than needed. Edward often saw more of the lustful sides of relationships, rather than the tender but passionate side Esme was certain existed in the mortal world. To an extent, Edward believed that humans were unable to love the way the Cullens did, but Esme knew he had dismissed thoughts of passion and devotion as loyalty and lust.

Now that Edward was gone, she deeply regretted not speaking to her son about this subject. Edward's cynical-seventeen-year-old mentality left him believing that Bella's love for him could be extinguished with his absence. What Edward didn't realize was their love was so pure and fierce that something so simple as different species couldn't get in the way. Bella knew this. But Edward was still in denial, and until he came to terms with this, he would be caught in this endless circle of despair and loneliness.

Which led her back to her original thoughts upon reading Edward's dramatic farewell note. How inconvenient it must be, to be stuck in the body of a seventeen year old.

She knew they were fickle sometimes with their belongings, splurging their endless amounts of money on ostentatious cars and clothing and the newest technology. Despite being near a century old, they were just children playing with their new toys.

But still, the biggest pitfall of being stuck in time was just that—being caught by the sleeve of your shirt on a branch in the forest and no matter how hard you tug and run, you find yourself standing in the same place you were ten minutes ago. Edward was caught in the same hole as he was ninety years ago, and he needed this escape to London to convince himself he wasn't just running in circles. Yet Esme couldn't help blaming herself for Edward leaving their family for the second time. If she could convince him he deserved Bella's love, her family could be happy and whole again.

A/N: I know this chapter seems a bit short and sweet, but I'm using these few months as an opportunity to hear the Cullens' perspective of Bella and Edward's separation. November was Esme's month- and she's very quick and to the point. As the storyline progresses, we will grow out of the letter/perspective format into a closer focus on the protagonists.