EDWARD'S POV

I don't know what happened. Was it something I did? I should've made her talk to me sooner, tell me what was going on. I could see how tortured she was. I put my head in my hands as I sat outside her window. It reminded me of the night I decided I couldn't stay away from her any longer. Before I knew my life would forever be changed. I looked up again and watched as my only love lay crippled on the floor. I could see how much this was hurting her. I only hoped she wasn't worried about me. I could accept this decision. I wouldn't run away again though. Bella was still my life. Even if she wasn't a part of it. I would do everything I could to make sure she stayed safe. I hesitated for a moment before jumping down. I took one last look at the house I had spent every night for the last year.

The next day I dressed for school despondently. With the support of my family, I decided to stay in school. It would look badly for us if I just disappeared. I debated between changing my schedule and just staying in all my classes with Bella. I could always just sit in a different seat. For today I decided to see how things went. If it was too difficult for her I would transfer out. However as the final bell rang for class I realized Bella would not be at school today. I fought the urge to go over and check on her. I knew if she was in any real danger Alice would have foreseen it. Would Alice call though? Could she see Bella wherever she was at? I still didn't understand her reasons for needing a vacation. Though in the past they've brought me grief, now more than ever I longed for her visions.

"Hey Edward." I looked up to find Angela sitting down across from me in the cafeteria. I had purposefully sat away from the usual group but that didn't seem to deter her.

"Hello." I remained polite. I had no ill feelings toward her. She was still one of Bella's closest friends.

"Where's Bella?" You could hear the concern in her voice.

"I'm not sure." I didn't know if I should say anymore. If I should tell her Bella and I were no longer.

"You're not sure?" She eyed me skeptically. It was no secret how close Bella and I had become.

"Actually, Angela, Bella broke up with me last night. I'm really not sure where she is today." I couldn't help the anguish that flowed through every word.

"Wow." She stared at me for what seemed like an eternity not even trying to cover the shock on her face.

"Yeah." There didn't seem to be any words. We both sat silently throughout the rest of lunch. For once I wasn't the only one not eating.

I fought the urge to check on her all night long. The only thing pushing me to go to school the next day was the thought that Bella might be there. It seemed like forever since I last saw her face. I had to remember to walk at a human pace all the way to class. It seemed to take twice as long as usual. I felt my face fall as I saw her seat was once again empty. I couldn't do it today. I was hurting too bad. Without a word I turned around and headed back to my car. I won't go check on her, no. But I had to get out of here. I drove back to our house. Esme gave me a puzzled look as I walked inside.

"Edward? What's wrong?" She was at my side in an instant. I knew she was the most worried about this break up. For years Esme thought I would always be alone. There was no doubt in my mind that I would be. Until I met Bella that is. I sighed out loud as I thought about her. It wasn't just her blood that was a drug to me. I found myself craving her very presence. Somehow her leaving me hurt worse than when I left her. Almost as bad as when I thought she was dead. But no, this was different. She didn't want me anymore. I cringed.

"Oh Edward!" Esme had her arms around me at once. I didn't remember my real parents at all but Esme was everything one could possibly want in a mother. I embraced her half heartedly before running up to my room. I needed distractions. I glanced around the room feverishly. Music. That always works. I quickly pushed play not caring what was in my CD player. I just needed noise. Something to drown out my own thoughts. However I instantly regretted it. My room was filled with the soft melody of Clair de Lune. For the first time in a hundred years I found myself wishing I could cry. I walked slowly to the window overlooking the stream. Deep down I knew the pain I was feeling was my own fault. I never should've left her. Or maybe I shouldn't ever have come back. Clearly that's what she wanted after all. To be left alone….

I stood there by the window all night long as Clair de Lune repeated itself over and over again. Time passed too slowly yet much too fast. I was content to stay there even longer but I knew I would go to school. I couldn't help the longing in my heart, the hope that Bella would be there. It was like gravity. I couldn't have stayed away even if I really wanted to. As I sat there in class waiting to see her face yet again I started to become anxious, fearful. She would never miss this much school. Not in her senior year. This wasn't like Bella. Maybe she just didn't want to be near me anymore. For all I knew she could've moved back to Jacksonville to be with her mom. My hopes were crushed yet again when the final bell rang. I didn't leave this time. I made my way through each class not even bothering to pay attention. It wasn't really anything I hadn't heard before. Repeating high school every 4 to 6 years had its advantages.

I skipped out of the cafeteria this time. I didn't want to have to face Angela again and without even Alice it seemed pointless to go in there. I decided to cut the rest of my classes as well. 'A quick look wouldn't hurt. Just to make sure she was ok. Find out if she was still in Forks.' I tried to rationalize with myself reasons to go over to Bella's house. I didn't need to speak to her. I just had to know if she was ok. What could it hurt?

I nearly ran all the way to her house but decided it would be wise not to leave my car in the parking lot at school. I dropped the car off at home. I needed to stay inconspicuous and too many people knew my car. It would've been a dead giveaway. My body wanted to run as fast as it could, the sooner to see her face. However my mind was terrified. I shouldn't be doing this. She wanted her space. I was going to respect that. But how was I supposed to keep her safe if I didn't ever check on her? I picked up the pace.

It only took me a few minutes to reach her house. Charlie's cruiser was sitting out front. This alerted me. He never missed worked. I jumped up the tree and peered into Bella's room trying to stay out of view. Charlie was standing next to her bed with a tray of food. It looked like he was trying to get her to eat something. I remembered the last time I'd seen her. All the bones sticking out…She'd always been slim but I could tell she had lost weight. She couldn't have weighed more than 115 lbs when I first met her. How much weight could she possibly lose? I hoped this wasn't one of those ridiculous self esteem issues girls these days seemed to have. Bella had always been perfect just the way she was.

I couldn't tell what Bella was doing but she seemed to be refusing the food. Charlie hung his head and slowly left the room. I got a quick look at him as he turned around and looked in at Bella. His face looked haggard. He had dark circles under his eyes and his mouth seemed to be pulled into a permanent frown. I'd never seen the chief look like this before. I tore my eyes away from him and finally saw her. If I didn't have such good reflexes I might've fallen out of the tree. 'Oh Bella, my sweet Bella.' Her face was so pale she could've passed as a vampire. It looked like she had lost more weight. As sick as she looked what bothered me the most was the dead look she had in her eyes. It wasn't the tortured look I'd seen on her face the last couple weeks. No this was worse. It was the face of someone who had given up. My still heart broke. Something was very wrong. I didn't want to believe I had done this to her. What explanation was there though? The last time I saw her before this sudden change was the morning before she went to see Jacob….A growl rumbled deep in my chest. Of course. That mongrel...

I jumped down and tried to gain control of myself. I didn't know for sure if Jacob had done anything. It would be stupid to break the treaty over a guess. I turned around and headed to woods running as fast as I could and far away from Forks.