You guys are all really awesome for putting up with me. Lol. Life has been so crazy and hectic, I honestly haven't even thought about writing PRM but I'm still getting alerts which really warms my heart that you guys haven't given up on me. I'm trying to write when I can but the problem is finding time. So, Chapter Ten is still unfinished but maybe this can be a Part 1. I'm again, really sorry you guys. Thankfully there's not that many chapters left of this and I know exactly what I want to happen so it'll be easier to write instead of wandering through ideas until something clicks (my usual strategy. Lol) I hope this meets your standards and that I'll have Part 2 up before next year. ;)

Chapter Ten: Forget me Not

The days and hours blurred into months of a colorless happiness. The hole in my chest was almost nonexistent; Jake had healed me. Though it was his passionate kisses that revived the memory of another, I couldn't go a day without them. The final seams of my memory were restored down to the meadow where I witnessed my last sighting of Laurent and my first sighting of Jake's true hairy form. I spent more of my summer days split between time with Emily at her home, waiting for the boys to stop by during a break from their patrol, always such a short amount of time but worth the wait. The rest of my days were full of Alice, who was staying at my home since I couldn't go to their glass house further outside Forks. I still wasn't ready. Alice and Jacob had come to an agreement: Alice would keep me in Forks and Jacob would wait for Alice to go on her hunts before climbing through my window. The nights we were together were the only nights I could sleep peacefully, my head on top of his blazing chest, my cheek absorbing his heat. I knew Alice kept in contact with Carlisle after he returned to Canada to reunite with Esme. And I knew of the periodic calls from Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett. But he hadn't come…so she must not have told him…or he didn't care.

One day I heard two different kinds of angry hisses. One was Alice; her voice dripped venom whenever she murmured Rosalie's name, unable to tame her seething temper. I've never seen her so enraged; her dark eyes were like daggers plunging you into a dark hole. I couldn't hear the other voice clearly enough to match it with the face of its owner. It was too hushed as if she was talking to herself. My heart jumped at the thought it could be…him. I inhale through the pain and try to focus on the voice whispering in Alice's ear but my hearing is human and feeble. I didn't have the sharp instincts and senses of a vampire or a werewolf. Unfortunately.

The whispering stopped. Alice had hung up and was now looking at me. I gulped as she walked towards me, the sleek silver phone forgotten in her hand. Her eyes told me who it was before the words left her lips. "Bella…that was Edward." Oh god. I stared into Alice's terror-stricken eyes and knew what was coming before I heard her next words. It was like feeling the wind being knocked out of you before the car actually came in contact with your body and ran you down. "H-He's coming back to Forks."

I didn't understand. My heart beats were pounding in my ears all at once; the room was spinning; my mind was in utter chaos, unable to tame my racing thoughts. I could see her lips moving. But I didn't understand what had came out of her mouth. Edward was coming. Edward was coming here. To Forks. Edward was coming to Forks.

Oh my god. What do I tell Jake? The image of Jake's face once he learned of my recollections of Edward that I'd kept hidden from him for a reason I still couldn't fully comprehend flashed through my mind. Such pain, shock, betrayal…and fear; fear that he was never enough that I would always love Edward more. He'd been treating our relationship delicately as if my love would be snatched from him in a blink of an eye. I could only imagine his reaction to me informing him of Edward's return. He was coming to Forks. No matter how many times I replayed that measly sentence, I couldn't grasp what was happening. I was afraid my heart had stopped; I couldn't hear my heart beats anymore. I couldn't breathe. Edward is coming to Forks. Edward is coming to Forks. He would see me with Jake. He would see Alice staying with me and Charlie. He would see the entire wolf pack. He would see everything.

But why would he come back?

"He thinks you're dead." I gapped at her. "I told Rosalie of the vision I had of you jumping off a cliff and she finally tracked Edward down. He was already running in our direction when he called me from Portland, Oregon to confirm your death. I told him you were alive but he insisted on seeing you for himself." I continued to stare at her. My eyes weren't blinking.

This didn't make any sense. Portland was so close to Forks. Too close.

"But...if…if Edward knew I was fine-even before he knew I was fine-why…why would he care? He doesn't love me. He doesn't want me." The look on Alice's face reflected the pain of heartbreak and secrecy. The pain I feel quake in my chest every time Jake kisses me, and every time I close my eyes without Jake's presence beside me to keep the nightmares away, and every time I've been away from Jake for too long reflected in Alice's eyes. I couldn't have Edward…and Jake took away the pain. He made it easier to breathe; he made it possible for me to believe I would survive the day.

"Oh Bella," Alice's voice, full of empathy and sadness, broke through my thoughts. The expression on her face didn't quite measure up to the fierceness of her eyes. She knew the pain I'd been subdued to and had the classic look of a murderer, a warning to those who would hurt me in the near future. She knew I didn't want Edward here. I didn't want Edward to find me because though he'd be able to walk away from me once he's ensured my safety…I wasn't sure I'd be able to let him go. Not again. Then there was my hero.

Jake.

A huge part of me yearned for him. But only because I couldn't have what I truly wanted. It was cruel and I am the only one to blame for the pain that I was sure would sour any chance of a happy ending when this was over. Just me and my selfishness. I wasn't a man-eater but much worse-a heartbreaker.

No. No. No. Edward couldn't come here. Edward couldn't come claim a heart I'd promised to someone else. I would never forgive myself for hurting my hero, the one who sacrificed himself to save me.

Edward saved you too. And much as I hated to admit it, that was true. I was the monkey between both my heroes. Two hearts that I had the power to break with a single choice. Who could make a decision like this? Why me? I was just fine living in blissful ignorance...with Jacob. Edward was better off as a vague ache in my chest, nothing more for the sake of my sanity and emotional well being.

"C-Call him back. S-Stop him. Edward can't come here!" Alice's expression hadn't changed from my last attempt to change what was happening. I knew he was coming. I knew he'd be here soon. I watched Alice fidget, the motion unusual to me…supernatural creatures with the grace of a ballet dancer do not fidget. It was as if she was hinting to the secrets she was hiding. I wasn't sure I wanted to ask. "What is it, Alice?" I whispered.

There was a slight release in the way she exhaled; it was also unnecessary and part of the body language she was using to communicate with me. I wasn't getting the message. "Edward…knows you lost your memory…and he doesn't want you to forget him." Is that not why he left?

"Edward…told me to forget him," I mumbled pathetically. Alice's hand touched my arm gently like she was handling glass.

"Relax, Bella. I'll keep him away. I promise, you won't see him." But he could see me. It went unsaid but lied between the lines. She promised I wouldn't see him. But I was human; my eyes were limited in ways the eyes of vampires weren't. Edward would see me, make sure I was well and safe, then he'd vanish back into the his feeble existence in my thoughts. He'd leave again. But I wouldn't see him...I wouldn't know he was watching...there'd be no harm done.

"Promise?" I barely managed to whisper through my whirl of thoughts.

"If it's truly what you want, Bella...I promise." The look on her face only mirrored the truth I was denying myself. I wouldn't let myself process what my next words would mean. I didn't care. Correction: I didn't want to care.

"It's what I want."