Sorry about no chapter last week. Real life snuck up on me and Jessypt and a break was necessary. I do have two chapters for you this week. I'm posting 16 today and hopefully 17 a bit later today or tomorrow.

Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 16- Crawling Back to You

Time can heal, but the scars only hide the way you feel

And it's hard to forget how I left you hanging

On by a thread, when everything I said, I will regret it,

Yeah,

I was doin' alright, thought I could make it,

Then I see your face and it's hard to fake it.

Just like that I'm crawling back to you

Just like you said I would yeah

I swallow my pride, now I'm crawling back to you

I'm out of my head

Can't wait any longer

Down on my knees, I thought I was stronger

Just like that like you said I'd do

I'm crawling back to you.

-Daughtry

Edward POV

"I just want to tell her I love her."

Emmett pushed me back, the strength of it picking me up off my feet. I tried to get around him again, but he put his hand in my chest. The look on his face showed sympathy but determination to keep me away.

"I know you love her, Edward, but give her some space. Rose said she would come back and talk to you. Don't push her away before you get the chance to explain."

He pushed his hand against my chest again to drive home his point and then left to catch up with them. It was physically painful to let her out of my sight. The protective instinct I have always felt for her was rearing its head and making it difficult for me to stay put. I took one step forward to go after him and felt Carlisle's hand on my shoulder. He knew I couldn't stay away while she hunted.

"Follow her discreetly, Edward," he warned.

I stood on the deck and waited five minutes before I followed them. While I waited, I listened to Rosalie and Emmett's thoughts and watched Bella through them. She seemed to be nervous, but followed Rosalie through the trees. Emmett ran to catch up to them. When he came up behind Bella, she turned to defend herself and an animalistic snarl broke free from her throat. Emmett put up his hands in a peaceful gesture. His thoughts showed his surprise.

"That was stupid. Trying to get killed. Hard to think of Bella as dangerous."

"Hold it there, Tiger. It's just little old me, too pretty to kill," he said to her, trying to calm her.

She pulled out of her crouch and warily turned away from him. Every muscle in her body was tense. I wanted to go to her and comfort her and reassure her she was okay. I knew what she was feeling. When your hunting instinct came out it was hard to think like anything but an animal. I knew it felt unnatural to turn her back on Emmett. I saw through his eyes how she kept glancing behind her to see where he was. Every instinct she had was probably screaming at her to turn and defend herself.

After a while, she seemed to get past it and visibly relaxed. Emmett watched her hands touching everything; it was like she was caressing the forest, getting to know her surroundings with her fingertips. Rosalie sensed a small herd of deer ahead and fell silent, putting her hand out behind her to stop Bella. She sprang out and caught a deer in a graceful movement that was imperceptible to the animal. She swung it around so Bella could see how it was done and drank from it. Bella put her hand up to her throat, and I could tell it was burning with need.

I jumped over the deck and followed their path. I wanted to see Bella hunting with my own eyes but didn't want her to sense me watching. I wanted to keep my distance but be close enough to her when she hunted. I took to the treetops and climbed as high as I could, staying fifty yards behind them. Emmett sensed me first.

"Obsessive much, Edward? We won't let anything happen to her." He spoke to me with his thoughts.

I was obsessed. I needed Bella like humans needed oxygen, and seeing her right in front of me but not being able to touch her and talk to her was torture. Deep down I was afraid if I let her out of my sight she would disappear. Alice's vision had been vague. I'd seen her leaving, but I hadn't seen the circumstances surrounding her decision, and it was killing me.

I was so stuck in my head I almost missed her grabbing a large buck. They had startled a herd of about ten deer and took chase after them. I'd moved to get a better view when she launched herself at the deer and tackled it, grabbing it by its antlers and wrestling it to the ground. She drank deeply from his neck and when she stood I was taken aback by how beautiful she was, even though she was a mess. She was panting from the adrenalin rush, her clothes were ripped from landing on the antlers. The animal's blood was running down her neck.

Rosalie laughed at her and teased her about the graceless way she had taken it down. I could tell by the look on Bella's face she wasn't satisfied.

"I want more," she said.

Rosalie nodded and told her to smell the air and find her next victim. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She started walking back toward me, and I froze. I didn't want her to see me and was afraid the scent she picked up was mine. She wouldn't be able to differentiate the scents yet.

I began to panic again and was set to take off when Emmett saved me.

"Where are you going, little girl?" He grabbed her hand and pulled her in the opposite direction. "Let's go find us a black bear. It's my favorite, but I'll share."

Bella scanned around, her nostrils flaring for one quick second and then let herself be led away by Emmett.

"I saved your ass, boy. This little spitfire would have probably torn you up if she caught you spying on her. Go home."

I watched them lead her away, and then let out a sigh of relief. Having Bella see me would have been a bad thing. I needed to get a hold of myself and stop making emotional decisions.

Emotional decisions ruled my life.

I reluctantly walked back to the house at a normal pace and waited for them to come back.

The sun was setting behind the house before they came back. I could hear Emmett's roaring laughter before they came out of the tree line. I fought every urge I had to keep from jumping up to make sure Bella was okay. They walked in the house, and Bella was a mess. Her clothes were torn, and she was filthy, dirt smudged on her cheek and caked on the knees of her pants. She was laughing at their teasing, and the happiness on her face took my breath away.

She turned into the room, stopped abruptly, and hid her face in her hair. She looked so much like the girl I first met so long ago in Forks. I knew her cheeks wouldn't show the blush I already missed so much, but if they could her cheeks would have been blazing.

She hesitated for a moment and then went into her room, closing the door gently behind her. I walked over to the door and just stood there. It was a compulsion I couldn't control. I leaned against the wall outside her room and listened to the sounds of the shower running and of her gathering her clothes. I didn't want her to catch me waiting, so I turned away, at a loss for what to do when I really wanted to get on my hands and knees and crawl to her, begging for her forgiveness.

I listened as my family left the room to give us the privacy we needed. Even after all of our time apart they still knew me well enough to know what I needed without me having to ask. I turned off the lights and walked over to the piano, running my hands across the smooth top. It had been so long since I had played—since Forks actually. I sat down and began playing her song. I played it knowing she would hear the strains of the melody. I had messed up her whole life. She owed me nothing, but I wanted her to know how I felt about her, even if she wasn't ready hear me out. I closed my eyes and let the music fill me, remembering the day I brought her to meet my family. The day she sat next to me on the piano bench and listened to me pour out my emotions for her through a song, when I couldn't get past the fear to tell her with my words.

I knew my song wasn't going to be enough this time. I also knew deep down that my words might not be enough either. I had hurt her with my stupid decisions, thinking I was superior to her and knew what was best for her, when all along I was afraid of losing her, whether from the danger my immortality posed or her deciding I wasn't good for her. Selfishly, I had needed to be the one to walk away to save myself from the hurt of her doing it.

I had learned something about myself in the last day. I was scared. I'd always been scared of allowing myself to need her, but I knew that love wasn't about being afraid it would all be snatched away. Love was about finding her again, the one who made me complete. I needed her to see that even if I was doomed to spend my life without her loving me back, each memory I had of her made my life bearable. It might be impossible to explain my actions, to negate the most vicious lie I had ever told, but I would never give up trying to earn her forgiveness.

I heard the door to her room open, but I kept my eyes closed and played on. I sensed her coming closer to me, and my hands ached to reach out for her. I opened my eyes and was shocked by her bright red irises. My stomach hitched at the reminder that she had another reason to hate me. She met my eyes full on, but I couldn't read her emotions. The woman standing in front of me was someone I didn't know. The old Bella's expressions had always been so open, her eyes startlingly honest, as if I could see to her soul, but the new Bella looked shuttered and frozen. I was saddened by the hardness I saw around her lips.

She held my gaze for a moment and walked outside into the dark night.

xoxoxo

I know this was short, but writing about Bella hunting from her POV didn't work for me. We already read about it in Breaking Dawn and I couldn't make it work.

As always THANK YOU JESSYPT! I had serious tense issues this chapter and she should have slapped me. Thank you to all that have reviewed my story! Your words mean so much to me. I'm sorry I haven't responded. I read everyone and am so grateful for the time you take to write them.

See you soon! I just need to fix some of 17 before I post it. Bella and Edward have their talk.