Playlist:
EPoV & BPoV—Here Without You- 3 Doors Down (Go listen; in my opinion, it explains what Edward and Bella are thinking throughout this entire story ;D)
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||Chapter 2||
Out There
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||EPoV||
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Edward shoved is hands in his pockets and wove through the busy streets of Brooklyn. Was it just him, or was 1st Street always the most crowded?
He avoided eye contact with everyone on the streets. He passed by every store, but never stopped to look in the windows. He had no reason to. No one was buying him any gifts, and he wasn't buying any either. Christmas was just as useless to him as the rest of the year.
He was able to breathe again once he was in the safe confinements of his apartment. He switched the lights on and let his gaze shift throughout the tiny front room. Everything was just as he had left it that morning. His apartment was small, yes… but that was also exactly how he liked it: small and cozy. If he had anything larger or grander would remind him too much of his parents. They had always appreciated the more expensive things in life.
He sighed and let his bag fall to the floor, hung his jacket up on the lonely hook that was perched alongside of the door frame. He trudged up the tiny flight of stairs, not even bothering to enter his itsy-bitsy kitchen. He was too tired to be thinking about food. But, then again, wasn't he always?
He struggled with the handle on his bedroom door for a moment before he finally got it open. He opened it partially and slipped through, pushing on it just enough for it to close gently, silently, behind him. He paused, waiting for the click that would tell him if it had closed all the way, and when it did, he sighed and went over to his dresser.
Despite the late hour of the day, everything outside was still as bright and cheerful as it was throughout the morning hours, and the whiteness of the snow just seemed to add onto it. This angered him; how could people be so cheerful and care-free when there were people, like him, out there who were suffering in ways that they could only hope that they wouldn't have to feel one day?
He shook his head at that thought and went back to his searching. Eventually he pulled out a pair of dark blue, cotton pajama pants. He changed out of his day clothes and put them on. She used to like it when he didn't wear a shirt to bed, and it just sort of stuck with him through out all the years. Ten years, if he wanted to be precise.
He saw a flash of white out of the corner of his eye. His gaze flashed in the direction of the window. Fresh flakes of fluffy white snow were falling. In a nice, easy pattern, as far as he could tell. His mood instantly hit an all-time low. He hated snow. She had left during Christmastime.
He was about to look away when he saw it. Or, rather, her.
In the building right across from his, a girl with long, dark brown hair sat in the window sill. She had her legs curled up to her chest, arms wrapped around them. She had her head resting on the frame behind her, and was looking down at the ground below. Sadly, from what he could see from his position. The closer he looked the more of this beautiful girl he could see.
Her mahogany hair hung loose around her face, making the heart shape of it more pronounced. Even from where he was, he could tell that her nose was slightly upturned –but not enough to make her look like a Who—and her sad, brown eyes were the exact same color as her hair. Her bottom lip was slightly fuller than her top, giving her a sort of pouty look. The corners of her lips were pulled down in a frown.
She looked so much like her…
Edward watched as a large man came up from behind her and put a hand on her shoulder, making her jump. She looked up at the man, and launched herself into his arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. He rubbed her back soothingly. Like how she used to do to him…
The man whispered something into her ear and she nodded, letting go and stepping away from him. He touched her face and bent down to give her a kiss on the forehead.
Edward looked away, sickened [with himself], and shut the blinds roughly so he didn't have to watch anymore. He ran a hand through his hair and breathed in through his nose deeply. Of course it had only been his mind playing sick jokes on him. She wasn't really here. And, if she was, she would have had no reason to be depressed like that girl had. After all, she was free of him, right? What more could you want in life than to be free of the ones holding you down?
He climbed into his bed and grabbed his iPod, turning on Here Without You, and fell asleep, dreaming of the night she had left…
He woke up to the sounds of someone rustling through the dresser. He opened one of his eyes and scanned the room. He was back in Forks, his old bedroom. The one he had shared with her. She was searching through the dresser, pulling out her clothes and throwing them into a suitcase.
"Honey?" he asked groggily. "What're you doing?"
She sniffled and wiped at her eye with her sleeve, but didn't look at him.
"I have to leave, Edward," she whispered, turning around and kneeling down to the suitcase. She moved things about and once everything was where it needed to be, she zipped it up and stood up with it.
"What do you mean, love?" He sat up in the bed. She stifled a sob and turned for the door.
"Don't call me that," she snapped, and opened the door, pulling the bag through.
He jumped out of bed and ran to her, catching the door before she could close it completely. He blocked her attempt at leaving with one arm. She pushed at his arm, trying to get out. "Let me through, Edward!" He didn't loosen up.
"Why? Where are you going?"
"Away!"
He shook his head, and forced her to look at him with one finger. "That's not good enough. Why are you leaving?"
She looked away from him, her deep brown eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I don't… love you anymore." She gave his arm one final shove, which he gave in to out of complete and utter shock. She didn't love him anymore...
He dropped his arm and she wasted no time, racing out of there like there was a fire.
He watched her retreating figure, his eyes stinging with tears. He knew it was bound to happen one day, but he wasn't prepared. He wanted her to wait just a few more weeks, just long enough for him to prove that he loved her, and was willing to do anything.
But it was too late now. She was gone, and wasn't coming back.
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||BPoV||
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She ran away as fast as she could. The tears were flowing freely now, making it hard to see as she burst through the front door and out into the cold, winter air of Forks. She wrenched the door to her truck open and threw the suitcase into the passenger side before getting in and jamming the keys in the ignition. She wiped at the tears and stomped on the pedal, tearing out of the driveway as fast as she could. Rose and Emmett were going to allow her to stay with them until she could find her own place—preferably as far away from Forks, Washington as possible.
She needed a distraction. Thinking on instinct, she reached out a hand and turned the radio on. Here Without You by 3 Doors Down was playing. A sob forced its way from her throat and she turned it off. That song hit too close to the mark.
She pulled into their driveway after a while. She pulled the keys out, letting the truck sputter to a stop, but made no movement to get out.
What had she just done? She knew why she did it, but she felt horrible for it.
For everything.
She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to keep from falling apart, and proceeded to cry herself into a restless sleep…
"Bella?" Emmett asked, setting a hand on her shoulder. She jumped, officially coming out of her daze. She let her eyes take in her surroundings.
She was sitting in the widow sill of Alice's and her apartment that they had rented. Snow was falling outside. She hated snow. It was cold, wet, and reminded her too much of him.
"Oh, Emmett!" she sobbed, launching herself in his arms. He and Alice were the only ones who understood what she was going through.
"It's all right, Sis," he cooed, rubbing her back soothingly. Emmett was her older brother, and used to be his best friend. They had a falling out after he had gotten married to Rosalie Hale, and never really talked after that. Especially not after Bella had left him.
"E-Emmett, d-do you th-think he's r-really o-out th-there somewhere?" she whispered. Emmett was used to this; she asked him that every time she failed at locating him.
"Of course I do, Sis," he assured. "He's out there somewhere, just waiting for us to find him again. You know that, as well as I do." She nodded, and sniffled slightly. She pulled away, and Emmett frowned when he saw her tear-stained face.
He grimaced, and wiped away some tears from his sister's cheeks.
"Emmett, why did he have to believe me when I said I didn't love him?" she asked, a sob building up in her throat. "Why did he not come after me?"
"I don't know, Bells. I'm sorry," he murmured, and planted a kiss on her forehead in a brotherly way. She tried to smile at him and waved her hand dismissively.
"It's alright. I'm, uh, I'm going to go to bed now," she said, brushing past him.
She went back to her room and pulled out an old shirt of his, and pulled it on over her head. She grabbed her iPod off of the table next to her bed and climbed in, turning on Here Without You. She fell asleep, dreaming of better times. Better times before she had left.
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||APoV||
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Alice pressed her ear flat against the wood of Bella's door, listening. She had sent Emmett in there only moments before, for she knew that no matter what she did, she would never be able to help her best friend to the extent that Bella's brother could.
"E-Emmett, d-do you th-think he's r-really o-out th-there somewhere?" Of course he is!
"Of course I do, Sis," he assured her. "He's out there somewhere, just waiting for us to find him again. You know that, as well as I do." Alice heard some rustling and a sniffle.
"Emmett, why did he have to believe me when I said I didn't love him?" she asked, "Why did he not come after me?"
"Alice, what are you doing?" Alice jumped at the sound, and instantly straightened up.
"Nothing, silly!" She feigned innocence to her neice.
Liz's eyebrows furrowed together in disbelief. A trait she had recieved from her father.
"Mommy said that you shouldn't lie to people," she informed Alice. "She said that it's mean, and only ends up hurting people." Of course Bella would tell her that. She had more expirience dealing with that than she needed.
"You're right, ," Alice sighed, and stepped away from the door.
"How about some ice cream?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
Liz put her hands on her hips. "At nine o'clock at night?"
"Oh, you onery nine-year-old." Alice smiled, and put a finger to her lips. "We just won't tell your mom, deal?" she whispered.
"Okay!" Liz's tone instantly brightened and she grabbed Alice's hand. "Let's go!"
They took off down the hallway, but Alice turned her head when she heard a door open. Emmett stepped out of Bella's room, a sour expression on his face. She was going to turn around and ask him what was wrong, but it was already too late, as Liz had already pulled her down the stairs and into the kitchen.
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||A/N||
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Soo, how was it?I'd love to hear your theories for why she left ;D-- and Jayleen-Cullen-Whitlock-Hale., unfortunately I'm gonna have to exclude you from this one, LOL!
And you may have questions about this 'Liz' person, which I'd love to answer, but... no. Liz will be explained with more depth next chapter, so... yeah. She's suposed to be a mystery right now. Once again, Jayleen, you're excluded from this, LOL.
Review, PLEASE!