A/N: Okay, yeah, it's still Amber. But this is Amber's story so the Epilogue ends with her. :)

Epilogue.

Amber's POV

I had been thinking this through for a long time. As the summer came closer and closer to an end, I realised how important it was that I thought about it. Sure, Andy and I hadn't been talking about it but I had been thinking about it. I wasn't going to wait for things to creep up behind us and catch us by surprise.

My decision was made.

Andy and I lasted the entire summer. My life finally had stability in it. I chilled with Embry without any awkward ex drama; I chilled with Andy without him complaining about my ex and I chilled with my friends. I was enjoying every lasting second of summer. Well, summer wasn't the right word for it since it had to be sunny and warm for it to be summer, but school was out, and yes, that counted as summer.

Sadly, summer couldn't last forever. I wished it could. I wished I could hang out with my friends every night, not worry about school, not worry about exams and separations. Especially separations. There was nothing more fun than road trips to California and Seattle with the girls, I didn't want this fun to have to end and have to grow up and be an adult with college so close.

I'd expected the knock at the door but it still made my jump. I set my lap top on the sofa and got up to answer the door.

"Embry!" I squeaked in surprise, the lurching in my chest that I used to get when he was near was mostly, completely gone. Embry was my friend, Andy was my boyfriend, the feelings I felt for them were completely abstract. Embry and I were friends, but I couldn't just forget the love and the heartbreak we'd been through together, "What…are you doing here?" I wasn't unhappy to see him…he just wasn't supposed to be here. I looked over his shoulder searching for my intended guest but he was there. I chewed my lip anxiously, the thought of Andy not coming slithered through.

No. He had to come. He always came. Andy would never set me up. He would have called first. I tried focusing on the thought that Andy was definitely coming. It didn't calm me.

"Yeah, I dropped by last night with Laurence. School starts in a week—boo to that—and we figured we'd say hi…or more like bye since school is starting." He babbled on and on.

I kept looking over his shoulder, stretching onto my tip toes to see past his humongous head. "Uh-huh. She didn't come with you?" I asked, pretending that I was looking for Laurence, his girlfriend that he may or may not have cheated on me with. I seriously rather not know. I didn't want the perfect relationship we had to be tainted by something as terrible as adultery.

"No, um, she wanted to see Emily and company. Figured I'd drop by…" he squirmed past me and into my house. I tried grabbing his arm and hauling him outside but he never noticed when I was trying to get him out. "Do you have plans?" he looked at me. I was fully dressed but it wasn't anything special, some skinnies and tank top. An average outfit.

"Yeah, actually, Andy should be coming over." I nodded, hoping he'd get the hint and leave.

"Oh," he shrugged and strode to the kitchen and started getting a glass from the cupboard.

I glared at him expecting him to be able to read the frustration in my faces like he used to when we were dating. But he was completely clueless—and adorable—when he sat in a chair, looked up and said, "What?"

"Um…look, Embry, you know I love when you come over but, um, I kind of have to be with Andy….Alone." I wasn't planning on adding the 'alone' part but it seemed when he didn't get up apologizing, blushing and getting the hell out.

"Oh!" he nodded in recognition, "You want me to leave." He chortled, "What are you hiding from me, Am?"

I rolled my eyes, "What? Nothing. I'm just trying to get you out so Andy and I could have some privacy."

"Privacy?" he narrowed his eyes, "Oh! Privacy." He nodded stiffly, probably making his own assumptions in his head. His jaw tightened and he continued frowning. Part of me wanted to yell at him and tell him it wasn't what he was thinking, but I wasn't sure what he was thinking so I didn't want to bring anything up if it wasn't necessary.

I felt my own cheeks get warm as Embry stayed planted in one of my chairs, scrutinizing the rim of his glass of water with a ridiculous amount of focus. The silence was sickening and awkward. I hated moments like these and I always tried avoiding them with Embry and now, here we were, both blushing like tomatoes.

"Please go." I groaned.

"Too late. He's here." He hoped out of the chair and started towards the door.

"No!" I shouted and ran past him to the door. I opened it and Andy was there, pale and adorable and confused. He was still so cute to me. I didn't have to remind myself why I was doing this. I looked at his face—at his handsome, soft, innocent face—and I knew I was right. "Hey." I smiled and let him in.

He was smiling till his eyes rested on Embry, then we could slowly see the corners of his mouth turning down, "Uh…Embry…hi." He said nodding, trying not to keep direct eye contact. Andy had once told that Embry was a scary guy. I would never understand it. Sure, Embry was tall and huge and looked six years over his actual age but he was a goon. He was a big kid, not a scary man.

"Hi." Embry nodded, not looking at Andy either. He was clearly deep in thought and maybe upset about something but he just let it pass for his usual remoteness with Andy. "So, Nebraska, that's far—"

I cut him off before he could make Andy feel bad for his school choice. Embry thought it was wrong for him to have even applied there in the first place but he wasn't the one who should be judging. His school was in freaking L.A. "Okay. That was fun, bye Embry." I kicked him out of the house and locked the door behind him. I glanced at Andy and smiled, "I'm sorry about—"

"It's cool." He smiled back, bright and happy to see me, as always.

My heart squeezed and I started feeling tugs and pulls in the opposite direction—pulling me away from my plans—I knew I had to this. I had to. "Yeah, um, Andy…let's sit." I suggested. He followed behind me and sat at the head of the table, "Are you thirsty?" I asked.

He laughed, "I'm good. Thanks."

I nodded and hesitantly sat at the chair next to him. I rested my hand on the table and tapped my foot as I thought.

Andy took my hand and after a brief hesitation, I grasped it and squeezed.

"Nebraska…that's far." I repeated what Embry had said just before I kicked him out. "And school starts in less than two weeks…you're leaving soon." I don't know why I was stating the obvious. Maybe I was trying to replay my excuses to myself so I wouldn't chicken out. Nebraska was far, school was starting soon, he would be leaving me, those were all valid reasons.

"Yeah." He nodded bitterly.

"We have to talk about it, Andy."

He sighed.

"We have to—"

"I've been thinking about it…"

I leaned forward, eager to hear his idea. Andy was smart, a million times smarter than me; I knew that whatever idea he had, it was a million times better than mine.

"It won't be that bad." He continued, "I'll be gone, yeah, but I'll be back for the Holydays!" he face lit up, "But I'll be gone after…but I'll be back during Easter and Spring break and maybe even Thanksgivings."

I shook my head. I'd thought of that, of course I had. A few months off, a few days, maybe weeks, on. That wasn't what I wanted, "Andy…that's not a relationship." I sighed.

He didn't say anything. I'd shot his idea straight to hell and now he didn't know what to say or do. I knew what I had to say but a huge part of me didn't want it. I forced my tongue to move and form words.

"I've thought of it, too." I said, his face lit up and he leaned forward to listen, like I had. He was hopeful for a better idea, and I had one. My idea was better. It was smarter. "Long distance relationships, Andy, they don't work." He waited. Wait for me to say 'but'. It never came. There was no but. Long distance relationships never worked. Period. They never ended well. Long distance was the perfect way to end any relationship.

His face was like watching a glacier melt from something huge, amazing and colourful to something small and disappointing. His bright smile faded and faded until it was just plain comprehension and sadness. It was like the smile hadn't been there in the first place."Amber." He whispered when he caught onto what I was saying. "Amber…don't—"

"It's not going to work, Andy. This is best, for both of us." I took a deep breath, "I think we should break up." I felt a twinge of pain in my stomach when I said the words out loud for the first time and I ignored it. This was best. This was smart.

Andy didn't move. He just sat there, looking at me with those pitiful brown eyes. I saw all the innocence of a child in his eyes and I had to fight not to look away. He deserved me to look and pay attention. So I did. My heart throbbed and my stomach clenched.

This was harder than I'd thought. I'd broken up with guys before but it had never been like this. For me, it was like ripping of a band-aid. Once of those cloth-like band-aids with the sticky stuff. They hurt so badly when you took them off but, of course, quick and kind of painless. But sometime, I would miss some of the glue and I'd have to grid my teeth against the irritating pain of rubbing it off, but it was nothing like this. And the guys, they were always more pissed than anything else.

"Andy, say something." I pleaded, squeezing his hand.

He slowly started pulling away and I felt the first pang of pain, "You..you don't want this." He shook his head, ever so slightly.

"This isn't about what I want." I replied honestly, "I don't want a long-distance relationship and I don't want to lose you. I don't want any of these things but…this is what's best for both of us."

He shook his head, incredibility taking over some of the sadness, "I can't believe you're doing this to us."

I sighed, "Andy, let's be honest. It's not like I'm the one for you. And if you feel that way, it's not like we're going to get married. It's not like we're going to be together forever. We were going to end eventually."

He shook his head, "I'm not going to hurt you."

I frowned in confusion.

"You can't live like this, Amber, in fear that every guy you date is going to hurt you like he did. You can't end every good relationship out of fear—"

"I'm not afraid of anything." I cut him off, "I want us to have a happy College experience which won't be easy if we're tied down by a relationship that's doomed to fail. I want you to date college girls and I'll date college boys and go to parties. This is for us. I'm doing this for us!" My voice cracked as tears threatened to come. I didn't expect him to be happy that I was doing this but he was supposed to see that this was me being more selfless than selfish.

His frown deepened and there was anger now. He took soothing breaths and calmed down. Then his face softened. So soft, I couldn't remember the anger that had been printed on it just seconds ago. "I understand, Amber. I'm not going to fight you on this." He let go of my hands and started towards the door.

My heart accelerated as I watched him go towards the door.

I got up from my seat noisily and grabbed his hand and pulled so he could look at me. His expression was blank, "I love you." I whispered. I didn't expect my emotions to be so strong at this moment but I had to tell him. When we ended, I needed him to know that he meant the world to me. I hadn't thought of how I wanted the first time I told him I loved him to be, but this was me, telling him that I loved him.

His lips twitched into a smile but it didn't reach his eye. He pulled me into a hug and kissed my lips. I melted in his arms and kissed him back. I wrapped my arms around his waist and felt the thudding of his heart against my chest. I could taste my tears in our kiss but neither of us pulled away. He hugged me tighter and broke our kiss several minutes later. We were both breathless, our cheeks flushed.

He leaned towards me and kissed my cheek, "Goodbye. I love you." He murmured before kissing my forehead and leaving.

I clenched my hands into fist and started to sob. I didn't fight any of it. I knew it was better this way. I had to get it all out of my system. I'd lived through this before. I would survive, I knew that much. This wasn't as bad. I knew this was best for both of us. It really was.

Andy would thank me someday.

We'd said goodbye but it was only goodbye for now. When we'd both grieved and gotten over this, we'd meet again. I found comfort in that. We'd be like how Embry and I were now. He'd come to me with a steady girlfriend and present her to me.

I didn't cry for as long as I had with Embry. There was nothing I wanted to do more right now than call Andy so he could console me. I faintly wondered who I'd lean on when I needed comforting but shoved that away. I couldn't think about the future. I wiped away my tear and took a hot shower. The shower helped my body relax but it also activated my tears ducts.

Once I was warm and clean, I lay in bed, lights on, laptop near, and thought.

Had it really been a year? I'd been in Forks for only a year? It felt like a decade had passed. I felt older and wiser in some ways, younger and more naïve in others. I had changed so much. Maybe I would never be exactly how I was before, maybe last year I was happier, gittier and more energetic, but I didn't want to go back. Yes, the times were happier then. In Quebec, I had no boyfriend—well, Keegan but whatever—I had a whole heart and no tragic memories. But I was dying to figure out who I'd become after everything I'd gone through. I would have a hell of a character.

As much as I tried to fight back, the pain still throbbed in my chest and I still wanted to cry. I took a deep breath and did what I probably should have done months ago. Maybe if I'd done this when Embry dumped me things would have been different, I didn't know.

I picked up the phone and called Silver.

"Hey, Amber?" she answered.

My throat closed up immediately but I managed to speak, "Sil…Andy and I broke up, can you come home?"

There was a short silence, "Of course! I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

"Thanks." I hung up and started to sob again.

I was growing. I had to learn to depend on people who weren't leaving. Silver was who I should have depended on instead of Andy. Of course, there was no going back and I wouldn't if I could. Maybe this was all Embry's fault. Maybe he'd caused a domino style series of unfortunate events in my life. I wasn't going to let myself get crushed again. Sure, Andy wasn't only some boy I had a crush on, and he wouldn't be the last. I'd go to college, focus on school, date some cute college boys and try not to get in to deep.

I sighed.

I really had loved those boys.

A/N: I'm super sad that I'm done :( Follow me on Twitter: .com/mrskamilleblack and subscribe to me as an author to keep in touch with any new project I might have. I'm writing some stuff (like a She Wolf sequel, a Silver bullet sequel…) but I'm sorta tired. We'll see….