No time for random ranting. i'll keep it simple. R&R, please. i'll put more. :D

one rant...i LOVE this chapter. :D

20. My Obsession: Skillet
21. I Can Wait Forever: Simple Plan

*Edward*

"Hello?" I heard his voice say eagerly as he picked up the phone, happier than he previously had been the last time we talked.

I let out a sigh of relief. "Is she alright?"

"Edward!" he exclaimed, making me blink a little in surprise. "Hi! It's nice hearing from you! It's been . . . a month?"

I laughed softly, but it wasn't so much that I was really in a laughing mood. It was just a reaction to the funny thing he had said. In all honesty, I wasn't in any mood to laugh. I hadn't been for a while.

"Two weeks," I said quietly. "But, I've kept up with her on playlist. I read her About Me to see if she was past the depression stage yet. Is she?"

"Oh yeah," he said honestly, sounding rather pleased with it. I had to admit. I was too. "She's still upset, and some things just trigger that even more, like people bringing up the fact or the fact that you 'don't care' is the worst. But, I think I forgot to mention last time we talked . . . ."

"What?" I asked nervously as I shifted in the chair I was sitting in. By now, anything could be possible, and I didn't like it.

"Bella told Charlie everything," he admitted uncertainly, unsure of how I would react it seemed. "Well, she told him you're a vampire, and Mayze told him Jacob's a werewolf, which he tracked to the pack. He knows, and it's because of Bella. Mayze wasn't out yet of depression when it happened, and Bella just had to make it worse. Charlie, though, didn't care. He still loves you, mostly because Mayze is lying by telling him you write her letters every day. Well, she was . . . ."

My eyes widened in horror. "She was what?"

He sighed. "I don't know. I think there's a part of her that's telling her she's right and she's always been able to read you—that you do really love her—but her head is telling her otherwise. So, she's finding a way to satisfy her heart and head by telling him that."

I groaned, clenching my teeth together in frustration. "Why does she do this to me? I don't deserve any of this."

"Yes you do," he disagreed gently. "Edward, you did what you had to for her. Now, of course, I'm thinking now you should come back, because it's not helping anything."

"I wish I could," I whispered as I leaned back against the chair and sighed, my entire body stiff and rigid. "I just wish it wasn't dangerous. I wish I was a human."

"But, even so, Edward, you're not a threat to her anymore. I can't really explain why, because I'm confused on the subject too, but you aren't."

"What happened today?" I asked quietly. This subject was uncomfortable, and I didn't like hearing it. I knew it wasn't true, and hearing it would just bring me to her. I had to stay away for her. "She put something on there today that said Bella had made her cry, and she didn't care."

He let out a deep breath, and he was quiet for a few moments, before answering. "Well, I'm not really sure of the details. All I've got as of now is what Jacob has to say about it, but I'll let you know once I know more. Bella hasn't helped her at all, as you can probably imagine. She actually disgraces her, and whenever she's out in public with Bella, Bella just pretends she doesn't exist. She's going about it the wrong way. They all are. Sam refuses to protect her, because she apparently chose not to be protected when she chose you guys, and now, she needs it the most. She's got possibly two vampires after—"

"What?" I interrupted as I sprung up from the chair instantly, my voice louder than I had intended for it to be. "She's got what?"

I could just hear him cringe away from the phone. Since he was the only person I had, I decided to calm down and not freak him out. "Sorry. I'm calm."

"We keep her with us," he said leisurely, unsure if he wanted to go on or not. But, he did, for me. "As much as possible. Sam doesn't know yet, and we're trying to keep it that way so he doesn't order us not to protect her. If he does, you have to come back, Edward. The two of us swap out every night, like guard dogs." He chuckled softly for a second before he was completely serious. "Edward, she's not moving on. She needs you, more than you realize."

I walked over to the window and looked out to the big city, mostly looking down at the cars way below. I was probably blinding at the moment, looking more like a mirror than ever before, but I didn't care; didn't bother to check to be sure. No one was this high up, penthouse level, where they could see, so it didn't matter. I put my arm up on the windowsill, propping myself against it, and sighed. "I'm probably going to soon anyways. I can't stay away much longer."

"So, why don't you just come back now? I mean, seriously! The dynamic cinco is all messed up!"

I smiled faintly and looked down. "I wish I could."

"You can!" he exclaimed. "Come on! You know you're gonna be back soon anyways, so why not just make it easier on yourself and get back here now?"

"That would make things easier," I agreed, sighing. "I don't know. I'll probably come back soon. Let me know, though, as soon as Sam finds out. That will definitely get me back."

He laughed. "Maybe I should just tell him."

I frowned as I stepped away from the window and walked back over to the computer, which was playing Tragic Magic by Falling in Reverse. At least this one didn't hurt. "No. Don't do that."

"Fine," he grumbled, not sounding too thrilled that I had said no.

"But, you didn't answer my original question," I reminded him, sitting back down in the chair. I leaned back a little and sighed. "She is alright, right?"

I could hear the smile in his voice. "Yeah, she is. Sorry I didn't tell you before. I promise to keep you updated better. I'm sorry about that. It just . . . totally slipped my mind. When she perked up, I honestly forgot. Well, she's gonna be here soon, so, I'll talk to you later, E—"

Someone cut him off, though. It sounded like he was being attacked or jumped on from behind, and I tensed up immediately, ready to go and kill whoever was hurting him. This all happened almost instantly though, and he changed my name to, "Mayze! Hi. I didn't hear you come up."

I completely froze in my chair as a soft smile spread across my lips. It was like I was completely unable to move at all. She was there, and without knowing it, I was with her. She didn't know it, but she was with me. If I could cry, I would be crying tears of joy right now.

"Are you talking about me?" she demanded. I suddenly felt my heart again in my chest as it grew warm, whole. For the first time in almost five months, I felt alive again. I was hearing her beautiful, perfect voice for the first time in what seems like an eternity. Honestly, it felt like my heart would swell up in my chest and possibly explode. "Who on earth is there to talk to me about?"

"Mayze," I sighed, my eyes closing. A rush of joy overtook me, flooding through my entire body, leaving me longing for more. I suddenly wanted to see her again, more than I ever had since I left. It was no longer a want. I needed to see her. I had to see her. I had to be with her again, to hold her close . . . to call her mine.

It just wasn't an option.

He just laughed. "Yeah."

I laughed too, the first sincerely happy laugh I had laughed in months. "She is completely oblivious as to who this is."

"She is," he agreed. I could hear the smile in his voice. "It's so funny. You never realize it's possible to be as figuratively blonde as she is, and then she proves you wrong. But, yeah. I guess I'll talk—"

"Seth, that has settled it," I interrupted as I stood up from the chair, sending it rolling backwards and crashing into the wall behind me. "I'm coming home. I can't stay away any longer. That's it. I'm done trying. I'm coming back."

"Finally! It's about time!"

"Don't tell anyone, Seth," I said firmly. "This stays between you and me until I get back, okay?"

"Alright. That's great, though; honestly. There's a lot I'm not really sure how to explain," he admitted sheepishly.

Now, I was curious. What did I not know that had gone on there?

"Who are you talking to?" I heard Mayze demand again. Her attempts to be threatening were still as weak and hilarious as they ever were.

"I'll talk to you later," he promised me happily. "Bye."

I just pressed the end button before pressing speed dial number three. Emmett.

"Edward!" he exclaimed instantly as he picked up. His voice was eager and excited, a complete three-sixty from our previous conversation. "Hey, everyone! It's Edward . . . again!"

"Edward!" I heard Alice squeal in the background as she ran in the room, or maybe just spoke up.

I managed to hold back a laugh as I kept a blank face and tone. I wasn't quite telling them the news yet, not just yet. I actually kinda wanted it to be a surprise. "Hey, guys."

"Where are you?" Esme demanded. "Edward Anthony Mason-Cullen, get your butt back here. I'm tired of this! This isn't just about Mayze anymore. I need you to come home almost as badly as she does."

I sighed as part of the act. "It's not that simple."

"Make it that simple," Alice grumbled. "Edward, missing you is bad enough, but seeing her every day, the way being without you kills her, damn it. It's torture!"

"You chose to go back."

"Don't turn this around and make me feel like this is my fault," Emmett scolded, making me wince.

I stood up. "Okay. Whatever. That's not important. I can't just come back, though, guys."

"Actually, you can, son" Carlisle assured me. "We have a cover story for when you decided to come back."

My eyebrows furrowed. "And that is?"

"We told them you were on an internship in Alaska," Jasper informed me. "They think you won't be back for another month, but we told them that was subject to change. We weren't really sure."

I rolled my eyes. Of course they didn't make the date specific, and of course, they would choose to make it sometime in the near future. It was as if they knew I was breaking. They seemed to just know that I was almost to the point where I was going to run back, on my knees, and beg her to forgive me and take me back.

But from what I hear, it won't resort to that.

I smiled brightly for a second before wiping it off. I knew they would've been able to tell I was smiling, and I'm trying to surprise them. I had it all planned out too, already. "I still just can't."

"It's about time you came home!" Rosalie exclaimed. "We all missed you, Edward! Now get your butt up here before we hunt you down and drag you!"

I scowled. "Rose, I'm not coming home yet. I can't. And that's that."

"You need to get your butt back there and get her back!" she exclaimed, shocking me a little. Her voice was loud, firm, and full of rage. "Edward Anthony Masen-Cullen, you're killing yourself! Don't do this!"

"We will get Mayze on the phone," Alice threatened. "Don't you dare—"

They were expecting me to hang up, so I did. I felt like a horrible creature for doing so, but it was necessary to keep the surprise up. Right now, it seemed like they weren't expecting it, at all.

It didn't surprise me when they called back, but I didn't answer. Instead, I started packing everything I had with me, which wasn't much, into a duffel bag, and headed out, off to the airport. Since it was sunny, and I didn't exactly look normal in the sun, I put on my aviators, a pair of dark jeans, a black t-shirt, my zip-up Avenged Sevenfold hoodie, my solid black toboggan, and a pair of A7X fingerless gloves.

I probably looked like a gothic person, or some kind of punk, but I didn't care. Why should I care what people thought about me? It's not like I'm single and searching.

I'm madly in love with Elizabeth Malia Swan, and that was how it would be forever.

When I got inside the airport, it didn't surprise me to find it packed full of people. New York was a busy city.

I took the hood off of my head and my aviators, but I kept everything else like it was when I left.

Of course, there was a line when I finally got through the security—we'll just say that easily took two hours, probably more—and headed to get in line to get a ticket, but the smallest line was a woman, so I got in it. She only glanced at me, and her thoughts instantly turned bad.

Zomg. That has to be the sexiest man I've ever laid eyes on. I will definitely get his name when I get his card. Maybe his number too. Make sure to be extra appealing.

So, in that instant, she started checking herself in a mirror, holding up the line.

I groaned. Come on, lady! I'm not interested in you, so leave me the hell alone and hurry this up.

"Stop looking at yourself in the mirror, sweetheart," the man at the front of the line said flirtingly, making me grimace. "You don't need to worry about that. You're already beautiful."

She nodded and faked a smile at him. "First class or coach?"

"First class," he answered, sliding his card towards her with a wink. "I want on the ten o'clock flight to Hawaii."

She nodded and ran it, without showing the slightest bit of interest. The people in-between us were furious, so they went to another line.

"Make that two, if you want to join me," he offered, something she looked rather horrified about.

"I'm working."

He shrugged. "I'll wait for you to get off."

I wish this perv would leave so I can flirt with the guy behind him!

This was pissing me off to the point I was ready to snap. Here I was, hurrying home so I could see my Mayzie tomorrow, and he was stalling me. I had something I had to do along the way, and I was already pushing it for time. If I missed this flight, which was boarding now, I would kill him.

I let out a frustrated breath. "Look. I'm trying to make a flight, okay? I have somewhere to be tomorrow morning, and I'm sure she doesn't appreciate you trying to get her off to Hawaii with you. That's weird. You just met her. Now, hurry up. I don't mean to be rude, but I really can't miss this flight, and it's boarding now."

She sighed. "First class or coach?"

"Whichever is available," I said quickly, giving her a wad of cash. It was ten one hundred dollar bills. She didn't even get to tell me which she gave me before I was off.

"Your change, sir!" she called after me.

"Keep it!" I called back, running agonizingly slow—for me. To the humans, it probably looked like I was sprinting at full speed.

I made it up the stairs of the plane just in time, because they had started to shut the doors. When they saw me, though, they held them open and shut them behind me.

I looked down at my ticket to find it was coach. It wasn't an ideal setting for a vampire, to be stuck in coach with tons of people, but I would survive. It was like heading into a buffet with no money. Some people were more appealing than others, especially since I hadn't hunted in a while, but I would have to hold firm and just wait out the flight.

I'm coming, Mayzie.