THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!! You guys seriously make my day, and i actually got past one hundred!!!! YEY!!! This chapter is for my vair vair cool buddie Phoebe cuz i didn't go to wind band.....ILY PHOEBE!!!

Bella's Point of View

"What?" I whispered.

Everyone had fallen silent, and I could suddenly no longer feel Emmett's strong arms on mine. I stepped towards Edward, and, mimicking me, he yanked his own arms free from Alice and Jasper, and took a step towards me.

"Bella," He said earnestly. "You have to understand! I never stopped loving you, I never left because I got too tired of you, or whatever other ridiculous concept you've got into your head. I left because I could see the dangers that living in my world were going to bring you! You had come so close to death before, after just months of knowing me- and then when Jasper tried to attack you- I knew that I had to go. If Jasper, my own brother could nearly hurt you like that, then what would happen if we ran into real trouble again, like James, but that time I wasn't able to save you?" He swallowed hard. "I wouldn't be able to stand that, Bella. You deserved life, even if it meant that the rest of my own existence would fail to mean a thing."

"Life?" I whispered in a broken voice. "This was just about…life?" It seemed such a stupid thing to loose him over. Edward, who made my life worth living, had left just so that I could live longer? I shook my head, trying to clear it.

"I tried to let go." Edward whispered. "I tried to stay away, but it was too hard. And that's why I came back, that's why, even when I knew that I should, I couldn't bear to be away from you. That's why now, when I'm standing opposite you, I want so hard for you to believe me, because I truly love you. You made my life worth living."

"But you left." I whispered, and Edward exhaled impatiently through his nose. His golden eyes were fixed on me as he stepped forward, but it was different to how it was when I was seventeen. Back then, I would have forgiven him by now. I would have bowed over to the instinct that was telling me to run straight into his arms.

I was stronger now, wiser. I had been through too much, felt too much, to just let myself be caught up in his glorious eyes and beautiful words.

Because as beautiful as his words were- they couldn't be true. They couldn't be. For so long now, years and years, I had been telling myself that Edward didn't love me. That there was no point in missing him, because even if he did come back to Forks, he would never come back to me. I had been telling myself that I was unwanted, and unlovable- and now here he was, the man who had ripped my life apart to start with, telling me that he had left for me?

"Why didn't you talk to me first? Why didn't you ask me what I felt? What I wanted?" I demanded.

Startled by my sudden anger again, Edward shrugged. "Because I knew that you would never let me go! You'd beg me to stay, and I would, because I would never be able to say no to you. But then, you'd get hurt one way or another, and then it would be all my fault!"

"So you just made the decision for me? For us? Edward, I'm not just some kind of possession! I have feelings as well, and no matter what you think, I can look after myself! You can't just so around, making choices for me like I have no brain or something! I always followed you around, always did whatever you said, and every time you looked at me, or kissed me- I was so blissfully happy because in the whole wide world, you were the only thing I wanted!" My voice broke, and Edward's eyes flashed to meet mine.

"That's what worried me." He muttered.

My voice was shaking, my hands trembling, and I knew that if I was human right then, and able to, I would have been sobbing. "But no matter what reason, no matter if you thought you were doing the right thing by me- you left Edward. You left me after telling me all those times that you loved me. You left me lying in my bed every night going over every conversation just wondering what on earth I could have done wrong enough to make you hate me so suddenly. Well I'm sick of it Edward. I'm sick of you coming and going as the mood takes you. If you really loved me, why didn't you tell me so at the hospital? Why didn't you show yourself all those times you were sat spying on me?" I shook my head, then span around to glare at Alice.

"And you!" I cried, then motioned around at all of the Cullen's stood around us. "All of you! You all left me too. You were like a family to me, more important than anything, and you all disappeared out of the blue as well. Maybe I could have got through Edward leaving, if you had all stayed…" I turned to look at Alice again with tortured eyes. She had her hand over her mouth, and her eyes were sad.

"We were trying to protect you, Bella." She whispered. "We were trying to make you happy."

I ran my hands angrily through my hair. "But I was happy! I had Edward, and I had you as a best friend and the rest of you as a family. What could have made me happier?"

A long silence me my question.

I looked back up at Edward, my voice acid. "Are you happy?" I asked him bluntly.

"No." He said, startled.

"Well that's just too bad, isn't it? I sure hoped that your little 'plan' worked out well for one of us. Because if not, then isn't that just a waste of seven years? Wasn't that just a waste of the life you were so keen to save for me?"

Edward ran his hands through his hair, then stepped towards me in one fluid movement.

"I left to save you, Bella, and it was a mistake, the most terrible, horrible mistake, and now I'd do anything to take it back- but I can't. So all I can do now is ask you to decide whether you think that there is still something there, still something worth fighting for." His golden eyes burned into mine, and I felt my knees going weak. I forced myself to blink. How could he even ask that? Of course there was something there. There always would be, always was. But I was still so angry. So bitter.

He was suddenly right in front of me, stood too close. His hand reached out and caught mine, and I realised with a jolt, that I actually liked him being a normal temperature.

"Yes…" I whispered in answer to his question, speaking from my heart though my head was screaming no.

"That's all I needed." He said, and then his lips were crushing down on mine again. It wasn't like the first time we had kissed, when I had been so over whelmed, or like the last time we had kissed, in the forest less than an hour ago. That time I had pushed him away so fast, too scared of feeling again.

This was…different. I found myself sub consciously pulling him closer, wrapping my arms tighter around him. Neither of us needed to breathe anymore, so, in theory, I realised that we could go on like this forever. The idea pleased me.

But then I remembered the rest of the Cullen's, and most likely all the Denali's were stood around us, probably wondering what the hell was going on. I started to pull away, but Edward wouldn't let any distance come between us as he rested his forehead against mine.

Both our breathing was heavy.

"But how do I know that I can trust you?" I whispered, so quietly that it was for Edward's ears only, even with all the super natural hearing around us.

I never got to hear his reply. At that moment, Alice suddenly seized up, her hands balling into fists.

Jasper was at her side in a moment, his hand stroking back her hair, uncurling her fingers. I had seen her look like this before, in the hotel room in Phoenix.

Alice was having a vision.

I glanced up at Edward, knowing that he would be seeing it second hand through her mind. Sure enough, his eyes were fixed on her, but then his face suddenly washed white, even paler than usual, and his arms tightened around me, pulling me back closer to him.

I raised a hand without thinking to his cheek, wanting to comfort him in whatever way I could, but before I could ask, Carlisle came dashing out the house.

He was at my side in a moment, and in his arms, he carried my baby. My Lyra.

I broke Edward's grasp easily as I reached eagerly for Lyra. She smiled when she saw me, and when I took her back in my arms, where she belonged, she snuggled down against me. I gingerly took her arm and stretched it out. Carlisle had cleaned her cut, stitched it again, and bandaged it.

I looked up at him. "Thank you." I whispered, trying to project the gratitude that I felt towards him into my words.

He nodded once at me to acknowledge my thanks, then glanced between Alice and Edward.

"What's going on?" Eleazer called out, sounding irritated.

"S…She's coming here." Edward's tone was bemused. For a moment, I was confused, then I remembered the sudden tightening of his arm around my waist, and understanding washed over me.

"Victoria." I whispered hoarsely.

"Is she mad?" Emmett demanded, voicing all our thoughts. "Is she actually utterly bonkers?"

"I believe Victoria is in quite good mental health, thank you." Eleazer reminded us stiffly.

Emmett snorted. "Then why would she come here?" He asked scornfully.

"She wants to see me." Edward answered quietly. I looked up, panicked, but his eyes refused to meet mine; he was staring resolutely at Alice. "She knows that she has no chance against all of us, but she thinks if it's just me…"

"And why the hell would you be willing to go to meet her?" Rosalie demanded.

Edward broke out of his trance, glancing down at his feet. "Because otherwise she'll find some other way to get to Bella and Lyra. I've got to end this."

At once, my arms tightened sub consciously around my baby. "No." I whispered, though I wasn't sure anymore what I was objecting to.

"But how….?" Jasper began, but Edward cut across him, suddenly shouting.

"I don't know, okay! I don't know how or when she thinks that she might get to Bella, but she will!" He shook his head more than once, as if trying to clear it. "You haven't seen the images that Alice has seen, you don't know…" He shuddered involuntarily.

"But…you can't be planning to go and meet her!" I said, my voice louder than I expected in my panic.

"Of course I am." Edward said. "In fact, I'm glad she's coming."

"Glad?" I whispered.

"Yes- if she didn't, I'd only go looking for her. This just makes everything a whole lot quicker." Edward shrugged.

"What…how….what?" I hissed. "WHY? Why would you ever go looking for her?"

"Because she hurt you." Edward said simply, his eyes trained on my face.

There was a very long pause, then Esme spoke.

"This is ridiculous! Carlisle, tell him he can't go!" She insisted, rushing over to grab Edward's arm.

Edward shrugged her off. "Carlisle," He said calmly, "Nothing you can say will change my mind, so please do not attempt to talk me out of this."

Carlisle surveyed Edward for a long time though sad eyes. I recognised the concentrated look on his face, and knew that he was speaking to Edward with his mind. I wondered vaguely what he was thinking.

Finally, Carlisle sighed, and brought his hand down on Edward's shoulder. "Be careful, son. Don't underestimate her."

"What?" Esme gasped. "You can't be seriously letting him go…"

"There is no danger." Carlisle said confidently. "If this is what Edward needs to rest his mind, then… so be it."

So...what did you think? Leave a review and tell meeee! Also, next update may either take a while, or not be that good, because i have my year nine sats (yuck) coming up, and i have to start revising which means less time writing.... soz guys.......... BUT reviews will inspire me to write faster.... hint hint!!