Thank you for everyone who started reading my story! This is my very first fanfiction- I've been wanting to write fanfic for a while and finally decided to go for it! This is going to be a shorter chapter but I wanted to upload something quickly! Please feel free to review and rate- I'm trying to decide if I want to keep going back and forth POV-wise or if I want to do longer segments from each perspective... Anyway, thanks everyone!

BPOV

Looking in the mirror, I sighed for what seemed the umpteenth time within the last hour. As had been the case the other times, Alice simply gave me a pitying look and continued to brush my hair. The battle with the newborns had gone pretty much according to plan. The only hitch was Victoria revealing herself as the mastermind behind the attack and she fought with Edward. He defeated her and Riley, her second-in-command, with Seth's help. The Volturi guard had also come following the battle but luckily departed after delivering a sinister warning about my still being human. All in all, the day went fine. No one was hurt. Jacob was fine. All of the wolves were unharmed. The Cullens survived intact. But, as soon as the Volturi had left, Edward immediately ran in the other direction, leaving Alice to take me back to the Cullens' house.

He hadn't returned in the several hours that Alice had spent playing Dress-Up Barbie Doll Bella and I began to realize that he was avoiding me. My heart sank even deeper than before at the realization. I felt my eyes begin to sting but I stubbornly resisted the tears. The pain I felt at Edward's rejection was no one's fault but my own. After kissing Jacob, I didn't deserve any less than for Edward to avoid me forever. This thought earned yet another sigh. Alice finally seemed to sense my discomfort and put down the brush.

"Okay," she announced, a false chipper note in her voice, "You officially look adorable and Charlie will be expecting you in about thirty minutes."

"Sounds good," I responded. She gave my shoulder a sympathetic squeeze and skipped out of her giant closet, leaving me alone. I tried swallowing the huge lump in my throat, gathered my things, and prepared to go home.

EPOV

I was not sure how long I had been sitting. It could have been hours. It could have been days. I was beyond keeping track of the time as I tried to lose myself in the forest around me. Unfortunately, I could not not feel the constant pain that gripped my frozen heart. I knew that I must have surely hurt Bella by running off instead of comforting her after the Volturi's visit but I could not find it in myself to comfort her. Everyone, Bella most importantly, had survived the newborn's attack unscathed and as soon as this realization dawned on me—that Bella was finally safe—I felt a sudden need to escape. So I ran to this spot, sank to the ground, and begin to sit.

By now, I had heard the entire story—that Bella had only kissed Jacob because she truly believed that he would kill himself if she didn't. She was so trusting and warm, it honestly was no surprise that she fell for his lies. Even so, I could not help the feeling of betrayal that her being with him instilled in me. I knew that I would have to face her eventually, that we had so much that we needed to discuss, but I could not find it in me to move from the spot that I sat in.

The buzzing from my cell phone interrupted my reverie. I checked the screen—Alice.

"Alice," I greeted my favorite sister, trying to make my voice sound more upbeat than I felt, but I knew there was no fooling the psychic.

"I just wanted you to know that I just dropped Bella off at home," she informed me quickly. I felt a stab of unease knowing that she was no longer in my home. I had been intentionally avoiding her, but it was still comforting to know that she was with my family but not anymore.

"Okay," I told Alice. Hesitating momentarily, "Thank you for getting her safely home."

"Of course. I love her too, Edward." With that, Alice hung up the phone.

Sighing, I finally stood from my sitting position and headed home.