I do not own any of the characters, Mrs. Meyer does.

Chapter 2

On the way to Forks, 2006

EPOV

I couldn't stop fidgeting in my seat during the plane ride; a lingering human tendency.

Human. Something I could never be for my sweet, loving Bella. No, as painful as it was, she wasn't mine anymore. I completely destroyed the possibility of her being mine and me being hers when I left her that day in the woods. That scene kept replaying itself in my head every minute – no – second. Every time I saw her face, pained and broken, in my mind, I felt like my dead heart was being yanked out of my body, sliced into a million pieces, and rolled over by an enormous tank.

How could she believe that I didn't want her anymore? How could she doubt my vampiric, unwavering love for her? How could she let a single word negate all the countless times I told her that I loved her? Was she that clueless on how much she meant to me?

The dead look on her face when I left her gave me the answers. Yes, she did believe that I didn't want her anymore, that I didn't love her anymore, and that she didn't know how important she was in my life. As soon as I fed her all those lies, her eyes told me that she believed the lies, and gave up. I knew that I would cave in soon, looking at Bella's tear-filled eyes. And when she said "Wait!", I almost gave in, but the replay of Bella's near-death experience at her birthday party gave me just enough strength to not immediately grab Bella into a hug, tell her I loved her and will always love her, and kiss her, boundaries forgotten. But, as excruciating as it was, even more excruciating than my transformation, I had to turn away from Bella and not bother her life again. I made a promise; I just hoped that I would be strong enough to keep it.

Every time I wanted to go back to Forks and beg for Bella's forgiveness, I had to remind myself that this was for Bella's benefit. That all my suffering – no, suffering didn't even cover all the pain, sorrow, and misery I felt – would be worth Bella's happiness in the end. I had to keep reminding myself that it was me who chose to leave Bella, so that she wouldn't be dragged into our dangerous world, so that she could live a normal, long, and peaceful life. She could get married, have kids, grow old, and enjoy life with her grandkids. I couldn't give her the happy, human life that an angel like her deserved to have. I could only put her life at risk, constantly, because of the horrible monster I am.

I knew that I should want Bella to have moved on, and be dating a good, human boy, so that she could have her happy ending. The altruistic part of me hoped that whoever that boy was, he would see what a beautiful, selfless, and caring girl Bella was, and love her unconditionally.

But the selfish part of me couldn't bear the thought of Bella being with someone else. An image of Mike Newton – I thought that name with disgust – kissing Bella flashed in my mind, courtesy of one of Newton's less offensive fantasies about Bella, and a low growl escaped my lips before I could control it. Several heads turned towards me, some, quizzical, other, and fearful. Fortunately, they turned away after seeing me, completely relaxed, with earphones on, and with an open book in front of me. I spent the rest of the flight replaying images of Bella laughing, sleeping, blushing, and…dazzled.

As soon as the plane landed, I was out of my seat before anyone had the chance to react. I didn't have any luggage so I skipped the baggage claim area and ran to the airport exit, slightly faster than a human could. I no longer cared about what the people around me thought. Even the risk of exposure meant little to me right now; I was only focused on seeing Bella as soon as possible. Thankfully there was a forest near the airport, so I jogged to the forest, and after making sure no one could see me; I sped off to Bella's house.

On the way, I spotted a black bear ambling majestically. I decided to take it down; my eyes were pitch black, and after the last 6 months apart, it would be harder for me to resist her appealing blood.

While drinking the bear's blood, I couldn't help but notice a crow croaking at me, perched on a nearby branch. Out of pure curiosity, I looked into the crow's mind. It was strangely organized: he classified everything he saw into categories, linking actions together. As he watched me drink the bear's blood, two figures appeared in his mind. Both were very blurry, but I could see two spots: one brown, the other, black. Then the brown spot became smaller, while a milky white replaced most of the circle. Between the two spots was a bit of vivid red.

Interesting…but it wasn't making any sense to me. Or maybe my super-smart mind wasn't trying to understand how the two smudges of colors and red could be related to me drinking an animal's blood.

I buried the carcass and took off again, making my legs go even faster.

After 20 long minutes, I hopped into the tree in front of Bella's room and peeked in. Weird, she wasn't in her room. Before, she usually stayed home on a Saturday afternoon. Perhaps she now spent her time socializing? Over at a friend's, or boyfriend's house? That seemed unlikely for a shy girl like Bella, so I assumed that she was at a bookstore.

Charlie wasn't home; probably working again, or fishing, so I jumped into Bella's room, expecting to be engulfed by her floral scent. But when I took in a breath of air, I realized that her scent was over a day old, and Charlie's scent was more noticeable, and more recent.

How was that possible? Did she go to a sleepover? What a coincidence! But how come Charlie's scent was covering everything in Bella's room? Which, as I looked around, wasn't much at all. There was only a bed, a desk, and the rocking chair.

Did Bella move out? She didn't have any reason to move when she was in the middle of her senior year…Unless he moved to Jacksonville to live with her mother a day ago…But why now? Why didn't she move right after I left? All this wasn't making any sense to me…I needed someone who could give me the answers I desperately needed. Someone who could clear all my confusion for me.

I didn't realize that it was eerily silent in head, that there were no thoughts to hear until I heard a car drive by.

I felt as if a lightning bolt struck me as I heard the thoughts of the car's driver.

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