Disclaimer: Twilight and characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

A special thanks to Jessica0306 for being a wonderful beta.

"That is just the thing. I mean, I always trusted him. Always. All of a sudden, he was judging me and making false accusations. I just didn't get it. And then I actually followed through with them. It was so bizarre. It's like that thing, you know," Bella ranted.

Alice gave her a strange look.

"You know, like if you will something, it happens… you know."

Alice's expression hadn't changed.

Bella snapped her fingers. "A self-fulfilling prophecy!"

"Oh, right, of course." Alice's voice was condescending, but Bella didn't notice. She was no longer paying attention. She was now focused on the different variety of peanut butter in front of her.

"This natural stuff, that you don't have to mix, is so damn good," claimed Bella, as she tossed the jar into the cart.

Alice and Bella had always grocery shopped together. Even now, living in different places, they would still meet up at the store. They always shared a cart, even though they always fought over who went first when they went to check out. The person who went first had to sort through everything, while the second one was left to just load up their own items.

"So anyway, he just shows up after my dance class. Two years, Alice! Two years he is MIA. And I am there. And he is there," Bella said, while her eyes scanned over the bread selection. Her hands reached out to test the softness of a few loaves before grabbing one, then tossing it into the cart.

"You know you can tell which day a loaf of bread was baked by the color of its plastic twist tag, right? You don't have to go squeezing all the loaves in the store," Alice explained.

"Whatever. Old habits die hard."

"Yes, they do. Speaking of old habits… are you going to fall back into yours when it comes to Edward?"

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

"Really?" Alice asked, giving her an are you kidding me look.

Bella let out a sigh. "I don't know. I don't want to."

Alice grabbed a case of diet soda and slid it under the cart.

"Does he know about Jacob?" Alice asked.

"No. Do you think Jasper might have mentioned it to him? I mean, I know Jacob convinced Jasper to go on the camping trip. Do you think he might have said something? Like, 'I'll be gone next weekend with Bella and Jacob'… or 'I'll be spending the weekend with Bella and her boyfriend… Jacob.' By the way, I really wish you would change your mind and come with."

"Sorry, my dear. Jasper is not going there. He's pissed off as all hell at Edward for leaving town, but he isn't going to be the one to tell him that."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You ask that a lot, for someone who knows what I mean."

Bella let out a sigh. "Yeah."

That was the end of the Edward talk. They left the store and said their goodbyes after Alice dropped Bella at home. Bella didn't really have a kitchen, but she had a microwave and a mini fridge. She basically ate at Rosalie's place anyway. Rosalie always had the fancy name brand food. Even her frozen pizza was top of the line, not the two-for-a-dollar kind.

After Bella put away her meager supplies, she dropped down on to her bed. She picked up her phone and texted Jacob. She told him she wasn't feeling well and she'd see him tomorrow. A knock at her door broke her from her pity party. She tossed the phone onto her bed and answered the door.

She wasn't expecting him. She hadn't seen or heard from him since he barged back into her life again.

"Hi." He smiled.

"Hi," she replied.

"I hope you don't mind, but I used your shortcut. It was the only way I knew how to get here. I wouldn't recognize the place from the front."

"I should have known that using that entrance would eventually let the ghosts in."

Edward let out a laugh. Bella moved aside to let him in.

"Ghosts, huh?" he asked.

"I'm looking at one."

Edward walked around a bit and then took a seat at her computer desk. Bella watched his moves like she was seeing a ghost. Sure, he had been there before, that once, but it was still bizarre to see him in her space.

"So, how have you been?" he asked nervously.

Bella shrugged her shoulders. "Can't complain."

Her phone beeped, alerting her that she had a text. She belly flopped onto her mattress and read the message.

"Your boyfriend?" His voice gave her goose bumps. She wondered if Jasper did tell him after all.

"Yeah, actually." She kept her voice even. Like it wasn't supposed to mean anything.

"Jacob, right?"

Bella looked up. She was surprised to see him acting so nonchalant. "Yeah."

"Rose told me." Bella was going to kill her.

"Oh? When did you see Rose?"

"Last night. I went over to Emmett's. She was there. You know, I don't think she likes me very much."

"Hmm."

"She said a few choice words to describe me. She also said I should leave you alone."

Yep, Bella was going to kill her. "Really?"

"Yep."

"I guess you didn't listen. I mean, this is the opposite of leaving me alone."

"Do you want me to leave you alone?"

"I didn't say that." Bella paused. "Why are you here?"

"Because I want you."

Bella was officially dumbstruck. She sat up on her knees.

"Wha, what?"

"I want you bad. Can't you see that? But most importantly, I want you to want me, too."

"I can't believe this!" Bella screeched, rubbing her hands over her face.

"Listen, if it makes you happy…I'll leave. I'll leave for good. I'll leave forever. You can continue on like I was never here. Just call it what it is. Call it quits. But you have to do it, 'cause I am too selfish. I'm not going anywhere."

"Edward, you can't just show up here… and like… say these things. This is crazy. You are crazy!" Bella fell back onto the mattress, grabbed her pillow, and screamed into the cushion. Picking her head up, she made eye contact again. "You know I am in a relationship. You have been gone for… two…years."

"Yep. I was a coward. I should have fought for you. I should have stayed. But I am here now."

Bella couldn't believe what she was hearing. Edward was so composed, like this was a normal conversation. He seemed so sure of himself. He was.

He sat there, hunched over, forearms resting on his knees, hands folded, looking straight at her. It aggravated her. It caused the anger to build.

"You left. You are always leaving me." Bella couldn't stop the tears from falling. "I've been waiting for you my whole life. You can't just come back and say these things."

Edward furrowed his brows at this. She was glad to see his easy composure weaken.

He groaned and ran his hands through his hair. "I read all this poetry while I was gone. I read it to help me understand love. And I read this stuff, and some of it was really good. I really enjoyed it. I can't criticize it. The words were beautiful. There was this one poet who said these things I wish I could have said to you. But after reading this poem I realized that it was a bunch of lies. This guy was a liar. This wasn't love. It was a fantasy. Because it's not black and white. There is grey in there, and just maybe you don't deserve to hear those words. Maybe those things are better left unsaid. No one walks around with stars in their eyes all the time."

Bella laid there wide eyed. "God, you are harsh. Harsher than I think you mean to be. I will say this. I will have poetry in my life, even if that means a life without you. I want words that sweeten men's lips. And for future reference, you'd need all the poetry in the world to sweeten yours. I pity the girl that falls for you." She made sure to not mention that she had already fallen for him. She fell for him that same day he fell from that stupid tree.

Edward sunk down and crawled over to her on his knees. He hugged her rigid form. She didn't move. She was in shock. He was touching her.

"Isn't it better that I have to dig down deep to I say I love you. Doesn't that mean more?"

With these words, she hugged him back. Her fingers dug into his back. "I hate that you made me love you."