Disclaimer: I have no claim on any of the characters from Twilight or New Moon all rights go to Stephenie Meyer.

Summary: Edward leaves Bella alone in the woods after telling her he didn't want her any more. As she is lying on the cold forest floor; Bella remembers three important things. Edward made a promise not to leave her, and Edward never broke a promise, and third it was her body, her heart, what right did he have to make this choice for her? Bella realizes that Edward was covering up his true feeling about her. She goes to bring Edward home.

Last Time:

Edward POV

Just as I was about to enter our home, all too familiar thoughts entered my mind. They were familiar to me because I had tasted this mind last spring. Anger flowed through my body causing it to tense as venom started to fill my mouth. I couldn't seem to shake his thoughts from my mind. Each one of them was of Bella. My hands tightened into fists at the image of his dark lips touching any part of Bella.

The clearer his thoughts were in my head, the closer he was physically getting to me. For now I was glad Bella had run away. It meant that Laurent wouldn't get to her and he never would. Nothing would bring me more pleasure then to be the one to end his life right here. The wind shifted around me, bringing with it the scent of cedar, pears and fresh human blood. I turned quickly to face my unwanted guest.

His eyes were a brighter red then I remembered them to be. It was clear that it hadn't taken him long to grow tired of the vegetarian lifestyle.

"Laurent!"

Chapter 6: Choosing to Exist

By TaintedDarkInuShemeeko

Edward POV

A low growl slipped from my lips and was soon followed by a hiss as I glared at Laurent. I shouldn't have dismissed the bonds between him, Victoria and James so quickly. I didn't focus on it because they were nomads. Nomadic vampire didn't keep strong ties. Or so I had thought.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought I would stop by," Laurent's tone was casual as his gaze drifted toward the house behind me.

'The scent around the house is months old. So what has caused him to come here alone? The scent of the girl is old as well. I believe Victoria misjudged them.'

Anger flared to life inside of me at the mention of the flamed-haired vampire. Laurent spoke soon after the thought of Victoria flickered inside his mind.

"Well now, since it is obvious that I have come at a bad time, I will be going now." He turned to leave, walking at a human pace toward the woods.

I stood there at first, waiting for his thoughts to reveal his next move. I didn't have to wait long for Laurent's thoughts to lace themselves inside my mind.

'She'll want me to keep looking for her. They could have her anywhere, perhaps a quick look at the girl's house.'

Bloody images of Charlie tore through my mind as a result of his thoughts. Laurent didn't just plan on scoping out Bella's home -- he planned on killing anyone he found there.

The agony that Charlie's death would cause Bella was almost too much for me to process. Instead of our leaving allowing her to move on, it had the reverse effect. I had been unknowingly leading Bella and her father to the slaughter.

I shot forward after Laurent with only one thought in my mind. I knew Carlisle would not be happy with my decision to kill, but I also knew that he wouldn't want harm to come to Bella's family.

Unfortunately Laurent caught my scent sooner than I had hoped, costing me the element of surprise. As he turned to face me I lashed out at him.

"Oh, ho! I forgot you're the mind reader in your family," he jeered, swiftly dodging my attack.

Laurent moved to the left to attack me, I bolted to the right. He would lunge towards me and I would in turn parry his move. To the eyes of a human the two of us would merely look like two blurs of color.

"You may have gotten the drop on James, but you were not alone. Do you really think that you can kill me without help? I'm three hundred years old, while you have only seen perhaps a small faction of the centuries I have," he taunted.

Doubt in my ability distracted me. The next thing I knew I was on my back and snow was clinging to me. Laurent was several inches away, circling me like a shark circles its prey.

"The human truly is a pet I presume. I will admit that I'm intrigued that you and your family haven't killed her yet. She's rather mouthwatering, don't you think?"

As I continued to watch him, I found that most of Laurent thoughts were centered on Bella. So much so he was speaking them aloud now. His very thoughts were starting to push me closer toward the edge. My breaking point came in the form of a broken and bloodied image of Bella oozing from Laurent's mind.

"I'll never give you the chance to get that close to her," I spat, springing to my feet in fury.

I lashed out toward Laurent once again, my hand catching the jacket he was wearing tearing the shoulder seam. Laurent's blood-colored eyes darted to the rip.

"I was rather starting to like the jacket. And now you've damaged it." 'It is only going to help quicken your end.'

He whirled on me before I got a chance to move, hitting me square in my chest and hurling me across the field. The rip of tearing fabric could be heard echoing through the snow covered field along with the crack of a young tree that my stone hard body collided with.

A wicked smirk appeared on Laurent's lips as he spoke, "Victoria is going to be rather cross with me. She was hoping to kill your mate, in exchange for you killing hers. Seeing how I found you here instead of Bella, you will have to do."

He continued to taunt me with bloody, mangled images of Bella. I suddenly realized all of this was just a game to him. Laurent's intent of these images was to goad me into a blind fury. He knew if I lost focus, it would make killing me that much easier.

I then caught the whisper of Bella's voice in the snow driven wind.

"No, I'm the one Victoria wants, so kill me!" her voice was frantic as she pleaded for my life.

I felt myself flinch at her words. Even this apparition of my love wanted to sacrifice her existence for my own.

Noting that Laurent hadn't turned toward her voice was further proof of my unraveling sanity. Nonetheless, I longed to feel her warm cheek against my artic hand and pull in her sweet flowery scent one last time. Even if it were only to remind me that she still existed.

Laurent continued to study me; he knew I was doing the same. I crouched down preparing myself for Laurent's inevitable attack. A low warning growl rumbled its way free from inside my chest. Laurent hissed in response and prepared to spring.

Our bodies moved at a blinding pace of attack and counterattack, his thoughts revealing his moves a split second before he moved. But his overall strategy was clear: severe my head from my body. Seeing that this was dead set in his mind, I decided to change my plan of attack. The last minute change cost me the left sleeves of my jacket and shirt.

Laurent smirked as he glanced at my shredded sleeves.

'Now we're even, boy. Victoria, however, isn't finished with you. She won't stop until you and her are even. A mate for a mate, boy.'

As I was about to connect with Laurent's body once more, the feeling of being watched seeped into my cold skin. The howl of a wolf off in the distance broke through the insulating silence of the snow. My head snapped up to look in the direction of the trees. Something was out there watching us fight.

I turned toward Laurent in response to hearing his thoughts on the wolves

'No, this can not be possible!'

A smirk appeared on Laurent's face as I released my hold, distracted by sudden movement in the woods.

"It would seem that I won't be able to finish you off as I had hoped," Laurent lamented.

The wolves were still here! After all this time, they still existed. I was astounded at their presence and questioned why we had not sense them when we returned here over a year ago.

Though the fury of the snow storm had intensified, I caught movement coming from the tree line of the forest. The musky, earthy scent of them caused my nose to draw up in disgust. Two wolves were emerging from the trees, one large black one and the other was a russet color. I skimmed their thoughts to learn more about them. Sam Uley and Jacob Black were the two wolves that stood before me now. It was all making sense now; the wolf gene lied dormant within the bloodlines of certain families. That was why my family and I hadn't sensed it earlier. The gene hadn't awakened yet, but why now?

I hissed and growled in frustration as Laurent took off running, leaving me alone with the two wolves. There was another howl as three more blurs of color took off in Laurent's direction. There were more than just these two wolves! I had no idea that so many Quileutes had changed into wolves. I knew without a doubt that they would take care of Laurent as soon as they were sure I wasn't going to try and stop them.

Their solution if I did was to kill me. Would this new generation abide by the rules of the treaty?

"We have a treaty, you wouldn't want to break it would you? I care very little about what your pack does to him." I said, in reply to their thoughts.

I decided to stay in my crouched position, with my vital points protected. My chin rested on my chest as my eyes remained trained on them. The black wolf seemed to be appraising me before snorting and turning to take off after Laurent and the other wolves.

'A bloodsucker is a bloodsucker to me, Jake. But he's right-- we have a treaty with his family. Just look at his eyes. His eyes are gold in color; it marks him as a Cullen. You can stay here if you want but I'm going after the others.'

Jacob continued to stare at me. He was furious with me and with Bella. I could hear and see everything that passed through his mind. It was a very jumbled and chaotic place to be. Only once before had I experienced the likes of hearing a collection of thoughts swimming within the mind of one being before. Yet the collective mind of the pack fascinated me all the same. Jacob showed no signs of knowing that I could read his thoughts.

'Damn fucking leech, you broke her you know. For two whole months I tried to fix her and I couldn't, because she wouldn't let me. Then she just ups and leaves, I would have gone after if I could have but…'

Jacob's thoughts trailed off for the count of six seconds before starting somewhere new.

'He's got a lot of nerve coming back here now. Then again he already knows she's gone. He was in her house, I could smell him. I really couldn't care about some old damn treaty. I ought to kill him right here, right now.'

A low rumble escaped my chest, causing Jacob to bare his teeth in return. I took a step towards him. The second I moved I heard Bella yelling at me.

"No, Edward, don't!"

I had to quickly remind myself that it was only the wind. It was the tear I had created in my heart that made me think she was near.

Putting my hands up in front of me, I took another step towards the russet wolf.

'If it even looks like his going to charge me, he's dead.'

"I have no plans of fighting you. If anyone breaks the treaty it won't be me. If you would be so kind to shift back to your human form we would be able to discuss this much better."

'Fuck, don't tell me this leech can read my mind! I just thought it was just hearsay.'

"Yes, I can, but it is not a talent I take pride in. As for it being hearsay, hearsay has more merit then you may think."

Jacob snorted in my direction before taking several steps backwards, until he was safely hidden in a thicket of snow covered trees.

'Sam's going to have my hide for doing this alone.'

"You better not try anything blood sucker."

Jacob had phased back to his human form to confront me. I sighed at hearing his voiced thoughts. He had no problems with speaking his mind. It reminded me of someone who was dear to me, Bella.

"You have my word, Jacob."

Jacob's response was almost a sneer.

"What good is the word of a bloodsucker?"

I kept my eyes on the tree line while my ears were listening for any sound of attack from my sides.

"I could ask the same of you, dog."

He gave my words a little bit of thought.

"Point taken, leech."

We both were at a stand still. After several seconds of uncomfortable silence I decide to speak.

"I want to thank you, Jacob, for trying to make Bella see reason."

Jacob however just snorted, "Yeah, whatever, it's not like it did me any good. It didn't matter what I did or said she was just frozen like stone."

The images of Bella that were in Jacob's mind were almost too much to bear. She was skinnier then I remembered and dark circles like bruise framed the bottoms of her eyes. The same soulful brown eyes that had once held so much life were now like two gapping black holes. The light that had been there once had been snuffed out.

I had been the cause of her state of despair. I had broken a promise in her eyes even though I had never truly said I would never leave her. I had said I would stay as long as it was what was best for her. Seeing how broken Bella had become was a grim reminder of the fissures I had carved into my own heart.

"Enough Jacob, I get your point." I know I didn't deserve his mercy, but I asked for it nonetheless.

"Do you, Edward?"

The doubt that was echoing inside Jacob Black's mind caused me to snap my head up and look at him once more. It was then that Jacob saw the pain and guilt that were etched deep within my amber eyes.

"Okay, so maybe you do get it. But I don't think you really do. Do you really think you can repair the damage you inflicted on her? It's not like you can just slap a band-aid on it and make it all better. I'll tell you this leechward if you ever hurt her again, I'll be the last thing you see."

I nodded at him before adding, "I'm counting on it Jacob Black."

I didn't want to depend on a pup to end my life, but I knew I couldn't continue without her.

My discussion with Jacob was over. I was wasting precious time here with him. His need to rip me apart would have to wait for another time. I needed to find what I could of Bella's trail. Something deep within told me to go back to her home. There had to be a clue there that I had missed.

"If you will excuse me, Jacob, I have a trail to follow."

Before I could disappear into the snow covered tree line, Jacob yelled after me.

"What makes you think you can find her trail when we couldn't?"

I froze in my tracks as I looked over my shoulder at Jacob Black.

"She calls to me. Can you say the same thing, Jacob?"

Leaving Jacob behind, I quickly made my way to the Swan residence.

* * *

Upon arriving there, I was filled with relief to see that Charlie wasn't home. It would make my task of searching Bella's room more convenient. Scaling up the tree, I gently slid the window open and slipped inside.

Glancing around the room I was unsure of where to start first. My eyes fell on Bella's desk and an invisible hand seemed to push me toward it from behind. Once there I continued to stare at it, intuition telling me an answer was hidden here.

Bella's desk was one of the tidiest spots in her room. Her pens and pencils were in the holder and her notebooks were neatly stacked. I noticed it then -- a folded piece of notebook paper that had been haphazardly slid between two of the notebooks. It seemed out of place compared to the neatness of the rest of the desk.

I snagged the edge of the paper and pulled it out. Opening it, I began to read it; it was a letter to Alice.

Dear Alice,

I miss you. I'm lost without you guys. I can't even dress myself right. I put my shirt on backwards yesterday. I know he told you not to look for my future. He probably told you not to contact me.

But I don't care. I'm drowning here, Alice. I need my best friend. I need the Cullens in my life. I need all of you.

Love,

Bella

Folding the letter up, I put it back in its place. She was desperately pleading with my sister to save her. This was not what I had envisioned when I chose to leave.

The error of my decision was so clear now. I had been the one to choose, not Bella, not my family -- me and me alone. Even when I was trying not to be selfish, I was.

As I stepped forward to head back to the window, the floor board beneath my foot squeaked and moved under my weight.

"That's rather odd."

I was sure I had secured it. Sighing I knelt down and popped the board the rest of the way out. I knew what I would find there -- evidence of my existence including the CD, the plane tickets, the pictures, and the gift I wasn't allowed to give her due to the fact that I had spent money on it.

I sucked in a breath as I looked down into the gapping hole on the floor. None of what I had just described was there any longer -- it was all gone! I stuck my hand into the darkness hoping that I would at least come upon the blue velvet box. I however did not.

But who and how did they find it? I soon realized who the thief was. After two months of willing herself to die, Bella had found my Achilles heel, my selfishness. I had wanted her to move on without me, but at the same time I couldn't bear not to leave something of me behind; even if it was only for the proof that I existed.

I could imagine my love moving around the room, then catching her toe on the floor board causing her to fall. Of course, leave it to Bella to find what I had hidden but couldn't take from her. I was a selfish creature after all. Seconds later, as I was getting ready to leave, my cell phone started to ring. Retrieving it from my pocket I looked down at the Caller ID: Jasper.

That was something unexpected, what could Jasper want now? He had given me his utmost sincere apologizes months ago. I would be lying if I said that the incident hadn't damaged our relationship. I had done my best to hide my feelings of betrayal from Jasper, but it did me little good. He knew the truth, which made him even more ashamed. In the end, I held no ill will toward my brother. We are what we are and there was no true way for us to change that.

As I flipped the phone open to answer it, the voice that spoke to me was not the one I had been expecting.

"Hello?"

"Oh, Edward, thank goodness!"

"Alice, what are you…?"

"Come home to New York, please. It's important."

"Alice, we've been through this."

"Don't hang up, Edward! It's Bella; she was in an accident while she was looking for us. She needs you Edward, so hurry."

The world around me was suddenly spinning out control once more. Bella had been in an accident and Alice wanted me to hurry. Did that mean that I was running out of time? I blinked my eyes rapidly as a faint image of Bella flickered in front of me.

"Edward, thank goodness you're safe. I'll never leave you."

"Bella?"

The image faded as I reached out to touch it.

"Bella, don't go!"

Without realizing, I had broken into a run, but my thoughts were moving faster. An accident, what kind of accident? Alice hadn't elaborated and I hadn't thought to ask -- it didn't matter.

Home! I needed to be on the other side of the continent and I was here in Forks. I was a blur as adjusted my course to head for Fork Airport. After which I would have two more connecting flights before I would land at Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. From there I knew my way home would be easy.

Yet, after all of my transgressions towards her, would she even accept me into the warm arms I craved to feel around me?

She had to make it! If she didn't, then neither would I.

I banked on two options now, death by the Volturi or death by Jacob Black. I then did the one thing I had never done before -- I sent a silent prayer up to the heavens.

'I have never in my whole existence asked anything from you. I'm asking now; please give her the will to hang on.'