Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight.

A/N: Hey everyone! For those that don't know, I've got another story that I'm working on right now – "Best Definition of Good Intentions." I took some time off from writing since my life was getting pretty busy, but now that things have calmed down and I officially have time off (yay!), I was starting to write again. I know that I don't have the most regular of update schedules, but I'm always writing, little by little, in between updates. But not this time. So now, after a couple of weeks, I'm having a hard time getting back into the rhythm of "Best Definitions of Good Intentions." And, really, the last thing I want to do after being away, is posting a sub-par chapter. To avoid that, I decided to just try writing something else. This is actually an exercise I learned from a writing workshop that I did a few years ago. I always had a good time writing with this in mind and found myself to be fairly successful with this technique. So I hope you all like it, too.

If you haven't read "Best Definition of Good Intentions," and don't care about any of that – sorry! But go read it now! And tell me what you think!

This is just a small story to help ease me back in, so don't worry; my focus is still on that story. And there will be an updating coming your way shortly!

- 1 -

EPOV

"She's not here," Alice spoke without even turning to look at me. She was lying on the couch and I could just make out the spikes of her jet black hair over the tan leather. She was watching my reflection in the television in front of her.

I met her stare in the blank screen and asked, "Where is she?"

"Edward," she said, finally turning around. She didn't even have the decency to shut the fashion magazine that was open on her lap. Alice wrapped one arm across the back of the couch, twisting her back at an absurd angle to glare at me – as though that would change my mind.

"Alice," I said back. Why did she have to make this even more difficult for me?

"Why are you here?"

"I'm here for Bella." Questions, I expected, but not this one – the answer was obvious. But Alice's stare said otherwise. Her eyes were almost glazed over, almost as though she were staring through me. Suddenly, when her focus returned, I felt exposed. I realized I was still standing in the doorway. "Can I?"

Alice nodded and put the magazine down. She stood up and walked around the couch as I took a few steps into the apartment. It was my first visit here, my first glimpse into the life I could have been a part of. It was obvious that Alice had been the primary decorator, but it was just as obvious that she'd kept Bella's personal style in mind. Nothing was too over the top, nothing seemed out of place. Everything, from the matching tan leather couch and recliner to the brown Oriental rug and wooden fan, looked as though it belonged in that apartment.

"Nice place," I said as I lost myself in the photographs on the wall. The entire back wall of the apartment was painted a sage green, allowing the myriad of black and whites displays to stand out. There were two larger than the others, centered on the wall with only a few inches between them. Both I knew well.

On the left, three young girls were swinging on a playground. The photo was taken from the back and all three were at different heights, their shadows blurred across the grass. The girl on the right was leaning back; I could almost see her face basking in the sun's rays. Her light, curly hair was almost touching the ground and her body was in a line all the way to her pointed bare feet, toes in the sky. A slow smile spread across my face as I looked at Alice in the middle of the photo. She was the highest and I could remember thinking that day, watching their backs climb and fall, that she would surely flip over the bar at some point. Alice had always been the one to test the limits. Always the first to learn how far was too far. But that was when we were younger. Who knew it would be another Cullen, me, to play those childish games as an adult? But I'd learned my lesson and now I was back to fix my mistakes.

Purposely, I ignored the third girl in the photo. The picture, taken so long ago, wouldn't do her beauty any justice. And after all this time, I wanted to see the real thing.

"Why?" Alice asked.

Moving onto the second photo, I thought about her question. Why what, oh dear cousin? Why did I leave? Why did it take so long to return? Why did I come back? Why was I there for Bella? It didn't matter which, the answer was all the same.

"Because I need her, Alice." I faced her now, glaring at her as she'd glared at me only moments before.

"And what if she doesn't need you?" Even though I'd seen Alice in the five years I'd been "gone," I still felt as though I hadn't because I hadn't seen her in the ways I knew her best – as part of our group. We'd seen each other at least once a year for the holidays and I was always surprised to learn her speed had never slowed. And neither had her need to insert herself into other people's business – business that did not concern her.

"Then it'll break my heart," I admitted truthfully.

"Like you broke hers," she retorted.

Subconsciously, my eyes averted from her, toward the ground. I didn't want her to see how much that hurt me. I knew Alice well enough to know that she'd take the comment back and apologize for being so rude, even though it was true. I needed to hear that. I deserved to hear that.

"Alice."

"Don't hurt her again, Edward."

I ran my hands through my hair, pulling at the ends, feeling the tug at the roots. The pain meant this was real. There was nothing left to say. I repeated, "I need her."

"She's not here." Apparently, Alice had nothing else unsaid.

"Where is she?"

Resigned, Alice let out the deep breath she'd been holding. "She's at yoga."

"Yoga?" I asked.

She nodded her head, got off the couch and walked towards the kitchen. I followed.

"But Bella doesn't – since when does Bella do yoga?" I tried to recover from my mistake.

"There are a lot of things about Bella that you don't know," she said, pointedly.

"I know." It was quiet, but I still admitted it aloud, not matter how much it pained me to remember that I hadn't been a part of her life for the past five years. I closed my eyes, pushing away the thoughts that plagued me. There would be no way I'd survive the next few hours if I let myself wander what my life – our life – would like, if only I'd never left.

"She started yoga soon after you left." Alice had always been kind enough not to mention Bella to me. It was like an unspoken rule between us at all our family functions and the only time she broke it was when I inquired. I never knew more than the basics, though. Alice continued, "She does it to find peace. And I can't decide whether or not catching her on her way home from yoga is going to help you or hurt you."

"What do you mean?"

"Look, Edward." Alice jumped onto the counter, crossing her legs underneath her. Apparently, my pixie-like relative had a penchant for sitting atop surfaces. One look at her serious face and I knew I was in for it. All these years, she'd been holding back what she wanted to say. Finally, she was letting it go. And I don't think I could have been happier. Someone needed to yell at me. I deserved it. "I'm glad you've finally realized you need Bella like she knew she needed you all those years ago. I only wish you would have figured it out then – it would have saved us all from a lot of heartache."

"Alice, I'm sorry –"

"No, Edward. Don't apologize. Not to me anyway. You're family, and I'm going to love you and support you no matter what. But Bella doesn't have to. And after the past five years, while she was here and you weren't, she earned the right to make this decision for all of us. So don't apologize to me, Edward. And don't apologize to Emmett or Rosalie or Jasper. Apologize to Bella. Win her back and you'll win the rest of us back."

"I –"

"I knew you'd come back. You're a good person, Edward. I don't think I'll ever really understand why you left and I don't really think it matters anymore, now that you're back. At the end of the day, I knew that you believed leaving was the right thing to do – at that time. Just like how I know you believe coming back is the right thing to do. You wouldn't be here if you didn't think it was the right thing to do. You wouldn't put Bella through that?"

It hurt that she needed confirmation. "No, I wouldn't do that to Bella. I wouldn't do that to any of you."

"I had the faith that you would return. I had the faith that you would eventually realize what Bella meant to you. But Edward," she paused for a much needed breath. "Bella didn't have that faith. She believed you when you told her you had to leave. She believed you when you told her you didn't love her anymore."

"What's the point, Alice?" I was getting agitated. I knew what I'd done and I certainly wasn't proud of it, but was it necessary to spell it out for me? But, I suppose I had asked for it.

"She's made peace with it – with your decision. At least, as best as she's been able to. She's accepted your right to make that decision. She finally accepted your decision and the fact that she couldn't change your mind. Every day, she still wishes you hadn't. She won't say it aloud, but it's obvious. Regardless, it's taken her a long time, but she's moved on."

Moved on? What did that even mean? Had she forgotten all about me? Did she hate me? Was she even going to listen to me?

"I just need to tell her how I feel. She needs to know I'm sorry."