1The Twilight Saga and its characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer

*Note* Chapter six was the inspiration for this fanfiction. Hopefully the rest is good enough to keep you interested long enough to get to it.

"Ha, banishment? Be merciful, say 'death,' for exile hath more terror in his look, much more than death. Do not say 'banishment'." -Romeo, The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet

1.

Somehow I made my way back to her house. I did not remember running there. My mind was stripped of everything except for her ... Bella ... reaching out for me, asking me to wait. But I did not. I could not. This was the way it had to be. She deserved more than I could ever give her. A life without the constant cloud of danger. Even though she didn't understand it now, someday she would see. Living a full human life was a far greater destiny than an eternity with me in this soulless existence.

I climbed up the side of the house and jumped through her window. This had been my daily routine for as long as I could remember. There was nothing before this, nothing before her, and nothing now that she's gone. Her intoxicating scent, filling the warm room, washed over me. I dropped to the floor, head in my hands.

What did I do? What did I do?

I could not waste time in regret. I did not know how long it would take her to get back. I forced my unwilling body off the floor and looked for anything that would be a reminder of my presence ... the CD, the plane tickets, the pictures. I considered taking everything with me, hoarding our memories to keep her close, but I wanted to leave her something of myself. Even if it was ridiculous, childish. I lifted one of the floor boards and left the, seemingly, insignificant items. I laughed darkly. As if leaving these things here meant anything. She would never know.

Would she forget? Someday, would she forget how much I love her?

It was torturous to know that, even in that moment, she believed I did not want her.

I made my way out of the window and to my car. I sat, staring at the familiar house, for an immeasurable moment. This house that felt more like my home than any other place in the world. A safe haven, a refuge. Finally, the conclusion to years of endless searching. For decades I searched for something that eluded me, an unknown desire ... I searched for her. I thought about the first night I came here. The complete peace that had finally entered my life just by watching her sleep. How completely my world had been transformed by her presence, and how it would never be the same again.

My phone, vibrating in my pocket, startled me as it never had before. I looked at the screen with no intention of answering it, until I saw who it was.

"Alice," I choked out. "What is it?"

"You have to go back, Edward." Her voice was panicked. "She's lost and she's headed deeper into the woods. You can't just abandon her."

"Damn it, Alice," I growled. "I told you not to look for her future! Leave her be, we've done enough damage."

"So, you're going to leave her out there," she hissed. "What's the point in leaving Forks at all, when your just going to let her die out in the forest?"

I slammed the phone shut, completely destroying it, and went back into the house. I left a note for Charlie in Bella's handwriting. If she was still gone when he got home he would find her. I would ask Alice to watch this one last time. To make sure she returned home safely. I could not go back now. I wanted more than anything to make sure she was alright, but she would not understand why I would care to check on her, and I would have to start over.

More honestly, if I saw her again I would not be able to bear leaving her.