Read Author's Note Underneath!

Epov

How I could have thought that Carlisle and the family would let me go so easily was beyond me now. When I had come in, and began selecting some of my belongings I didn't want to part with, they had known I wasn't planning on sticking around. Of course they had tried talking me out of it, to no avail. Then Rosalie and Emmett decided that maybe beating the idea out of me would work. After I had taken both of them down, simply picking their moves out of their minds and being one step ahead of them, I continued packing and was on my way to the front door.

All this time Alice, Jasper and the Denali's had just stood by and watched, all but Alice perplexed by the family's out of character behaviour. Carlisle had politely requested everyone to leave, including Esme, though she knew what he was up to and trusted him fully to convince me to change my plans. How naïve. She should know better by now. After all, haven't I left before?

Carlisle sat me down rather forcefully on the couch, only letting me go when he was convinced I wouldn't make a run for it, however tempting it may have seemed. He placed himself in front of me on the blood red, velvety, victorian armchair, studying my face carefully. I suppose one would have described him as utterly relaxed as he half lay, half sat on the armchair, one leg propped up on the elbow-rest, his left foot on the floor, leaning casually in the corner of the chair. I, however, knew the signs. The foot on the floor had deliberately been placed their as to lunge for me if I tried to take off. While I had always been the fastest, Carlisle had never been far behind me. I knew that had I tried to run, he would have caught up with me in no time. Hell, he would follow me to the end of the world and back, but he would make me listen to him at least once, of that I was sure.

"Speak your mind, Carlisle." I spoke softly, refusing to meet his eye anymore. Carlisle straightened his back and neck, lifted his chin and spoke full of authority and conviction. "Do you not see what sadness you bring? Not only upon yourself, but also upon your mother, your siblings? Me? Do we not mean anything to you anymore?" He asked. I opened my mouth to interrupt, but Carlisle merely lifted his hand in a silencing motion and continued. "I shall be honest with you, Edward. I shall be more honest than I have ever been with you before, even in all our years as companions, coven members and," he paused momentarily, "brothers, I suppose, more than anything." He took a deep breath and continued shakily, where his voice had been strong and authoritative, tears obvious in his tone. He was clearly bringing out the big guns now. "In all these years you've never disappointed me more than you have these last days. I know you. It doesn't matter if it will be a year from now or ten, for that matter. You'll come back to us pleading for forgiveness. Most of all, you'll be begging us for something we can and probably will all give you, but you won't give yourself ever," he said simply. His gaze turned sharp. "And I'm not sure Bella will ever forgive you, either."

With that I roared loudly and lunged for him. What had gotten into him to say such things? The question was of course rhetorical, because the answer was the reason for this conversation to have started in the first place.

Carlisle simply stood, took one step forward and sidestepped, then quickly as an arrow his arm shot out and his hand wrapped around my throat, his teeth soon following. That was all it took to subdue me. I hung my head sorrowfully. "I'm sorry," I mumbled ashamed of myself. Carlisle growled in reply, sending vibrations through my throat. Out of instinct I kept quiet, the animal in me recognizing that in only one movement I could be decapitated. After a few more seconds Carlisle let go of me. Sit.

I did as he commanded. "Speak Carlisle. I wish to be gone before the next sunrise," I spoke, a slight hint of irritation seeping through my voice now. Carlisle snorted, a very uncharacteristic trait, which immediately set me off.

"Well, then I suppose I must give you my sincerest apologies for withholding you," he sneered. I sighed, knowing I had truly upset Carlisle for him to act like this. I moved to stand up, only to find myself being pushed down again.

"You can go. I know a hopeless cause when I see one. Just remember what I said: in the end you'll come back begging for the forgiveness neither yourself nor Bella can give you. Good luck knowing that you ruined your relationship with your mate. Out of my sight!" At the end of his speech my mouth fell open. Had Carlisle actually just kicked me out? Before I could ask him, he had turned around and run out of the house towards Esme. For a moment I just sat there with my jaw slack and my eyes wide open in shock.

I shook my head and forced myself to get my act together, quite literally too. I slung my backpack over my shoulder and calculated my first move. I had decided to hunt for Victoria, but I wasn't sure where to start. My best move for now would probably be too start in Phoenix, check if she'd been there since she had left James with Bella. From that point onwards I'd try to track her, even though my skills as a tracker weren't outstanding of any kind. Once I was satisfied with my plan I took off, my still heart heavy with the realization of never seeing Bella again. Was Carlisle right?

"Please forgive me, Isabella."

Bpov

I had always been taught not to leave with strangers. Hell, my dad is a cop, but right now I couldn't bring myself to care one bit. Two vampires, one carrying me and one continuously hovering over me were taking me somewhere and I couldn't even muster a cry for help. I didn't want to cry for help. Firstly, Edward and the whole Cullen clan had left me like I was yesterday's garbage. Secondly, they were nice to me, truly nice and even though I should have been fearing for my life, I didn't because I believed their good intentions. I believed them when they said they were going to take care of me, and not in the creepy 'I'm about to eat you' way.

Yes, I had most definitely lost my mind, although I guess I never could have been qualified as normal. "I'm gonna take a guess there, darlin' and say you're thinking too much. Just relax; everything's gonna be alright," the man spoke. I looked at him, though I didn't truly see him. Who are they? Is he psychic or a mind reader (one that is actually able to read mine)?

I still felt numb, yet distraught at the same time. Somewhere along the way I lost consciousness, only to awaken to a sharp pain in my… the pain was everywhere. I felt a stabbing pain in my abdomen, while my head pounded like nobody's business. I took a long time for me to acknowledge the screams I heard, and when I did I was surprised to find out they were my own. Surely this much pain must mean I was dying?

.

When I came to again I was more aware of my environment. As I lay in my bed I listened to the sounds in and around the house. I could hear my dad shuffling around in the kitchen and the sounds of pans colliding. Normally, my dad in the kitchen would concern me, although Sue had taken to giving him some guidelines for use of the kitchen lately. Only when I really focused could I make out the quiet breathing in the corner of my room. I turned my head to towards the window, hoping against hope that Edward had come back. Of course he hadn't. Wouldn't.

Instead I came face to face with the couple who had carried me home apparently. I tried opening my mouth to say something, to thank them, greet them, anything really. Nothing came out however. I stopped trying and just settled for staring at the stunning pair. The woman looked friendly at first glance, a small face framed by platinum blond hair and an equally small stature clad in simple jeans, leather cowboy boots, a simple tank top and a leather jacket. However, if you spared her a second glance you saw what was wrong. The bloody red eyes in the flawless face gave a simple message: killer. The same went for the man. At first sight he was gorgeous, with a bit of a farmer boy touch to him, but he too was dressed casually with cowboy boots and had a messy short sandy coloured hair cut. Then when you cast him a second glance you saw the anomaly.

For a few silent moments they studied me, but then the man spoke. "I'm Peter," he said, using a gentle voice as if not to scare me away. He gestured to the woman, "this is Charlotte."

I continued to stare at them. It wasn't hard to figure out what Charlotte and Peter were to each other. It stung seeing them standing in each other's space like that, like it was the most ordinary thing ever. It was, to them and to others like them. It was, however, a painful reminder of what I didn't have any more. "He's gone."

I hadn't even registered the words I had spoken until their faces showed sincere pity. Why are they even here? What do they get out of this if not a meal?

"We're old friends of Jasper. He wrote to us about you," Peter replied to my nonverbal question.

I gave him a look, trying to tell him that still did not explain anything. "We wanted to see for ourselves what caught the attention of so many Cullens and our brother." Still no reaction from my part. Peter sighed sadly. Charlotte whispered something in his ear, causing Peter to give me a look and then shrug his shoulders and shake his head as if not sure about something. Then he whispered something back to hear with concern written on his face. Just when I wanted to try and open my mouth I was called downstairs by my dad for dinner. How was I supposed to go downstairs?

!

Final Author's Note:

Hi guys,

I'm very sorry to disappoint everyone who has stuck with me so far, but this story will be discontinued. I used to be obsessed like crazy with Twilight, but about a year/year and a half ago I just stopped loving it. By now, I've sort of come to hate it. Sorry to the diehard fans out there, but somehow I just can't stand Twilight anymore. I've worked long and hard on this story, but without my heart in it I just can't continue. I truly tried to give the story my all and I was proud to write it.

Basically, what I tried to do in this story is tell the tale from some of the other p.o.v's too. I also wanted to shine the spotlight on some characters who were living in the shadows of Bella and Edward, like Carlisle, Jasper and Peter and Charlotte. I hope I succeeded.

My hopes for the future of this story were to make Edward and Bella realize that without each other their bodies and minds would start to break down, because their connection is just that strong. I would have reunited them by the time Bella was 16/17. During Edward's absence I would have created a bond between Bella and the nomads Peter and Charlotte, who did everything in their power to keep Bella from truly being destroyed. I also would have made a strong friendship between Bella and Sam, and some half-friendship between Bella and Paul. When Edward would have come back on the scene, I would have made Bella think hard about forgiving him, maybe even make her a little badass, more like a rebellious teenager instead of a grown-up and I would have made her think harder about just abandoning everyone and everything else (the pack, her parents, her school friends and her human future). In the end, Bella and Edward would have ended up together, married and the happy parents of Renesmee. Maybe I would have even gone a little beyond the happy ending and have showcased Renesmee's life and her struggles a little, as well as her friendship with Seth and her connection to Jacob and the interactions between the two packs (Jacob, Seth and possibly Leah and some of Jacob's other friends would still be separated from the original pack to go with the Cullens).

I hope this is somewhat satisfactory for you. I tried to continue writing, but there was no joy whatsoever in it for me, which meant that the lines weren't just appearing on paper like they used to.

Again, thank you!