Ten forty five. Fingers shaking, I reached for the phone. I had to do something, because the frantic twitching and pacing was getting me no where. I dialed the numbers that I knew by heart but had never had to punch into the keypad. I lifted the phone shakily to my ear.

Ring. Ring. Ring. Ring

No one picked up. All I got was an answering machine, and I resorted to listening to it only to hear his voice. He apologetically stated that he was not home and to leave a message. Not bothering to say anything after the beep, I slammed the phone down with a cry, my last shred of hope gone.

The tears flowed fast now and I was powerless to stop them. I rocked back and forth, clutching Romeo and Juliet against my chest. “Edward,” I sobbed. “Edward, I love you. Don’t go. Please…please…” But no amount of pleading would bring him back to me. It was all over this time. Really, truly all over. I collapsed on the kitchen floor, my cheek pressed against the cold tile, crying into the book.

Eleven o three.

The doorbell rang.

Crap. I froze in dismay. I really didn’t need Alice or Rosalie or anyone else seeing me like this right now. They didn’t need to know. I could be a big girl. I could deal with this on my own.

Wiping my eyes, I hastily got to my feet, choking back more sobs. In my hurry, my legs got tangled and I fell back to the floor. I heard Edward’s amused chuckle in my head, but I pushed that thought down. No more. No more. If he was determined to leave me behind, then I would leave him behind too.

I swiped a few fingers through my matted hair and rubbed my eyes one more time before deciding that it was as good as it was going to get. Abandoning my book on the couch as I passed it on my way through the living room, I headed towards the door. Dreading whatever confrontation I was about to deal with, I opened it.

And froze.

And took a step forward. “Oh my god,” I whispered, all my reactions completely reflexive now, because my brain had switched off. But I knew him. Still, after all these years, I knew him. The same tall, muscular body, the same messy bronze hair that couldn’t stay in place no matter how long he combed it, the same emerald eyes that could speak more with a glance than any sentence uttered, the same emerald eyes that dazzled me, the same emerald eyes that I had fallen in love with.