Disclaimer: I do not own 'Twilight' or any of its original characters. I however retain rights of this plot, and any additional characters. This applies for the whole story.

Author's Note: This is the edited version of my previously completed story. Instead of taking it down, I've decided to wrap up editing in one week!!

BPOV

Those were the longest three minutes of my life. Who ever knew that a hundred and eighty seconds could pass so very slowly?

Why three minutes, you may ask. Well, three minutes could decide my fate. Three minutes could make all the difference in my life. Three minutes could change everything forever.

Three minutes.

Three minutes was how long it took for a pregnancy test to complete…

3 Agonizing Minutes Later

Three minutes had passed. My stopwatch stood testimony to that. Yet I could not bring myself to look at the seemingly innocent stick that lay within arm's reach.

This was the second consecutive month I had missed my period, and that was what had prompted me to by the test. I had driven all the way to Port Angeles to purchase it, lest anyone I knew saw me. Forks was a town known for its malicious gossip.

Bracing myself, I slowly picked up the test, still avoiding looking at it.

Cursing myself for being so cowardly I turned my head so as to see the test's result. The expression on my face must have been one of sheer terror, because what I saw was two parallel lines.

My eyes misted over, temporarily blinding me. I rubbed my eyes, but my vision was still blurred. Blinking furiously to clear my sight, I braved another look at the stick. Two parallel lines remained, almost insolently, as if making fun of my misery.

I knew only too well what the lines signified, but I looked at the instructions once more, just to make sure. I only learned what I had feared was the truth. Two parallel lines meant that I was pregnant.

"No", I whispered. "This is not happening to me. This cannot be happening to me." I repeated the words over and over again like a mantra hoping fervently that somehow it would make my problems vanish.

I was in a full fledged mode of complete and utter denial. "No", I kept saying while shaking my head. A single tear escaped from my eyes, and ran down my cheek.

"No!"

A few hours later

I had tried three different tests after the first one. Each was made by a different manufacturer, in the futile hope that one of them would prove the first test wrong. Instead, they only served to increase my anxiety, telling me what I desperately wished wasn't true. They had all come out positive. One test could be wrong, but what were the chances that all four were?

My denial was fast turning into panic, as reality fully set in. I waspregnant, and no amount of tears could change that fact.

My whole world seemed to come crashing down upon me. I was only eighteen, and I had just graduated high school. How in the world was I supposed to take care of someone else when I can hardly take care of myself?

The thought of a creature, a little human being growing inside me was a terribly frightening image. There was a little boy or girl, in my womb, who depended solely upon me for all its needs.

Strangely enough, somewhere deep within me sprouted the seeds of protectiveness. There was no way in hell that I was considering an abortion, or even giving my baby up for adoption. I had brought this baby into this world purely due to my irresponsibility, so now it was only fair that I face the consequences.

It helped my sanity to think of the baby as a real person, instead of a nuisance I wanted to get rid of.

Suddenly a new thought made its way into my already confused mind. Edward. He was my boyfriend, my first love. He was everything to me. More importantly, in the present context, he was the father of this baby. He was the only person I had ever slept with, so there was no room for doubt over the father's identity.

A strong resolution began slowly, yet surely forming in my mind. Edward would not find out this baby, not now and not ever. The same applied for Charlie, my father, though for a completely different set of reasons.

Edward was an intelligent student, to put it mildly, and he had always topped our class with ease. Even though that was not much to say, because the students who attended Forks High were not of a great number, it was clear to everyone that great things lay in store for him.

His father, Carlisle, was the head surgeon at Forks Hospital. Although Carlisle had a great job at a hospital in Chicago, he had quit it, and moved to Forks for the sake of his wife's health. Esme had been advised to move to a small town to get some 'fresh air' instead of being constantly exposed to the constant air pollution of a big city like Chicago.

Edward had been raised to believe that one day he would follow in his father's footsteps, and become a surgeon as well. He had no issues with this expectation, and was now once step closer to his dream.

He had received the official confirmation letter from one of the top medical colleges in the country around a month back. However, his joy at being accepted was diluted by his sorrow for having to leave me for the three years it would take to complete his course.

I had convinced him that this opportunity would come once in a lifetime, and he would be crazy not to tale it. If he ever found out the first thing he would do is reject the offer. You see, Edward had been raised to behave like a gentleman. One would almost think he was born in the nineteenth century. He would insist upon marrying me so as to 'protect my honor', and discard all his ambition thoughtlessly so he could stay here in Forks to help me raise the baby.

I can't just watch him throw away his dream because of me. You might be wondering why I am so willing to accept this to be my fault, and not Edward's. You see, it was my fault. I was the one who had wanted to have sex. He wanted to wait, but gave in after much persuasion.

When I had initially put forward the idea of sleeping with him, he immediately turned me down. We had a bitter fight that night. I threw in phrases like 'you would if you truly loved me' and 'don't you care about me anymore?' knowing that they would guilt him into letting me have my way. And guilt him I did. We lost our virginities to one another three days after our fight.

Our first time had been two and a half months ago. We had slept together again on two separate occasions, graduation and Edward's confirmation letter. Those three nights will be among the most memorable experiences of my life.

I was not completely naïve. I knew that I could only keep my pregnancy hidden for a few months. Edward would eventually find out, as would Charlie.

Charlie would take the news especially badly. He had always been over protective of me. This was partly attributed to the fact that he was the Police Chief of our little town, but mostly because of Renee. Renee was my mother. She had died when I was four of some lung disease. It could have been cured if detected just a few weeks earlier, and Charlie always unfairly felt responsible for her death.

He had loved her very much, but following her demise I was all he had. Charlie was not one to easily display affection. Instead he resorted to being so overly protective of me, that I wasn't even allowed to date any one. I had rebelled at the age of sixteen, when I had first met Edward. I could only imagine what his reaction would be if he ever found out about the mess I had landed myself into.

Eventually, the whole town would find out, and that was something I definitely didn't want happening. Charlie, being the Police Chief, was one of the most respected people in Forks. I could just imagine how much it would hurt him if he had to hear the constant gossip about his daughter getting 'knocked up'.

It was already hard enough on Charlie to bear with gossip that came with being a single parent ('I heard he was checking Ms Insert Name here out' or 'Did you know he's sleeping with that whore /slut /insert any other demeaning term here'). I didn't want to lay this additional burden on him.

As I lay my options before me, only one seemed to make any sense.

Call me a coward, but I felt that the only solution was to… runaway.

EPOV

Dear Edward

I have decided to run away. Run away from Charlie, from Forks, and from you. Please don't try to look for me. I don't want to be found. I am eighteen, so I am an adult now. Legally it is fine for me to do this, so make sure Charlie doesn't send out a search party.

Follow your dreams Edward. Unlike me you have big dreams, and I hope they come true. Become a great surgeon, like you've always wanted. Someday when you do, know that no one will be as proud of you as I will. I have nothing but the most sincere blessings to offer you.

The truth is I'm tired of my boring, small town life. I think I deserve some change. I'm moving on and so should you. Whatever you might believe at this point of time, you will find true love one day, Edward. I just know you will. She will be one lucky woman. I should know.

Help Charlie stay strong, for my sake. I have written a letter for him as well, but he needs someone right now. I'm hoping that someone will be you.

I have one final request Edward. Please don't hate me. I couldn't bear it if you did. I know this might seem an incredibly selfish thing of me to ask, and I'm sorry for that.

In the hope that one day you might find it in your heart to forgive me,

Bella

My hands trembled as I read the letter over and over again. In fact, my whole body was shaking violently. A few blotches on the sheet of paper marked where my tears, and possibly hers, had fallen.

Why was she doing this to me? I had really loved her, and I still do. Had she fallen for someone else? That could be a possible explanation, but I thought it unlikely. Bella could never cheat on me. However, just a few hours ago, I wouldn't have believed that Bella would ever run away, but she had done it. Your perspective tends to undergo a major shift after something like that happens.

Although I always suspected myself not to be good enough for her, I had never seen this coming. We had lost our virginities to each other. We were each other's first loves. We had meant the world to one another. Obviously all of this didn't mean as much to her as it did to me. This relationship had been one sided. It hurt to think of how long she might have been leading me on.

Flashback

I took in her angel like beauty, as she kissed me softy. I couldn't hold it back any longer.

"I love you" I mumbled

She looked at me shocked, not sure if she had heard me correctly. I was quick to reassure her. "Don't worry if you don't feel the same way…"

She interrupted my nervous banter, her lips meeting mine in a passionate kiss. "I love you too Edward. I'll love you forever."

End Flashback

Lies. That's what they were. God damn lies. All those sweet kisses. All the times she told me she loved me. Every touch, every word…it was all a lie.

And now that the truth had been brought out, I just couldn't handle it. And that's not even the worst of it. The most horrible part was that my love for her had not ebbed in the least.

'Please don't hate me'

The words rung in my head. Little did she know, I was not capable of hating her. I longed to loathe her, to despise her with every fibre of my being. It would make everything so much simpler. At least that's what my brain told me. My heart however told a whole other story.

Anger overcame me, and I ripped the letter into shreds. I instantly regretted doing it, because that letter contained Bella's last words to me. Berating myself for being so pathetic, I grabbed the keys to my car. Going for a long spin was the only thing that could help me now.

*******

Charlie had never liked me, but this incident caused us to bond. When he had finally accepted my relationship with Bella, over a year ago, he treated me like a close friend. After this, I was a son to him. We could each feel the other's pain and tried to help one another cope with it.

For the next few weeks pretended that I was okay but I don't think that I was fooling anyone. I didn't speak unless spoken to and even then I answered monosyllabically. I hardly ate and couldn't sleep well. I was miserable without her. I resolved to stop thinking about her. It would only cause me more pain.

I had to try and get over her…

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