This is a tragic story; a random thing I came up with at midnight. Give it a chance, please. Disclaimer: I don't own Twilight or the characters.
2nd June, 2005- EPOV
I couldn't wait for the guests to arrive, especially her. Bella. My best friend. The one I've been in love with since we first met in freshman year of high school. She doesn't know of course. I only ever told her brother, Jasper, and my sister, Rosalie.
"Happy birthday, dear brother," Rosalie laughed, walking into the room, her blonde hair swinging behind her. "Thanks, Rose," I smiled. She sat down next to me on the bed. "So are you planning on telling Bella about your not-so-little crush on her?" She asked playfully.
I blushed slightly. "It's not a crush, Rose. I'm in love with her. And yes, I'm going to tell her today." As I finished speaking, my phone rang. I smiled when I saw the caller ID. "Hey, Bella." "Hey birthday-boy," she laughed and my heart swelled at the sound. Rosalie stared at me, with a knowing smile, then mouthed, "Ali and Em should be here soon," and went downstairs. "Jaz and I are starting out now. We should reach your house in about thirty minutes," Bella estimated. "Okay, see you then."
Just as I put the phone down, I heard a high-pitched voice calling my name from the living room. "Edward Cullen, where are you?" "Right here, pixie," I called out as I bounded down the stairs. Alice squealed and jumped into my arms, while her brother clapped me on the back.
We had all been taken by surprise when we realised that Alice and Emmett McCarthy were related. Emmett was huge, tall with rippling muscles, while Alice was a tiny thing. But they both shared the same short black hair, sparkling blue eyes and an endless supply of never-ending enthusiasm.
I winked at Rosalie as she blushed when Emmett pecked her on the cheek. They'd been dating for two years now, but he was still the only one who could make her blush.
"When are the Whitlocks getting here?" Alice asked pseudo-innocently. I smirked at her. It was no secret that she had the hots for Bella's twin. She was always squealing about Jasper's "sandy-brown hair, chocolate brown eyes, he's just gorgeous."
"Oh stop smirking," she snapped at me. "It's not like you're any better about Bella." That shut me up. Alice was the one smirking now, as were Emmett and Rosalie. "What do you mean?" I stammered. I was pretty sure Rose wouldn't tell on me like that. Alice rolled her eyes. "Seriously, we're not blind. And you are pretty obvious. It's actually a miracle Bella hasn't picked up on it yet."
"Though if she did," Rose chimed in, "You'd be quite surprised." "What do you mean?" I asked again. Emmett snickered. "Oh let's just say our Jelly Belly has some secrets of her own." Before I could ask the same question a third time, Alice suggested we wait for our missing set of friends out on the porch.
While we did, I couldn't help but feel nervous that Bella might not feel the same towards me. If she didn't, would I be able to handle her rejection? I didn't think so, but hopefully I could still have her friendship.
"Edward, did you get a call from either twin about when they're arriving here?" Emmett asked with a frown. "Yeah, Bella called to tell me they would be here within the half hour," I replied and checked my watch. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I saw that it had been forty minutes since Bella called.
"Something's wrong," Alice murmured. All of us rounded on her at once. "What do you mean?" Emmett asked, fear prominent in his voice. "I mean," she whispered, "I have this feeling that something bad is going to happen."
Emmett, Rosalie and I glanced at each other nervously. Over the last two years, we'd all learned to trust Alice's 'feelings', as they usually turned out to be on the spot. Rose met my eyes, her light green eyes swimming with fear and concern.
I could almost read her mind: 'nothing can happen to them, they'll be fine, they'll both be just fine. I could only hope she was right.'
No sooner than I thought that, my phone rang. My stomach lurched when I saw the caller ID belonged to my father. Why was he calling? He was supposed to be at the hospital. With shaking hands, I answered the call, everyone's eyes trained on me.
"Hey dad," I tried to sound like everything was just fine. "Son, I need you to bring your sister and your friends over to the hospital now." He sounded tired and miserable, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
"Why? Is everything alright?" I asked, already fearing the worst. There was a brief silence on the other end. Then, "The Whitlock twins have been in an accident. I think you should all be here." The line went dead and I took a deep breath to steady my spinning head.
"Is everything okay?" Alice asked quietly. I grabbed my car keys and hopped in to the driver's seat. I didn't answer Alice until we were all seated and on the way to the hospital. "Jasper and Bella were in an accident. Carlisle wants us there." Rose and Alice both gave audible gasps.
Soon, Emmett and I were pacing in front of the operation theatre, waiting for my father to come out and give us the verdict. Renée Whitlock was quietly weeping in a corner, my sister and Alice sitting with her, both in complete shock.
After what seemed like ages, Dr. Carlisle Cullen stepped out, his face worn and aged. Rosalie and Alice came to stand beside me and Emmett. Carlisle took a deep breath and ran a hand through his blond hair. "They were hit by a drunk driver . It was a hit-and-run case," he spoke softly.
None of us said a word, until Renée stood and, with a trembling voice, asked, "What about my children?" Carlisle looked at her and took another shaky breath.
"Jasper will remain paraplegic for a few months. He'll regain the use of his legs, but he'll have a slight limp for life." Renée nodded, slightly calm and appeased. Alice and Rosalie both sighed in obvious relief. But I knew better than to celebrate yet. Still, I couldn't ask the words.
Luckily, Emmett took the matter out of my hands. "What about Bella?" His voice was a quiet whisper. All of us looked at my father expectantly. He swallowed. "She had been at the wheel. She suffered from several injuries: two cracked ribs, a broken leg and a severe head wound." He paused briefly and shut his eyes, while I tried to ignore his repeated use of the past tense.
When he opened his eyes again, I somehow knew. The whole world went into slow motion as Carlisle spoke the next words. "She's dead. We couldn't save her. I'm sorry."
Renée staggered backwards, flopping down on the bench. Alice and Rose both gave soft screams of despair and began crying earnestly. Emmett was in total shock, muttering, "No, she can't be dead. She can't be. Not my sister. Not my Bells." While I simply closed my eyes and cried silently for the loss of the only love I would ever know.
The funeral was, ironically, beautiful; full of lavender and white freesia. Bella's favourite flowers. While the funeral priest spoke about Bella, Alice and Rosalie wept openly. Emmett had one arm around each of them, offering support to both of them. But silent tears streamed down his own face, as he mourned the girl he'd seen as his second sister.
Jasper was beside me on his wheelchair, his face set in stone, mirroring mine, reflecting nothing but shock and denial. Neither of us could quite accept the death of the one who'd meant the world to us.
After the funeral was over, and everyone had left, the five of us found ourselves standing in front of the marble tombstone, gazing at the words inscribed on it: Here lies Isabella Whitlock, an angel in disguise, a true friend to all those in need. Finally, Alice sighed and leaned into her brother's embrace. "I want to go home," she whimpered. Silently, Emmett placed an arm around her and began leading her towards their car.
Rose laid a gentle hand on my shoulder. "I'll get Em to take me home. You drop Jas, then you come straight home, okay?" I nodded absently and she followed the McCarthy's, leaving me alone with Jasper. For a long while, we stood in silence. "Do you blame me?" Jasper asked, his voice soft and defeated. I frowned, not taking my eyes off the engravings.
Jasper was a very charismatic person. He had the most uncanny ability of knowing exactly what the other person was feeling and even calming him. But now he was asking me? I thought about his question and found I couldn't give him an answer without lying or hurting him. Finally, I worked out a response. "It's not your fault. But a part of me is jealous of Alice because, she gets to see you everyday and think of how lucky she is it wasn't you." I knew Jasper appreciated honesty, so I gave it to him.
True enough, I saw him nod in my peripheral vision. "I'm jealous of you and Emmett," he admitted quietly. I frowned again, not able to see his reasoning. "Because, you get to see your sisters everyday," he went on. "And think of how lucky you are, to still have them." I lowered my eyes, not wanting him to see the sudden tears pooling in them.
"She'd written a letter before we started from the house. It was for you," he stated and handed me an envelope from his jacket pocket. I took it with trembling fingers and finally risked a glance at my friend. It wasn't just his brown hair and brown eyes that matched Bella's; they both had the same pointed chins, stubborn jaws and perfectly arched eyebrows. I felt a pang in my chest and realized I would never be able to look at him again without cringing.
"And just so you know," he began, suddenly stammering. "I blame myself." And tears finally fell from his eyes.
After dropping Jas home, I sat in my room, silently contemplating the enclosed letter. Bella had written this. She had actually handwritten this before the accident. With trembling fingers, I unfolded the letter and began reading.
Dear Edward, it read. I made my way down the letter, the knives in my chest twisting, the horrible pain cutting through me.
With all my love,
Bella, I finished.
The letter fluttered from my hand and a shrill wail filled my ears. The door of my room burst open and my sister came in to sit by me. I could see her lips moving; she was saying something to me. But the repeated cries of pain deafened me. I tried to tell her to say it again, but the noise stopped. It was then that I realised I was the making the awful sound.
As the revelation struck me, the events of the past three days hit me with blinding force and I finally let myself break down in tears in my sister's arms.
The next two chapters will be up soon. Till then, read and review, please.