Meeting & Joining the Denalis
Bella's POV
It had been almost six months since they'd left. I tried to avoid thinking about them but recently I've found that stupid and reckless stunts that put me in danger let me hear his voice, like he still cared about me, that he was trying to protect me.
One day, I went to Jake's and we started searching for the meadow that he and I once shared. I had to find that meadow.
I soon found the meadow alone, but all that was there was emptiness. Just like the rest of Forks. The rest of my life. I had nothing but pain.
I felt the tears well up in my eyes and I sang weakly:
"Everything's cool, yeah. It's all gonna be okay, yeah. And I know, maybe I'll even laugh about it someday. But not today, no. 'Cuz I don't feel so good. I'm tangled up inside. My heart is on my sleeve. Tomorrow is a mystery to me. And it might be wonderful. It might be magical. It might be everything I've waited for. A miracle. Oh, but even if I fall in love again with someone new, it could never be the way I loved you. Letting you go is making me feel so cold, yeah. And I've been trying to make believe it doesn't hurt, but that makes it worse, yeah. See, I'm a wreck inside. My tongue is tied and my whole body feels so weak. The future may be all I really need. And it might be wonderful, yeah. It might be magical, oh. It might be everything I've waited for. A miracle. Oh, but even if I fall in love again with someone new, it could never be the way I loved you. Like a first love. My one and only true love. Wasn't it? Was it written all over my face? I loved you like you loved me. Like something pure and holy. Like something that can never be replaced. And it was wonderful. It was magical. It was everything I waited for. A miracle. And if I should ever fall in love again, with someone new, it could never be the way...No, it will never be the way...I loved...you."
I struggled to my feet and then gasped as Laurent stepped out from the trees. "Laurent!" "Bella. This is a pleasant surprise." I grinned, pleased that Laurent remembered me, but still he did look very similar, almost identical, to the way I'd last seen him. His eyes—they weren't gold like the Denalis. I quickly, and unthinkingly, asked, "Did you ever see Victoria in the last year?"
"Yeah, about Victoria. She wants to kill you." I groaned and said, "Great." Seeing that I was upset, Laurent quickly said, "Of course, I'm pretty sure the Denalis won't mind having, like, a constant patrol near areas you're usually at—school, your house, work—things like that. What do you think?" I said, "Sure, but first I want to meet them—the Denalis. Tanya, Irina, and the rest of the family." Laurent agreed, but called Irina and told her that the Cullens' pet human needed to be protected from an old friend of his, who was a girl, but wasn't his ex-girlfriend. The Denalis agreed, but said that they needed what the person they were going to protect looked like. And so I met them—Tanya, Irina, Kate, Carmen, and Eleazar. They were all very nice and Tanya was upset when she learned that he had said he didn't want me, because she told me that she thought I was a very nice human girl.