Edward left Bella in New Moon. Case in point, end of discussion. The whole Zombie phase didn't happen but the Dog did and we end up where Alice said Edward was about to go to the Vampire Overlords and commit suicide. Wait, what?!
Needless to say that they got to Italy pretty fast. Bella allowed the so-called Guard to lead her to whatever underground crypt they liked to fancy themselves. Wow. This was… something.
"So, how do we do this?" I asked. I was genuinely curious.
"Excuse me?" One of the three men spoke, the ones on the thrones with the fancy robes and whatnot. I'm not going to say that I wasn't scared. I don't laugh in the face of danger like Simba claimed. I'm not Superwoman. I just had so many of those moments where I had to sit down and examine myself. I still haven't found the answer. I stopped trying a lot time ago.
"I'm not trying to be sarcastic or anything. Honest, Mr. Caius, I really want to know what happens next. Are you going to kill him? Are you going to kill me? Can I just take him and go? I mean, I've obviously never met you all so I don't know what kind of protocol you could have."
Granted considering that I'm surrounded by a bunch of red-eyed blood-drinkers they obviously have no regard for human life. Honestly? It's like a mouse telling the King of the Jungle to get on with it.
"You're human."
"Yes, sir. I would like to think so."
"All of our laws require that humans not know about vampires."
"Well… that's a problem." I admitted. "Thing is, Mr. Aro, I'm kind of partial to living. I can hazard a guess as to what your policy on that is and that your assistant is probably only going to be human for so long… I can also hazard a guess and say that you don't like how powerful Carlisle Cullen's family could be considered."
"Excuse me?" Caius hissed.
"Well, Mr. Caius, you've got a mind reader." Who, might I add, doesn't have the same type of ability as Aro because grazing the surface usually gets you nowhere. "A seer," Whose visions are often uncertain and can change with the slightest provocation. "An empath." Who has to manage several other people on the daily. "and there currently resides a human with the ability to block any mental powers." I honestly have no idea where I'm headed with this. "Mr. Aro is a collector, You're power-crazed and for all we know Mr. Marcus doesn't really care so… yeah. You could consider yourself screwed. Or you could swallow your pride and accept the fact that you currently posses absolute power over the entire race of vampires and leave it at that. So, Volturi kings, how will this whole thing play out because I really don't want to go home in a body bag."
"You may go," Aro offered serenely, waving a gallant hand. Two of the bulky guards swooped out from the wall, enclosed us in a block, and guided us back toward the light. Thank you, God!
"I see you were successful." Carlisle offered when we returned with a silent Edward in tow.
"Mr. Carlisle?"
"Yes, Bella?"
"I think Edward might be in shock."
"I'll have to look into that later, Bella. I'm just glad that he's alive right now."
"Can I talk to him?"
"Certainly."
"You don't have to leave the room or anything I just need a metal baseball bat."
"Please don't try and hurt anyone or anything that resides in the house."
"Yes, sir." There went Plan A. Oh well… Plan B would work just fine.
I loped over to Edward and dragged him to the couch. We sat down and I made him face me. He was numb and compliant, jelly in my hands.
"What gives you the right to do what you did?" I demanded of him. He seemed to snap out of his daze.
"You're going to have to be a bit more specific."
"You specifically intended to kill yourself. How did you think this would all play out when it was over?"
"I guess I didn't."
"Edward, what's suicide?"
"The process or act of killing yourself by your own hand."
"What does that mean?"
"That you kill yourself."
"What happens when you kill yourself?"
"You no longer exist."
"Exactly! You would have left a giant Edward-sized hole that your family would be looking to fill in any way that they knew how because you would no longer exist."
"You do realize that you were going to do the exact same thing a few days ago?" Edward stared at me incredulously.
"No, that's different because that's actually a recreational sport called cliff-diving. I picked a terrible time to do it but if I really wanted to kill myself there are a million different ways to do so. Easier, more permanent ways. For you there's only one. Which brings me to my next point. Why go to the Volturi?"
"What does that mean?"
"You had to ask someone else to kill you. That should ring a few alarms saying that you might not want to do it in the first place." I offered. "I'm going home, Edward. Come find me when you're done being in shock. Or better yet I'll find you."
"That's it?"
"Hopefully. You're not going to do anything stupid because your family just got you back. I have a feeling Esme won't let you out of her sight anytime soon. Oh, and Edward."
"Yes."
"There are easier ways to break up with someone. I would have been a lot more reasonable if you hadn't been so dramatic. I've seen it happen."
Bella walked out of the Cullen house and drove back to her own.
"Are you going to tell me why I came back from Harry's funeral to find you gone and Jacob ranting about the Cullens being back?"
"Edward couldn't handle the breakup so he'd been contacting me the whole time. When he tried to contact me a few days ago, Jacob picked up and made it sound like I'd died. He tried to commit suicide so Alice got me to go to where he was and talk him out of it."
"So he's alive?"
"Very much so. I feel bad for them now."
"Why?"
"They all got the shock of their lives when the poor idiot pulled a Romeo to my fake-Juliet."
"You know you're grounded, right?"
"Of course. I ran off without telling you anything and you got scared."
"You're a good kid. It'll be over soon."
I hummed my agreement. I would be just fine as long as he didn't take away my journals.
"Are you going to keep up with Jake? He seemed pretty good for you."
"Jacob is half the reason I'm in this mess. He honestly needs to get it out of his head that I like him because I don't. I never showed any real hint of liking him that way and now he's got this whole puppy love thing for me and I don't want him to ruin his life because of some messed up notion that he's found true love. He's an awesome friend but he obviously wants something more. I can't give him that when I love Edward."
"Write that down and send it to him. Just like that." Charlie offered. I nodded and zipped up the stairs.
3 weeks later
"Um, Carlisle?"
"Yes?" He seemed surprised when I addressed him, like he didn't see it coming. Considering that we didn't interact on a regular basis, I could see why. I resolved to change that. I wouldn't let Alice or Edward shelter me in the little bubble I'd been in for who knows how long.
"I saw the Volturi."
He invited me into his office and waited for me to speak.
"What were they like when you met them? Because Mr. Aro seems a little out-of-it and Mr. Caius was all rage and power-hungry and I didn't tell them this part but Mr. Marcus is putting up a really good front or he's really that depressed. I'd like to think it's a bit of both because whatever happened must be really bad if he just sits there like that. He must have something going on that he just doesn't want anyone to know about. I bet that's what everyone does around Edward or Jasper or Alice."
"How so?"
"Well, the thing about their powers is that things change. Emotions can be hidden, and so can what you're thinking and so can the decisions you make. The first and last might be harder to get away from but it's possible. I don't want to come off as mean but you might want to take that into consideration every once in a while."
"It's definitely food for thought." Carlisle admitted.
"The advantage is more that people who don't know you won't realize it, so it could be genuine, but there are people who can go through life with a smile on their face and pretend that everything is fine when there could be something wrong inside."
"Indeed there are," The surgeon agreed. "Do you know anyone like that?"
"I'm not a sociopath, if that's what you're worried about. I've just had a lot of those moments where I have to sit down and ask how I got here. I gave up trying a long time ago, Doctor. All I can do is adjust."
"Keep it up," Carlisle offered. "That could be a useful tool one day. You can be extremely perceptive."
"Thank you, Doc. Um, if I start having nightmares would you mind if I called you?"
"If it's absolution you seek I would go to Jasper. If you just want someone to listen then I'm here, and so is anyone else."
"Thank you." I sighed in relief and walked out of the office with my head high. Things were looking up.