Okay, this is my new story. I hope you enjoy it.

I've made some minor changes. Details are on my Twitter account, the links on my profile.

Disclaimer: I Do Not Own Twilight, But I Do Own This Plot

The Linkin Park song – Leave Out All The Rest, inspired this story; if you haven't heard it, you should, it's a good one.

Prologue

Bella's P.O.V.

The gunshot tore through the meadow and I swear it sounded like thunder to my ears as I was pulled forcefully to the ground. The sharp ringing in my ears faded out and I looked up into the emerald green eyes that I had grown to love. The eyes of my Edward, my dark knight, my protector, and my very own heaven and hell all rolled into one.

"Are you okay?" He asked demandingly but something in his voice was off.

"I think so," I offered weakly, the shock, apparent in my voice. "Are you?"

He offered me a weak smile before shaking his head slowly. "Not so much, love."

"What…" I started worriedly before he shifted his weight off of me and onto his side and my eyes landed on the thick dark red liquid the was seeping through his chest in the place where the bullet had pierced it. I gasped at the sight before tears began to sting my eyes and I grew panicked. "Edward… Edward no, what, do I do, what do I do?"

"Run," He ordered. "Run as far as you can, as fast as you can and don't look back.

"No," I argued weakly. "I wont leave you, I can't."

"You have to." He shot back, his breathing becoming ragged.

I shook my head in defiance, not trusting my voice to be strong enough to argue as I placed my hands on his chest to apply pressure to the wound. He had already lost a lot of blood and I didn't know how much good it would do but I had to try. I couldn't lose him, not after everything we had been through together.

"Bella please?" He begged and I'd never seen him so weak, which brought on a whole new wave of tears.

"No," A sob tore through me and I couldn't even recognize my own voice.

"Why… must you be so stubborn?" He chocked out.

I shrugged lightly. "Call it a character flaw."

He shook his head violently and sent me a hard glare. "Damn it Bella, this isn't a joke, he's going to kill you if you don't run and I can't stand for anything to happen to you. Not you."

"I don't care what happens to me." I said honestly.

"I do." His glare was replaced with a look of sadness, a look of innocence that no one but me would ever imagine to see on Edward Cullen's face. To the others, he was the man without fear, the man driven by hatred, the man that if necessary would kill a man in cold blood without so much as blinking, the man with a mission. Yet at that moment all I could see was a man afraid, a man that feared for my life and would die to save me, a man that loved me but was afraid to say it, a man was slipping away from me.

"Why?" I asked, needing to hear those words if they would be the last I ever heard.

"Bella I…" He started but I cut him off.

"No," I argued. "If this is going to be our last moment together I need to hear you say it… you've told me it's there but I need to hear it."

"If I tell you, will you run?" He looked almost hopeful.

"No." I answered simply.

He laughed faintly at that. "It was worth a shot… I didn't, I… I wasn't sure what it was I felt for you, at first it was just this impulse to protect you and keep you safe but after awhile it became something else. You would never do anything I expected and always proved to be a genuinely good person and I was afraid I would corrupt you. You were and are my only weakness. You. Are. My. Life. I love you Isabella Swan. If nothing else, just know that."

"I love you too." I whispered.

"I'm sorry I made you wait," He said sadly. "I thought that if I said it, it would hurt more if I ever lost you."

"You'll never lose me," Keeping my right hand pressed on his wound I gently ran my left hand through his perfect disarray of bronze hair as I brought my lips to his in a quick yet passionate kiss. "I'm your girl, always."

He smiled lightly, "I wish that I could have given you a normal life, like you deserved. That I could had just been a normal boring guy with a dog and a nine to five job that you ran into one day at a coffee shop and fell in love with like that shit you see in movies. That I could had told you that I loved you from the very beginning than just finding different ways to show you without words. I could have married you and watched as your belly grew round with our child that would be a little tiny replica of us with your eyes. I wish that we could leave out all the rest of the unimportant crap and just be people, stupid in love."

"Then for right now," I offered thoughtfully. "Let's just leave out all the rest. You're just Edward and I'm Bella, the girl whose hopelessly in love with you and would be whether you were yourself or some normal boring guy with a nine to five job."

"And a dog," He joked. "Don't forget the dog."

I laughed brokenly. "And a dog."

He was so quiet that for a moment I'd thought I lost him. "Bella?"

"Yes." I asked relieved.

"It may had taken me awhile and I probably would have done it all wrong or screwed up somehow, and hell if I didn't think about it often, but…" He looked deeply into my eyes with more love than I could comprehend. "I would have liked to had asked you to marry me."

Uncontrollable tears shed from my eyes. It was our end but in the light of it I had gotten to see him in a way I never had fully before. "I would had said yes."

"That's good to know." He almost whispered as his eyes started to close.

"Edward." I shook him lightly, getting a mild response out of him.

"I really wish you would have ran." He breathed harshly.

Shaking my head, I responded honestly. "There's no other place I'd rather be."

"Silly… stubborn… girl." His eyes began to close again and this time I shook him more forcefully.

"Edward, stay with me," I pleaded. "The others must of heard the shot and will be on their way and Carlisle can save you so you just have to hold on, hold on for me."

"It's judgment time, love," His voice was so quiet I could barely hear him. "And with my sins… it may take awhile."

"NO!" I screamed as his eyes closed lightly and his breathing became fainter. "Edward, not now, don't leave me please, don't die, I need you… please."

He didn't respond and I could feel his life slipping as his breathing became even more faint and I'd never felt so alone in my whole life.

As I was counting the number of breathes he took, along with the number of times his heart beat the sound of a twig snapping behind me reminded me that I really wasn't alone. My body involuntarily shook at the sound and without a second thought I turned to see where it had come from. As I did, my eyes came in contact with a familiar face, and not one I had ever wished to see again. His eyes were cold and dead, the eyes of a killer for sure, and that's just what he was. Taking one last glance at Edward whose breathing was almost nonexistent I stood and faced his shooter, the man that in a matter of moments would be my killer.

"I guess this is it." I stated in a defeated tone. Yet strangely enough, I didn't feel defeated. I felt strong. I had been around enough men like him since I met Edward and the others and I knew how this would play out. He would kill me, yes, but he would more than likely assume Edward was already dead, which is exactly what I was hoping for. I knew beyond doubt that the others would had heard the shot and would be coming and as long as Edward was still breathing, there was a chance that Carlisle could save him. He didn't have a medical degree for nothing.

"You'd be correct," My killer said and his voice stung my ears. "Shame though, you are one beautiful woman Bella."

"That's what all the psycho's tell me." I said feeling a strange surge of confidence.

"And verbal," He sighed and lifted the gun, holding it aimed at my chest. "I wish that I would have had more time to play with you but I really must be leaving before your friends come but don't worry… this will only hurt a little. Then you can join your lover."

I smiled lightly. He thought that Edward was already dead and there was still a chance for him to be saved. I'd never given much thought to my death. Looking back on my life since I met Edward I probably should have, it might've made things a little easier. Yet as I stood there staring into the eyes of my killer, I thought that dying in the place of someone I loved, wouldn't be that bad.

"Edward, I love you." I whispered into the air, closed my eyes and not a moment later I heard another gunshot break through the air.

Okay, so I made some minor adjustments to this story. I hope it all works out. Thank you for reading.

Much Luv!

Daba91