Hidden Beneath

Author's Note:

My very first fanfiction and very first published piece of work. So... don't be too harsh. Hehe, I was just tired of reading all the happy endings and wanted something a little more... depressingly realistic with a hint of a satisfied new beginning.

Oh, and also. It's in third person... Don't kill me Twilight fans! I've just never really liked first person. And, although I could stand it in Twilight, I've never been able to write it even half decently. Maybe I'll try something later on. But, for now you must suffer through the horrors of third person! Bwahah!

Disclaimer:

I don't own Twilight or any of the characters in the book. They're all Stephenie Meyer's wonderful creations.

Chapter One: A Look at the Future

A red umbrella.

Alice Cullen's eyes were squeezed tightly together in concentration. She had picked something up today. Something that would change the future of everyone in the Cullen's house. Her eyebrows were drawn tightly together on her impossibly pale forehead, wisps of her short, black hair were tickling her cold skin but she didn't notice. Her whole mind was bent towards this distant future, this one path that could be broken if any one of a thousand things were changed.

A red umbrella. A raining morning. A freshly painted sign on the side of the road. Forks Secondary.

Her topaz eyes snapped open. She changed the focus of her mind from the future to the present and used every ounce of mental strength she had to call Edward. She had to tell him what she had seen. She had seen the impossible.

Bella, she thought, frowning in concern. This could be turn out very good or very, very bad.

--

The shock of Alice's call caused Edward's head to whip in the direction of the house. He ignored the low buzz of Emmet and Jasper's thoughts and caught the soft word Alice had whispered in her mind. Bella. He wasn't sure whether to harden himself to avoid feeling the anguish he had locked inside himself for so long or to let himself remember and hope that Alice had a future that made up for the torturous past.

Jasper felt the confusion that Edward had felt when he heard Alice calling out. He looked over at Emmet, then back to Edward, stepping closer. Suddenly, a flood of emotion raced through the vampire standing beside him. Jasper attempted to slow the cascade of feeling pounding through Edward's mind but he had no effect on the strength of the memories that were recalled with the perfect clarity only a vampire could manage. There were flashes of love and happiness, perfect bliss and dazzling contentment quickly overtaken by memories of hurt and self-inflicted heartbreak.

Edward's moment of indecision had allowed his memories to pour out. He tried to fight them off but he had less of an effect than Jasper. Endless flashes of Bella's delighted smile, her moments of complete klutziness that always made him laugh, her smell, her hair, her eyes. They flitted through his mind at speed he was having trouble keeping up with. Memories of her anger and horror when he told her she was leaving. That one memory of her lying awake in her bed after three days without him appearing to her. He had watched her shake with silent sobs and twist her hands in her blanket in fury and despair. He had barely resisted his need to hold her and comfort her by telling himself that it would be better for her in the end. She would have a life, she would keep her soul. He had left her behind. Pain twisted his still heart into a knot that ached with a cold so profound he clutched at his stoney chest. His breathing stopped, all thoughts of continuing the habit that wasn't needed forgotten.

Emmet and Jasper stepped closer to Edward. "We need to get him back to the house," Jasper said, "I can't get through to him at all, it's too strong... too strong for me." His face was drawn tightly across his skull, the strain of keeping his own feelings in check with Edward next to him was challenging enough.

"Edward," Emmet leaned in close and spoke to the paralyzed vampire. Edward flinched at the sound and took a shuddering breath that might have relaxed a terrified human, but did nothing to help the cold, broken heart of the monster standing in the woods that day. "Let's go home, whatever s bothering you can be fixed there."

Edward nodded dully and moved off in a slight daze. Jasper and Emmet ran at his sides, slightly behind. The pace he set was slow by their standard but they didn't want to say anything to their wounded brother.

Bella. How could I have left? Alice saw Bella... Alice saw Bella. Edward's mind turned from his painful memories to the hopeful present. He could find her. She could be out there, not alive... but still there for him to hold in his cold arms. '

75 years. It's been 75 years...

Author's Note

Well, I hope you liked the first chapter. Please give me some advice on what I could do better but don't forget to throw in some nice stuff, hehe. I'm terribly worried this all came out wrong and I'm thinking I should never have posted this... Ahhh!

If you're lucky and I feel a little more confident, the next chapter should be coming soon. So please review!

Embarrassed yet hopeful,

Kate Lewis.