Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or plotlines of the Twilight Saga and the following is a form of fiction based on the brilliance of Stephenie Meyer's work.
A terminally ill Bella has one last wish…to attend a normal high school. So her father moves her to Forks where she meets a very interesting young man named Edward. EXB Twilight mixed with A Walk to Remember
Author: ToryD
Beta: Splendorous Night Unfurled
Title: Fifteen Months
Chapter One
A light rain began to fall from the familiar gray clouds that seemed to constantly canopy Forks, Washington, their watery presence beading up as crystal clear droplets upon the smooth surface of the mahogany coffin. The soft, gentle rain offered what seemed to be a fitting tribute to the immense sorrow that radiated off of the small group of mourners who gathered to bid farewell to a young life that was cut all too short.
Reverend Weber glanced sympathetically at Charles Swan before he cleared his throat gently and then began his short grave site service. "Isabella Swan Cullen came to Forks only just over a year ago with her loving father Charles and adoring brother John. But in that short year she has made an indelible mark on all of us. Though her life on this earth has come to an end, her gentle spirit and memory will continue to live on. Her brief life was a worthy testament to all that God asks in his children, for Bella lived her life with an unequaled joy and unflinching selflessness. Her enduring love for her husband Edward, whom she had referred to as her "personal miracle", had shown so brightly from her on her wedding day only three short months ago. When she came to me to discuss her impending death, her thoughts were not for herself and all that she was suffering; no… her thoughts were, as they always were, of her family and friends. She was so very concerned what her passing would do to those she left behind. Bella asked that I read these passages she selected …"
Edward stood frozen in a mask of grief as Reverend Weber's words washed gently away from his consciousness, his mind granting him a much needed reprieve from the pain that seemed to be unending with its suffocating oppressiveness.
Carlisle put a supportive arm around his son Edward who seemed to be struggling to breath, even though there was no necessity for it. 'It's going to be okay Edward,' Carlisle thought as he communicated silently with his mind reading son.
Edward stiffened at his father's intrusive thought, 'Okay!' his own mind shouted silently. 'How in hell will anything ever be okay again,' he thought to himself as an almost uncontrollable rage filled him to compete with the intense unrelenting grief that had taken hold of him ever since his Bella had disappeared a month ago in her misguided attempt to spare all of those who loved her the pain of witnessing her death. Drawing in a deep shuttering breath, Edward closed his eyes and lifted his pale perfect face towards the sky, welcoming the gentle wash of the rain upon his strained features.
John chocked back a sob as he walked over to the flower draped casket to gently place his final offering to his beloved little sister, a perfect single white rose whose undeniable beauty paled in comparison to that of the beautiful girl who had been taken so cruelly from them. Leaning over he kissed the top of the casket softly as he whispered his final goodbye. "I love you Bells, thank you for being my sister."
Charles swallowed hard as he hugged his weeping son briefly before he slowly approached his daughter's coffin. Placing his own single white rose upon the casket he laid his shaking hand gently upon the smooth wood surface as he closed his eyes against the sharp pain piercing his breaking heart. "Goodbye my sweet gentle Bella, sleep well my little love."
Edward felt all eyes upon him as he walked stiffly towards his wife's coffin, his vampire's heart breaking at the sight before him. Lifting the flawless red rose he held within his hand he kissed it tenderly before he placed it lovingly upon the blanket of white gardenias. "Why Bella?" he whispered softly. "Why did you leave me?"
Fifteen Months earlier
"Who's next Nancy?" Dr. Reynolds asked his top nurse briskly while simultaneously making one last notation into the chart of the patient he had just seen.
"You've got Isabella Swan and her father waiting for you in your office," Nancy informed him with a slight edge of sadness to her tone.
"Bella," Dr. Reynolds whispered more to himself with a resigned sigh as he thought of his beautiful all too young patient. "Alright," he said purposefully after a brief moment where he readied himself for the dire news he was about to impart. "Make sure there are no interruptions," he instructed with a practiced firmness that his long time nurse had heard too many times over the years from her boss who was widely considered to be the top neurologist in the country.
"Yes, Doctor," Nancy responded obediently as she handed him Isabella's thick medical chart.
"Bella, Charles," Dr. Reynolds greeted as he entered his plush office, smiling welcomingly at the tall self-made billionaire and his beautiful sixteen year old daughter. He had grown quite fond of Bella over the last several months, as she had proven not to be a typical rich man's daughter. She projected an unconscious grace and maturity that went beyond her young years, her thoughtfulness of others would always be in evidence as he witnessed her countless kindnesses to his staff and himself. It was cases like these that made him question God's wisdom, for how could any plan include putting an uncommonly early end to a sweetly lived life such as in the case of Isabella Swan.
Charles rose at the sound of Dr. Reynolds' arrival and held out his hand to the distinguished doctor who had been treating Bella for the past eight months. "Good morning Steve," Charles greeted solemnly, as if he were afraid to offer any other type of tone of voice so as not to tempt the fates on this most important of mornings.
"Bella," Steve Reynolds called out softly as he walked over to the window where Bella stood staring out at the incredible view of downtown Los Angeles, unaware of the soft fragile beauty she projected to the other two men in the room. "How have you been feeling?"
Bella drew in a deep breath to prepare herself for the news she already knew in deep within her heart. "It hasn't been too bad the past few days," she responded to the physician's question regarding her pain level with a slight smile that didn't quite reach her brown eyes.
"And the medication I prescribed…it isn't having any side effects?" he asked as he motioned for her to take the empty leather chair beside her nervous father.
Bella obediently took the offered chair and folded her hands neatly on top of her crossed legs, the black fabric of her skirt standing in stark contrast to the paleness of her entwined hands. "No, there have been no side effects," she answered in a deadened tone that reflected her hard fought for emotional state; an emotional state that she had carefully adopted in order to protect herself from the predicted heartbreak to come.
"Good," Steve replied as he took his seat behind his large, paper scattered desk. Steve clenched his hands into tight fists beneath his desk as he silently cursed his medical limitation, in that he couldn't find some way to help this young, beautiful girl who had been dealt such an unfair hand in her short pain-filled life. Recovering himself he looked up into Charles' hope filled eyes and smiled sadly. "I've gotten the results from the tests that we ran and I'm sorry to say that the results are not what we had hoped."
Charles tensed instantly at Bella's side and looked over to his left to stare unblinkingly at the wall of medical books as he absorbed the devastating news of his daughter's latest failed medical treatment. His mind raged at the news, news that almost certainly announced his beloved daughter's death.
Bella closed her eyes slowly as she felt the intense wave of all consuming pain radiating from her father's frozen form, as though it were a tangible, touchable entity within her easy grasp. She cursed herself vehemently for not preparing herself for her father's inevitable pain, as surely his pain would go much deeper than her own, for he would have to continue to live in this life long after she was gone. A life that firstly didn't include her soft, gentle mother who had died shortly after giving birth to her only daughter, and now a life that would soon not include herself. At least he would still have John, her older brother whom both she and her father adored. Pushing her own pain quickly aside, she fought stridently to find some words of comfort or some simple action on her part in order to ease his indisputable sorrow.
Steve, having experienced many reactions from his patients over the years knew that he needed to continue to fill the awkward silence with clinical medical facts. "The MRI showed a slight increase of the size of the tumor behind Bella's left optical nerve," he said as he read from the radiologist report from within the chart he held.
"Okay," Charles said firmly as he reached out and took one of Bella's hands in a tight grip. "What's next then?" he asked in much the same way he addressed his executives at the software business he had founded when they came to him with a problem they perceived to be unsolvable.
Steve looked at Charles with a sympathetic look in his wise green eyes. "Charles, we discussed before we began the last round of radiation that it was a long shot at best to achieving any type of results," he reminded the man whose eyes now held a familiar look of desperation, the same desperation that Steve had seen reflected too many times in his long career in the eyes of the many parents of terminally ill children that he had treated and then lost.
"But surely there is still something we can try, some new type of treatment," Charles asked with a hoarseness that attested to his growing fear that they had finally reached the dreaded point of acceptance for the cruel fate that had been inflected upon his Bella.
"I'm sorry Charles," Steve said as he shook his head sadly.
Bella watched her father worriedly beneath her lashes as she literally felt his body slump, as if all the hope he had been holding had vacated his body, leaving a deadened soul that couldn't seem to find the strength to go on. Knowing that it was now up to her to be the strength in their relationship, Bella gave her father's cold frozen hand a reassuring squeeze. "Dr. Reynolds," she began in a strangely calm, sure tone that had the good doctor puzzled slightly. "How long, how long do I have?" she asked with a look of surrealism crossing her face as though the question sounded so bizarre to her ears.
Swallowing past the lump in his throat Steve quickly calculated an estimated time for Bella's impending death. "I would guess about fifteen months at best," he advised as he watched her closely for her reaction.
Charles' entire body flinched at Steve's words, as if his skin had been cruelly sliced open by the end of a vicious whip.
Bella's mind wrapped itself around the time she had left, quickly digesting that she would have one more set of holidays and birthdays to spend with her father and brother, one more year in which to accomplish all she had to do in this life she had been given. "Thank you Dr. Reynolds," Bella said with a serene smile that shown with such an intense beauty that Steve had to look away as if he couldn't bear to look upon such unparalleled perfection. Rising to her feet Bella pulled gently against her silent father's hand, urging him to rise. "Come on Dad," she coaxed to him gently.
Charles rose as he broke free of his internal hell to look down into his daughter's beautiful soft brown eyes, seeing that she was trying to reach through to him with an inner strength that attested to her determination to live her life as she had for the past six years, 'as normal as possible' as she had always put it. Unable to speak past the hard lump that had formed within his throat, Charles merely nodded as he allowed her to lead him out the door.
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Bella stood silently outside her father's study as she eavesdropped on the quiet conversation from within.
"But surely there must be something someone can do, what about that treatment in Sweden?" Bella's Aunt Rebecca asked as she tried valiantly to hold onto any inkling of hope for her gentle hearted niece.
"Dr. Reynolds was quite adamant that there were no further options," Charles said with a defeated tone that nearly broke Bella's heart.
"We can't just give up!" John yelled as he began to pace back and forth in his father's elegantly designed study. "We can't just sit by and watch her die!" he said a little more quietly as his usually strong voice broke with heart wrenchingly pain as he spoke the words.
"Son," Charles said as he walked over to his seventeen year old son to place a supporting arm around his shaking shoulders. "We need to be strong for Bella now," he urged as he gave his son a tight squeeze.
"This is so unfair, first Rene and now Bella," Rebecca muttered more to herself as tears of acceptance began to flow heedlessly down her cheeks.
"I need both of you to put on a brave face before you see Bella," Charles advised as he prepared his family for the tough times ahead. "I don't want her to be worried about what this will do to us. I want her remaining time to be as happy as possible," he added as his own voice began to waver at the severe pain he foresaw once his Bella was taken from them forever.
"So we're just suppose to smile while we watch her die?" John questioned harshly as he pushed out beneath his father's supporting arm angrily.
"No," Bella's soft voice interrupted as she entered the somber room quietly. "Your suppose to smile while I live," she added with a smile of such peace filled radiance that all within the room knew that she would be the one strength that would shine brightly through the next fifteen months.
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Two months later
Forks, WA
"Hurry Dad," Bella called as she stood impatiently at the entrance to the huge rock mansion that her father had expediently remodeled for their use in the last two months.
"Sorry sweetheart," Charles apologized as he nodded briefly to Richard, the newly hired driver he had procured for Bella's use during their year's stay in Forks. "Let's go," he said as he opened a large umbrella to shield his daughter from the rain that seemed to have not stopped since their arrival two days before.
"Here, you had better take some money," Charles said as he fished out his wallet to retrieve five one hundred dollar bills to hand to his daughter.
"Why should I need any money?" Bella asked as she frowned down at the money her father had pushed into her hand.
Charles smiled at the bewildered look on his daughter's face as he began to explain the need for money in the life of a high school student since Bella had always been educated at home via the best tutors money could provide.
"Oh, thanks Dad," Bella responded gratefully once she understood that she would need the paper money in order to buy her lunch, as well as any other expense that may arise , class shirts, dance tickets and other such things.
"I wish I could have started the first day like John," Bella stated with a slight edge of nervousness tainting her tone as Richard pulled out of the security gate that guarded the mansion.
"You needed to see Dr. Reynolds one last time to adjust your medications, and John needed to be here early to start football practice as well," Charles advised as he looked out the tinted window to the undeniable beauty of Forks.
"I still feel guilty about John giving up his senior year back home to come here," Bella moaned softly as her face fell at the thought of her brother's sacrifice.
"John seems to be quite happy with the switch," Charles advised with a gentle smile. "He looks on his new team as a 'raw challenge'," he added with a slight laugh as he recalled the animated conversation he had had with his son and the plans his son detailed in his quest to overhaul the Fork's High football program.
"Still, he gave up everything to come here for me," Bella said as she looked down at her new black leather Prada tote bag, a gift from her always fashion conscience Aunt.
Charles gently lifted Bella's down bent chin so he could look deeply into her soft brown eyes. "Honey, I want this year to be everything you want it to be. Both John and your Aunt Rebecca feel the same way, so I want your word that while were here you are not to worry about anything… is that clear," he tacked on with a feigned scowl as if he were issuing a stern parental order.
Bella paused as she fought and lost against the smile that spread across her lips. "Fine," she said as she leaned up to kiss her father's cheek before laying her head upon his shoulder. "I love you Dad," she added with a pure simple warmth that caused Charles to close his eyes against the pain that he had been hiding from his beloved daughter for so long.
"I love you too Bells," he said once he recovered his voice. They remained in silence the rest of the short ride into town.
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"So just how old is your sister?" Mike Newton asked John as he stood leaning against his battered blue Honda.
John sent Mike, his fellow football team member, a menacing glare. "Don't even think about it!" he growled as Mike threw up his hands in surrender.
"Okay man, just checking," Mike said as he nudged Erik, who stood at his side. "Cullen's staring at you again," he added as he caught site of Edward Cullen who stood stone still across the lot.
"What's his problem?" John said as he glanced around to look at the Cullen family who seemed to be so oddly perfectly gorgeous, even more so than all of beautiful people whom he had been surrounded by back in Los Angeles.
"Maybe he has a crush on you," Mike teased with a suggestive wink.
"Whoa, what's that about?" Erik interrupted as he watched a gleaming black Mercedes SUV pull up to the school's front entrance.
"That would be my sister," John said with a gentle smile as he began to jog towards the car.
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"Still nothing for you?" Alice Cullen asked her brother as they both watched John Swan's progress across the school's parking lot.
"No," Edward growled in a slightly frustrated tone. "I have never been locked out of any human's thoughts before."
Alice shrugged indifferently as she wasn't as upset as her brother was at her lack of a read on Fork's new football star's future. "Who's in the Mercedes?" Alice asked as she followed Edward's line of sight to the newly arriving car.
"Swan's sister, she is starting classes today," Edward informed both Jasper and Alice as they began to make their way towards the school's entrance. He continued to watch beneath his long black lashes as a uniformed chauffer opened the back door and held out a gloved hand to assist someone out of the car.
Bella took Richard's offered hand and stepped gracefully out of the car, her long brunette hair obscuring her face briefly before she pushed it back to get her first look at a 'normal high school'.
"Bella!" John called out with an unhidden joy in his strong voice.
Bella turned and began to run as fast as the ridiculous four inch heeled Manolo Blanc shoes her Aunt had forced upon her would allow.
Edward watched statue still as the most beautiful girl he had ever seen raced past him towards John Swan. The intoxicating scent of her instantly stirred his thirst as she passed him. The almost overwhelming need to feed upon her stood in sharp direct contrast to some equally competing foreign feeling he couldn't quite define, as it seemed to be a strange heated desire that filled him as he turned to stare unblinkingly at her.
Jasper froze at Edward's side as a concerned look crossed his face while he stared fixedly at his brother. "Edward," he called out softly as if to break into his brother's thoughts.
"Alice?" Edward called out softly as he clenched his hands into two marble tight fists, as if he were exerting an extreme amount of self control over some unseen force.
"I can't get a read," Alice replied with an urgent apology to her tone as she fought against the frustration at the new limit that her gift had seemed to impose.
"God you're even more beautiful," Edward heard John exclaim as he swept his sister into his arms to twirl her around in a circle.
"You look pretty great yourself," Bella added as she hugged her brother tightly.
"So how are you feeling?" John asked with a more serious tone as he looked down into his sister's gorgeous features as if to read the answer for himself.
Tired of her brother's repeated question Bella sighed with a roll of her eyes before she answered. "I'm fine."
"No headache?" he questioned sharply as if he didn't buy her first response entirely.
"No headache," Bella added with another roll of her eyes.
"Dad's waiting," John said as he glanced over his shoulder to see his father. "Let's go get you registered," he said as he pulled her tightly against his side to lead her towards the front entrance.
Bella felt very self conscious as she passed a variety of students, all who seemed to be staring directly at her and her brother. She felt John stiffen at her side as they pasted a group of three students; all who seemed to be so utterly gorgeous that Bella couldn't help but stare. Her eyes meeting and then freezing into an unbreakable hold with a tall bronzed haired boy who seemed to be seeking something from her as he gazed intently into her eyes. "Hello," she whispered as she pasted him, not wanting to appear rude with her stare.
Edward felt as if someone had punched him in the stomach as her beautiful voice danced elegantly within his ears. "Hello," he responded with a velvet tone that held an unhidden longing that instantly put John on alert.
"Cullen," John acknowledged sternly as he watched with a purposeful warning reflected clearly within his dark brown eyes.
"Swan," Edward responded almost automatically without once taking his eyes from the young girl who had unknowingly just changed his life forever.
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A/N Hope you liked the first chapter. Next chapter we will have more of Bella's first day of school. I plan to have Bella and Alice become very good friends and to also have everyone in the dark about Bella's illness. Please let me know what you thing in a review.