"Hey!" I heard someone yell behind me. I jumped slightly in my chair, then spun around slowly, beginning to shake.

Jacob sighed, watching me with sad eyes. "Bells… You can't be like this. I don't think he's going to come back."

"You don't understand…" I sputtered, looking up at my former best friend. "He… He's everything and he just… l-left…"

Jacob scooped me up in his meaty arms, clutching me to his warm chest. The sobs escaped my throat without warning, and the tears traced the canyons they'd already made in my cheeks, or so it felt.

Jacob's arms somewhat helped keep me in one piece, but could never have the same effect as his did... As his arms… Used to…

I sniffed, shakily climbing down from his grasp, walking downstairs to where a wedding was being put together. It was Emmett and Rosalie's wedding… Not mine.

I knew I could walk no further into the steel death trap, so I squeezed my eyes, my dull brown eyes that he used to call the beautiful Wonka rivers…, shut, leaning against the floral white wallpaper that had been newly applied to the wall, and let my tears soak through to the drywall.

"Bella…" I felt new arms around me, his mother's arms… Esme. She sat down on the floor, hugging me as Jacob had. "I know it's hard… It's horrible… But, it's for the best. God had a reason to do what he did, and he-"

"HE HAD NO REASON TO TAKE HIM FROM ME!" I interrupted, shoving her away. "THERE WAS NO REASON FOR THAT DRIVE-BY! NO REASON WHAT SO FUCKING EVER!"

Esme was quiet, watching me with her soft, blue eyes, when her husband walked in…

Her husband… Carlisle…

The hair that matched…

The deep, green emerald eyes…

I sobbed into my knees as the pain continued to eat away at what was left of my humanity.

All of the Cullens made their way over to me, shushing me and hugged me; the only one outside the circle of sympathy was my almost-sister-in-law, Alice, who just looked at me with her dark eyes, her skinny arms limp around her knees, the bags under her eyes standing out like Oreos in the whitest of all milks…

I knew Alice had been affected by this, also, but we hadn't spoken since the tragedy that had occurred not even a week ago.

FLASHBACK:

I walked across the dark alley, laughing with my fiancé. We had just left Wal-Mart, our favorite of all places to go when we needed to escape Alice's evil wrath when Jasper went out and bought the wrong material for a dress she'd make. I laughed harder, hugging his waist.

"Piggyback, madam?" He flashed me that white, crooked grin that always made my tummy flip and whirl around in my abdomen. I smiled, climbing on his back as we treaded home. Laughing about anything and everything.

He turned his head to kiss me, and I eagerly responded, stretching my neck around to get closer to him. He had to pull away for a breath, so my lips continued down the skin of his neck, chin, and ever so tenderly across his ear, watching the goose bumps envelop the creamy skin of my soon-to-be husband.

He grinned, kissing the ring on my finger. "And that's why I love you."

Just then, a black, sleek car skidded across the street, all the windows rolling down. Edward and I barely had any time to respond when I felt the bullets intrude my upper back, one after the other, before I blacked out.

When I awoke, the night was quiet, then car and gunshots long gone, the only evidence that anything had happened was the intense pain throbbing up my spine, and the bloody chocolate bar Edward had bought for me, and I never got around to eating.

I looked around, searching aimlessly for the small flashlight in my purse. When I found it, I pulled it out, thanking the high heavens I had changed the battery right before we left.

I shined the bright ray around, before I saw something that made my stomach churn.

Edward, flat on his stomach, unmoving, with God knows how many bullet wounds in the back of his head.

PRESENT:

I watched Alice, but in this state of pain, I couldn't pity her. She hadn't been there, she hadn't experienced the shock of waking up to her dead fiancé. She just had to help plan his funeral.

I tried to turn away from her contagious depression, looking up at Emmett. He had a sleeping Rosalie in his arms, and I watched as he kissed her hair, singing something in her ear.

It was too much to bear.

I pulled away from the sympathetic words of my almost-new family and went upstairs, slamming and locking my door. Our door.

I laid on our bed, letting the tears fall as I clutched my chest, trying to keep me from falling apart, trying to mend the hole. I hesitated, and then dared to look over at our closet. I got up; adjusting to my shaky knees, then gently pulled his gray pea coat he constantly wore from the closet, treating it like the most delicate of all delicacies. I laid it across the bedspread, running two fingers across a blood stain on the collar, letting the pain churn in my stomach, knowing I wouldn't throw up, since I hadn't eaten in awhile. I pulled the coat up, gently letting my nose inhale against the fabric, his Axe Dark Temptation still lingering in the threads, just as strong as it had been that night. I opened the buttons, sliding my arms through the sleeves, standing still. My eyes closed as I relaxed, thinking of him. Thinking of the dinners, the dances, and staying up until after 4 a.m., talking about sweet nothings.

I took the pea coat off, noticing that some of the salt water from my eyes had landed on the collar, turning red from the stain. I wiped it with a swipe of my finger, looking at it. My tear, and his blood, combined as we had been that hot, summer night… The night he took my virginity.

I smiled, knowing I couldn't have given it to a better person. I hung the coat up, then looked at a picture on the bed. It was us, outside of our house on one of Emmett's random celebration nights. We were all having fun, and I, stupidly, had only worn a sweater and my underwear, so Edward had pulled me in his lap and held me, wrapping me in his alternate, much larger coat, and I remembered that I had stayed warm that night. Of course, Esme had to take a picture, because it was "so sweet".

I picked it up, stroking the smooth frame with my trembling thumb. I kissed the figure of my true love.

"I love you, Edward Cullen."