DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight or the characters. All belong to the wonderful Stephenie Meyer.
"Edward, no!" I screamed, but my voice was lost in the roar of the chime.
I could see him now. And I could see that he could not see me.
It was really him, no hallucination this time. And I realized that my delusions were more flawed than I'd realized; they'd never done him justice.
Edward stood, motionless as a statue, just a few feet from the mouth of the alley. His eyes were closed, the rings underneath them deep purple, his arms relaxed at his sides, his palms turned forward. His 3xpression was very peaceful, like he was dreaming pleasant things. The marble skin of his chest was bare—there was a smile pile of white fabric at his feet. The light reflecting from the pavement of the square gleamed dimly from his skin.
I'd never seen anything more beautiful—even as I ran, gasping and screaming, I could appreciate that. And the last seven months meant nothing. And his words in the forest meant nothing. And it did not matter if he did not want me. I would never want anything but him, no matter how long I lived.
The clock tolled, and he took a large stride toward the light.
"No!" I screamed. "Edward, look at me!"
He wasn't listening. He smiled very slightly. He raised his foot to take the step that would put him directly in the path of the sun.
More people began to stare. And as the number increased, so did my frantic cries of sheer panic. If the Vulturi took notice of this, he would be in a lot of trouble. Alice listed off numerous possibilities in the car… all of which ending in the same awful conclusion. I forced myself to not think of the word—the short, one syllable word that would surely kill me too.
I looked away.
"What's he doing?" I heard a beefy, middle-man ask incredulously to no one in particular. He balled up a red paper flag in his hands.
Then something snapped.
At first I thought it was the wood from the balled up object, but no. What I heard was too loud for that. What I heard was snapping of very strong bones that could not be broken by a human. Only something as strong as a vampire could…
I gasped and looked to the center of the square. People were frozen in place, having to watch all-too-dark blood very slowly ooze out of a weakening creature. Snarls erupted from a very pale figure hiding under a black cloak. They were clutching an even paler corpse that looked like someone I knew. Someone like… him.
"Anyway, you don't irritate the Vulturi… not unless you want to die."
His voice was in my head again, but it did not hold that same warning that I found so normal and routine lately. The velvety texture of the sound was rough with the stench of halting resolution. I somehow knew that that'd be the very last time I'd ever hear the captivating tone.
For I knew that Edward Cullen was now gone forever.
A/N: Thank you for reading! I hoped you liked it… comments are much appreciated. I'd love to hear from you.
