"He bit her." Carlisle said, his voice no longer calm and collected.
My mouth involuntarily let out a cry. Alice was right. I couldn't change my future. The picture of the red-eyed Bella would no longer be a horrible image, but instead something very real.
"Edward, you have to do it," Alice said out loud. "It's the only way."
'I told you, either way this would happen." She thought, showing me the image of Bella as a vampire again. This time, the image was rock solid. There was no avoiding fate this time. Bella would either have to die, or be damned.
"There may be another way," Carlisle said, hesitation in his voice. My head snapped up. "See if you can suck the venom out."
I froze. It was one thing to bite her again, just to save her from death. That alone would be torturous. But in order for me to save her from damnation, I condemned her to die.
"Carlisle," I said. "I…I don't think I can do that."
"Either way, I have to set her leg." I can't do this for you Edward, and neither can Alice.
"It's now or never Edward." I looked to Alice. She held her gaze on Bella, the image of the new vampire strong in her head.
There was no way I could do this, Smelling her, touching her, kissing her-these small, trivial actions were torment enough. Being in the presence of her blood, fresh all around me was worse than any hell imaginable. But to actually taste her blood…to have her, or at least a part of her, coursing through my veins was impossible. Even worse would be when I couldn't stop. Knowing I killed her myself, knowing that her blood sustained me…
I was worse than a monster. I was the devil himself.
I couldn't let her die. I couldn't let her become a monster. I couldn't kill her myself. I couldn't do anything.
Bella continued to thrash on the ground, writhing in pain.
"Edward!" She screamed, looking to me. In her eyes, I saw trust, love, and no fear. If Bella knew what was happening, she would tell me she knew I would never hurt.
Moving by some unseen force, I took her hand and placed it to my mouth. Never had I felt so sick while partaking in something that, in some way, I had wanted so badly.
'You'll be able to stop Edward…I know you can." Alice thought, trying to hide that Bella's future had become fuzzy and dark from me. I took a deep breath, and took in my first mouthful of her blood.
The red-eyed monster gleefully laughed at my pain, declaring victory finally. I could never have imagined such a powerful, mouthwatering, intoxicating taste. Each new mouthful sent a warmth I had never felt before rippling through my body. I could feel her heart beating faster as I took more of her blood into my body, tempting me to strengthening my grip on her hand, greedily taking more blood. I squeezed my eyes shut, sickened by the pleasure I felt as I slowly killed her.
'Edward,' Alice though, her inner voice fraught with concern. I ignored her.
'Edward!' louder now. I ignored her again.
'EDWARD.' Screaming now. 'Don't do this!'
How could I not? I knew it would be impossible to stop; yet I did it anyways. Maybe I was mistaken all along. Maybe her blood meant more to me than I thought.
---No. That wasn't true. I knew I loved Bella. I thought back to the meadow. Our first kiss. Every kiss, every touch. How warm and soft she felt as I held her in my arms. Her smile, her eyes. Her.
I did know I greater pleasure than her blood. Her very presence gave me greater joy than anything had in the past century.
'I love Bella…I love Bella…I love Bella…'
I repeated the thought, my mind's voice grower louder and louder, until Bella was the only thing in my mind. Thinking only of Bella and my immense love for her, I finally broke away from her hand, the taste of her blood soured by both by my disgust at myself and the morphine in her system.
"Her blood tastes clean," I said quietly. "I can taste the morphine."
Carlisle smiled at me, and continued trying to fix Bella. It was almost time to move her. I looked triumphantly to Alice, who was smiling. I had saved Bella from an abysmal future.
"I did it," I said quietly. Alice looked up at me.
'For now,' she thought. In her head I saw the image of Bella, cold and hard with crimson eyes, still clear, though less so than before.