Her pulse beats gently under his lips. Her breath is coming slightly faster, shallower, he can smell a hint of adrenaline in her system.
"You're sure." He asks for the fifth or sixth time.
"Just do it." She hisses. "I'm sure."
And so he kills his angel. The first bite she stiffens and a slight moan escapes her. He drinks just a fraction of a second longer than he needs too, savoring the taste that's so satisfying and painful at the same time. He pulls away quickly and wipes his mouth, then takes her wrists and bites them as well, letting as much venom into the wounds as possible. She starts to shudder uncontrollably when he moves to her ankles and bites them too, his cool fingers lightly tracing her small instep and the slightly rougher skin on her heel.
The first scream escapes her, and she is writhing. Edward forces himself to watch every twitch and shudder, listen to every moan of pain. It's what she wants. She'll be fine, we'll finally be happy. He repeats this like mantra over and over again in his head.
He did it. Finally, he really did it.
She'll be fine, I've seen it.
Alice, the pain in here is too much, Edward's torturing himself. I've got to go.
I wonder if she'll still blush and trip.
She'll regret it. I think I need to go kill something, preferably violently. I can't believe that she gave this up!
Edward and Bella will be so happy.
The thoughts of his family make him exasperated and angry, and slightly ashamed when he hears Jasper leave the house, barely holding on. Of course Bella's pain is intense, and he's practically feeling the fire in his long-empty veins just listening to her tearing screams.
"Screaming doesn't help." She whispers. "Edward I'm sorry for hurting you." Her voice is rough. She doesn't scream anymore, though her quiet whimpers hurt more than the full-throated cries that she uttered before.
He can hear her heartbeat laboring to push the blood and venom through her body, smell all the panicky chemicals her body is producing.
"Edward, she'll be fine." Carlisle said aloud. Don't think too much. It was her choice as well, everything will work out.
"I know, Carlisle." Edward snapped. "I know. Just—stop hovering."
Immediately he regrets being sharp.
I know you're tense. I can try giving her some morphine.
"Thanks Carlisle." Edward says gratefully. "I don't deserve her." He whispers, looking at Bella's eyes closed tight against the pain, determined not to let him see her suffer. Bella knows him well enough to know that he'll be blaming himself and having all sorts of second thoughts while she turns.
Carlisle inserts the IV, and Bella opens her eyes long enough to give Edward a look of absolute desperation.
"The IV, is it really necessary?" She rasps. Edward can hear her heartbeat accelerate and despite the tension in the air, he chuckles weakly. "Shhh, Bella. It will stop soon."
"I know." She gasps, then closes her eyes and shudders again. Edward sits beside her and pulls her into his arms. "It helps." Bella says muzzily. "The ice helps."
Edward nods, his brow furrowed.
She'll be done quicker than most. You got a lot of venom in there, Edward. He hears Alice thinking. Good, Bella won't be in pain much longer.
Forty-eight hours later Edward hasn't moved, just held on to Bella. The morphine must have helped, she calmed down and her shudders were less violent than before.
Her heart.
It's slowing.
This is when there is no return.
BUM-bum…
BUM-bum…
Bum-bum…
Bum
bum…
bum…
She's dead. Her pulse is gone. Bella goes still, her skin cool under Edward's touch, not the fiery warmth he remembers. She takes a deep, and unnecessary breath. Then her eyes open, and they are a stunning red.
"It-It's over?" Her voice, always the sweetest sound in his world, is higher, more melodic. She turns in his arms to look at him with her wide eyes, and he is struck all over again by how beautiful she is. He saw her features streamlining and enhancing as she changed, but still!
He nods. Suddenly they are both shy for a moment. She blushes slightly.
Her last blush.