A/N: I'll meet you at the bottom of the page.

Summary: Death holds promises of eternal sleep, an end to suffering. But this end – it lead to a beginning.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

"Here in the bathroom with me are razor blades. Here is iodine to drink. Here are sleeping pills to swallow. You have a choice. Live or die. Every breath is a choice. Every minute is a choice. To be or not to be. Every time you don't throw yourself down the stairs, that's a choice. Every time you don't crash your car, you reenlist."

–Chuck Palahniuk

Bella Swan, La Push Reservation, 11:58 p.m.

Drowning. No, that wasn't an accurate description of what I was feeling. The feel of my lungs being crushed, my sides aching, my head spinning painfully, those were side effects of drowning. But that didn't explain why I felt as if my entire being was being sucked into the tiny black hole in my stomach, conforming and twisting painfully until it all cramped into the abysmal cavern.

Weren't black holes supposed to be large and destructive? Then why did it feel like though the hole could suck everything out of me, it was still holding too much? Like a water balloon that still had space but felt too bulbous to hold anymore.

I was walking down the Path of Shame to my watery grave. Then I wouldn't feel anymore pain than I already was feeling. The transition from my current fate to my death would be minimally painful. Peace would then take over me. I could trust that even if I didn't go to Heaven or Hell, then I would feel nothing. Nothingness was better than numbness. Numbness, a conscious feeling of not feeling, was painful. Because I could feel it, prickling my skin like the soft flames of a candle, just waiting for me to allow the fire to engulf me.

The sand molded to my foot, each grain grinding against the other. As I continued walking, the ground became rockier and coarser. The air was too thick for my damaged lungs and every step I took led to more burning. But that was okay. It was the one way I could atone for my sins. I was already running away from an oppressive life; I might as well pay for what I can while I still have the chance. But there were things about my end that confused me, especially when they shouldn't have.

Why was I running to this place, a place that I had only seen from afar and admired for its strange, rustic beauty, to commit a soulless murder? What had drawn me to this stranger's land when I could have easily done the same in my own home, away from the pestering eyes of the creatures of the forest? The only reason I could find was that all those places reminded me too much of the life I once had. But even that didn't wasn't a valid enough reason for me. I would want that familiarity, that sense of comfort, right before it happened. But somehow, I had ended up here, on the cliff of the reservation.

11:59 p.m.

The wind was whipping my face too hard, like it was pushing me away from the edge of the rocks. Pebbles fell, toppling over the edge before bouncing off other pebbles as they fell down into the water. Unaware of the storm that had just come in, I watched the swirls of foaming water below me, mesmerized by the way it drifted dangerously over the rough waves. It was so beautiful…

Another step closer, another second passing, another ounce of weight added to the black hole. I had been so eager, so ready to end the pain and suffering. But the black hole that had been pushing me was now pulling me back, telling me to wait.

Why was it doing this? My body was telling me to finish the job, screaming that it couldn't take the emotions that my heart and mind was lashing out. And I wanted to listen, but deep down, something was telling me otherwise. Some instinct, primal or new, was telling me that I had to wait. That if I allowed gravity to take my body down into the foams, things would change. Bad, horribly terrifying things. And I was scared to fall for the first time.

The seconds were passing too quickly, making it too difficult for me to see my life flashing before my eyes. Instead, the only thing I saw passing before my eyes were the green leaves of oak trees that had been blown off the trees. There was still too much green in this small little hick town. They even filled their homes and businesses with fake potted plants. How infuriating that I would die right after seeing all this green flashing before my eyes.

For a moment, I looked back at my life. Everything had been okay when I first moved here, if not a bit annoying. Sure, I loathed the cold, rainy climate and the too green landscape, but I learned to cope. Sure, I was annoyed with the too curious people of the town, all of who wanted to know every bit of gossip about me, the new girl. And sure, I was a intrigued and annoyed with the idea of the boys of this town pining after me like a child to a shiny object. But all of that was normal stuff, stuff that happened in other small towns like Forks. But then things had to change.

Death seemed to surround me. Had my luck been bottled, a weapon of mass destruction would have nothing on me. Losing a father to a petty, inexperienced, burglar with a handgun at a convenient store was like lighting a match and allowing it to burn my skin. Being told that my mother, my best friend, had died in a car accident with her new husband just fanned the flames. And being left all alone just as I turned eighteen, just old enough to legally be able to take care of myself…that was like putting an aerosol can into the fire, allowing it to expand and prepare to explode. I felt selfish for thinking only of myself in the end, but I couldn't help but think that maybe the Fates had done this on purpose. Did they find humor in making me suffer before pushing me to my end?

Probably.

11:59:32

Another step closer to the edge, I readied my mind. My black hole had been holding me back long enough. It had prevented my own murder, the murder I would carry out with my own hands, for too long. Another step, another muscle preparing to leap.

11:59:39

The screams were too loud for me. Was it the wind? Maybe, but I couldn't find the will to care.

11:59:44

Something wet was on my face. Whatever it was, it was annoying me. It was forcing something up my throat, causing a lump to choke me. Why was it doing that? I wasn't supposed to be annoyed before I died.

11:59:47

Staring down, I wondered how far down the fall was. I had seen the local kids cliff diving from here, but never during this stormy weather. I could only hope it wasn't safe. Safety was the last thing on my mind at the moment.

11:59:51

The distinct sound of crackling rocks and sand didn't peak my interest. I was still staring down at the rocks. Had one fallen without my notice? No, they were all still in place. I wanted to turn around.

11:59:53

Something warm pressed into my hand. It took me a moment to realize it was a hand. A nice, warm, firmly grasping hand. That was strange. I only had a moment before I could fall. I didn't want to pull them with me. I turned to look at the hand.

11:59:55

A pale hand held onto mine. My gaze followed up the long fingers to the wrist bone and up the strong looking bicep to the broad shoulder. Up the muscular neck with its Adam's apple to a strong, squared jaw. Up past the square chin, past the full pink lips, past the straight nose, past the high cheekbones, all the way up to the emerald eyes lined with thick black lashes, slightly covered by lengths of strangely penny colored hair.

11:59:57

He too was standing on the edge of the cliff, his feet slightly over the edge. His shirt rippled in the wind and his hair tugged. I wanted to tell him to let me go but I saw something familiar in him.

11:59:58

His eyes were so different from my own. Their emerald hues mixed with hints of hazel and gold were beautiful compared to my plain, muddy brown colored eyes. But in both sets was something that was very much similar. Both held secrets of our pasts. Old anger, old hates, new sadness, and last but not least, recognition. Somehow, he managed to pull me slightly back without my knowing, just enough to take me away from my place on the edge of my death.

11:59:59

His eyes, now wide in what I could only describe as wonder, held me in my place.

"Hello, I'm Edward."

12:00:00

And time stopped.

A/N: This is the reedited version of Two Minutes to End, Two Minutes to Begin. I lied when I said that I wouldn't add more. Enjoy.

-L