A/N –Edward never returned to Forks after leaving Bella in the woods. Five years later, Bella is working at an advertising company in Seattle, and Edward is a new client for the company.
Bella scrolls through pages of endless documents on her computer. Numbers and words flash across the screen, dull account details that she's supposed to immerse herself in before she meets the new client. RiversWoods, a company that purifies and sells bottled water, is one of the biggest clients Bella has ever gotten the chance to work with. As a junior account planner, it's her job to make sure the new client feels comfortable and welcomed. Her boss tells her, Bella will know she's done a good job when she's signed the client.
She's been working at Benedict Advertising for just over a year now. Sighing, she glances at her watch. The clients will be here any minute. Bella scoots out of her swivel chair, stands up, and smoothes the creases in her black pencil skirt. She adjusts her green blouse, making sure that the neckline isn't dropping too low and revealing more than business appropriate cleavage. Satisfied, she grabs her thin portfolio briefcase and strides down the hall to the conference room, her heels clicking against the wooden floor.
Dana, the secretary, is inside. She's setting up trays of fruit and pastries and mixing a rather large batch of mimosas. "Hello, Bella," she says, smiling through thin lips. "I'm just about done."
"There's no rush," Bella says. The conference room looks in perfect order. The food is arranged neatly, and there's a stack of glossy papers in front of every chair. Bella casually flips through one of the packets, proud to see her hard work staring back out at her. Hopefully the pitch will go well. If Bella signs RiversWoods, she's in for a large commission.
Bella hears voices and footsteps sounding down the hallway. "That must be them," Dana says. "I'll leave you all to it. Good luck!" She squeezes Bella lightly on the arm before leaving. Bella takes a few calming breaths, telling herself everything will be fine.
A group of men enter the room. Bella smiles at Harold Summers, her boss, and the executive account manager at Benedict Advertising. She glances at the other familiar faces, Michael, Tyler, and Roger, all part of the creative department that will be working with RiversWoods if they decide to sign the contracts. But then, as more people file in, Bella notices a pair of very familiar golden eyes staring in her direction.
Her pulse starts beating rapidly, and she can feel the color draining from her face. It doesn't make sense. Why would he be here? He disappeared from her life over five years ago, and since then, she's done everything possible to forget he ever existed.
But there he is, Edward Cullen, staring at her with those intense honey-colored eyes, his cold, pale lips strained into a tight line. He's wearing a pair of black slacks and a blue button-up, the rich color contrasting starkly with the eyes that are currently sweeping over Bella's body. She tries to breathe, but she can only manage to take sharp, tiny inhales. Bella feels lightheaded. Edward's intense gaze is throwing her off balance.
She wants to pinch herself. She wants to wake up from this dream, this nightmare. Edward left Bella behind with nothing except for an aching hole constantly tearing at her chest. He left her to sink into the darkest months of her entire life. He left her fragile, alone, and confused. And now, he's here, in her conference room, and she's supposed to pitch him a bunch of overworked lines and strategies. It doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up.
Harold Summers clears his throat, "Bella," he says. "Perhaps you'd like to introduce yourself to our prospective clients." Harold is staring at her with serious black eyes, and Bella forces herself to snap to attention, to shake herself out of this surreal situation.
"Yes, of course," she says. There are two other men by Edward's sides, both noticeably older than Edward himself. Well, of course, Edward is the oldest person in the room, but Bella assumes she's the only one that knows that. "I'm Bella Swan. It's a pleasure to meet all of you."
She shakes hands with Mike and Jerry who are apparently joint vice presidents of RiversWoods. "Thank you so much for coming in today," Bella says to both of them.
And then she turns to Edward, having absolutely zero clue what to say to him. Does she introduce herself? Does she walk away and proceed with the presentation? Edward is staring at her, his cold lips twisting slightly into a small, cautious smile. "Edward Cullen," he says, holding out a large, pale hand. "It's nice to meet you."
Hesitating, Bella grips Edward's hand, his skin shockingly smooth and cool against her small, warm fingers. The slight touch brings back feverish memories of Edward's body pressed against her, of their lips desperate to meet again and again. "It's nice to meet you," she says, her voice catching in her throat. She feels like the entire room is staring at her, like they can hear her every thought.
She pulls her hand away, turning around, trying to escape Edward's gaze for just a moment. Bella knows she needs to get in control of herself. She can't ruin her career over this one, albeit shocking, incident. She takes a deep breath before turning around once more and motioning to the empty chairs around the conference table. "Please. Be seated."
The presentation goes smoothly on the outside, but on the inside, Bella is a nervous wreck. She refuses to look at Edward, but she can feel his hot gaze sliding over her body throughout the entire presentation. He stays silent, obviously a junior employee at the company, and instead lets Mike and Jerry do the talking. Bella is thankful for this. If Edward asked her even a simple question, she probably wouldn't have been able to answer him.
After an hour, the conference table is covered with empty glasses and dirty plates. Except for Edward and Bella, everything is smiling and chatting as they get up from their seats. Bella forces a strained smile as she shakes Mike's and Jerry's hands one more time. "Thank you so much for coming in today. I hope we'll be seeing you soon," she says.
"Oh, I think you can count on it." Mike responds.
Everyone is slowly filing out of the room, and Bella chances looking up at Edward one more time. He's only a few feet away, and the second she looks at him, he meets her gaze. He takes a few steps forward, one hand tucked in his trouser pocket. Bella glances over his body, wondering if the same hard muscle she knew so many years ago still lies underneath the layers of clothing. "It was nice to see you," Edward says, his voice low and soft.
He's smiling tentatively, and Bella doesn't know how to respond. Is she happy? Sad? Scared? There are too many conflicting emotions swirling through her, and she can't get a handle on any of them. She bites her lip, and Edward's golden eyes flick towards the sensitive skin. His direct gaze flushes her entire body. She can't believe he can affect her like this after all these years. "Thanks," she says, slowly, hesitantly. "It was nice to see you too."
"I guess we'll be seeing each other around. Mike and Jerry seem happy with the work you've done so far."
"Yes. I'm glad. How long have you been working for them?"
"A couple of years now." Edward's eyes lighten, and he smirks. "I got sick of high school after the fifth time around."
"I can see how that would get dull."
What are they doing here, standing and making small chat? It feels surreal, like some tucked away dream. She can't count the number of times she imagined Edward coming back into her life, but none of them were like this. In her dreams she was always excited and happy, and he would pull her into his strong arms and claim her lips with his. But now, stark daylight is filtering through the windows, and they're standing rigid as boards with nothing to say to one another.
"Well, I should probably get back to work," Bella finally says.
"And I should get back to the office." Edward hesitates, for just a moment, before leaning in and pressing a cold, chaste kiss against Bella's cheek. He turns around and leaves before she can respond. The kiss only lasted a second, but she can feel it burning into her skin for the rest of the day.
An entire week passes, and Bella doesn't hear a word from Edward. She faxed the contracts to RiversWoods, and they promptly signed them and sent them back, but there are no scheduled meetings with the client for at least a month. Sighing, Bella gnaws at her lower lip. Seeing Edward, just that one time, has brought him to the forefront of her mind, and now he's there, lingering behind her every conscious and unconscious thought.
Part of her wants to call the company and get his number, ask him to dinner or to coffee. She had no idea that he was living in Seattle, and now, just knowing that he's perhaps only miles away, sends her heart thumping wildly in her chest. But then, the other part of her resists. Edward hurt her in the most unimaginable ways. If she welcomes him back into her life, what's to say he won't do it again? Besides, she long ago realized that while she loved Edward, he was a vampire, and she was a human. Unless she was changed, Bella would turn old and grey while Edward stood vigilant in ageless glory by her side. It wouldn't be fair to either of them.
A clap of thunder shakes Bella from her thoughts. She looks out the office window, rain is pouring down in thick sheets. It's already five o'clock, and the rain isn't supposed to let up for hours. The roads will be slick and dangerous, but Bella wants nothing more than to get home, cook a nice dinner, and slip into her warm pajamas. Besides, it's Seattle. Driving in the rain is nothing new. So Bella digs through her purse for her keys and heads out of the office.
The heavy rain pelts at her back as she runs to her car, soaking her to the bone. She slams the door shut behind her, turns on the car, and cranks up the heat. Her body is freezing, and she rubs her hands together, waiting for the car to warm up. Finally, her numbed fingers regain feeling, and she turns on the windshield wipers and pulls her car into reverse. The thick rain impairs her vision, but she can see enough to maneuver out of the parking lot and onto the main road.
For once, Bella is thankful that she lives in the middle of nowhere, a tiny apartment tucked into a corner of the city. She avoids the bumper-to-bumper traffic, and instead takes winding backroads to get home. The rain pelts against her windshield, and she has to lean forward to see where she's driving. Part of her knows she should pull over and wait for the rain to subside, but she's only a couple miles away from hot food and a warm bed.
A bit of orange flashes in front of her vision. And then there are blinking lights, and a roadblock, but it's too late. Bella swerves to the side, trying to avoid slamming into the construction blockade, but she loses control of the car. It spins on the slick street, rolling and speeding quickly down the curved road. A high scream tears out of Bella as she desperately tries to maneuver the wheel, but she can't do anything. The brakes are waterlogged, and the car is moving dangerously fast. And then there's a tree in sight, and the car crashes loudly into the thick trunk. Bella's head is plummeted forward, banging harshly against the steering wheel, and everything turns red and black.
Everything is fuzzy and painful. Something is tugging insistently at Bella, and she's being dragged out of the car. She tries to orient herself. What happened? Where is she? A pair of strong arms wraps around her midriff, tugging her against a hard chest. Slowly, Bella opens her eyes. Every part of her body is throbbing with pain, and as she slowly regains vision, she sees herself covered in a coat of blood.
"Bella, Bella, answer me. Can you hear me?" The voice is rough and uneven, desperation flowing out of every word. It's a voice Bella knows all too well.
"Edward?" She manages to say before collapsing into a coughing fit. When she removes her hand, it's covered in warm, sticky blood.
"Oh, God, how did this happen?" Edward pulls Bella more fully against himself, so that she's tucked into his body, cradled like a newborn. His golden eyes are filled with fear as he stares down at her.
"The rain," she manages to say, her throat raw and sore. But it's not raining anymore. No, she can feel the feeble sun shining down on her bruised and beaten body. The blood loss is making her woozy, and her head is pounding insistently. "How bad is it? Do I need to go to the hospital?" When Bella looks into Edward's pained eyes, she can see the truth staring down at her. She won't make it. She's going to die. "That bad, huh?" She tries to smile weakly, but the effort sends a spasm of pain through her bruised face.
Edward raises a hand and brushes it softly against her cheek. The slight contact seems to drain the pain right out of her, bringing only Edward into focus. Bella grips his other hand, their fingers intertwining. When she first realized that Edward was a vampire, she knew she was putting her life in danger every moment she spent by his side. She never imagined that she could pass away in such a mundane, trivial way.
"Bella," Edward says, his voice creased with pain, his eyes dark and intense. "I know I left you-" his voice is choked, and he has to taking a stuttering breath before continuing. "I know I left you five years ago, but please, don't for one minute think I ever stopped caring about you. I left you because I thought it would protect you. I left you-" another deep breath "because I love you."
Tears sting at Bella's eyes, not from the pain, but from Edward's words. Perhaps Edward is just trying to comfort her, but no, she can hear it in his voice. Everything he says is true. "I love you too," she says. "I always have, and I always-"
Before she can finish, Edward swoops down and captures Bella's lips with his own. The kiss is needy, desperate. His soft, cool lips attack her flushed ones. Bella's hand grips Edward's shirt, and she tries to press closer to his familiar body, clinging to new memories and old. Her tongue slips into his heated mouth, and Edward groans in response, one hand threading through Bella's long hair. Their kisses are rushed and insistent, and Bella can feel herself racing against what little time she has left, desperately wanting her last moments to be within Edward's fervent embrace.
But then his hand reaches under her shirt, sliding against a fractured rib, and Bella cries out in pain. Edward tears his lips away and stares down at Bella with horrified eyes. "I'm sorry," he says. "I shouldn't have...you're hurt. I don't know what I was thinking."
"It's all right," Bella says, trying to relax her heavy breathing. How could she possibly explain to him that everything is all right? That as long as she's in his arms, everything is all right? As long as he's by her side until the end, she'll be at peace. Her head feels light and woozy, and she has to shut her eyes for a moment. Edward's hand grips her own tighter, and when she opens her eyes, she's comforted by his deep gaze. "How did you find me?" She asks.
Edward smiles softly. "I can always find you, Bella. You're a part of me, and I'll always know where you are." Bella tries to smile, but she winces, another stab of pain shooting through her body. Edward's face grows serious, and he hesitates before saying, "I could save you, Bella. I never wanted this for you, but I could turn you. This doesn't have to be the end."
Bella looks up into Edward's golden eyes, and she knows he means his words. The offer is tempting, spending eternity in Edward's arms instead of passing away on a cold, wet street. But Bella knows what eternity has done to Edward, she knows the trials he's been through, and part of her would rather die now, knowing her last moments on earth are happy ones. She searches Edward's gaze, hoping that she can find in answer in his honeyed eyes.
And there it is, her fate staring right back out at her. She opens her mouth, flushed lips separating, and says, "Sometimes," she says, "Sometimes even eternity doesn't seem like long enough. I want to spend forever with you."
A/N – So this was intended to be a one-shot, but let me know if you guys would like me to continue. Thanks!