I had been sleeping for five years. That's exactly what my 'life' had felt like. All the plans we had, down to the exact detail… the wedding, her becoming like me, our life together…. Everything went wrong.
She was changed though. I had changed her. I held her in my arms and sank my teeth into her flesh with nothing but love in my stone, cold heart. In the end, it hadn't mattered.
Bella 'awoke' with no memory of me whatsoever. She was in a total state of panic. Apparently her memories were completely erased from before she moved to Forks. The last thing she remembered was getting on a plane in Tucson.
As soon as she recovered, she left. She spoke to no one, not even Charlie. Carlisle tried to talk to her. We even sent Jasper after her in a failed attempt to calm her down.
As usual, Jacob seemed to be the only one to reason with her. She didn't understand what she was. Jacob explained to her about her new 'life' and how she would now need to survive. I was horrified when Jacob reported back to me that she was practically psychotic and talking daily about killing herself.
He growled at me with such hatred. I didn't blame him, because obviously he had been right and we had all lost her.
It was almost five years to the day when I walked into an office in Manhattan to speak to our family's lawyer and saw her again.
She was standing across the large marble-floored lobby, examining some piece of artwork. She looked… so different. I only had a split second to study her while she was unaware. She seemed to sense my presence and turned. She held my gaze for what seemed like forever, but then broke off contact and continued talking to the man at her left. I focused my hearing on her conversation and caught snippets about 'lighting', 'height' and 'framing.'
Mr. Atworthy, our family's lawyer was calling to me from across the lobby. I pulled myself away from the sight of her and barely was able to concentrate on what the man was saying. After my meeting concluded, I rode the elevator to the lobby and exited. I walked directly to the large print artwork that Bella had been standing in front of. It was a photograph. It seemed like an abstract image. I stood pondering it for a moment when I sensed her presence behind me. I turned slowly and saw her in front of me.
"You like it?" She asked.
I almost wept right then and there with hearing her voice again. "Yes."
"Good! I'm the photographer."
"Oh."
"You're like me, aren't you?" She waited patiently. Her perfectly arched brow showing her only irritation with my delay.
"Yes." I could not stop staring at her. She looked so sophisticated and polished. Her soft brown hair was cut in a perfect straight line at the shoulders. Her white starched shirt was wrapped neatly around her tiny waist and her black pants seemed to mold to her legs. Her feet were clad in some sort of small black patent leather shoe.
She laughed and threw her head back. Her chestnut hair swayed and then returned to its neat style. I fisted my hands at my sides to keep from reaching out and touching it.
"Not a man of many words."
"I suppose not." I was waiting for the other shoe to drop and Bella to recognize me as the man that ruined her life.
"Can I buy you a drink?" She asked coyly. My confused expression made her laugh once again. "It's just an expression. It means, can I sit next to you and talk to you."
I felt myself relax and return her wonderful smile. "Sure."
We both walked around the corner to a bar that catered to the after work suits of Wall Street. We procured a small high top table in the corner and both ordered a glass of red that neither of us touched.
"So." She started.
I waited for whatever thought was about to spill out of her. I took her in. I could not believe how incredibly beautiful she looked. Despite the polished look and expertly applied make-up, she looked exactly the same.
"Where do you come from?" She asked as she casually swirled her wine glass.
"The west coast."
"Are you alone?"
"Depends."
"On?"
"I know of others, but I live alone."
"What others?" She asked as she tilted her head toward me. I leaned slightly towards her and smelled strawberries. My gut clenched as I fought the desire to reach across the table and pull her towards me.
"A small pack."
"Hmm." She answered as she nibbled on her bottom lip. She had to know what she was doing to me.
"Have you met others?" I asked.
"A few. Not nice ones." She frowned.
"Yes, there are many of those."
"How old are you?"
I looked around and saw that a few people had taken notice of us and our unusual conversation. I suggested that we leave.
I led her to the hotel where I was staying. I suggested having my car brought around so that we might take a drive in peace. She agreed easily and I shook my ahead probably for the millionth time at my Bella's naivety.
We climbed inside the car and waited for a clearing in the traffic. I was looking away from her when she spoke.
"I'm not afraid of you, you know."
I closed my eyes tightly and commanded my head to stop spinning. Could she know? Was she playing some cruel trick on me?
"Maybe you should be." I answered as I sped through the traffic toward the Lincoln Tunnel.
"No, I don't think you'd hurt me."
"Never intentionally." I answered. I glanced over and saw her frown.
I drove to a small park and pulled over in a deserted parking lot. I turned off the engine but let the car's stereo system run. My iPod was connected to the system and classical music filled the car. Bella picked up my iPod and spun through my collection.
"You have so much music." She said absently as she scanned the lists.
My head spun again as I replayed the memory of her speaking those words verbatim in my bedroom in Forks. Could she really not know me?
"Who are you?" I asked.
"Isabella Black."
That was a small knife to my heart.
"And you are?"
"Edward."
"Do you have a last name Edward?"
"Heath."
"Oh." She seemed to frown.
"You seem disappointed. Were you expecting me to be someone else?"
"No, of course not. I just felt a certain something.. I don't know… when you said your name was Edward. But the last name doesn't match the first. Does that make sense?"
"I suppose. I've had several names and they all exist for the purpose of record keeping. None carry any significance."
"What was your family's name?"
"I don't remember them anymore."
"Will that happen to me eventually?"
"Well, it depends. How old are you now?"
"I've been like this for 5 years."
"Then your memories are fresh. They will fade."
"I don't want them to fade." She said with conviction. I studied her profile, wondering what she was thinking.
"How old are you?" She asked as she swung her head around to face me.
"More than 100 years old now."
"Wow."
"Time moves differently now. There are no more feelings of 'time running out'. It just is."
"I suppose I'll adjust." She sighed. "I still miss my family."
"Oh?"
"I left behind my parents and brother."
"What happened to them?"
"My parents think I'm dead."
"What about your brother?"
"Jake? Well, he's sort of an adoptive brother. He took me in when I had no one. I had been changed and was utterly alone. He's… special. He helped me."
"Do you two still stay in touch?"
"No, not really." She looked away again and an expression of sadness moved into her features.
"Why not?"
"It's complicated. I know he cares about me. I care about him. But it's not good for us to be together."
"Okay."
She laughed. "This is the most I've talked to anyone in…. well… I can't remember how long." She sat up and straightened her already perfect hair. "I need to get back to my studio. I have a shoot tonight."
"Now?"
"I work at night." She winked at me. "I find it helps my cover to claim I'm a night owl."
"Good idea."
I drove in silence back into the city. The traffic was light due to the late hour. I pulled up in front of an elegant brownstone in the Tribeca neighborhood. She exited the car with the gracefulness of a ballet dancer. She turned back and leaned into the car through the open window.
"I've enjoyed tonight Edward."
I wished I could've recorded the sound of her speaking my name. "Me too." I said softly.
"If I have more questions…"
"You know where I'm staying. I'll be in town 'til Friday."
She stared at me for what seemed like a full minute. Then she smiled and turned to go inside. I pulled away from the curb and dared not look back.