Mirage

Edward POV

"Freedom means you are unobstructed in living your life as you choose. Anything less is a form of slavery." Wayne Dyer

All things Twilight related belong to Stephanie Meyer.

The hot sun beat down on me from above as I ran through the sand, barefoot and shirtless. My earbuds played loud , fierce, rock music in my ears and I was able to tune everything out. The picturesque landscape passed me by in a blur as my pace picked up with every step.

This was the time of day that I loved.

Even though it was only eight in the morning, the Brazilian sun was up and ready to greet the world. It was hot, but not unpleasant because the thick sea breeze was wafting around my head like a whirlwind. Even in February, the tropical atmosphere made the temperature a constant seventy.

I pushed myself harder during my run and just like every morning, my lungs burned painfully from the exertion of my body. It felt good, so I went faster. My legs gave out sometime after the fifth mile. It was surprising that I didn't already lap the island by now. It was only but so big.

I collapsed on the hot sand and controlled my breathing, blowing long streams of air into the cloudless sky.

I was going to turn thirty this year, and my body was definitely feeling it.

Thirty!

How did I get so old?

I had heart issues from my poor diet and the drugs, my anxiety issues from my OCD, lung issues from the smoking, and a whole slew of other things that I didn't really care about. One new addition to my ailments was a bad back, which I acquired from a motorcycle accident about a year ago. It wasn't too serious, but it caused me a lot of pain sometimes. The doctor said I wasn't bad off enough for surgery, so I just suffered through it on those rare days when my spine decided to be a bitch.

I guess a bad back was the least of my worries. Technically, I wasn't even alive.

As the rest of the world knew it, I was dead, but of course that was a complete fabrication. It had been three years that I had been living this lie and to be honest, it got better every day. A life without restrictions was one I never thought I would be accustomed to, but it suited me well.

I had to leave my entire life behind. I didn't care about the cars, or the money, or the houses, or anything else. When my father sent me away, what hurt the most was losing Bella. She had become everything to me, and even though I didn't know it then, she was my livelihood. After I left, I had nothing to care for and nothing to care about. It was hell on earth

I guess it was ironic that I had to give my life away in order to get Bella back, though. Looking back on it, I had never really treated Bella nearly as well as I should have.

It hurt every day I had to spend without her. It made me feel so guilty that she lost everything and I was just basically hiding out. I was disgusted with myself. I was a free man, and she had to rot in jail for two years for my mistakes. I pleaded with Carlisle, begged him to let me turn myself in. When we realized that she was actually going to be staying in jail for a while, I couldn't take it. I literally went insane.

I left the bitterly cold mountains of Switzerland with every intention of getting her released. After Carlisle calmed me down, I was shipped here to the humid paradise of Brazil. This island wasn't on any map and specifically bought for its secrecy. It was my prison until Bella got here.

After she arrived, well, that was… a rough year. The aftermath of her anger was something I had never experienced. She had so much to say and never stopped saying it. Not that I blamed her.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

I knew that better than any person on the planet. I didn't think Bella would ever forgive me. How could she? I had left her, abandoned her, when she needed me the most. I was the lowest piece of shit imaginable. But Bella had a good heart. I never thought she would even give me the time of day. Thankfully, I was wrong.

Bella had me by the balls after that first year—she still did. I would be forever in her debt, not only for giving me a second chance, but also for keeping our secrets. I joked that she was made to be a mafia wife because even in her darkest hour, she never revealed a thing.

Bella and I fought everything out in those few months after she got here. We screamed and yelled until our lungs throbbed. She never once mentioned leaving the island, though, so I knew she was serious about us. If she wanted to leave then I would let her, but she told me it wasn't even an option.

"We're going to make it until one of us is dead! We've worked too hard to just let everything crumble. I'm not giving up."

Those were her exact words.

Bella told me that after a point, she had to let go of her anger or it would eat her up inside. She lived by the "forgive, but not forget" mentality. She was so mature to be so young and I was fortunate for that.

Our relationship now, two years later, was stronger than I remembered it ever being. I realized that there were few things in this world that could kill me. Living without Bella was one of them. I had to take anything that came with that.

She was feistier than ever and still gave me shit every time I made her mad. I think she was over keeping her emotions in. The time for that had passed. I guessed I rubbed off on her more than I knew. We were both extremely opinionated and that, mixed with our stubbornness, was a recipe for disaster.

Some might ask how the hell we could stand each other or even be in a relationship, let alone a successful one. I didn't question it. I just rolled with everything that came my way because above all else, we loved each other.

We fought like cats, but always made up quickly. I knew that at the end of the day, arguments didn't matter. Who really cared if the toothpaste cap wasn't screwed on or the dishes weren't done? We just argued because it was our strange way of having sex… in addition to the physical.

Now, our lives were almost perfect. We didn't have anyone to answer to. That was probably the best part. No ties to the real world so this sense of freedom settled over my life, which was slightly disconcerting at first, but I quickly got used to it.

We lived our lives on and around this island, making trips to Rio whenever we wanted. No one knew the old us, and we had completely new identities. It felt so liberating to be dead.

"Hey, old man!" I heard a deep voice yell from down the beach and even over the music in my ears, it was clear as a bell.

"Urg," I groaned, "leave me alone."

I turned my head to see Alec racing towards me, hands flailing and that damned permanent smile on his face. I spoke too soon with the whole 'no one to answer to' thing. My child—for lack of a better word—was always around.

He was eighteen now and thought he owned the world. He might have grown in size and age, but he was still a kid. He had come with Bella to the island. Before that, I was here by myself.

I made a very dangerous call to him, and only him to get her before Carlisle did. At first, he didn't believe that it was me on the other side of the phone. After all, I was supposed to be dead. I sent a plane for him and he spent about a week down here just looking at me. A couple days after that, he said he wanted to stay. He called Carlisle and told him what was really happening, still keeping the fact that he was going to get Bella, a secret. He came back with her and never looked back. He loved it here just as much as we did. Carlisle told everyone he was away in school in France, I think. He went back to Chicago maybe once a year, usually for Christmas. Only four people on this earth knew what he was really doing.

Bella and I were raising Alec as if he were our own. His physical age might be eighteen, but his mental age was a lot younger. That wasn't his fault, though. He had spent his entire childhood locked up. He never had the chance to grow. He surely was doing a lot of that now.

Almost every day, he was asking me about sex and being ruled by his hormones. On those occasions we traveled to Rio, Alec made use of it, soaking up all the female attention he could. The ladies loved him, and he would smile his bright smile at all of them. He was a seemingly normal teenager. He tried to sneak liquor out of the locked cabinet in the kitchen, took the boats out for joyrides, trashed the house when Bella and I stayed in the city; as normal as can be.

He was like a curious frat boy that I was trying my hardest to raise right. Right, being anything that wasn't me. I hadn't turned out too well. I made a promise to myself that he would be the good Cullen kid. At least Carlisle could be proud of one of us.

"Did you hear me?" Alec panted heavily, his brow drenched in sweat as he plopped down on the sand next to me.

"I heard you, I just chose to ignore you." I shut my eyes, letting the sun soak into my skin.

"You didn't wake me up for our run."

"You were snoring like a bear when I went in to wake you up. Last time I did that, you kicked me in the balls."

"And then you locked me out of the house for a week." He huffed. "I had to sleep outside… in the rain!"

"Serves you right." I chuckled at the memory. "Was Bella up when you left?"

"Yeah, she said you have to hurry up and get back because she's making breakfast."

"I'm surprised you left with cooking food in the house."

"I timed it perfectly. When we get back, everything should be ready." Even with my eyes closed, I could almost see the smile on his face at the thought of breakfast.

"You're so fat." I rolled away from him and started stretching my muscles for the run back.

"You're just jealous because my eight pack is coming in. Do know how hard it is to get this?" Alec ran his hand over the lower, sculpted portion of his stomach. "I was doing crunches for a year."

"And you still don't look as good as me," I gloated.

"I bet I could still beat you back to the house." He took off, kicking his feet in the air, leaving a cloud of dust in my direction.

A second was all I need to get myself into high gear and race after him. It didn't take me long to catch up, and even though I was going to be in so much pain when I woke up tomorrow, I would suffer for the bragging rights.

By the time we got back home, we were both gasping for air and clutching at our knees.

"I win," he exclaimed and leaned up against a palm tree. "I win."

"Like hell you did. I smoked your ass."

"Fuck you." He shoved my shoulder. "I was ten steps in front of you by the time we reached the path. Don't lie. It's okay that you lost."

"I didn't lose," I snarled.

"Maybe next time your old legs will work better for you." He patted my back and almost skipped inside. He was always so fucking happy. I didn't understand it.

I jogged to the side of the large beach house, which had been our home for the past two years, and striped out of the shorts I was in. I spent a couple minutes in the outdoor shower, washing the pesky sand from my body and hair.

That was the one bad thing about living on the beach. The sand was everywhere. I had got used to it somewhat, but when it stayed on my skin for too long, I got very antsy.

After I was certain that my body was free from sand, I turned the water off and grabbed a plush towel out of the cupboard near the shower. I dried my hair and wrapped the towel around my waist before heading inside.

"Where's Bella?" I asked Alec who was shoving food into his mouth at the kitchen counter.

"Upstairs," he gurgled through his eggs.

"I hope you choke," I said as I pushed him off of the stool he was sitting on.

"Put on some fucking clothes!" he shouted at me when I climbed the stairs.

I went into the bedroom and didn't see Bella. I got dressed in what I always wore: swim trunks and a tee shirt. That was all I needed when we weren't doing anything, like today.

It took me one guess as to where Bella was. I walked into the largest room in our house, the library.

She was climbing the ladder up onto the bookshelves, which were neatly organized alphabetically. She was in nothing more than a shirt and dark blue boy shorts, which barely covered her plump ass. They were those skimpy kind, that you would get from Victoria Secret or some shit like that. I just stood there and looked at her, unashamed of myself. Sometimes I swear I was looking at a mirage. Could she still be here?

"Stop eye-fucking me," she said without even turning around. "It's not polite."

"Could you blame me?" I went to the ladder and held it steady as she climbed higher.

"Alec spilled orange juice on my pants. They're being washed and I'm too busy looking for this book to get new ones. You can eye-fuck until I get some clothes."

"Thank you," I replied, being completely honest. "What are you searching for?"

"I just remembered that I didn't finish We the Living before you put it away last night."

"You fell asleep when I was reading. I finished it."

"How thoughtful of you." She started her climb back down.

"Careful there, Clumsy Cathy."

"I'm not clumsy. This ladder isn't straight," Bella complained.

"Always with the excuses?"

"Shut up." She hopped down, standing in front of me in all her glory.

Neither of us had changed much in our appearances. Still the same ole Bella and Edward. Her hair was longer and darker; my hair was shorter and lighter. We looked tanned and fit, like something out of a health magazine, but there wasn't much else to do on this island besides run around all day in the sun.

"What?" she asked, self-conscious from my staring.

"Nothing." I shrugged.

She blushed, deep and full just like I liked it. Bella and I were attuned to each other on a level that I had never heard of before. She thought something, and I could almost tell what it was and vice versa. Now, she was thinking that I needed a kiss.

She rose up on her toes, and our lips touched. The electricity was still there, the fire was still there, and the passion was still there. It was always this way.

Bella just went in for a short kiss this morning because she knew that things could quickly spiral out of control in seconds if we let them.

"I have to go to work tonight, so I need the boat. Don't plan any excursions." She bypassed me, carrying her book, and went out of the library.

I followed her into our room where she was putting on a pair of sweatpants, but then took them off. It was going to be hot out today. She settled for shorts.

"You've been working a lot lately," I commented and sat on the bed.

"The bar needs me. Nahuel fired everyone else."

Bella worked at a club in Rio as a bartender, which I didn't like at all. When she first told me that she wanted to get a job, I was adamantly against it. Why would she need one? We had everything we needed here and more than enough money to live for three lifetimes. Bella said she wanted something to do. I let up a little bit and, of course, she had to get the one job I almost forbid her from having.

Rio was not a safe place to be for anyone to work, let alone in a club. Rowdy international college kids got wasted, men pinched her ass, the drug lords held their meetings in seedy corners, and her boss was a complete douche. Of course, she assured me that none of that happened at her club, but I knew better.

"Maybe you should think about getting a job." Bella scaled the tall bed and straddled me, pushing my body back into the covers.

"I don't want one. Taking care of you two is job enough."

"You're bored here." Her finger traced the stubble on my jaw.

"No, I'm not," I sort of lied.

Sure, there were some days when I wished I had something to do, but I wasn't complaining. My old life might be behind me, although, I was never too far away from it. I dabbled in the stock market for something to do—under an alias of course. I ordered guns and had them shipped to Rio. I even started a drug war last year between two rival gangs. That was fun.

"Idle hands are the devils play things," Bella tsked me.

"My hands are never idle." They traveled over her body, sliding down her back and ending on the ass that I loved so much. I cupped it roughly, and she yelped.

"Oh, Edward. Always looking for a good time." She kissed my chin. "Unfortunately, I'm hungry, so this will have to wait until later."

I almost pouted pitifully at the thought of delayed sexual joy. "You are the worse kind of tease."

"I can't help it." Bella rolled off of me.

I grimaced when the change in position twisted my back into a knot. The base of my spine started to throb, and a pain radiated throughout my lower half. I quickly recovered my face, because Bella would start worrying if she knew.

"Are you coming?" she asked me when she reached the door.

"I'll be down in a second," I said smoothly, not daring to move just yet.

"What's wrong?" Bella questioned anxiously. "Did I hurt you?"

"No." I shook my head.

"You're lying. Oh my God. Is it your back?"

"No," I said stubbornly.

"Turn over," she instructed. "I knew you shouldn't have gone running this morning. You did too much lifting yesterday when you and Alec moved the sofa."

"I'm fine. It's just a little tickle." I rolled over on the bed and felt Bella's warm fingers under my shirt, pressing right where I needed them to.

Bella kneaded my flesh and tenderly released the pressure from my back. I moaned embarrassingly with her touch.

"I told you not to buy that motorcycle, but you just had to beat Alec, didn't you?" she chastised. "This is how people get killed. You are so lucky that it was a minor accident."

"Nothing would have happened if Alec stayed on his side of the road."

"Thank God he didn't get hurt."

"Thank God," I replied sarcastically. "I'm in pain for the rest of my life, but praise the heavens that Alec is okay."

"Serves you right. I told you for months not to ride that thing and you did it anyway. Now, you can barely walk straight." She lightly climbed off of my back and went into the bathroom.

She came back with two little blue pills, and I took them without question, gulping down a bottle of water. I stretched my body back to life and felt incredibly better, just as usual.

"Thank you," I said.

"Old men need their nurses." She grinned as she backed out of the door, pulling me with her.

We separated at the stairs. I went into the library and turned on the computer.

Time to start the day.

I waited for my computer to boot up and put on my glasses, which had become a perpetual fixture on my face anytime I wanted to read something. I flipped through the week's mail on my desk. We never got anything important, because no one knew we were here. Just spam shit and travel brochures but I always checked, anyway.

The only person who knew where exactly we were was Carlisle. I spoke to him for five minutes every other month. That was all the time we got. Basically, I just told him we were alive and well. He said the same and we would hang up. I always had to use a pre-paid phone that I would later throw into the river out back and that was all the communication we had.

I couldn't let myself dwell on the fact that I was lying to my brothers, and worse, my mother. She was never going to forgive me. Alec called her once a month on iChat, under the guise of him being at school. It wasn't going to work forever, but as of now, Esme was none the wiser that Alec was in Brazil. Plus, his Christmas visits seemed to tithe her over throughout the year.

Every day, I wished I could read Bella's mind so that I could see what she was really thinking about her own parents. Did she miss them? Of course she did. She would never tell me and whenever I asked, Bella just ignored it. I was wondering how much longer she would be willing to stay here on this island without seeing Charlie or Renee.

"Yo!" Alec banged through the door of my office, throwing an apple in the air.

"I told you to fucking knock." I tried not to get too annoyed.

"Knocking is overrated," he mocked, sitting in the chair across from me. "Bella said we were going into the city tonight."

"No, we, as in Bella and I, aregoing into the city. She has to work." I was only half talking to him since my computer was up fully and I was now knee deep in stock trading.

"Come on. I want to go too," he groaned.

"The last time we took you with us, you got lost." I took my glasses off with frustration, just remembering the hour we spent roaming the city.

"I forgot what time it was." He shrugged coyly.

"Because you were shitface drunk."

"That wasn't my fault. Someone spiked my drink," he defended.

"Yeah, you." I went back to typing furiously. "Is there anything that you seriously need?"

"No," he rolled his eyes, "but I'm coming. Bella said I could if you said yes."

"The markets are closing in London and opening in New York. I don't have time to deal with you right now."

"Please…" he begged.

"Alright, fine!" I shouted. "Just don't run off."

"Sweet." He took a bite of his apple.

"Get out," I said forcefully.

"Okay, okay. Sheesh." Alec left me alone to my numbers on the computer screen.

I spent about an hour switching a couple million around in whatever I was dealing with these days. I never really paid attention unless I was losing money, which hadn't been the case since we got here. Carlisle had set us up with a nice nest egg that was now climbing upwards of fifty million thanks to my skillful management.

Sometime after lunch—or maybe it was closer to dinner, I wasn't sure—there was a soft knock at my door.

"Come in," I said.

"You've been in here all day." Bella walked into the room and sat on my desk. "What the hell are you doing?"

"Making money."

"Making money that we don't need."

"Everyone needs money, Bella."

"Hmmmm," she dejected.

I continued to focus my attention on my computer. I knew Bella wanted to say something, but it was best to just let her say it when she wanted. If I pushed her, she would never talk.

It took ten minutes of silence before I got another peep out of her. "Um, have you talked to your father this month?"

"No. I haven't had the chance yet," I sighed, not wanted to get into this right now. I never talked to Carlisle on my own volition. Bella literally had to force me to make the call. I was still too pissed at him for some of the things he did. Bella might be able to forgive, but I'd never lived by that philosophy.

The truth was, even though I talked all this shit about love and living a new life here on the island, I was just as bad as I was before. Maybe even worse. There were some days when I thought I was agoraphobic. I hated to be around people because they all annoyed the shit out of me. It was as if people were put on this earth just to piss me off. I had a short temper, which provided me with tons of trouble and my inability to interact with others kind of made living here ideal. Bella was the exception. She was the only woman I would ever love in my own special way. My cold heart hadn't melted for anyone else.

My aggravation with the world unfortunately was sometimes released on my father. It was best if I took medication before calling him.

"It's been a long time," Bella reminded me. "I'm sure he's worried about you."

I nodded. "Which is why he was so quick to ship me off."

"Edward, let it go. He was protecting you and it was for your own good."

"He's weak," I accused. "He has no backbone."

"He saved your life."

"Maybe, but I wouldn't have run away if I had my choice."

"And you would have been dead. You have the stubborn nature of a jackass." She smiled dryly. "I find it cute, but others don't."

"You put up with me because you have to."

"True." Bella hopped off of my desk and headed out of the door. "Call him! And ask how Charlie's doing."

I sighed heavily before reaching into my desk for one of the hundreds of cheap, plastic, pre-paid cell phones. I ripped the package open and put in the battery, waiting for it to power up. I dialed the very familiar number and waited for it to ring.

"Hello," someone answered quickly.

"Hi, Dad."

HOLY EDWARD'S RETURN BATMAN

So, we've arrived at the beginning of this tale and once again, expect it to be a beast. Hope I dont disappoint. Things will move quickly and questions will be answered.

A lot of you will want to know what happened between TWBB and this story, but just let it go. Bella was mad, there's no doubt about it, but she's here to stay. I wont dive too much into it. She will definitely have some things to say later, but there won't be flashbacks or outtakes. I dont think they're necessary. This story is about moving forward. We will get more into that when things start to pick up. This is just chapter 1.

Also, to clear some things up, This story takes place 2 years after the epilogue of TWBB. So Bella's been out of jail for 2 years, Edward's been gone for 4. Sorry if that was more blood, gore, graphic scenes, more sex, more drama, more, more, more...

I think that's all for today.I have to stop before I get ahead of myself.

Thanks for the massive support for this story already. over 500 reviews for just the prologue. Keep it up. Thanks for all the people who put me on alert and fav's. its a major confidence boost to your's truly. Also, a massive shoutout to the beta JENNYB0719. She makes all my chapters really pretty and spends a lot of time with them because I have horrible grammar, spelling, etc. Everyone should thank her.

Follow me on twitter for updates and my nonsense (at)johnnyboy1029

I will update again on March 18th. Until then, ADIOS!