Hoping
Edward POV
I felt strong hands try pull me off my prey, the prey that's scent had called to me so strongly, the prey whose life I felt easing away. The hands finally managed to throw me off and as I turned back to my prey to drink the last drops of the sweet sweet blood that called to me the hands became arms that formed an iron cage around me.
"Edward get a hold of yourself that is Bella, Edward, Bella!! Remember Bella? Your soon to be wife, your true love? Edward get a grip!!" I heard the owner of the iron cage speak through gritted teeth.
I didn't comprehend his words as I continued to struggle. That was until I saw the prey, whose heart I could hear growing weaker, until I saw it's brown hair sprawled beneath it and until I saw it's face. The face was pale no more than pale it could have been considered a shade of white. The face that, although the strange color and the eyes closed, I recognized. I had spent how many nights just memorizing that face and running my fingers through that silky brown hair. It was Bella, my Bella. I had already stopped struggling. I fell down on my knees to the forest floor, the iron cage having disappeared as soon as I had stopped.
"BELLA, BELLA NO!!" I heard a soprano voice call out in terror as I felt a gust of wind.
"I'm sorry Alice I'm not sure if I got Edward off of her on time." I heard the voice of the arms and hands owner cry out.
Seconds later two more voices joined and a minute later two more appeared. There was shouting voices and shouting thoughts, but I couldn't understand any of them. Bella, she was on the ground why, why wasn't she moving, why was she so pale?
"What happened to her?" I asked in a barely audible voice, even for vampires.
Everyone glanced in my direction then turned their attention back to Bella their eyes filled from sympathy to anger. Except for Alice. Her eyes weren't filled with anger they were filled with absolute fury as she responded to my question.
"You're what happened to her!! How could you Edward!?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"You bit her you sorry bastard!! You bit her and drank from her!! This is all your fault!!" She screeched at me.
I understood those words. I started remembering my hunt from drinking from the bear to catching a new scent to drinking from the owner of that scent. Bella, I'm the reason she's like this. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault.
Alice POV
I saw it happen before it did. I tried to stop it, but I wasn't able to. I tried to call him, but he didn't pick up. Maybe if I had called Emmett a few seconds earlier he could have stopped Edward in time. Edward. The very name made my already incredibly fast feet move even faster with rage as I raced through the trees. At my pace it would be only anther second before I reached the spot. I darted around a small oak the same small oak Edward had darted around earlier to attack Bella. What I saw on the other side didn't surprise me, but it was still traumatic. Edward on his knees looking dazed, Emmett with the most scared look I'd ever seen on his face before as he crouched over Bella, and then there was Bella herself. Bella on the ground, her face chalk white, the only color the red blood that dripped from a wound in her neck.
"BELLA, BELLA NO!!" I cried, rushing by Edward and making a beeline for Bella.
I hoped that we could still save my best friend. Normally I would know, but my visions kept flickering back in forth between her as one of us and of her dead. Her after-life was hanging by a thread and the smallest decision we made could put it one way or another.
"I'm sorry Alice, I'm not sure if I got Edward off her in time." I heard Emmett cry, with distress clear in every syllable.
We needed Carlisle and NOW. I fumbled with my cell as I tried to reach him. At the first ring Jasper and Rose appeared still not sure what was going on. At the second ring Carlisle picked up.
Rose POV
Jasper and I ran blindly after Alice through the forest. We didn't know what was going on yet, but we knew it was urgent from the painful cry Alice let out before running off. We were heading in the direction that Edward and Emmett had gone hunting. Did that mean something happened to Emmett? I couldn't think of anything out here that could hurt my big, strong Emmett. When we lost sight of Alice we followed her scent. By now we could smell traces of human blood. I had smelled it before, but I couldn't place where. It was Jasper who figured it out.
"Bella." His face went paler than usual as he said this.
As soon as he said it I knew he was right. How could I not connect the scent immediately from her dreaded birthday party? But what was the scent of her blood doing here? She was supposed to be off hiking with her human friends. I had plenty of guesses by now about what had happened, but nothing prepared me for what I saw around an oak tree.
Alice POV
Everyone had arrived by now. I stayed in my spot next to Bella as everyone else stood back to let Carlisle examine her. I had been staring at her face since I found her, but her expression only now registered to me. Her face was peaceful. I let out an irritated laugh. When I saw the shocked expressions of my family members I quickly explained.
"Look at her expression. Does it look like the face of someone scared for her life? No it's peaceful!"
"Well maybe she didn't know what was going on it went by so fast?" Rose suggested.
"No. He took his time enjoying her. There was no way she wouldn't know what was happening to her and who was doing it." Emmett replied with rage, understanding.
"So why does she have that face? Why isn't she showing any pain or anger towards him?" Rose asked utterly bewildered.
"In a way you just answered your own question Rose. Bella could never be mad at him over something that had to do with only her. She loves him so much I bet she found peace in the fact that it was him." I replied feeling sick to my stomach.
"What happened to her?" An unexpected voice asked. It was Edward's. The question was very quiet, but we all heard it. I didn't even have to look at everyone's faces or have a vision to know what they would look like. Esme, Jasper, and Carlisle would be sympathetic while the rest us had disgust and fury written on our faces. That question took my rage over the edge as I exploded.
"You're what happened to her!! How could you Edward!?"
"W-What do you mean?"
"You bit her you sorry bastard!! You bit her and drank from her!! This is all your fault!!" I screeched at him.
He seemed to finally understand and I turned back to Bella whose future was still unclear.
"We need to get her back to our house as soon as possible. She will wake up soon and start screaming so we can't take her to a hospital. Our only hope is if we use the blood packets and the IV at our home. The ones we always have ready incase something like this ever happened. Alice how long still she starts screaming?" Carlisle asked me.
I looked. It would be another six minutes and twenty-four seconds before the venom would make itself know. The outcome became fuzzy only a few minutes after that.
"Six minutes and twenty-two seconds. We have to move now her uh, fate becomes unknown three minutes and thirty-eight seconds after that."
He nodded understanding and started telling everyone their jobs after that.
"We need someone to go ahead of us and prepare everything. Rose I want you to do that. You know how it should be set up from when we had to use them for Emmett. Jasper I want you to finish hunting and find her friends who are probably looking for her by now. Tell them that Bella ran into us, and that we will take her home later. Alice do exactly as I say and help me get Bella in the backseat while Emmett drives." Carlisle ordered.
Rose had already left with a quick nod after Carlisle had told her what she needed to do. Jasper nodded and went to finish the unfinished grizzlies near bye, while Emmett grabbed the keys from Carlisle and went to start the car that Rose hadn't taken.
"What about Edward?" Esme asked.
"You my dear are in charge of Edward." Carlisle sighed.
I growled when he said Edward's name, my anger not yet spent.
"Yes. He needs someone right now. Considering the situation I don't think that'll be Bella at the moment." Esme said, ignoring my growl and looking sadly at her son.
"Carlisle we're running out of time!! We need to leave!!" I realized. Following Carlisle's instructions we got Bella into the back seat leaving Esme and Edward behind as we drove off. We were almost to our house now. That's when the screaming started.