Everyone wonders what it's like to die, was this it? I felt myself trying to open my eyes, nothing but darkness. I started to panic, how stupid I had been to provoke Victoria. What was happening to me? Where was Victoria now? My mind raced with possibilities. What if Victoria decided to go after Edward now that she was done with me? He wouldn't be expecting it, but surely Alice would see it coming. Alice hadn't seen Victoria following me in the woods or else Edward would never have left me there. Maybe Victoria… My thoughts were interrupted by a loud thudding noise; the more I panicked the louder and faster the noise became. It was my heart, it was beating so fast the sound was deafening. I was still alive.

Slowly, my last few moments of consciousness came back to me. I remember being thrown by Victoria and hitting my head on something. My heartbeat sped up again as I remembered the last thing I had seen before blacking out. Victoria wasn't alone. Just at that moment I heard movement beside me. My heart raced.

"Bella, it's going to be alright. You're safe now" his voice was soft and gentle but not who I was hoping for. It was Carlisle, as grateful as I was to have him there I couldn't help but wish it was Edward instead.

"I told Edward she was safer with him, than without. Why does he have to be so stubborn?" Alice was here too, her voice sounding harsh which I would never have thought possible for Alice.

"It's his decision Alice, he thinks he doing what's best for Bella." Carlisle remaining as neutral as ever.

"He's not going to hurt her; I wish he would trust my vision" Alice sounded disappointed.

"Now you get Bella back home and into her bed before Chief Swan finds out what's going on. Her state is only temporary and should ware off in an hour or so, her head should be fine, she only needed a few stitches. We're all meeting back at home" Carlisle made very little sound as he went on his way.

Listening to them talk about Edward made by heart sore, I allowed myself to sink back into the misery I had felt before Victoria decided to try and kill me.

Alice must have been carrying me home by now, I still couldn't feel anything. I trusted Carlisle's judgement fully so I knew feeling would return to my body soon. The time until that happened was going to be very long, with only my thoughts to keep me company. From what I could gather from Alice and Carlisle's conversation, the plan was to leave me in my bed so Charlie would just think I'm sleeping, knowing I would be fine when I came around.

"That's you home safe Bella, you take care when you wake up" Alice whispered giving me a kiss on the forehead, all too much like a farewell. If it wasn't for the sound of her lips against my skin I would never have known. I wanted her to stay; I wanted her to be there when I woke up. I had so many questions I needed answered and I desperately wanted to know that Edward was safe. I waited in the silence, hoping to hear some kind of movement but she was gone. I suddenly felt very much alone.

Charlie came in to check on me a couple of times as he usually did. He didn't seem to notice anything unusual which was a relief, the last thing I needed was to come up with another story. I was starting to feel frustrated, the minutes passed by like hours and I was starting to give myself a headache. My thoughts drifted back to Edward, his perfect features, his face was so clear in my mind it could easily have been a photograph. I imagined his voice, soft, gentle…

"This is all my fault, I'm so sorry Bella." His voice was tainted with sadness.

My heart sped. I would never allow Edward to blame himself, Imaginary or real, in my dreams of Edward he was never sad.

"I should have gone after Victoria as soon as James was out of the picture, I could have prevented this, I should have seem it coming" He hissed, his voice full of anger.

My heart felt like it was going to burst through my chest. Edward was here, standing right beside me, blaming himself and there was nothing I could do.

"If I'd only had the strength to stay away from you, none of this would have happened. I'm going to make sure nothing like this can ever happen again." His tone was serious.

Sadly I was already familiar with that tone, I had heard it the last time I saw him, and I knew what it meant. He was leaving me again. When I lost Edward earlier today I thought I would never feel worse than that. I was wrong, this was worse. Having him right here and not being able to tell him he's wrong to leave again. Ever since I found out about Edwards ability to read people's minds, this was the only time I'd wished he could read me like he could everyone else.

Silence filled the air but if I listened really hard I could hear Edward pacing back and forth. My heart missed a beat when the pacing stopped leaving no way for me to know if he was still here. The silence was deafening.

"Goodbye Bella." His words broke through the silence. "This is your chance to have a normal life; I'm doing this for you even if you don't see it now. I wish I could give you everything, be everything that you need me to be but I can never be that. This is the one thing I can give you…I just have to be strong…I need to leave, for you."

My mind was racing with thoughts, all of them screaming at him not to leave. I had to try and snap out of whatever state I was in. I concentrated as hard as I could, but nothing, I still couldn't move. The more frustrated I got the angrier I became. I concentrated so hard on the words I was thinking in a hope they would reach my lips. 'Please don't leave'. I said them over and over again until my head felt like it was going to explode but I didn't care.

'Please don't leave' 'Please don't leave' 'Please don't leave'.

"Bella?" Edward asked sounding confused.

My head was so filled with my own voice I couldn't be sure if I had managed sound. I almost didn't hear him I was concentrating so hard. Had he heard me?