Bella is a vampire in this one. Just a little more 'spring cleaning'.

S W E E T D E A T H

...what a monster you are...

-LovelyCheshireGrin-

Love—is anterior to Life—
Posterior—to Death—
Initial of Creation, and
The Exponent of Earth—

Emiliy Dickinson

I'm sorry.

It flowed through her mind, winding in and out, torturing her. Edward could only watch the tiny girl, staring at the seat before her with such a will that the measly piece of plastic crumbled beneath her gaze.

"What is it, Edward?" Bella breathed, anxiously drawing her fingers across his chin, surveying him with worried eyes. She looked to Alice, but the pixie was just as confused, darting looks between Edward and the girl.

Suddenly, Edward's hand tightened around Bella's waist and he looked down, his face crumpling in something akin to… pain?

"Edward?" Bella's voice was frantic now, and she turned his face up to meet her questioning gaze.

God, I'm sorry. Just come back, come back to me.

He shook his head, eyes focusing back on the girl, "I think I'm becoming a little jealous," Bella joked, sharing a smile with Alice. Edward flashed his gaze to her immediately.

"She wouldn't warrant my affections even if I were interested. Her heart belongs to another," he sighed, kissing Bella's temple, "but he can't return the feelings."

Bella bit her lip, "So she's got a crush," she shrugged, "what's really bugging you?"

Sourly, Edward muttered, "He's dead, Bella."

"Oh," she whispered, looking back at the girl. Truly, she looked empty, lost in her own memories, in her own world. Her face was drawn, and she certainly hadn't eaten in days. Never had she seen a human looking so deathly pale. How would she feel, she asked herself, if Edward…

"My god."

Seatbelts... Oh God, Sam, it's all my fault. Forgive me, forgive me.

"She was driving the car," Edward muttered, pity running through him like wild horses on a rampage, "and his side was crushed. She blames herself." The girl reached out suddenly, her hands shaking as she touched the edge of the table across from her, and tears sprang up in her eyes. He used to sit there, Edward thought, and now he never will again.

Beside him, Rosalie began to rise, but Emmett pulled her back down, "What would you say?" he hissed, "Oh, hey, my kid brother read your mind, and god, I'm just so sorry for your loss."

"I'm sure the whole school knows, apart from us," Rosalie murmured in reply, "Edward?"

"Yes, they know. Some of them do blame her as well, some of them are choosing to just ignore it. 'She'll get over it'," he growled quietly in his throat, "how can she? She loved—loves him. I recognize her pain."

"Sam," the girl was crying now, and people were starting to notice as she whispered her lover's name. All over, her body trembled, and her lip was beginning to bleed almost imperceptibly as she fastened it between her teeth. One hand reached back to grasp at the space where her heart would have been, if it hadn't sunken into hell with the rest of her.

Bella's own heart clenched, and her eyebrows came together. Death, they'd been seeing it for years, cycling around them in a never ending spiral of tragedy. What made it so different now? Perhaps it hit too close to home, made them all think of what it would be like to lose the other. What would Rosalie, the eternal bride do without her perfect groom? Alice, without her southern gentleman? And me, Bella moaned silently, what would I do without Edward?

Improbable for them, the whirlwind that was death, and yet, not impossible. They could die, their bodies could be annihilated, and they could be left, one without the other. Alone for eternity, alone to love forever while their adoration went unseen.

"I'm sorry," the girl whispered, aloud this time, clutching the fabric over her chest in a vice grip, "I'm sorry it wasn't me."

Bella imagined herself, human and mourning for love that she'd lost.

She wouldn't have been as strong, had it been Edward who was crushed. She wouldn't have been as strong were it her who had been driving. She wouldn't have been as strong if she was forced to live without him.

Not my best work, I'll admit, but I'm cleaning up my Documents folder still. This is rather old, the only thing I added being the part about 'Alice's southern gentleman.' Review, yeah?