Chapter Two-Heartbreak

I was headed to pick up Bella, with Alice. Minutes earlier Alice had had a vision that Bella was going to sneak to La Push. Instantly I was furious. I had specifically asked Bella not to go there. I explained the danger of young werewolves and though we'd argued a bit she eventually...

Bella didn't actually agree not to go see Jacob! I realized with horror. I had simply taken her silence as agreement.

I heard Alice gasp and didn't have to look at her to know she was having another vision. I watched her eyes focus again and waited. Terror and pain etched across her pixie features. My still heart felt as if it were going to burst.

"Alice, what is it?"

"Bella..." Alice trailed off as her vision lost focus again. This time only for a second before she screamed. A shrill ear-splitting scream.

My foot slammed on the gas and I watched as the speedometer pushed past 120mph. I gritted my teeth and growled my warning at Alice.

"Alice. What. Happened."

"Bella's going to be in a car accident. Edward it's bad."

I put all my focus on pushing down the gas pedal. I WOULD make it to Bella in time. Nothing was going to happen to her.

"How long Alice?"

Alice searched and quickly had an answer. "A few minutes Edward. I'm sorry."

A long line of curses I wouldn't normally utter in front of a woman poured from my mouth. Terror clawed at my heart. I knew I wouldn't make it in time to save Bella. And I battled the guilt that threatened to crush me. We rounded a corner and I heard the horrible screech of tires. Metal crunched against metal, the sound like nails on a chalkboard. I could hear the deafening thud as Bella truck rolled down the embankment. This was one time I was sorry I had such extraordinary hearing. I tried to tune out the sounds of Bella accident as I pushed the gas even harder.

"Hurry Edward!! We're almost there!!" Alice voice was as brittle as glass, and a quick glance at her face told me she wasn't faring any better than I was.

We arrived at the scene of the accident seconds after it happened. I could smell the burnt rubber, the black skid marks on the ground mocking us as we ran to the edge. I noticed half of the guardrail had been torn from the ground. There were deep trenches in the soil where Bella's truck had tried to gain traction. My stomach twisted at the sight and if I could have vomited I would have.

Bella's truck lay on it's roof, the passenger's side resting against a tree. I could see shattered glass everywhere. Blood had been splattered on the ground too.

I broke into a run to get to Bella. But as soon as my eyes focused on her body, I froze. I felt a whir of air as Alice passed me. But just as quickly she was frozen too. There was a huge gash on the side of her head. Blood spilling all over. And at one point that blood would have called to me. All it meant now was that the reason for my existence was dying. If that happened I would cease to excist myself. I ran the last few yards to her. And I dropped to my knees as the sight before me. I could hear Alice standing close behind me whimpering Bella's name over and over.

I tried to stay calm as I took stock of her injuries. Besides the gash I could see that her legs were pinned under the steering column. She was so pale, more so than had human I had ever seen.

Is she breathing? Edward! Is she breathing? Alice begged silently in my mind. I closed my mind as much as possible so I could focus on Bella.

Slowly I reached for her arm, feeling for a pulse. It was there, barely. I noticed the arm I held in my hand was broken.

Bella, my Bella, so beaten and broken. Will she ever forgive me for not getting to her sooner? Do I even deserve to be forgiven? My tortured thoughts were interrupted by Alice. She was shoving a phone into my free hand.

Call the paramedics Edward. We can't move her like this. And Carlisle wouldn't be able to get to her in time.

I kept one hand on Bella's pulse while I dialed 911 and gave the location to the operator. It seemed an eternity before I could hear the sirens racing towards us. Finally I watched the paramedics slowly making their way down the incline. I wished I could mentally hurry them along. I vowed that if Bella died because they didn't get to her in time, I would kill them.

It was physically painful to watch them carefully extract Bella from the truck. I was pushed back by a paramedic and told to stay. I wanted so badly to be by her side. They put a brace around her neck and strapped her to a board. A brace was placed on her left leg, as well as on her left arm. I let out the breath I didn't realize I was holding when they finally loaded her into the ambulance.

"Edward?" A weak voice called me. It was Bella.

Since the paramedics had their back to me I ran to her, not caring about the speed. When I was at her side I gently took her cold hand in mine. Her eyes were barely open, I didn't think she could even see me. Bruises were starting to form all over her face.

"I'm here, love. Rest now, you'll be fine."

"Edward," Her voice strained to be loud enough to be heard,"Edward, I love you."

"And I love you. Sleep now, love." And with that she was put in the ambulance and racing away from me. Alice dropped to ground beside me. Loud, dry sobs racked her tiny body. But I barely heard them, the pain and anguish were crushing me.

I clawed at the place where my still, aching heart lay. Trying to rip it out, something to distract me from the other pain I was feeling. My whole world was on the verge of collapsing.