Disclaimer- Twilight and everything in it belongs to Stephanie Meyer. I suppose I'll get over it one day.
Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend
Somewhere along in the bitterness
And I would have stayed up with you all night
Had I known how to save a life
-How To Save A Life, The Fray
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I didn't bother filling Alice in on our conversation, as I knew she would have heard it all anyway. I understood vampire hearing much better now that I was actually one of them. For the rest of the plane ride, she alternated between staring at me and thinking deeply. I could sense that she didn't want to bring up another painful topic, for my sake. After a while, though, she asked a question.
"So you're… one of us now."
I nodded, wondering where she was going with this. She already knew the basics of how I became this way.
"Do you…" Alice hesitated. "I can't see you. Aro must have seen something pretty special to keep you, rather than kill you. What is your power, Bella?"
I snorted. "Which one?"
Alice's eyes widened as she grasped my meaning. "You have more than one?"
"No, but my talent allows me to do multiple things. It's very broad." I wondered how to explain it. "When I woke up, I assume my eyes were red, like any other newborns'. Then I began poking out with my power, exploring. It's similar to a… bubble. It's a shield, but it's also a blanket, or a radio tower. I can sense and identify the people it touches. I can see their minds, play around with them if I want to. I don't, strictly on a moral basis. I can also make my shield physical, like an invisible wall." I paused to take a breath. "While I was exploring with my talent, I experienced extreme difficulty. I realized part of my mind was subconsciously holding on to my shield, presumably as a self-defense mechanism. I severed that connection. At that point, my shield exploded. I was my shield. My range is a few hundred miles, square, and it gets bigger the more I practice with it. When I returned to my body, the Volturi were circled around me, and my eyes were white. They turn a dark gold after I feed, and resume to white after a week or so without eating."
Alice was staring at me, slack jawed. Something seemed to be bothering her. "What do you mean when you say you assume your eyes were red? Didn't the Volturi tell you?"
I looked at her with sad eyes. "I woke up alone, Alice."
Her eyes were angry. "Those idiots. We are idiots. Oh, why didn't we just change you like you wanted? You would've woken up surrounded by us, by Carlisle and Esme and Emmett and Rose and Jasper and me and—"
I interrupted her, not wanting to hear the last name. "That might've been preferable," I joked, offering her a weak smile.
Eyes blazing with determination, Alice looked at me. "Well, we're not going to let him mess it up this time. We won't leave you again."
Nodding, I silently promised myself that I would leave at the first opportunity. I refused to be Edward's pathetic ex, bugging him for all eternity.
…
When we arrived at the airport, Alice stole (or rather, borrowed, as she put it) a Porsche 911 Turbo. I would normally have objected, but I could tell that speed would be important. Alice had seen that Edward was planning to step out into the sun at exactly noon. I was, for the first time in my existence, glad for the dark cloak that wrapped around me. It wouldn't do for the Volturi to have to destroy me, at least not yet. I might ask them to once Edward left again. Just the thought made me wrap my arms around myself, my old method for holding myself together. Yes, I wouldn't want to live much longer. I had considered suicide often over the last ten years, but something had always held me back. Now I knew. I had to be alive for this moment, had to save Edward. I could leave after this, but inconspicuously. Edward couldn't start feeling guilty and try to kill himself again. Honestly, I was shocked that he'd even considered it this time. I would have to make sure he knew that whatever happens to me wasn't his responsibility.
When we arrived at the city walls, Alice and I both groaned. No cars were being let into Volterra. It was Saint Marcus' day. How could I have forgotten? But we both agreed it was probably better that I went on foot. If Alice got anywhere close to Edward, he would probably just act more quickly, to prevent her from interfering.
Alice looked into my eyes. "Run." she said. I obeyed.
I knew the streets of Volterra by heart. I took the quickest routes, breezing past humans so quickly that all they would have been able to see was a black blur, if that, and only for a millionth of a second. As I ran, inspiration struck. I removed my mental shield, leaving me completely exposed to Edward's talent. I probably wasn't close enough yet, but I would be soon.
Edward, I thought. Stop. Don't move. This is Bella. I'm alive. I'm not dead. Stop…
My thoughts on constant repeat, I raced through the streets so quickly that even a vampire would find me a little blurry. I eventually reached the Clock Tower, and groaned at the large crowd. I slowed down to human speed, but shoved my way through with roughly forty or fifty pounds of force. There were many angry shouts in Italian, but I didn't bother to address them. Because now I could see Edward, standing shirt off, palms up, eyes closed, under the clock.
My fuzzy human memories were pathetic, a joke, a child's crayon drawing of a person. I had never seen Edward before now. He was incredible, breathtaking. I wondered how I had survived ten minutes, let alone ten years, without seeing his face. I had thought seeing him would shatter me permanently, based off my reaction to anything that reminded me of him. But I was finally whole, like I hadn't been in ten years. I realized how stupid I had been. I had been trying to live without him. But he was the reason I was alive. (A/N- Next part is mostly Stephanie's words.) And the last ten years meant nothing. And his words in the forest, so long ago, meant nothing. And it did not matter if he did not want me. I would never want anything but him.
His eyes flashed open. They seemed to be filled with shock, or disbelief. I didn't have enough time to register which, because then I crashed into him. He stumbled back a few steps, which seemed to shock him even more. He looked into my eyes, stunned. Then he spoke with the voice I had been deprived of for far too many years.
"Bella?"
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And… yep, I think I'm going to make you wait for the next update before you find out what happens next. Who doesn't love a cliff hanger? Although, I feel like I'm doing too many of these recently.
-Anna
