The Last Shadow of Doubt
Alice's POV:
"Edward?" I whispered, moving slowly and gently into the cottage. He didn't move.
"Edward..." I repeated, more force in my voice. I saw his mouth twitch, stiffening into a hard line. I needed him to cooperate. I had a plan...or rather me and Bella had a plan. A plan to make the only vision I had in my mind at the moment come true.
It had become easier to 'see' her future as she unlocked more and more of her mind, as she returned slowly to normal. And after she remembered Jacob, it was like being pulled out of the dark and the headache went away...or almost. To describe it better, it was like teetering on top of a cliff, where one move could either send me into the light, free from the headaches and mixed messages, or tumbling back into the dark leaving a broken Bella behind again. I was determined to set Bella free from her mental cage. It would work. If only Edward would cooperate.
I stared at him, waiting for him to move, and slowly he opened his eyes. He sat on the edge of the bed.
"Why are you making me do this?" he croaked, his voice breaking. I saw the pain in his eyes. He had given up. He too was becoming just a shell.
"Because Edward. I think its best, and you need to learn to love the Bella we have at the moment," I said, leaving out one important piece of information.
Edward, already seeing inside my head of what I wanted to do, stood from the bed and whispered "Ok, I'll get dressed."
I nodded and left immediately. I could see in my head he would oblige, but I couldn't see what the outcome was, which was frustrating and made me nervous. I ran back to the house, where Bella already sat on the couch, dressed amazingly, thanks to myself, looking nervous.
"When he gets to the meadow, I'll tell you so you can set off," I said, sitting beside her. I placed my hand on her leg comfortingly.
We waited in silence.
"Right, he's there," I whispered. Bella nodded and stood at once heading to the door.
Bella's POV:
I was nervous, but excited. Like Alice had told me, if it didn't work, nothing would get worse than it already was, but I had to try. I was nervous for another reason as well. Technically it was my first date with Edward, the first I could remember, and I had butterflies, even if he did seem to hate me.
I walked slowly at first, picking my way through the undergrowth. I was worried and was still in two minds about running back into the house and hide in a corner.
"No!" I muttered sternly to myself. It would not be fair to me and to Edward. I wanted to make this work. I needed to try if I wanted to bring myself total happiness. I stopped walking and fell silent. I listened to the animals in the forest and calmed myself. Taking an unnecessary breath, I set off again, walking quicker until I was running flat out.
I saw the light break through the trees in front of me, and heard the trickling of the river nearby. I slowed my pace and tiptoed to the edge of the forest. I could see him sat in the middle of their field, staring up at the sky as the sun shone weakly on his face. He looked peaceful and I only hoped he was in a good mood.
Walking up behind him, he turned his head in my direction and smiled.
"You look...perfect," he whispered. I smiled back and came to stand beside him.
It was silent for a few minutes before he murmured, "Sit with me."
I dropped to my knees and looked at his perfect face. He had a soft smile on his face, though I could still see the pain behind it.
He took my hand lightly.
"I'm not going to yell or push you away Bella," he whispered when I eyed his hand cautiously. "I'm going to put yours and Alice's idea to the test, for your sake,"
I nodded, not being able to bring myself to speak.
Again, it was quiet for a few minutes. Both of us in deep thought. Twice, I saw Edward turn his head towards me, something deep within fighting to break out, but twice he restrained himself. I only hoped he would break.
The silence became too much to bear so I decided to talk.
"I thought this would help," I whispered, playing with Edwards fingers as he still held my hand. He nodded, his eyes burning into me.
"I wanted to see if you could maybe accept me for what I was, if you could learn to love me again?" Edward fought back against the secret urge.
I started to feel myself get emotional. "I'm sorry that I'm not the Bella you remember, and I do really try to make you happy. I know somewhere deep inside me that I have always and still love y-"
"Don't...don't say it," Edward muttered.
"No, I will. You know it's true and you can't bear the thought. Edward...I love y-!"
I never finished my sentence as Edward had broken. I realised what he was fighting earlier as in his desperate attempt to test Alice's theory he had given up and kissed me. It was no ordinary kiss from what I could recall.
He pushed himself against me, his tongue brushing against my lips. His hands slid up my thigh up to my waist where they gripped me tightly, as I fell backwards into the grass.
My own hands traced down the planes of Edwards chest through his shirt and then over his back. Edward pulled back to breath softly over me. At first, I thought the dizziness was from being completely dazzled by this angel, but then suddenly I was paralyzed on the spot as the biggest piece of my mental jigsaw clicked into place.
And that's how my life clicked back into place...in that meadow, with my angel, like it did all those years ago.
Thank you for following my story and I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did writing it.
I shall be starting a new one shortly so keep an eye out.
Thank you for all the reviews, they encouraged me to keep on writing!
