I do not own twilight. Please R&R thanks :-) Sorry been awhile, been hectic atm.

CHAPTER 10: GRIEF

EDWARDS POINT OF VEIW

What kind of world is this? My mother...murdered like a dog by a mere mortal. How is that even possible?

We burnt the rest of the remains, Esme would not be able to piece herself back together from what that...monster did to her.

The thoughts swirled in my head. Carlisle hadn't said a word in nearly six hours; I don't think he ever will again. I was sat in the corner, looking at the rest of my family. We were in the same furnished room we occupied when we first arrived, Alice and Jasper were curled up in the corner and Emmett was holding Rose as she choked out dry sobs- they were the only sounds in the room.

We must have been in that room for nearly three days, just staring at each other, into space. Never talking...

The only time we saw someone from the outside, is when Alex came in to bring us some True Blood. A few days later, they stood exactly where he put them untouched.

It was like we were quarantined- ravaged by some sort of disease. That's what it felt like too. I felt sick to my very bones.

Esme was a good person, she was only defending this stupid house, and she never really hurt anyone. The sudden ache to touch someone, for anyone to say something to me was so overwhelming. I hung my head in my hands.

Time lost all meaning, but eventually the burn in my throat became unbearable- a Searing hot poker forced down my gullet. I'm not sure how long it took, but eventually Rosalie stopped crying.

Carlisle never looked at us once, never said anything, never even breathed. I truly believed that we would either die here, or just exist like statues in this room for eternity.

I lay back in the chair and closed my eyes. I could pretend I was dreaming, and that tomorrow I would open my eyes, to Esme calling for a morning hunt, I would drive to pick up Bella, then we would go to Forks high school and one day be married...

I didn't hear her come in, but I felt her sit next to me.

My eyes shot open.

'Hello Edward.' She said quietly. I didn't realise at the time, but that was the first time since we returned to Forks that she called me by my first name. Alice was watching us intently.

'Bella?' My voice was croaky and hoarse from lack of use.

She got gracefully to her feet to retrieve a true blood. She opened it and handed it to me.

'Drink, starving yourself helps no one.' She whispered to me. Carlisle must have smelt the blood, or heard her, because he turned around. Everybody else sat up straighter.

I did not even see him move, he launched himself upon Bella who went flying back and crashed through the wall.

'Carlisle!!' I screamed

'I trusted you!' He bellowed at Bella. 'Is this punishment for us leaving? Is that why you let her die?' His agonised screams reverberated in my head.

Bella stood slowly, her face was completely smooth.

'How can you say that?' she whispered.

'I saw you out there Isabella!' He screamed. 'Drinking those human's blood- you're nothing more than an animal!' He was still shouting.

'You're right... I've lost a lot of my humanity- Carlisle- but if I had known Esme was going to perish I would never had sent any of you in.' she was speaking quickly in earnest.

'Carlisle...I'm sorry...I'm so so sorry....' she let out a strangled sob, and tears of blood welled at the corners of her eyes. 'Ab...Abgorian is dead.' She sobbed.

'What?' Carlisle said he looked at her.

Bella sucked in a ragged breath, all eyes on her. She looked positively evil, with the blood trails from her eyes dripping onto her shirt.

'Just before the battle ended, he was...staked, by a human, and then set alight...fire is my kind's killer. There was a ceremony for all the dead, a few days ago.'

No one said anything.

We all stared at her.

'Don't stay here anymore; I'm so sorry for all your losses.' She spread her arms wide to indicate she meant us as well. 'Go back to the Denali's, it's my fault your even here. For that I am truly sorry.'

Still everyone was silent.

'He was my husband' she whispered. And she turned to leave.

'Do you want us to feel sorry for you Miss Swan?!' Carlisle said, anger laced his voice.

It was Bella's turn to shout 'No Carlisle! I will NEVER minimise your sufferings! I am merely showing you that I too have lost. I have been fighting the same war for over a hundred years! That may not be a patch on how long you have been on this earth Carlisle but it's long enough!' she was breathing heavily. They glared at each other.

'I...just want her back...' Carlisle whispered.

He fell to his knees slowly, dry gasping and sobbing. Bella moved forward tentatively and put a hand on his shoulder. I was so sure he was going to push it away, but he gripped it like a life support raft.

'I know. I know.'

A few hours later, when everyone was cleaned up and the hole that Carlisle had made in the wall was repaired, the whole family and Bella sat in a warm room nursing a True Blood.

'I don't think that's a good idea Carlisle.' Bella was saying.

'I am not implicating the whole family, I will make them leave, but I will stay.'

This was met with loud refusals. I for one am definitely not leaving.

'FINE!' He shouted over the din.

'I think it would be safer if you all left...' Bella was saying.

'No Bella, I want to stay...I want to find the man that did this.' Carlisle said quietly.

'Ah Carlisle... The man that specifically committed the crime is in the prison below the house, to do with what you will...but the man that orchestrated this attack is still at large, and it would be...pertinent if he were destroyed soon.'

'Then we will stay and help you.' I said to Bella. She looked at me squarely in the eyes. I wonder if she still thought of me.

'It is your decision. Carlisle would you like to meet this man?'

He nodded.

'He was found amongst the wounded; we interrogated each one, and found most of them to be just pawns.'

'How many were there to interrogate?' Jasper asked.

'Just over 200' Bella said.

'How long were we in that room?' asked Emmett incredulously.

'Nearly three weeks' she sighed.

'Bloody hell...' Emmett said unsmilingly.

'Indeed. Shall we Carlisle?' Bella said.

'Yes, let's go.' Carlisle sounded like a man on a mission.