All characters belong to S. Meyer. I own nothing; except this plot.

Pre Read by Bree Masen Cullen

Beta'd by LoveMeSumEdward :)

All mistakes are mine.

p.s. I've been told to give a tissue warning, so... WARNING: be prepared for tears.

Chapter Nine

Was just a week ago,
you said "I love you, girl."
I said, "I love you more."
Then a breath, a pause.
You say, "If You Say So."

If You Say So - Lea Michele

-x-

BPOV

"So, I have something to tell you."

My pen pauses on paper and I glance up at Rose. The corners of her mouth are curved into a smirk and her eyes are shining with mischief.

"What do you have to tell me?" I ask, quirking my brow.

The look in her eyes transforms from mirth to caution. "Promise you won't bitch slap me?"

I roll my eyes and shake my head in amusement. "Rose, I'm pretty sure you could take me."

"Not with the hormones you've been sporting lately, you psycho." she snickers.

Sighing, I drop my pen and lean back on my left hand, my right resting on top of my bulging stomach. "Just tell me."

"I took a photo of you while you were getting ready for graduation." She blurts out in one breath before smiling softly.

"So?" I ask, confused. "What's the big deal?"

She rummages around in her purse for a few minutes, before pulling out a wallet-sized photograph, holding it out to me. "I sent it to Edward." She says, hesitantly.

Leaning forward, I take the image out of her hands and gasp. "Rose..."

"I know, I'm an idiot. You were having a moment and I invaded - what are you doing?!" She exclaims, rushing to my side to help me as I begin to stand.

I wrap my arms around her neck. "It's beautiful." I whisper, holding onto her tightly. "I'm glad you took it."

We break our embrace when there's a knock at the door.

"Are you expecting anyone?" Rose asks, curiously.

"No?" I respond, confused. "Ali isn't coming over until Wednesday."

We walk to the front door - well, I waddle like a penguin. When Rose opens the door, she gasps, her eyes widening with shock. I walk around her to see what all the drama is about. My steps falter, my hand flying to my mouth at the sight of the two Marines standing on my front porch.

"No," I whisper, gripping the doorframe as my knees go weak.

I feel Rosalie's arm around my waist, holding me up.

"Mrs. Masen, if we could -"

"No," I choke, frantically shaking my head back and forth, slowly backing away from the nightmare coming to life at my front door. I spin on my heel, turning my back on them. Tears cascade down my face as I rush to the bathroom and spill the contents on my stomach into the toilet. "No, no, no," I chant, crying harder as my emotions overwhelm me.

I feel her touch before I hear her voice. "It's not what you think," she whispers, rubbing soothing circles on my back. "They won't tell me anything yet, except he's not..."

I flush the toilet and put the lid down before turning around to face her. "He's not?"

Sighing, she pulls me into her arms, stroking my hair. "He's not gone, sweet girl."

My body sags against hers in relief. "Then why?"

"Come on," she says, taking my hands in hers and helping me stand. "They'll explain."

I rest my left hand on my stomach as Rosalie wraps her arm around me. My eyes are filled with fear; my body shaking with anxiety as we stand in front of the Marine Soldiers in my living room.

"Hi, Mrs. Masen, I'm Major Tyler Crowley," I shake his hand and nod my head in greeting. "This is Colonel Demitri Andreotti."

"Nice to meet you ma'am." He greets me kindly; I give him the same greeting before placing my hands in my lap, cradling my stomach.

"Ma'am, during a raid, Corporal Masen and Sergeant Swan had a bomb dropped 10 metres in front of them. Swan had a blow to the head and-"

Rosalie's hold on my hand tightens at the mention of Emmett. "Is Em... Is Emmett okay?" She asks shakily.

"For the most part, yes." Major Crowley smiles sympathetically. "Seagant Swan also had a piece of debris wedged deep into his left leg and had to go under an amputation procedure."

"Oh my god." Rose chokes, lowering herself on the couch and rests her forehead against my shoulder when I sit beside her.

"We won't go into the graphic details, but his leg was unfortunately unsalvagable." Colonel Andreotti continues.

I rest my palm against Rosalie's head, stroking her hair softly. My other hand holds onto hers tightly as I take a shaky breath. "What about Edward?" I ask anxiously.

"Corporal Masen went to his aid, dragging Sergeant Swan and himself to better cover, in the process of doing this, a slew of bullets were shot into Corporal Masen," Major Crowley pauses, smiling sympathetically. "Fortunately, our soldiers gained on the enemy and they surrendered. Your husband was taken to the medical station and went under immediate surgery to remove the bullets and go through blood transfusions to replace the blood he lost. He's in a stable condition, but he is unfortunately unresponsive at this time. The medical team in Afghanistan are doing everything they can to help him."

I cover my face in my hands; my body shakes with sobs as my heartbeat rings in my ears. I swallow the lump in my throat, thoughts of Edwards minor chance of surviving hit like a tornado and the mountains that were my faith and safety, crumble around me in a landslide.

-x-

I constantly check my phone and wait for him to call. I refresh my inbox, looking for an email he's sent and check the letterbox endlessly, hoping to find a letter from him.

It's been seven days since the last time I heard his voice.

I haven't been able to stop replaying the last conversation I had with him. I can't get the last words that he said out of my head.

"Edward?" I answered after the phone rang twice, my voice laced with hope.

"Hi, baby," He breathed into the phone. "Congratulations."

"Hi, thank you." I replied, smiling softly. "I miss you." I whispered sadly.

"I miss you too." He murmured. "How are you?"

Sighing, I leaned against the kitchen island. "I'm okay."

"Why only okay?" He asked, concerned.

"I wish you were there with me." I mumbled.

"Me too, sweet girl." He responded wistfully.

"You would have graduated pre-med."

"I know."

"Are you okay?" I asked, concerned.

"Better now that I'm talking to you." He chuckled.

"Such a sweet talker, baby." I laughed, the corners of my mouth twitching into a half smile. "I can feel you smirking from here."

"I wish you could feel my hands on you." He retorted seductively.

I giggled and bit my bottom lip, blushing furiously.

"Wrap it up, private." Someone on his end snapped.

"Yes sir," said Edward instantly. "I gotta go, sugar-pie."

"Already?" I asked, disappointed.

"I'll call you again soon." He assured.

"You better." I warned, playfully.

He said, "I love you, girl."

I said, "I love you more."

Then a breath, a pause, he said, "If you say so."

And then he hung up.

-x-

No matter what I do, I can't get away from the pain.

He haunts my every thought; every night I lay awake, feeling like I'm drowning in the bottom of the ocean. My heartbeat hasn't calmed and I can't speak; every time I try, words walk away from me.

The fear I feel is like a weight on my chest, crushing me. It's like I'm in a room filled with smoke and I'm choking.

I have no breath; I have no air in my lungs.

He is my oxygen.

I'm sorry if I made you cry! If it makes you feel any better, I cried while writing!

This chapter was hard to write. Especially with the song If You Say So by Lea Michele on repeat!

Thanks for reading!

- Nat x