"Was it something I did?" That was my first, and maybe my only question. Depending on the answer that I received. Carlisle pondered my words for the longest time, brows furrowing together in confusion. The room was silent – or, as silent as it could become; I could still hear every breath, every shift in weight, and every wave of wind that softly brushed against the house.

Carlisle finally spoke, his tone portraying his confusion. "I'm afraid I don't understand your question, Bella. Will you please specify?"

I sighed, my gaze becoming level with his own. "Why did you leave?"

My words were frail and painful, and every person, vampire, could hear the heartbreaking tone in my voice. I could feel Jasper's heavy influence on my emotions, but he couldn't get through my shield. I doubted that it would have helped, anyway. I stared at Carlisle, the man that I had grown to love as a father, and he stared back. His expression looked just as pained.

"...It was Edward's decisio-" I cut him off, anger flaring up momentarily.

"I know." I stated firmly, my lips pressed into a firm line. "But why did you leave?"

Carlisle seemed to be weighing his words before he said them, carefully choosing which would be safe to say. "Edward wanted us to. We respected his decision."

"I had nothing. I still have nothing." I whispered, my tone taking on the sadness it had before. "I loved you. All of you. When you left, there was nothing left for me."

There was a long, immeasurable silence the hung between all of us. It was suffocating, but I couldn't bring myself to speak. They all must have had the same problem.

I lowered my head a fraction of an inch and let out a breath of air. I didn't breath after that, because I was feeling as inhuman as possible. Pain, agony, despair; every uncomfortable feeling you could think of rushed through me. I was lucky that Jasper could not feel me at the moment, because he would have most likely doubled over with the sheer power of it. How could I feel these feelings, and still be alive? How could even a creature like myself, so powerful and flawless, not be struck down with the force of these emotions? For that, I had no answer.

"You weren't lying, were you?" I asked, my head tilting slightly in Jasper's direction.

"No," he replied.

I leaned back further into the couch, knowing full well that everyone else, except Emmett, was confused; if Jasper and Emmett had told them, then their reactions wouldn't have been as dramatic as they were.

"Bella. I truly am sorry," Carlisle said. I looked up to see his golden eyes burning with his apology. I couldn't help but twitch my lips up into a halfhearted smile. I could never stay made at him; at them.

"I know," I murmured. "And I forgive you."

Carlisle smiled in return. "You never could hold a grudge, Bella." My head dipped in silent agreement, and I once again cast my eyes onto the piano.

"Where is he?" I asked, my voice cracking at the end of my question. I cleared my throat. The answer was immediate, coming from Alice's mouth.

"He went hunting. He hadn't gone for weeks, and Esme convinced him to go. I offered to tag along with him, but he refused." Her eyes seemed to dim after that sentence, but she instantly perked back up. "He will be home in exactly twenty-four minutes and forty-seven seconds." I nodded, clasping my hands together.

"...Then I will wait," I whispered, knowing fully well that every single person in this room could hear me. And then everyone was silent; most likely debating whether to leave the room or stay.

The calm before the storm.

I spent most the time speaking with the family. They still had their questions, and I was more than willing to supply answers. We spoke of places that I had traveled to over the last seven years; Spain, Peru, Africa, France, and Italy. Mainly about Italy. They were all still awestruck about my being part of the guard; a high ranked position, no doubt. And, of course, Emmett couldn't help himself when joking about my current condition.

"Bella, our Bella? A kick ass Volturi? Are you sure we are talking about the same person, here?" I couldn't help but smile, and I couldn't help the thrill that shot through me when I heard him say 'our Bella'.

Carlisle and I spoke about Aro and Markus. We both tended to stay away from Caius, because we both agreed that he was very unlikable. We swapped stories about our times in Volterra, and we even poked fun at the Volturi leader. Aro would not have been pleased.

Emmett asked me about cars. I was more than happy to explain to him that the Volturi had a wide variety of top-notch automobiles. I made sure he knew that I didn't have a car of my own, but I have driven every one of them.

Alice and Esme wanted to know everything. What I had done, what I had seen, who I had met, and even what brand of clothing I would usually wear. I told them what they wanted to know, but left out quick a few chunks of information. I didn't need to tell them everyone I met; most of them I had helped in killing.

While we chatted, Rosalie and Jasper sat in silence; just listening. Jasper had a soft smile on his face while he listened to his wife and I. Rosalie merely sat on the couch next to Emmett.

It wasn't till later – twenty-four minutes and forty-seven seconds, to be precise – that the calm, comforting chatter finally stopped. We could hear him approaching the house at top speed, leaving us all in a suspenseful silence. Esme gave my hand a reassuring squeeze while my eyes were fixated on the door.

Half a second later, the door whipped open; it almost flew off the hinges with the force.

Edward stood, in all of his glory, staring at me.

I expected comfort and relief when seeing him. I had always imagined it; millions of times. I would cry out in happiness, throw myself out to him, and sob tearlessly into his chest. He would hold me, shushing and whispering words of affection into my ear. But none of that happened. No, it was terribly worse. The wave of pain that erupted within me was so deep, so penetrating, that I didn't even have the strength to hold up my shield. My shield, which required so little concentration to keep up, was destroyed within seconds.

Jasper cringed, and his arms slowly, painfully, wrapped around his torso. It was an action that I had done myself thousands of times; trying to hold myself together while my world fell apart. It was quick slip up. Only momentary before I quickly brought my walls back up again. But that small moment was all it took, all that was needed, for my emotions to be read fully. Alice was already helping Jasper to sit up straighter, whispering softly into his ear. He would speak back, and even though I'm sure everyone could hear him, I could not. I mean, I could hear his voice. The soft drone of words spilling from his mouth, but I could not understand them; English, at the moment, was a foreign language to me. Everything was foreign. All except him.

His smell, his eyes, his face... everything about him felt right. Even though it pained me beyond belief to look at him, it was still right; because he was my other half. He was my heart and my soul.

It had only been two seconds since Edward had appeared. He finally moved my way, as if finally remembering how to walk again. It took him five seconds before he was standing in front of me, but it seemed like an eternity. With every step he took, the pain within me flared hotter within my chest, burning me from the inside out. It was worse than the vampire transformation; so very much worse. He dropped to his knees, arms hung at his sides, and he stared. His eyes weer glassy, and I knew that if he were human, he would be crying.

He looked worn and tired. His skin was flushed because of his recent hunt, and his eyes were the deep, beautiful gold that I remembered, but they were empty. They looked identical to how my eyes looked every time I saw myself in a mirror. The dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced, and his clothes were wrinkled and unkempt; but he was still beautiful. So beautiful. My memory could do him no justice.

His hands rose, slowly, shakily, and then he pressed his warm – yes, warm – hands on my cheeks. And then there was nothing else. There were no Cullens, there was not house, there was no forks... there wasn't even a world. There was only him and I, and all the pain that had gathered within myself, allt he depression and despair that I had been feeling for the last seven years... vanished.

His eyes widened, looking even more surprised than before; was he thinking that his hands would go through me, like I was some sort of apparition? Perhaps.. His hands secured themselves firmly on the sides of my face, palms cupping my cheeks; he was gentle, as if afraid that I would shatter or crumple between his grip. Honey colored eyes darted back and forth between my own as the silence ticked on, and then two words were uttered from his full, beautiful lips. Two words that caused me to break down.

"A miracle," he had muttered, so soft and weak, that I had a hard time hearing them clearly But his words held so much power toward me, that they caused me to suck in a sharp breath. His scent, so concentrated and heavenly, filled into my lungs. I choked on my own air, and I only vaguely thought about how that was possible. But those choked breaths turned into strangled sobs, and my shoulders sagged.

And then I was in heaven. He had pulled me forward into a bone crushing embrace, hand moving from my cheeks and arms wrapping tightly around my form. His head dipped onto my shoulder.

"Bella!" he cried, his fingers knotting into my hair. "Oh, Bella..." His own sobs were approaching. I didn't notice when the rest of the family had disappeared, but when I had opened my eyes, so thoroughly wrapped within my true love, they were gone.

"Edward," I replied. I had denied myself for saying his name for seven years, and now the word tasted intolerably sweet on my tongue. I said his name again, unable to help myself. And then again...

"A miracle," he repeated. "...a miracle."