Authors Note: Really pay attention to the significance of this chapter. There are a lot of very important variables going on that will be later applied as it progresses. Thank you to everyone that has stuck it out with us this far, you're the best! And to make up for the lack of updating, here's a long, lovely chapter to (hopefully) make up for it. :)

Thank you for reading.

Bella POV

I kept staring at that dark, vacant corner hoping for Jacob to change his mind, to say that he wasn't pissed at me, and that he understood that the friendship between Edward and me was totally innocent. I picked and prodded at alternative reasons why Jacob could've left. Like maybe he had somewhere to be at a certain time or had a pressing issue at home, but I kept retreating to that distraught look in his eyes, the same he when he had told the story about his mom.

Overwhelmed, heartbroken, completely shattered…and I was the one to cause it for a second time.

I hurt him…bad.

My eyes darted to Edward when he asked if I was ready to go and I bitterly turned for the car to make it out like it was now a chore. I could hear the soft trot of his footsteps trailing behind me and the very lack of sympathy from his end set my stomach into a nauseous quiver, so I particularly quickened my pace enough to give him a visual on just how angry I really was.

I reached for the passenger door, but Edward hastily barred my path, frenetically sliding between me and my destination and observing me with a curious smile.

I rolled my eyes and stepped away from the car. "I thought you wanted to leave."

"What are you thinking?" He asked, leaning back against the vehicle while draping his elbows across the hood.

I gazed heavily at him implicating the question, 'do you really have to ask?' and reached for the door again, this time getting far enough to crack it open before he slammed it shut.

He stretched his smile from ear to ear, which set my nerves on fire. "Seriously."

"I'm seriously thinking you should move out of the way because I'm going to freeze to death unless I get into the car." I altercated, nudging him away from the door.

His smile drooped to a disappointed frown as he straightened up from the vehicle and stepped away from the door, opening it for me to get in. Either that was the gleam of remorse I was looking for or he was just frustrated I wasn't giving into his stupid mind games, but I'll take either one. The cold leather seats sent chills over my body as I tightened the jacket around my chest, blasting the heat on high and impatiently waiting for the cramped area to swell up with heat while he shifted into reverse, slowly backing out of the driveway.

I maintained my private, impervious goal of ignoring him by watching the houses whoosh past us one after the other and felt relieved when I gathered that my head was no longer fuzzy and rampant. Never touching that shit again… I nodded to myself in a silent promise.

"Can I smoke in here?" I asked, shaking my cigarettes in the air.

He grimaced reluctantly, but eventually reached down and pushed the car lighter into the dash. Nice to know the terrorist was still being humane through his interrogation.

"If you tell me what you're thinking first." he smirked, holding the lighter hostage.

I knew it couldn't be that easy.

"I'm thinking of how upset Jake was when you decided to show at my house without giving me a heads up," I answered honestly. "And if I don't get nicotine to my brain very soon I might have a complete emotional meltdown."

"Well, I'm sorry I acted that way. It was for my own selfish, impetuous amusement and I apologize." He lamented while handing over the lighter.

The second I inhaled my cigarette a rush of relief filled my chest, and finally I was feeling human again. I melted back into my seat and closed my eyes through a deep release of toxic smoke, subconsciously relieving all of the pent up tension and emotion and finally reclaiming the world around me. I peaked over into Edward's direction and noticed him admiring my relief.

"Want one?" I asked, tempting him with my lethal salvation.

He stared at me for a few moments with a gratified look on his face.

"No, I have other ways of alleviating my stress that are a lot less deadly." he laughed.

I'll just assume that was meant to be an inside joke.

I changed the subject. "Back to the cliff we go then?"

He approved with a firm nod almost as if it weren't even up for discussion. I suppose I could do the beach thing again. After all, I've been there every night for nearly two weeks straight, so what's one more going to hurt, right?

I sure as hell hope you can feel the sarcasm used on that one…

We pulled off onto the same, familiar road and started through the same path of trees we've ventured through since day one. Personally I found it a little grim to be hanging out at the very place I tried to end my life. Even though I don't really remember what made me decide against it as the whole night is now a blurry memory—many thanks to the alcohol—I do remember somehow changing my mind when I slipped. So in a way, I'm kind of glad that happened.

At first I thought Edward was impressed how good I was at climbing from the way he'd throw in a compliment or two behind me and joke for me to wait for him, but lately he'd been effortlessly beating me to the clearing by several feet. After that I felt pretty stupid for even bragging how I used to climb trees when I was little.

I started to lose my balance just as the trail got steeper and Edward turned around and with a smile, grabbing my arm with his ice cold hands as he lifted me up the rugged hillside. Call it excessive pride but I had a feeling he'd just make another cocky remark if I thanked him.

"Your hands are freezing." I complained, instead.

"Maybe your hands are just really hot." He playfully retorted.

I rolled my eyes and continued ahead of him to the spot we normally resided at and sat down; him sitting next to me moments after. He always waited for me to sit before he sat himself, which I figured was just another part of his chivalrous nature.

Edward tapped my shoulder and I turned around with a less than welcoming expression.

"You're still mad." He concluded rather than asking, hugging his knees to his chest.

I shot him a look in a way that told him 'Gee, you think?' which only made him smile even more, which only made me even more furious.

"You can be mad at me all you want, but the night's going to be very dull without anyone to make any use of it." He tempted with a laugh.

I wasn't amused, nor persuaded.

"All this drama." He trailed off with a sigh. "Why can't people realize there is so much more to life than finding reasons to be hostile toward each other?"

I winced. "Excuse me but I feel I'm in the right to be a little angry at the fact that you made one of my best friends feel even worse tonight than he already was."

Edward POV

I empathized with a smile and turned my attention to the beautiful horizon before us. It didn't feel necessary to add more fire to the flame. I really didn't have much else to say to be honest. Plus I'd no idea what to say or how to say it—positive reinforcement was never my thing. People live…and then they die. The insatiable spiral of death, and the only thing you're ever guaranteed in this world, aside from my kind.

Of course I could never tell her that, which proves my point even more: why waste your time ending friendships and causing strain when you're tomorrow is so uncertain? If that's one law of logic I could press on the human race, I definitely would; primarily when it came to Bella.

I wanted her to show her everything. To guide her in the right direction and assure her that there is so much she has yet to learn. But alas, I must continue on like I'm just another face in the crowd, the last that stands while the rest disappear and replace with their more youthful ascendants.

There was a different fondness I held for her though. She was rational…brash…and clung to sentimentalities. Under normal circumstances that would be considered a bad thing, but unlike most humans, she didn't need constant validation, but rather security; maybe a shoulder from time to time. Someone to promise her that meaning still exists in her life and nothing was ever done by coincidence… and so did I.

Maybe that's why we got along so well and what more than likely explains why I've been more patient with her than I have with any other human being. My life evolves around patience, but only when it came to me. I'm not stupid, I'm narcissistic and am clearly aware of that. I accept that. What I can't accept, however, is the lack of reason for why I can't hear her thoughts.

Maybe I'll see what Carlisle says when I get home. He'll be more than thrilled with a new challenge, especially a unique one as this.

For now I'll just have to wait it out and deal with this bullshit hand I've been given; this bullshit hand being incredibly ridiculous human drama that I'll never care to comprehend. I suppose there is a bright side to it all though. I've been eager for some substance in my life, so I guess I got what I asked for.

Okay, you need to turn this around and fast, I silently preached. You'll really need to charm your way out of this one.

I palmed my face to mentally swipe the aggravation away and drew the rest out with a calming sigh. "How long are you going to stay mad at me for?"

She shot back a look of utter disgust, suppressing the words she really wanted to say with a soft nibble of her bottom lip. After that I became completely lost in translation seeing how I'd normally pick apart persons thoughts to configure their next move, but considering the circumstances, I'll just go ahead and say that my plan was failing.

I anxiously sleeked back my hair and scanned my surroundings to search for a topic of interest. I needed to put in a little more effort. The topic I chose fell extremely deep into the slums of meaningless small talk, which I hated, but I truly had nothing better.

"So how do you like Forks as opposed to Phoenix?"

The growing silence in the air confirmed the stupidity of that statement and I looked back at her desperately searching for answers that her mind wouldn't reveal, but she was just as impenetrable and starless in contrast to the ones boasting through the velvet night above us.

"What's on your mind?" I asked, changing the context of the same question I'd been asking time after time.

She muffled my persistent inquisitions with a flip of hair over her shoulders as she leaned back on her palms. By this time I was getting frustrated and was sincerely considering just taking her home. At first I was putting up with it for the sole cause of wishful thinking which leads me to believe she would stop pouting in the car at some point, but now I'm getting flat out aggravated.

Here she sits with the same annoying grudge…and here I am just as clueless as to how to make it go away.

Well, no sense in crying over spilled milk. I straightened up on my feet and brushed the clinging grass from my jeans. She briefly looked up at me curiously, but eventually turned her attention back to the ocean.

"I had something a little more exciting mapped out for tonight, but looks like I'll be enjoying it by myself." I shrugged, thoughtlessly picking away at the remnant blades of grass and motioning toward a foreign patch of thick brush on the opposite side of which we entered, "But you're more than welcome to join me if you'd like."

"I'm good." She said coldly.

"Suit yourself." I said in a coaxing manner, slowly walking away.

Bella POV

'What are you thinking?' He asks.

'What are your thoughts?' He pries.

I knew what he was doing; he was rubbing it in my face now by saying things to me with such a strong, smug overtone that even the fucking dolphins could sense the lack of remorse. I peeked through the corner of my eye cautiously enough to keep from attracting his attention as he disappeared into the darkness seconds later.

At first I was thinking he was only teasing when he insinuated that he was really going to just leave me there, but after a drawn out time frame, I began counting the seconds in my head.

'1…2…3…4…5…6…7…8…9…10…'

This turned into…

'56…57…58…59…one minute.'

This turned into two minutes…then three…then four…until I eventually lost count when I realized that he actually was going to just leave me there and that's when I began to get a little scared. Not because I was afraid of being alone in the dark, because I'm not. I've become very used to the feeling of being alone and the darkness is only there for bittersweet confirmation. I just had no idea where I was…or how I was going to get home if he was planning on abandoning me.

After several minutes of thorough contemplation, I eventually built up the nerve to get up and follow him. It wasn't until I reached the covert that I realized that I had no idea were he was going, but was conveniently able to see Edwards' faint trail barely enough to track it to the end.

The pasture was much similar to the one we frequented, except it was much smaller and the foliage wasn't nearly as appealing. Edward was standing at the edge of the bluff, which took me back to when we first met. The only difference was that he didn't look distraught. In fact he was the complete opposite; calm, completely content with his hands lazily dangling from his pockets with his head tilted back to the sky.

I don't know why, but for some reason I had the feeling that he was hiding something. No, that's not it. If that was the case I wouldn't be hanging out with him so much. Distracted, maybe? Yeah, he was definitely distracted.

Our conversations always held some sort of cathartic experience. I'd ask how he was doing and he'd spill his life out to me like he'd been waiting for years for someone to come along and listen, and then he'd switch the topic back to me as soon as he began feeling a little uncomfortable.

It sort of dispersed in patterns, I guess. He'd listen closely for a little while, and then trail off like he was in deep thought. More often than not I'd ask what he was thinking, but he'd just stare at me and smile like he didn't even notice he was doing it.

Call it an oxymoron, but that's how our relationship worked. We were the kind of friends that could sit until the morning without revealing too much about our private lives. Secret friends that found common ground between secrets yet shared everything else. And I liked it that way.

"There you are." He coyly said with his eyes closed.

"Here I am." I sighed, walking up behind him. "So what did you want to show me?"

He pressed his finger against his pursed lips. "Shhh…listen."

I was taken back a little, but listened. I don't necessarily know what I was listening for, but I listened. And after a few moments, I still didn't know why, but I listened anyway, yet all I got on my end were crickets and creatures roaming about in the bushes. Either he was totally messed up on something or I needed to get my ears checked out.

"I don't hear anything." I confessed. "Am I supposed to hear something?"

He mumbled something under his breath that sounded like 'that's the point', and then drew in a deep breath and turned around, greeting me with a warm smile. I picked out a spot with the least grassy residue and sat down where he followed right after…as always.

"So I'm guessing you're not mad anymore." He joked.

"No, I suppose I'm not." I shrugged, suddenly realizing it myself. "So before we continue…what did you want to show me?"

"I'll get to that in a minute. Let's talk a little bit first."

I began the conversation with the very same question I asked every night. It was the easiest transition of kick starting our endless night of chit chat.

"Okay, let's start with you. How are things?"

He fell onto his back, forcing me to silently chuckle at the faint comparison to a patient relaxing before unleashing all of their deepest, darkest secrets to their therapist.

"Jumbled." He said, and then I asked why. "I think maybe I've just come to terms with the fact that my life is and always will be sedentary."

"It's only sedentary when you allow it to be." I replied, lying back in the same position as him.

"I suppose," he said, "but it's hard to look forward to a future when you don't see one for yourself."

I rolled my head over in his direction. "You don't see a future for yourself?"

He shook his head.

"That sounds a little ridiculous if you ask me." I chuckled.

"It's not ridiculous, it's honest!" he laughed. "Don't you ever have those moments where you feel incredibly insignificant and nothing ever seems to make sense? That's how I feel most of the time. Not all the time of course, right now I'm fine, but whenever something good happens to me, there's always that period of darkness where I'm drifting in the wayside of my own self loathing and the closer I think I'm getting shore, the further I'm pulled back." He folded his hands behind his head and sighed, "I just keep getting pulled deeper and deeper into this bottomless sea of contrition; never finding solitude."

"I think we all feel like that sometimes." I nodded. "So you're definitely not alone there."

"I can't say I agree with you, but I digress." He stated, pausing for a moment before continuing. "Can we turn the topic from me for a while? Tell me a little more about you."

I laughed. "What is there to know? I think we know enough about each other to easily decide on Christmas gifts this year."

He weakly smiled, appearing a little lost in thought.

"What's on your mind?" I asked.

Nothing wrong with shooting back with one of his own lethal weapons every once in a while, I smiled to myself.

"I'm thinking of asking what happened to your mom, but I feel like that'd still be inappropriate to bring up."

My body immediately stiffened, and then suddenly I was feeling relatively uncomfortable.

"Oh." I mouthed, shifting my body from side to side to satisfy the sudden discomfort that suddenly overwhelmed me.

Yeah, it was a pretty damn inappropriate thing to bring up, but I'm not going to get mad about it. Several months ago, yeah, I'd be pretty damn mad about it. I used to be angry. Very angry in fact, but I'm not anymore. But even so, I'm a very private person and Edward was still new in my life.

"We don't have to talk about it. I was just thinking out loud because you asked." He assured me.

"Thank you." I choked, anxiously pulling out another cigarette and quickly lighting it up.

He watched as I lit up my cigarette and palmed his face regretfully.

"I made you nervous." He moaned through his fingertips. "You only smoke around me when you're nervous."

I nodded in agreement. It took me a moment to recall the cigarettes I've smoked around Edward, considering how insignificant those times were, but one thing I did recall was how infrequently I smoked around him, so it was probably true.

"I'm sorry, I really need a muzzle, don't I?" he muttered.

I shook my head with a faint smile and told him he was fine, but I could tell he knew I was lying. Not so much that he needed a muzzle, not that I don't agree with it, but the fact that I was fine.

The image of my mom's face surged through my head and it made me a little queasy and flustered with the same anger I'd felt time after time. I've had this guilt weighing on my shoulders for almost a year, which feels even longer than it truly was. I've mistakenly blamed myself for her death, even though it wasn't my fault, but that's only half the reason.

I've been angry for so long…

"Tell me." Edward interrupted, rather intrigued more than anything.

"How often do you think about dying?" I half asked, distracted by the luminous cherry of my cigarette.

"Not at all, why?"

I rolled my eyes. "Don't be proud, everybody thinks about it."

"I really don't." he chucked, "Not in a negative sense, anyway."

I blinked. "Then when do you think about it?"

He thought for a moment to carefully choose his words. "Never mind, I take that back. I do think about it, but not because I fear it."

I asked him why, but as always, he rejected my pressing question and changed the subject.

"Are you ready?" he asked, standing to his feet. "For what I was supposed to show you I mean."

"Oh," I said, "Yes."

He extended his hand to help me up and I followed beside him to the edge of the bluff, tracking his gaze down to the watery bottom in wonder to where he was getting at. The ridges on the edge were very different than ours. They were steeper; less jagged. Had I known of this spot, I would've probably chosen this one instead.

I kept looking down at the waters beneath us, curiously looking for whatever it is he wanted me to see.

"What are we looking for?" I asked out loud.

He looked at me and smiled.

"Deliverance."

Edward POV

The look on her face when I said that was absolutely priceless. She was at a loss for words; stunned, indefinitely. I suppose the ghoulish tone I used made it sound all the more eerie, but it was all for theatrics. I am known to easily amuse myself, you know.

"Cliff diving…" I cleared up, "Ever been?"

She shook her head.

"No, I don't think they really consider jumping off the Grand Canyon as much of a recreational sport." She chuckled, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Some people might, but I don't think they expect much excitement when they splat against the ground."

"Actually when you're falling from that high of a drop you're more than likely going to bounce off back in the air at least once or twice." I corrected her, "There is an initial splat though, probably a few in fact."

She rolled her eyes. "Well I was right about the splat, okay?"

"Yes, the splat part is correct." I laughed. "Okay enough about all that death talk, are you up to it?"

"Suddenly it doesn't seem all that appealing anymore,"

"Nonsense. Here, take my hand."

I reached down and grabbed her clammy hand in mine; gently pulling her to me as we crept closer to the steep drop. There was no way she's going to back out of this because I'd been mapping out my pep talk all day.

"I don't think I want to do this," she stated, shivering up and down.

"I figured you were going to back out," I laughed.

She shoved her elbow in my side, which definitely hurt her more than me. "What do you mean 'backing out'? I never agreed to it in the first place!" she complained, "Don't you remember that life-saving speech of how I'd most likely bounce off the rocks a few times before I'd hit the water? That right there shoves cliff diving way down on my bucket list."

Damn. I was hoping she'd forget about that.

"I was just trying to talk you out of it!" I explained, "A lot of locals actually use this spot specifically. It's one of the safest ridges on the shoreline. Trust me."

"Oh—so you want me to trust you after you just admitted you were lying to me?" she joked.

I cupped her hand tighter as I felt her maneuver her back away from my hand.

"I'm sorry; I was just trying to help." I shrugged, sliding my palm down to the lower curve of her back. "You're okay. I'll be right next to you the entire time. Just close your eyes and wait for me to say jump."

"Okay."

She looked down at our fingers entwined with a faint smile gleaming at the corner of her mouth and that made me instinctively release the pressure of my hold; not fully letting go as that would probably offend her. I didn't want to give the wrong impression; I was simply offering her that comfort that she craved from me. You know, trying this new thing called 'compassion' that apparently lacked in my character.

"If it's any comfort to you, I've made the jump before and it's not that bad." I told her. "It's only scary for the three second fall, but once you hit the water, you'll be glad you did it."

She closed her eyes while sucking in a deep breath to calm her nerves.

She exhaled, "Let's do this."

"Okay, on the count of three." I warned her.

Her clench hardened. "Wait! Don't we need a running start or something?"

I nodded in agreement and we took a few steps back.

"You can close your eyes on the way down if you want to."

She shook her head vehemently.

"I won't be able to."

"Want me to hold your hand instead?"

She stared me in the eyes with a pleading nod as her heartbeat hitched in synch with her shallow, yet quick breathing pattern. I had to shake off the light-headed feeling in my head because of it. You'll feed later, I reprimanded to myself. Knock it the fuck off!

"Okay…one…"

Thump…thump…thump, thump…thump, thump, thump…

"…two…"

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump…

"…three!"

My head swirled and twirled with insatiable contemplation as we hurdled toward the edge of the cliff.

Feed on her quickly then let her sink. No one will ever know.

I shook off the persistent thoughts once again, leaping off the last few inches of grassy mound with the arch of my foot. I'm not too sure if she made as swift a launch, but she managed to launch out in front of me and whipped back just as fast, which had me contemplating whether or not I may have yanked her a little too hard. Her heart was pounding at an incredible rate.

It can be quick. She won't have to suffer. Just break her neck and be done with it.

Gratefully enough, her varying screams of fear and sheer excitement interrupted me as we hurdled down to the waters surface, hand in hand, while the teasing thirst of my dry tongue shattered my dilemma from the swelling wetness of the ocean.

Bella POV

The exhilarating temperature change sent an uproar of chills throughout my body, yet the heavy pressure of the water muted my screams. The push and pulling of waves flipped me beneath the oceans current every which way and it wasn't until the relief of a calming moment that I realized I no longer had Edward's hand for comfort.

He's already at the top, he's already at the top, I reassured myself, swimming my way toward the surface.

Yet it seemed that the more I found myself struggling for air, the more I feared for what Edward must've felt had my luck run out and he was actually sinking to the bottom, then I began flailed my arms in a frantic stroke, desperately stretching as far as I could until I finally pushed through the surface, filling my lungs with a much needed gasp of air. I had such a fear for his safety that I'd almost forgotten my own,

"Edward?"

I twirled around the water strenuously searching for any sign of him, still filled with adrenaline from the jump. A shark could attack me right now and I would bet my life I could probably take him on with my bare hands.

I dove back under the water to see if my worst fears had proven that he hadn't made it to the surface yet until the accelerating pressure had me decide it was probably a bad idea. I then rationalized that it wouldn't make sense to risk my life had chances been that Edward didn't make it, as selfish as it sounds, but the current was too strong for my small frame to handle and I didn't want to risk not finding my way back to the surface.

I retreated back to the top and thought best to head for shore, for I'd probably get a better view from there. I pulled myself up the jagged grey rock when a hand reached out for mine.

"Miss me?" He winked.

His wet, shaggy hair covered his eyes as he shook the water from his face. I exhaled deeply and gave him an expression of both relief and anger as he pulled me out of the water.

"Are you okay?" he asked, clearly baffled.

I pulled my hand away from his. "Yeah! I just didn't know if you were okay. I was looking all over the place and thought you probably fucking drowned or something."

He threw his head back in laughter. "Hush, you're beginning to sound like my mother."

"Well, you couldn't at least wait for me?" I said grabbing my chest to help soothe the excitement of my heartbeat. "You had me thinking the worst."

Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulder and squeezed as we made the walk back up the side of the cliff.

"Ready to go again?" He laughed.

I rolled my eyes over at him and shook my head.

"Okay," he sighed, stopping us just before the hill picked up. "But there's one more thing I want to show you before we go."

He straddled me by the shoulders in a particular position.

"What are you doing?" I chuckled.

He stood behind me and placed his hands over my eyes. "No peeking, just walk with me."

"Is this is the part where you lead me to some secret place, take advantage of me, and then leave me for dead?" I joked.

"What? No!" he laughed, "I would've done that by now if that were the case."

"Tell me where we're going then!"

"Damn it, can you leave one surprise unspoiled for me? It's hard to be charming and unique without you constantly ruining it all the time."

"Sorry," I giggled. "Lead the way, predator."

He mumbled something under his breath and nudged me to start walking. After a few moments of walking in silence, I had the urge to ask where we were going again, but decided against it when I thought of the consequences. I must say, I'm proud of myself though. I managed to hold out the entire way through. We eventually stopped, but he still held his palms snug against my eye sockets.

"Oh, we're here." I smiled.

"Okay, now before you open your eyes, I want to throw in here that I lied when I said that our cliff was my favorite place to be." I told her. "It's only second best. This is my secret coven when I feel like there's no beauty left in the world."

I nodded my head and moments later I fluttered my eyes open when he slowly lifted the veil of his fingertips. And what I saw…I couldn't be convinced that even God had the mind to create a place such as this. There were flowers in shapes and colors I didn't even know existed…and they were everywhere; cascading down from tree limbs, down in perfect patterns along swooping vines until they poured out in varying colors along the wide meadow of blue-green grass.

To me it looked like what Neverland might've been like.

My eyes were immediately drawn to a certain white flower that looked much like what I'd imagine a star would just as it burst across the sky. I kneeled next to it and delicately held the strange beauty to get a better glimpse at it.

"That's a Kadapul," he answered for me, walking over and kneeling down. "It's one of the rarest flowers in the world."

"She's beautiful…" I whispered, entranced by its unique structure.

A soft laugh muted through his nose. "The weirdest thing about these flowers is that they only blossom at midnight…but unfortunately die by dawn."

My heart saddened. This goes to show how people always pass up the most insignificant, yet gorgeous and most prominent things in life and don't even think twice to question it. I cradled the flower with both hands now, silently empathizing with it.

"Can we stay with her until morning?" I softly asked.

"Sure," he nodded, "But why?"

"I don't want it to feel like it lived its life alone. Call me crazy, but I figure we'll be out this late anyway…"

"Of course," he replied, planting a permanent seat just inches away from me.

I thankfully smiled in return, then turned back to the plant and released my touch. It's the least I could do for you.

Edward and I continued our conversation from where we left off from the top of the cliff. Every time I looked to the delicate flower to see if it's time had run out, Edward would tell me a little fact here and there about it before drawing back to ourselves.

I think I was hoping for a moment that maybe the plant would beat the odds and live to see a full day. But sure enough, rays of morning light splintered through the tree tops, and the beautiful flower had withered to nothing but a stem; it's fallen petals the only proof to show it was ever there. But even so, those too will wither, leaving it's existence covered up with time. And that's all.