"Everything's set in place; do you know what you have to do Bella?" Carlisle asked as he returned home with Emmett and Alice. I remembered the conversation he, Edward and I had about what needed to be done. They'd come across the accident, and then break the news to Charlie. I'd have to stay at the Cullen's and not let anyone see me. After the funeral and everything had died down then we would be leaving. It sounded easy enough, but I felt bad that because of me the Cullen's would have to leave so I pulled Edward to one side to ask him something
"Edward you know how I feel about your family having to leave because of me, so I was wondering why don't you and I just leave together, go off on our own, just for a little while?" I watched Edward as my words sank in. His eyes were wild, and a cheerful smile played across his lips
"Oh, Bella you always seem to surprise me, I'm always underestimating you. If I thought for a second that you would want to spend the time with me alone then of course I would have suggested it to you myself. But I thought you'd prefer to be with the whole family as you must still have a lot of questions and I don't fully believe that you aren't still a little afraid of me, and I don't blame you."
"Edward, please. How many times am I going to have to tell you that I'm not afraid of you? I never have been and I never will. I just didn't think that you'd want to spend the time with me alone, that's all. But if we can save your family from relocating and disrupting their lives even more than we already have then we should do it."
Edward's hand reached up and touched my face, his thumb traced along my cheek bone. His touch was warm and I melted. Even though I hadn't known Edward very long the bond between us had been instantaneous, if anything it was just growing stronger every single day. The time away from his family, together, was just what we needed. We would have to go somewhere where we could be ourselves and not have to hide. Somewhere I could learn how to hunt and experience everything there was to know about being a vampire. And to do all that with Edward would be wonderful. Our lips touched and I felt the need he had for me, the want in his eyes. I was exactly where I was supposed to be, here in Edward's arms.
"I won't be gone long." Edward said as he and Carlisle got into his Mercedes, it hadn't fully sunk in yet, the fact that they were going off to tell Charlie that they had found my body and that I was dead. I knew this was going to hurt Charlie so much but I knew I needed to do this, to keep him safe. I tried not to think too much about it. Alice was there at my side to help me through it, and to stop me running over to Charlie's and just telling him everything. How were the Volturi going to find out that he knew about the existence of vampires, why would they even come to Forks? Edward said they never left the safety of Volterra. Surely we could just let Charlie know so that he could be in my life.
"Bella I know what you're thinking and I am sorry. I wish it could be that way but we can't tell him, it's too dangerous. You wouldn't want anything bad to happen to him would you; it's for his own safety." He moved quickly out of the car and was at my side in a tenth of a second, reassuring me with a kiss.
"Don't worry, I am here for you. Once this is over you and I will go somewhere. Together. Bella I swear to you that I will do whatever it takes to make you happy again." And with those words Edward was back in the car and Carlisle was reversing it out of the garage, I watched as they left to destroy my father's life.
"He what?" I couldn't quite fathom what was being told to me, why would he want that? Did he not believe Carlisle and Edward?
"Bella, its' perfectly understandable Charlie needs closure, he needs to see you before he can truly let go." Carlisle's words hung in the air.
But why, surely he would want to remember me alive and happy, not stone cold and lifeless. I always wondered why people would choose to have an open casket at funerals; I never understood it and I certainly didn't now. And anyway there was no way I could do it; I couldn't just lie there while I heard the sobs of my parents as they leaned over my dead body. What if my thirst took hold of me and I ended up doing something terrible. I know that up until now I have been able to control my thirst, push it to the back of my brain and think around it, but could I do that when I was put under that sort of pressure.
"I can't do it, I won't. Can't you change his mind? Talk him out of it, please Carlisle!" My voice was strained, not only did I have to listen to Carlisle describe the events that had just taken place between him, Edward and Charlie but now I had to endure the fact that I might have to attend my own funeral. It was too much. I never asked for this, I didn't know about any of this before three days ago and if I did I don't know whether I would have chosen to do this willingly. This just wasn't normal, but I wasn't normal anymore in the human sense anyway.
All I knew was that we needed to talk Charlie out of wanting to see my body because there was no way I would be able to go through with it. I was questioning everything, should we have told Charlie I was dead, maybe I should have just tried to go back to the way things were, try to blend in again. But I had changed not just mentally but physically, there was no way Charlie wouldn't have noticed the difference. Then he would start asking questions and what would I of said to him, the truth, I didn't think so. My mind was swirling with every little bit of information Carlisle had given me. I had to find a way to change Charlie's mind, and fast.
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