Chapter Fourteen
He'd done it. Taken out the witch who slaughtered Mike, and probably thousands more. He was a hero. And what did he get in return for his efforts? Reprimanded. Threatened. Attacked. And, the most humiliating of all, confined to his quarters, like a rookie in need of punishment. A prisoner in his own home.
Slamming his fist into the wall, splitting the skin on his knuckles, Benjamin hissed a curse. He'd done what the great, amazing, Edward couldn't. Destroyed a monster. A monster who Emmett, Jasper, and the traitor, intend to let live.
Why should she be shown mercy, when she'd never shown any herself? Simply because Edward's current squeeze might be upset?
What about him? What about Mike's true brothers? The one's who searched day and night for something, anything, that could lead them to the witch. To discover Edward knew her location for over a month… How did he sleep at night?
Pacing back and forth his prison, Benjamin's temper forbade him to calm. To sit on a comfy bed, waiting for Emmett to grant him his freedom.
He thought back to the night Tanya knocked on his bedroom door. At first, he resented her waking into his private space in the middle of the night. As if she thought it her right to traipse around his room, touching his things. Then she shared with him every sordid detail. He didn't believe her at first, branded her a liar. After all, she'd been doing Campbell a while back, obviously she was still bitter over the way he tossed her away like garbage. Clearly, she wanted to get back at him.
Benjamin's doubt didn't last long. Offering to show him proof, she entered his mind. Couldn't witches just stay inside their own skull for once? He wondered as she surged past any mental defences he owned.
Despite his reservations, his resentment didn't last long after seeing the truth with his own eyes.
Tanya encouraged him to follow Edward to Bella Steven's home town. Get her alone and force her to tell him where her sister hid.
Benjamin followed her instructions happily. While not exactly going to plan, he finally exacted his revenge. And it felt magnificent. He fought the witch, lulled her into thinking victory neared. That's when he struck.
Nothing felt as exhilarating, comforting, as plunging his blade deep within her cruel, cold heart. Now, with her death, Mike's soul might find peace. His murder finally avenged.
He'd always love Mike, always remember the time they shared, but witnessing her fall the ground, he found closure. He could move forward with his life now.
Just as soon as Emmett allowed him to leave his room, Benjamin fumed.
"Nice place you've got here. Or it would be without the fist sized hole in the wall," a feminine voice drawled from behind him.
Benjamin spun, fist raised and ready to strike. Ready for an attack. His gaze locking on the beautiful woman standing in the centre of his room. Her golden eyes glowing, she smiled at him.
This can't be real, he silently denied, recognizing her as the woman he killed days before.
It dawned on him. The witch might be dead, but her sister remained very much alive. Somehow, she must have entered the mansion. His bedroom.
"Hello Benjamin. It's nice to see you again."
#
Panting, his body slick with sweat, Edward tossed and turned beneath thin sheets.
Mumbling, his right arm shot out. Reaching for the woman inside a tornado. A woman he lost. He called for her in his dream. She stood, as still as stone, big eyes haunted as she refused him.
Face ashen, wet with tears, her trembling form covered in her sister's blood. She stood, frozen, eyes locked on him as Edward fought his way to her. Despite screaming wind, he heard her softly spoken words clearly.
"You lied to me," she accused quietly. Her hair danced in the wind.
"I can explain. I didn't have a choice," he swore to her. "I did lie to you. But not when it came to us." Edward desperately tried to explain, continuing his battle against the elements. Like on a treadmill, he walked, he ran, but he never got anywhere.
Bella stood in the eye of the storm. "Every word you say is a lie. You betrayed me."
"No." Edward shook his head in fierce denial. "I went to Jasper. I went to Emmett. I asked them to think of another way to stop your sister. I asked him to imprison her."
"It doesn't matter," she whispered, sounding hopeless. "She's dead. It's all your fault. You killed her."
"No," he said adamantly. "I tried to stop it from happening. I tried to think of a way to save her. For you."
His words angered her. Eyes narrowing, she gritted out, "You lied. You stood there, holding me back while he ran her through."
"To protect you. You couldn't save her, and I feared Benjamin might turn on you. I couldn't risk losing you."
"It doesn't matter. She's dead. Because of what you did." She glared at him. "I hate you," she hissed.
He stopped dead in his tracks. Her words a punch to the gut. "No." Edward refused to believe it.
Bella didn't hate him. She loved him.
"I hate you," she repeated cruelly.
"That's not true."
She's the only person he'd ever loved. The only one he needed. This couldn't be happening. "I did everything in my power to change her fate. I promise you, I did."
"Lies!" she snapped. "More lies."
"I did," he insisted. "I went to Emmett. I turned a blind eye to things I knew were shady. I knew, in my heart, my gut. I knew she'd wormed her way into your life, your house, but I did it for you. I did it so we'd be together."
"No," she refused. The storm around them dying abruptly. The wind soft, calm. Leaving the two of them to face one another.
Expression stark, she spoke. "You killed my sister. There are some things you can never come back from," she said, echoing Jaspers word's from before.
"Bella," he began. "Baby, if you'll just listen to me. If you give me a chance to explain, we can fix this. It doesn't need to end this way." It couldn't end this way.
"No, I don't want to fix it. I don't want you."
Her words, word's he feared more than anything, destroyed him. Striking his heart with the force of a wayward wrecking ball. He feared this moment. Praying for it to never come true.
Some prayers just weren't meant to be answered.
"You don't mean that," Edward said, his voice trembling.
"I do," she replied firmly. "You used me. You hurt me. I hate you for it."
"Bella," he pleaded, but she took a step away from him. Backing away until no longer in sight. Lost to him. His eyes scanned the barren world around him. She walked away, leaving him alone. "Bella?"
"Bella!"
Edward shot up in his bed, layers of cold sweat glistening his skin, his sheet's damp. Dragging a hand down his face, he decided it didn't take a genius to decipher his dream.
Groaning, Edward swung his legs to the floor, resting his elbows on solid thighs, he hung his head. He lost her. After doing everything possible to prevent it, he lost her in the end.
Lost her due to his secrets, his deceit. Because he didn't lift a finger to stop Benjamin that night.
He wanted to claim everything happened so quickly, but feared speaking such words, to even think them, would only be another lie. In his heart, he wanted the witch dead as much as his brother. Jessica, the witch's name, pounded the shit out of his brother. He believed Benjamin on deaths door.
Benjamin played possum. Waiting until she thought him down for the count before making his move. He killed the witch, saving the day. Stopping a brutal monster from taking another life.
And destroyed Bella in the process.
Edward, if he lived another hundred years, would never forget the sight of her. Frantic, screaming for release her, clawing at his arms to get to her twin.
Edward brushed his fingers across the light grooves now marring his skin. Scars from her short fingernails.
Edward did nothing to help her. His only thought her protection. Benjamin appeared a wild man, his eyes, his smile, savage as he stood over the witch. Every instinct Edward possessed, screamed at him to get Bella out of there, away from his brother.
Bella didn't care, she hurled him from her. Racing to her sister, who lay bleeding on the ground, dying.
His heart squeezed painfully. The image of her holding her dead sister in her arms, crammed in his mind. She sobbed as if her heart were breaking. Brushing off her sisters fatal wound as nothing more than a scratch. Then, when her sister breathed her last…
No, Edward thought, he'd never be able to wipe such an image from his memories.
He spent two days thinking of all the things he should have done differently. Telling the truth, he came to believe, the only thing that might have made a difference. Push aside his fear of her rejection and explained everything. Maybe if he'd been brave enough to face the consequences, she'd be with him now.
Instead, he indulged himself. Took a nap, made sweet, slow love to his woman. Ate cold pizza while watching crappy television. He put off telling her. Who knew where they'd be now, if only he told the truth. Who knows? The witch might still be dead. But, if Bella knew the part he played, forgave him, she'd come to him for comfort, for support.
But Edward didn't speak up. He continued his lies, and, in doing so, became her enemy.
Amid her sorrow, she'd worn revenge. He believed her. That night, something happened to her, she'd changed. The curse, he thought, broken with her sister's death. No longer bound by the laws of her curse, she felt every emotion. He'd seen rage burn bright in her eyes. Hate.
Edward didn't know what to do, what to say, to fix things. She hated him for the part he played in her sister's murder. Knowing this, he accepted the truth. He'd lost her. Lost the future he wanted to share with her.
Edward remembered the words Jasper said to him. There are some things you cannot come back from.
Edward didn't know what to do now. Hiding in his room forever, didn't seem like a mature option. The witches, most likely afraid he'd follow through with his threats to decapitate Tanya, refused to leave their room, Jasper informed him. No matter what Emmett tried, locking Benjamin in his room, he couldn't protect him from Edward's wrath forever. When he finally got his hands on him, he'd make the little bastard pay. If Benjamin waited, like a fucking day, if he followed commands, none of this would be happening.
Bella, the woman he loved more than anything, might still be with him.
Accepting his loss, he prayed she found a way to move forward with her life. He doubted he'd ever earn her forgiveness, but he wished for her to find peace. More than anyone, Bella deserved happiness.
#
Bella noted the fear in his eyes. Quickly banked, replaced with cunning. Before he stood a chance of following through with any plans of attack, she raised her hand. The floor vanishing beneath his feet, Benjamin grunted, his back smashing into the wall, Bella's magic pinning him place.
"Oh no, you don't," she murmured, dragging his body down the wall until they were face to face. She wanted to look her sister's murderer in the eyes. She needed to.
Breathing harsh, he struggled against the invisible hands holding him captive. "What do you want?"
"What do I want?" Bella queried darkly. "I want my sister back. I want to hold her in my arms, hear her laughter. I want to feel her presence in my mind, because the silence is deafening. But, I can't. Because you took her from me."
Benjamin had the balls to smirk. "Yes, I did. I wiped a monster, who killed innocent people, from this earth. I'd do it again in a heartbeat."
"Your hands are pristine, I take it. You've never killed, or hurt, anyone."
His gaze flickered. Oh, yes, he'd killed. He'd hurt countless people. She could see it in his eyes. His hands were just as bloody as her sisters. "It's not the same. I killed to protect, not because I get my kicks from it."
Auburn brows rose. "Really? You can't lie to me. I can see inside your head. You've gone to wars, not knowing the reason behind them, because someone ordered it. And mostly, because you liked it. The blood and violence. You killed my sister out of revenge, for a man who didn't even care for you."
Benjamin snarled. Trying in vain to launch himself at her. "You don't know what you're talking about. Bitch."
Bella's smile became as cruel as her words. "I know what I saw in my sister's mind. Your man, Mike, he willingly took her to bed. He enjoyed every second. You, the man who loved him, the furthest thing from mind. He didn't want you. I can see it in your eyes, you naively thought he simply needed time. The pair of you being Warrior's, it must not be easy to be a gay man amongst all these small minded, testosterone ridden Neanderthals. Mike feared what they'd say, what they'd think. That's what he told you, right?"
He glowered at her.
Her expression smug, Bella said in sing song, "He lied. You were nothing but an easy lay when he felt a little frisky," she taunted him. "He never intended to go public, you know that? Not because you're a man, and not because the Bràthaireil is one gigantic boys club. What will they think if it got out two 'brothers' got it on behind closed doors? He didn't care. He wasn't ashamed of his sexuality; he just didn't want you." She cocked her head to the side. "How can you not see that?"
"You're making this up. You never even met him," he snarled. But her words affected him, she could sense. Doubt flared in his eyes, along with a good dose of pain. Good.
Bella stepped close, tapping a red painted fingernail against his forehead. Delighted when he recoiled from her touch. "You thought it yourself, us witches have trouble staying inside our own skull's. Let me put it this way, your boyfriend slept with my sister, who picked around inside his brain like a chubby kid at an Easter egg hunt. She enjoyed every second. The only thing she didn't know, thanks to the Bràthaireil's protection, is who sent him. Then, bless her heart, when she came to stay with me, my sister filled me in on the rest. She enjoyed the drama of it all. Look into my eyes, Benjamin. You know it's the truth."
He held her gaze. Obviously, wanting to deny it. Failing, because she spoke the truth.
"Aww," she mocked when a single tear rolled down his cheek. "It hurts, doesn't it? Finding out the man you love doesn't give a shit about you? Trust me, I know what you're going through. I know because your people placed Edward Campbell in my life for the exact same reason. To use me. Seduce me. Slyly getting information about my sister. So, you, you little bitch, could come to my home and murder her."
"And I did," he spat. "I fucking loved it."
Benjamin's head snapped back from the force of her blow. His face, slowly healing from Jessica assault thanks to his advanced genetics, now raw on his left cheek.
Bella hadn't moved an inch. She didn't need to touch him to injure him. Her borrowed gift of teleportation, thank you Carlisle, fading soon after entering the mansion, but the ability to strike him using only her mind? All Bella.
Still, as much as she'd like to slap him silly, Bella did have a pretty tight schedule to keep.
"That isn't a very nice thing to say. I've never been a fan of violence, but you should know better than to bring up my sister. It's kind of a sore subject."
"Well, excuse me, but I don't give a rat's ass."
Bella stared into his eyes, searching. "No, you couldn't care less," she agreed softly. "I've never hurt a single person in my entire life. I got good grades in school, a good daughter to my parents. A great fiancé, for a while, but we won't get into that. The point is, I've never hurt anyone. I didn't hurt you. Or your people. But you see my pain, my loss, as nothing. Collateral damage. Acceptable. You don't care that you butchered the one person I love. You took from me what my sister stole from you. The person you love the most. Something worthy of death, in your mind. Yet, because it's me, you don't care."
"No. I don't," he agreed easily.
She nodded, her lips firming. "Okay. Well, since you think it's fine to rip out my heart, how about we tear out yours? See how you feel about it then?"
Benjamin scowled. He opened his mouth, probably to blast her with another one of his witty comments but didn't get the chance. His words, whatever he intended to say, turning into a bloodcurdling scream.
Bella, true to her words, bunched her fist, plunging it into his chest. Slowly, excruciatingly, extracting her hand, using her new-found abilities to take his unfeeling heart with her.
Eyes bulging, face red from pressure, pain, Benjamin made a gurgling sound in the back of his throat. Her smiling face the last thing he saw before taking his final breath.
Bella released him, his body slumping to the ground. With a look of distaste, she tossed his heart on to his corpse. With no one around to see the disrespectful act, it didn't pack much of punch, but still, she didn't want it.
Bella's head shot up, hard golden eyes darting to the bedroom door, she heard heavy footsteps heading her way. Her lips curving into a slow smile, anticipation causing her breath to quicken. They heard his scream, most likely their commander felt him die, a gift Jessica once told her he possessed, and they'd all coming running.
Bella shifted, turning her body to face the door. Waiting patiently for the men coming for her.
#
Edward heard Benjamin's scream from across the house. Dragging on loose pants, he raced through endless hallways, ready to help his brother despite the damage he caused.
What he saw upon entering Benjamin's bedroom, turned his blood to ice.
The woman of his dreams, his nightmares, stood above Benjamin's torn, lifeless body. Right hand dripping with blood from elbow to fingertips. Her charm bracelet, a bracelet she refused to take off, now covered in Benjamin's blood. Eyes catching movement, he saw Emmett, his fierce some commander, pinned against the wall, restrained by a force even he couldn't begin to fight.
"Bella," Edward breathed, appalled, continuing to scan the room. The witches arrived before him, he noticed. On the floor, their golden eyes glaring holes into Bella's head. If they attempted to use their own magic against her, she didn't appear affected. He heard his brothers coming, knew they'd mow her down to save their leader.
Edward slammed the door shut. Hiding them from sight, giving him much needed seconds to talk her down. Protecting them, before they did something stupid, like tried to kill her.
"What did you do?" he breathed.
Her wide golden eyes didn't belong to his Bella. Bella's eyes, a warm, soft chocolate brown. The eyes looking at him were ice cold. Unfeeling. They reminded him of her sister. Of the witch. In that moment, he feared she'd fallen too far for him to save.
Blinking once, she said, "I ripped out his heart." The word 'obviously', implied in her tone. "I enjoyed every second of it." Her gaze, that of a dangerous predator, flickering to his murdered brother before returning to Edward. "Now, I'll rip out yours."
Sounds of loud banging came from behind him. His brothers ready to break down the door.
"Stand down!" he bellowed.
"But, Edward," Jasper started to protest.
"I mean it, Jasper," he snapped. "Stand down."
The pounding stopped, but his orders only bought him so much time.
Edward looked at the woman he loved.
He didn't attack. He didn't run. He stood there, eyes gentle with love and understanding. "You don't need to do this," he told her softly.
"I really do," she replied. Her hands, one clean, one dripping Benjamin's blood on the carpet, flipped, palms facing up. To everyone's terror, fire covered the walls. Torching every book and every painting.
Emmett began to panic, to cough as smoke drifted toward him, heat creating beads of sweat along his temples. Edward, overcome with fear for his family, for her, tried to reach her. "Bella, I know you're hurting, but what choice did we have? The things your sister did, not only to Mike, but to others, were unforgivable."
Not exactly what she wanted to hear, he knew, but true. Her sister, as much as Bella loved her, hurt countless people. Slaughtered them. The thought gave him pause. Made him see asking for special treatment was wrong.
While Bella hated him for it, he'd been sent to find, to destroy, a monster. He allowed his feelings to cloud his judgement because he wanted to keep the woman he cared for. He should have known better.
"So you murdered her?" she replied. "I don't care what she did, who she hurt. She's my sister. You used me as bait to draw her out." She bit out the words, her anger rising. "Then you forced me to stand there, helpless, while your friend rammed a fucking dagger through her heart. You used me to help you kill the only person I love in this world."
She's in pain, Edward thought. Buried deeply beneath her rage, her hatred, he saw the truth.
Bella might be deadly in this moment, but he remembered his dream. Of Bella, lost, and in pain. In his dream, he failed to reach her. He refused to fail now. He'd reach her, the woman behind the anger, before she lost herself forever.
Edward slowly closed the gap between them, ignoring the flames and smoke. Ignoring his brother's broken corpse, and his furious mentor. He walked up to her, tenderly cradling her face. He didn't hesitate to touch the woman who took another's life only moments ago. She may be buried deep, but his Bella lived. He'd be the one to find her. To bring her back.
Edward refused to lose her to the darkness he helped create.
"That's not true. It started that way, yes," he said honestly. "But I fell for you. I knew what would happen if you found out I helped destroy her. I'd lose you. I wanted to find another way. To contain her, but things got out of hand. Baby, she would've killed others. Hurt innocent people if Benjamin didn't do what he did. She'd come at my brothers. At me."
Again, not what she wanted to hear, but true.
Holding his gaze, Bella allowed him to caress her soft cheek. "I wish she did," she murmured, shocking him to his very core. Hurting him beyond imagining. Her eyes, which he'd thought begun to warm, hardened. "I wish she slaughtered every one of you. If she did, you'd all be dead, and she'd be alive. And I wouldn't be alone."
Did her voice quiver? he wondered. Or was it simply wishful thinking?
Edward rested his forehead against hers. "That's not true. You have me," he promised. She'd always have him. "I know everything's a mess. I know part of you hate's me. But I'm here, Bella. I'm yours. All of me. You'll never be alone. Not as long as I'm here. I love you. I know, somewhere deep down, you still love me."
It's the one thing Edward knew beyond a shadow of a doubt. On a relationship based on secrets and lies, he knew their love was real.
Bella loved him. No matter how dark she got or how far she fell, she loved him.
A sharp, searing pain in his abdomen had Edward doubling over, stealing his breath. A grunt torn from his lips as unyielding steel slid into soft flesh. Whose dagger she used, he didn't know.
Betrayed, hurt, he looked at her unreadable expression. His hand instinctively dropping from her face, placing pressure on his wound. He felt the wooden hilt of the dagger clenched in her small fist.
Her hand snapped out, gripping ruthlessly in his hair, yanking him to her. Against his ear, she gritted out, "I don't love you." Twisting the blade she'd concealed, he groaned. He wanted to beg her to stop but knew his pleas would fall on deaf ears. "I don't want you. I feel nothing but pain. Rage. You did this. You took her from me. I will destroy everything you love right before your eyes. Helpless to do anything but watch. Just like I did, because of you." Bella shoved him away from her. Uncaring as he collapsed to his knees.
Edward stared, unable to do a damned thing when she took a step towards the witches.
The door burst open, crashing into the wall. Only his brothers didn't pour into the room. One man stood in the doorway. The male tall, and classically handsome. Powerful.
"Clara, stop!" he commanded, his voice as sharp as a whip.
Clara? Edward frowned, sickness rolling through his stomach like a tidal wave, he feared he'd vomit right next to Benjamin's corpse. Who the hell is Clara?
Bella whirled on the man, a hot look in her eyes. "I don't want to hurt you, Carlisle. But I will. So back off."
He stepped into the room. "I'm not here to stop you. I'm here with someone who wants to help. Someone who loves you."
She jabbed a finger at Benjamin's body. "He took the only person who loved me."
"That's not true."
Bella's hard, cruel expression fell as if it never existed. Her face softening. Becoming so unbearably vulnerable, it stole his breath.
Carlisle hadn't spoken the words, or Edward, but a woman.
"Jessica," Bella breathed the name reverently, her eyes bright with wonder. And for the first time since Edward walked into the room, she looked like Bella.
A very much alive Jessica, glided into the room. Walking around Carlisle, she ignored Edward, tossing a quick glare at the dead body on the floor. "I've got to say, I always wondered what might happen if you were more like me. Turns out, when you go dark, little sister, thing's get bloody. And flammable," she drawled.
Coming to a stop in front of her little sister, Jessica flashed a sweet smile. Edward knew now, why Bella loved her sister so much. Jessica, despite being a monster to the rest of the world, loved her sister.
Staring at her, seeing how she looked at Bella, he finally understood why Bella stood by her. Bella didn't see her as a killer, or a psychopath. A heartless bitch who killed for shits and giggles. She saw her twin. Who Bella loved her deeply.
"Hey, little sister."
Bella whimpered. "How are you alive?" she croaked. A fingertip, trembling and bloody, reached over to stroke her sister's pale cheek. Jessica didn't grimace at the sight of blood, the violence she must now know her sister is capable of.
Jessica grimaced. "I'm not. I'm kind of on loan," she chuckled. "Carlisle, apparently, pulled a few strings. Cashed in a few favours, to get me here. He knew you needed me."
Bella bit her lip, trying bravely to hold back her tears. "I do," she replied, her lower lip trembling. Sounding so young, small, it hurt him more than his agonizing wound. "I need you. I feel lost without you."
Jessica looked as if she might cry herself. "I know. And I know you're angry. I remember how it feels," she said. "The rage, the hate. I know what it does to you. What it turns you into. I don't miss it."
A smiled bloomed on Bella's lips. A full blown 'Bella' smile. "The curse has ended for you, too," she stated.
Jessica nodded. "It has. I'm dealing with my memories. The pain I caused." She brushed her Bella's hair out of her face with a gentle hand. "But, forget that for now. I'm here to help you."
Shaking her head slightly, she protested, "I don't need help. I need them to die."
Jessica let out a small, sincere chuckle. "Wow, that sounded so weird coming from you. Besides, if we're being honest, I kind of had it to coming to me." She cupped Bella's cheek. Much like Edward, before she stuck a knife in his gut. "But you don't need to do this. This isn't you, Bella. It's time to stop now," she said gently.
Bella shook her head, harder this time. "I can't. They took you away from me." She raised her dry, clean hand, holding it against her head as if in pain. "I've heard your voice in my head since I can remember. Now? There's nothing. It's so quiet. Empty. I'm all alone," she cried.
Jessica took her hand, bringing her sisters hand to her lips. Pressing the sweetest of kisses there. "No, you're not. I will always be with you. No one can change that. Only this time, I won't be here." She touched her sister's temple. "I'll be here." Releasing her twin's hand, she held hers over Bella's heart. "I'll be with you every step of the way. Every time you're angry, or sad. Every time you laugh. I'll be here," she whispered, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "I'll be here when you get married. When you've got a house full of beautiful babies. I'll be with you through it all. I love you, Bella. I love you more than anything. Always. That's why the curse never truly worked. Not when it came to you. Our love, our bond, is stronger than anything. Than any curse. A little thing like death won't change that."
Bella bit her lip. "Promise?"
"I promise." She cupped the back of Bella's neck, bringing her close to whisper, "I promise you, there will never come a day when I won't be by your side. You may not hear me, but you'll feel me. I love you, my Bella, and a little thing like death cannot keep us apart. I promise you. "
Bella let out a watery laugh. Throwing her arms around her sister, her voice shaking as she declared, "I love you. Always."
Jessica kissed her hair. "Always," she echoed.
Jessica vanished. Gone. Leaving Bella holding nothing but air. For one, painfully long moment, she stood there. She reminded Edward of the boy's he grew up with. The one's dragged to the training camps, kicking and screaming. He remembered one boy who begged his parents to take him with them. He didn't want to stay. After prying his tiny fingers from their clothing, they walked away. In a state of shock, he sat there. Waiting for them to come back.
Edward remembered the crushed look on his face once he finally accepted they'd never return.
It's the look Bella portrayed now. Only, so much worse. She'd gotten her sister back, only to lose her all over again.
Her face crumbled as her grief hit her once more, knocking her feet from under her. She hit the floor with a sickening thud but didn't seem to notice. Bowing her head, sobs overtook her. Her tears weren't quiet or pretty. Every sob torn from her very soul. With every tear, his heart ached for her.
The flames died, leaving behind charred walls. Emmett fell to the ground, smashing through Benjamin's antique dresser. The witches slowly pushing themselves up. His brothers crowded round the doorway.
Edward sat there, bleeding heavily. He didn't give a shit. Let him bleed out. Nothing compared to the pain of witnessing her misery.
No one moved. No one knew what to do in the sight of such raw anguish.
Remembering his promise, she'd never be alone, Edward started to crawl to her. The male, Carlisle, shook his head, stilling him. Carlisle went to her, scooping her up into his arms.
Bella pressed her face into his shoulder, muffling the sound of her weeping.
Edward opened his mouth to apologise once more. Needing her to know he's here.
"No, Edward," Carlisle said, stopping him. "She's been through so much. She needs time to heal. Unfortunately, she can't do that with you."
Edward winced. Though Carlisle stated the truth, the reminder of what he'd lost was painful. He couldn't be the man to take care of her. Not after all he'd done.
Not knowing what else to do, he nodded slightly, his eyes taking her in. Memorising her. So in the lonely years to come, he'd at least have the memory of he to look back on.
Carlisle, with Bella in his arms, disappeared. Leaving Edward on the floor, wounded, his heart shattering into tiny pieces, like broken glass in the middle winter, wondering if he'd ever see her again.
#
Carlisle carried his precious bundle through the long, dark hallways of his home.
She lay in his arms, tears flowing quietly down her cheeks. Her silent weeping cutting him to his core.
Carlisle closed his eyes against the image of her standing there, covered in blood, and a body at her feet. He'd come close to losing her tonight. If not for his quick thinking, for her twin's presence, she would've burned that place to ground without a care. Lost herself to the darkness within, like her sister so many years before.
He'd called in a lot of favours tonight. He begged, demanded, and threatened. It worked. Avery's spirit willingly returned to the world of the living, leaving the one place she finally found peace, because her sister needed her.
Carlisle's plan worked flawlessly. Avery found Clara in the midst of her grief and talked her down in only the way a sister could. Then she'd gone. Only, this time, they got the chance to say goodbye.
Now Carlisle must face Clara's tears, her sadness, alone. Aid her as she mourned her sister. Teach her how to control her developing abilities. Though she didn't seem to need much help there, he thought ruefully. Clara took to her gifts like a fish to water.
He came to a stop at the end of a hallway. Her bedroom. He decorated two bedrooms many years ago. One for Clara and one for Avery. He did it at a time when he foolishly thought maybe, just maybe, he'd raise them himself. But, he didn't how to raise two little girls. He couldn't even explain their curse to them without a five-year old Clara bursting into tears. Asking if he really meant it when he called her a side-effect.
No, he couldn't raise them himself, so he'd done the right thing. After their parent's death's, before the 'side effect' comment, when they were babies, he gave them away. Found two couple's he believed would raise them well.
While Carlisle accepted his inability to raise them, it didn't mean he didn't want them. He loved them. At first, because they came from David. His only friend. Second, because in all his long life, no one made him feel the way the twins did with only the flash of a smile.
Booting the door open, he carried her inside. Her room now suited for a woman rather than a child. With a thought, sleeping candles woke. Each burning a brilliant flame at Carlisle's silent command. Striding over to the four-poster bed, he lay her down on top of soft sheets.
Sitting beside her, he felt utterly useless. She wrapped her arms around her waist, as if holding herself together.
When she whimpered, he leaned down to brush a kiss to her hair, whispering nonsense. Anything he could think of to soothe her.
"She's gone, Carlisle. She's really gone," she wept softly.
Tucking a lock of hair behind her ear, with a tenderness he didn't believe himself capable of, he replied, "I know."
She sniffled. "She's gone."
Carlisle didn't know what to say. How to make it better. He'd lived for centuries, met countless people, experienced things ten times over, he should be able to comfort the only person who mattered.
"I can't feel her," she said. "Not in my head or my heart. She said I would, but I can't. I can't feel her. I'm alone."
His heart, usually stoic, unfeeling, exploded. Pinching her chin, he turned her head, forcing her to look at him. Waiting until her tear-filled eyes focused on his face. "Look at me, little one." He said the word's purposely. Her twin used to call her little sister, but she paraphrased the endearment from him. He knew she'd latch onto those words like a drowning man desperate for air, because they reminded her of her sibling.
"I promised your father on the day of your birth, before the curse and the mess it created, I stood there with you in one arm, your sister in the other, and I swore I'd watch over. When you came to me, after your parents bravely handed you over for safekeeping, I vowed I'd breathe my last to save you both." He closed, his own sense of failure threatening to consume him. "I couldn't save your sister. I will not lose you, too." He stroked her cheek sweetly, wiping away her tears. "You are not alone. As long as my heart beats, you will never be alone."
Her lower lip trembling, her eyes overflowing with hot tears, she broke down in another round of sobs. "I feel so lost. It's like I don't even know who I am, anymore. What I did to that man," she gasped.
"Wholly deserved," he assured. He meant it. They took away one of the only two people he cared about in the world. He'd never forgive what they'd done to his girls. Or himself, for not paying closer attention.
"But that's my point. I don't regret what I did. I reached into his chest, I stole his heart while he screamed. I don't regret it. I'm not ashamed of my actions. I don't wish for the chance to turn back time. I'm glad he's dead." She looked into his eyes. "What's happening to me?"
Carlisle lifted one side of his mouth in a humourless smile. "What we always wanted. When your sister died, the curse ended. No longer will you have limitations on what you feel, or experience. Hate, anger, envy. There is no emotion forbidden to you. It's important you learn how to control your emotions."
"I don't know if I can," she said. "I'm not sure I even want to." She blinked hard, trying to stop the flow of tears. "I feel like I'm losing myself. I don't know what to do next."
"Don't think about that now. You need to rest more than you need to learn control. Close your eyes. Think of nice, soothing things."
"I can't. When I close my eyes, all I see is my sister dying. I see him, standing over her, smiling. I feel it building up in me again. I can't think of nice, soothing things anymore."
"Yes, you can. The curse isn't the reason your heart is good. Beautiful. It's always been you. You simply need time to find yourself again. You will. Now, close your eyes. Sleep," he ordered.
Before she protested further, Carlisle sent himself into her mind. Commanding her to rest, to slumber deeply until she regained the strength to face the world again. The violence she's now capable of.
"Sleep," he repeated softly.
Covering her with a blanket, he knew the road ahead would be a rough one. For twenty-nine years, she'd been bound by her curse. Not only must she grieve over her slain twin, she must learn to control her emotions, her magic. For that she needed her strength. Right now, with everything happening to her, his ward ran on fumes. Carlisle gazed down at her, feared for her.
Sending himself into her mind once more, he made certain she slept. That she got the rest she needed until ready to face the world once more. To face herself.
Bella slept for a long time.