A NEW CHAPTER. FINNALLY!! I HOPE U GUYS LIKE IT, ITS NICE AND LONG.
DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN ANYTHING
Bella slipped into Edward's mind. She ran to the house and the door swung open at her touch. She frowned and turned around. If this was Edward's link to his consciousness, Bella shouldn't be able to enter it. Not easily at least. Bella grimaced and returned to her body.
"Back already?" Carlisle asked in surprise. The family was still crowded around Bella.
"Ok, I need to know something." Bella blurted out, not bothering to answer Carlisle's question. "In approximately…uh…10 seconds after I sleep, watch Edward closely to see if anything happens."
"Anything happens? What should happen?" Alice asked.
"I don't know. But see if he breathes or his eyeballs move behind his eyelids or…I don't know. He just moves a little. Ok?" Bella asked. She spoke so fast that everyone had to pay close attention to catch her words.
"Ok. But what's the hurry?" Emmett asked.
"I don't know. I just feel like I should move quickly. Besides, the longer I stall, the faster my energy runs out." Bella settled back into the chair and closed her eyes. "Now, watch Edward please."
Bella slipped quickly from her mind into Edward's and raced to the house. Again, it opened easily to her touch. She ran around the house, trying to force open the rooms to the doors only to find them jammed shut. She came upon the room with memories of her and that was closed too. Bella wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean but she could bet it wasn't good.
Once she had checked all the rooms, Bella reentered her body. "What did you see? Did anything happen?" Bella asked anxiously.
"What were you trying to do?" Jasper asked, tilting his head to one side.
"Just tell me what happened. I don't have time." Bella responded hastily. She turned to Carlisle, hoping he would answer her instead of asking questions.
"5 seconds after you fell asleep, Edward started breathing shallowly. At 7 seconds, his eyelid twitched once. At 9 seconds it twitched once again. And at 12 seconds, it twitched 3 more times. You came back in 14 seconds." Carlisle reported.
Bella cursed. She had been so wrapped up in opening Edward's doors and hurrying, she had forgotten to count. "Sorry, I went too fast. But thank you. I'll figure it out." Bella began to close her eyes again.
"Why don't you just hunt, you will have more energy then." Jasper suggested.
"No time." Bella mumbled, and then her body went limp.
"I think she's finally lost it." Emmet said in awe. Everyone nodded; none of them could understand why Bella was in such a hurry. In truth, Bella didn't know either; she just felt something inside her forcing her to move faster.
*Edward's Dreamscape*
Bella cursed herself over and over for her own foolishness. Why hadn't she counted? Why hadn't she planned better? She had been so wrapped up in her own ruined life and hurrying up that she had forgotten about Edward. Now she was trying to save him when she only had half of her original energy left.
Bella ran around Edward's dreamscape, trying to find him. While she searched, she thought about what Carlisle had told her. When she had entered Edward's body, he had started breathing. That meant that the house was the door to his subconsciousness. And the locked doors in the house must be his gate to his consciousness and body. Bella sighed. Now she had to find Edward and get him to go into his house and open the doors. Something told her it wasn't going to be easy. And from her experience with Alice, Bella didn't think she could be in the house with Edward; that would cause even more problems.
Bella circled the house 5 times and she still couldn't find Edward. She growled in frustration. He had to be here somewhere. Bella sighed and calmed herself, getting frustrated would get her nowhere. She carefully made 20 duplications of herself and sent them out to find Edward. That way, she could cover ground faster. After about 40 seconds of searching, one of the duplicated Bellas found Edward. The real Bella joined the fake Bella and got rid of all the other fake Bellas to avoid confusion.
Bella gasped as she looked at Edward. He was twice as far away from his house as he had been the last time she had come. That meant it would be harder to get Edward home. But what was worse was that Edward was just laying there. He lay in a puddle of blood and his face was down so it looked like he was suffocating in it. There was no fire near him now, it was all dark. And from what Bella could see, the picture of her had disappeared too.
Bella wanted to approach Edward slowly and quietly but when she took her first step, she found herself right beside him. Without thinking, she scooped him up in her arms. "Edward, darling. What happened?" She asked, cradling him.
"Bella." Edward whimpered. His voice was so quiet Bella could hardly hear it. He tried to move so he could look at her but he didn't have enough energy. His limbs just trembled until Bella helped him.
She turned his head gently so he could look at her but his eyes didn't focus on her face when she turned him to her. "I'm here, love." She murmured. Her heart breaking as she realized he was blind.
A light film covered his eyes and Edward looked around frantically, trying to see her. "Where? Where?" His body trembled and he sobbed harder.
Bella could stop her own tears from falling. "Here love, here." She took his hand and placed his on her cheek. "I'm here, next to you. Look at me." She passed her fingertips over his eyelids and under his irises. "Heal, Edward. Look at me, please." She begged. Her own tears mingled with his as she wept over him.
Edward's fingers trembled violently as they passed over Bella's skin. "Here." He repeated. His voice was scratchy and hoarse, like he hadn't had anything to drink in years.
"I said I would come back, Edward. What happened? Didn't you believe me?" Bella asked softly. She stroked his cheek. "My love. I'm here. Heal. Come back to me." Bella begged quietly as she pressed him closer against him.
"I thought you would never come. I waited for so long…" Edward whimpered and turned his head away from her.
Bella felt horrible. She wanted to beat herself up for being so neglectful of Edward. "I'm sorry, love. But I'm here now. I promise. I will help. I'm here for you." She promised, gently turning Edward's head towards her again.
"You promise?" Edward asked helplessly. "How long will you stay? Please…please…please don't leave me." A new wave of tears trailed down his face and his hand dropped from her cheek.
Bella tried to say something but no words would come out of her mouth. "Love, I will be here as long as you need me. As long as you want me." She finally said. Bella hated to lie to Edward but she couldn't seem to find any other way to help him.
"You promise? You won't leave again?" Edward asked again childishly.
"Yes. I promise. Now, get up. We are going to start healing you." Bella lifted Edward's upper body into a sitting position. She didn't want to force him into doing anything but she didn't have much of a choice. Her energy was draining fast and she needed to get him well on the road to recovery before she left.
"I can't move." Edward whimpered. His whole body shook with the effort.
Bella tried to pick Edward up and move him back home but she felt a barrier blocking her path. "Edward, darling, you must move. You have to get home." She coaxed gently. She put him down and moved so that she was in front of him. "Come to me." She murmured.
"I can't." He moaned.
"Crawl. Take one step. Please Edward, for me." Bella pleaded. She hoped that she could get Edward to follow her to the house but it didn't seem to be working so far.
Edward moved his hand forward to crawl but ended up collapsing instead. Bella closed her eyes and tried to think of a way to help. She felt herself getting frustrated. It wasn't Edward's fault that he was so weak but Bella didn't have enough time and she needed to help.
"Sorry." Edward whispered. He hated not being able to do what Bella said. But his body wouldn't cooperate.
"Don't worry." Bella replied, giving Edward a small smile. "Here." She put her hands beneath him, supporting his weight on her arms so he was in crawling position but didn't need to hold his weight. "Now try."
"Ok." Edward hesitantly moved his arm and his body started to crumple again.
"Don't worry. I have you. Keep going." Bella instructed soothingly, holding him up.
Edward moved his other arm and then his legs, moving one inch closer to the house. He felt exhausted. Some strong force seemed to pull him back and his body couldn't move properly. Edward wanted to give up. "Bella…I…can't." He gasped.
"You can." Bella said through her teeth. Holding Edward up wasn't as easy as it looked. Whatever force holding Edward back had an effect on Bella too.
Bella kept urging Edward on and he continued for about 2 feet until he hit a wall. "I can't go forward." He gasped. His mutilated body shook with every breath he took and his limbs shivered violently with fatigue.
"Yes, you can. You've made it so far. Don't give up on me now." Bella panted, still holding Edward up.
"No. there is a barrier, Bella. I can't cross." Edward insisted.
Bella moaned. Why, oh why did this have to happen now? "Ok, I think you have to cross by yourself, Edward. The barrier means that I can't do this with you anymore." Bella explained. She wasn't sure that's what the barrier meant but from what she knew, it made sense.
Edward panicked. "No! I can't go on without you, Bella!" He cried. Edward thought that Bella was going to disappear again and he started to slide back.
Bella screamed and placed herself behind Edward, refusing to let all that hard work go to waste. "No." She panted. "I'm…not…leaving…" She tried to push him forward but he wouldn't budge. "I…just…can't…help…you…go…any…further." She struggled to keep Edward from sliding back.
"But why? I need help. I can't do this myself!" Edward cried. "I need help. Please Bella!"
"Edward. Hold on! Don't slide back, love. Form a rock and hold on to it. I will help you. Promise. Please!" Bella pleaded.
"How? How do I form a rock?" Edward asked. "I can't do it. I'm helpless." Edward stopped trying and burst into tears.
Bella's hold on Edward suddenly slipped and Edward slid back to his starting place and sobbed there. Bella felt like ripping her hair out. She had worked so hard! Bella tapped into herself and found her energy level getting lower at a dangerous rate. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth. She needed to do something, fast.
Bella tried to think of all the ways to get Edward to start moving. She had tried everything nice. She had tried to do it for him, help him, coax him. The only thing she could think of was using force. Bella hated to hurt people but she couldn't think of another way. She could only hope that once Edward was awake, she would be able to repair all the damage she caused.
Bella walked over to Edward again. "I will help you get to that barrier again. Then you will form a rock in front of you and hold on to it when you feel yourself going back. You will keep holding on until you are able to move forward. You will get to the barrier again and you will not slide back. Understand?" Bella made her voice hard and her expression unsympathetic.
Edward whimpered, cowering back slightly. He was scared of her, Bella could see that. And she hated it. She wanted to help him, not frighten him. It took everything Bella had not to gather Edward up in her arms and apologize over and over. "But…but…what if I'm not strong enough?" Edward asked brokenly, the wounds on his body ripping open further.
"You will be. Or else I will leave." Bella said coldly, harshly.
Edward choked and started sobbing harder. "No…no…please. Don't leave me. I…cant…please. I swear…I'll do anything!" He begged and sobbed.
Bella nearly broke down again but managed to get herself under control. "Edward, love." Her voice softened a little. "I will be here to help you. You just need to help me help you. Ok? Do what I tell you to do and you will be fine. I will be with you forever. I promise." She knelt down and rubbed Edward's hunched back.
Edward looked up at her with wide eyes. Bella could see the trust, desperation, and anguish deep in his eyes. It hurt her to know she could abuse him as much as she wanted and he would still love her. Bella wanted to look away from his pathetic gaze but she forced herself to be firm. "Come, love. The sooner we start, the sooner we will finish." She kissed his lips lightly once and moved in front of him.
Edward's body was still weak but the fear from Bella's threat made him move. They made good progress until Edward hit the barrier again. Then he panicked, forgetting everything Bella had told him. "Bella!" He cried.
"Make a rock, hold on to it." She told him calmly.
Again he replied. "I can't I'm not strong enough."
Bella's eyes turned frosty. "You will. Or I will leave." She started to move away.
"No!" Edward screamed and in front of him, a rock appeared. Edward grabbed on to it in an attempt to stop himself from sliding back. But the rock was smooth and round and the blood on Edward's hands made it slippery. "Bella!" He cried out again.
"Make the rock jagged. It will be easier to hold on to." Bella instructed unemotionally.
Edward did as Bella said and the rock turned uneven. As Edward fought against the force trying to drag him back, the rock bit into his fingers, cutting his skin and flesh. Eventually, the force died away and Edward was left panting and clutching the rock. He sobbed and let his arms rest until Bella came near him again.
"Good job." She murmured quietly. Her fingertips touched Edward's cheek lightly and she smiled. Edward thought she looked like an angel. So perfect, so beautiful. He longed for her touch and happiness.
"Now, move forward. I'm right in front of you, Edward. Come to me." Bella murmured. Her steady voice cut through Edward's feelings.
Edward tried to move forward but he couldn't. The barrier was just too strong. "Bella…I cant." He whispered again. He hated being weak in front of her, she was so strong. He was so pathetic, he knew it. Edward bowed his head in shame and suddenly, the ground beneath his started moving back. Edward looked around, scared and bewildered. He grabbed the rock, trying to prevent himself from moving back, but the rock simply slid back with him. Edward looked up at Bella in panic and saw a surprised look flash across her face before her expression turned grim.
"Let go of the rock, Edward." She commanded.
"But I'll slip back!" Edward cried.
"Let go and come to me." Bella commanded.
"But the barrier!" Edward insisted.
Bella's face closed. "I don't think you took my threat seriously, Edward. I can't help you if you don't listen to me. And if you don't want my help, there is no point in me being here." Bella's eyes bore into Edward's.
Edward watched in horror and anguish as Bella started to fade. "No, please! I'll do anything. I swear! Please!" Edward begged. He let go of the rock and crawled toward Bella.
Bella stopped fading but at this point, only her outline was left. "Can you see me, Edward?" She asked coolly.
"I…I...could…a little. But…now I can't. Are you here, Bella? Please, please…" Edward whimpered.
"I'm here. I promise. The closer you get to me, the more you will see me. And when we get to our destination, I promise I will make you very happy. Do you trust me, Edward?" Her voice danced in Edward's ear.
He trembled but still continued moving forward, leaving a trail of blood behind him. "Yes. Yes, Bella." He whispered brokenly.
"Good." She purred, but Edward still couldn't see her. "I'll send you my scent until you can see me, to prove that I am still here. Listen to what I tell you to do, Edward; or else I will have to go away." Bella's voice sounded oddly detached.
Edward's heart tore more as he listened to Bella's uncaring speech. "Yes, Bella." He murmured, trying to hold himself together. As Edward took another step, he felt his body start to tire. His arms shook beneath his weight and his legs dragged when he moved them. Edward was sure he couldn't go on any longer but he was afraid to tell Bella for fear that she would go away. When it became almost too hard to move, Bella scent surrounded Edward. He inhaled greedily and would have just sat there smelling the air had Bella not spoken.
"Good, my Edward. You are doing so well. A little more. Look up as you move, I'm getting clearer." Her voice seemed to purr in his ear.
Edward's head whipped up and he gasped. He had been blind when she first came to him, and when she helped him the first time, his eyesight had gotten a little better. But then she had faded again. And now he could see her better than before. She was still blurry and far away but he could see her perfection. He couldn't help but gawk.
Bella smiled, her features softening. "Darling, move. We still have more to go. And you're getting closer. Come to me." She held out her hands.
Edward felt a warmth spread to him as she indicated for him to come to her. She wanted him. He felt some energy drift back into his body and he carefully stood up, running and stumbling to her; trying to get closer.
Bella smiled and kept her hands outstretched. "Good. A little more. You're doing wonderfully, love." Bella constantly coaxed Edward.
As Edward looked at Bella, she seemed to be moving farther away instead of closer. He pushed himself harder, falling and hurting himself more every time he hit the ground. But the need to get close to her overrode any sense of self he had. Over time, Bella seemed to stop moving back and Edward felt himself getting closer. He felt a rare sense of happiness as he came closer and closer and the light golden light of dawn shone on Edward's landscape.
When he finally got to Bella, she enveloped him in her arms and smiled. "You're amazing, love. Thank you." She cradled his face softly and kissed him.
Edward felt himself melt under her kiss. His wounds started to heal around the edges. "This is it? We are done?" He asked hopefully.
"Almost." Bella smiled. "Just a little more. Come with me." She held his hand and gestured behind her.
Edward eyes traveled to where she was pointing and his face froze. "I can't go in there." He shivered, a dark, sorrowful expression coming across his face.
"Why not? It's your home, Edward. It's where you belong." Bella said softly. She tried to pull him close to it but she obviously couldn't.
"No. It hurts to go in there. I can't. I'm not strong enough." Edward's eyes turned haunted and his healing wounds ripped open farther.
"You can. You must." Bella begged. She couldn't force him at this point, she didn't have the power.
He shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry." He whispered.
Bella sighed and hung her head. "Ok, than can you please take me to the doorstep. I want to see it up close." She gazed at him innocently.
"Please don't torture me this way." Edward pleaded.
Bella just stared at him silently. Edward swallowed heavily, tears sliding down cheeks. "For you." He said softly. He grabbed her hand and led to towards the house. Every step was slow and pained. Bruises began to paint themselves on every inch of skin that wasn't covered in wounds already.
It pained Bella to see Edward like that but she needed to get him to the house. When they finally got to the doorstep, neither said a word. Bella took a moment to tap back into herself and realized with a shock that she had used way too much energy. In fact, she didn't even have enough energy to get back to her own body. Bella's mind went into overdrive. She needed to get Edward in the house before her energy finally ran out.
"Edward…" Bella broke the silence hesitantly. "I need you to do something for me. One last thing…"
"You want me to go back in there." Edward replied quietly. He looked disturbed.
"Yes, you have to." She whispered, clutching his hands in both of her own. "Just go back in and open all the doors."
"It's not that easy." Edward looked down at his hands, tears laced his blood dropped down on them. "You want me to come back into consciousness. I don't want to, Bella. You don't understand." Edward's voice was pleading now.
"Please. Just try." Bella pleaded back.
"No. I'll lose you. And then I'll be alone again. I'll go insane. Bella, you have no idea…" His voice broke and the wound on his arm and heart ripped open further.
Bella wanted to let him stop but she needed to get Edward back. "Love, let me make you a deal: go in there, open all the doors and come into consciousness one last time. I swear on everything that is dear to me and you that the first thing you smell with be my scent. The first thing you hear will be my voice. The first thing you taste will be my lips. The first thing you feel will be my skin. And the first thing you see when you open those beautiful eyes will be me." She leaned closer to Edward, her expression fierce.
"You swear?" Edward asked quietly. He didn't want to go crazy anymore. He just wanted everything to end.
"I swear. And I also swear I will help fix you. We will be together forever. We belong together." Bella murmured.
Edward bit his lip and swallowed hard. "And if you can't? If you don't? If I wake up alone?"
Bella hated seeing Edward like this and she silently vowed to heal him to herself. "Then I will kill you. I'll come back and end it." It hurt Bella to say it but she knew she had to.
"You promise?" Edward asked again.
Bella nodded solemnly. A small, sad smile graced Edward's face. "I'll hold you to it, my love." He brought his hands up to cradle her face. Tears fell down his cheeks and Bella leaned forward and kissed Edward one last time.
"Goodbye." Bella whispered.
"Bella..." Edward kissed her hands and then took a deep breath and finally went inside.
The door closed behind Edward and Bella breathed out a sigh of relief. Her job was finally. Suddenly, Bella felt her body crumple and she was back in her own dreamscape. She was exhausted. Bella desperately tried to get to her body but she didn't have enough energy. She could only hope that one of the Cullen's would realize she didn't have energy and give her some blood. They were her only hope now.
Carlisle POV
The whole family took turns watching Edward and Bella for the next four days. Neither of them moved. On the morning of the fifth day, Carlisle could tell something was wrong. "We should start giving her blood." He told the rest of the family.
"Yeah, she told us two days and it's been five…" Jasper said uneasily. "Do you think she and Edward are ok?"
No one responded.
"Ok, well. Let's start feeding Bella." Carlisle finally broke the silence.
The family started to pour blood down Bella's throat the way she had taught them to do with Edward. Now they could only hope and wait to see what had happened.
OK, I REALIZE EDWARD'S A LITTLE OOC IN THIS CHAPTER AND IM VERY SORRY. THIS TOOK ME SO LONG TO WRITE AND I DON'T WANT TO MAKE YOU WAIT ANY LONGER SO PLZ BEAR WITH ME. NEXT CHAPTER IS BIG. TELL ME IF YOU LIKED THIS ONE. PLZ, REVIEW! THX.