Disclaimer: I don't own the Twilight saga or any of its characters, they belong to Meyer. I only own my characters and my own ideas.

Broken Dreams

Edward's words haunted me in my dream-state, echoing in my mind as if it were a hollow cave, constantly reminding me of my failures and the truthfulness to his words. An image of his face formed as the words continuously left his mouth, his eyes flickering with twisted mirth at the pain and anger they caused me.

But was he right? Was my life really that meaningless without my hatred for him? Did my family really only love me because they pitied me?

Edward's face melted away, leaving only his eyes boring into me. His words ceased, but the meaning behind them did not, sinking into me like burning knives into flesh. I wanted to scream as loud as possible that Edward's words were just lies meant to crush my spirit. I wanted to believe that nothing he said was true and that he was simply goading me.

I wasn't so sure, however.

From the day I'd been able to act consciously, the only drive on my mind was to seek Edward out and kill him. That had been my drive throughout my life, save for the moments where I'd found solace in my family. But even then, I never stopped searching, never stopped wanting to find and kill Edward.

In place of Edward's face, images formed of the faces of my family members, each staring back at me blankly for several seconds before shifting to another one. It started with Jane's face and ended with Rosalie's, my closest sister and best friend. Her emotionless eyes bored into me for what felt like centuries before the image dissipated and I was drawn out of the darkness.

I opened my eyes and blinked several times, knowing that I was lying in my room from the ceiling that greeted me. I glanced over to see that my right arm had been reattached and checked to see if it worked properly. It did, but it hurt to move it, so I stopped.

Damn, my body hurts, I grumbled inwardly, slowly sitting up. My nostrils flared and I could tell that every one of my family members had been in my room recently. I bit my lip and tried to push Edward's mocking words from my mind, but they ingrained themselves there. I really didn't want to think about it, though, nor did I feel like seeing anyone yet.

What I wanted most was time to think. I sniffed the air and listened closely to tell whether or not I was alone. I wasn't, of course. The house was practically full, so getting out without being detected would be extremely difficult. In fact, Jasper probably sensed my emotions, so someone would likely come bursting through my door any second.

I glanced over and noticed that my window had been conveniently opened. Remembering how I'd been able to move fast enough to catch Edward when we fought, I decided to try and channel that speed—which still confounded me—to jump out of the window before anyone would know.

I concentrated hard, trying to remember what emotions I'd felt to bring out that speed. My need to kill Edward in order to protect people; that was it. But how in the hell was I supposed to feel those emotions now when they weren't in danger? Annoyed, I decided I'd just wing it and pushed myself off my bed as lightly as I could.

Success.

I managed to jump out of my window and land lithely outside. With a brief peering over my shoulder, I bit my lip and sprinted off as fast as I could. I didn't know where I was going per say, so long as I could be somewhere alone for a while to clear my head.

I ended up stopping by our massive lake. It was far away enough.

Hours passed by as I stared up at the clouds, trying to fight back the things Edward had said to me and attempting to make excuses for my actions. It partially worked, but it wasn't enough to satisfy me, so I decided to clear my head another way and stripped out of my clothes before jumping into the lake for a relaxing swim.

The water soothed my aching body and helped relax my mind. It was just what I'd needed so I made sure to enjoy it for as long as I could. By the time I'd had enough, the sun was going down, a good time to get back to the house lest I incur my family member's—translation; Rosalie's—wrath on leaving when I was injured.

No sooner had I stepped out of the water was a towel wrapped around me. I was caught off guard since I hadn't smelled anyone coming. I was startled to see Esme standing there, holding my clothes in her arms as her gentle eyes appraised me. There were a variety of different emotions pulsing in them; love, worry, fear, pain. She offered me a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.

I sighed and dried myself off with the towel, then re-clothed myself, waiting for my mother to say something to me. Usually she would, but for once, she was quiet. And that worried me.

Several minutes passed before Esme finally spoke. "How are you feeling?" she asked softly.

I ran a hand through my hair. "Not as good as I wish," I admitted. True, swimming had calmed and relaxed me, but it hadn't taken all the thoughts away as best as I wanted.

Esme opened her arms wordlessly, beckoning me into them. I hesitated for a brief few seconds before allowing them to capture me and pull me in close. I nuzzled into my mother's shoulder and allowed my body to melt into her embrace, letting her warmth and love wash over me like a much needed drug. It felt amazing and I honestly never wanted to leave.

Being in Esme's arms was too much for me and I ultimately gave in to my emotions. I dry sobbed into her shoulder as she sat us both down, gently rocking me back and forth while running her fingers through my hair to soothe me. Esme never spoke; she didn't need to because her love spoke volumes for her.

I don't know how much time passed until I stopped. And even then, we remained in that position for even longer. Humans would define the action as strange, but for me, this was one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Eventually—though it was gradual—I pulled away slightly from my mother's body and looked into her eyes. Her eyes shone with unquestionable love as she leaned down and kissed both cheeks, my forehead and my lips.

"My baby," she whispered, shaking her head. "How sorry I am that I was not there to fight alongside and protect you. Had I known, I would've rushed there as fast as possible. I am only thankful that your sister was able to get there when she did."

I nodded. "I'm okay, mama."

"No, you're not," she said, seeing through my lie. "You're hurting. Physically, emotionally, I can sense it all without having Jasper's gift. He could sense it, too, though. While you were healing, he broadcasted the emotions you were feeling. It broke my heart, Bella. What did that monster do to you? What happened out there? Please, I must know."

"Esme…"

She gave me a pleading look and I sighed. "I…after I went and saw Alice, it was sunny out so I went into the forest and called Rose. She said she'd pick me up in a bit, so I figured I'd wait, but then he showed up. We fought, he…said some things and, well, I lost. Badly."

"What did he say?" she asked, narrowing her eyes in anger.

I choked as his words slammed into me again. I cringed and slowly repeated to Esme every single one of them. When I'd finished, I literally cowered in Esme's arms at the expression of pure seething murderous hatred in her eyes. They bored into the ground for several minutes as she breathed raggedly in silence.

"That son of a bitch," Esme snarled. "If he were here, I would tear that fucker apart for what he did to my child. And those words…" She shook her head, finally looking at me. "Bella, those are the words of a gutless, heartless monster trying to manipulate you into believing something that could never be true. Don't you EVER believe a word of what he said to you."

She cupped my cheeks. "I love you, Isabella Marie Cullen. You are my child, my baby. You were the first child that Carlisle and I had and you hold a very special part of my heart because of that fact. Nothing will ever change my love for you. And I know I speak for your father and your siblings when I say that they love you the same. You have no idea how important you are in this family. You are our centerpiece. Without you, we would fall apart."

Her eyes blazed with every fiber of meaning and it melted into me, destroying the fears that Edward's words had created. I buried myself in Esme again, holding her as tight as I could as the love and warmth washed over me. Esme kissed my cheek again and again, whispering that she would always love me and that I'd always be her baby.

Eventually Esme released me from her arms and we stood. The moon was out, hanging in the center of the sky as Esme wrapped one motherly arm around me. We walked at a casual pace back to the house, my earlier mood gone for good. There was still the ordeal with my thirst for vengeance being my sole purpose, but with the mood I was in now, I didn't care.

When we arrived back at the home, I was tackled to the ground by Jane, who squeezed me tightly. My other siblings then proceeded to dog-pile on top of me until I was completely smothered by all six of them, which, though odd, was kind of nice.

"Uh, guys, can't move," I grunted, trying to get them off of me.

"Tough," Jane mumbled against my shoulder. "Deal with it."

I groaned and waited for them to let me up, which only took a moment. Jane remained glued to me, which was sweet in my opinion. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed her tightly for what seemed like an hour before she pulled away and kissed my cheek. I gave her a brief lip kiss and then released her.

What followed was the same for each sibling, ending with Rosalie, who held me the tightest and the longest out of any of them.

"I'm so fucking sorry," Rosalie whimpered into my shoulder. Rosalie, crying? That was…a first.

"Rose," I murmured. "It's—"

"Don't," Rosalie growled, pressing her forehead to mine. "If I hadn't been a stupid bitch, you would have never gotten hurt the way you did. It's my fault. I should've come and gotten you. I should have been there for you, but I wasn't and you nearly died. If it hadn't been for that little human of your screaming at me to come and get you…"

I blinked. "Wait, what? Alice?"

"Why don't we head inside?" Esme suggested, placing her hands on my back. "We can all comfort Bella better inside then out here standing around."

Everyone nodded and we all sauntered inside. I sat down and was immediately pulled close to Rosalie, who refused to leave my side. Jane sat on the floor, curling her arms around my left leg and squeezing it tightly while Victoria sat on my opposite side and took my hand in hers. My brothers all seated by their mates, sans Riley who opted for a chair he pulled in.

I could feel the love emanating from all of them, Esme included as she sat down next to Riley. I didn't need Jasper's gift to be able to feel it, but I knew he was magnifying it to give it more strength, which would've brought me to tears if I could cry. Rosalie looked angry and ashamed of herself and I wanted to ease her, but first, I needed to know about Alice.

"You said Alice called?" I murmured.

Rosalie nodded. "She called my cell-phone and started screeching at me to go and find you because you were in danger. At first, I didn't know who the fuck she was so I demanded to know and she told me. She said that she knew what we were, that she could see the future and that she was madly in love with you and that I needed to help you because you needed me."

The look in her eyes broke my heart. She looked so devastated. I reached up and touched her cheek with my hand, gently stroking it with my thumb. It seemed to work a little, but not enough, so I moved in to kiss her in the sisterly way I always did. She relaxed, but the sadness remained.

"It's my fault," Rosalie said. "I didn't believe her at first, but she kept begging me until I finally decided to go. I should've listened." She shook her head again.

"Rose, it's not your fault," I murmured, nuzzling into her neck. "No one could've predicted that he would show up. I chose to fight him, to pursue him and to let him push my buttons to the point where I snapped and nearly died. It was my doing, mixed in with his."

"Sorry, Bella, but I'm not accepting that," Rosalie said. "I should've been there for you and I apologize for not. All I can say is that I vow to be there for you the next time. I won't ever let him hurt you like that again, I promise you."

My siblings all grunted in agreement and I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Have it your way, but I'm not mad nor do I blame you, Rosalie. Or any of you. I only blame myself for being stupid and letting him goad me on to begin with. Can we move on, though? I'd rather not talk about that bastard anymore."

Everyone nodded.

"He's lucky I wasn't there," Jane grumbled under her breath. "If I ever see that bastard, I'll make him scream like the bitch he is."

I smiled a little. "Actually, I made him scream a few times. Tore his arm off and a couple chunks of his skin out. I know he got his arm back, but I'm not so sure about his skin. Or his hair, which I enjoyed yanking out. Either way, he didn't walk away unscathed from our fight whether or not I lost it. He'd better be ready for next time, that's all I have to say."

A few of my siblings laughed at the revelation that I'd torn him up a bit. Riley, Emmett, Jasper, Victoria and Rosalie all beamed proudly at me while Jane seemed like she wanted me to do more to him, but she smiled nonetheless.

And so had I, I added silently. I need to train more. I need to get stronger and better at fighting no matter what it takes. He won't ever make me look like a fool again.

"Guys, I'll be right back," I said. I needed to call Alice. I had a feeling she was worried. Jane whined and hugged my leg tighter. I smiled warmly at my younger sister and ran my hand through her hair. "You can sit on my lap when I get back, okay Jane?"

She nodded and let go, allowing me the chance to run upstairs to grab my cell. No sooner had I grabbed it did it start to ring. It was Alice.

"Hey," I greeted.

"BELLA!" she screamed. "Oh, thank God, thank God! I was so worried…I…I had this vision of you being attacked and I freaked out. If I…if I hadn't seen you giving me your sister's number, I would've never been able to call her. Are you alright? Are you hurt? What happened?"

"I'm fine," I replied. "I got a little beat up, but I'm fine, I swear."

That didn't please her. "What happened?"

I bit my lip. "I…got into a conflict with an enemy vampire," I answered half-honestly. Now wasn't the time to tell her about Edward. "Honestly, it seems I have you to thank for my timely rescue from my sister. Thank you, Alice. My life was saved because of you."

Alice was silent for a moment and I could almost hear her sobbing. "You're welcome," she replied after a few minutes. "I'm just glad you're okay. I…I can't lose you. Now that I have you in my life, you're what matters most to me."

"I feel the same," I murmured. "You and my family are my world."

"Give your sister my thanks," Alice said. "And I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school."

"Yeah, see you then," I replied. "Alice?"

"Yes?"

"I love you," I said.

Alice let out a sharp breath. "I love you too. So fucking much. Bye."

"Bye."

She hung up first, then I closed my phone and placed it on my drawer. I ran a hand through my hair when I realized I would need to tell Alice the whole truth about me and him. I didn't look forward to that conversation, but it would have to be done and soon.

He knew about her. That put her life in danger because I would not know when he'd strike unless I was with her every second of every day. And that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. I needed to come up with a plan to…no, not just me. My family and I. They needed to know what happened between Alice and I and that Edward knew of her. We could work together.

I sauntered back downstairs to see my siblings staring into space blankly. I was reminded of that horrid image I'd dreamt up in my mind, but that changed when Rosalie stood and pulled me into her arms once more. I rested my head on her shoulder and relaxed into her embrace, wondering if I would have to tell her that I wasn't mad at her again.

"Esme told me what that fucker said to you," she growled. "It's all bullshit, Bella. We love you more than you could ever imagine. I would die to protect you, you know that. He's playing mind games with you, being the little cowardly piece of shit that he is. Don't listen to him. Everyone in this house loves you. I love you. You mean the world to me, sister."

"You brought us together when we never believed we'd find love or a family," Victoria said, coming to squeeze me from behind. "You were my first friend, my best friend, and Rosalie is right in every way. Please don't think that we don't love you, sister. We do."

"Damn straight," Emmett boomed.

"Thank you, all of you," I said, squeezing my sisters back. "I don't know why I let what he said get to me so much, but it did. But I'm thankful I have you guys here to help bring me out of my pointless wallowing. Because you're right. He's just doing what he can to push my buttons and I'm not going to let it get to me."

Jane giggled evilly. "Buttons."

"Oh, that reminds me…" I lightly smacked my shortest sister in the back of the head, much to her dismay and glared at her. "Did you not promise to never speak of that nickname again, you evil little brat?"

"Ow!" Jane whined. "I never told them anything!"

"You didn't?" I asked, lifting an eyebrow. "Then how did…?"

"What?" she asked, mildly annoyed.

"Never mind," I sighed. "It's not important. Sorry about that."

She smiled. "It's cool. I did tell Rose."

"You little—"

She jumped up to peck my forehead and booked it out of the house, leaving me flustered, but smiling nonetheless. Everyone else laughed, though Emmett clearly wanted to know what Jane and I had been talking about. He wasn't going to find out, however. Not if I could help it.

After a bit more chatting and making sure that I was okay, everyone went back to do what they had been previously except for Rosalie. She motioned for me to follow her, which I rolled my eyes at, but did regardless. We walked outside, far away enough so that the others wouldn't be able to listen in to what was being said. I had a feeling it'd be personal.

"What's up?" I asked, stuffing my hands into my pockets.

She turned around to face me and placed her hands on my shoulders. "I've got a couple of questions to ask, none of which you have to answer, but I'd love to know. First off, how the hell did your little Alice get a hold of my cell number and how did she know about what was happening between you and that bastard?"

"Oh." I bit my lip and sighed. "She can see the future, Rose. I don't know how, but apparently she's somehow got a gift as a human and she was able to see me giving her your number and what was going on. Truth be told, I did plan on giving her your number for precautions sake tomorrow, but I guess there's no reason for that now."

Her jaw dropped. "She can see the future? Fucking seriously?"

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah. Crazy, right? That's why she was out in the woods that night and why she purposefully threw herself in front of a car, to get me to rescue her so we could have the time together to reveal our secrets."

"That little shit did that on purpose?" Rosalie asked, her eyes widening.

I sat down and sighed. "Yes, she admitted to that. I was irked at her for doing it, but when I thought about it a bit, I guess it made sense. It was crazy and risky, yes, but it got me to act on my feelings and we were able to break past all that awkward shit we were forcing ourselves to go through because I sucked at talking to her."

Rosalie sat down as well and shook her head. "Remind me to smack her later. So I'm guessing that she knows what we are now, huh?"

I nodded. "Yup."

"Let's hope that this doesn't bite you in the ass, hm?" Rosalie deadpanned.

"Knowing my luck, it will, but I'll deal with it when it does," I shrugged. "Now that I have Alice in my life, despite the obvious complications, I'm not going to sit back and mope anymore about how things could have been. All I want to focus on is the present and making the right decisions so that Alice and I will have our forever."

Rosalie cocked her head to the side. "Complications? Like her being a human?"

"There's that, yeah, but…" I paused and rested my head on her shoulder. "There's also the fact that she's afraid of her parents right now and for that reason, we're not sure where to go exactly with our relationship."

"Oh, dear Lord," Rosalie groaned. "Is she really going to let those fools keep her from making her own damn decisions?"

"I don't know," I sighed. "I mean, I don't want to force her into something she doesn't want to do, no, but I'd love if she told them to screw off and came to live with us. But maybe now isn't the time for that. Maybe I should give her the time she needs to figure out what she's going to do next, since she did just commit herself to a vampire."

Rosalie pursed her lips and frowned. "And you two haven't even gone on a date yet, let alone really bond much. I guess it's a good thing that you take it slow with her, it gives you the chance you need to adjust to her smell and it lets you two become close. That's what being mates is about; bonding with the person who your heart belongs to and vice versa."

I smirked. "I thought it was about awesome sex?"

She grinned back. "That comes later, although I'm not sure if having sex with a human would be the wisest idea since they're so damn fragile."

I bit my lip. That brought up yet another problem for the foreseeable future; how do I deal with Alice's humanness? The best option would be to turn her, but one, I couldn't do it right now since my control was still too poor and two, I hadn't even asked her about it yet.

I wondered what she would say to the idea of becoming a vampire. It was asking a lot since she would have to throw her current life away and avoid human contact for years in order to train herself to the point where she didn't slip up when she saw a human. That was something all newborn vampires had to do, and it wasn't easy.

"How do I talk to her about turning her?" I asked.

Rosalie's eyes widened. "Bella, that's not something you should bring up yet."

I rolled my eyes. "I'm aware of that, Rose. I meant for later on down the line."

"Well…" She looked upwards at the sky for a moment in thought. "I think that, when you two have developed a strong enough bond, you should mention it to her and see how she reacts. I know that you'd hope she would say yes, but if she says no…"

I swallowed nervously. What if she said no?

"I doubt she will, though," Rosalie stated, smirking. "Why wouldn't she want to be with you?"

I lightly swatted her shoulder. "Not funny, Rose."

"The look on your face was," she snickered. "I think that that's a bridge you'll have to cross in the future, but for now, just get to know the girl. I could tell from the way she sounded on the phone that she was worried sick, which means she clearly has strong feelings for you. I say go with the flow."

I smiled and hugged her. "Are you feeling okay, Rose? You're not acting like your usual self."

She hugged me back. "My mind is in a lot of different places at once. Seeing you hurt, knowing all the shit that he put you through, what he said to you while you fought…it brought back a lot of painful memories of me and Royce and how he had acted that night you found me."

Her face became dark and anger flashed in her eyes. I let out a faint hiss at the mentioning of the man that had raped her; I remembered his face despite only seeing him for a short period of time. What I remembered most was the effect that his actions had on Rosalie after she'd become a vampire and slaughtered him and his friends.

That was one of the reasons Rosalie and I had such a strong bond; we knew what it was like to be overpowered by someone who thought had loved us and we knew how it felt to be wracked with bitterness and anger. We helped heal each other, though. We lent one another strength and in that sense, completed what the other lacked.

"Thanks for the talk, Rose," I said. "I owe you a lot."

She snorted. "No, you don't, dumbass."

There's the Rosalie I know and love. "I guess we should get back before Emmett comes outside thinking we're making out, huh?"

"Probably," she chuckled.

We walked back inside together and settled down in the living room while the others cheered on Emmett, Jasper, Victoria and Jane's video game. It was a peaceful night despite what had happened beforehand and I was thankful for my family's council. They'd brought me out of my stupor and I intended to never let myself feel that way again.

There was a lot to deal with on the horizon. Alice. Alice's parents. Edward.

He would be back. I knew it. But I'd be prepared the next time. I would train to grow stronger and better at fighting, learn how to fight around his gift and do whatever it took to keep Alice and my family safe from him and his treachery. I'd make him pay, yes, but I would be smart about it, not reckless.

And in the end, he would be a pile of stinking ashes on the ground while I stood victorious. I vowed myself that right then and there, and I silently vowed that to each and every person in my life that I loved and cared for.

Edward Masen's days were numbered. And Bella Cullen was going to see to that no matter what.

A/N: Yay, Hollowgo finally got off his ass and updated! Wee!

Srsly, though. Ha ha. Sorry bout the wait, but I'm finally out of Hell and I get to enjoy summer! Or at least I would if it wasn't cold and raining. Talk about a total downer, right? Oh well. I blame Cali's crazy ass weather. But anyways, here is an update, and although there wasn't much that happened (it was more filler, I guess you could say), it moves things along and helps Bella feel better. No more mopey "Edward" Bella from here on out, she's going to be training her ass off and building up her relationship to Alice.

I can't lie, I'm honestly not sure where I'm going with this right now. But sometimes that's part of the journey in writing, eh? So we'll all see what happens next on this psycho merry-go-round of a story when I update next. Which...I honestly have no clue when that will be. I'm trying to juggle this and my attempt at the BS novel (that would sound horrible if people didn't know the acronym already), which is doing fairly well. Here's hoping I'll be able to finish that before this year ends.

Alright, random news time. One, Departed, an amazing writer, WROTE SOMETHING! I was amazed. Nice to see her back in action. Two, happy birthday to a reader of mine, Silva86, who I spoke with via PM and is going to start writing soon (apparently I motivated her?). Three, shoutout to A.S. Rainwater, an awesome writer who has begun her own Bellice story that some of you may have seen. Four, I shrank Bella's height down from 5'6 to 5'4 in this story. Why, because I felt like it (my reason for everything :P). And five...

There is no five. So hope ya'll enjoyed this, read my new profile and vote on that poll if you haven't (please). Peace!