Note: This chapter takes place immediately after the last. Short, I know, but I decided to break up the chapter and the next one will be longer. Thanks for reviewing and all the wonderful comments!

Disclaimer: I own nothing Twilight. I merely play with the characters for entertainment. No copyright infringement intended.

Chapter 38

Giving Up the Ghost

I walked. And when I was far enough away I ran. And when I got tired of running, I started walking again.

It was drizzling. But I had been out long enough so my clothes were soaking up the rain.

I was no longer tethered to this place, but I couldn't make myself leave. Forks had become my home. As much as I hated it now, as much as it was a painful reminder of things that never were, things that never could be, it was a place of hope.

That damned hope. Hopeless of hopes.

What a terrifying and agonizingly beautiful thing this hope was.

I thought about how, in my mind, I would always associate Forks with Edward. The Cullens surely had numerous homes, all around the world, but this is where I had met him, was enchanted by him, surrounded by green. His gold eyes surrounded by green.

If I waited long enough, patiently enough, he might return.

I would be old by then, of course, practically unrecognizable, but if I lived safely and carefully, maybe my wrinkled eyes could once again lay their sights on his beautiful figure.

Ridiculous, I knew, because I would probably be long dead before he returned, he would make sure, if he returned at all.

But I even thought about how maybe he might come back and check up on me, secretly, without my ever knowing.

The pain of first love dissipates with time but the feeling never fades. Maybe some day I will think I see you in a sea of faces and lose your sight in a blink of an eye. I will dismiss it as trick of the eye but it will be you checking up on an old remembrance. I liked that idea. Even if it was in a figment of my imagination, I would like to see you again.

Maybe he might become nostalgic for the silly human who asked him to turn her. He did say vampires had undying memories. I liked the idea that even though he might not think of me often, he would never be able to forget me. I liked the idea that perhaps, his feelings he once had for me might not be forgotten either.

I just wanted to be here for the in case. For the maybe possibly.

Stupid, I knew.

It was that damned hope. Hope kills. And I was dying. I needed to kill hope first.

I found myself close to the former Cullen residence, too close for it to be a coincidence though I walked without purpose of destination. All this longing for Edward must have subconsciously directed me here.

I took a deep breath and trekked the rest of the way while the rain still drizzled down.

I surveyed the beautiful architecture of the house, something I admired though never fully appreciated before. I slowly walked up the steps of the porch until I was under the cover from the rain.

I was cold and shivering but ignored it. I was always cold now.

I peered into the window and saw an unfamiliar emptiness in the house. No warmth emanated from the home. No, it wasn't a home anymore, it was an abandoned house.

I stepped around the walkaround porch of the house and looked through wherever there was glass, which was a large portion of its walls. I always thought the transparency of this house reflected the Cullens' open nature (they didn't really have to worry about home security for they could see, hear, smell, feel, sense anyone who came near), but now I just felt like a lovelorn voyeur.

I could see they cleared the house of most of their possessions, the small touches Esme adorned the downstairs with.

I saw the fish tank, the one Edward had gotten when I asked him about pets. It was empty now except for the colorful gravel and decorations. I wondered if they flushed the fish or just dumped it outside somewhere. I couldn't help peering about over the edge of the porch, though the evidence would be long gone by now. He had left me the task of naming the poor creatures and I had indeed doomed them to death with their namesakes of tragic literary couples.

The larger furniture, like the couches and the piano, were covered with white sheets – they were turned into ghosts left to haunt the house. I knew what that felt like.

I suddenly felt so cold and thought I could die right now, in the rain. I could join the furniture and haunt this house. I could wait here for Edward forever.

That's when I heard the sound of tire over gravel and I turned to see a black car with darkened windows pull up on the driveway.

My heart nearly stopped when the doors opened and hope took over for a second and let me believe Edward was really back.

But of course it wasn't Edward.

But it was vampires.

Two of them stepped out of the driver side and passenger side doors in completely black outfits. The shorter one, the driver, pulled off his sunglasses and concentrated his red eyes on me. The passenger was extremely tall, taller than Jacob I'd say, and also looked at me with calm menace.

"Isabella Swan?" the driver said not really as a question.

I was surprised he knew my name, though by now I really shouldn't have been. It seemed like every vampire knew who I was.

I didn't speak. I was trying to think if I should lie or not. I figured I was doomed whether I was me or not.

I nodded slightly and slowly stepped down from the porch steps.

Victoria must have sent some more of her friends after me. And I was far from home and from La Push. Jacob wouldn't know that I'd be here with these vampires. And my cellphone was at home, still drying from last night. Not that I could've dialed him before these two would rip me apart.

"I am Demetri," said the driver through gritted teeth, "and this is Felix." He pointed to his monstrously tall companion. I got the feeling he wasn't accustomed to introducing himself to humans. There was something old and regal about them, nothing like Victoria and her wild, animalistic clan, and even different from the modern, trendy Cullens. They were both relatively young-looking, though how long they've been roaming the earth I had no idea but I guessed they had been around a while. They had a different air about them. Even Felix, who was obviously the muscle, looked classical.

Victoria must have outsourced her dirty work to professionals.

"The Council would like an audience with you," Demetri said.

"The Council?" I asked confused.

"The Council of the Volturi."