Chapter Thirty Nine

Present Day

Edward took in another deep breath and stood, handing his daughter to Esme. "I have to play now, Little love," he told her.

"Daddy…can't I sit at the piano wif you?"

He smiled, despite himself. "No, Sweetheart, you stay with Auntie Esme, alright?"

She bit her lip, so like his Bella, but nodded. "Okay," she whispered softly.

He blew out one more breath before he moved over to the baby grand piano sitting in the corner. Alice had 'a vision' that the room would need to be used as a small concert space, so she had it decorated with all the instruments they would need as well as a mike and amp system. They could jam out if they felt like it, and more often than not, Jake, Jasper, and Emmett did that very thing. Carlisle sometimes joined them, but Edward, even in three years of performances and autographs and fans, he hadn't found any form of happiness other than his daughter. Playing his piano had lost joy for him, though he played to keep his sanity. Most of the music he played now was to extract his demons, not for pleasure.

He walked over to the piano; his fingertips lovingly caressing the polished wood. "Are you guys ready?" he asked gruffly.

They all mumbled their acquiesce and he sat upon the bench. The song he had written was too hard for him to sing. He had tried, knowing it would mean more from him, but he just couldn't do it. It was all he could do to join in on the chorus. But if Bella…if she was in a place to hear it, she would know he meant it for her. She would feel his love attached to the song. She would come home to him. This was his last effort. The grandest he could possibly afford. It would be national news. Everyone everywhere would hear it. Hopefully.

Jasper started singing in his deep, gravely voice…

Empty spaces fill me up with holes
Distant faces with no place left to go
Without you within me I can't find no rest
Where I'm going is anybody's guess

Jake took over with Emmett helping; both their voices pained as they remembered his dear friend, Bella.

I tried to go on like I never knew you
I'm awake but my world is half asleep
I pray for this heart to be unbroken
But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete

Jasper then took over once more,

Voices tell me I should carry on
But I am swimming in an ocean all alone
Baby, my baby
It's written on your face
You still wonder if we made a big mistake

They all sang now, the camera going in to see the pain and anguish on Edward's face. His eyes were closed, not even paying attention to anything around him as he was swept away by his emotions.

I'd try to go on like I never knew you
I'm awake but my world is half asleep
I pray for this heart to be unbroken
But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete

Jasper had tears in his own eyes as he sang, with the boys joining him near the end…

I don't mean to drag it on, but I can't seem to let you go
I don't wanna make you face this world alone
I wanna let you go (alone)

There was not a dry eye in the room as they finished up their song…

I'd try to go on like I never knew you
I'm awake but my world is half asleep
I pray for this heart to be unbroken
But without you all I'm going to be is incomplete

Incomplete

They slowly made their way back to the couches and to Barbara. "That was beautiful," she said, sniffling slightly, clearly shaken by the display. "It has been over five years since your last album. You have endured so much together with Jasper's addictions, Bella's abduction, plus all the other scandals and heartaches that have happened along the way. What possessed you to do it now?"

The men looked at one another, but it was Jasper that answered. "We're ready. With all the heartaches and struggles, we've grown as artists. A lot of our issues and struggles have made it into previous albums and we're quite pleased with the new ones as well."

"Are you worried the fans won't be there?" Barbara asked quietly.

"It's always a concern," Emmett answered thoughtfully and for the first time in the interview, sounding serious. "But it's a risk we're taking. We want to be out there. We need to be out there. And I think our fans are loyal enough to have waited for us."

"And when does the concert tour start?" she asked.

"In a few weeks," Jacob said. "Our 'Incomplete' tour will be slightly different. It's more…mature than our other concerts have been. It will be somewhat subdued, but we will still perform our upbeat past number one hits and as Jasper said, we have some wonderful songs on the new album."

"And the music video for this song?" she prompted.

They all looked at Edward before Jasper said, "We aren't sure yet. We've been in talks with directors, but they haven't given us exactly what we want. We'll have to wait and see."

"I could see how it would be very emotional to perform. Are you sure you will be able to do it?" She asked the question to all of them, but it was clearly directed toward Edward.

He nodded and answered. "Fifteen percent of ticket sales are going to the NCMA, or the National Center for Missing Adults and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Even though Bella isn't a child, I can't imagine if it had been Kaiya."

"And what of Kaiya? Will she stay with you while you tour? Or will she be with family?"

"Her grandfather, Charlie Swan, will accompany us on tour this year and Kaiya is going with us. After that, we'll reevaluate and see."

"Thank you, Edward, Jasper, Emmett, Carlisle and Jacob for agreeing to this in-depth interview. I wish you all the best of luck…"

The woman watched with a slightly detached feeling as she listened to the musicians on the Barbara Walters special. There seemed to be something almost…familiar about them all.

"Well, that's silly," she said to herself as she stood to turn the TV off. "Like you would know them. You've probably never been outside the mountains of North Carolina," she chided softly. Of course, she didn't know this; she couldn't remember her life until a few years ago. She could have been someone to somebody, but the people who had taken her in were now her family.

Her hand reached out to the old knob on the TV just as Barbara Walters said, "Thank you all for watching, and before we end our show, here is the information one more time." A picture flashed up on the screen causing the woman to gasp. She sat back down in a rush as her head began to swim. "If you have any information on Grammy Award winning Songwriter Isabella "Bella" Swan-Masen, please call this number…

The woman blinked back tears. Could it be? No…not really. She didn't look like her, did she? But the eyes, the hair…and the fact that she had a notebook full of songs cataloging her feelings since her 'awakening' from the coma…

She reached for her phone and quickly dialed the 800 number. When the kind voice answered, the woman said, "H-hello? I…I think…" She paused and started again. "I think I might be that missing woman."