Read with caution and tissues at hand. Extra emotional.
Chapter 39: Dying
When the other car hit Edward's car, she scooped Edward up and rushed out. His car was a wreck. No one could tell if there were any victims, hopefully.
She couldn't believe how stupid she had been. She should have insisted to drive. She should have moved faster.
Of one thing Bella was sure; Edward wasn't in pain because he couldn't feel his body. When he opened his eyes and she filled him in with the news, she thought he'd be upset, but he surprised her again. He was disappointed that no one was going to see his tan. Only Edward would be worried about that in a moment like this.
When Bella arrived at the Cullens' house, Alice and Rose were waiting outside, wearing identical worried expression.
"How is he?" Alice asked, scared, advancing to them.
Bella looked down at him. Edward had passed out. "I have to do it. Where is Carlisle?"
"Hunting. His phone is off," Rosalie whispered.
"Speaking of off phones… Why in the hell were your phones off?" Alice yelled.
"We forgot to turn them back on after the flight. I didn't even think about it."
They went inside. Alice took Bella to a room she had never been in – Carlisle's laboratory. She had no idea he had something like this in his house.
When she put Edward on the table, he came around. He looked like he was in pain, which was impossible.
"What is it?" She whispered, leaning closer, stroking his hair.
"I…love them. Tell them that. Please."
"I will," she promised.
Bella heard Emmett yelling into a phone, from the living room. She realized he was talking with someone from La Push. Crap. She hadn't thought of the dogs. She had to save Edward. She could smell blood inside his body. He had internal hemorrhage.
"And…" Edward rasped.
"Shh. Stop talking." Bella kissed his lips once. "Shh."
"I want…you said…it hurts…"
"It does. It will," she said sadly.
"Morphine," he mumbled, coughing.
His heart started beating more weakly. She had to do it.
No Carlisle.
No dog approval.
Everything be damned.
"Rose," Bella whispered. Her voice trembled horribly. She couldn't lose Edward.
Rose appeared at her side. Edward smiled slowly when he saw her.
"Can you find a shot of morphine?" Bella asked.
"But-"
"NOW," she snarled as Edward spat blood while coughing. "Stay with me, sweetie." She touched his face, where he could feel it.
"I'm dizzy," he mumbled.
Bella pressed her cheek to his forehead, and then she smelled it. Blood in his head. Fuck. She was losing him. Just then Rosalie appeared with the morphine and injected it in his vein.
"I love you. I'll see you soon," Bella whispered.
"Loh…" He tried to say it back, but his eyes rolled in the back of his head.
Bella moved her head to his neck and did what she had wanted to do since she'd met him. She bit, sinking her teeth in his soft skin, feeling his warm blood in her mouth, sliding down her throat and soothing the ache. Bella licked the wound closed and moved to his wrists.
"His heart, too," Rose whispered.
"What?" She asked, looking heartbroken at her husband.
"Carlisle did it for Emmett. He was too mangled by the bear that had attacked him. The venom will work faster."
Bella didn't think twice. She just ripped the bloodied t-shirt and bit over his heart. Then she sank to the floor and started sobbing. Rose sat next down, hugging her tightly.
Edward's heart started beating a little stronger and she started feeling better. He was going to be okay. That's when the complication appeared, in the form of a werewolf.
The door of the makeshift laboratory opened and Leah barged inside. She was livid. Her eyes found Edward and she froze. In the spar of three seconds, she seemed to forget why she was in the room. Her face softened and big tears started rolling down her cheeks.
"What happened?" she whispered, hiccupping.
Bella tried to explain as best as she could, but ended up choking on words when she got to the second collision. By the time she finished the story, Leah understood why she had to do it.
"I'm really sorry for breaking the treaty," Bella mumbled.
"I guess I understand why you did it." She wiped her tears away and went closer to Edward. "Should you...clean those wounds?"
"I don't think it's necessary."
"Please…" She whispered, pleadingly.
They started cleaning his face off shattered glass as Rosalie left the room to try calling Carlisle again. Bella had never thought she'd tolerate Leah so much. She never mentioned it if she saw some grimace on Edward's face. Even though that grimace was proof that the venom was working. But why wasn't he yelling in pain?
After they cleaned him and changed his clothes, Carlisle came inside the room, looking shaken. He clasped Bella in arms, hugging her tightly. Then he turned to Leah.
"You didn't see them. They are both dead."
Bella's dead heart broke into a thousand pieces.
"I'm going to the hospital to see what I can do. Esme…is calling his parents."
"Holy shit," Bella whispered, bending over Edward's body. His heart kept beating steadily.
"You did a great job, Bella. I'm proud of you."
"I didn't think for a second to drain him."
"Of course you didn't, child. You had to save him."
Leah left, going to announce everyone in La Push of the tragedy.
"One thing we'll have to do, though," Carlisle told her right before heading out.
"Yes?" Bella looked up from her spot, draped across Edward's chest.
"We'll have to bury you. Both of you."
"Aren't we supposed to be mangled…"
"Trust me to do this. For Elizabeth and Edward Senior."
She nodded and wished she could cry.
"In three days, when his transformation is over, we are doing it. It will be a closed casket."
"Carlisle, you can't…you have to let Elizabeth choose."
He nodded and left. She stayed on top of Edward for the following days. Every family member came and went, but she never move.
There were almost thirteen more hours until the end of the third day when his heart started beating frantically.
"No, Edward." Bella panicked. "No. You were doing so well."
Alice came in the room. "It's almost done."
"But it's only been two and a half days," she insisted.
"With the amount of venom in his system he could have turned in one day," she whispered.
Bella sat up, straddling his waist, touching his face, his shoulders, and his arms. After two more wild beats, his heart stopped. Bella held her breath, stilling her hands.
"Get off him. Now," Alice told her in a panicked voice.
Bella had time to take one leg off when she found herself slamming into the wall across the room. All his six foot two inches frame stood rigid at the foot of the table, growling loudly. At her.
"Edward? It's me," she whispered.
Recognition flashed in his eyes and faster than she was used to see him moving, he was in front of her, hugging her and kissing her face.
"Careful, Edward. Ow." Her ribs were protesting.
He took a step back, watching her worried. He was absolutely breathtaking. It had to be a closed casket. No one would believe that a dead person could look so gorgeous. His red eyes sparkled in the neon light, the bronze streaks on his hair were more accentuated and he looked fit.
"Bella," he whispered. His voice was soft, having a velvety touch, making her dizzy.
She advanced slowly and caught his cheeks in her hands then kissed him. She let her tongue caress his, making him moan and wrap his arms around her, more carefully this time.
When they separated, Edward was sporting a huge grin. Everyone had come in the room. Carlisle suggested they go hunting, earning a growl of approval from Edward. Bella was sure his throat was in flames.
"I have a question first," Edward whispered, squeezing her hand in his.
"Yes?" Carlisle asked promptly, frowning.
"Why am I hearing voices in my head?"
Everyone turned to stare at him. Could vampire turn insane? Was it her fault?
"What are you hearing?" Carlisle asked worried.
Edward frowned. "Well…Rosalie is wondering if I am insane. Alice is not happy about what I'm wearing. Emmett is wondering when he can challenge me to a rematch of arm wrestling…" He stopped talking when they gaped at him.
Could he…?
No, that was impossible.
He could read minds.
"Yes, I think I can hear your thoughts," he told Jasper, smirking.
Half a second later, he turned to Bella, grinning. His grin started falling as he frowned. Edward leaned closer. "What are you doing?"
"What?" Bella asked, surprised.
"I can't hear you," he whined.
"Remember that Aro couldn't read her mind, either?" Carlisle asked.
"Great!" Edward snorted.
"Let's go hunting. You'll explore your power later."
The hunting trip was long. He tried to copy her, but ended up in a worse state than Bella had been after her first hunt with the Cullens. His pants were ripped, his shirt was somewhere on the forest's ground and all this after a wrestling with a mountain lion. They moved on to deer after that, but it was tricky since he smelled of blood and herbivores didn't like that.
Everyone had a good laugh when they returned to the house. After Edward showered and changed his clothes, they held a family meeting where they informed him of the decision. Edward said that he knew about it – he had heard them talking. The two of them had to hold their breaths for a few hours then at night, after the burial, Carlisle would come and take them from the coffins.
That night, Bella took Edward to her little cottage and held him as he sobbed dryly.
"Do you know….anything about them?" he whispered.
"I haven't heard anything. Should I go check on them? You aren't allowed to come."
"Yes, please."
She took him back to the main house because he was still a newborn and someone had to watch him.
.
.
.
At the Masens' house, the sight was…beyond heart-breaking. Bella's heart had broken when she thought Edward was going to die, but what she was seeing was beyond words.
Edward's parents were in the kitchen despite being almost three in morning. Ed was barely visible through the mountain of baked goods. Elizabeth was crying while making muffins. Bella wanted to go and tell her that they were okay, that her son wasn't technically dead.
"Lizzy, stop. For real," Ed said exhausted, going behind her.
She collapsed in his arms and started sobbing. "My little boy."
"Shh, sweetheart." He wasn't good at consoling her. Tears were rolling down his cheeks freely.
"He was only seventeen. Seventeen, Edw…" She hiccupped, started crying harder. She couldn't even say her husband's name. "And that poor girl. She was like my daughter."
"Lizzy. Let's go to bed."
"I can't sleep."
"I know, my love. We'll just lie down."
When Bella returned to the Cullens, she didn't have the heart to tell Edward what she had seen. It was a miracle that he couldn't read her thoughts. She just told him that they were grieving. That was an understatement.
The next few hours passed quickly. They had to lie in coffins. Edward had promised to hold his breath and not move a muscle. There were so many horrible scenarios. Alice saw at least a dozen ways he would kill everyone.
The worst part was that Edward's parents were due to the house any moment. And Elizabeth wanted to see them. Bella wished they could share a coffin so she could relax him and squeeze his hand.
Alice and Rosalie took care of them, trying to make them look dead. Bella was sure Edward couldn't pass as dead. He was too beautiful.
When his parents' car turned on the road coming to the house, he shot up. "I can't do this."
"Lay back down before you give them a heart attack," Rosalie scolded him.
"I can't! They smell so good." Then he slapped his forehead. "I can't believe I'm thinking about…my parents like that."
"Edward. Stop breathing," Bella hissed, not moving from her spot. She heard him lying back down.
"Clasp your hands over your chest," Alice groaned.
Edward hissed making everyone laugh. Bella reminded him it was time to stop breathing and moving when his parents knocked on the door.
"He nodded," Rose whispered to her, earning a loud hiss from Edward.
It would have been funny if it weren't for the people that were going to come so close to danger, for his parents that were too hurt to function normally.
Carlisle greeted them at the door and showed them inside, telling them that only yesterday was he able to bring the kids home and that they looked better than expected. Esme whispered her condolences, while Elizabeth sniffed loudly.
They approached the table where their coffins were laying. Elizabeth's breath hitched and Bella was sure they didn't look as bad as she had thought.
"They look asleep," she murmured.
"Don't breathe, don't breathe. Don't move. Let her touch you," Bella heard Carlisle whispering hurriedly. Elizabeth was touching Edward.
Everything was so quiet, spare the two heartbeats. Bella could hear the animals in the forest and the cars on the main road – not like she wouldn't have otherwise.
Suddenly, something warm touched her, and she almost jumped a mile. It was so inconvenient not to breathe. Why had one warned her?
After an excruciatingly long hour, she and Edward were locked in the coffins and carried to the cemetery.
"How are you?" Bella whispered, watching the splinters in top of the coffin.
"It's tolerable. I am so sorry for causing them so much pain," Edward answered softly.
"I know."
They were moved again. They could hear people crying and whispering then a priest held the ceremony.
"I was thinking," Edward whispered.
"Yes?"
"Actually, Mom intends to spend the night here. How is Carlisle going to dig us up if she will be here?"
"Don't worry about that," Carlisle answered, amused.
After a loud thud from Edward's side, Bella got a little worried. "Are you okay?"
"Yes," he breathed. He sounded choked, like he was trying not to cry.
No one had to tell her what the thud had been. His mother falling over his coffin and grieving him.
Some time later, they were lowered in the grave and the tomb stone was pushed above.
"And now we wait." He laughed, but it wasn't his laugh. It sounded hysterical.
A few people, along with his parents lingered, but in the end only Ed and Elizabeth remained by their head. Bella tried to distract Edward from his mother's wails, but she couldn't do much.
After what felt like hours, he groaned loudly. "I can't sit here and hear her cry! Their thoughts…"
"And what do you propose?" she asked.
He sighed heavily. "We should have told them the truth. A long time ago. When we were fighting about the college."
"And the Volturi would have come and ended everything before it even began," Bella said sarcastically.
"Volturi shmolturi," Edward grumbled. "Can you distract me?" he asked on a strained voice.
"What do you want to do when we leave Forks?"
"Master killing a mountain lion without looking like a war hero afterwards."
Bella laughed. "Anything else?"
"Kick Emmett's ass at arm wrestling."
"You have to be careful. You're too strong, you could break his hand."
"Great! We'll be even."
They stayed quiet for a few minutes. Bella could only imagine how horrible it was for Edward to hear what his parents were thinking.
"Oh, Bella?"
"Yes, Edward?"
"Can we take Ginger with us?"
"As long as you promise not to eat him."
He snorted. "It's a cat!"
"So?"
"I won't hurt my cat, Bella."
They kept talking. His parents left, eventually, and before they knew it, Carlisle took them out of the coffins.
"Take him hunting. I'll see you home," he whispered after arranging the stone back.
Bella and Edward stood, shoulder to shoulder, watching the headstone.
Those we love don't go away, they walk beside us every day. Unseen, unheard, but always near, so loved, so missed, so very dear. In loving memory of our son, daughter, and friends. We love and miss you dearly.
Isabella Marie Masen 13 September 1993 – 19 June 2011
Edward Anthony Masen 20 June 1994 – 19 June 2011
He sighed and grabbed Bella's wrist, running away. He was so fast she had trouble keeping up.
"Edward…"
He stopped eventually and threw himself down, curling into himself and started sobbing. Was he regretting his decision? Bella knelt next to him and stroked his hair before curling around him. They stayed like that until he relaxed his muscles and his body stopped shaking with dry sobs.
"You should have snatched me out of the car! I don't care what people would have thought!" He turned to her, his red eyes blazing. "It's your fault we're…dead!"
Bella gasped. His words hurt her more than anything.
"I wanted to keep in touch with them for another ten years at least! I hate you so much right now! I can find my own way back alone."
"Edward, don't be ridiculous! I can't leave you alone."
"Ridiculous?" He snorted, the anger in his eyes turning into fire. "Me going home alone isn't ridiculous. What is ridiculous is that my poor parents are crying over me, and I can't do a damn thing!"
"But you're a newborn!" She insisted.
He growled loudly when she tried to approach him. Bella stopped moving. Then he was gone. She ran after him, keeping a safe distance between them.
What had she done?
It wasn't her fault. She couldn't let herself think that.
It was too late when she realized where Edward had led them. He was about to step out of the woods near his house.
Bella caught his elbow, but his newborn strength threw her in the nearest tree when he jerked his arm.
"Edward! NO!"
"I'm done listening to you, Bella! I'm going to tell them the fucking truth! I'll deal with the Volturi and whoever is against this."
"Don't be stupid," she hissed, pushing him back into the forest. "Think about it! THINK, Edward!"
He narrowed his red eyes at her. His anger was palpable.
"They would think they lost their minds. You could give them a heart attack."
"Bella…" He sighed, his shoulders sagging. "Jake told me once that his dad slipped a few things."
"That's what I thought," she mumbled.
He eyed her curiously.
"Your mother…she told me something some time ago. It sounded as if she knew what was going on."
"Yeah. They'll understand," he pleaded. "Please, Bella. Let's do this together."
Bella wanted to run it by Alice and be sure his parents wouldn't think they were ghosts or that they were insane. As if summoned, Alice came to a screeching halt next to them.
"So?" Edward asked her, not surprised by her appearance.
She nodded slowly. "Just be careful and patient. And you, mister, keep your distance. I already saw fifty scenarios of you draining your mother."
"I will," he promised solemnly. He shuddered delicately, keeping his eyes on Alice, most likely seeing it all in her mind.
After she left, they remained rooted to the ground, at the edge of the forest. Bella caught his face in her hands. "Are you sure, Edward?"
He pressed his forehead onto hers. "I'm so sorry for what I said earlier. I don't know what got over me."
"Newborn hormones," she whispered, giggling.
"Not funny. I love you, Mrs. Masen."
"As I love you, Mr. Masen."
Hand in hand, they left the forest and walked to the front door. Bella was going to make the biggest mistake of her existence, but she wasn't alone in this. Edward and she were walking head first toward their deaths. The Volturi would hear about this, and they had already forgiven them. Twice. Three is a lucky number. Who knows? Maybe they'd close their eyes again.
Edward knocked on the door, gulping loudly.
