Chapter 40: Plan to Follow

Edward POV

She hadn't come back with Bella, but Alice had already told me as much. As soon as she had decided to leave, Alice was calling me. But now I searched for her, and I couldn't find her. I tried calling her cell, but she never answered. I even resorted to childish texting, but she didn't answer those either.

The woman I loved was gone and I didn't know if she would ever come back.

I had to keep trying. I couldn't just give up. I wouldn't stop until I found her, even if it took me 50 years to do so. I just couldn't understand what made her leave so suddenly! Alice only saw that she left, not the reason behind it. I had asked Bella of course, but she herself didn't understand why she never returned from the food court in the airport. But Bella, as well as the pack, were all consumed with grief. Grandma Inola had died and they didn't know how to cope. Plus Bella wasn't being too friendly with me right now. She put a little of the blame on me. She thinks that I should never have left Grandma in the first place. I couldn't be angry with her, I agreed. She hadn't mentioned Gyda once since coming back by herself. I couldn't read her mind, but it didn't take a genius to see that right now, she didn't care where Gyda was.

My family coped better with grief, having already lost our families. I guess that's what happens when you have unlimited time on your hands. You forget how to grieve. The human life-span was a mere second to us but that didn't mean we didn't care about Grandma Inola because we all did. Rosalie was very upset for a while, as was I. But I finally recovered enough to trek out by myself and find my soul mate. Because Gyda is my soul mate. The first time we met, I knew almost instantly that she was different to any of my kind I had met before, and she sensed the same, I saw it in her mind.

But Gyda had had a lonely existence. She didn't know how to be around people. She didn't know how to be a part of a family again. So that was why I searched for her now. I was desperate for her to be part of my family. To make our own family. We couldn't have children of course, but we could make our own family of two. Always happy and together. That was what I wanted and I think that was what she desperately wanted too, though she'd never admit it. But it was always there, in the back of her mind. She desperately wanted a place to call home. She wanted someone to want her.

I had searched the whole state, all the way up to Canada, but it was silly. I knew she wouldn't have stuck around. I headed home, feeling like an utter failure. Not to myself, but to her. I wasn't giving up yet, but I had to figure out exactly why she left and then maybe it would held me track her down.

I thought of who I could ask such questions too. Bella was out of the equation now, Paul wasn't here. Ah, Charlie. He knew about her just as much as Bella did.

I got there just after sunrise, careful to stay hidden in the shadow of the porch. The sun wasn't strong for winter, but it would still make me look different. He opened the door, with a glum expression on his face, but smiled when he saw me. A strange reaction.

Well this is a surprise! I haven't seen him for a while now. I wonder how Bella is doing. Maybe I should give her a call

I chuckled quietly as I listened to his thoughts "Hi Charlie. Do you mind if I come in to talk to you?"

He stepped to the side "Come on in. You want some of this pizza? Just had it delivered"

Pizza for breakfast? Man, he must have really been missing Bella's cooking.

"No thanks Charlie. We're not all like Gyda" I laughed, but abruptly stopped, because thinking of her made me sad and that wasn't an emotion I was used to feeling.

"Huh. Gyda. Any idea why she took off like that?" he sat down, opening the pizza box and helping himself to a slice. I grimaced as I watched him eat it.

"No. I've looked for her for a few days now, but I can't find anything. I was actually hoping you might be able to help me track her down"

He swallowed hard and looked at me "Help how? I won't be able to do much at the station, I know Gyda doesn't have paperwork-"

"-no, nothing like that. I was hoping you'd be able to give me some answers"

"Answers?"

"Yeah, I'm trying to find her, but that's an almost impossible task without knowing why she decided to leave. It must have been something big otherwise she wouldn't have left Bella like that"

His moustache furrowed slightly, I could see he was deep in thought. I tried not to listen to them, wanting him to tell me rather than me search his brain for them.

"I didn't know Gyda well of course, Bella knew her best. Have you tried talking to her about it?"

I sighed "She doesn't want to see me at the moment, thinks I'm partly responsible for Grandma Inola's death-"

"-now hold on a hot minute! Bella is blaming you for that?" He was outraged. I didn't want him to be mad at Bella. She had every right to blame me.

"Please don't be angry with her. I should have stayed with Grandma Inola, I know that. But she was adamant that she walked by herself, and I was raised in a time to respect a woman's wishes, even if you're not particularly happy about the choices they make. I wanted to respect her wish to go for a walk by herself so I left to see my family and a vampire killed her. So, in a way, I do blame myself even if I wasn't the one to spill her blood"

I shouldn't have explained myself so thoroughly, but I had to clear the air with Charlie. I needed his mind completely on this.

He surprised me by nodding his head in understanding. That's all I was getting from his mind too.

"Well now, I believe you. My Bella can get a little carried away with things like blame. Hey, maybe that's why Gyda left"

I couldn't know that, but if Bella had been that way with me, what was to stop her from doing the same to Gyda? It was outrageous of her if she did because none of this has anything to do with Gyda.

"Charlie, please excuse me for saying, but do you think there could have been a chance Bella would have blamed Gyda for anything?"

"Hm, I doubt it. She sure loves that girl. I guess Bella was halfway across the world when she got the call from Jacob, maybe she blames Gyda for that?"

It was possible of course for Bella to blame Gyda for having her over in Sweden and not in the US. Grief does things to people that they wouldn't consciously do. So even if Bella had done this, it wasn't her fault. Grief hit everyone differently. Sometimes people became depressed, zombie-like, and others were just looking for people to blame.

"Gyda wouldn't have left unless she didn't feel wanted" I mumbled to myself.

I thought back to the night she had told me.

"Jesus Christ Edward, I didn't know you had it in you" she laughed. We both collapsed back onto the bed, having enjoyed each other's bodies more than necessary.

I laughed "So, you liked it?"

She rolled her eyes "Were those horrific noises I made not enough to tell you that?" she chuckled.

"Well if it makes you feel any better, that was the first time for me"

She scoffed "I guess you could say it was my first time too-"

"-but that's not true, is it? You've had sex during your existence, right?"

She raised her eyebrow "Of course not. I was all by myself remember? Besides, I was too busy trying not to kill the humans I lived with. Now that took extreme effort. I didn't have time for anything else"

"Hm. Well I thought you were fantastic. Now I get to tell everyone I had sex with a Viking woman" I sniggered, as she smacked me hard.

"If you tell anyone Edward, I may just have to leave" she was joking, but I could see in her mind that there was a truth behind it.

"You wouldn't leave me would you?" I smirked.

She snuggled into my chest and sighed happily "Only when I'm not wanted, then I'll leave"

"I know why she left Charlie. She thought she wasn't wanted"

"What? How could she think that? Bella agreed to go to Sweden with her, didn't she?"

I shook my head "Bella only agreed to go to please Gyda, and I think she figured that out for herself. Gyda has been alone for more than a thousand years Charlie. Now, whilst I'm not blaming Bella, she must have said something to Gyda for her to want to leave. Bella must have said something to her to think she wasn't wanted-"

"-I don't know Edward. I don't know if my Bells would stoop that low. She loves Gyda, she'd never do anything to hurt her intentionally-"

"-what if Bella wasn't in her right mind? Think Charlie, you know what grief does to a person"

He let out a puff of air "Well, when you put it like that. I lashed out at my guy down at the station after Harry died and I've never spoken that way before"

I nodded "Exactly. Grief is a wicked, cruel thing to go through and even more so when it changes how a person thinks about other people. Gyda left because she thinks Bella doesn't want her in her life. I'm gonna go and find her Charlie-"

"-how are you going to do that? I thought you came to me for help?"

I chuckled as I stood "You have helped me Charlie. I wouldn't have figured any of this out without you. Thank you"

I ran back home to tell my family my plans. Alice waited for me on the front step.

"You're leaving?" she demanded, jumping down each step with fury towards me.

I sighed "Not forever. I'm going to find her. Am I going to find her?" I asked Alice, raising my eyebrow.

She huffed in frustration but concentrated on seeing. After 20 seconds, she smiled.

"You find her, but it's not in the place you're going to try first, so I wouldn't bother-"

"-that's not helpful. Can you see where she is right now?"

Again, she went quiet, trying to focus on seeing Gyda.

"Huh. I can see her, I just don't recognise where she is, oh-" her eyes stilled as a look of terror washed over her face "What is it Alice?" I grabbed her shoulders, looking into her mind.

I saw it.

"No, Alice. Please tell me, where can I find her? I have to get there before she does that-"

"-give me a second! It's difficult to see when she's far away-"

I huffed and left her outside, needing to talk to Carlisle and Esme. There was no need to drag this out and I knew Esme would try everything she could to keep me here.

"Edward! Alice said you were thinking of leaving?" Esme said sadly.

"I'm not leaving forever. I'm going to find Gyda, bring her home-"

Carlisle interrupted "-Edward, you know how Gyda is. Surely it's better to leave her be?"

I hissed at him "I'm not going to let her think she isn't wanted Carlisle! Is she unwanted here?"

He had the decency to be ashamed of himself "No. Of course not"

"That settles it then, I'll bring her back, I'll-"

"-Edward!" Alice's tiny form came running towards me in worry. I searched her mind and saw it.

Gyda walked along a busy high street, in a city unfamiliar to me. She listened to the minds of the people she passed, but never stopped. It wasn't clear where she was going, maybe because she hadn't decided to go to a certain destination. She was just wandering now. Then she passed a sign, and I knew then where she was.

"Carlisle, Marylebone Station is in London, right?"

"Yes. Is that where she is?"

"Alice saw her walking past a sign with Marylebone Station on it, I can't think of another station with that name in the US"

Carlisle sighed "She's in London. Why is she there?"

I didn't know myself. But I supposed that I should have guessed she'd go back to where it all began. Her transformation, her new life.

"Can you book me a flight to London Carlisle? I need to go and see Bella before I go-"

"-yes of course, but Edward, don't you think it prudent to-"

Sorry Carlisle. This couldn't wait. I was out of there before he finished his sentence and on my way to La Push, to Grandma Inola's house. Which I guess was Paul's now. I slowed my run to human speed when I got to the treaty line and soon stopped outside the weather beaten front door. I was about to knock when it was yanked open, with an angry looking Jacob staring at me.

"What do you want?" he thundered.

"I was hoping to speak to Bella-"

"-she doesn't want to talk to you. None of us do!"

I sighed heavily. Of course, I was a fool to think that the blame on myself would be from just Bella. It seemed the entire pack had blamed my absence for Grandma Inola's death.

"Fine. But tell her I'm going to London to find Gyda and that-"

Bella's face popped out from behind Jacob's shoulder.

"Gyda's in London?" she asked. Jacob shot daggers at me, before allowing me to enter the house.

"Alice saw she was in London-"

"-do you know why she left me in the first place? Does she not realise how important it was for me to get home quickly and she just had to make a big show of it and leave me like that in the middle of the airport-"

"-stop" I warned her. I wouldn't stand here and let her say those things. Even she knew better than that.

"Ugh, I'm sorry Edward. I'm sorry. There's just a lot going on right now and Gyda taking off like that is not helping things for me"

"Bella, have you ever stopped to think that maybe this isn't about you?" I tried to say it as gently as I could, but I guess it came out kind of harsh. The look of her face told me that much.

"If it's not about me, then what is it about?" she challenged.

I groaned "Gyda told me herself that she would leave if no one wanted her. Did you say anything to her or give her the impression that she wasn't wanted?"

Bella scoffed "What are you talking about? Of course I didn't!-"

"-well did you think about it? I know, somehow, she can read your mind. So, did you think something that would have seemed to her that she wasn't wanted?"

"I can't remember ever single thought I've ever had Edward! I don't know, I don't think I did! I was just thinking about how desperate I was to get home to my family and I did tell her that going to Sweden was a bad idea-"

"-so that's why she left" I groaned. Well now I had it figured out! Gyda was a difficult creature to get through to, and an even more difficult one to get her to understand a concept she wasn't familiar with. Relationships.

"Are you saying it's my fault?" she seethed. Jacob crossed her arms over his chest and stood looming over me.

Watch yourself Cullen

I hissed at him.

"Hey! Don't you hiss at my friend! Answer the question! Is this my fault? Did she leave because of me?"

I was done with trying to be the nice guy and quite frankly, if Bella blamed me for Grandma Inola's death, well, I blamed her for Gyda's disappearance. Her and her careless thoughts.

"Yes"

I only caught the stunned expression on her face before I was thrown out of the house by Jacob. I ran towards the nearest forest, climbed the nearest tree and tried to gather my own thoughts. Okay, so I knew where she was and I knew why she had gone. But now the most important question left to answer. How did I convince her to come back? I didn't think I could. Gyda was the most stubborn vampire I had ever met, even more so than Rosalie.

My thoughts were interrupted by my cell phone ringing.

"Carlisle, any more news from Alice?"

"Unfortunately not. But I have our flights booked and we leave from Olympia Airport in four hours"

"What are you talking about? Our flights?-"

Carlisle chuckled "You don't honestly think I'd let you do this alone, did you?"

"I thought you didn't like Gyda"

He sighed "Of course I like her Edward and I'm sorry if I never gave you or her that impression. But truthfully, I've been jealous of her control. She has better self-control that even me-"

"-that doesn't bother you though? Gyda's had a millennium to practice self-control. I think you've done a pretty good job yourself Carlisle"

He chuckled "Regardless, I will do better from now on to form a friendship with her. I regret that I haven't already done that, purely out of jealously. Come home and we'll get ready to leave"

"Okay, see you in a few"

I hung up and thought about what Carlisle had just told me. I knew there was something, but he had always hid his thoughts about Gyda well from me. Now I knew his sullen animosity from her was just jealously of her self-control for the thirst compared to his own. I laughed to myself. Was that it? I thought he just didn't like her! Oh, this was much easier to fix than I had previously thought.

I hurried home to find Carlisle and Esme waiting for me in the kitchen. Esme was being quiet, worried about our departure and the tear our family now faced.

Please Edward, is there anything you can do to find her from here? I couldn't bear to lose you both

I chuckled and hugged her "Mom, we'll be fine. I promise you. Besides, I'm sure Alice will be keeping tabs on us, won't you?" I asked behind me. Her wind chime giggle met my ears.

"Of course! I already see you finding her, I just can't tell you when that might be. So, good luck"

I scoffed "Thanks for the helpful information"

Carlisle patted me on the shoulder "Come on son, let's go and find her" he kissed Esme goodbye whilst I shoulder bumped Emmett and Jasper. Rosalie just glared at me. Something that was surprising kind from her.

Find her and bring her back. I want her to stay here, with us.

I looked at Rosalie again, but she was busying herself with adjusting the piano keys.

"Where do you think she's going Edward?" Carlisle asked a few hours later as we sat on the plane, waiting for it to take off.

"I can't be sure of course, but I have a feeling that she'll end up back at the place where her transformation happened. Gyda has carried questions with her for all these years and she still hasn't found the answers"

Carlisle sighed "That poor creature. Don't worry Edward, we will help her. Make her see sense in coming back with us"

I nodded "I have a feeling that might be difficult with Gyda"

"What did Alice see before? I heard you both outside and I'm curious at what has you worried"

I sighed. I thought he'd bring it up "She saw Gyda attacking a group of human men. She drank their blood-"

"No!" Carlisle whispered in shock "Edward, is there anything we can do? Anything at all?"

I thought for a minute. There had been something in Jacob's mind, something that Bella had mentioned briefly about Gyda meeting an old friend from her time. Maybe…

"Well, there is one thing we can do but it may require us to skip London and fly straight to Sweden, otherwise we will run out of time. Gyda was planning to meet a friend from when she was human, though she never got to because she travelled back to American with Bella. I know what he looks like, she's shown me memories of him"

Carlisle was confused "Friend?"

"Gyda has an old friend to reunite with and I think he may be able to help us convince her that there is another way to live this life. Will you come with me to Sweden Carlisle?"

He pursed his lips "Do you not think it best if one of us goes to London to stop her from doing anything rash?"

Hm, he had a point. "Yes, okay. You know the city best, perhaps you could find her and I'll call you when I've found him"

Carlisle smiled and nodded "Perfect plan son. Sorry, you said Gyda has shown you a memory?"

"She can read minds and show others her memories. They're actually very clear, even the small details. She still holds onto it, and she can show others those images that she remembers. I was going to talk to you about it, but I got a little side-tracked"

"Fascinating! I've never come across one of our kind that has this type of ability"

I chuckled "Yeah, it's quite something to see her as a human. I mean, my human memories are almost gone. Some are still there, but they're fuzzy, like I was looking through thick glass for my seventeen years before this"

" I am the same. I can remember a few things but the memories are beginning to diminish as time goes on. But Gyda can remember her human life clearly?"

I nodded. The rest of the trip had Carlisle whispering fascinating under his breath.

Paul POV

"Woah man! Check out the reception!" Embry gestured to the crowd waiting for us to arrive. The entire pack and their imprints were here, even Charlie.

I climbed out of the truck to see Bella running towards me. I threw my bag onto the ground and held my arms out for her to jump into them. As soon as she did, I wrapped my arms tightly around her and held her close to me, kissing ever part of her skin I could reach.

"I'm so happy you're back. Welcome home" she kissed me on the lips, breathing a sigh of relief. Oh man, it was so good to be home.

"How are you Bella? You doing okay?" I whispered to her. Our foreheads touched, each of us taking a moment to appreciate the reunion, which was still blinded by the grief of Grandma's passing.

She sniffed loudly "I'm better now you're here. How are you doing? I'm so sorry about Grandma Paul, there wasn't anything we could do and I-" I cut her off with a kiss. I didn't want her apologising for any of that. That kind of burden was on no one's shoulders. Not even Edward's. I would make sure to check on him as soon as I could.

"Come on, let's get you home" I lifted her from the ground as she wrapped her legs around me and held on like a monkey. I scooped my bag up with my free arm and slung it over my shoulder. Old Quil was waiting for Embry and me in the tribal centre, but that would have to wait. Nothing was more important to me now than to reunite with my imprint, to remember what Grandma asked of me. To be happy and live.

Sam offered to drive us and then Charlie, but I politely declined. I wanted to walk, wanted to feel the soft weight of my imprint as she clung to me desperately. Besides, we had to talk, just the two of us. Once we were back at Grandma Inola's house, I sat in the chair next to Grandma's near the fire, now extinguished. I sighed sadly as I looked at it. A metaphor when ever I had seen one.

"Paul, how are you really? I'm so sorry you missed the funeral but-"

"-shh. It's okay. I was there"

Her eyes widened "You were there? How?"

"Embry and I were there in spirit, so was Grandma. Listen, I want to talk to you about some stuff I overheard whilst I was there"

She sighed and leaned her head into my shoulder "Do we have to talk about anything now? Can't we just enjoy each other's company for a little while?"

Ah, she had me.

"Of course we can. Here, let me get the fire going-"

"-oh. Are you sure you want to?"

I smiled at her "Of course. It's not the same in here without the fire on" It's not the same without Grandma Inola either, but I didn't tell her that.

Once the room was filled with the gentle crackling of the fire, I got down to business. There really was no right way to say this to her, but she had to know.

"Okay, time to talk-"

"-aw really? Can't we just-"

"-no baby. I have to tell you something. When I was in the spirit world, I saw Grandma Inola at her funeral-" she was about to interrupt, but I put a finger to her lips "-I saw her there. She was trying to comfort Jacob when he broke down in front of her casket-" she tried interrupting again, so I pushed my finger harder on her lips "-she talked to me outside of the hall. Told me some stuff. You're probably wondering why I'm not a complete mess as much as you would have expected right?" I removed my finger so she could speak.

"I know everyone grieves differently Paul, and it's okay to be sad"

I chuckled "Yes, it is okay to be sad. But I have to be honest, whilst I am sad about Grandma not being around anymore, I'm relieved for her, more than anything-"

"-relieved? Paul!" she sat up to stare at me with incredulous eyes.

I sighed "You didn't see how excited she was to see Grandpa and mom again. She couldn't wait to pass over. Bella, look at me-" she had turned her head and I already smelt the saltiness of fresh tears.

She lifted her head a fraction "Grandma is happy where she is. She isn't in pain anymore and she's with her husband and daughter again. She's happy baby and you know something? I'll grieve her for sure, but not as bad as you might think, because sure, it'll be strange around here without seeing her or hearing her voice, but I'm happy that she's finally found some peace. She deserves it more than anyone, she's lived a hard life and now she can rest"

Bella scoffed "Are you not even angry about her death? It was a vampire Paul! Edward left her and she went for a walk by herself and-"

"-Bella, listen to me. It is not Edward's fault. It's no one's fault. Grandma has always been able to take care of herself, but no human is a match against a vampire. It's not Edward's fault he left, he wasn't a babysitter and neither did she need one-"

"-how can you be so-so calm about this? We're talking about Grandma's death, in case you didn't notice Paul-"

I chuckled "I have noticed Bella. But you didn't see how happy she was on the other side. She is where she wants to be and I would never wish her back here if I knew it would mean she'd suffer again. Why should she stay here and suffer? Just so we have some comfort in knowing she's in our lives still? That's not fair on her. So yes, it is very sad that she died, but she's happy now. She's not in pain now. She's resting now. Please, just see this from her side of things"

She squeezed her eyes shut and sobbed. I knew this would be hard for her to understand and I already knew that by having this conversation with her, I had grown. I was no longer the boy that grieved for his mom. I was no longer the weak runt that took a beating from my father. I was a grown man now, and I was going to behave like one. If Grandma was me not to grieve her, then I'd do as she said. A final act for the second love of my life. My soul was clean and my mind free from anything that held me back from continuing with a great future. I held no blame, no grief, no pity. I was happy now. Grandma was happy now.

But Bella wasn't happy.

"I'm sorry baby, I didn't mean to sound so, I don't know, tough. I guess that conversation I had with her cleared a few things up for me. She didn't want me to grieve for her. She wanted me to be happy, healthy, safe and loved and I am all those things now. Don't you see baby?-" I cupped my hands around her face and kissed her lips gently "-we can be happy now. I know you miss Grandma, I miss her too. But she told me, if we ever missed her, just look up at the sky and imagine her smiling down and waving at us"

"Can we go and do that now? I miss her so much" she cried. I kissed her again and lifted her up. We spent the rest of the afternoon and the first part of the evening sitting on the veranda, on the little bench that overlooked the small backyard. Bella spoke to the sky, told Grandma that she missed her and loved her, and I did the same. Both of us thought that maybe she couldn't hear us, but then Pasty, the dove, came and perched on the ledge of the fence, cooing softly.

"Is that Grandma?" Bella had asked. But I shook my head. I told her I had witnessed Grandma move on, to the better place in the sky. Pasty may not share my Grandpa's spirit anymore, but the little bird still remembered that this house was home. I smiled at that thought.

The rest of the night, Bella and I made love to each other. Our caresses were slow, gentle, loving. We didn't rush, only loved one another with our bodies, with sweet words, with kisses that said more than a thousand words alone. I had really missed her, so much. But everything would be okay now, even without Grandma around anymore. Because Bella and I had each other, and that was the most important thing to both of us.

The next morning, I woke up before Bella, intending to check on Edward, like I'd promised myself the day before. My other excuse was that I didn't want to wake her. She looked so peaceful in sleep and I couldn't bring myself to disturb that. I wrote her a note and left it on the pillow next to her, just saying I'd be back before lunch, then I headed out. I didn't fancy running as a wolf, but I didn't have Sam's truck now, so I'd have to run as a human, and hey, I wasn't vampire fast, but I was faster than a normal human. Definitely faster than Usain Bolt.

I got to the Cullen's within the hour. Rosalie and Emmett were waiting for me outside, not surprised to see me in the slightest.

"Hey Paul! Welcome back to the land of the living!" Emmett shouted out.

Rosalie glared at me "What are you doing here? Where's Bella?"

"Bella's sleeping, I didn't want to wake her. I was hoping to see Edward, is he here?"

Rosalie and Emmett looked at each other before Emmett answered me "I'm surprised you haven't figured it out by now dude"

My brow creased together "What are you talking about?"

"Emmett, he doesn't even know! I guess Bella never told him. Figures she wouldn't want to mention it!"

"What hasn't she told me?" I growled impatiently.

Rosalie suddenly looked vicious, I was smart enough to take a step back. Emmett put a hard hand on her shoulder and told her to calm down.

"Will you please tell me what's going on?"

"Why don't you ask your imprint? She was the one that drove Gyda away and now my brother has to search the whole world for her because Bella made her feel like she wasn't even a part of her family!" she snarled.

What? Bella wouldn't do that! She loved Gyda! The two of them were joined at the hip.

I shook my head with denial "No. Bella loves Gyda, she wouldn't say anything like that-"

"-she didn't say anything! Gyda can read her thoughts, unlike Edward! She saw everything she needed to in those!-"

"-how do you know all of this anyway? It's not like you can read minds-"

She laughed "Edward talked to Charlie! Jasper was just driving by and overheard. So, does Bella have any idea what she's doing to her? Gyda was fragile and now she wants to forget about her morality-"

"-enough Rose!" Emmett thundered.

She didn't look like she cared "No! Why should he not know this? Gyda is great! She's more loyal than your imprint and even she can't see what Gyda is!"

A loud growl ripped through my chest. She better stop talking about Bella like that or-

"What? What are you gonna do Paul? I'm only telling you the truth! It's not my problem if you don't want to listen to it-"

"-Bella would never treat anyone like that!-"

"-I get it! Okay? Grandma Inola has just died, and I'm so sorry about that. She was great and I'm really gonna miss her-" her voice turned into a soothing melody, it made my ears ache "-but she can't use grief as an excuse to treat Gyda like that. It's not fair on her. Go talk to her and ask her what she did. We'll let you know if we hear from Gyda or Edward, but I doubt it" she threw me one last glare before stalking into the house. Emmett shook his head in disbelief and followed her.

"Paul wait!" I turned around to see Esme skipping down to meet me. I groaned quietly and walked backwards on myself to meet her halfway.

"I'm sorry about Rose. When she feels strongly about something she doesn't hold back" she smiled sadly at me.

"Was it true, what she said? About Gyda turning into a monster?"

She hesitated, and that answered the question for me. What had Bella thought exactly?

"Gyda is fragile Paul. She doesn't understand relationships like we do. If she senses that the other person isn't as into it as she is, she'll leave and start over. I think leaving Bella was difficult for her, but you can imagine, if Bella has thought something about Gyda that has made her unsure, she won't risk the danger of being in her life and she'll leave. It's difficult for her, as you can probably imagine"

I nodded thoughtfully "I understand. I didn't know she was suffering, she never said anything"

"She doesn't like to talk about it. Do you know anyone who suffers with a mental illness and talks openly about it?"

"No. No I don't. I don't think I'd want to talk about it if I suffered" And I had suffered.

She smiled sympathetically "Edward will find her, it's just convincing her to come back that's going to be the hard part. But I think Edward can do it, he is very fond of that girl, as we all are"

I smiled then. Who couldn't be fond of Gyda?

"May I also offer my condolences to you and your family. We tried our best to revive her-"

"-you did everything you could, and I couldn't be more grateful for your help. Thank you for trying" she gave my shoulder a sympathetic pat with her hand before turning to enter the house again.

I started the journey back to La Push, opting to walk rather than run. I needed the thinking time. Whatever Rosalie said about Bella, I wouldn't believe until Bella herself told me. I couldn't believe it of her to be cruel like that, so I think this was all a big misunderstanding.

It had to be just a misunderstanding.