AN: This chapter is Edward's POV! I had a bit of this chapter originally be Alice's but decided it was better to hear her story later. I worked a lot on this chapter, confiding in multiple friends on subtle but meaningful changes. There are roughly 4 pages of notes from my one friend alone, on top of about an hour-long phone conversation. Because of that, I'm also really proud of this one. Enjoy!
Edward's POV:
I had spent an unknown amount of time in a dingy attic in Rio. It was smaller than Bella's bedroom in Forks, held a mattress without a bedframe, and a rickety desk and chair combo with one leg shorter than the others. The dresser was in shambles when I arrived, nothing but disintegrating wood left.
I never once thought a vampire could lose track of time, but starving yourself was a sure way to do it. I barely noticed the bustling streets below me or the minds worried about their dinner, and the ache in my throat was so constant I had all but forgotten about it. My chest hurt far more than my throat ever could, and my only thought was to resist asking Alice to look to Bella's future, or to just run back to her.
There was a thought, far in the recesses of my mind, that I couldn't push away. It told me something was terribly wrong, that Bella needed me, that I had made a horrible choice. I had no clue on earth or the heavens above and the hell below why this thought suddenly overpowered me.
It told me that she will die if I don't go back now, and before the thought even finished I was leaping out of the attic and calling the nearby airport for the fastest tickets to Seattle. The roads were small, the sidewalks dirty, and people huddled by the lights made by cheap food and shops. I easily found a flight that made a layover in Miami, and I'd be home in about a day.
My cell in my pocket rang the way only Alice could make it, and I couldn't stop myself from picking this up as well.
"You need to hunt, before you go on that plane. And get a change of clothes, maybe a suitcase?"
"Why, Alice? I'll be fine."
"No, you won't. They won't let you on the flight no matter how much cash you toss at them, and then you'll either murder a particularly annoying woman on the flight or you'll kill Bella." Neither outcomes would work, and I wasn't far from the forest or the shops.
"Fine. I better not miss my flight."
"You won't." And with that, she hung up. I was practically flying through the streets to get to the woods just outside the city limits, tackling a few foxes and an opossum, craving for something bigger. After 20 more minutes of mauling small prey, I caught the scent of a jaguar. She was a beauty and she was dead within the first second I lay my eyes on her. I wanted the time to find suitable attire, because the clothes I met Bella in suddenly seemed important. Alice had worked her influence on me.
The shops next to the airport allowed me to pretend to be human, and I changed in one of their changing rooms after I paid, now dressed in brown dress shoes, dark wash jeans, a brown belt, and a light grey button up that would look a bit warm here, but make sense for where I was going. I also bought a long black coat for appearances sake in Seattle and stuffed some random shirts and pants into the suitcase I had bought. I was ready for my flight, and made it with little time to spare.
The annoying lady Alice had warned me about had bleached blonde hair, a cake full of makeup two shades two dark for her pale face, was loudly chewing gum, and complaining to the stranger next to her about the child crying on the flight. Her thoughts were snobbier than her words, and if I hadn't found that jaguar I might have made her a good substitute.
The ache in my chest got worse as we landed in Miami for our layover, and if I didn't know better I would have thought I was dying. If I was human, I would have ended my misery by now. I wonder if Bella felt what I was feeling, if I had really done that much damage to her. I doubted it, but mostly for my own mental wellbeing (if vampires could ever be mentally ill, I was surely close).
I doubt she'd take me back if I caused her the same pain I couldn't rid myself of. If I was her I'd burn me at the stake before hearing my sorry excuse for my abandonment. I had to remind myself that she wasn't me, and she had a heart that forgave so easily that it shouldn't be allowed. I could only hope she kept that trait while I was off, failing to destroy Victoria, failing to do any good for her.
What if, however, she was healed? If she had found someone else, someone better for her than me? If I showed up at her doorstep to see her making out with another man, or woman, could she be into women? Would I simply watch her from the shadows for the rest of her life? I couldn't fathom leaving again. She would have to never know I had fallen back on my promise to her if this was the case.
The layover went by slowly as I waited for the ability to get closer to her. My instinct was to buy something for her to prove my never ending love for her, but I stopped myself. She didn't like gifts. I called Carlisle while I waited, asking for help. If the justification I had made for my return was correct, she could be injured and need medical attention. I had spent so long away from her I was concerned my bloodlust would be unbearable and I wouldn't be able to help her, and Carlisle was the only one I knew who could attend to both issues.
"Carlisle."
"Son. It's nice to hear from you again."
"I'm going home. To Bella. I'm waiting for my last flight in Miami, to Sea-Tac. I know it's last minute, but can you meet me there? I don't think I can do this alone." I was downright frightened, I needed my father figure.
"Of course son. Let me call out for a family emergency, I can be there in 12 hours. Can you wait that long son? When is your flight?"
"I have another two and a half hours before I board. Thank you, Carlisle. I'll wait for you by the house."
"I'll see you soon, thank you for reaching out to me, Edward." I hung up the phone and waited for my flight, trying to distract myself in the mundane thoughts of the humans around me.
Many of them were anxious to get to their flight in time, a particularly stressed teenager doing their best to console their father about getting their grandfather a wheelchair. Assuring their dad that they had plenty of time, that the worker he had tasked with finding one would do so efficiently, that they had time to get their grandpa some food before the flight. For some reason, I liked this mind. Through the stress I could hear annoyance in their thoughts but no malice. Why is he always like this? It will be worse if he projects his stress, which he does every time we fly. I wish he'd listen to my assurances, the people around us are noticing.
And notice the trio they did. Everyone steered clear of the middle aged man, the anxiety was radiating off of him in waves that you didn't need Jasper to feel. His thoughts were not pleasant to listen to, full of dislike for the workers in the airport and anxiety about anything and everything.
By the time I was in the air for my last time, I thought about what time I could head to Bella's. It would be evening, just after 8. This time yesterday I was teetering on the edge of insanity, but now I was fully enclosed in it. It took every effort to perform the small movements humans often did, for fear a flight attendant would check my pulse in concern. I was glad the lady from the last flight was not there, though in its place I got a set of thoughts excited to join the mile high club, and I was forced to listen although they were in the bathroom on the other side of the plane. I didn't quite get how that would be comfortable. I didn't want to automatically turn into their thoughts to know that it wasn't, but the harm was already done. Humans.
It was 5 when I landed in Sea-Tac, and I had another two hours to wait until Carlisle would land, and another hour before we could make it to Bella's house to check in on her. I made my way through the airport at a human pace, finding a dumpster to toss my unnecessary suitcase a half mile away, and I started my slow journey to Forks.
I knew it would be tortuous to stand by the house and wait, so instead I hunted on my way. I was regretting asking Carlisle to come with me as it would force me to wait longer to get to Bella but I wouldn't rescind our plan. I downed two more deers on my way to Forks, a buzz in my pocket from Carlisle told me he had landed and was sprinting his way over. By the time I had reached our house and sat on the front steps, it was 7:55 and I knew Carlisle was close behind. It only took two minutes more before I could hear his thoughts, full of concern for me and Bella.
When I saw him he nodded in my direction and rushed inside after unlocking the door to grab his medical kit, not needing me to tell him my train of thoughts. He was back outside in a second, and we started the short run to Bella's.
"Did Alice tell you anything?" Carlisle asked as we made the three minute journey to her house.
"No, I just got a feeling that she needed me. That something was horribly wrong, that I had made the wrong choice."
"Will we ask the others to come back?" He wasn't surprised by this turn of events, and it was clear in his mind that I would not be able to leave her again. He held no knowledge in his mind of what Alice had seen either, but he was praying for Bella's wellbeing.
"Let's make that decision when we need to. Bella first." The stench of wolf was fresh surrounding her home, and there were no cars in her driveway. Despite this, we were not deterred due to the light on downstairs. I heard a singular heartbeat and her scent tainted not only with the smell of the shifters that I hadn't smelled in several decades but also with something salty and strong.
AN: Thank you for reading dears! Edward and Carlisle's conversations are short in this chapter, but I feel like that adds to how close they are. They both just know what each other is thinking, even when Edward can't be there to read his mind. I may have a few more Edward POVs through this fic, so if you enjoyed his POV let me know! Would you prefer only to have EPOV when Bella isn't around, or would you also like to see some EPOV when Bella is around to get his perspective? If only the former, there would be a lot of quiet thoughtful moments and talks with Carlisle, and with the latter, we'd still get those moments but also be able to see Edward actively reacting to situations.