I don't own Twilight. The rest, even if it was a long time ago, and it sucks, it's still mine.

12.

Bella's POV

A hand covers my eyes and I hear a murmur in my ear. One that makes me think of someone, something from a lifetime ago.

It's the little things, the ones that remind me of those days when I deluded myself into thinking a small black-haired girl held my fashion sense in the palm of her hand. It's the little things that remind me of Rose and cars, of Emmett's laugh, of Esme cooking for me, of Carlisle and stethoscopes.

Someone grabs my other hand softly and glides me through a doorway. I wonder if this is a dream some sort of alternate reality.

"Open your eyes, Bella," the piano keyed voice jingles against my ear and I smile weakly to myself, letting go and fluttering my eyelids wide as I take in the scene around me.

My own personal brand of heroin...

I chuckle quietly and take it all in, the shelves upon shelves filled with knowledge - just waiting to be plucked and sorted through. Ink, paper and binding...the stuff that dreams are made of.

"Go ahead, Bella. Knock yourself out!" Emmett urges and I practically skip to the classics section and think back to the days of my childhood, reading with my mom. Once, she had even told me the story of Dracula.

Who knew...

Snapping myself out of my internal musings, I glance up to see that my hand is lingering against a title I've avoided in the last few months but now suddenly feel all too familiar with.

The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

I never used to think of myself as a monster, but maybe I am. I can't believe they would allow a psychotic out of the ward - after all, too dangerous for the everyday commoners that go about their business each day. Envy rushes through my veins.

You can never be normal, Bella.

Jasper and Alice both hover nearby in the history section. Of course Alice would be eyeing old fashion books. Carlisle and Esme pace through the crafts isle and he watches her with obvious adoration as she flips through cooking books. Rose and Emmett are over sorting through a pile of paperbacks about mental illness - Emmett already has one book in his hand called Speak.

Buzzing in my ear starts and I gaze up to the ceiling to see a swarm of cockroaches flooding the walls. My breath comes in shorter gasps and I close my eyes trying to steady myself. A man and woman pass by and I cringe away from them, knocking some books to the floor.

"Are you alright, Bella?" Alice asks quietly in my ear, and I jump just a bit. When I open my eyes however, the scales causing my blindness peel off - I hear a gasp next to me and Alice tells Jasper to get Carlisle.

At the focal point of my position in the store, Edward stands by the counter discussing something with the lady working at the till. One of the bugs from the wall descends, landing on his left cheek. Everything sews together in a web, becoming more and more entwined in the wheel. The woman can clearly see and talk to Edward but she doesn't warn him of the nuisance on his skin. It's as plain as the nose on one's face.

Every single thing, every moment, is illuminated. And if the lie I convinced myself of was so beautiful then the truth is the ugliest mess I have ever seen. Vampires are real...which means the Cullens are real...which means Edward Anthony Masen Cullen is real.

Edward's POV

Edward, get over here. The shit has hit the fan.

Whirling around, I search for Emmett so I can figure out what the hell he's talking about. Though, when I turn, my face doesn't find his. It doesn't land on Carlisle, Alice, or any of the others. Instead, it lands completely fixed - on Bella. In this moment I know that if it were possible for me to die, I would. They say that just one small, seemingly insignificant moment can change everything in your life.

Bella has the face of a broken china doll, and even though everything within me shrieks, "fix it"...I know deep down, I can't.

The adrenaline pumps through her veins and she quivers under my gaze. Swallowing back the venom that gathers in my throat, I take a step toward her and in turn she takes a step back - running straight into Alice. She's afraid of me?

"Bella-"

"Not here," Bella quietly cuts over Alice, her eyes pointed to the floor. The firmness in her tone lets me know it's a command, not a request. Who knew that so little time, my family would be at the mercy of a teenage girl? She takes one last glance at me as we wait for the rest of the family and I notice that the light in her eyes has completely faded out.

"You know the irony here, Edward?" She peers up at me with a small, curved smirk. It shows no trace of happiness or humor - instead replaced by callous sarcasm.

Pleading to her with my eyes, I try preparing myself for the shouting and murmur, "What's that?"

"I cried practically every day in that hospital and now when I want to cry most, there are no tears left."

Bella's POV

The colors blur into each other as I stare out the window. The last 24 hours of my life have felt like a complete blur. They left. They told me I wasn't good enough to be a part of the traveling charade they have going - and yet here, a year later, the entire group comes crawling back. No doubt it's out of guilt and pity.

We arrive, pulling into the driveway of the tall white house - the perfect shutters...the creek running nearby.

"What were you expecting...coffins, dungeons and moats?"

Well, in this particular situation, that would be more ideal. Esme gives me a warm smile as she gets out of the front and I crawl my way out of the back, flinching away when Edward comes up beside me, offering a hand. "I don't need your sympathy, Edward."

He starts to reply but Jasper shoots him a look and instead, he steps away. Avoiding the rest of their gazes I run into the house, sit down and cover my face with my hands. Suddenly, something on the old VCR player catches my eye and I stand, walking over to it. An old video camera rests there and I pick it up, juggling it in my hands. When I pull the tape out, I turn to see Alice standing in the doorway with a look of horror on her face.

Edward is next to her instantly, pinching the bridge of his nose as he says, "Alice, didn't you see this?"

"She only just decided. Bella, sweetie, please give me the tape." The rest of the Cullens file in.

"Oh shit," Jasper whispers.

"Why are you all talking to me as if I'm a child? What could possibly be-" but the words catch in my throat, strangling me when I put the tape in and push play. On screen, the doctor leans over me.

"Bella, I sweat it's-" Alice cries before I cut her off.

"This isn't something you can cover up with makeup, Alice," I snap as I brush past her shoulder and climb the stairs.