The night was dark, the clouds having moved in front of the moon. It was silent apart from the occasional car driving past. The scent of humans hung heavily in the air, and it was taking Edward, who had not fed in several weeks, all of his strength not to rush after them and tear them apart, piercing their necks, drinking the warm, sweet blood…
He shook his head, snapping out of his thoughts. Sighing, he continued through the trees. He'd hoped Bella would have caught up with him by now, following all the clues he'd carefully left for her. But he had no way of knowing if she had even come out of hiding, let alone where she was.
Not to mention the possibility of her being…
Edward couldn't bear to even think it. Bella had to still be alive. There was no way she wasn't.
The constant running and hiding, staying in disguise, was getting exhausting. Edward wanted nothing more than just a little bit of normalcy, and of course, to see Bella again.
He looked up to sniff out the nearest animal, knowing he desperately needed to feed. But a different scent was there. A scent he hadn't smelled for years. A scent he could never forget, no matter how long they were apart for.
It was Bella's.
If he'd been human still, Edward was sure his heart would be thudding erratically. He looked around, seeking out his mate in the darkness. There was a quiet footstep, a twig snapping, leaves crunching.
And there she was.
Standing there, illuminated by a silver of moonlight that appeared as the clouds moved, she stared at Edward, hardly believing what she was seeing was real. But it was, and as they moved towards each other, wrapping the other in their arms, taking in their scents, they remembered what they'd been fighting for all along.
To be together again.
As they were now.
"You're really here," Bella breathed, placing a hand on Edward's cheek, gazing up at him with eyes full of wonder.
"I'm here," Edward murmured. "You found me."
Bella nodded, resting her head against Edward's chest. "I left to search as soon as I found out where you'd be. I couldn't give up, because some part of me always knew you were alive."
Edward smiled. "I love you."
"I love you too."
"I don't really want to go home yet," Bella murmured, resting her head on Edward's chest. "I'd rather spend more time alone, just you and me."
"Me too," Edward said. "But we have to go back. We haven't even let them know you've found me."
"I know." Bella sighed. "It's just, I missed you so much. I want a bit of time with you all to myself." She pushed herself up into a sitting position, gazing down at Edward. "How about we book the tickets for Tuesday. We don't have to tell anyone we're going back. It can be a surprise."
"I like the sound of that," Edward said, smiling back at her. His face fell slightly. "How were things for you all?"
Bella hesitated. "Difficult," she said. "It was a huge struggle being down there for so long, rarely being able to feed, never seeing sunlight. Everyone put on a brave face but really, we were all suffering. Especially Jasper."
"And you," Edward added, gently.
She nodded. "Yeah…" Edward looked at her, expectantly. "We need to talk," she said. "About… several things."
"I agree. When?"
"Not now. I don't want to ruin this. We'll talk tomorrow."
Taking a deep breath, Bella said, "Edward, we really need to talk now."
He nodded. "What first?"
"There's a few things I need to say…" Sensing her anxiousness, Edward gave her hand a comforting squeeze. "The most important one being, I didn't quite tell you everything that night we spoke about our issues."
"You didn't?"
"I didn't. Jasper made me realise that a few days later." Bella shut her eyes for a few seconds, before opening them again and staring at Edward's concerned face. "I forgave you so easily that night. Do you remember?"
Edward nodded again. "I always wondered about that, but I never questioned it."
"Well, turns out everyone else was. And Jasper helped me realise that the reason I forgive you so quickly each time you do something wrong is because… because I'm weak. I'm submissive. I knew I should be furious at you, but I just couldn't stay mad. I never could, really." She looked away. "There, I said it."
For a few moments, Edward didn't say anything. Then he gently placed a finger under Bella's chin, tilting her head up.
"Bella, look at me." She obeyed, lifting her eyes up to meet his. "You aren't weak. At all. You're one of the strongest people I know and-"
"No!" Bella cried, frustrated. "Maybe emotionally, I am. But I know that mentally, I'm weak. Stop sugar-coating this for me! If I'm ever going to overcome this, I'm going to have to face the truth."
"But that's not the truth. I don't know what Jasper has been saying to you but he's wrong."
"But he's not! While we were hiding, I had a lot of time to think through everything, and I know that he's right. I'm come to accept it. Edward, you have to accept that too."
He shook his head, stubbornly. "I won't, because it's not true."
"Dammit Edward!" Bella exclaimed. "Stop it! This is exactly how our relationship when wrong in the first place. Miscommunication. Lies. I held you on a pedestal, believing you were perfect. You did the same to me. But neither of us are perfect, and the key isn't to believe that we are. We should understand our imperfections and accept them."
"I know that," Edward said. "I know you have little imperfections. But being weak minded is not one of them."
Bella threw her hands in the air, standing up and turning away from Edward.
"I give up. Jasper's going to have to talk to you when we get back because you refuse to see sense here. I've accepted all your faults. Now you have to do the same with mine."
The flight had been awkward to say the least. There was no conversation, though not for a lack of trying on Edward's part. But Bella had paid no attention to him, blatantly ignoring him until he stopped talking. She hated herself for doing it, but she wasn't going to just sit and listen to him spout nonsense about her being better than she made herself out to be.
As they got off the plane, Bella pushed her way through the crowd, Edward following along, trying not to lose her. They opted to run back to the house in Forks, quickly arriving there, to find the house still and empty.
"They must all be at work," Bella said, entering the house. "The scents are still fresh."
She went upstairs to the room she shared with Edward, dropping her bag by the door and sinking to the floor, staring out the window. Several hours later, she heard the front door open and slam shut. She stood up, leaving the room and going down the stairs, to find Esme hugging Edward tightly.
"Bella!" she exclaimed, pulling away from Edward and making towards her. Bella accepted her hug warmly.
"Hey, Esme," she said, smiling slightly.
"I'm so glad you found him, Bella," Esme said. "We all owe you so much."
"It was nothing. I had to do it."
"Still. Renesmee came back months ago saying she'd given up hope. The amount of strength it must have taken to keep going…"
Bella smiled at her. "Like I said, I had to do it. Giving up just wasn't an option."
Later that day, Bella had retreated to her room, after the joyous reunion between Edward and the rest of the family. They had all been delighted to see him, making him recount his journey and escape. Up in the safety of her room, Bella had stayed leaning against the door, gazing around. The place held so many memories. In a way, she missed what things used to be like, back when she was human, living with her mom and Phil. So simple, so easy.
Now she had Edward, and while she wouldn't have it any other way, they'd faced problem after problem, never seeming to catch a break. But even then, in their early years, it had been easy. She was so naïve then. Though while she sometimes wished things could be that way again, she knew she'd never choose to go back to that. Her relationship with Edward, albeit difficult, had come so far and improved so much.
There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Bella said, stepping further into the room.
The door opened and Jasper entered.
"Hey, Bella," he said, softly.
"Hey."
Jasper hesitated. "Edward told me that you wanted to speak to me."
Bella nodded. "Yeah… it's about him really."
"Yes?"
"Yeah… I admitted to him what I admitted to you so long ago. About being weak minded and… well, you know. And he just denied everything. He kept telling me that's not true. Pretty much saying I'm perfect the way I am when I'm anything but perfect. I need you to talk to him."
"Of course," Jasper said, giving her a comforting smile. "I'll sort him out.
"Thanks, Jasper. I honestly don't know what I'd do without you."
Jasper left the room, making his way back down the stairs.
"Edward," he said. "We need to talk."
Their eyes met and Edward stood up from where he was sat beside Renesmee. He followed Jasper outside and through the woods.
"What did you want to talk about?"
"It's about Bella. She told me what's been happening between you two."
"Oh." Kicking a stone from the path, Edward sighed.
"Edward, "Jasper said, gently. "You need to believe her. She understands that she needs to overcome this. And to do so, she needs all the love and support from you."
"But she doesn't need to overcome this," Edward insisted.
"She's not perfect."
"I know that. She has flaws, of course she does. But I only love her more for that."
Jasper shook his head, gazing sadly at Edward. "This isn't a flaw, Edward. This is a real problem. Bella needs help to overcome it. I know it. She knows it. We all know it. Now you just need to understand that, and accept it."
"Bella?"
Bella looked up from where she was lying on the bed, half hidden under the duvet, face pressed against the pillow, trying to clear her head.
"Can I come in?"
"Yes."
The door opened and Edward hesitantly walked in, pushing it closed it behind him and sitting on the bed beside Bella.
"Jasper spoke to me."
Bella nodded.
"He told me you need my help and support."
Again, Bella said nothing. Edward swallowed nervously before continuing.
"He helped me understand. Bella, I'm going to do my best to help you."
Finally, Bella looked up into his eyes. "Thank you," she said, quietly. She sat up and shuffled towards him, into his open arms, shutting her eyes.
"Bella! Edward!"
Her eyes snapped open again. She and Edward shared a worried glance before standing up and rushing downstairs. The rest of the family was sat around, watching Carlisle who was stood with a letter in one hand, brows furrowed, a troubled expression on his face.
"What is it?" Bella asked, nervously.
Carlisle looked up, scanning the room, eyes landing on each person.
"It's a letter," he finally said. "From Aro. He wants to meet with us in three days."
