Chapter Eleven

Bella didn't know what she would have expected when she finally went up onto that platform stage, they put up in the gymnasium for graduation so she could be handed her high school graduation degree. She didn't know if she should show she was happy or if she shouldn't show anything at all. There was no point in doing either in her opinion.

She did know though she should have been paying more attention to what was going on, she should have been looking at all the teenagers around her and listening to those who decided they would attend college and others who wouldn't. She should have been actively conversing with her friends and introducing herself to some of her friends' extended family members (friends who she would ever see again). She should have been doing all these things, but she didn't feel as though she should put any energy into doing so.

So, it wasn't until the night before she would head off to Italy, that Bella had gotten a call from the hospital up in Port Angeles. She didn't think too much about it to begin with, before she remembered how Charlie was currently in Port Angeles hanging out with one of his old Police Academy friends.

Bella stayed still, listening intently to the person on the other end, as they informed her Charlie was currently in surgery, but that was all they could tell her. It was enough for her to hang up on the person before she grabbed her purse. She was rushing out of the house only for her to be welcomed with one of the wolves standing over by the woods, with something in his mouth…a head shaped object within his tight and sharp toothed jaws.

A part of her was telling her she should head off to the hospital, but she knew the wolves were here to let her know something. She went up to them, knowing they weren't going to attack her. They must have finally realized how innocent Bella was to all of this, she hadn't meant for Jacob to have his hot headedness be his downfall. She was a victim. Even if some of the tribespeople would believe she shouldn't be even thought of as a victim.

Reaching the wolf, Bella almost fell onto the ground when she saw the head of that red-haired vampire resting in the jaws of the wolf.

Without thinking, Bella stuttered out, "T-Thank you."

Behind the woods Sam Uley came out shirtless with his denim cut off shorts. He was barefoot; he motioned for the wolf to go back into the woods, most likely for them to dispose of the vampire's head. He turned his head back to Bella, his brown eyes studying her to make sure she wouldn't turn around on her heels and run away screaming.

"I know that you are leaving, and not coming back. You did not explain why you weren't coming back but you made sure to remind Jacob before he died that you weren't going to come back. I thought you should know we have finally gotten the red-haired leech that was stalking you. We didn't get her for you, we didn't want Charlie to be one of her victims," Sam told her, only for Bella to feel tears coming into her tear ducts at the mention of Charlie.

"Thank you, not for me, but for Charlie. I have to leave now, I just got a call from the Port Angeles Hospital about Charlie being in surgery," Bella informed him, enough for him to stiffen some before nodding his head.

Taking that as him telling her there was nothing more, he needed to tell her, Bella spun on her heels and rushed over to her truck before she got in and drove towards the closest little city. She could only hope she would get there in time, but when she arrived in the parking lot of the hospital an odd sinking feeling came to her stomach.

She entered the hospital lobby and went up to the receptionist before being told she needed to go over to the waiting area and sit because Charlie was still in surgery. Bella mindlessly picked up some of the magazines that were sitting on the coffee table in front of her, dismissing how there were other people that were around her. She didn't pay attention to those who were in the same boat as her, waiting for news of how the surgery had gone.

She only stopped fidgeting when the receptionist told her what floor to go to so she could get to the nursing station and be informed on how the surgery went. Bella noticed how the woman had no emotion upon her features, it was obvious she had been doing this job for at least a decade and had learnt to have a poker face. Bella wished she could be like this woman, staring at one of the patients' family members, and not letting them know the extent of how the surgery went.

There was a family that was in the elevator Bella got to, they had a bouquet of flowers and a IT'S A BOY blue balloon, signaling that they were celebrating the birth of a family member or friend's baby. The children were being told how to behave when they would enter the hospital room, and the wife was holding her hand upon her own extended stomach–allowing Bella to know before long this woman would be the one in the hospital bed with a newborn.

They got off the floor below Bella's, and Bella let out a sigh of relief when no one got into the elevator. She could see someone had just noticed the elevator, but it shut before they could signal for Bella to keep the doors open. Bella could honestly say she would have allowed the elevator doors to close anyway, she didn't need to be in the company of someone else, she was supposed to be heading to Italy before long. Not here in the Port Angeles hospital, learning her dad had just gone through surgery.

The doctor was standing by the nursing station, just like the receptionist had explained. He was middle aged but looked much older due to the many hours of surgeries he had must have performed. His eyes flickered to Bella, allowing her to know that he was interested in seeing if she were Charlie's family member, Isabella Swan.

"Are you Isabella Swan?" he probed, earning a nod from her, allowing him to motion for Bella to find one of the chairs that were in the sitting section of the hallway, enough for her to nervously look at him before she sat down.

This wasn't good.

Bella might not watch medical dramas, but she knew enough to know when a doctor/surgeon told you to sit down so they could give you news about family member chances were something bad had happened during the surgery. She tried to prepare herself as she looked at the fatherly type of man in front of her, knowing she could only handle so much death.

"Your father is in a coma," the doctor informed Bella.

"What? What happened? How?"

Bella wasn't just asking this to the surgeon. She was asking this towards God, or whoever was listening to her. Why was all of this happening? She might be already eighteen but if this had happened before she had her birthday she would have been officially declared as an orphan. She would be without both of her parents, if Charlie would never wake up.

"Your father had some complications with the anesthesia. I cannot say for certain if he'll wake up or not. The first twenty-four hours are the most important. I must ask if you know who the person is that I can get into contact with when it comes to what should happen in the future, if he doesn't wake up," the surgeon slowly told her, enough for Bella to look down at her hands.

"Billy Black. He's one of my dad's best friends. I can give you his number so you can get in contact with him. I want everything to be handled with him, I'm going to be away for a year," Bella mentioned, before she gave him Billy's phone number.

Bella's heart clenched in her chest when families and friends that were in the sitting room of the surgery wing were informed the surgeries had gone exactly as was planned. The relief upon the faces of those who had heard this, it reminded Bella how fragile a human would be. She would soon not have to worry about things like this for herself. She would never wind up in this situation, she just thought it was unfair how Charlie ended up in this situation.

Bella kept glancing down the corridor, stopping as Billy was wheeled down the corridor with one of Charlie's best friends' wives, Sue Clearwater. Her husband, Harry, had been a good friend of Charlie's but had died a few months ago due to a stroke. Both Billy and Sue had determined looks upon their rustic hue faces, allowing everyone to know they weren't going to allow anyone to see their faces crack with too much emotion.

Bella stood up, before she smoothed down her clothes, and stepped forward. Sue immediately rushed forward and hugged her. She was trying to reassure Bella but all she could feel was standing there and having someone giving her condolences at a funeral. Charlie might not be dead yet, but she was already seeming to be rehearsing what to say if Charlie didn't pull through in the end.

Billy cleared his throat, gaining Bella's attention. He looked at her, really looked at her, as he sat there in his wheelchair with his long obsidian hair resting against his shoulders. He sat there with his hard features a little softer than before. His eyes were usually hard, determined, but they too were soft. He knew she didn't deserve this. No one deserved for their father to be in the situation Charlie was currently in.

"Bella, I'm sorry for being distant with you for the past few weeks…Jacob's death has been hard for me and the others. It wasn't your fault, it was no one's fault. I just want to apologize and let you know that I don't hate you. I also would like to thank you for respecting Charlie's wishes and allowing me to take care of any forms that might need to be signed in the future," Billy confessed, enough for Bella to step forward and crouch down.

She took his hands in hers, soaking in the warmth of human flesh. She would eventually be away from all of this. She wouldn't be around those who were human without thinking of them as a food source. She would be around those without heartbeats and no more blood traveling through her bloodstream, instead it would be poisonous venom in a way.

Well maybe the venom would be poisonous to some. Nothing more than another form of death. Something that would eat away all that mattered. It would make the person be without anything they loved about themselves. Such as losing that one thing about them that was imperfect that they actually liked or losing that pretty eye color that wasn't completely unique but wasn't not too common. They would lose that voice of theirs, everything like that would be destroyed into just memories.

"I have to tell you something, Billy."

Billy nodded his head seriously before he sighed and slumped. "I wish you weren't going to, but I know you, Bella. I don't know if you are going to go after them or whatever you plan on doing but I have to tell you. You cannot come back if you become one of them."

Bella reached her hand out and took his hand in hers again, smiling some as she nodded her head. "I know, but it's my life and it's my choice. I can only tell you I'm not going after them. I have learnt of others that will be able to give me what I wish for. I can promise you that I won't come back. I'll never come to Forks again. It is about time the land goes back to you."

Billy chuckled as though he found this amusing instead of sweet. He patted her hand.

"You are a good kid, Bella. You are not a Cullen; it is not your decision in the end if the land will ever go back to my ancestors. It is only the Cullens' decision in the end if they will ever decide to grace the town ever again. Let us hope they will not."

Bella sighed before she hugged him one last time and turned to Sue Clearwater. Sue was standing by the nursing station, listening intently to what the nurses were telling her. She turned her head towards the brunette, pale girl and came up to her. She hugged her one last time and kissed her on the forehead before allowing Bella to leave them behind.

She entered Charlie's hospital room, noticing how he was lying in the hospital bed with steady breathing. His eyes were closed, and he seemed at peace. Yet it was almost sinister because she wouldn't be able to see his brown eyes ever again. She came forward and kissed him on the forehead, tears falling down her face and onto him.

He didn't wake up.

This wasn't some fairytale where her tears could bring him back into consciousness. He was still away, in another world completely, not here but not gone. He was stuck in the gray; he was being yanked to the obsidian or to the white. It was his decision in the end if he wanted to stay or if he would know it was his time to go.

"I love you, Dad. I have to go now, and I want you to know if you decide to let go, I support you. I won't be coming back. I'm leaving forever. I know you would tell me I've lost my mind, but I haven't been the same since the Cullens left. I cannot stay in Forks anymore. You have so many other people who love you and watch over you if you wake up," Bella whispered as she went to put her head against his chest but stopped when she saw one of the nurses standing in the doorway with her arms folded against her chest. It was obvious he wasn't supposed to have any visitors yet.

Bella made sure that she didn't have any tears falling down her face as she left the hospital and drove back to Forks. She was glad this was happening after she had graduated high school. She didn't want to imagine all the people at school that would give her flowers and well-meaning cards wishing Charlie would get better.

Otherwise, Bella would have crushed the flowers under the soles of her shoes, and she would have ripped up the cards. They wouldn't solve anything, no matter how many flowers she would receive from people or cards they wouldn't just automatically have Charlie wake up.

She didn't even know Charlie had lied about going up to see one of his friends up in Port Angeles. He was going for surgery, and it just so happened he couldn't come home. He instead ended up having a bad reaction from the anesthesia and fell into a coma.

Arriving back at Charlie's house she didn't want to look around the house that long. She knew she wouldn't come back after tonight. She would leave tomorrow and hopefully Charlie would be able to come home. The house wouldn't just sit there and wait until Charlie would pass away so someone new could buy the house and make it their own.

Bella ended up not getting much sleep that night, she slept on the couch and found no reason to go up to her room until she would get all her things together for the airport. Sue Clearwater had said she would drive Bella to the airport, since Bella would not need her pickup truck while she would be traveling across the world to Italy.

It would have been a humorous sight to see though, even Bella had to smile at the thought of her new-to-her truck she had been gifted by Billy Black driving throughout the countries to Volterra.

The next morning, Bella pulled on one of her favorite hoodies with a pair of sweatpants and some tennis shoes. She had her hair pulled in a high bun and she made sure to get all her favorite clothes to take to Italy. She might not be fashion forward, but she still had clothes she would like to take with her. She brought her jewelry, her eyes landing on the Volturi necklace Marcus had given to her so she would be recognizable. (She wondered if the necklace belonged to one of his family members so everyone would know she had his family's blessings)

Sue was waiting patiently by her car, smiling warmly at Bella. Bella gave her a small smile too, but it didn't reach her eyes. She knew despite trying not to think it, she really was abandoning her dad. She must be an awful daughter leaving him. She could have stayed and taken care of the house, she could have stayed and told herself another year away from Volterra wouldn't be wrong, but she knew in her heart things weren't going to be like that.

She had another life destined for her out there, a true home. She had people who would be loyal to her, people that would never leave her. People that would tell her it was fine to be angry sometimes and it was okay if she made mistakes. She would be around vampires that wanted her to become one too, ones that didn't worry about her humanity like Edward apparently had…along with her soul.

"Have you got everything? That's a lot to be taking for your year long trip," Sue said, her eyes landing on the multiple luggage Bella had. It was weird, it was almost as though Bella wasn't going to be traveling to multiple countries but living in one country away from the others.

Bella took a deep breath before she told Sue to sit down. Sue opened the back hatch of her car and sat down. She motioned for Bella to sit next to her, and Bella couldn't help but duck her head and sit a little bit further from her than a normal person did. Sue gave her a hurt look, allowing Bella to know she didn't know why she was pushing her away yet wanting to tell her something.

"I'm not back packing all over the world. In fact, I'm moving to Italy…" Bella let her eyes wander down to the gravel in the driveway. In the distance she could hear the birds chirping, reminding Bella how early it was in the morning.

Slowly but surely, Bella began to tell Sue the reason why she was leaving for Italy. She didn't look at Sue the entire time, expecting her to tell her she was ashamed of her. She shouldn't go to Italy because she was just imagining it all.

She wanted to fulfill being a vampire; she was coming up with a group of people who could help her become one. Them being royal was some kind of fairytale come true for Bella. Only, that wasn't true. Bella was never the girl in school who was obsessed with princesses or Disney. She didn't demand to dress up as Cinderella or Aurora (Sleeping Beauty), or even Tinkerbell.

Instead, Sue listened intently without showing any judgment upon her beautiful red-brown skin. Her dark hair was pulled up in a sloppy bun and she was wearing clothes that were similar to Bella's ensemble. She had no makeup on since there was no point in doing so, she was just taking Bella up to Port Angeles so she could drop her off at the airport.

Once Bella was finished with telling her everything, tears were falling down her pale face. She hadn't expected for Sue to wrap her arms around her and hug her close to her. She kissed her on the forehead before reassuring her she wasn't a bad daughter. She wasn't abandoning her father; she had made sure to tell Billy about Charlie going into a coma.

"Come on, sweetheart. It's time to get you to the airport," Sue finally said before she helped Bella off of the back hatch of the car. She wiped away Bella's tears before ushering her to the front passenger door, claiming she had started exercising since Harry's death and could lift all the luggage Bella had brought with her, with ease.

Sue came to the front driver's seat before long, shutting the door behind her right when it started raining. Both women, one just out of high school and the other on the winding road of retirement, gave each other amused smiles. Sue picked up a water bottle and drank some before she pulled out of the driveway and towards the neighborhood so they could head to the main road that led off to the highway.

"You know…Sarah was disappointed the Cullens weren't here right before she died," Sue spoke, gaining Bella's attention.

She continued when she saw that she had gotten the young woman's attention.

"She had grown up hearing about all the legends of the wolf shifters and the 'cold ones' that she wanted to meet one of the legendary 'cold ones', most importantly she wanted to meet Carlisle to hear what he thought of Elphiem when he was alive."

Bella smiled, as she remembered the young Native American woman with the brightest smile. She could sing too, always singing lullabies in multiple languages. She was already learning new skills, because she claimed you were never too old to learn new things. She'd go and do cooking classes up in Port Angeles and laugh when she tried them at home, only to find out how much of an epic fail it was without her having a cooking instructor helping her.

"Billy ended up being the one who met him, and though he didn't like him he respected him. He respected how Carlisle had shown complete respect for our beliefs." Sue had a softness to her voice, in remembrance of when the Cullens arrived in Forks again all those years ago.

"Billy told many stories about Elphiem and how they would sit across the creek while Elphiem would have a bonfire and tell stories. Most of the time it was only Carlisle and his mate, Esme, who would come and sit to listen to the stories. They were the best of friends…" Sue stopped smiling, as the rain continued to come crashing down upon the roof of her car.

"Things changed after Elphiem died…"

Sue drove off onto the strip of road that led straight to the airport, the soft jazz music that was playing on the radio the only other sound than the rain. Both were mere background noises, nothing important, not like Sue's story.

"The Cullens moved away, and then arrived those years ago. The decades after Elphiem died was not kind in speaking of the Cullens. Elphiem was one of the few that welcomed the Cullens once he had learned they ate animals instead of people. The majority of the tribespeople made sure to have their versions of the past overcome the true story…" Sue sighed as she pulled up to one of the spots to drop off Bella.

"Bella, I'm telling you this, so you know our past. I believe since you are one of us, if only through being the god daughter of Billy, that you deserve to know the truth. I also believe that you will still be one of us even when you become a vampire. I could only wish there were more in the tribe that would be like Elphiem. You needed to know that we haven't always been so against vampires. Perhaps there will be a time in the future where you will be welcomed back…" Sue sighed once again, her shoulders slumping. She gave the girl another smile.

"Now go, be happy, and know Billy and I will always love you, along with Charlie. No matter what, don't apologize for following your heart's desire. If only all of us could be that lucky…."

It didn't hit me until I was boarding my first flight to Italy, that I remembered the soft looks Charlie and Sue would give each other. I could only hope Charlie would wake up one day, so the both of them could fulfill their heart's desire.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: it is up to your interpretation if Charlie ever wakes up. I was originally going to kill him off, but I've already killed off Renee and Jacob...killing Charlie would be way too much. So, I left him in coma. You can think of him just stuck like this until they have to pull the plug, or wake up, or end up dying. It's all up to you.

From here on out, in the next chapter and chapters after that, we will be in Volterra with the Volturi. I hope you have enjoyed the journey Bella has taken from waking up with memory loss to her graduating high school.

Twilight doesn't belong to me

-Emmy