Chapter 27 The end of everything

We both were silent while Edward was driving the car. Everyone got lost in his thoughts. I pretended to look out of the window, but hardly saw anything. The man's words kept repeating again and again inside of my head.

The legend I heard was telling about a young girl who came on that island to live there with her dead lover.

That story must have really reminded him of us. I was human, Edward was a vampire. I was alive, but I didn't belong to Edward's world. I never belonged to his world. Our love was impossible. Wrong.

Love is always a sacrifice.

We both had to go through so many difficulties just for having a chance to love each other. I glanced at Edward. What did we need to sacrifice now for the chance to be together?

The only thought about it scared me to death.

It's a new moon. Don't start anything new at that time… they say it's bad luck.

Why did that man actually say that? I was so angry at myself for listening to his stupid story! A bad feeling was growing inside of me now. I didn't want to be afraid, and I wanted to stop thinking about it, but… It's always hard to stop thinking about something that frightens you.

I sighed again and shook my head. I needed to get out those thoughts of my head… but how could I do that?

I looked out of the window and finally realized that we crossed through the city without stopping.

"I thought we're going to the hotel," I said.

What was Edward up to? Were we going to visit his distant relatives immediately?

Edward caught my glance and smiled. My question seemed have distracted him. That was good. His mood was returning to normal again.

"Of course, not," he answered. "We are going home first."

I glanced at him, trying to understand the meaning of his words. Then, slowly, I began to understand what was going on. My eyes widened.

"Home?! You mean…"

"Yes, we've got the property in Chicago too," Edward rolled his eyes, noticing my reaction. "We own houses in different towns, Bella. There's nothing special about it."

I shook my head. It was too hard to believe in Edward's words. We spent days in that car, talking about everything – and Edward didn't drop a hint about having the house there. Great.

"Why didn't you tell me about it?" I asked, angry now.

"I perfectly know you, Bella, and I don't have to be a predictor to guess your reaction. Take it easy. There's nothing to worry about."

Edward was talking to me as if I was a child.

"When did you buy the house?" I asked. I had to confess that I was still angry.

Edward's answer was full of surprises.

"A few weeks ago. I was planning this journey when parents advised me to buy property here," he said. "It's a good investment."

Awesome.

We crossed the city border and turned to the tiny road that was losing deep in the woods. I didn't notice the moment when the scenery really distracted me from my dark thoughts, and I was looking out of the window, examining the view hungrily. That place was really beautiful. We spent another half an hour, going deep into the forest, until I finally noticed how something was looming through the trees. I screwed my eyes and managed to recognize a little glade and a part of a building hiding behind a green wall.

"Home, sweet home," Edward murmured, and looked back at him, amazed.

To my surprise, he was smiling, and that smile reminded me about something very important.

Edward literally returned home.

The engine stopped. We got out of the car, and Edward gave me a hand, ready to show me a new residence of the Cullen family.

"We haven't seen the house yet," he surprised me with another confession. "Esme bought the house through one estate agency. They have been working on us for ages and perfectly know our tastes…"

We made few steps ahead, the green wall parted, and I finally had a change to see the house in full. We were standing not far from an old two stored mansion, probably, build in late Victorian era. Numerous windows, beautiful porch…

It was perfect. I was staring at house, trying to notice every little detail.

"The house will be renovated a bit later. We haven't found time to change anything yet… Esme asked me to apologize for that," Edward said.

I turned to him.

"The house is so beautiful!" I couldn't hide my delight. "It doesn't need any change!"

Edward chuckled.

"Our family needs a lot of space. Esme has already begun making plans. She wants to add an additional floor. The windows will be bigger, and the design needs some innovation..."

Edward continued talking, but, to be frank, I didn't listen. I was unable to take my eyes off the mansion. It sounded like a fairytale – buying a house. It wasn't real, right?

"Do you want to go inside?" Edward asked gently.

I nodded. He offered me a hand again and leaded me to the mansion.

Strange, but when we went outside, the air wasn't dusty at all. When I asked Edward about it, he said that Esme hired cleaner service to prepare the house for our arrival. She also took care about adding some furniture into the house.

"Previous owners left only a kitchen furniture set and an old dinner table, so we had to buy something quickly…I hope you don't mind about IKEA," he said apologetically, just like it sounded like a crime.

I laughed, watching Edward's expression.

"I think I can manage with that."

We scoped out the house, examining every room, while Edward was telling me about Esme's plans. He slowed me which wall would be destroyed and how every room would be renovated. Esme's plans were huge, but she was planning to create the real work of art.

The house had a very big basement, and I suggested that Esme could turn it into another room.

"Esme have already thought about that," Edward said, nodding. "You can share your ideas with her. I'm sure she'd be glad to hear your opinion…"

I blushed immediately. Edward's words were so frank and so touching, even if they meant something else to me. Edward considered me to be the part of his family - the Cullens considered me to be one of them, despite the fact that I was still human. My nervousness about the man's words began sounding silly. I shouldn't have worried about it. Everything was all right now.

"There is plenty of room here," I said, pacing the basement. "I'm sure that Esme wants to turn it into something grandiose …"

I looked back at Edward and realized that he didn't listen to me. He turned into marble statue; his mind obviously far away from there.

"Edward, what's going on?" I asked, by body was tensed.

He woke up from his thoughts and looked around, as if he forgot where we were standing. Did Edward look… scared? I didn't know what was going on, but it seemed like my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

Without giving me any explanation, Edward stretched out his hand, inviting me to join him.

"We need to go outside," he said in a bleak voice. "We have a visitor."


I looked back, glancing at the basement for the last time. Suddenly I wished we didn't have to meet any visitor whoever he was. I wished we stayed there and continued talking and examining the Cullens' expensive house. I wished we could play our own game.

We didn't speak, but my heart was more than controversial – it was beating so fast and so loud that my pulse was echoing across the whole house.

Edward and I went outside just by the time when a car was going stop in front of the house. It looked familiar to me, but I couldn't remember where I had actually seen it.

Edward hissed and then stepped ahead, covering me from an unexpected guest just like he was going to shield me from a bullet.

"Edward?" my voice began shaking. What a silly lamb. "Who is that?"

The car stopped, and the driver went out. I screwed up my eyes and finally recognized the man. We had already met him…

"Is that… that man form the cafe?" I asked in astonishment. "The one with strange thoughts?"

"Yes," Edward muttered.

"What is he doing here?" I asked, although I had dozens of different questions. What did he want? How did that man find us? Was he tracking us?

"He wants to speak..." Edward seemed have noticed my confusion. Unlike me, he had an ability to think about different things at the same time. "And he wants to apologize."

"Apologize?" I asked aloud. I couldn't see the whole picture yet. "For what?"

I looked at the man, still blind to see why Mr. Blunt wanted to meet us.

The café owner stepped closer, and Edward covered me again and snarled, making me start.

What an overprotective lion.

The man looked pale, and his hands were shaking. Sweat glittered on his face. He looked terrible when we saw him in the café, but he looked even worse now. Mr. Blunt raised his hands, showing that he was unarmed. I hid a smile. It would never help him, actually.

"I just came to warn you," he almost whispered. I barely heard his words. "I've tried to leave this place, but I couldn't go without talking to you... It's such a heavy burden."

Edward snarled again. The man sighed.

"I know about your gift," Blunt added, surprising me. I frowned. "You know that I'm honest… I just hope that you'll give me a chance to explain everything."

What he was talking about? How could he know about Edward's gift? It's impossible! I looked at Edward, hoping that he would give me an explanation.

"It's true. He knows everything about me," he answered.

Silence surrounded us, and I was too shocked to say anything. I glanced back at the café owner. It wasn't the answer that I had expected to hear. It's impossible, it couldn't be possible…

"But how…?" the question left my mouth before I thought about it.

Edward sighed.

"It appears that we... have a mutual friend," he answered evasively. "Daniel was told so much about us. He has been literally waiting for this day to come," Edward added sarcastically.

My blood ran cold.

"What?"

I didn't know what to expect, but my world fell apart when Edward said:

"He knows Victoria. He has been working on her for ages. She knew that we would come here."

Victoria? I looked at the man in astonishment. It couldn't be real. How could it be real? Edward must have had a stroke. Could vampires have a stroke?

"I'm really sorry," Daniel said, staring at us, his look full of pity. "But she let me no choice," he was trembling the edge of his shirt. "That woman, Victoria, she… she was blackmailing me into doing that. She promised to kill me… I had no choice, really."

"What did she make you do?" I asked, still staying behind Edward's back.

Blunt seemed have been glad to hear me.

"That woman was searching for you. Somehow she knew that you would appear in Chicago one day, and she guessed that you would visit my café. She's very smart, you know," he sighed. "I needed only to make one phone call after seeing you…"

I didn't understand anything.

"Phone call? What phone call?" I asked hopelessly.

Edward snarled again. What did he see in the man's mind?

"I don't know who exactly they are," Daniel confessed. "But they somehow connected to you," he pointed at Edward. "Victoria said that I needed to report about the crime and then tell them the name of the city where they should go. She said it would be enough. She said…"

"It's the Volturi," Edward whispered to me before I found the right answer. "The man phoned the Volturi," he seemed have been talking to himself now. "They're coming for us."

"I'm sorry," Blunt repeated again, shifting from one foot to the other. "I thought that I could do this, but... I can't. Your faces keep flashing before my eyes. You look so young, so young, and I thought…"

"I can see all of your thoughts," Edward interrupted the man angrily. "Do you really think it can change anything?"

Edwards wasn't pronouncing these words – he was spitting them out, just like he bit into a rotten apple. It gave its effect. The man began shaking again. He finally realized who he was talking to. He finally got that Edward wasn't as young and harmless as Daniel wanted him to see.

"It's not too late to change everything," Daniel said, protecting himself, obviously. "You are so talented. You can always…"

"Do what? Save your ass? I can see what you're trying to do," Edward laughed bitterly. "Get out of here," he spitted out his words again. "Run while you still can. I'm quire sure that the ones you have invited here won't have any desire to listen to your silly story."

The man looked at Edward, shocked and scared, his eyes wide, and then hurried back to his car.


The car was leaving, and I lost a second or two, staring at it. Scared man's pale face was flashing before my eyes. I must have been in shock – it was impossible to make my brain work. Any tiny thought was lost.

A bird cried in the woods, and I startled, finally waking up. Edward wasn't there anymore. I looked around, searching for him and feeling that panic began to burn slowly inside of me. He couldn't just leave me, could he?

He was sitting on the steps, his perfect face hidden in his hands. Relieved, I sat next to him and touched his fingers.

"Edward? Can you explain me what's going on, please? I don't understand…"

I was silly, I know, but I needed his help. I couldn't see the whole picture yet. Stupid, stupid lamb.

Edward sighed, took his hands off his marble face and finally turned to me.

"Alice was right. We shouldn't have come here," he said quietly.

I frowned.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's a trap, Bella," Edward said, looking me in the eyes, and his look made me freeze. "That's how Victoria wants to avenge James's death. She had been planning it all for ages... And her plan seemed to work."

An uncomfortable silence surrounded us.

"But…" It was still hard to believe that it all was real. "Why did the man have to phone the Volturi?"

"The Volturi is the part of Victoria's plan. She knew that she would never be able to win – our coven is too strong," Edward began to explain. He was generous - he was ready to forgive me for my stupidity. "So she created a new plan how to take revenge on us. Victoria guessed that you and I would appear here one day, so she found the man who would work on her. The café owner had been searching for us for ages."

"And the Volturi?"

"They are supposed to do the dirty work. Everybody knows that they're obsessed with the observance of laws – and how they're obsessed with dispensing justice when somebody breaks laws. Probably, Victoria made a decision to use that. The Volturi could deal with us without her interference. All what she needed to do was to find a good reason for it. That's why the man reported a crime. He told the Volturi about you."

"Me?" I asked in a high voice. When did I become so special to the vampire world?

Edward nodded.

"You have known about vampires for ages, Bella. It's our main secret, and you know it - and you're still alive. The Volturi can consider you to be a potential danger. They always eliminate the threat, and Victoria knows that," he said bitterly. "I bet it was her who created that mess in New York. She needed to make the Volturi come to America. If they were close enough, they would come here. The Volturi never leave unsolved problems."

My mind began working again, and I finally got everything. Victoria's plan was perfect, and it worked. She managed to draw the Volturi's attention to us. They were coming, and they wouldn't listen to our explanations.

It meant something else too. We were going to die…

A phone call made me jump. It was Edward's phone, not mine, and I glanced at him without hiding my surprise. Who was that?

Edward took the phone out his pocket, looked at the screen and said:

"It's Alice… perhaps, she managed to see something."

Edward took the call, and I heard the repercussion of Alice's melodic voice. It sounded scared.

"Yes, the human have already told us everything," Edward muttered coldly."Do you know it too?"

She answered something shortly.

"I don't know," he said. "Do you see any visions?"

Another answer. Silence, then a long sigh.

"How much time do we have?" Edward asked finally.

My body began to shake. I needed to stop worrying if I wanted to have my head clear, but my instincts reminded me of the mortal danger, and my self-control betrayed me.

"I got it… No, I don't think so," Edward answered. "Don't come. I think it's better for us… not to enlarge the problem."

When Alice answered something again, Edward paused a little, thinking about something. His face stopped looking like a marble mask. He looked almost like a human now.

Perhaps, the feeling of real sorrow made your heart beating, even if it was long dead.

"Tell them… tell that we love them, and…" he paused again, listening to Alice's suggestion, and then nodded, just like his sister could really see that nod. Probably, she really could. "Yes, it's the best way to say it."

I guessed what they were talking about. Edward was trying to say goodbye to his family.

I sighed, and Edward turned his gaze to me.

"I need to talk to Bella," he added quickly. "I'm not sure if I can call again."

Alice began shouting something, but he didn't listen. Edward finished the conversation. His eyes were full of pain and sorrow.

"Alice knows," I said.

He nodded.

"Alice had a bad feeling about today. She couldn't calm down, so Alice made Jasper drive her to Seattle where she was able to see the future."

"Did Alice see Victoria?"

"No. Victoria defeated us," Edward answered. "She is very attentive, and she isn't involved in our story directly. She has a chance to get away with it."

I nodded. Strange, but I really stopped feeling anything, just like somebody switched off all my feelings. I wished I could feel, but I didn't. I was numb.

"What's about the Volturi? Are they really coming?"

"Yes. They have got the message and made a decision to check the situation. They aren't that far from Chicago, so it costs them nothing to go here."

We paused a little, trying to accept the ugly truth.

"What did you tell Alice?" I asked, recalling their conversation.

"She wanted to join us," he explained shortly. "Alice suggested that they could come here, but I said that it was pointless. The Volturi are too close, and the family won't be able to get in Chicago before their arrival. We have to face them alone."

"And we have no chances," I added.

Edward nodded. He was broken.

"We're left alone with this."

I recalled Alice's crying, and something shivered inside of me. Maybe, it was the beginning of pain, and my feelings were returning to me.

Maybe, it's would be best if everyone stayed at home. The Cullens didn't have to participate in the conflict, and the Volturi's punishment wouldn't touch them. They would be safe.

"You're glad that they are staying home," I guessed, staring at him.

"Yes," Edward answered in a dead voice. "We'll be the one to get hurt. The others will stay alive."

"Are you sure that the Volturi won't go to Forks?" I asked, recalling my father's face. Poor Charlie…

Edward shook his head.

"I don't think so. Our death sounds like a good punishment. The Volturi know that it'll crush the whole family. It'll be enough."

Edward's words comforted me. Everything was clear now. We were in mortal danger, and we would likely die, but our families would be safe. I felt sadness to know that I wouldn't be able to hear Charlie's voice again, but if it was the price of his well-being, it wasn't that bad.

I stretched out my hand and found Edward's palm, my fingers wrapped round his. Warmth and cold created a perfect touch.

"It's my fault," Edward said again, sighing. "I shouldn't have brought you here."

"Don't blame yourself," I answered. It was my time to comfort Edward. I needed to be strong now. "You couldn't save me from everything."

Edward kissed my hand softly and inhaled my smell, trying to comfort himself.

"How much time do we have?" I asked.

"One or two hours."

"Does Alice see how the conversation will end?"

"She can only see that we're going to start talking. The other part of the future is hidden. It depends on the Volturi's decision. It'll change everything."

Edward sighed again.

"You were right. I shouldn't have left you then, seven years ago. It was our fate, and I shouldn't have interfered in its course."

"Well, you shouldn't have saved my life, then," I answered. "You shouldn't have stopped Tyler's truck, or you could let those junkies rape me… Are you going to regret that too?"

Edward froze, and then turned to me, looking me in the eyes, searching for something.

"What are you thinking about?" I asked curiously.

"Something as I thought we both would regret…" he answered cryptically.

A new call was heard, but Edward had no desire to pick up the phone that time.

"Is that Alice?" my voice was trembling again.

"Yes, it must be her," Edward said without even glancing at the screen.

"Do you know why she's calling?"

"I think I … I have just got an idea that may change the course of the future."

Did his voice sound like… hope? Maybe, I just wanted to hear it.

"Really?"

The phone stopped ringing because Edward simply turned it off. It surprised me again. What was going on?

Edward got up and gave me a hand.

"Don't you want to know her prediction?" I asked, letting him lead me to the house.

"I don't want to trust her visions anymore," he answered. "We have to take the risk, and I don't want to be distracted."

"Where are going?" I was really scared now. "What are you planning to do?"

When we crossed the corridor and continued our way, I guessed that we were returning to the basement.

"We need to prepare for the conversation," Edward said shortly. "It's going to take some time."

I couldn't understand what he was talking about, but I had already disliked Edward's new plan. Obviously, he was hiding something. Something I wouldn't approve.

Edward stopped and turned to me slowly. He touched my chin, pulling my face up so we could exchange looks. A second – and I lost in his beautiful perfect eyes. It confused me even more.

"I'm sorry, Bella," he whispered in his quiet voice. What a beautiful melody. "I'm sorry for ruining your life. You deserved much better than me."

I smiled bitterly. Edward was still Edward. Was he going to apologize again?

Before I said something, his lips found mine, and that kiss wasn't as careful as it could be. It felt good, almost normal, just like Edward forgot about his own rules. He pulled me closer to him, his hand knotted in my hair. His smell was intoxicating, his breath was like honey.

"I love you, Bella," Edward whispered quietly in my ear. "I want you to remember it."

His lips moved to my chin and then down to my neck. All my thoughts left my head. I wanted to ask something, but I forgot what I wanted to ask. His cold sweet breath touched my neck, making me shiver, but I didn't mind. I really liked that. I froze in Edward's arms, waiting for a new kiss.

Something sharp brushed against my skin, and the next thing I felt was agonizing pain.