As you can see, I have obviously gotten a new penname. :D

See Kayleigh, I do luff you. XDD Right, Leelice?

Okay, so the magnetic force shoulder thing, that came from a conversation with Kayleigh, where we were talking about how Bella always seems to hide her face in Edward's chest a lot. Like chests vacuum her. XDD

And the "damn it all" thing came partly from L.C. So yeah.

In this chapter, you'll see exactly why Laurent changed, why Bella's words affected him so.

Right, so on Tuesday I go back to school and updates will be a little less frequent. I'm sorry guys, but that's life. I'll still update at least once a week most of the time.

It may sound absurd but don't be naive, even heroes have the right to bleed
Superman—Five for Fighting

Be safe…

My own words echoed in my mind, as I felt my entire body crashing down beneath the weight of the stress overcoming me. The worry caused my dead heart feel like it was cracking, breaking at the seams. I was truly, and inevitably scared. What if he wasn't safe? What if my angel never came home to me? What if I had already seen him for the last time?

I was drowning as the waves of fear crashed over me. I was choking as the fear crashed on top of me, crushing me like the ocean in the middle of the hurricane. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't speak. I couldn't even think of my beloved without feeling the pain again. The pain that I felt because I knew that I could lose him.

Dear God, Edward please be safe. Please come home to me.

It wasn't only Edward who was in danger. Alice, Emmett, and Laurent may have been with me, but Carlisle, Esme, Jasper and Rosalie were not. Any one of them could be killed. Hell, they could all be killed. If those dogs had something planned… They could easily ambush them; take them by surprise and attack. There was a fifty-fifty chance that my family would come home.

I was silently hoping that some deity was hearing my prayers, and everything will turn out alright.

But would God answer the prayers of someone like me? Someone who wasn't human?

I fell backwards into the couch in the living room, feeling helpless. I looked up to be met with a similar expression from Alice. Her husband was out there too. She leaned back against the living room wall. Her forefingers were pressed against her temples, and her eyes were shut tightly. She wasn't getting any visions. I was hoping that it was a sign that nothing of serious consequence would come from the trip.

Emmett had a look of absolute torture on his face. He looked angry, but at the same time, as helpless as Alice and I. He was always able to save the day with his strength, able to protect his wife, and his family. Now, they were in some of the worst danger possible, and all he could do was sit. You could see in his eyes that he felt weak for the first time in his entire afterlife. He was helpless too.

Laurent's face was covered with nothing but concern. His honey eyes looked at me, soft and filled with sympathy. I'm sure he felt somewhat helpless too. He admitted to me that he considered me his best friend, and here I was, in the worst pain possible, and he could do nothing to stop it. Sighing, he came over and sat next to me. Overcome with weakness, my head fell to his shoulder, as if there was some sort of magnetic force pulling it. Laurent just put an arm around me, and gave me a loving squeeze.

I heard Alice groan in aggravation. "God dammit!" she screeched. Her voice was somewhat shrill, filled with panic. "Damn this power, damn those stupid dogs, damn it all!"

"What's wrong Alice?" I asked, lifting my head. "I mean, besides the obvious."

She shook her head. "I can't see anything at all," she said, opening her eyes. "It's like the future is completely blank, all I see is blackness."

Well, that's reassuring.

"Blackness…?" Emmett echoed, tossing an apple from hand to hand absentmindedly. There must have been food left over from when I was human here. With his speed, the fruit just looked like a flying flash of green.

"It's like I can't see anything involving the dogs," she shook her head. "I suddenly understand Edward's frustration, not being able to read Bella's mind. It's like I'm running into a brick wall or something."

His name sent a stab of pain into my dead heart. The shock of it made me stumble backwards, and Alice's hands flew to my shoulders, steadying me. I noticed then that my wounds in my shoulders, arms, and stomach were almost healed already. All of our battle wounds were fading. Such a shame that the pain in my chest didn't seem to be going anywhere.

"Are you okay?" Alice's voice called to me, concerned.

I nodded, and realized that I was now sitting on the couch, leaning on my sister, one of her thin arms around me. Emmett was on the other side of me, sharing the couch as well, and Laurent was kneeling on the floor in front of me.

"You scared us for a second there, Bella." Emmett chuckled.

I blinked. "What happened…?"

"You almost fell over," Laurent explained, pushing a brown lock away from my eyes. "Alice pushed you over here so fast, it must have disoriented you."

"Edward will be fine," Alice used the arm wrapped around me to press my body tighter to hers for a moment, in a hug sort of gesture. "They're all going to be fine."

I nodded mechanically, and took in a deep breath. "I think I need some air," I announced. Alice withdrew her arm, and I stood up. Laurent stood up too, and stepped out of my way, so I could go out towards the back door.

"Want me to come?" Emmett offered.

I shrugged. "If you want to," I told him, and I walked outside.

The rose petals and candles were long gone, but the feeling of that night still lingered here. I stepped into the same area where Edward had been standing, as if the circle of petals were still there. I closed my eyes, as I felt a breeze blow over, causing my hair to fly around with the wind. I could see his face, his eyes, and his beautiful smile.

I love you, Bella a velvety voice whispered in my ear, and I dropped to my knees. Dear God, I was hearing his voice. I felt dry sobs wrack my body, as all my worries from before smashed on top of me again, knocking the wind out of me. Soon I felt strong arms encase me, and I started crying into Emmett's chest.

"It's okay," he cooed softly, patting my back gently. "He is going to be okay, Bella."

"How do you know?" I sobbed.

He sighed sadly. "The same way I know Rose is going to be alright."

I lifted my head, to look at his face. "And how is that?"

He touched the tip of my nose with his index finger, and said one word.

"Faith,"

I managed a weak smile, and he ruffled my hair, a smile crossing his lips as well. "Thank you, Emmett."

"No problem little sis," he said, helping me stand up. "No problem at all."

I couldn't help but grin, as he pulled me into a brotherly hug. Edward and I hadn't even exchanged vows yet, but Emmett already considered me a sister. As he pulled away, I couldn't help but think, I just hope we actually get to have the wedding.

Faith, Edward's velvet voice commanded. Have faith, my love.

I hoped faith was enough… But when Edward's melodic voice said it, it brought me even more hope then it did when Emmett had said it. Slowly, I was starting to feel less helpless.

"Better?" Emmett asked, a wry smile adorning his perfect face.

I smiled too, "A little bit."

"Good," he nodded. "I want to check on Alice. See if she has seen anything, ya know? Will you be okay by yourself?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Thanks, again Emmett."

And I was alone.

I looked up at the sky, observing the stars above me, my points of light and reason. If I was Edward's meteor, he must have been my moon. He brought light to my once loveless life. It was eerily dark tonight. There was no moon out tonight. It was the night of a new moon.

How ironic…

"Hello," Laurent said, walking to stand next to me. He looked up at the stars as I was, thoughtful about something. I silently wondered what he was thinking about.

"Hello," I returned, my voice almost light sounding, my eyes never leaving the star covered sky.

A few moments of silence passed between us, the two of us lost in our own separate thoughts. I was thinking about Edward, naturally. I was staring at the brightest star in the sky. It wasn't giving off as much light as the moon would, but it was making things just a little bit brighter.

That was faith.

"Hey Laurent…"

"Mmhmm…?"

"Have you ever been in love?" I asked.

He blinked and looked down at me, completely taken aback by my question. He stared at me for a few moments, before finally saying, "What?"

"Love," I said, my voice thoughtful. "Have you ever been in love?"

He sighed. "Once,"

He caught my interest. "With whom?"

"It was in my human life," he replied. His eyes clouded over, filled with ancient grief. "Her name was Rebecca."

I frowned, "What happened to her?"

"She—"he paused. "She was killed,"

"I'm sorry," I said, and he wrapped an arm around my shoulder. "What happened? I mean, if you don't mind me asking."

"A vampire attacked us both," he replied. Sadness tainted his usual cocky tone. "I tried to protect her, so he bit me first, and went after her. When he came back to finish me, it was too late."

I shook my head. "That's awful, I'm—I'm so sorry!"

He gave me a light squeeze, and dropped his arm. I looked up into his eyes. They were sad, but intense.

"That's why I had to save you," he murmured. "You were so innocent. You had done nothing wrong. You were just this sweet girl whose scent appealed to the wrong vampire, just like Rebecca. I thought about how I felt when I realized what happened. Living one day without her… that was hard enough, but living an eternity, I didn't think I could do it. If I had let Victoria kill you, I would be doing to Edward what that vampire did to me. I would never wish that pain on anyone."

"Oh, Laurent!" I said. I threw my arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. He hugged me back, and I felt him shaking slightly, with silent, tearless sobs. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what else to say! I—"

"It's okay," he said, pulling away gently, and looking me in the eyes. "I'm better now. I came to terms with it decades ago. She's somewhere safe now," he looked up at the sky again. "Where monsters can't hurt her anymore."

I sighed, and he looked at my eyes again, and shook his head.

"That's why your words at the mall struck me so hard. I was doing that to people every day. I was no better then that monster that ripped Rebecca away from me. I was a monster. I think that's how I'm able to do it now, why I'm strong enough. Any time I get tempted, I just think of Rebecca."

"But I thought human memories fade?" I blinked, and touched his arm comfortingly.

"Love is forever, Bella."