Title: Crossroads

Author: Ilovejohnmayer

Chapter Title: Love Song For No One

Disclaimer: Twilight belongs to Stephanie, just as my stories belong to me.

N/B: Um, omg. Sorry…

"Oh my God, Bella?" I gently touch her face, she can't be real. This can't be real.

"Edward, we need to go." Alice's eyes survey the park, on alert for possible danger, but I can't move from Bella's side. It's her, she's here with me. My sweet girl, I missed you so, so much. I will never leave your side again.

"Edward now; we need to leave now!" I try to respond, but nothing really comes out. I'm a weird state of shock. I gently shake Bella, but she doesn't react to my touch, she just shifts on the bench. She is so cold, colder than she should be.

"Hey, hey you kids, leave Bellie alone!" An older woman dressed in a very large coat and old boats walks toward us, her finger pointed at me. I can hear her thoughts, she thinks we're trying to rob Bella, or hurt her. Alice disengages herself from her patrol and starts toward the woman when she suddenly stops.

Edward…

I know. Victoria is here.

"I'm callin' the cops! Leave her alone, you damn kids!" These people need to leave if they know what's good for them. Most humans get a feeling of wariness towards us, their conscience urging them to believe their gut feeling – that we are not normal, and to be around is not safe.

I stand in front of Bella. Alice whips around and runs, following after Victoria. I stand as close to Bella as I can while keeping up with Alice. I don't want anyone else, and especially not Alice, to get because of me. The homeless woman continues to yell at us, other people are yelling at her to be quiet, it is pure and utter chaos. Every other second I see a wisp of red hair, and I clench my fists tighter. She will not touch Bella.

I try to keep up with what Victoria is thinking and where she is going, but there are so many people in this park, and off the streets coming into the park. Humans can be so stupid in this way- they jeopardize their safety just to cure their curiosity. This is all happening so fast, only about thirty seconds has passed. Alice tells me to grab Bella and run, but I can't leave Alice to fend for herself.

"I know you hear me you kids. Bad kids! Bad-"Crack! I whip around to see the homeless woman on the ground, her neck bent out of shape. She's dead.

Alice stands next to me now, looking up at a tree where Victoria stands. Well she was just getting annoying, wasn't she? I don't wait for Alice to start up again- I just go. Victoria is fast, but I'm fast too. We run all over the park, through alleys and over rooftops. The wind whips past me, people are screaming as they realize that the woman is dead, but that doesn't matter because I need to run faster. I'm getting closer, I reach out to grab a bit of cloth hanging off her back.

She yells as I grab her clothes and swing her back into a concrete wall, slamming her head against the wall again and again, while bits of concrete fall onto the pavement.

This isn't over,I hear her think.

"This is over; you will never again lay a hand on her, ever." I growl back, beginning to crush her head with my hands. I can feel her brain giving way to the pressure when I hear Alice speaking to me.

Edward, come back.

I am distracted for a millisecond, but it's enough. Victoria gives me a swift kick to the gut, and I can't fight back against it, I go flying back. Victoria laughs madly, and disappears.

I punch the wall in anger and despair. I had her, I had her right there, I could have ripped her head off her neck, and I didn't. I should have moved faster, I should have concentrated my strength harder; I shouldn't have been so easily distracted.

I run back over, utterly disappointed with myself.

It was going to happen, I saw it. I scowl at Alice, shifting my gaze to Bella, and then to the dead woman, who is now surrounded by several homeless people staring at us, some suspicious, some frightened.

"Now come on, she needs a hospital." Alice forces me to bring my focus back to Bella and away from the disapproving looks of the people she, like society at large, ignores.

However, she's right. I gently pick up Bella, who is even lighter than before, if that's possible. As we leave the park, I can hear sirens in the distance, but I push the previous events from my head and center my attention on Bella.

She's sick, very very sick. She's shivering, but she's burning up and sweating. I try to hold her head up, because it seems like she's having trouble breathing. I say her name, shake her gently, but she doesn't respond in any way.

"Jesus Christ Bella…" I don't know what else to say or do, other than get her to the hospital. How did this even happen? How could I let this happen to her?

At the hospital we quickly get help from doctors and nurses. They ask some questions that Alice answers, about Bella living on the streets. I should be answering these questions, but I just stare at her, taking her in. What if I lose her again?

I am not going to lose her again.

I am not going to lose her.

They wheel her into one of the trauma rooms, but don't allow me to come in.

"But I need to be with her!" The nurse shakes her head.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but you need to let us do our jobs." I bow my head in frustration and turn back to Alice, who shrugs.

Give them a few minutes to work. I consider sneaking in while they work on her, but Alice has her hand on my arm, shaking her head. She knows me too well.

I can hear the doctors quietly give the nurses commands, while the nurses grab various medical items from drawers and cabinets. I push Alice off me and pace the hallway, hoping to enter soon, to see her and make sure she's okay.

She has to be okay. She has to. It hurts too much to think about her not being okay. I feel so strange, so unlike myself. I haven't felt this many complex emotions since I fell in love with Isabella, I feel so…so…human. It's exasperatingly difficult.

I sit down in a chair, my head dropping to my lap. I run my hands through my hair in frustration, gripping it and pulling. I want to scream, I don't feel like myself. I hate feeling so out of control, I feel like a newborn vampire.

A different nurse notices me and comes out into the corridor.

"Here, let's get your mind on track. Wanna answer some of these questions for me?" She pulls out a chart and asks me the first question, a smile playing lightly on her lips.

"Her name is Isabella Marie Swan." We go through the questions I know the answer to by heart, easy stuff like Bella's birthday and where she lives. However, some questions quickly become unanswerable.

"Do you know why she came to Chicago?" I shake my head. I wish I knew what the hell she was thinking when she dropped everything and decided to come to a big city by herself. I had specifically told her to not do anything rash or stupid! Then again, how often did Bella truly listen to me?

"You should probably call her father; he's been searching for her for months," Alice quipped. Oh yes, Charlie. I smiled inside, imagining his relief when he heard his daughter was safe.

The nurse nodded as one of the doctors walked out of the room. He chatted with her for a few minutes before he turned to us. And, although we had already heard what he had said to the nurse, we listened to his spiel again.

"Your Ms. Swan is lucky to be alive, a lot of kids don't make it as well as she did living on the streets. She has community-acquired pneumonia, hypothermia and malnutrition. The pneumonia probably developed from a virus, like the flu, and that plus the hypothermia made the pneumonia worse than we usually see for someone her age. That's why she was coughing up blood. She'll be in here for a couple days, maybe a week, and then she can go home. You said her father was coming?"

We both nod.

"Good. Well, she should regain consciousness within the next 12 hours. She seems to having a great deal of difficulty breathing, so we had to place a breathing tube down her throat. That will get better soon, and we can take it out, probably by tomorrow. When she wakes up she will probably be confused and may not remember everything that has happened.

"She is very lucky that you found her. She's lucky to be alive."

We thank the doctor and he leaves, along with the nurse, who informs us that we can go inside the room now.

I'll call the family, you go ahead. She can sense the excitement I feel. I smile at her and thank the nurse, who smiles at me too, seeing how joyful my expression has become.

Despite my joy though, I walk slowly into the room, apprehensive. Am I prepared to see her hurt again, covered in tubes and wires? It seems cruel, the many times I've seen her hurt or near death. I wish she would believe when I said I was no good for her.

And then I see her. I see her and the pain seems to melt away. I look at Bella and thank all things and everything that she is alive and safe now.

And beautiful, she's still so beautiful. She has always been so beautiful to me; I sometimes wonder how she can't see it for herself. I take in a deep breath, taking in the sweet smell of her blood, of her scent, while my eyes take her in again. I feel so…good, so whole again, so happy. I feel like nothing bad will ever happen to us again, even though I know that's not true.

I silently pull up a chair and look at her, take her in. Her brown hair, her pale skin, her rosy red lips, they are all here. Moments pass by as I just stare at her, skeptical to believe that she is really mine. There's no way this beautiful girl can be meant for me.

She looks so…vulnerable, much more than she usually does; I notice the deep, dark bangs that hang under her eyes. I glance at the IV lines and ventilator tube, but turn my focus back on her. I need to focus on her to not feel panicked and depressed and so very ashamed of myself.

I hear Alice come into the room, but I don't move. I close my eyes, and listen. I listen to a sound I missed so much.

Bella's heartbeat. Ahh…

Better?

I just nod, I feel like I can't talk. I feel like this could be a dream, and even though I know I haven't slept in over one hundred years, I feel terrified of the fact that this isn't real. That she isn't real.

And then she sighs. A sound so light and sweet, but it's real. Her sigh snaps me out of my anxiety and back into the real world, where Bella is here and I need to take care of her.

I take her hand, careful not to disturb the wires, and hold it securely in both of mine. I remember when we began 'dating' and I would hug her as if I were drowning and she was my life raft, the only thing keeping me above water. It often felt that way.

I decide to speak a little to her. I'm not sure if she can hear me, but I need her to know this. Or maybe I just need to attempt to make myself feel better. Regardless, I need this.

"Bella? Bella my darling, I hope you can hear me. I love you, and I am so, so so very sorry for leaving you. Had I known this was going to be the result I never would have…I mean, I would have…

"Bella, I love you so much, I love you more than life itself. I never wanted to leave you; I thought I was doing what was best for you. I've always wanted what's best for you love. And know that you give me strength and life and joy, you bring me so much joy, every single day.

"La miabella ragazzati adoro. I love you, and I will always love you."

I gently kiss her hand, inhaling her sweet scent in, and sit up in my seat. I can feel Alice looking at me expectedly.

What now?

"Now we wait."