Author's Note: Here's another for this one-shot turned multi-chaptered. I'm quite happy with the outcome, as is my beta Erica! I also did some therapeutic writing in this bit. As much as it is a partof Bella's story. You will find at the bottom, it is mine too! Enjoy m'dears.
I do not own Twilight. I however own the childish joy that it was brought out around October. Thirty one days till Halloween!
She placed her keys on the marble counter top, the jingle echoing through her tiny apartment. The smile on her face couldn't be erased, and yet her eyes held a soft sadness. They had stayed in the small sidewalk cafe until closing. Just talking. Sharing miniscule details. Laughing at the silliest things.
She tapped her fingers against the surface, glancing down to see her murky reflection. But even with the poor image before her, she knew her skin held a glow.
The song they sang earlier played through her thoughts, bringing with it brief images of his smiling face. The way his eyes lit up as he talked about his music. Still, she had no answers to the mystery that was Edward Masen. He was still an enigma. And her father always told her she was too curious for her own good.
She shook her head, trying to erase the paved thoughts becoming almost permanent inside her head. The way they always drifted back to the bad. Always leading her back to a night full of tears.
Bella quickly pulled her sweater from her shoulders, moving towards her tiny bedroom at the far end of the apartment. The door opened with ease, and her tabby cat meowed at his freedom.
"Jake, have you been locked in there all day?" Jake purred, rubbing his head against her leg and allowing his tail to brush her right foot. His rustic colored fur bristled as he stopped to sniff her pants. And then he hissed and bounded towards her sofa. Pouncing on the cushion and glancing back at her with narrowed eyes.
She cocked her head to the side, unsure of Jake's actions and continued on with changing from her damp clothing. She could smell Edward's scent, musk and spearmint. A sweet but manly scent, all wound into one.
And again, her face lit up with a smile, and it stayed there as she showered and got ready for bed.
The smile only lasted until she closed her eyes, body succumbing to the lethargy rolling through her veins. And then she was brought back to the same dream.
But it wasn't a dream. It was one of the worst days of her life.
Bella watched as each body began to appear. Like the air twisted and meshed, breathing and staggering and suddenly a body sat in the empty space. They all watched her with worried eyes. Full of sympathy and grief. She may have lost her father, but the rest of the town lost their chief.
"Bella, I'm soooooo—" She merely held up a hand, halting Jessica Stanley in her tracks. She couldn't hear the apologies anymore. No, today wasn't going to be full of unnecessary apologizing. They weren't at fault for her father's death. No one in the town was.
But they all felt the need to say, 'I'm sorry'.
She didn't want apologies. She wanted a rewind button. A button that could take her back a week and a half. To the night before he died. So she could change something, anything.
So she could have him back.
But instead, she stood by a coffin, touching the oak with gentle hands. Watching it with tears streaming down her face. Her mother stood beside her, rubbing a hand up and down her back. Phil was beside Renee, trying to talk her down from her ledge of falling apart.
Whether Renee and Charlie divorced at a young age, he was always important to her. But nowhere near as important as he was to Bella.
Pastor Weber cleared his throat, smiling sadly at Bella. The funeral director politely asked everyone to take a seat. But Bella, with everything in her, stay rooted in one spot. Her hand flat against her father's coffin. Glaring down at the grass, knowing in just a few minutes he'd be gone forever.
She gasped awake then, body trembling with sobs as she tried to hold her chest together. Her heart felt like it was crumbling within her chest.
She needed something. Anything. A way out of that dream. A way out of reality. A way to disappear into the air, away from the darkness that constantly haunted her.
She was slowly falling apart at the seams. Pieces of her were dropping everywhere. Missing, lost. All she could see was dark. No light at the end of the tunnel. No 'bright side' to any of it.
And she almost screamed as her cell phone sang from her bedside table. Causing her to clumsily fumble her way through the darkness, grasping it with one hand and answering breathless.
"Bella are you alright?"
And like a burst, there was a bright white light. And she could see again. See her tiny apartment painted in different hues of blues. See her cat laying beside her, belly up, snoring softly.
And she almost laughed, thrilled to hear his voice. To finally find something to dissipate the darkness. And she'd give anything to have it forever.
Her salvation was on the other end of the phone. A man who played beautiful music. Who made her feel more alive then she had in months. "Yeah, Edward. The phone just scared me. Are you? It's—" She glanced at the clock, displaying 3:05am in red digital numbers. "3 in the morning."
He chuckled, breathlessly. And she could hear a tinge of worry in his voice, causing her to sit up straighter in her bed. Trying not to fall back into the darkness pulling at her thoughts.
"I couldn't sleep. I've had this melody in my head since I got home, and well, it's being rather frustrating. I was, uh," He laughed again, this time nervous. She inclined her head for him to continue, and then almost smacked herself for spacing that they were talking via phone.
"Would you listen to it? Tell me if you can tell what's wrong?" She smiled, biting her lip to keep it from stretching completely across her face, and nodded.
This time she couldn't keep herself from stopping the smack to her forehead, causing her to 'oomph' in pain. And Edward immediately asked what was wrong. Sounding so concerned and sweet, that her heart beat faster at the sound.
Jake stirred awake beside her and threw a glare in the phones direction, hissing quietly. Bella gave him an annoyed look, and shook her head to keep herself from getting distracted. "I'd love to, Edward. But I don't know much about music, to be honest."
Jake hissed again, louder. And Bella reached over and smacked under his chin, pointing a finger at him to knock it off. He glared, finding his feet and strutting off her bed. Bounding for her bedroom door and disappearing.
"Just... just listen, alright?" The phone muffled, and Bella shut her mouth to keep herself from talking to plain air.
And then the most magnificent melody began to play. Breathing from piano keys with amazing life. Crying into the night like a newborn, giving light to the darkness. Trying not to drown herself in the pureness, she listened for anything off. But as he continued to play, it only got stronger. Dancing into the air like lightning bolts and singing like thunder.
And then it mellowed, abruptly. And Bella shook her head, noticing what the problem was right then and there. He didn't finish the story. Whatever that song portrayed, he was cutting the agony short.
"Edward!" There was a loud unattractive thump to the keys, and he was on the phone shortly after, asking if she was once again, alright. She laughed, light and bubbly and assured him she was fine. "I found your problem. You cut from pain to salvation. It doesn't happen that quickly. It leaves it incomplete."
There was silence, and she worried she had upset him. Then the phone muffled again, and into the phone she could hear him pick up from the middle. And where she heard the incomplete transition, it no longer played with missing pieces.
No, it sang with sorrow. Full of a lost dreamer, searching for a reason. And it collapsed into each note like the ocean to shore. It gave her depth, and beautifully it began to ease. Like the sun shining through storm clouds. Clearing up the ominous dark, and giving her light.
She felt like she was hearing his life story without the words. His struggles and his hopes. The way he craved redemption. And how he had been graced with a purpose. She wiped at her cheeks, surprised to feel the wetness of tears. The song ended then, and he was back on the line, calling her a genius. But she couldn't speak.
She just wanted to see his face. Hear his voice in person, smell his unique scent. Have another cup or two of coffee. She just wanted him. His presence. His smile. Him.
A/N: On July 14, 2011 my father passed away in his sleep. He was then diagnosed after death with Hypertensive Cardiovascular Disease. This was very hard for me to write. That dream sequence, as much as it belongs to Bella, was also mine. This Bella and I are going to be tied together in such unique ways. And to be honest, you do not know the true depth of pain until a parent/sibling/family/friend (or in another cases, child) is taken from you. I miss my father so very much. Every day of my life. It's been almost three months since he slipped away. And opposite of what other's think, it's gotten harder as each day passes.
Moving on, I do hope that you enjoyed this update. I believe I will be bouncing from Edward and Bella's point of view. Because Edward has his own take on what happened in this chapter. As some may think, they aren't moving too fast. For me, as someone broken, it truly is a form of salvation when you find someone that helps you see light. Leave your opinions in reviews, please! I love hearing from each of you. And as a favor to me, tell those you care about that you love them every day. Much love, -Cher