I wasn't dead.
I was back in the closet. Or at least I thought I was. Had everything been a dream?
My head throbbed and I felt the sticky evidence of blood on my skin.
There were no lashes on my back, but there was a gash on my head still oozing blood.
I blinked rapidly trying to piece together what might have happened. Every time I thought I was close to grasping something, it slipped away.
The floor was hard and cold, definitely not the carpeted front hall closet of our Forks home. Had we even moved to Forks? Seriously, who would name a town that?
It must have been a dream.
The house we had in Mississippi had hard floors.
No, this room was too big to be that closet, and the pain was in my head, not my back.
Charlie was dead. Wasn't he?
I was cold.
My clothes. Where were my clothes?
Why was I laying in a cold, dark room with only my underwear on?
Edward.
Was he real? Vampires aren't real.
It must have been a dream.
A sliver of light registered in my hazy brain. That must be the door.
I inched my way across the floor to bring myself closer to it. There was no knob, that I could find.
My stomach rolled at the smell of so much blood. I felt like I was covered in it, and I probably was.
I needed to get out of here.
So tired. I slid my fingers under the opening in the door and closed my eyes. If this was my reality, I wanted to go back to my dreams.
Back to Edward.
At some point my small prison was flooded with light. It was so bright I could barely make out the fuzzy shapes in front of me.
A flash of red hair caught my eye.
Victoria.
I was still dreaming, and this was a nightmare. Maybe I'd wake up in my bed in Edward's arms. He always saved me from my nightmares.
She was coming closer. My pulse immediately quickened, adrenaline pumped sluggishly through my veins. But it was enough.
I scrabbled away from the door as quickly as I could, making myself as small as possible in the corner of the room. I knew there was no escape, but I wrapped my arms around my knees and closed my eyes, waiting for this harbinger of death to take me. Either that, or I would wake up soon. I always woke up before I died in my dreams.
Someone was screaming.
I felt her hand on my arm and lashed out instinctively, knowing it wouldn't help.
She was gone.
Was I awake now?
I squinted at the open door, but didn't see anyone outside of it. There was blood all over the floor. So much blood. My head spun.
Maybe I was dead.
A figure appeared in the door, but their features were in shadow, The light illuminating them from behind was too bright. I blinked and tried to focus, but they were no more than a blur.
"Bella?"
The voice seemed so far away. The figure was mere inches from me now. It was definitely a man.
I jerked away at his cold touch, but there was nowhere else to go.
He reached for me and I fought against his embrace. He let me go.
I didn't want to die. I didn't want to leave Edward.
This time when he reached towards me, I felt a warm haze spread through me. I could no longer fight. My body wouldn't respond. When he picked me up to carry me away, I said a final goodbye to Edward and let my eyes close for the last time.