Memo: Mid-winter break comes in handy…especially for quick updates…two bad our "break" consists of only two days off from school…O yeah zintha...this chapter is up faster then it usually is due to your nagging!

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer is the rightful owner of all the characters! I just added a splash of my own ideas.

Previous Chapter: "Edward……Edward is gone."

"Gone where?" I asked, hysterical now. They were trying to keep something from me and I needed to find out what.

"She could go into shock," Alice whispered to Emmett, quietly.

"Alice!" I whirled around to face her. She looked away, into the dense forest growth. "Alice what happened to him? Where is he? Tell me now or so help me God I will…" She cut me off, muttering something.

"What did you say?" I asked.

"Edward is…Edward is dead, Bella."

Him and her
Life is turned
The day I knew you would leave
I can barely breath
Can you hear me scream?

I looked at her in disbelief, my breathing turning into short gasps, mind a hazy fog.

"What—say that again?" I asked, weakly. I could feel my legs turning to jelly beneath me, my heart rate steadily rising. Alice looked away, still shaking.

"I should have seen this coming. I don't know why," her soprano voice cracked, filled with grief.

"You—you can't possibly mean that…that Edward…he…" I couldn't bring myself to say it; something that could have never, ever happened.

"Why are you doing this to me? It's a sick joke." I turned to Emmett, still looking in the opposite direction. "Emmett, what happened? Where is he?" Emmett turned to look at me, his normally bright eyes dull and shallow.

"Alice is telling the truth," he replied, slowly. I could feel myself getting dizzy. I lost my balance, falling to the ground, but Alice caught me. I waited. I waited for Emmett to say the punch line. I waited for Alice to tell me this was all just a stupid joke. I waited for Edward to waltz through the trees, an angel lighting up the forest, smiling his crooked smile. I waited…but nothing except the dull pounding of the rain met my ears.

"Emmett," I whispered, in an almost inaudible voice. "Tell me what really happened." He sighed, looking at me with those same miserable eyes.

"I saw it," he started, speeding up so that I had to concentrate my full efforts on catching all of the words. "I saw it all happen…Right before my eyes. Edward saw Victoria by you and he…he…went crazy. He was so angry." Emmett paused, looking into the distance, remembering some detail. "He disappeared, chasing her. I went after him, but another one of them stopped me. I thought she was working for Victoria. I gave her one choice: leave you alone or die. She wouldn't listen. I fought her, but she was weak, inexperienced. She ran off, scared probably." He stopped again, thinking.

"Emmett?" I asked, my voice unnaturally harsh. He looked back at me, coming back to reality.

"I went looking for Edward. I searched everywhere, but I couldn't find him. And then I…I smelled smoke—miles and miles away. I ran and saw…" he stopped, looking at me soberly. "I saw the fire. And I knew they had killed them," he finished, defeated. Fire. I recalled something—a piece of information stored in the back of my mind. The only way to kill a vampire is to tear him to shreds and then burn the pieces.

Thrown in all directions

You epitome of perfection
She's lost her will
(She's lost her will)
Time is standing still

I looked at him. He was sobbing, but no tears came out. And yet…through his whole explanation, I knew what Emmet said was true. I turned to Alice. As if waiting for me to accuse her, she started talking, quietly.

"He hadn't chosen his fate yet. That's why I couldn't see it. I only see the outcomes of the future once the choice is made. And Edward, he—he didn't know he was about to..." she trailed off. "Victoria's coven didn't know what they were going to do to him either. It was a surprise for both of them. Not like James. His plan was in his head from the start…Bella," she sighed, pleading. "I didn't know. I…" I turned away from her perfect face, willing this to just be a horrible dream. I heard a groan from the trees, and slowly turned. Charlie. Emmett went by his side, picking him up like a small doll and walking away.

"I'll take him to the hospital." He ran away, a blur in the forest. I staggered to the police cruiser. Alice took my hand, guiding me. She led me to the car, strapping me in and slowly driving off. I soon lost track of time, forgetting what had just occurred. I shook and trembled from the top of my head to the bottom of my heels. My body rocked back and forth, breathing still irregular. I didn't realize the car had stopped until Alice picked me up in her fragile hands and carried me up the path to the white mansion I had frequently visited. Jasper was suddenly at her side, cautious around me like always.

"What's wrong Alice?" he whispered. She set me down in the leather couch and turned to him, her pale face filled with poignant grief. A sudden wave of serenity filled the air and I knew Jasper was working his gift. Alice wrapped her hands around him, burying her head in his chest. I turned away, giving them some privacy. Jasper's gift seemed to have some effect on me. I was able to think better. To fight off the pain I knew was coming. To try not to scream out for him. To fight the hole in my chest, growing larger by the minute, for I knew that this time he was never coming back. He was gone. Edward. I winced when I thought of him. Edward is gone. Forever. My life, my love, my heart had no meaning now. There was no reason to keep living anymore. No reason as to why I shouldn't just kill myself. For without Edward, there was no purpose in the world. Without Edward, I had no reason to exist.

He walks her home
Now he walks alone
The days they turn into years
The eyes they drown in tears
Can you hear me scream?

I could feel the tears splashing down my cheeks now, and I had an urge to scream, to yell for them to bring him back. Before I could do anything too rash, I slipped out from the couch, running for the door. I could see Esme, Carlisle, and Rosalie from the corner of my eye, faces distressed. They had obviously been filled in with the news. I needed to get out. I needed to leave the sad faces and run. Run somewhere, anywhere. Alice was already there, blocking the door.

"Bella, you have to…" I cut her off, with force.

"Leave me alone Alice," I tried to push her aside, but her stone body remained firm. I could feel it all coming out now. The pain...overwhelming…it was bursting to come out. I couldn't try to suppress the aching anymore. I couldn't choose to become numb and insensitive like before. It was different this time. Much different.

"He's gone!" I yelled, sinking to the ground. "Can't you see Alice? Nothing is going to be same anymore. Edward is never coming back!" I screamed, seeing her grimace. I could feel the stares of all of the Cullens now; see each and every one of their expressions filled with the deepest kind of remorse. "And what's even worse," I continued, quietly now. "Is that I know I'll never be able to see him again. Before, when he left…" I thought about the trip to Italy, the months before that I had spent emotionless. "I could live with that. Because I knew he was still out there, alive. But now," my voice cracked, and I fell silent, feeling the salty tears slip down my face.

"Oh, Bella," Alice sighed. She ran her cold hand across my face, wiping the tears. Her touch reminded me of another…Yet his touch was gentler, caressing. I couldn't bear to think of him anymore. I couldn't bear to bring back the memories. I slowly pushed myself off the floor, looking at all of the Cullens: their perfect figures and the gold-topaz eyes. Although this family was different, wrong. The god-like structure that had caught my eye the first time I laid eyes on him was missing. Missing. A pang of agony ripped my heart again, tearing it into pieces. I rocked back and forth in Alice's small arms, gasping for air and clutching at my chest. A sense of déjà vu rushed over me although I knew this time was different.

Thrown in all directions
You epitome of perfection
She's lost her will
(She's lost her will)
Time is standing still

"Come Bella," said Carlisle from the corner, face still filled with pain. "You should see how Charlie is." Alice gently pulled me up and led me to a car. She sat with me while Carlisle quickly drove off. I could hear her singing faintly. It was a beautiful song filled with grief and lament. I rested my head against her shoulder, forcing my exhausted self to stay up. If I drifted off to sleep, my subconscious mind would take over, bringing back memories of him. Memories I needed to keep under the surface: to try not to remember but not to forget either.

The way we are
The way we were
(It's just a shadow of what's wrong)
The time with you
The time is stirred
(I love you for so long)
The hearts they turn
They turn away
(She says to go, please don't you cry)
Love lost was found
Night turns to day

We reached the hospital in a short amount of time. Carlisle led me to the room where Charlie was. I walked in slowly, afraid of what I might see. There he was: laying in one of the white beds in the corner. His head was bandaged several times, and there were plenty of scrapes and bruises along his arms. I sighed in relief. It wasn't too bad—he'd recover. I only hoped that he wouldn't remember the finer details of what happened. I touched his hand lightly.

"He has a minor concussion and was scraped up pretty badly," Carlisle told me. "He should be fine after a couple of days." I turned to him.

"Thanks Carlisle—for everything." He nodded his head, eyes dull. "Do you mind taking me home Alice?" She watched me carefully and nodded, guiding me back to the car. With the rate Alice was driving we reached the house in no time. The rain was still pounding to the ground. I left the car silently, feeling Alice's gaze on my back. I reached down for the key under the eave and unlocked the door, walking inside. I didn't know what I had expected. Maybe that the rooms would be broken and detached, that the walls were ripped and torn, the furniture cracked. That the house would reflect exactly how I was feeling inside. But it was the same—just how I'd left it that morning.

Thrown in all directions
You epitome of perfection
She's lost her will
Time is standing still

My feet led me to the kitchen drawer and I pulled it open, not sure exactly what I was doing. The shiny kitchen knives gleamed, as if beckoning me to use them. I picked up the longest one, running my finger softly over the blade. One little cut at the neck and I could end this misery, could end the awful pain still throbbing throughout my body. I sighed. You humans have it so easy! All you have to do is throw down one tiny vial of plant extracts…I shuddered, shoving the knife back in the drawer. I owed too much to Renee and Charlie, especially with the new baby on the way. Committing suicide would hurt them…and I couldn't bear to think of how he would feel if he were still alive—especially the rest of the Cullens. No, I thought. Suicide wouldn't be the best plan. Not yet, I mean…

Thrown in all directions
You epitome of perfection
She's lost her will
(She's lost her will)
Time is standing still

Time is standing still

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Song: Time stands still by All American Rejects