Bella.

Gone. Gone. Gone. Edward was gone.

This simple fact was what kept me rolled into a ball on the corner of the familiar leather couch. But what kept my head throbbing, and non-existent heart hurting, was the fact that it was my fault. I was the reason he had left his home and his family. And though I had listened to Alice and Esme assure me that he still loved me, and was just taking care of some business, I couldn't ignore the voice in my head that was screaming 'He doesn't want you anymore'. If he didn't, it would make sense. Maybe his reason for keeping me human was because he wouldn't love me the same way. Maybe it was my beating heart, my blushing cheeks or my hypnotizing scent that kept him around. And now that all of those traits are dead, so was our love.

I shifted, letting my nose brush against the hard texture of the black leather I was resting upon. I inhaled sharply, and let his amazing cologne linger in my nostrils. It was the closest thing to him that I had to live off of right now. I heard footsteps thump loudly against the hardwood floors next to the door, before it creaked open slowly. I didn't bother looking up, I had grown familiar to Alice's scent these past few hours.

"I should help you clean up, Bella. No offense, but you're a mess," she taunted jokingly. I pulled myself up into a sitting position, and glanced down at my appearance. My pajamas were now ripped and hanging in tatters on my body. Dirt and blood caked the front of my tank top. I winced, and looked up at her, nodding weakly. She gave me a soft smile, and stride gracefully to my side. She took my hand, and lead me to the bathroom. She helped me strip myself of my clothes, before giving me a soft nudge into the shower. I watched as she exited, closing the door behind her. I took a breath, and leaned down, turning the water on.

It was surprisingly freezing, and if I were human, it probably would've made me scream. But the cold water mixed comfortably with the temperature of my body now. I stepped closer, letting the soft beads run down my body. I massaged my hair, getting it moist, before reaching for the first bottle of shampoo I could find. I popped open the bottle, and was hit immediately with a strange scent. I let the bottle drop nosily to the shower floor as I realized this was Edward's shampoo. I stared down at it, as it sloshed back and fourth as the water touched it. Shakily, I leaned down and grasped it. I distributed some into my hand, and worked my fingers through my hair, making sure every inch of my scalp was touched. After rinsing off my body with the shampoo as well, I stepped out. I wrapped a towel around my dripping body, and turned to grab the doorknob, when I saw myself pass through the mirror. I stopped. Back-stepping, I stared at my own reflection.

This wasn't the me that I remembered. My once chocolate brown eyes were replaced with a dark shade of crimson. My skin, which was always pale, had been whitened immensely. Though my hair hung over my shoulder in wet ringlets, I could see that the mahogany color had been brightened to a soft brown. Every wrinkle, every pimple or zit, every flaw that my face had carried had been diminished. I don't consider this to be quite as gorgeous as the rest of my family, but I was pretty. I jumped at the sound of a sharp knock at the door.

"Are you finished yet, Bella?" Alice's worried voice asked. I took a breath out of habit, and pushed the door open. Alice led me back to Edward's bedroom, where some clothes were neatly laid out on the bed. For a second, Alice's devotion to designer clothing had me scared, but when I noticed a pair of gray oversized sweatpants, I immediately felt relief. After putting on the undergarments, I pulled on the pants. I turned to find Alice rummaging through Edward's closet. I frowned.

"Alice, what are you-"

"I thought you might feel more comfortable wearing this right now. I know how much this is hurting you," she mumbled. She extended a shirt to me, and I took it, watching her wary eyes. I glanced down, and felt my insides melt. It was a black long-sleeved button down shirt. I smelt it first, before quickly realizing, this was Edward's shirt. I looked back up at Alice, who smiled sadly at me. I hurriedly slid my arms through the sleeves, and fumbled with my fingers to get the buttons done, before locking my arms around Alice's neck. She stiffened, and melted into my grasp, wrapping her arms around my torso. She pulled away after a moment, and gave me another soft smile before heading for the door. I let myself fall back onto the couch, inhaling his scent again.

"Alice!" I called. She appeared at the door again with a silver object that I assumed to be her phone clutched tightly in her left hand. I frowned as I stared up at her, trying not to let the sobs get to me once more.

"Do you see this getting any better?" I asked, my voice breaking and my body trembling. It had only been a few hours, but I was already a mess. How could I hold myself together until he returns? How could I hold myself together if he doesn't return? There are a lot of brunette, brown-eyed human girls out there. What if some other girl's blood sung to him?

"To be honest, I can't see much of anything right now. But you've got your family to help you. We all love you, Bella," she said, and I nodded. I didn't wait for her to leave, as I curled myself up into the same ball as earlier. I heard her sigh softly, before her footsteps began to fade away, and I was left with the haunting silence once again.

Edward.

My phone was vibrating against my thigh, but I didn't lift a finger to answer it. This was the fifth call today, and I could only guess that it was Alice. All of the others, with the exception of Rosalie, had tried to reach me earlier today from their own phones. It was as if I could read their minds though I had left the continent. They were angry, thought I was being childish, and wanted me to know that Bella is hurting. Though the idea of my angel in pain left my insides to crumble, I was in a heavy amount of pain as well.

Bella's life is destroyed. Or .. was destroyed. Why did she see what this meant? She's not able to have children, start a family, pursue a career, and grow old, like every human's life should be. She was going to be stuck on this forsaken planet until some kind of catastrophe wipes us out like the dinosaurs. She didn't realize that she would be forced to base her existence off of blood- the very thing that repulsed her most. She didn't realize how frustrating it would become to be around humans, to constantly hold your desire to break their necks. She didn't realize that sooner or later, she would become weary of this curse. She would hate it. She would regret it, and she would hold a grudge upon herself because she chose this.

The vibration stopped after a moments, and a sharp bell rung throughout this small London apartment. I sighed, digging my fingers into my pocket for my phone. I flipped it open, glancing at the screen that read 'New voicemail'. I stared at the number, and my assumptions earlier were confirmed as I recognized it to be Alice's. I debated closing it, and throwing the phone out the window, but something was telling me to listen. So I pressed the phone against my ear, and let Alice's comfortable voice take over.

"Since you didn't have enough decency to answer, I hope you have enough to listen to this entire message, instead of being a coward and deleting it. In all of my time spent as a vampire, I have never really felt any other emotion besides happiness. That is, until Bella popped into our lives. I found myself harboring new feelings of worry for this little human, which is something I never had to do before. Even when we found her in the ballet studio after James attacked, I didn't feel upset because I had seen that she was going to get better. I've never felt any emotion of sadness, but after she woke up, the second she realized you were gone, it was as if somebody rebuilt my heart, and then smashed it with a hammer. And since then, all I have felt is this agonizing sadness. I felt it when I watched Bella run away from us, I felt it when she sat on the forest floor holding onto me for dear life as she sobbed, and I feel it every time I see her curled into your couch, trying to inhale your stupid scent. You've really done it this time, Edward. This was the one time she needed you the most, the one time she needed you more than anybody in the world, and you left her. She's broken. She's a mess, and the future doesn't look much brighter right now. I just had to let you know the damage you have done. I know you probably just sit in silence all day, but frankly, you don't deserve that. You deserve to know what you've done, and have the guilt eat away at you until you finally come to your senses and get back here. And I didn't send you this message for you to come running home, because I know you won't. I just hope you'll realize what a mess you've left here. I hope to see you in the future. Take care of yourself, Edward." Click.

The phone remained at my ear, as I sat stunned at her words. My body was trembling as I loosened my grip on the small object, letting it fall to the ground and break into small pieces. I didn't bother to pick it up. My eyes were wide as I rose from my spot on the floor. She's broken. Alice's words cut right through me like a knife. I felt pain spread throughout every inch of my body, as if I was being lit on fire. Bella was broken, she was hurting, she was sobbing .. for me.

I took a deep breath, and leaned my forehead against the cool wall in front of me. My fingers curled into tight fists, and I raised my arm. I wanted to cry, I wanted to shed tears and cry for my Bella. My beautiful, vampire Bella. I took another breath, before lowering my arm and slamming it into the wall forcefully.