Disclaimer: Not mine
A/N: Thank you to Dalloway5906, who struggled through this chapter while her laptop screen was being a total douche! The chapter came out of nowhere! I totally had something else planned, but this is what came out. Don't hate me.
BPOV
Watching Esme's arm re-attach itself was probably the most disgusting thing I had ever witnessed. After my chest finished the very painful process of repairing itself, Edward gently helped me to my feet, never fully releasing me from his embrace. Alice and Jasper were still holding a struggling Victoria captive as we all watched Emmett carefully hold Esme's arm up to her body and the nerves, veins and muscles jumped from her body towards the severed limb. As the muscles found their other half, her arm suddenly pulled itself back onto her body with a sucking sound, and the skin started to mend. Esme was trying hard to stay silent, not wanting to let us know how painful the process was. I think she would have succeeded in keeping her agony from showing if Carlisle had not arrived.
His black Mercedes hummed down the driveway and skidded to a stop as he saw the four of us huddled around Esme and his other two children fighting against a vicious red head. He was at her side before the engine had finished shutting down. His face melted into a truly heartbroken look as he watched Esme's face contort in pain. I could tell that he was devastated that he had not been here to comfort her. I was finally able to relax as her wound looked like it was nearly closed. I dropped my head onto Edward's chest, breathing in his familiar scent and letting it sooth me. A brutal scream and loud snapping sound made me jerk my head up as I watched a nearly catatonic Esme collapse into Carlisle's arms.
"Her bone had to re-set itself." Edward breathed into my ear as he turned us away from the others. I knew if he had his way, we would already be inside and he would be sinking me into a bubble bath. But Esme was going through this pain because of me. Victoria came after me, and Esme was hurt as a result of that. How could I run away from her pain just because I did not want to witness it?
"Is it finished yet?" I whispered, my voice hoarse from the beating my lungs had suffered.
"Yes, she will be slightly sore, like you are." He said, trying subtly to remind me that Esme was not the only one to be injured today.
"What are we going to do with Victoria?" I asked, turning in Edward's arms to look at my siblings and parents. I was glad to see that Esme had gone from corpse pale back to her normal mostly-dead pale.
"We need to destroy her and set them all ablaze." Rose snarled. I knew she was very protective of Esme since she was the first born daughter.
"There really is no other choice Bella. She would only come back again if we released her." Carlisle said as he helped Esme to her feet.
"I know how much it hurts for you to be the one who is forced to decide who lives and who dies, but Bella, she really does need to die." Esme said quietly, holding her newly healed arm against her chest.
Edward gave me a squeeze as he looked over to Alice and Jasper. Jasper concentrated hard as he released a wave of calm over the area, making my entire body relax. I could see that since Jasper was touching Victoria, the emotion was magnified and she looked like she about to go to sleep. Without a word, Emmett walked behind them and swiftly snapped Victoria's head off. The entire thing only took a few seconds. As Jasper released his emotional hold on the group, Rose and Emmett gathered up Victoria's body and head while Alice and Jasper went out to get the remnants of Alec and Jane.
"Will you be all right if I go in and gather Riley's body?" Edward said quietly.
"I'll be fine Edward. Let's just get this done so we can get cleaned up." I said as I tugged at the sticky venom that was covering my shredded shirt. I felt bereft as Edward left me. My knees weakened, and I slowly walked across the driveway to sit on a large rock at the edge of the tree line. Carlisle had Esme completely encased in his arms. I could see the slight tremor running through his body as he realized how close he came to losing her. They had been together for nearly a century and yet their love was still as strong as if they had just professed it. I was awed to realize that vampire emotions could run so deep. It made me giddy to think that what I was feeling for Edward was only going to get stronger, that there would never be a day that I did not think of him and know that we were meant to be together.
I think if I had not been so distracted I would have heard her approach or I would have at least heard Alice's shouting. But I was so wrapped up in thinking of my future with Edward, I was oblivious to everything. A slender arm suddenly locked around my throat. Her breath was coming in short bursts against my temple as she tightened her grip. I could see Esme and Carlisle staring at us as Edward came running onto the porch, no doubt having seen what was happening through everyone's thoughts. I could see Alice and Jasper return, carrying the headless bodies with them. They dropped their cargo into the pile of heads and limbs that Rose and Emmett had assembled. If I had not known better, I would have thought it was a bunch of mannequins.
Carlisle, always the ambassador, approached us carefully. I could see Edward trying to inch his way off of the porch, but my captor tightened her grip further at his movements, making me gasp. He stopped moving and simply watched as she pulled me up off of the rock and walked us backwards into the cover of the trees.
"Just tell us what you want, and we will do our best to make that happen." Carlisle said in his calming doctor voice.
"I want her to make it go away. She forced it back onto me and I want it to stop." She breathed, as I finally realized who had me captive.
"Corin, I'm sorry. I have no idea how I was able to flip your gift." I said, my voice only a whisper as she had her arm pulled tight against my throat.
"You need to make it stop. They are all I can see. They are taunting me, always together in my mind. Even though I killed them centuries ago, they are still able to cause me pain. Please, make it stop." She begged as I felt her arm tighten even further. Black spots flashed in front of my eyes as she came very close to popping my head from my body like a child would a dandelion.
"Please." Edward whispered from where he stood on the porch. I could see his face through the floating spots and I knew that if I were to die he would find some way to follow. My love for him seemed to grow even stronger, knowing that what we had would find a way to even transcend death.
"Please? You have the audacity to say please? I saw the visions that she saw of you, you with that blonde. The visions I project always have some truth in them." She screamed as she brought her other hand up and pointed a shaking finger at him.
"Oh shit." I heard Emmett whisper as if he understood what Corin was talking about. My eyes flew from Edward to Emmett to Rose, knowing that those three would not be able to keep the truth from showing on their faces. Edward looked devastated, Emmett looked shocked and Rose just looked pissed as she glared at Edward.
"I can see that your family knows what I am talking about. Why don't you tell Bella about it?" She demanded as she motioned Edward forward. He looked shameful and frightened as he approached us and I felt my chest tightening with each step. What would he say? Anything he could tell me happened in the past. He was with me now. I did not tell him about the fumbling caresses Mike Newton and I shared in the back seat of his car. Nor did I tell him about the time I got so drunk I ended up kissing Lauren Mallory at her 18th birthday party. Even though his past was decades longer than mine, we both had one.
"I don't care." I rasped as he stood in front of me. His head whipped up as he stared at me.
"What do you mean you don't care? He must have done something with this girl. You never know if he will get tired of you and leave you for her. You have the right to know!" She cried, her arm getting tighter as her fury got stronger.
"He loves me now. He will always love me." I breathed as my vision wavered.
She threw me down to the ground and stomped her foot on my chest over and over. My already abused body jerked in pain. I could hear Edward's shouts and knew that his brothers were trying to hold him back.
"Here lover boy, feel what she felt, what I feel." Corin shouted as Edward's screams cut through the haze in my mind. I knew she was showing him the kinds of lies she had forced into my head. The pain of having your heart broken over and over again was agony.
I reached deep inside myself and grabbed my shield. Knowing that Edward was suffering motivated me more than any other thing could. I did not use my shield on myself, instead choosing to protect Edward from Corin's assault. I felt it glide away from me and knew that I had succeeded when Edward fell silent. Corin stopped stomping on me as she realized what had happened. She leaned down into my face and pulled me up by my shirt.
"You choose to protect him over yourself?" She demanded.
"I love him." I breathed, my head lolling back on my neck.
"After he lied to you? After he betrayed your trust you still love him?" She asked.
"What happened in his past, was left in his past. He belongs to me now." I said simply, and I knew in my heart that it was the truth.
"You stupid child, with a vampire's memory he will never be able to leave something in his past. It will always be there bouncing around in his mind. He will always remember what she felt like, what she smelled like. You will be just a pale reminder of what she was to him." She sneered.
"No. You are wrong." Edward said calmly as he pulled himself up from the ground. Corin's steps faltered as she slowly backed away from me.
"I'm sorry for what your husband and sister did to you, but not everyone is like that." I said as Emmet ran over and wrapped Corin in his giant arms. She was shaking and sobbing as she realized that I was not going to be able to help her get rid of her horrible memories. Carlisle joined Emmett and Corin and together they took her into the house. I hoped that they would be able to help her, but she might be broken beyond repair.
Then finally I was back in Edward's arms. I knew that after being tortured with Corin's gift, he would need to be reassured, and I was more than willing to give him that. He gently gathered me into his arms and turned to walk into the house. Over his shoulder I watched Rose toss a lit match onto the pile of vampires. The acrid, purple smoke drifted up into the sky and I turned my face into Edward's neck and breathed in his scent. He released me from his arms only after he had started the water in the tub. He put me, clothes and all, into the soothing water. He moved away only far enough to remove his clothes before joining me. Together we managed to peel the wet fabric from my body and soon I was as bare as he was. I wanted to know what visions Corin had given him, but was too nervous to ask.
"What did she show you?" He whispered in my ear as he ran a sea sponge down my arms.
"You were with a blonde vampire. She was beautiful." I said, turning my head to run my tongue across his jaw.
"It was Tanya." He said, his voice emotionless.
"Who is Tanya?" I breathed, not trusting myself to speak any louder.
"She is one of the Denalis. She and her sisters live in Alaska. They are vegetarians as well. At one time, Carlisle and Esme had hoped that she would become my mate." He said, his hand moving from my arm to my shoulders.
"What happened?" I said, bile rising in my throat. He told me he was a virgin when we came together. If he had lied to me then our entire relationship was built on a lie.
"She did not interest me, although she tried very hard. I think that Corin was able to use some of her actions as fuel for the visions she tortured you with." He explained as he kissed the sensitive spot behind my ear.
"What did she show you?" I asked, not wanting to hear about it, but unable to shut up. I felt a shudder rip through his body, sending water spilling over the rim of the tub.
"You were kissing a black haired, dark skinned boy. He had his hand on your breast and his tongue… I can't do this." He whispered.
"Jacob." I said as I turned around to look at him. My legs straddled his hips as he brought his hands down to my waist.
"Did you do anything with him?" He growled, his eyes shut tight.
"No. He was my best friend." I said, running my hands lightly through his rumpled hair.
"He was your best friend?" He questioned as he slowly opened his eyes. They were black with either anger or jealousy.
"He was killed in a cliff diving accident in high school. I had a hard time dealing with his death. He had told me the day before that he loved me, and I could not say the words back to him." I said quietly. His death still hurt me, years later.
"You did not love him?" He asked softly.
"No. I loved him as a friend, but I think even back then I knew my heart belonged to you." I said as I rocked my hips against his.
The water sloshed out of the tub as we came together. We both needed the reassurance that our lovemaking could bring us. I was thankful that neither of us needed to breathe, because I was not sure I would have been able to pull my lips from his. We moved gently, not able to rush the intimacy we were experiencing. As I felt Edward's body stiffen below me, it pushed me over the edge of my own climax and together we fell into ecstasy.
A/N: Thank you so much to those of you who reviewed/PM'd me to let me know about your favorites. I like to see what you drop everything to go and read. For me it is MoBS, UoEM and MotU. If you are nice and review, you will get an EPOV explaining what really happened with Tanya!