The Cullen family has always been a very close family, they went hiking once a month, and had diners at each other's place all the time. Carlisle and Esme had adopted Emmett and Edward when they were very young. They moved out a lot, and that always worried them, until Emmett met Rosalie when they were fifteen and started dating. Edward was younger than Emmett by two years. Emmett fell completely in love with Rosalie, and they got married a few years later. Esme knew that Emmett didn't mind moving so much out of town, since Rosalie's dad was a college of Carlisle and moved out just as much as Carlisle did, and they talk a little, and agreed to work together, so Emmett and Rosalie could see each other more often at school. But Esme had always been worried that Edward always had to start alone at every school, just not having friends and hanging out with his old brother, which pushed him away almost every time. That had changed with Bella, and Esme did no longer worry about it… But that changed.
At Bella's funeral, you could clearly see what was happening around the Swan and Cullen's household. Charlie no longer held Renee's hand, while she cried and cried. Emmett was hugging Rosalie more tightly that he had ever held her, and Esme wasn't looking at his husband when he kissed her forehead. Her eyes were set for her children. Everyone that met Bella was there, the Black's, the Uley's, Embry and Quil too, with the Clearwater's, her friends at college, Angela and Ben, and some old high school friends, like Mike Newton –who was crying in Jessica's shoulder-. Everyone was there, but one.
Edward was far away resting his back against a three, as close as he could stand being near Bella's cold and lifeless body. He was crying a whole sea of tears, just like he had been crying for days and days. In his pocket there was a small black velvet box that he was toying around with his fingers, and nobody knew that he had that box, because he thought it was no one's business but his and Bella's. In that little box there was a delicate little diamond ring, that had belong to Edward's birth-mother and had been in the family for centuries, or that's what he knew. He was crying not for his girlfriend who just died, not for the girl he so deeply loved and wanted to marry, but he was crying for the girl… that would have made his soul be whole.
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After Bella's funeral, everything was different. Charlie was never home, it reminded him too much of Bella and he spend days and even weeks in the office. And when he had the weekend off, he spent it drinking and gambling as much as he could. Renée had always hated Forks, and now Forks was too much for her. The only reason why she stayed here was Bella. The house was a mess without Bella, there was never food there and there were boxes of pizza and take-out everywhere. Finally Renée filed for divorce and left Charlie, and moved to Phoenix were the sun was always shining and was nothing like Forks, it made her feel just a little less sad about losing her daughter. Like Phoenix, she started to see the sun for real.
In the Cullen household, Carlisle started working extra hours in the hospital. When Esme talked to him, he confessed that he felt sorry that he had taken the day off at the hospital when Bella died. He felt guilty, because he was the best doctor in town and he might have been able to save Bella… and he would have been able to see his son smiling instead of crying today.
Emmett, Edward's adoptive brother, was nothing like himself. He never teased anyone and stopped laughing, not even watching as Mike Newton walked across the campus at college when he returned wearing nothing but a pink trouser made him laugh. But Edward was the worst. Nothing could compare to the grief he was suffering.
Edward flunked that semester at college and dropped out. Carlisle screamed at him and got into a huge fight, but Edward didn't come back. Esme tried to convince him, but not even her sweet words were good enough to reach him. Not even Emmett or Jasper, his best friends, were able to help him. Everyone knew it was just a phase of grief, but it only got worst.
After a few weeks, Emmett had a meeting with Rosalie and he cried. He cried for as long as he had too, and after crying the whole day. He said. "I look like a crying clown". He joked. And after that, everyone started getting better, they haven't moved on, but they were trying. Except Edward and Charlie.
Then, Carlisle got a phone call from a Bar in Port Angeles.
"Edward can you come here, I need a favour" he called from downstairs.