A/N: Okay, this chapter is shorter than usual, but very important cough-cough SEQUEL PLOT cough-cough
I am actually very proud of what I chose to do with the sequel; I figured out a way to work the Volturi in and everything!! Woo hoo!!
Edward's POV
Even though Bella said she would be fine, and I knew that she would, I was just too protective to leave her alone too long. It made me anxious. It wasn't because I didn't trust her not to do…what she had already done…because I knew she wouldn't. But, I couldn't help but be a little bit scared for her. Not because of the physical pain she may or may not put herself through, but because of the emotional pain I knew she would be in, no matter what. I couldn't change the fact that she'd miss me. I couldn't change the fact that we could never be together for more than a few hours. But I couldn't change the fact that I would always feel responsible, no matter what.
I wanted nothing more than to just go right down to her, but I knew that Bella would try to be strong, and tell me to rest some more. Not that I needed it, but I didn't want to upset or argue with her. I supposed I could settled with just watching over her for a while. At least until later tonight.
I made my way over to find her, when a startled Jasper walked over to me. He looked stressed in the worst way, which was unusual for him. I always knew Jasper to be a calm, serene person. Something must have been wrong; I could think of only one thing: Alice.
"Are you okay? Did something happen with Alice?" I asked. I could hear just the slightest hint of worry in my own voice.
"She's fine. She's with Bella." Jasper said rushing through his words.
"Are you okay?" I repeated, stunned by his nervousness.
Jasper sighed a few times, brushing his hair back and leaning his head back before speaking again. "Edward, have you been…going down there?" Jasper said pointing below. Crap; How did he find out?
"Umm…yes." I gave in; No use lying to him, he already knew. Why deny it? His eyes widened, and his expression was filled with fear, and worry…and anger? "Jasper, I had to see Bella. She was…hurting." I didn't think he'd need to hear the whole Bella-suicidal thing. I didn't know how else to put it.
He sighed again, exasperated this time, before he finally said "That's against the rules." Plain and simple.
"I know." I put my head down in shame. "I know what I did was wrong."
"Edward, they know." Jasper whispered now, trying to keep quiet so no one would hear.
"Who?" I asked both confused and worried.
"The Volturi." I stopped right then and there. My dead heart sank, and my mind went blank.
Everyone in the afterlife knew exactly who they were. They maintained the balance between life and death. They kept souls in line; And they had only one rule: Stay away from earth. Because the dead could never be seen by the living, and living were never to be seen by the dead in person. Those who broke these rules, or even attempted to, were punished. I couldn't believe that I could forget about them, I couldn't believe I had gotten away with it for this long. Carlisle had warned me to space out my visits; It hadn't occurred to me it was so they couldn't track them. I had done the exact opposite. I hadn't realized until then just how constantly I saw Bella. It was no wonder they had noticed.
"They don't know who it is; But they know someone's been sneaking off. Edward, it won't be long-" Jasper said after a moment of silence.
"Until they figure out it's me." I finished his thought.
A/N: I know it's short, but I needed to get this out of the way; It deserved to be it's own chapter. So please review, and have a good night.