EPOV

My life was empty without Bella but after living 120 years without her and on 24 hr suicide surveillance, I've come to my senses enough to remember that she'd forbidden me to hurt myself if she died. Not that I'd taken her that seriously at the time, now I took her words to heart knowing that if I didn't I would … well, the fact I took them to heart now only made the difference that I would do all I could not to go to Italy.

I'm still an empty shell of who I used be when I had Bella. I still love her, I still adore her, I still …

I walked into the music store down the road from our house. I'd listened to all my music one too many times and needed a change in sound, one from the 22nd century. 120 years, 120 years since I last saw my love in the flesh, 120 years since she loved me, 120 years since everything I knew fell apart. 120 years since she died.

I went straight to the classical aisle but paused as my hand hovered over a new piano CD. I listened to the music blaring from the speakers. It wasn't what I usually listened to, far from it actually, but it struck a chord deep inside me.

You know you've got everybody fooled

Look here he comes now

Bow down and stare in wonder

Oh, how we love you

No flaws when you're pretending

Now I know he never was and never will be

You don't know how you betrayed me

Somehow you've got everybody fooled

Without the mask

Where are you now

Can't find yourself

Lost in your lies

I know the truth now

I know who you are

And I don't love you anymore

The words swirled around me. The singer, apparently someone called Izzy Cater, had the voice of an angel. I found her CD in pop/rock, 'Everybody's Playing Sober'. I froze when I saw the cover. The angel on the front had soft brown waves of hair, a heart-shaped faced, pale as snow skin, ruby red lips and big green doe-eyes. It couldn't be anyone else but how could she have green eyes? And why on earth did she think that dragging a dagger over her tongue made a good cover? Well, it did but that was beside the point. It actually probably wasn't her idea.

I quickly picked out her other CD's. She had three of them, 'Breathe After Fences', 'Never Been Better Than Real' and 'Cruel Revenges'. I inhaled sharply, the covers were very obviously her idea now. On 'Breathe After Fences' she was on a tire swing, her expression twisted into a merciless smile and a black grand piano was burning behind her. On 'Never Been Better Than Real' she was asleep in an rowboat without any oars. Her hair was spread out artfully on a white pillow with flowers decorating it as if she were dead not sleeping. But most striking was what the rowboat was floating on, the lake, the lake of blood. On her last CD, 'Cruel Revenges', her face was split in half by a samurai sword and her face just looked blank, which was harsh in its own right.

I took them up to the counter and paid for them. The words of the song I'd heard before took on a new meaning now that I knew who sung it and a shiver ran up my spine. It was obvious now that Bella, or 'Izzy Cater' as I guess she was known as now, had been changed and not killed. A part of me rejoiced the fact she was alive. Well, sort of. But another part, the more reasonable part was confused about her eyes and why she hadn't come to find us, regardless of the fact that we … left her. The young boy at the counter sold them to me without a word and I raced home in my car to tell my family.

***

I rushed into the living room and stopped short. There was a vampire sitting on one of our green lounge chairs. He had black hair and red eyes, wearing baggy jeans and a formal jacket over a white t-shirt. A low growl erupted from my chest and I tensed, ready to spring. This was the man that dared to lay a hand on my beloved. But the man stood up and raised his hands in the universal symbol for surrender. Unwillingly I relaxed my posture and noted for the first time, that my family was assembled on the couches around him. Cautiously, I sat down next to Alice and Jasper.

The man sat down again and chuckled slightly,

"You know, I can see what she saw in you. No doubt you just recognized me from the vision that you lovely sister Alice saw. I'm afraid that all this is just a huge misunderstanding.-"

"What's to misunderstand?" I hissed, "You dared to lay a hand on-" I stopped short when Alice's tiny hand touched my shoulder, bringing attention to her thoughts.

Edward, please just listen to what he has to say. Trust me, he's not to blamed for anything. And he can help.

I frowned,

"Help with what?"

"With getting her back. It won't be easy, let me tell you. Now if I may continue?" the man paused as if waiting for me to say he couldn't. But when I stayed silent he nodded once at me and continued.

"My name is Raoul Matherson, by the way. As I said, this is all a big misunderstanding. How was I to know she had been in love with you?"

"Been?" I interrupted for the last time and took the four CD's out of my bag, dumping them on the coffee table.

"Oh, so you know then. Good, I don't have to explain. Yes, she is alive but under the influence of … my gift; or rather, my curse. I never intended to change her, if I knew that I would end up changing her I would've stayed clear. She was only meant to be my meal but a redheaded vampire chased me away. It was about 4 days later when I managed to get back but by then she was gone. My curse is that anyone I turn will absolutely loathe the one they love. It doesn't matter if they've never met them or if they have, either way they will hate them to the deepest pits of hell. I have only ever changed one other. He hadn't met his soul-mate but when he did he loathed her, while all the while she was falling in love with him. She couldn't help it. And this man that I changed, he was never the kind to hate someone without even getting to know them. Yet with this girl the moment her saw her he loathed her."

Raoul sighed heavily and put his head in his hands. Then took another deep breath and lifted his head to look at us again.

"I tried to help them, I did but the girl was growing weary with frustration so she simply asked him that if he couldn't love her then to just kill her and be done with it because she couldn't live with it anymore. So he did. But as soon as he did, the curse broke. All his hate turned in on himself and he couldn't live with what he did so he changed a child and took it to the Volturi to be punished. I couldn't help them. I haven't changed anyone since then 'til Izzy. She refuses to be called Bella. I swear that I will do all I can to help you. I will not let what happened to the couple happen to you."

There was a small, suspended moment of silence before Carlisle spoke.

"Raoul, if you hate your gift so much then why is it your gift?"

"Because of what I did just before my change. My girl fell in love with another while we were still together. She didn't mean to, she just did. So when she realized that she had, she broke up with me. But I managed to rope her back to me with lies and deceit. She hated the other man after what I told her about him. But when he finally managed to contact her, he kissed her and told her that everything I told her about him was a lie. The night she left me for a second time I went for a walk, just to clear my head and was cornered by a vampire who drank from me almost to the point of death, but I didn't die. So I changed while he, oblivious, ran off glutted with my blood. After my change I had a lot of time to think about what I did. And now realize that it was wrong, but I never expected it to come and haunt me in my new life. For all that I have unleashed on you, I am so sorry. But here the question is, are you willing enough to try and get close enough to her, even with her trying to push you away at every turn, to kiss her? It'll be hell and utter torment and it'll be a miracle if-"

"Of course I'll goddamn do whatever it takes to get her back!" I almost yelled at him. There's absolutely nothing I wouldn't do for her anyone that had any sense would see that. Raoul smiled at me. It looked almost leisurely and serene. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Good. You definitely are very protective of her and love her very much."

"Of course I do!" I replied, outraged that anyone could doubt that.

"Of course, of course. I'm sorry." He quickly apologized. "Well, I did find her. She currently lives in New York but is taking an acting job in New Orleans, for a movie called 'Juliette and Romeo's Revenge'. The producers thought that she would be great for Juliette. If you want I could put in a good word for you as Romeo with the producers, but you still would have to audition."

"If it helps me get her back then go ahead." I replied with conviction.

Raoul nodded and stood up,

"I'll go then and do it. I recommend you listen to those." He said pointing to the CD's then swept out of the room.