Brace yourselves guys! This chapter is going to take you for a roller coaster ride!
This is the longest chapter of the fic so far.
I think a lot of you guys will hate me immensely went you start reading the end of this, but seriously guys – it HAD to happen.
I'm really nervous about this chapter. It was really hard to write, I kept having to go back in and change things.
There's a lot of New Moon quotes in here too. I bet you all could catch those. =)
I know you'll at least be happy with one thing (maybe two) about this chapter once you finish reading it.
Please don't give up on me if you hate the chapter! I swear, next chapter will explain pretty much everything!
Lights! Camera! …Read!
It had been two weeks since we returned from our holiday at home. The first few days back we spent falling back into step with the Volturi routine again.
Edward had gone back to school last week and I spent most of my time in our room and read. I sometimes played chess with Benji, but other than that I kept to myself while Edward was gone.
The last couple of days have been strange though.
Edward seemed to be getting distant from me. His emotions were all over the place. He seemed somewhat depressed. I didn't like it one bit. When I confronted him about it, he just said not to worry about it, that he just needed time to get use to being at the castle again.
I knew how hard it was to be here again, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it. The only thing I could do for him was make the best of it.
I suggested we go out a bit more to get away from the castle.
Tonight I would take him out to dinner.
I was hanging out with Benji today while Edward was at school. At about five I left his room to start getting ready for my date with Edward. I barely made it out of the room before Aro stopped me in the hallway.
"There you are, Isabella! I've been meaning to speak with you." He grinned.
"Oh, what about?" I asked.
"I spoke with Laurent today. He says you've been giving him the run around." He frowned.
I looked away from him. "Um… I've just been busy."
He cleared his throat which made me look back towards him. He slightly narrowed his eyes at me.
"Right. Well I have a proposal for you." A sly grin appeared on his face. "I would like for you to join Laurent on a few missions. I really wish for you two to get along. He's the only one you don't really know from the guard. And this would be the perfect excuse to get to know each other!"
I grimaced.
I had managed to avoid spending time with Laurent since we had come back. Every now and then we would cross paths in the corridors of the castle. He would always ask if I wanted to do anything with him, he wanted to get to know me. I had always declined, saying I was already doing something else. But now, I had run out of excuses.
I did need to get closer to Laurent and see what his motives are. His mind was still not closed off to us. It would be smart to get to know what I'm up against. But to be honest…
Laurent scared the hell out of me.
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was just off about him. That and his gift is extremely dangerous, a gift that apparently I can't shield myself from.
"I'll think about it."
"Fair enough. When you have decided, you know where to find me." I nodded and walked in the direction of my room.
I sighed as I reached my room. I still needed to find out what Aro is keeping from me. As much as I hate the idea, maybe if I do go on these missions I'll be one step closer to finding out. I needed to tell Edward about it first. I couldn't throw myself back into the guard unless he was ok with it.
"I wish I was still able to eat. This all looks so delicious." I commented after the waiter left. We had ordered three dishes. I had ordered chicken, for appearances, and Edward had ordered steak and salmon.
Edward half smiled and began to eat.
There was an awkward silence between us as he continued to eat. He was half done eating his steak when I decided to break the silence.
"I talked to Aro today."
He stiffened and looked up at me. He raised his eyebrow and then motioned for me to continue.
"He wants me to go on a few missions for him…" I continued.
"Maybe you should." He stabbed at his steak with his fork, and popped another piece in his mouth.
I stared blankly at him.
I was surprised he would suggest I should take up on Aro's offer.
Granted he didn't know how dangerous these missions could get, and that Laurent would be the one to accompany me on them. But I was still confused that he would tell me I should go.
"Really?" I asked skeptically.
"It would at least keep you busy while I'm at school." He said with a shrug.
"Are you sure?"
"I know you just sit around our room all day. You must be bored as hell. Going on missions again would at least give you something to do while I'm not there." He smiled but it didn't reach his eyes.
After a few more minutes of silence he spoke up again.
"So," he shifted in his seat awkwardly. "What missions does Aro want you on?"
"He didn't specifically say what they will be. All I know is that Laurent and I will–"
"Laurent?" He grimaced.
"Yes. Laurent and I would be going on the missions. That's all he told me."
Edward let out a long breath. He leaned over the table and took my hand in his.
"Just please be careful. I really don't trust that guy."
"I will, don't worry." I smiled and leaned forward to kiss his lips. He smiled and continued to eat while still holding one of my hands in his. I picked at my food and set most of it aside in my napkin.
When Edward was done we decided to take a walk on the boardwalk.
After about an hour we decided to go back. Edward had class in the morning and needed to sleep.
When Edward was finally in a deep sleep, I slipped out of bed.
I put on a pair of jeans and one of Edward's shirts that were on our dresser.
It was two in the morning so I knew Aro would be in his study now.
I knocked on the door and waited.
"Come in." I opened the door and he motioned for me to sit down on one of the arm chairs in front of his desk.
"To what do I own this pleasure? You're usually with young Edward at this time. This must be important."
From the grin on his face I could tell he already knew the reason I was here.
"I've decided to take you up on your offer. I'll go on a few missions for the guard."
"Wonderful!" Aro clapped his hands and his grin became impossibly wider. "I'll start all the arrangements. You will leave tomorrow on the first mission." He handed me a manila folder. "These are the specifics on the mission. Review them tonight to prepare yourself, be ready to leave at eight."
I nodded and stood up to leave but stopped when Aro came around to sit on the front edge of his desk. He was only a foot away from my own chair.
"I'm glad you decided to join the guard again, even if it's just for the time being. You're very productive on your missions. I wish you would reconsider joining the guard full time again." He smiled and leaned closer. "You know you've always been my favorite, Isabella." His hand came up to my face and he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear.
A shiver ran up my spine. Never had Aro done that before and it was just extremely…creepy. I needed to get out of here, now.
"Um…" I stood up quickly and made for the door. Aro frowned and stood up. "I need to get back to Edward. I'll be in front of the castle gates at 8."
His frown quickly turned into another grin. As I closed the door to leave, I saw him reach for his phone.
When I reached the end of the hall my curiosity got the better of me. I manipulated the sounds coming from Aro's office so I hear who he was calling.
The phone was still dialing. When the line was picked up there was silence on the other end.
"It's time." Aro whispered. Then he just hung up.
I heard his foot steps come closer to his door so I rushed to get away quickly.
When I got back to my room I sat in bed to look at the mission details in the folder.
Laurent and I would be going to London to seek out Jackson, an old member of the Volturi that needed to be checked up on. Jackson was a friend of mine so I would be able to track him easily.
When 7am came around I woke Edward up so he could get up for class.
"Morning." I whispered.
"Hey." He sat up in bed and kissed my forehead. "How'd things go with Aro?"
"How'd you know I went to see it him?" I asked.
"I woke up in the middle of the night and noticed you were gone, I figured that's where you had gone."
"Oh, well things went ok I guess. I leave for the first mission today at 8."
"So soon?" he frowned.
"Yeah, we should be back late afternoon though."
"Oh." He said turning away from me. He stood up and went to shower. When he got out he kissed me and left for school with out saying another word.
I got dressed and went to meet Laurent out by the castle gates.
"Isabella." Wow. "I'm thrilled you decided to come with me." Beautiful.
"Uh yeah." I mumbled. "After you?" I said motioning to the car so we could start our drive to the airport.
The ride to the airport was awkwardly quiet. The only sounds were his thoughts, in which he mostly just hummed to music in his mind.
We took the Volturi jet to London and were there within the hour.
We didn't have a specific address for Jackson so I would have to use Demetri's gift. Laurent suggested we track him on foot because it was a nice day out.
"So what brought you to the Volturi?" I asked as we broke out into a run through the woods. He smiled.
"A friend of mine told me the Volturi tend to hire gifted vampires. I knew Aro would like my gift and I wanted to join the guard."
We raced off towards the eastern coast of London where I could now sense Jackson.
"What about you? Why are you with the Volturi?" He asked.
"I'm not here by choice." I blurted out. "I mean, I'd just rather be somewhere else." He turned to look at me.
"I heard you've been with the Volturi for more than 150 years. Why stay here that long if you don't want to be here? Why don't you just leave them? Aro can't make you stay. From what I hear you're very powerful." He grinned.
"It's not so simple. I'm here with Edward. I won't leave him here if he has to stay."
He furrowed his brows and reached out for my arm, successfully stopping my run.
"Why?" he asked.
"Why what?"
"Why do you care for this human so much?" How could she love someone so fragile?
"Because I love him. I will stay by his side as long as he wants me to." He raised an eyebrow at me.
"Always? But he's human. Will you turn him then?" No she won't. So the rumors say.
I turned away from him.
"No, he wishes to stay human. He has dreams and I will be there for him while he fulfills them."
"That's very selfish of him, don't you think?" He's an idiot to be with a vampire if he doesn't wish to be turned.
I quickly turned around to face him.
"He's not and idiot." I hissed.
Laurent winced. Right, she can read minds. Sorry.
"And no I don't think he's selfish. I am the selfish one to even think about wanting to change him." I continued.
"He is selfish. He wants you but still wishes to retain his humanity." Vampires are not meant to mate with humans. It's not practical. "A human doesn't have eternity. He knows he will die one day." Does he care at all what happens to you when he dies? "What will you do when that happens?"
I looked away from him trying to gather my thoughts.
What will I do when Edward leaves this life…
"I shall follow him." I whispered. Laurent rushed over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders.
"Don't be ridiculous! You are much too precious to not exist!" He lifted my chin to meet his eyes. "You're human is such a fool to not let you change him. If I was given the chance to be with you…" I'd give up everything and anything for a chance to be with you.
I shrugged away from his hand and took a step back.
"I'm sorry." He apologized. "I can't help but feel that way." He truly is selfish to keep you from others if he intends to break your heart in the end.
"You don't know Edward. He doesn't want to hurt me. He loves me just as much as I love him." I argued.
"Yes but loves you enough for just one life time. Human's are not capable of loving like we are, Isabella." He walked back over to my side and took my hand in his. "I could offer you all of my love. More than your Edward can ever give you. I can offer you an eternity of devotion, something that he cannot." He kissed my hand and looked up through his lashes. He does not deserve you.
"Laurent, I –" Before I could even tell him I would never love anyone else but Edward, Laurent's lips came crashing down on mine.
I felt immobile. As his lips molded to mine, I was frozen. Was he using his gift on me?
Someone cleared their throat behind us and Laurent broke free from the kiss.
"Hey Bella, sorry to interrupt." Jackson appeared out from behind a tree. "I caught your scent in the wind and came to meet you halfway."
I was extremely glad Jackson had come when he did. If he would have not, who knows what would have happened. I should have never told Laurent about my personal life. Here I was determined to find out about him, and I end up letting telling him about my life. And just like that he spilling out my greatest fears for me to hear.
I need to learn to keep my mouth shut. I'll have to set him straight once we leave back for Volterra. I don't want him to get the wrong idea.
Laurent let me go quickly and walked up to Jackson with an extended arm.
"My name is Laurent, and it seems you already know Isabella."
"A pleasure. I'm Jackson. What brings you two here, the Volturi?" He asked.
"Yes, we were sent on mission to visit you. Aro wished to know how things were going for you." He rolled his eyes as Laurent exaggerated the word visit. Jackson of all people would know the routine of regular check ups the Volturi have for ex-guards.
"I see. Well, I have a flat in the city near by. Care to give me company for awhile?" he asked politely. He turned to me and winked. "We could catch up."
"Sounds great. Lead the way." I said in a rush. I wanted to get away from being alone with Laurent as quickly as possible.
When we reached Jackson's flat Laurent excused himself to hunt. The humans near by were making his bloodlust go wild.
"So, you and this vampire are married?" Jackson asked with raised eyebrows as he pointed at my wedding ring.
"Uh…no. Laurent just has some crush on me who must have gotten the wrong impression and kissed me. I'll have to have a serious talk with him later about that. My fiancée is back at the castle." I was suddenly much more anxious to get back to the castle.
"Oh I see."
We had talked for about half an hour about what he was up to the last few years in London. Laurent came back as Jackson informed me that he's been hearing of a newborn in Russia that has been causing some commotion.
"We'll look in to it." Laurent said. "We have been hearing rumors as well. It's actually what our next mission will be."
Great, a mission with Laurent to take care of a newborn, maybe I should reconsider going on any more missions.
After we said our goodbyes, I left to hunt for myself and told Laurent I would meet him at the airport.
I took down three deer and made it back fifteen minutes before the flight was to leave.
As soon as we were settled in the jet, I confronted Laurent.
"Look, about what happened earlier–" I began.
"I'm sorry. It was extremely rude of me. I hope this doesn't change things with us. I don't mean to intrude on your life. I just have all these intense feelings for you and it's very difficult to keep my emotions in check. Please forgive me for being so forward." He pleaded.
I turned and narrowed my eyes at him.
"I didn't appreciate you using your gift to keep me immobile while you kissed me."
He turned away from my and buried his face in his hands. "Hell, I'm so sorry, Isabella. My gift is powered by emotions, and it is very difficult to control. If I did use them on you, I swear I didn't do that on purpose." I searched his emotions and mind. I was shocked to find he was being completely sincere.
I let out a deep breath I wasn't aware I was holding.
"It's alright, Laurent. Just please make sure it doesn't happen again."
I looked up at me to nod and half smile.
The whole flight I couldn't help but think what I would tell Edward. Should I tell him what happened with Laurent?
Even though Laurent was the one to initiate the kiss, I still felt guilty about the whole situation.
The kiss meant nothing to me. What made me feel guilty was that now thinking back on my conversation with Laurent, I can't help but feel like he was right in some ways.
Was Edward being selfish?
Does Edward really love me as much as I love him?
I know a vampire's emotions can be much more intense than a human's.
But is his human love not enough to spend eternity with me?
Suddenly, all of my insecurities and doubts began to surface. My chest tightened. I could feel myself slowly breaking apart, like parts of me were starting to disappear.
I took deep breaths and shook my head to rid my mind of such thoughts.
How could I doubt his love for me?
I can't let Laurent's thoughts on my relationship get to me.
Edward loves me and I him. And that is enough.
When we got back to the castle I showered and anxiously waited for Edward to get back from class. It was unnatural for a vampire to be so impatient. But I couldn't keep still until I could see him.
When he did arrive, I broke out in a run and kissed him furiously. At first he hesitated but his lust quickly built up and he kissed me back just as hard.
I fumbled with his clothing as we blindly walked into our bedroom.
We hardly made it to the bed before he ripped away my clothing.
I needed him. I needed to show him just how much I loved him physically, emotionally, and in any way I could.
I kissed my way down his chest as he groaned in pleasure.
He flipped us around and I let him take dominance.
His lust filled eyes asked quick permission and I answered by bringing him closer and giving him access.
He kissed his way down my jaw and attacked my neck with his lips as he entered me.
I felt complete again.
Three days had passed since the first mission. I was to leave again for Russia tonight and would be back the next afternoon. After I boarded the jet with Laurent, I listened to my ipod to drown away in my thoughts.
The night I had returned from the first mission, Edward and I had gotten into our first fight. He had now distanced himself from me even more. He still wouldn't let me explain.
We were catching our breath after we pulled away. Edward's chest heaved as he lay next to me.
When our breathing was back to normal he turned towards me and lazily drew patterns onto my stomach with his fingers.
"So what brought all of this on?" he asked.
"I was just really anxious to see you again." I smiled.
"Vampires get anxious?" He laughed. "You're one strange, impatient vampire."
I snuggled closer to him and kissed his chest lightly.
"So how did the mission go today?" he asked.
I stiffened and he noticed.
Should I tell him the truth?
He pulled me away and we sat up in bed.
Should I tell him that Laurent kissed me?
That for a moment I doubted his love for me?
Edward broke free from our embrace and threw himself back to the other side of the room.
His eyes were wide and murderous.
"Edward?" I stood up to walk towards him.
He took a step back.
"Edward…"I lifted my hand to cup his cheek.
"Don't touch me!" he yelled. He backed away even more for me.
"What's wro–"
"You kissed him!" he growled.
My eyes widened in horror.
Had my thoughts not been blocked from him?
"You weren't going to tell me." he mumbled to himself as he gripped the dresser for balance.
"Edward, I didn't want –"
"No, I don't want to hear it, just stop." He reached into the dresser and pulled out a shirt and a pair of jeans and walked out of the room. "Just give me some time to think." And then I heard the door slam.
I fell to my knees and sobbed.
I didn't want him to find out like this.
He hadn't talked to me since then and I was going out of my mind.
Now here I am in Russia, with Laurent, tracking down some damn newborn when I should be with Edward trying to fix things with us.
After hours of searching for the newborn we had finally found her lurking around outside of a small village. She seemed to have a knack for escaping. As soon as Laurent caught sight of her, he was able to immobilize her.
She didn't know what she was. Her creator had left her for dead. She sobbed when she explained that when she woke up she drank from her family that was only trying to help her. She didn't know the rules and when we explained to her who we were what she was, she begged us to kill her. I didn't think we should, I thought she should give this life a try. But she didn't want to. Laurent agree to end her life for her.
I couldn't stand by and watch so I ran miles off in to the woods, so that I wouldn't have to hear her screams. I ended up about eight miles out in a small clearing. I sat down and waited for Laurent to come look for me.
I thought back to Edward. I had to figure out a way to make him listen to me. I needed to show him exactly what happened. I needed him to see that it was nothing, that Laurent meant nothing to me. I needed to explain to him why I had doubted…
Lost in thought, I didn't realize someone come up behind me.
They placed a hand on my shoulder and on instinct I pulled away and fell into a crouch.
A growl ripped from my chest.
Laurent threw his hands up in surrender. "It's just me, Isabella."
I cocked my head to the side. I sniffed the air and could smell the newborns scent mixed with smoke come off of him.
I hesitantly stood up from my crouch and tried to relax.
"Sorry, you just startled me." I sat down on the grass and buried my head in my hands. I felt him sit next to me and drapped his arm around my shoulders. I stiffened.
"Please don't do that." I said between clenched teeth. He didn't bulge.
I lifted my head to look at him. His eyes were brimmed with lust and I tried to pull away from him. His grip tightened.
"Let me go, Laurent." I hissed.
"I think I'd rather hold on to you." He smirked.
I struggled to break loose from him but he straddled and pinned me down to the ground.
"Laurent." I growled. "Stop!"
"Mmm. You smell delicious." He trailed his nose along my jaw and breathed in my scent.
"You're so irresistible." How does your human not give in to you as many others would? "He's an idiot to not realize what he's lost." He laughed. "No worry, I would happily take you from him."
"Damn it, Laurent. Get. Off. Me." I snarled.
He chuckled and licked the skin right under my ear. "No." he whispered. "I will show you what you're missing out on." He kissed down my neck and gripped at my arms tighter.
I tried to push him off of me again. My body shook violently. I screamed at the top of my lungs and pushed at his chest.
He suddenly jumped up and stood a few feet away from me.
I lifted myself up pulling my shirt back up that he had managed to rip down. I immediately dropped into a crouch.
He took another step back.
"What the hell is wrong with you Laurent? I said to STOP, didn't I?" I snarled.
Laurent's piercing scream hit my ears. I briefly closed my eyes and covered my ears from the screeching sound.
When I opened my eyes Laurent was reaching over to his shoulder, his eyes were murderous as he stared at the ground.
I glanced at the floor in front of me. His arm lay ripped to pieces on the ground.
I backed away from it, and then ran at top speed away from the clearing before Laurent would have the chance to use his gift on me.
How could Laurent do that to me?
What's going to happen now?
Will he be punished for attempting to rape me?
Will I be punished for attacking him with his own gift?
I kept running forward, not letting anything get in my way. It took me a few hours but I finally got back to the castle.
It was about seven pm now. I needed to find Edward. I felt so scared and so violated. He is the only one that could comfort me right now.
I ran past the guards up to my room.
Edward wasn't there. From his scent that lingered in the room, I could tell he hadn't been here in hours.
I took out my phone and dialed his number. It went straight to voicemail. I called a few more times, but still it went to voicemail. I called the college and was forwarded to his last teacher.
"Hello? This is Professor Austen."
"Yes, this is Isabella Swan. I'm Edward Cullen's fiancée. I was just calling to see if Edward was still held up in class. I need to speak with him, it's important." I said breathlessly.
"Oh, I'm sorry Ms. Swan, but Edward never showed up for class." I heard the clicking sounds of a keyboard on the other end. "And it he never attended his first class today either."
My chest tightened and my stomach knotted.
"Ok, thank you Professor." I tried to keep the panic from my voice, but failed miserably. I hung up the phone and tried to call Edward's phone again.
Nothing.
Where could he have gone?
Is he alright? Is he hurt?
God, if anything happened to him I'd never forgive myself.
I tapped into Demetri's gift to search for Edward. I came up empty.
My panic rose. I closed my eyes and concentrated harder, searching out for his mind, desperate to find him.
A sob ripped from my chest when I could still not find him.
I ran for the door so I could retrace his steps and follow his scent.
When I opened the door, Felix was standing in the door way.
"Move!" I growled. "I don't have time for you right now, Felix. I need to find Edward." I tried to push past him but he held out his hand to stop me.
"He's in the grand hall waiting for you. The brothers have been awaiting your arrival." He smirked.
I furrowed my brows. Had Laurent gotten back before me? Why was Edward there?
Felix motioned for me to follow him and we took the elevator down to the grand hall. We met with Benji at the door.
I was anxious and ready to run in and take Edward in my arms. But what I saw when the doors opened stopped me dead in my tracks.
Aro, Caius, and Marcus stood in their usual spots. Laurent stood by Caius with his healed arm in place. Jane and Alec were no where to be found. And neither was the rest of the guard.
Edward stood beside Aro, staring at the ground in front of him, expressionless.
Aro was the only one showing any kind of emotion. He was smiling.
I walked in cautiously to stand in front of them.
My eyes never moved away from Edward. He tried to look anywhere but my eyes.
I tried to reach out to his mind but he was blocking me.
Aro cleared his throat. My eyes were still locked on Edward.
"Isabella. It seems we have some things to talk about."
I nodded mutely.
"Well from what I have gathered of Laurent's memories you two had a little disagreement in Russia, yes?"
My head whipped around to look at Aro.
"Disagreement?" I scoffed. "Aro, he tried to rape me!" I growled.
I saw Edward stiffen from the corner of my eye.
"It was all just a misunderstanding, Isabella. He will be dealt with accordingly. As for your aggression towards him, I will pardon you from it since you misunderstood Laurent's intentions." Aro smiled.
I turned to glare at Laurent. I took a step forward to lunge out at him but was stopped by Felix before I could.
"Now, now Isabella. Control yourself. I can see you're angry, but you will get over this eventually. I will take you off of your missions so you don't have to cross paths again."
I nodded and shrugged away from Felix's grip on my arm.
"Now, it appears young Edward has something he would like to tell you."
I looked back towards Edward. His eyes were closed and he was taking in deep breaths. When he opened his eyes I gasped. His eyes were a deep purple almost black color. I had never seen his eyes like that before. They seemed to be so full of hatred.
"Bella." His voice was cold and detached. "I think it would be best of you left the castle."
I furrowed my brows in confusion.
"I won't leave this castle with out you Edward." I whispered.
His eyes narrowed in on mine.
"I don't want you to stay at the castle with me. I don't want to lead you on any longer. We just aren't meant to be."
I froze, my breathing hitched.
"You…don't…want me?" I chocked out.
Did he truly not want me here?
"No."
I felt as if time had stopped.
His words swirled around in my head and I felt dizzy.
My thoughts were racing, finding some way to reason with him.
"Don't." I whispered. "Don't do this."
My chest felt like it had been ripped in two.
I searched his eyes looking for something, anything to give me some small ounce of hope that he was lying, that he l loved me and wanted me. I desperately tried to reach out to his mind again. I tried to channel his emotions. The only emotions I could feel from him were hate, anger, and impatience.
Edward please, don't do this. I love you, Edward...
"STOP!" Edward yelled.
I felt my body become numb, starting at my fingertips and making my knees go weak.
I fell to the ground and clutched at my chest.
The world seemed to be falling apart in front of me. I felt numb and exhausted. It hurt.
He closed his eyes and his hands went up to massage his temples.
Were my pleas getting through his mind?
"What happened the other night made me realize that I'm tired of pretending things are alright with us, Bella."
This isn't right.
I opened my mouth to say something back but no sound came out. I continued to search his eyes. There was still nothing to find.
"I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that." He continued.
"Is this what you really want?" I breathed.
He nodded.
"You'll find someone else eventually, don't worry about me." He whispered.
"I'd rather die than be with anyone but you." I said in a choked sob.
"Don't be melodramatic, please." He said with irritation in his voice.
I felt a two pairs of hands on my arms pulling me upwards.
Aro stepped forward. He stood behind Edward and grasped his shoulders.
"Since Edward must stay at the castle and you are not bound to the guard, Isabella, you a free to leave. Edward has asked that you leave by nightfall."
Aro's words struck me as the last nail on the coffin.
If Edward really didn't want me in his life anymore, then I would leave with no more argument. I had promised him that I would stay for only as long as he'd want me to stay with him.
I nodded.
"I'm sorry about this, truly Isabella. I wish for you to visit me again some day." Aro said and then turned to look at Edward. "Welcome to the guard, Edward."
In the blink of an eye, Aro leaned in and bit into Edward's neck.
I gasped and lunged out toward them but was held back by Benji and Felix.
Edward's eyes widened and he trashed as the venom overtook his body.
"No…" I whimpered.
This wasn't how it was supposed to be…
Aro threw a screaming Edward into Laurent's arms. "Take him to one of the guest rooms for his transformation."
Laurent nodded and disappeared with Edward.
I fell limp in Benji's arms and gave up.
It's over.
There's nothing I can do now.
I let the numbness overtake my body.
My mind barely realized that they were moving me.
I regained awareness when we reached my room.
They set me on the couch.
"Leave me." I whispered.
The walked out of the room but I could still hear them outside of the door.
I could also vaguely hear Edward's screaming at the other end of the castle.
It was heartbreaking.
My ring caught the light and it glimmered catching my attention. I new round of sobs over took me.
I was supposed to marry him.
How could this happen?
We were so happy before…
And now this…
I slipped the ring off my finger. It wasn't mine anymore.
I set it down on the table. He would give that to someone else one day, I could only hope she would make him happy.
Edward's screaming became louder in the distance.
I needed to get out of here. I couldn't stand to hear his screaming.
I couldn't stand not being there for him.
I walked towards the door and took a shaky breath as I opened it.
I took one last look over my shoulder at the ring, at what would have been. I pushed myself to keep walking out, trying hard not to turn back around to retrieve it.
I broke out into a run, not looking back. I felt as I had when I was running away from Laurent earlier, but much worse.
Scared and heartbroken…I kept running.
I didn't know where I was going or where I was. I don't know how long I had been running for but it was night and I now stood on a cliff looking down upon the ocean.
The only thing on my mind was that I couldn't run back.
He doesn't want you there.
I kept telling myself.
It's what Edward wants. It was over.
Love, life, meaning…over.
I closed my eyes and jumped off the cliff.
I crashed into the depths of the water and let the water take me under.
I opened my eyes as I reached the ocean floor.
It was complete darkness.
Not even my vampire sight could make out what was beyond the black.
Where will I go from here?
I can't run forever.
Hate me yet? o.O
Aw, come on though… at least Edward will finally be changed!
That's a good trade off, right? =P
Hope I don't loose you guys!
Next chapter will be out within the next two or three days.
Love you guys, please review!
-Jan