You may have heard of the stuff that's going on down at the Mexico-US border, near my hometown. My family and I went to McAllen, TX for a little shopping trip, careful to return while it was still daytime. This chapter was written while on the highway, on the trip back. Enjoy. We're nearly at the end.

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"Jasper, cancel your appointments. We need to get home now." I stood up from the futon, and all the blood rushed from my head. I staggered and Jasper shoved me back down, my head between my legs.

"Dude, calm the fuck down!" Jasper rarely swore, so he had to be agitated. "First, tell me what you saw." He waited expectantly, pen poised.

Frustration surged through me. "Jasper, Alice called with some major info. It all has to do with my regression, but I can explain on the way. Right now, we need to fucking go." I pushed past him, still kind of wobbly on my feet.

Jazz had no choice but to follow me. I tossed him my keys in the garage lot. "I'll drive you back for your car later." I bundled myself into the passenger seat as Jasper screeched out and rode the expressway. The sunlight hurt my eyes after getting used to the darkness inside the swaying cabin and the almost crippling disorientation I felt afterwards. I hugged my knees to my chest like I was five, the seatbelt digging into my stomach.

"Edward, you okay?"

"Yeah. Jasper, you're not going to believe this…"

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"I'm telling you, that's what I saw. That's what the guy said," I railed, pushing the front door open. Alice met us in the foyer, and took both our hands dragging us into the living room. I immediately glanced around for Bella, hoping to see her after my hellish day.

"She's not here. I sent her outside with a book." She gestured with her head and I peered around her into the garden. I could see Bella under the only shady tree in the yard, her legs tucked under her in that endearing way. I shook my head. Focus, you moron, focus!

"So, here are the documents." Alice pulled out some papers printed on heavy stock and shuffled them around. "There's no real mention of Eduardo Caellén in the histories, because he died relatively young." She produced a copy of a letter that I had previously tried to translate.

"Hey, I've seen that before!" I regaled them briefly with the vision I'd had of Eduardo's burial at sea.

Alice had more information on Isabella's past. "Here, she's mentioned in this account, too." She handed the scan to Jasper and cleared her throat. I glanced up at her. "She never married, but she died in 1699."

"Two years from now?" Alice winced at my tone. "I mean, then? Shit, you know… she claimed it was 1697 now!"

Jasper looked over the letter. "What did you say Edward died of?"

"I didn't. But the guy in the dream—"

"Regression," Jasper interjected.

"Yeah, whatevs. He said it was something called tisis, TB. I coughed up a shitload of blood. Fucking gross."

"Yeah, that's what the letter says. I mean, not about the blood, but listen…" Alice took the letter from her husband's hands and read. "Contrajo enfermedad de la tisis, poco después de zarpar, y de la cual le fue imposible recuperarse. Murió el día trece de mayo del presente…"

"That's the same day—" I was cut off by a strangled cry behind us.

We all whirled and found Bella gripping the sliding glass door that led to the terrace. She was curling into herself, gasping. I ran to her, taking her by the shoulders. She pushed me away with surprising strength, and raised her head to look at us.

Bella's eyes were scary as hell. There was fierce anger mingled with heart-wrenching despair. She clutched at her chest, and I couldn't figure out if she couldn't breathe or if there was an imminent heart attack. Bella inhaled sharply and swiped at her eyes.

"Eduardo." It wasn't a question.

"Isabella, yo lo siento—"

She cut Alice off. "Eduardo está… muerto." Her voice faltered on the last word; we didn't need Alice to translate.

"Isabella, hicimos todo lo posible por encontrarlo. Pero esta carta lo explica todo." Alice held out the FedEx printout and waited. Bella stepped closer and hesitatingly slid it from Alice's fingers. Next to her, I could see the quality of the scan. I figured Carmen or Eleazar in Spain had touched it up. It looked like a fucking original, as though it had been written yesterday.

I stood by Bella's side, torn between wanting to comfort her and scared as shit of her pushing me away again. I wished I could hold her, stroke her hair, murmur sweetly in her ear. Tell her that his last words and his last thoughts had been of her… for her. Things I had no right to know. I settled for watching her, as her eyes traveled over the ancient words and her hands shook with the weight of the terrible news.

"Nunca llegó a mí." Bella finally broke the heavy silence. Two tears trailed down her pale face. Jasper and I glanced at Alice, who did not take her eyes off Bella.

"She says… he never came to me."

"Para qué? Por qué estoy aquí si él no está conmigo?"

"She wants to know why she was brought here, if he's not—Bella!"

The girl had turned and fled. She bolted through the glass doors and into the yard. Bella was fast. She was halfway across the lawn before we could react and chase after her. She still clutched the letter, a crumpled mess in her fist.

"Bella!" I called out. She didn't turn. She hit the wooden fence that bordered the gardens and scrabbled about, looking for the door that led to the empty lot behind the house.

"Bella, don't, please," I begged, stopping some distance away from her. Her face was like a trapped animal's might look like when cornered.

"Por favor," I breathed, trying not to scare her away. I tried to put myself in her shoes. Her heart had just been shattered by complete strangers, and she didn't know where she was or why she was here and now.

"Edward, be careful!" Alice's voice carried across the expanse of grass, before it happened. Bella's determined but wounded expression came at me and I found myself shoved backwards. I hit the ground with shocking force. My teeth rattled in my skull and I watched Bella sprint for the side entrance to the house, which led to the driveway and onto the street.

"Alice, stop her! She's headed for the front!" They hadn't made it more than halfway down the yard, so they were closer to the house. I scrambled to my feet and took off again, heart pounding and backside throbbing. I followed the path she'd taken, hoping Alice and Jasper would intercept her.

Suddenly, I knew what I needed to say. I sped up, pushing through the wayward hedges before I glimpsed Bella running into the middle of the street.

"Regresa! Isabella, regresa!"

She stopped in her tracks and whirled. I was still a good ten feet away when I heard it.

The sharp squeal of tires and the dull sound of Bella's body hitting the pavement.

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I think it might have been obvious that was going to happen as soon as I mentioned she was headed for the street. Any thoughts, comments? Thanks to those who favorite'd and review. You make my day.