I just wanted to give a big thanks to everyone who has put me/this story on an alert and to everyone who has reviewed, it makes me feel very special. So, here is an extra long chapter, please enjoy =).
Thanks, KM
P.S Please review, I love hearing what you all have to say =).
I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Even worse, I couldn't believe what I was feeling. I had thought I was over him but I was wrong. I had never been so wrong in my entire existence.
With a single look, Edward Anthony Masen Cullen broke my heart for the second time in 93 years. I felt it shatter, I felt it bleed. I felt the pain of him leaving me all those years ago as well as the pain of seeing him today. I felt it all combine as it thundered through me and yet I felt nothing.
My heart was crying out in pain, but my head refused to listen.
I had to get out but I couldn't move, couldn't take my eyes off them. So I made use of the only part of my body that wasn't busy breaking, not moving or being in shock.
"Alice," I said softly, "I feel like getting some fresh air, come with?"
Jasper must have noticed my odd emotional state because he answered for her.
"Yeah, me too, mind if I tag along?" He asked.
"Not at all. Shall we?" I said as I tried making my feet move, to no avail. Thankfully, Alice must have figured something was up when both Jasper and I wanted to walk outside because she grabbed my arm and pulled me up.
Lila looked up from her conversation with Edward, "Are you ok Marie?" She asked. "You look a little pale."
"Yeah, I'll be fine," I replied, smiling reassuringly, as Alice began walking me to the door, "I'll see you in Maths."
Once we were safely outside, in the furthest corner of the school yard, Alice turned.
"Ok, what gives?" she questioned, "You both can't have wanted Lila's blood!"
I just gaped at her. My ability to function was deteriorating rapidly. I needed help. Thankfully Jasper chose that moment to step up. Suddenly I stopped feeling. I didn't feel like I was so numb I couldn't move and I didn't feel like my chest was being blown to smithereens.
I smiled, for the first time in 92 years I wasn't fighting to control my emotions.
"No, Alice, we didn't. Marie's emotions were all over the place, I wanted to help," Jasper explained.
Alice hugged him, "My Jasper, forever the gentleman."
I waited until their little moment was over before thanking Jasper. "Did you guys see how Edward was looking at Lila?" I asked apprehensively, hoping that maybe I was seeing things.
Alice nodded sadly, confirming my fears but Jasper shook his head.
"No, but I didn't need to, I felt it, right before your feelings went haywire," He said, before putting two and two together, "Wait, is that why?"
I nodded, "He just reminds me so much of my mate that seeing him looking at her like that brought back a lot of painful memories." How I wished that was true!
"Is there anything we can do?" Alice asked. I hesitated a moment before answering, unsure if it was the right thing to do.
"I was wondering if you could look into Lila's future and see if she becomes one of us," I said, feeling a little guilty for asking.
She nodded and closed her eyes, searching for my best friend's future. She only had her eyes closed for a few seconds but it felt like hours.
"Well, that's weird," she said, looking confused.
"What do you mean?" I questioned. Weird could not be good.
"Well apart from a few odd dates with Edward, I can't see anything, it's like her life is being slowly taken away piece by piece," Alice responded, looking rather confused.
"No! She can't die! Tell me she doesn't die!" I begged. "Alice, please."
"I'm sorry, Marie," she whispered.
I stood there staring blankly at the two of them, and they watched me warily, unsure of how I would react. Then the bell went, effectively bringing me out of my trance-like state.
I sighed, "I guess you can't save them all, can you?"
I smiled sadly, thinking that they would smile back and agree with me. They didn't, both Alice and Jasper looked heartbroken.
"No, we can't," whispered Alice as if she were trying to convince herself of something. Bella came to mind instantly, but I couldn't bring myself to believe that she was the cause of this anguish. If I looked at it realistically, they must have met millions of humans before Bella and hundreds of thousands after.
Silently we all turned towards the school and headed for class at the same time. It was as if we had all made an unspoken agreement to walk away from that conversation. As we walked I found my emotional centre, and set up a permanent base there. It was the only way I was going to get through the rest of the day. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jasper glance at me curiously.
I slid into the seat next to Lila moments before our teacher walked in and class began. I sat impatiently waiting for him to set our workload for the day so I could talk to Lila. Finally, he finished.
"I'm going to La Push tonight, they are having a bon fire down by the beach, and I was wondering if you would come with me?" I asked her as we located the appropriate pages in our text books.
"Like a date?" she teased, looking up from her work.
"Yes," I grinned, "It'll be really fun, I promise!"
"Gee, I don't know Marie, I mean I like you and all but I'm just not ready for the next step," Lila smirked.
"Did I mention the hot, shirtless, abtastic Quileute boys?" I replied innocently.
"Alright, you convinced me!" she said as if the guys were the only reason she was coming. "So what do you think of Edward?"
I wasn't surprised that she asked me this but it still shocked me a little to hear it.
"He's ok I guess, why?" I asked, not entirely sure if I wanted to know the answer.
"I thought he was interesting," Lila replied. I groaned internally, that was Lila speak for I have a crush on him.
"Ok, just be careful, I've heard he has a reputation as a heart breaker," I warned her. I wasn't sure if the warning was for her benefit or mine, after all I had never heard any such rumours. Lila nodded in response and we fell into an easy silence as we finished our work.
The rest of the day flew by in a haze of emotional nothingness occasionally interrupted by whispers of heart break, shock and anger.
The final bell sounded and I knew I had to talk to the Masen's. Specifically Edward.
I found Lila and told her I would pick her up later and headed straight home. I quickly got ready for the bonfire before running to the Masen's house.
"Oh Edward," I called in a sing-song voice as I walked through the door and into the living room.
He appeared on the opposite side of the room. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked.
Our eyes met for a moment and I saw desire lingering there. I don't know what he saw in mine, disbelief perhaps?
"And so the lion fell in love with the lamb," I said, "Again."
"What?" He asked visibly shocked. Alice appeared at the top of the stairs confusion etched into her features.
"Don't what me, you know exactly what I'm talking about! I saw you making googly eyes at Lila. My human friend!" I replied anger and annoyance tainting my words.
The moment the words left my lips, Rose, Emmett and Jasper joined us in the lounge and Alice flitted down the stairs to stand with Jasper.
"Don't you dare do this to us again Edward!" Rosalie growled but Edward just ignored her.
"I wasn't making 'googly eyes' at anyone, let alone a human girl," he told me. My anger skyrocketed.
"Her name is Lila, and don't you dare try to deny it, Alice saw it too and Jasper felt your emotions, the only reason Blondie and Hulk didn't see anything was because they were too busy making eyes at each other!" I almost screamed back. I was vaguely aware that Jasper was trying to calm me down. I then realised that I wasn't simply angry, I was protecting what I considered to be mine. My animal instincts were kicking in and you can't manipulate instinct.
Edward stared at me defiantly. This didn't help.
"You don't get to have her! If you know what is good for you, you'll stay away from her. I won't let you hurt her like you hurt me; I won't let you make her the next Bella. She's not some toy for you to play with Edward, so why don't you and your family go disappear and we'll pretend like you never existed! Because that's what you do best isn't it Edward?" I sneered angrily.
Suddenly, Edward sped towards me, I tried to avoid him but I still ended up flying across the room. I crashed into something as I fell, and as the room was filled with un-harmonised chords I realised where I had landed. My protective anger dissipated almost instantly, as I was filled with amusement. I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all.
Edward ceased his attack in favour of looking at me like I had suddenly grown three extra heads. In fact, everyone seemed to think the same thing. I laughed harder which made it incredibly difficult to stand up and brush myself off.
"I'm sorry, but would you mind sharing the joke?" Emmett asked.
I nodded but it took a few moments for me to regain the ability to speak.
"I was just thinking that you guys must go through a lot of pianos if every time you have a disagreement someone ends up being thrown across the room," I answered winking at Jasper, who was startled by my gesture. Alice looked more confused if that was even possible.
Emmett laughed, "We've been through a few."
"What's going on here?" queried Esme as she entered the room, Carlisle right behind her.
"Marie and Edward had a disagreement, I guess you could say," replied Jasper.
"I'm so sorry about the piano Esme, I'm sure Edward will buy you a new one," I apologised, smirking at the indignant growl emanating from Edward.
"The piano was Edwards," Esme explained. I grinned.
"Oh, so it's not a problem then. Anyway, I would love to stay and chat some more but I have to go and pick Lila up, we have a bon fire to get to," I replied, making my way to the door. "It was nice seeing you all again."
As I started running home I heard Carlisle enquire as to what our fight was about and Rosalie begin to reply.
I pulled up in front of Lila's house and beeped my horn. She literally ran out of the house.
"Not a moment too soon!" She gasped, hurling herself into my car. "Dad went all 'You're not wearing that out are you?' on me, thankfully you arrived and I didn't have time to change."
I glanced at what she was wearing. "I think you look pretty," I told her.
"Hence his problem," Lila pointed out and we both started laughing.
We arrived at the beach and started towards the fire when we were greeted by Jake. Almost bowled over might have been a more accurate description.
"Hey, guess whose back from their overseas jaunt!" Jake said excitedly.
"Seth's back!" I asked.
"Yeah, he and Leah are down by the fire, she hasn't let him out of her sight since he got back this arvo," he answered, "Come on!"
As we headed to the fire I introduced Lila to Jake and everyone else who came up to say hi to us which slowed our journey somewhat. We finally made it to the fire and I was enveloped in a super strong hug.
"Hey Seth, long time no see, how was Australia?" I asked.
"Hot!" Seth replied, "But so much fun!"
"You will have to tell me all about it, but first I'd like you to meet my best friend Lila, Lila this is Seth," I said.
Seth turned to say hello to Lila but the moment he saw her face he froze for a second before smiling warmly and I knew exactly what had just happened.
Seth Clearwater had just imprinted on Lila Jackson.
I expected to feel hurt or shock or annoyance but I didn't. Instead I felt relieved, Seth wouldn't hurt Lila. Then I remembered what Alice had said and I felt sad for him, he had waited so long to find his imprint.
Seth looked at me, worried about how I would feel about him imprinting on my best friend, I just smiled and nodded slightly. It wasn't like he could un-imprint. He grinned.
"Come on Lila, I want you to meet my sister!" Seth told Lila as he dragged her off to where ever Leah was.
I sighed, watching them go.
"Ok," said Jake, "What am I missing?" He was always so observant.
"Seth just imprinted on my human best friend, who, as it happens, Edward was giving googly eyes to at lunch today and to make matters worse, Alice couldn't read her future" I replied, not really sure what it all meant for Lila.
Jake and I looked at each other. Neither of us wanted to think about what would happen to Seth if Lila died. Then Jake grinned.
"Bella!" He exclaimed, "You forgot to dazzle Edward! I thought the plan was you go to school and be all like 'BAM! Here I am Eddie boy, you know you want it!'"
I laughed at his antics and decided to play along, "Oh, so that's where I went wrong! I knew there was something I forgot." He laughed with me this time.
"Come on," Jake said sobering up, "Just forget about it tonight, have some fun."
I smiled, "Let's go find Leah and the others."
Once we did, the night really began. It started with the story of how Quileute's came to be and then Seth and I told stories of our overseas adventures. I tried to follow Jakes advice and just have fun but not matter how hard I tried I just couldn't stop reliving those few moments at lunch. It was getting increasingly difficult to stay in my emotional centre.
Seth and Lila were inseparable the entire night and I didn't have to hear her say she thought he was interesting, I could see that she liked him. It was all over the way she looked at him, laughed at his jokes and let him put his arm around her. You couldn't wipe the smile off either of their faces.
I couldn't help but smile, maybe things weren't all bad for Lila, maybe her future had changed now that she had met Seth. I watched as Seth leaned down and kissed Lila on the cheek.
I nudged Leah, "I have a feeling the Seth and Lila show are going to give you and Jake a run for your money," I whispered.
Leah watched them for a moment before replying, "Well it's about time. I've been wanting a bit of competition."
We laughed quietly as Jake began telling the legend of the Cold Ones, falling silent when he reached the part about the Cullen's.
Finally the last story had been told and it was time to go. Lila and I didn't speak much as I drove her home; I guess we both had a lot on our minds. When I arrived at her house, we said our goodbyes and I waited until she was safely inside before speeding home.
The moment I jumped through my bedroom window and landed safely inside I stopped fighting myself for emotional control.
The full impact of what had happened today hit me with the force of fifty road trains.
I crawled onto my bed and sobbed.
I didn't have to act anymore; there was no one here to see me break.