The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: # 19

Pen Name: twilly | Pairing/Character(s):Jacob/Bella/Edward | Rating: M | Word Count: 498

Photo prompts can be found here:

thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

I was going to do this funny flash with prompt where Bella was walking through the woods with her dog and literally stumbled into an abandoned pioneer cemetery. Because that really happened to me when I tripped on a headstone and just as I cleared the debris away to read it, my dog scared the holy bejeebers out of me by yawning. But I wrote this one instead.

Imprint

Numb.

People move around me. They try to console me, but I don't want their comfort. I don't want their "sorry"s or their condolences.

If I'm still enough, maybe I can stop breathing. Stop being. Stop trying to convince myself that the tiny body in there isn't the baby I rocked in my arms. That the iridescent purple box isn't going to steal away my Qahla, my sun.

I feel my husband's presence, even through the haze. His warmth always reminded me of sunshine. He pulls me into his arms and holds so tightly, it almost feels as if he could somehow hold me together; it's all the permission I need to let go. I claw at the dark lapels of his suit as sobs wrack through my body. He holds me tighter; I feel his tears land on the top of my head. "Why her, Jake? Why did it have to be our baby?"

He holds me and wipes away my tears. I look around at the people gathering for the first time. The rest of the pack is lined up on the other side of her casket, grief hanging heavily on their shoulders and faces. And then I see her, my husbands mistress, her hand resting on her swollen belly.

I recoil as if he burned me. "How could you bring her to our daughter's…" I can't even say the word.

He reaches for me again, but I pull away. "Marina loved Qahla too."

"You left us for her."

"Bella..."

I don't want to hear his excuses. "You left me by myself to watch her die...when the medicine stopped working, and when I begged whatever god there is to just let her have one good breath. To crawl through the tangle of tubes and wires and cuddle her to try to give her some comfort…"

"Enough," he hisses. "You know I didn't have a choice. I can't control the imprint. You know that."

"We all make choices. I left him; I chose you. You said you loved me, that you would always love me."

"I did love you. I still love you."

I shake my head. "If you ever loved either of us, you would have been there and not off screwing your whore."

Jacob begins to shake, fighting the urge to phase. My mind flashes to the jagged scars across Emily's face. He reaches for me again, grabbing my arms before I can shirk away. "Don't. Call. Her. That."

The pads of his fingers press into my upper arms so hard I wonder if he could crush the bones inside. I close my eyes. Maybe this is ironic justice, mocking me for choosing the wrong monster. But my daughter could never be a mistake.

A chill sweeps up my arms with the instantaneous relief of pressure. I feel weightless, and I can smell old memories. I hear snarling and growling and Jacob's disdainful voice. "Leech."

I open my eyes, and he's here.

Edward.

Thank you for reading. Thoughts? This this is why Bella she had to choose Edward.

"Qahla" is the Quileute word for "sun" according to the internet. The internet is never wrong. ;)

I've had this story outlined for more than two years, thank you so much to GeekChic12 for holding my hand for the two days it took me to whittle down and for holding my as I cried.