Evening Falls
Chapter 19

September's Girl

The agony swept over her like a wave crashing into the shore and taking a piece of driftwood back with it. It pulled her into its depths and boiled her whole, until every last piece of rational thought was washed away and there was nothing left for her but the screaming.

After an eternity of burning, the pain began to recede. She thought Death had finally come to pardon her but He only stopped the pounding of her heart and left her there to experience a wholly new torture.

It was the scent, and the air was heavy with it. All around her, filling her, a tantalizing, achingly sweet flavor she could almost, but not quite, taste. It was ambrosia dangling just out of her reach, a magical elixir, and only it would bank the rising flames in her throat.

The spicy aroma seemed to taunt her as she moved, racing through corridors and smashing through doors in frustration. In some rooms and hallways it was stronger than others, and she quickly realized she could track it. Concentration turned to rage as when each trail led to nothing and the hunger grew stronger, clawing at her insides and demanding satisfaction.

Another crash, the sound of glass breaking, and she was on the ground outside. The night air swept around her. Immediately, she was distracted by a hundred new fragrances, some bitter and pungent, some sweet, a few mouthwatering, but none of them called to her like the first. A deep breath, then another, and her instincts were ablaze again…there it was, faint, but still a trail she could follow.

But he was back again, blocking her way, that same voice that had been trying to divert her from her goal. He reached for her now, his voice and his hands restraining, and her earlier rage exploded. It was gratifying to watch him fly away from her but by the time he blew through the wall of her former prison she was already running.

And now another face before her, more pleading words, someone else in her way. A quick blow, a distant smashing of trees, and finally, her route was clear.

Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground as she ran, tasting the air as she did so. It was still there, that maddening scent. It was nearly gone at times, and there were moments where it was swallowed up by other intriguing smells, a few so delicious that she nearly turned off her path to pursue more easily gained fulfillment. But then it would snake past the others again and pull her to it once more.

Now it was growing stronger, even more so then it had been when she had first awakened to this new world. The source was close, it had to be, she was starving and she would die all over again if she couldn't feed soon.

Through the trees it moved and instinctively she slowed, creeping forward…ah, this was what she needed, this part was almost as good as the kill would be, to stalk her prey, to savor the moment…

It ran and fell as if it knew what fate awaited it, and its weakness called to her. She could no longer resist, shrieking her need to the sky and then, she moved to strike…

I'd been hovering in the twilight between waking and sleeping again when the distant click of a door had me sitting up abruptly.

The cabin bedroom came into blurry view. "Hello?" I blurted, stupidly, because the room, dimly lit by the oil lamp next to the bed, was clearly empty. Still, sudden anxiety pulled me to my feet and had me stumbling out of the bedroom into the main area of the cabin.

"What's going on? Who's here? Is there news about Bella?" My words were more of a nonsensical babble, abruptly interrupted when I tripped over the phone cord and promptly stumbled into the back of the couch trying to free myself.

"Elisa," Esme's firm hands stopped my whirlwind spiral before I could do real damage. "It's nothing. Rosalie and Emmett just went for a quick hunt, that's all.''

"Oh," I yawned widely, rubbing my eyes. Her words registered abruptly and I dropped my hands. "They're gone? Emmett left?" I couldn't disguise the sudden apprehension in my tone. We'd spent two frantic days not knowing if he and Jasper were alive or dead as they pursued Irina. It had been such a relief to have him back and now he'd gone off again after less than a day. It was hard enough to have the rest of the family scattered under such dire circumstances; couldn't he have stayed in one place for at least a little while?

"They haven't gone far," Esme smiled at me, clearly reading my expression. Her tone turned mock reproachful. "They wanted to be back before you woke up. You've only been asleep for about an hour."

I could only smile guiltily at that, which quickly turned into another enormous yawn. Esme chuckled. "You're exhausted. Go back to bed."

I wanted to protest but Esme's easy smile and relaxed expression quickly turned me against putting any lines back onto her face. It had been such an awful few days for her, almost losing Bella, not knowing what had happened to Jasper and Emmett, and the final blow: the news of Irina's death.

I winced now, remembering. When Emmett had first shown up, my joy and relief at seeing him had only been enhanced by what he had to tell us. As far as I was concerned, the tale of the death of the vampire who'd nearly destroyed our family was a happy refrain to sing to. It was only when I had seen how devastated he was, and watched his pain reflected in Rosalie and Esme's eyes that I understood. They had loved her. No matter what she had done, she would still be mourned.

I shook off the grim memories and turned towards the bedroom, though I was pretty sure I was too awake and edgy to fall back asleep now.

I'd only taken a few steps when my stomach let loose with a freakishly loud and totally humiliating growl. My embarrassment was quickly overshadowed by Esme's delighted face.

"You're hungry! No wonder you can't sleep. It's about time; I was beginning to worry that we were going to have a repeat of those months where you barely picked at your food." She paused. "All we have is the leftover Chinese food from earlier tonight. I can heat it up for you, I suppose."

"That sounds great, Esme," I said, a little started to realize it actually did. Over the past two days Rosalie had brought me food from probably every restaurant within twenty miles but most of it had ended up in the garbage thanks to my lack of appetite. Now suddenly, I felt ravenous.

I followed Esme across the room to the tiny kitchenette. She looked almost gleeful as she threw open the door to the ancient refrigerator. I felt guilty all over again, watching her. She was so happy to be taking care of me and I didn't deserve it. Did it ever occur to her that everything that had happened in the past few days was because of me? That Bella would have never even been in St. John's for Irina to attack if I had not blundered into their lives?

Esme's happy expression began to wither as she pulled the cartons out of the ancient refrigerator. It was almost as if she'd guessed the direction of my thoughts. I tried to plaster a happy expression on my face, prepared to deny everything, and then I realized what was making her mouth turn down. There was a disgusting, rotten fish smell emanating from the open refrigerator door, turning my stomach.

"Good Lord, dozens of people must have stored their catch of the day in here. You'd think at least one of them would have known how to clean it out properly." Esme glared at the fridge as if expecting an apology. She opened a carton and sniffed it cautiously, then sighed. "Well, you won't be eating this, that's for certain. It's all tainted. I'm so sorry, Elisa. I should have known better than to put food in here. It's just hard for me to gauge whether scents that I can detect are apparent to humans too. "

The thought of eating orange chicken that tasted more like ten day old sushi was definitely pretty gross. "It's OK, Esme. I can wait until morning." Of course, just at that moment my traitorous stomach decided to growl even more loudly.

"Don't be silly. You're hungry; you should eat. We can go to the store, or…" Esme looked at the clock on the wall. 12:17 A.M. "Or not…" She tapped her foot on the floor impatiently. "I can't believe I didn't think to stock up. Perhaps there's an all night diner closer to town. Are you up for a drive?"

I shook my head, looking down at my pajamas. The last thing I felt like doing was getting dressed and showing my Irina induced black eye and haphazard hair to the world. "You said Rosalie and Emmett would be back soon. I'd rather wait for them."

Esme nodded reluctantly, still looking dissatisfied. She thought for another moment and brightened. "I know! The caretaker spends all winter here. He must have a well stocked cabin. He's sure to at least have some eggs if nothing else. I'll just pop up there and ask him."

"Mr. Oldridge?" I recalled the caretaker, a sour faced man in his fifties who had nearly slammed the door in our faces when we'd first asked for a cabin. He hadn't even cracked a smile when Esme had handed him a fat roll of bills, though he sure pocketed the money fast enough. "Are you sure you want to wake him up in the middle of the night? You're just going to make him mad and he's like only one solitary winter away from an insanity defense already."

Esme laughed, patting my head. "Don't worry about me. I'll be just fine." She started to rush out the door before I could protest. "I'll be right back. He's just up the road." In a blink of an eye, she was gone.

"Esme, wait!" She'd left her jacket on the coat rack next to the door and Mr. Oldridge was going to think it was awfully odd that she was walking around on a frigid fall night without one. I grabbed it from the hook and ran out the door after her. "Esme!"

Even though I'd run out just seconds after she did, there was no sign of her. "Esme?" I looked towards the road, but it was empty. Oh well. Esme knew how to take care of herself; she'd figure out how to dodge any questions he might ask.

The door was still open, but I didn't feel like going back inside. The crisp, cold night air was refreshing after the stagnant, stale fish smell of the cabin.

I shrugged my arms into Esme's jacket and wandered across the grass several feet away from our cabin, but not so far that I couldn't see the reassuring light spilling from the windows and the door way. There was a fallen log near the road, so firmly embedded in the ground that it was clearly intended to be used for seating. I sat down with a heavy sigh, looking up at the night sky. It was much clearer here then I was used to, so many more stars…the moon was full and round, hanging low over the cabin and lighting up the area around me. It was so quiet here, in the middle of the woods, like the city lights and noise of St. John's was a thousand miles away, though Rosalie had traveled from the cabin to our house and back quickly enough that I knew we couldn't be that far.

It wasn't long before the chill started to seep through my thin pajamas. I stood up reluctantly, knowing I'd better go back inside before Esme caught me and had a fit. A shiver ran through me as I walked, belatedly realizing that the grass was damp with dew, wetting my socks. Hurrying before my feet got completely soaked, I ran back up to the cabin.

Apparently I was in too much of a hurry, because I pulled a Swan as soon as I reached the porch, stumbling on the steps and falling abruptly to my knees.

"Ouch!" I jumped up, assessing the damage. My palms and my knees stung, but from what I could tell in the dim light, I had only scraped off a few layers of skin. I wasn't even bleeding, thankfully. Maybe Esme wouldn't notice.

Just as I limped into the cabin, the peaceful night quiet was rent by an unearthly shriek. I whirled around, gasping, eyes frantically touring the trees. My gasp turned into a scream. Something was racing towards me from the trees, a bright figure moving too fast for me to comprehend. Sebastian…had he found me? Instinct took over and I slammed the door shut, frantically looking for the lock.

I didn't even have time to fumble for the deadbolt. Whatever it was slammed into the door so hard it cracked and buckled inward. I screamed more loudly this time, frantically looking around for another exit. Another enormous crash and the door fell completely in.

Adrenaline and terror were moving me before I could think rationally. Before the door even hit the floor I was running for the kitchen, remembering too late that the window over the sink was far too small for me to squeeze out of. I tried to turn, heading for the bedroom instead.

I didn't make it more than a few steps before he grabbed my hair from behind, using it to slam me to the floor. I was being dragged backwards, towards the door. Strands of hair tore out of my scalp as I fought to get away, desperately reaching for anything to hold onto. My fingers were ripped off the corner of the kitchen doorway before I could get a good grip. The small end table that held the phone toppled over as I slid by, trying to hook my foot around it. The phone crashed to the ground next to me and I frantically grabbed for it but it was already out of my reach. His guttural snarls pounded through my ears, drowning out my own breathless screams.

"Don't, pleaseplease… stop!" I was still screaming when the grip on my hair tightened, abruptly dragging me to my feet. I twisted to face him, frantically hoping there was some way I could still get him to see reason. Esme would be here any second, he wouldn't want to be discovered…

My struggles stopped instantly, stilled by disbelief.

It wasn't Sebastian.

She stood inches away from me and I still could not believe it. Could not accept that she was the one who had smashed in the door to get to me, that it was her who was snarling, teeth bared, poised to rip out my throat.

"Bella?" Her name was a choked plea on my lips.

An intake of breath and the grip on my hair was released. I hit the floor hard and instantly scrabbled backwards. The wall met me and stopped my progress far too soon. All I could do was huddle there, shaking, my scalp throbbing with pain. "Bella?" My voice cracked.

She had backed into the ruined doorway and was standing now, staring at me. The scarlet hue of her eyes terrified me all over again and I shrank back.

"Elisa?" She whispered after a few seconds.

The sound of my name on her lips; the near fearful tone of her voice dissipated my fear just slightly. I was still shaking from head to toe but slowly, I managed to get to my feet, never taking my eyes off of her. "Bella, what happened? Where's Edward?"

"Edward…" she whispered his name like he was a precious memory that was just now coming back to her. "I don't know. I don't remember." She looked so lost, so confused that despite everything I took a step towards her.

"It's OK," I whispered. "He can't be far away."

As I rose and moved forward, Bella seemed to shrink. I realized abruptly that she had moved several feet backward so quickly that I hadn't even seen the movement. It hit me then, all at once, and I froze, my heart thudding staring at her. Bella was here. She was really here! She was alive! After all my hoping and praying, someone up there had listened.

I could feel the tears starting again, the relief washing my terror away. This was Bella, just Bella. She'd lost control for a minute, but she was back now.

I gazed at her in awe for an endless moment and she stared back at me, her blood colored eyes never blinking. I didn't like looking at them. It made her seem – wrong. I tried to ignore them, looking at the rest of her face instead, searching for remnants of the person I had known.

She was still beautiful but it was a different, almost unnatural beauty, too perfect, even in her torn, dusty nightgown with her hair tangled. It seemed darker now, her hair, hanging heavy over her shoulders, accentuating the luminous pale of her ivory skin. Her features seemed to have been sharpened by an artist's scalpel, almost a caricature of her old self, like all the imperfections that I'd never even noticed before had been Photoshopped away.

I hadn't realized how close to her I'd gotten before a sudden flash of her white teeth warned me, ripping away my reverie. Alarmed, I reared backwards.

"Don't…move…" she seemed to spit the words out between gritted teeth.

"Bella?" A new voice came out of the darkness behind her. Bella whirled so fast it made me dizzy. Another flash of movement and Esme was on the steps.

"Bella..." she breathed again. For just an instant, she started forward, relief and happiness radiating from her. She froze just as abruptly, taking in the destroyed doorway. Her eyes turned to me, framed over Bella's shoulder and her movements instantly changed, becoming wary and slow.

"Elisa, stay very still," she warned me in a low tone as she crept forward. I couldn't see Bella's face but her body language was changing too. She crouched and I heard the warning growl.

"Bella, you must be very confused. Let me help you," Esme soothed. She held out one hand beseechingly as she continued to move slowly up the steps. With the other, she gestured to me. I hesitated, and over her shoulder she threw me a desperate look. She wanted me to go to her, but Bella was between us.

My heart was pounding all over again as I tried to tiptoe the few steps to the doorway. If I could just get past her while Esme had her distracted…

As I moved, Esme abandoned all caution. I barely saw the blur before she was beside me, pulling me forward. Her voice was an urgent whisper in my ear. "Elisa, I want you to run as fast as you can to Mr. Oldridge's cabin. Get inside and stay there until I – "

I cried out in panic as Esme flew away from me, struck with such force that she flew back out the door and past the steps without ever touching them. She hit the ground so hard that it indented the soft earth. She was on her feet in a second, crouching, her stance defensive. Bella was on the front step now, poised to attack again.

"Bella, think about what you're doing. We're your family," Esme's voice was beseeching.

"NO!" I screamed as Bella leapt off the porch and straight at her. Esme saw her coming and her response was immediate. They met in mid air, colliding together with a sound that I could only equate to a concrete building crumbling in an earthquake. Their figures blurred together and I couldn't see them as they hit the ground and rolled towards the forest, but I could hear them, hear the unearthly screeches, the tearing of cloth, and a terrible stone cracking sound that was too horribly familiar…

I couldn't help it, I ran after them despite the fact that they were already so far away that only the cracking of trees gave me some idea of where they were. "STOP! Please!" I was out of breath, sobbing…somebody had to come, they had to be stopped, they were going to kill each other and it was all because of me…

Another enormous crack from the forest and this time I saw the giant treetop sway in the distance, the moonlight illuminating it. Another snapping sound and it toppled forward. Before it even hit the ground there was another, then another, the far away tree line collapsing like dominos, and falling out of my line of vision, leaving an empty black space behind.

Then there was nothing. It all stopped as suddenly as someone had flipped a switch, the snarling, the screaming, the slamming and ripping of rock was simply gone. I stood there in the clearing, waiting for an endless second, the eerie silence hollow and possibly even more terrifying then the sound of battle. At least then I knew they were still alive…

I turned and ran back for the cabin. Carlisle Carlisle Carlisle If I could just get to a phone, he'd know what to do…

She hit me from behind before I'd made it two steps. I flew forward, skidding along the ground, dirt and grass flying in clumps before me before her frigid hands pulled me upwards.

"Bella – " I only managed to gasp her name before she seized me around the throat. I scratched desperately at her obdurate fingers as they tightened around me. She was lifting me again to the tips of my feet before they left the ground entirely. I could feel my toes still skimming the grass but I couldn't reach far enough to put my feet back down. All I could do was dangle, kicking and sputtering helplessly.

Bella's twisted, feral expression filled my vision, her lips drawn up in a perversion of a smile. There was no reason left in her predatory eyes, no hint of the Bella I'd known. I closed my eyes. Oh God, please let it be quick.

And yet she didn't strike. She remained unmoving, seemingly unaware of my struggles. I didn't understand. Why hadn't she killed me yet? Maybe she was fighting herself, trying to stop.

Not that her indecision was going to do me any good. Her cold, hard fingers were too tight around my throat, slowly cutting off my air supply. While she tried to stop herself from devouring me alive, I was going to strangle to death anyway.

"Bella, please, don't…" Before my air was completely gone, I tried to appeal to her once more, half choking, half sobbing her name. Her eyes locked onto me and I thought I saw a hint of recognition. Then I felt the sting of her fingernails as they broke the skin on my neck, and the light trickle of blood that followed. Her eyes narrowed in reaction and she bared her teeth as savage instinct overtook her once more.

Even as I knew my time was up a strange peace begin to creep over me. The night sky was filling with a radiant kaleidoscope of color, morphing and swirling all around me, then shrinking, my vision narrowing until it looked like I was staring down a long, narrow tunnel that I couldn't see beyond. The fear, the pain, it was all fading, darkness crowding out the color and reaching for me. It was a relief, to know it was taking me before she could, that by the time she struck I'd be beyond feeling. As it pulled me in, I embraced it, ready to let go but something tugged at me, one last thought and one last breath to accompany it.

"I forgive you," I gasped, not knowing if I'd really spoken out loud or if there was any part of her that could hear me. Later on, when she realized what she had done, when she was torturing herself with the memory, I wanted her to remember my words. I wanted to tell her so much more, that I had no regrets, that if I had it all to do over again I would have still chosen to become a part of her world but the black was surrounding me now.

I was falling. It felt more like floating…a slow, peaceful descent. Just one tiny pinpoint of vision was left and I was dimly aware that someone was crying out my name but they couldn't call me back now. The ground rushing up to meet me looked soft and inviting. Before I reached it, I was gone.

"Come on, Elisa. Breathe!"

The mist of peace that had nearly overtaken me receded abruptly and I was back in my body again. I could feel the chilly ground beneath my lower half, but something hard was supporting my back, lifting me upwards slightly. I couldn't see anything. I could hear the anxious murmur of voices around me but everything was still dark. It took a few seconds to realize that it was because my eyes were still closed. I didn't quite seem to be able to command them to open. I felt so weak, so tired… The blackness still beckoned and part of me – a big part – really wanted to sink back into its soothing oblivion.

But the familiar voice was more urgent now. I struggled to throw off the haze long enough to be able to place it…Carlisle? Where had he come from?

I could feel his cool breath on my face. His icy hand patted my cheek insistently, refusing to let me slip away again.

"Open your eyes, Elisa!"

Carlisle's voice was growing more anxious and I had a sudden horrifying suspicion that he was about to give me mouth to mouth. The potentially epic skeeviness of that scenario had my eyes flying open.

Carlisle's face was a bright glow in the gloom around me. It was hard to focus…his features didn't look quite right to me; something was off – but my eyes were so blurry… he was supporting me up into a sitting position, his face breaking into a relieved smile as I began to cough and gasp, my throat burning, reminding me too much of the desperation for air I'd experienced.

Just as soon as his smile had appeared it was gone, replaced with barely suppressed emotion that was startling to see on his usually serene features.

"Elisa," he breathed urgently, "Where is Esme?"

I flinched at his question, painful realization coming back to me. As he took in my expression, a flicker of sheer agony flashed in his eyes.

"I'm here!" The husky cry made us both jump. Carlisle's head snapped around and we were both staring at the luminous figure emerging from the trees.

I couldn't see Esme clearly, but I knew something was very wrong. She hobbled forward, her stilted gait slow and hesitant. Carlisle's arm was still around my back, helping me sit up, and his fingers tightened convulsively on my arm. I knew he wanted to run to her.

"Go," I urged, pulling away from his support and struggling to my feet.

He was in front of Esme before the word had completely left my lips. "Esme!" His voice was gruff, so unlike his usual tone as he stared down at her, and then they were kissing, so passionately that even though I couldn't see them well I still had to look away.

"I'm fine," Esme's voice was reassuring as they parted, and deliberately loud enough for me to hear. I couldn't see Carlisle's expression well enough to verify that but I had my doubts regardless.

"Where's Bella?" Esme's voice changed from appeasing to alarmed, a reaction I instantly mirrored. I couldn't believe I'd almost forgotten about Bella. Apprehension filled me once more as we both looked around.

"She's still here. Look," It was Carlisle's turn to be mollifying.

I didn't get a chance to even see the direction they were turning in before Esme made an anxious noise. Carlisle immediately lifted her off her feet and they were back by my side. She pulled me next to her, her arm a protective shield around my shoulders.

Esme's safeguarding stance did nothing to lessen my feeling of being a rabbit in a snare as I finally saw her. Bella was across the clearing from us, almost swallowed up by the vast foliage around her. She was poised with one foot barely touching the ground, her body twisted away from us, as if ready for flight at any second. Despite the fact that she wasn't looking at me I had to fight the urge to hide.

I didn't realize at first what was keeping her attention so firmly diverted from us. It wasn't until I heard Edward speak that I realized he was there. He stood several feet away from her, his hands held upwards in the manner of surrender.

"It's alright, Bella," His voice was gentle, barely audible to me. Cautiously, he took one step towards her.

Bella immediately reared back. I jumped, startled by her sudden movement. Instantly, her head snapped towards me and I shrank into Esme, my breath coming in short, panicked pants.

Esme's arm tightened around my shoulder and Carlisle moved so that I was between them. "I think she's under control for the moment," he murmured softly.

If I hadn't been so scared I would have scoffed at that highly optimistic notion. But Bella had made no movement towards me. It must have been growing closer to dawn, because I could see far more clearly. The tortured expression on her face was obvious even from this distance.

Her eyes turned from me back to Edward but her expression didn't change. She was staring at him like he was something that had crawled out of a nightmare.

"We're all alright. There's no lasting damage," he was telling her now. "Look at Elisa. She's completely fine."

I had to smother my indignant gasp at that. Had Edward even looked at me? No, of course not. His eyes were for one person only, and I couldn't help the surge of resentment, especially as I didn't exactly feel 'fine' at the moment. His lack of concern was galling. I was only the one Bella had nearly killed, after all, but apparently the worst thing about my second untimely death was the detrimental effect it would have had on Bella's delicate psyche.

Carlisle and Esme looked on anxiously as they watched Edward slowly inch closer to her. She backed away again and I held my breath for a moment, certain she was about to disappear. But she held her ground, though her gaze was wary.

Over his shoulder Edward finally looked at me. His face was pleading and despite my hurt feelings, it tugged at my heartstrings. She was going to slip away from him at any moment if someone didn't do something.

I took a deep breath and fervently hoped that he wasn't about to get me nearly killed again.

"Bella, look, he's right. You barely hurt me," I spoke shakily, trying to disguise my nervousness even as Carlisle's hand dropped to my shoulder and tightened on me in warning.

As if punishing me for the lie, my throat ached enormously as I talked and my scalp throbbed more then ever. I had to resist the urge to feel it for bald patches. I kept going anyway. "Everyone's al-"

I looked at the others again as I spoke and my words abruptly cut off in a gasp. I could see their pale, ghostly figures much more clearly and there was something – wrong. I saw now why Carlisle had looked so odd to me earlier; what Esme had been trying so hard to downplay. They both had marks…no, cracks, running through the bits of exposed skin I could see, even through their faces. The skin had literally cracked open, like a rock that had been split by an axe. Edward had the same injuries; I could see the evidence on his face now as the sky turned grey and the sun tried to force its way through the heavy clouds.

Esme looked the worst. Her face almost seemed lopsided, the cracks much deeper than the others. In the crevices that lined her skin I could see a clear liquid oozing out, like blood would drip from an injured human. Her clothes were nearly in tatters and beneath the shredded material I could see the angles of her body that jutted awkwardly. One leg seemed to dangle at an unnatural angle. It took me a beat to realize it was turned in the socket, her foot facing the wrong way.

I had to bite my tongue hard to keep from screaming, but even so, I couldn't help the sobs. I pressed my hand against my mouth, trying to keep them from sounding, but it did no good.

"It looks much worse than it is. We will heal, Elisa," Esme's words were directed at me, but her eyes were on Bella.

Bella looked sickened. Her whole body was trembling as she stared from face to face. Edward moved, his figure blurring for a second before he was in front of her.

I couldn't see his expression or hear what he was saying to her, but something changed in her face. She looked over his shoulder at us all once more, and her whole frame went limp in his arms. "Take me away from here, Edward."

Edward turned then, looking back at Carlisle and Esme with an expression nearly identical to hers. Carlisle nodded to him. Edward turned to me then, looking at me for a long moment. I struggled to understand the regret in his black eyes.

Just like that, they were gone.

I blinked, standing there, waiting. The seconds ticked by and nothing filled the silence.

"Esme?" I choked. Her hand lifted to stroke my hair.

"They're not coming back, are they?" I whispered.

Esme's eyes were sorrowful. It was answer enough. I couldn't say anything else. All I could do was bury my face in the collar of her ruined shirt, trying to hide the tears.

"You're safe now, Elisa," she crooned into my hair, her fingers lightly stroking my head.

"I know," I sobbed. "But I didn't get to say goodbye."

A/N: I know, I know. It's been way too long. I wish I had been able to update sooner, and I could get the violins playing in the background while I tell you all the reasons why I didn't, but I'd rather save the angst for the story. I just want Evening Falls readers to know that despite what it may have seemed like, I am not giving up on this story and there is far more to come.

Annnnd…this chapter is only about half of what I have written. Another chapter is just about ready! Bella's segment is coming up right behind this one. I want to say that it will be out tomorrow but I constantly underestimate the editing I need to do so let's say Friday.

I really missed this and am thrilled to be back. It will be even more thrilling if I still have readers left. I have so much gratitude towards all of you who have read and reviewed for me in the past. I can't even count the times I have gone back and read your feedback when I was feeling low and like I couldn't even try to write any more.

Thank you all so much.