"Don't cry, baby, you'll forget me soon enough," he said.
"You'll never hear from me again. It'll spare you the pain, darling," he said.
"I'll always love you, but it could never work," he said.
He said, he said, he said. Sentences filled with lies. And so she cries.
Salty tears sliding down, body rocking back and forth, screams spilling from the mouth.
Stop.
Please stop.
Please don't haunt me like this anymore.
"You're everything I've been searching for," he said.
"You're the only one for me," he said.
"I'll do anything for my love," he said.
She blurts out a question to everyone and no one.
Then why did you leave me?
The sparkle in her eyes is gone. She blossom in her cheeks has vanished. Her heart has been crushed.
You said it would spare me the pain…
But no one's listening. No one cares. Especially not him.
"You're my soulmate," he said.
"Don't go," she said.
"I could never leave you," he said.
What did she do wrong?
Surely things will get better. Surely she cannot stay this way forever. She has to stand up, to move, to–
But the weight she carries is too much. Collapse, fall, buckle. It's easier that way.
I need you. Come back to me. Please.
Move. Get away. Everyone's worrying about you.
But not him.
Jess had just walked onto the stage. She shook hands with the teacher and received her certificate. I waited with the rest of the graduates, anxiously hopping from foot to foot.
"Isabella Swan!"
Angela grabbed my sleeve as I was about to walk up.
"Smile, Bella!" she whispers, grinning at me. "Try not to trip."
I stepped onto the stage. In the crowd, I saw Charlie and Renee stand up, clapping harder than anyone else. Renee had tears rolling down her cheeks. When my eyes met hers, she gave me a big thumbs up and blew me a kiss. I grinned at her.
"Thank you," I said, taking my certificate and going to stand with Jessica. She bumped shoulders with me and we turned to watch Angela receive her certificate.
Once the graduation was over, I left my friends and pushed through the crowd to find Renee and Charlie.
"Dad!" I flung myself at him at full force, almost crying from happiness.
He held me tightly. "Well done, Bella. I'm so, so proud of you. We both are."
"Thank you, Dad. I love you."
"I love you too, Bells. I'm proud of how far you've come."
I pulled out of the hug to smile at him, then Mom swooped in and wrapped her arms around me.
"How do you feel, Bella?" she asked.
"Amazing," I replied, and I really did feel amazing. In fact, I hadn't felt this amazing in a long time.
"So," Charlie said, awkwardly. "Graduation party now."
I laughed. "It's only at Jessica's. I promise, Dad, no drinking, no smoking, and no sex."
"Right, well–"
"And I'll be back home by midnight."
Charlie took a deep breath, looking extremely uncomfortable. "Well, actually, your mother's convinced me. You can stay over tonight. And if you do want to…" He waved an arm at me, opened his mouth as if to say more, then closed it again.
"What he means to say," Mom began, "Is just be careful. Remember, use protection and no excessive consumption of alcohol."
"Right." Charlie was staring at the floor, his expression mortified. "Yes."
"Don't worry, Dad," I said. "I'll be careful."
He looked up and gave me a one-armed hug. "Yes. We'll go back home so you can pack a few things you'll need, and then I'll drive you to Jessica's. How's that sound?"
"Perfect."
Holding a half-full paper cup, I pushed my way through the crowd until I found Angela.
"Wow, this party's brilliant," I said.
"I know right," Angela agreed. "Oh, Ben's over there. I'm going to go talk to him." She gave me a smile, then disappeared amongst the partiers.
Me? I made a beeline for the guy standing in the corner with a few of his friends. Jason, he was called. Tall, light hair, and a really cute smile. When I reached him, he extended an arm towards me, took me by the hand and pulled me closer.
"Hi, Bella," he said, before giving me a quick kiss.
"Hey, Jason. You enjoying the party?"
"Yeah. But it just got better."
I couldn't help but smile. It felt great to be able to be with someone else, rather than mope about Edward all night and day.
It had been months since he'd left Forks and, true to his word, I hadn't seen hide nor hair of him or any of the Cullens. Some nights, he still haunted me, plaguing my dreams with all the possibilities, both of what could have been, and how differently things could have ended. But for the most part, I was happy. Happy and safe.
"Hey, come on, I wanna go somewhere quieter." Jason gently tugged my arm and led me into the garden. "You okay?"
I nodded. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good. Um, I've got something for you." He reached into his trouser pocket and brought out a little black box. He snapped it open and a simple, glimmering necklace lay inside. "Turn around."
As I did so, I pulled my hair up. Jason lifted the necklace over my head and rested the silver links around my neck.
"Thank you," I whispered, turning to face him again. This was another way in which Jason was far better than Edward. Edward already had everything he could ask for; he could have anything money could buy. What could I ever have possibly got for him? With Jason, it was easier. I gifted him that CD he wanted, he gave me a bracelet. We exchanged books, bought dinner for each other. There was never any imbalance, never a feeling of inadequacy.
"You look beautiful, Bella." He cupped my cheek and gave me a long, gentle kiss. And it was a relief to feel warmth rather than a chill.
No, I didn't miss Edward. Not at all.