The door opens again and the light is painful as it hits my eyes. The copper of her hair looks like fire in the evening light as she walks forward, grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls me out into the light again.

"Your friends are almost here," she says into my ear and begins walking with my hair in her fist, dragging me as we go out a side door, around the abandoned building and down a long pier leading to the shore, a wall of trees just a few yards up from the beach. William holds Valerie in his arms following Victoria and I along the pier.

We get to the beach as three wolves appear from the trees; first is a very large black wolf with bright yellow eyes, followed by a red russet colored wolf, and a silver wolf…Paul. They had been running and were heaving large plumes of steam into the chilly evening air.

"I'd keep your distance," Victoria says, as she pulls another longer butterfly blade from the back of her jeans, "unless you like to die slowly and painfully."

The wolves snarl, baring their teeth viciously and I look at Paul as his eyes flit to mine and I feel his ache, his anxiety, his rage and his fear all mix together with the hopelessness and frustration that courses through me.

My head pops up to more sounds coming from the woods and it's a group of people walking through the trees and as the shadows of the trees begin to lift as they step into the light, I recognize Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, and…

Edward.

I feel my stomach drop as he looks directly at me and I can't breathe for a moment. I feel Victoria's grip tighten in my hair.

"Victoria it doesn't have to be this way, please," Carlisle pleads with her, "let her go, killing her won't bring back-,"

"Shut-up," she snaps, her eyes flashing and all of the vampire's eyes flash, their teeth bare as they hiss and growl in warning. William stands at Victoria's side with Valerie in his arms and the vampires straighten up.

"No," I hear Esme breath as she sees Valerie, "Victoria how could you?"

"She's mine, she's James and mine," she says, touching Valerie's soft strawberry blond curls; Valerie's red irises flash to Victoria and there's nothing there…no adoration, no love, no recognition…it's just bloodlust and primal instinct, nothing more.

"This is treason, Victoria the Volturi will not exercise leniency for child transformation," Carlisle says, his voice dark with warning, "you know the law."

"I don't give a fuck about those old Italian bastards and their archaic laws," Victoria shrieks shrilly back at him. "They'll never find us, anyway."

"She's insane," I say through hoarse and damaged vocal cords and she drops me hard onto the rocky sand.

Edward's eyes lock onto me and I breathe as I remember the way those eyes made me feel…the way my body would yield to their gaze, held captive with each glance of those amber pools, and in that time, I was lost to him. I wanted to have every moment to be in his gaze, in his arms, on his lips…but now.

The wolves snarl and snap their jaws taking a few steps closer, the vampires hissing at the flanks of the wolves and my heart rate skyrockets. Valerie screeches from William's arms as Paul lunges forward. Before Paul can reach the dock, Valerie is on his back, digging her nails into his head and he wails and doubles over, trying to shake her off. I immediately feel the sharp agony along my scalp and scream out as I put my hands on my head. Carlisle grabs Valerie, restraining her with tremendous effort while Paul begins changing back into his human form as he yells out with his hands over his head, blood pooling freely onto the sand.

"Stop," I yell and apart from Paul's moans and grunts in pain everyone and everything is still. "…she just wants me."

"Don't be ridiculous, Bella," Edward snaps, his teeth bared the muscles in his jaw rigid.

…Bella don't you dare…

And I sigh as I hear his voice, reminding my body that I'm alive…for now. The tears begin to run down my cheeks.

I have to.

"Don't you fucking dare," Paul yells out from the ground.

"It's okay," I whisper and I come to my knees, Victoria looks down at me as I say, "I-I'm ready."

I look at Paul, his dark hair matted with blood, his face twisted in pain and panic. I hear his voice in my mind and in the air begging me to run, not to do this, to save myself…

"I'm sorry," I whisper as I feel the shame of my own weakness, unable to do something more, to snap Victoria's neck…I hate that falling for Edward got me here, and now I watch helplessly as the one I'm supposed to have forever with, lies bloody and screaming on the ground…and he has to watch this happen, "I'm so sorry."

I breathe, feeling the air fill my lungs for the last time and I think of Spain as Victoria picks me up by my hair again. In Spain, I see Paul on the white sand diving into the teal water of the Mediterranean and then pulling me in after him as Victoria's teeth sink into my neck, the searing pain like a veil behind the moments that I'm creating in my mind. I see Paul carrying me into a home we built together in the woods, as I feel her pull my blood into her mouth and I feel weaker…slower…and then there's more sharp pain on my other arm, more teeth, more blood being spilled into another mouth as I turn to see Valerie who must have escaped the iron grasp of Carlisle somehow and is now draining me from my forearm.

My eyes are heavy as the pictures begin to fade and the flurry of activity around me is a wash of blurring color and sound.

…Bella, hold on… he's shrieking into my mind…

Paul.

And then there's screaming as teeth and mouths leave my neck and arm as I feel my body crumple to the sand...but I can't raise my head, I can barely keep my eyes open as the blood curdling screaming persists, gurgling and splattering and I want to see what's happening but I can't…I can't move my body…

I'm about to close my eyes but I need to say it…I need to say it before I go.

I love you, Paul…I love you…I love you…I love you…

And then there is nothing left.

Muffled sound, like voices above water…it's faint and I haven't decided I want to hear it all the way yet. Because I know I have to be dead and I was going to discover what was next…

But then light begins to pierce through the shade of my eyelids and the muffled sound starts to become more clear as I near the surface and into consciousness, and as I breach the surface I inhale sharply and then the voices are clear.

"Bella,"

My eyelids creak open and I find Carlisle staring at me and everything hurts.

"You're going to be alright, Bella," Carlisle assures me and sits down on the bed by my hip, his hand over mine.

And if I could I would take my hand away, but as it is I feel like I weigh a thousand pounds. Every part of me feels weak and heavy, like I had taken all the narcotics in a pharmacy. I'm in a large bedroom, in a large bed with soft sheets, and dim sunlight creeps into through the windows…it looks like a guest room.

"Wha,-" I begin and it hurts to speak. Everything on my neck and throat feels tender and sore. I try to clear my throat while Carlisle holds a water cup with a straw to my lips and I drink. "What happened?"

"The man Victoria kept calling James ran off. Jasper and Alice are looking for him now," he says, setting down the cup on the nightstand next to me turning on a light and I squint my eyes. "Victoria and the child however, are dead."

I clear my throat, "how?"

"Well that is a bit of a mystery," he says, crossing his legs resting his hand on his knee as he looks at me, "they bit you and started drinking from you and something about your blood," he says and pinches his eyebrows together, "I've never seen it before, Bella."

"What happened?" I rasp out in a breath.

"It was like they drank poison, Bella," he says and his eyes were inquisitive, curious, and for the first time ever, I saw that Carlisle Cullen in some small amount, was scared… "it looked like it liquified their insides and they died very quickly, albeit painfully."

My brain was foggy as he told me what happened.

"You are also somehow immune to vampire venom, which is something I've never seen before and Bella, you lost a lot of blood, you need to rest," Carlisle puts one of his hands back over my arm, "I'll call Charlie for you, let him know you're here and safe."

And I want to fight, I want to push him away and storm out; but I can't move, my body feels like lead as he gently rubs my arm.

"Why did you come back?" I ask Carlisle, trying to shift slightly, finding it was a bit fruitless.

"First Sam Uley and Billy Black called me to tell me that you were taken by Victoria and another vampire, how they attacked two of their wolves with wolfsbane," he takes a breath and says, " and then Victoria called me and I heard you scream, but we were already on our way after Sam and Billy called."

"You know the wolves?" I say.

"When we first came to this territory, we came across the Quileute tribal nation and their wolves. We made a treaty to keep the peace, promising we wouldn't cross into Quileute territory to hunt and that we would never bite a human under any circumstances while we remained in Forks. I remained friendly with the tribal heads for many years to maintain the peace amongst the Quieute wolves."

Then someone else comes through the door and as my eyes adjust I see that it's Edward and I close my eyes wanting to make this whole scene stop.

"Bella, do you know why you're immune to the venom and why Victoria and the child died the way they did?" Carlisle asks.

"I…I don't know," I rasp out.

"I think I might," Edward says quietly and we both look at him. "Bella, did you know one of the wolves imprinted on you?"

"Yes," I say, my chest aching as I thought of Paul and the flash of green eyes in his brown eyes.

"The way the silver wolf kept thinking about you, talking about you…he's in love with you Bella," Edwards says.

"I know," I say and the tears threaten to spill over my eyes as my chin quivers as Spain, the teal sea, and our home in the woods flash across my mind, "you think the imprint did this?"

"It's the only thing that I can think that would make any kind of sense," Edward says as his eyes search mine that are filling fast with tears.

"You didn't answer my question, Carlisle," I say, my eyes switching back to meet him and he furrows his brow, "why did you come back?'

"Bella," he says slowly and his face looks solemn as he looks down to the floor.

"You left me," I say as a tear streaks down my cheek and I want to slap it away, but it's too hard, so I let it be, "all of you."

"I know," Carlisle says as Edward shifts uncomfortably behind him, "I suppose we thought it would be easier…for both of you but," he pauses and takes a breath, "Bella I'm so sorry this happened, we would have come sooner if Alice could have seen anything, but we had no idea you were close with the wolves and her sight is blocked when they're around."

Well that answered a few questions I suppose. I nod as I clear my throat gingerly.

"Bella, please know that we didn't want any of this. We never stopped caring for you,"

I smile weakly and I want to say, "yeah right," but the fight in me is as heavy as my limbs.

Carlisle looks up to Edward and then stands, "I think my son has a few things to say."

And god if that wasn't the last thing I wanted right now, "can it wait?"

Edward looked at me and I've never seen his face so screwed up, like someone had just ripped his heart out of his chest and I hated it. I didn't want him to be in pain but I was just so angry with him…

"I just…need to sleep a little more, I think," I say as another tear streaks down my face.

Edwards nods as he takes Carlisle's spot and puts his hand over mine and it's different this time. The feeling I had when he touched me before used to overwhelm me but now I just appreciated him showing me there was still some part of him that cared, however small. I know there was still love for him inside of me…but it had shifted, making room for something bigger.

He stares at me quietly just like he used to in my room at night as I drift off to sleep.

I'm on the back of a Harley Davidson, a tight helmet on my head, as my arms hold tightly around his waist, I breathe in the faint smell of his cologne as the warm air rushes across my skin, his calloused hand and fingertips rest over mine around his waist.

Enamorado de ti…mi vida…I love you…mi hermosa…

I feel the velvet texture of his voice sweep across my mind as we ride through bright sunshine and winding hot roads.

…I miss you…

And my eyes pop open and I'm already crying as I sit up, my body feeling lighter than it had before, my head more clear.

Paul?

And there's no static…just silence.

I pull down the covers finding I'm clean and in a soft dark gray pajama set. I set my feet on the ground and attempt to stand. I feel a little sore, like I had exercised too hard the day prior but I could move and hold my own weight. I got up and saw my jeans, sweatshirt, and undergarments clean and neatly folded on the end of the bed. I change into them quickly and I'm tugging my boots back on when there are gentle raps on the door.

"It's open…I think," I say and the door opens, Esme and Alice walk in and I wonder if Alice and Jasper found William since she's back…

"Hi Bella," Esme says, "I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Yeah, I'm good," I say feeling awkward as I stand leaning on the foot of the bed frame.

"Can we bring you anything?" Esme asks, wringing her hands as she stands as awkwardly as I do.

Then Alice comes up and hugs me and I don't know why I want to cry again. I'm tired of crying so much, but Alice's familiar embrace and scent is nice. Her short dark hair tickles my nose.

"I should have just stayed, Bella," she whispers, "my brother is an idiot and I should have stayed with you."

"It's okay Alice," I say, gently patting her back, "you all did what you thought was best." I shuffle my feet as she keeps her hand on my shoulder, "did you and Jasper catch William?"

"Yes," she says and clicks her tongue, "he's no match for us."

"Did you kill him?" I ask, remembering the brief flashes of humanity in his eyes when I said his name, speaking to him like he still existed.

"We didn't," she says, "but the wolves did."

"What?"

"Yeah, the wolves needed justice for what he did to their pack," she says, shrugging her shoulders.

Paul and Quil, "do you know what happened to Quil?"

"Oh um, Bella," and her eyes fell to the floor, "I don't know which one Quil was, but I know one of them didn't survive."

My breath caught in my throat. As much as Quil bothered the hell out of me, I never wanted him to die. My legs wobble a bit and Alice steadies me in her arms. This was my fault, it was my fault Quil was dead.

"Are you okay, Bella?" Alice says as she helps me stand back up.

"Um, I just…I knew him."

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize he was a friend," Alice says and she looks over to Esme as they share concerned looks.

"Well, I mean, I don't know if he actually liked me all that much actually," I chuckle and then say, "but he died trying to help me."

And that realization hurt like hell.

It's quiet for a few long moments.

"Will you stay for dinner, Bella?" Esme asks, clumsily trying to change the subject.

"You mean be the only one eating while you all watch?" I laugh darkly and then I feel a little bad as Esme's face falls, she was trying to be nice. "I'm sorry, um, thank you but I think I should get back. I'm sure you all have your lives to get back to before I interrupted."

"Interrupted?" Alice scoffs, "Bella you are basically family, we will always come if you need us."

And I didn't know how to respond to that. Because why? Why did she feel like I was a part of the family when they all left me…with a certifiably insane vampire that had a vendetta against me. It didn't add up.

"Thank you for doing all that you did," I say, feeling the frustration and anger simmer beneath the surface. I know it was most likely not Alice and Esme's decision. Alice even said herself she would have stayed, but I was still frustrated that they complied, "I'd love to get back to Charlie if that's okay." And find Paul.

"Oh okay," Esme says and she and Alice step to the side.

I begin to walk to the door but then I hesitate at the threshold and turn to wrap them both in my arms. It was weird for me to be forward with this type of affection, but I felt like I needed to and as I squeezed them both, it started to feel less awkward and more warm.

"I love you both," I say, and I mean it. No matter how angry I am at them for leaving, I will always love them.

Esme sniffles as she rubs my back, "we love you too, sweetheart. I'm sorry it had to be this way."

"Me too," I say and I don't realize that I'm crying until I've walked through the door.

I walk through the house and head out the front door and see that Edward is leaning up against my truck.

"Hi," I say.

"Hello Bella," as he opens the driver's side door for me.

"Thanks," I say as I sit in the driver's seat and find my keys in my jeans pocket and put the key in the ignition and turn the key as Edward slides into the passenger's seat, "what are you doing?"

"We need to talk," he says.

"You want to talk now?" I say, looking at him with my hands on the steering wheel.

"No time like the present," he says nonchalantly.

"Okay Edward, where would you like to begin?" as I put the truck in drive and pressed on the accelerator.

"We can start with me apologizing to you," he says, "Bella I'm sorry for leaving you, I'm sorry I put you in danger, I just thought…"

"You just thought…"

"...I thought that you deserved better."

And there it was again and the cork that was barely containing my rage popped off with such tenacity that I'm surprised the top of my head is still intact.

"You know what, Edward? I do deserve better. I think it's shitty you chose to leave me to show me that was what I fucking needed or deserved. That doesn't equal love to me."

"I thought you could have something normal with someone else."

"Is that what you want? Really?"

"Not really, no."

"Than why the fuck did you leave?" I shriek and he winces slightly, "why?"

"I thought…I don't know Bella, I made a mistake," he says and turns to me more fully, "can you ever forgive me?"

I sigh heavily as I drive down the curved roads through the forest, back to Charlie's. "Yes, I can," and I feel him relax and he reaches over, takes my hand, threading his cool fingers through mine and I realize he doesn't fully understand what I mean. I pull my hand away and his face pinches in confusion.

"When you say you can forgive me…" he says and pauses.

"Edward, when you left, you said to me that you didn't want me. How else was I supposed to interpret that?" I say, my eyes flitting between him and the road.

He stares down at his hands and it's quiet for a few minutes.

"It seemed pretty clear to me that you wanted me to move on. So you expect me to just forget everything and come back to you, even though you said you didn't want me?"

"No, no you're right, Bella. I…I don't know what to say," he says as he rubs the back of his neck and I immediately think of Paul. He would rub the back of his neck whenever I proved him wrong, whenever he apologized; and I ached for Paul to be sitting in my passenger's seat, with his too long legs scrunched up against the glove box and his hands on his thighs, warming up the cabin until I began to sweat. Now it was just cold…and I wanted to burn, not freeze.

"Edward, I…" I began but then paused to think things through a little more. "I love you, I will always love you, but when you said you didn't want me, I believed you. So I moved on, just like you asked."

He looked at me and my heart squeezed painfully in my chest as I saw those golden eyes fill with tears. His heart was breaking and as bad as I feel, there was nothing for it at this point. What's done is done and I can't go back. I won't go back.

It's quiet the rest of the way to Charlie's and as I pull up to the driveway, Edward is out and opening my door faster than I can blink.

"Thanks," I say and he walks behind me as I reach the front door. I see the light from the TV on in the livingroom and I wonder what Carlisle told Charlie.

"Bella," Edward says behind me and I turn. "Will you…" he licks his lips as he looks down to his feet, "will you let me hold you, one last time?"

I swallow as I say, "yes," and he steps up to me and wraps his arms around me and his scent is familiar and nostalgic: of meadows with white and purple flowers, of tall trees and dancing under fairylite gazebos, stolen kisses at my window and in my bed…and it felt wonderful to hold him again. To feel his embrace was like coming home and it reminded me of a part of me that never knew how deeply I could love someone until I met him. It was a part of my memory now and it was beautiful…but it was then, not now. Not my present where I burned alive for the flash of green in pools of tawny brown, calloused hands, and a deep baritone voice…

"I love you, Edward," I say.

"I love you too, Bella," he says, taking a step back as a tear streaks down his cheek. He turns away from me when he reaches the sidewalk and then in a blink he is gone.