Bella never knew heartbreak could feel so fatal.

A wound had been inflicted in her heart like a dagger—cold as ice—pierced through her chest again and again as time went by. Whenever the realization that she lost Edward washed over her, Bella's entire body ached as it wanted to curl into itself and hide from everything and everyone. His hurtful words. His hands on her, hurting her. It all made the girl ache like never before.

The morning was spent beside Esme with tears that came in waves, dread filling her stomach as the feeling waned. Esme didn't tell her to stop—not once. If anything, she shared in her loss too. The two women sat on the bed, Esme's arms wrapped around Bella the entire time as she consoled her.

"Would you like to talk about it, honey?" Esme asked her once Bella managed to calm down.

Bella's heart hammered away as she leaned away from Esme's embrace. Her hair fell over her shoulders, obscuring her face with a thick curtain of mahogany waves. Bella wiped her face with the back of her hand as she released a deep shaky breath. She didn't understand why she cried so much. Why did this hurt so much? She and Edward had been together for such a short amount of time, insignificant to the immortal boy as he's lived so many lives by now. Seen much more than she probably ever will. The yearning to join him and his family now seemed ripped away from her completely. What would she possibly do if she did become a vampire now? Now that she no longer had the love of the man who'd claimed she was his life...

It felt as if a part of her life was ripped away, crushed into dust.

Deep down, a small voice fought to be heard over the berating voices that scolded her for being so stupid in the first place. The cruel remarks that Edward made ringed in her head constantly. The small voice was saying compassionately, He betrayed your trust, that's why it hurts.

"I don't think it's something any of you should hear Esme. He's your son." Bella admits with a whisper, choosing to ignore that kind voice that could not be more wrong. It hadn't been...

The will to defend him in her mind seemed useless now. It's not as if he'll care what she thinks of him either way.

It didn't matter now.

Esme's hand cupped Bella's cheek, making the girl look into her soft gold eyes. "Bella you're a part of this family regardless of what Edward—" she paused, noticing Bella's flinch at the mention of his name and corrected herself quickly "—he may be my son but you are like a daughter to both me and Carlisle. You're safe to do and say whatever you want. Trust me. I know it's hard to find that trust again after being betrayed so horribly but our bond, the bond our family has with you, is not broken." The strength in her words mirrored the hard lines on Esme's face, evoking just how troubled she was by this whole situation and how protective she was of Bella.

Tears sprang in her eyes once again and she tried to blink them away, the attempt futile in the end. Bella stared at Esme for a long time, not quite able to say anything to her kind motherly words, so she didn't try.

"I won't push you to talk but know that I'm always here to listen if you need me. When you're ready." Esme spoke softly as she wiped another one of Bella's tears with the back of her hand. The seemingly silver tears that lined Esme's eyes weren't unnoticed and a part of Bella ached for her. She'll never be able to shed tears for me. Or Edward. But she mourns all the same. How is that fair to her?

"I'm sorry, Esme. For all of this."

"Please, don't apologize. You have nothing to apologize for, my love."

"But your family—"

"You are a part of our family just as much as he was..."

Was as if Edward no longer held a space within this house anymore. Not because he left but because he'd been made to leave.

Suddenly frustration kicked into the loss she felt in her heart now. Frustration towards herself, towards Edward, and what he'd done simply because he wanted nothing more to do with her. For the Cullens who had to watch this mess unravel in their house. But a small part of her was immensely grateful that they hadn't disappeared with him as he said they would. They all stayed and wanted her here too. At least, Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper did. The latter was still unclear but Bella couldn't shake away the sense of safety Jasper shared with her as he sat beside her this morning. Bella could still feel his cold hand gripping hers gently as he comforted her. His golden eyes pained as she cried for someone who didn't love her.

Jasper had always been a difficult person to read. It didn't help that he kept his distance from her all the time but for a moment she thought she saw kindness in his eyes in a way that she never had before. The gentle way in which he spoke to her when he asked if she wanted him to leave while Carlisle looked over her injuries comforted her in more ways than he'll probably ever know. A part of her hoped he'd return from his hunt with the others soon if only to feel that warm comfort from him again before she had to leave. Back to her empty, cold bedroom where she'd once spent nights laying beside Edward, listening to his sweet voice as he hummed her his songs.

The ache returned once again but before Bella could be dragged down by thoughts of him again, a knock at the door startled Bella away from Esme's gentle gaze and they turned their attention to the pixie that walked into the room.

Alice smiled brightly at her close friend, "Hi, Bella! I brought you a change of clothes I thought you might like." Placing the small bundle of clothes on the foot of the bed, Alice took a seat on the edge and gently took Bella's hand in hers. There was only a small hint of lament in her friend's eyes but it was swiftly overlooked by excitement as Alice began, "I texted Charlie for you and told him we invited you to go hiking for the weekend. He's gone fishing with Billy Black so he won't see the message until he gets home tomorrow night. He won't mind."

"...Thanks, Alice," Bella whispered.

Alice nodded, gauging the blank look of Bella's face before adding hesitantly, "Unless you want to go back home? If you do, then I can take you to Charlie's and stay the night with you so you're not alone."

"No," Bella shook her head, hesitantly turning to face Esme as she asked, "if it's okay with you...I'd prefer to stay here?"

Esme smiled as placed a kiss atop Bella's head, the simple gesture conveying all the love a mother would have for a child, "Of course, Bella. You're more than welcome to stay as long as you like. I'll be downstairs if you need me." She stood with the tray of half-eaten food Bella barely touched and excused herself, allowing the two young women to speak in private.


"This color looks great on you!" Alice points out with satisfaction as Bella emerged from the bathroom wearing a lavender hoodie and loose-fitting sweatpants. Despite wanting to dress her friend in expensive, form-fitting clothes like she always wants to, Alice knew the best thing to do for Bella now was grant her clothes that were comfortable and loose. According to Esme and Rosalie, there had been bruises and scratches going along her inner thighs and hips. Much to all of their horror upon hearing this last night.

Alice gritted her teeth, more than grateful that Rosalie insisted on taking care of the girl, knowing how much it would have pained Alice to see Bella in the state Jasper had found her in last night. The thought of Edward, her beloved kind brother, doing this to the woman he'd claimed to love to passionately...it made Alice's rage boil under her skin.

Alice took it upon herself to find the best, softest clothes from Bella's home after Charlie left for his fishing trip, packing a small bag with all the essentials and clothes she would need for the weekend. Though Bella's future has been uncertain, Alice wanted to always be prepared, just in case.

"Thanks for getting me these," Bella said, the girl's gaze not quite meeting hers. The silence in the room stretched on, neither of them speaking for a long while as Bella stood awkwardly in the room. Alice did her best to remain seated on the bed, not knowing if her usual burst of energy and conversation was what Bella needed. She bit her lip nervously as she fought the urge to say anything at all to bring that timid smile back on Bella's face.

Bella wrapped her arms around herself as she finally moved to sit back on the bed. Alice kicked her ballet slippers off and folded her legs as she turned to face the girl and asked, "What would you like to do today? Maybe we can watch a movie while we wait for Jasper and the others to return?"

The dark circles under Bella's eyes looked more noticeable than usual against her sickly pale skin. Alice couldn't help but notice the light in her warm brown eyes was dim now, making them look dull and dark.

"Whatever you want, Alice." She finally responded but there was not an ounce of any emotions whatsoever in her voice. Not even to appease her as Bella was known to do with everyone if only to make them happy and not be an "inconvenience".

Reaching her hand out, Alice grabbed Bella's oddly cold hand in her icy one, "Bella? What do you want to do?"

After a long while, she finally answer with a shrug of her shoulders, "...I just want to sleep, honestly."

Without waiting for Alice to answer, Bella crawls back under the covers and curls up into her side, a shiver running over her body as she finally found the warmth her small body probably yearned for.

Alice laid down beside her and watched as her best friend suffered in silence in front of her. Reaching onto once more, Alice places her hand on Bella's cheek.

"Bella I'm so sorry. I didn't see—"

"Alice, it wasn't your fault. None of this is. I never should have tried to fight for him..." Bella's voice has never sounded so small before. So utterly defeated and hollow. It broke Alice's heart to see her friend crumbling before her very eyes.

"Bella it wasn't your fault." No matter how many times Alice would try to convince her otherwise, she knew healing her wounds wasn't something Alice could do. That wasn't her role in all of this. The visions rarely lie her...no matter how blurred Bella's future had become.

Exhaustion was settling over Bella like a warm blanket, Bella's eyes gradually closing more and more even as she said, "I'm sorry. I'm really tired."

"Okay, Bella." Alice wrapped her arm around Bella, settling her hand over the covers to prevent her cold skin from causing discomfort, and smiled sadly even as she knew that Bella was already fast asleep. "We'll be here when you wake up. Jasper will be back soon."


Thanks for reading x