Chapter Two
Bella – Flashback
I woke to the sound of her crawling through the window, grinning like a little kid as she stumbled over the sill and into the room. She wore her boyfriend's leather jacket—way too big for her—but it somehow still hugged her figure like it belonged. Everything about her felt louder, brighter. Healthier.
I glared at her, unimpressed, as she flopped down beside me on the bed and let out a long, satisfied sigh.
"Mom's gonna kill you," I muttered, watching her stare up at the ceiling, completely unfazed.
"It doesn't matter," she said, still smiling.
"You were gone for three days, Anna. Trust me. She's gonna kill you."
"I left a note."
"That note was shorter than the last shopping list I wrote," I shot back.
She looked over at me, her smile softening, fingers brushing my arm. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be gone so long."
I wanted to be mad, I really did—but I couldn't. Not with the way she tucked my hair behind my ear, not with the way she looked at me like I was all that mattered.
"Where did you even go?"
"I had to take care of something. But I won't go again. I swear." Her fingers kept running through my hair, soothing me, calming me. She knew exactly what I needed to hear, even if I didn't believe her.
She curled in close, resting her head on my shoulder. And just like that, the tension in my body eased. Like she'd flipped a switch and made the world quiet again.
"God, he's gorgeous," she whispered eventually, her voice dreamy. "You did well."
I groaned. "I don't want to talk about this again."
"You said no more specifics," I reminded her, locking our fingers together.
"This one deserves specifics," she teased. "Edward is… damn. Very easy on the eye."
I snorted. "I feel sorry for him."
"Why?"
"What kind of normal guy ends up with a headcase like me?"
She lifted her head in a flash, eyes sharp. "Don't say that. Don't even think it."
I didn't answer. Just stared up at the ceiling, biting my tongue.
She settled back beside me, arm draped over my waist.
"And for the record," she added, "I said he was gorgeous. I never said he was normal. There's nothing normal about him."
Of course. Another mystery, another piece of her grand prophecy. I didn't know what to believe anymore. I wanted to. But it felt like trying to hold water in my hands.
"You'll see," she whispered. "Everything's going to be okay."
I blinked fast against the sudden sting in my eyes.
"It won't be. Not if I lose you."
She didn't argue. Just pulled me tighter into her chest.
But even as I held onto her, I could feel her slipping.
She was a ticking clock, and I knew one day she'd go off and take everything with her. And when she did, I'd be left in the wreckage, bleeding out with no way to put myself back together.
Present day
She was right.
He was gorgeous.
But "gorgeous" felt like a weak word for someone like him.
I blinked up at him as he knelt beside me, panic tightening his features. His hand trembled where it rested against my arm. His eyes scanned my face again and again, like he didn't believe I was really awake.
"You're okay," he breathed, like he needed to say it out loud just to make it true.
I wanted to stay in that moment longer—wanted to take him in, to memorize him—but my body had other plans. My eyelids dragged shut, no matter how badly I wanted to stay awake.
I felt his arms slide beneath me. He lifted me easily, holding me against his chest. His voice followed me into unconsciousness, soft and almost desperate.
"It's okay. You're okay."
But I knew better. I knew that wasn't true.
Still, I let the sound of his voice anchor me as the darkness pulled me under again.
I woke to sunlight.
Warm, golden light spilled through the open curtains like it belonged here, like it wasn't intruding on the grief and decay that had filled this room for weeks.
It was so unfamiliar it startled me.
I rolled onto my back, and just like that, everything came rushing back.
The pain. The fall. Him.
My breath hitched, and I looked around the room. He was there—exactly where I'd hoped he'd be.
He sat in the old armchair beside my bed, elbows on his knees, eyes locked on mine.
I sat up too quickly, dizzy but unable to look away. He didn't speak at first, just watched me.
I should've said something. Anything.
"Um… hi," I mumbled.
"Hey," he said, sitting up straighter, his hands clasped together in his lap.
"You're Bella, right?"
I stared at him. His voice. His face. The familiarity in his gaze.
"You knew her," I said quietly. I didn't have to say her name. He knew.
His eyes softened. He nodded, looking down at his hands for a beat before speaking.
"I met Anna eight months ago."
Edward – Flashback
The house was finally quiet.
I sat at the piano, letting the silence settle into my bones. My family had left for the weekend, and for the first time in weeks, I could hear only myself. No thoughts. No interruptions.
Just the keys beneath my fingers.
Then—noise. A heartbeat. Too steady to be a deer.
Then a knock.
I opened the door expecting confusion. Instead, I found a girl standing there like she'd been waiting for me.
She looked me up and down, nodded to herself. "Hi."
"Hi," I said, thrown by the silence inside her mind. Nothing. Just the beat of her heart and the sound of her voice.
"You can help me," she said like it was obvious. "I'm Anna."
She extended her hand. I didn't take it.
"You should shake my hand, Edward. It's polite… and human."
My mouth fell open. Two things wrong with that sentence.
Still, I shook her hand.
She smiled, then walked right past me into the house. Straight up the stairs like she'd been here before.
I followed her to the living room, unsure whether to be impressed or alarmed.
"You can sit," she said, patting the space beside her.
When I didn't move, she added, "I don't bite."
"I do," I muttered.
She didn't laugh. Just tilted her head.
"I need your help."
I finally sat down. Something about her made me want to listen.
She told me about her sister. About what was coming. About Bella.
And somehow, I believed her.
Edward – Present Day
I tried to talk to her. At the pharmacy. In the parking lot. At her front door.
I wanted to give her time. But I couldn't—not when I heard her crying. Not when I felt her fall.
I knew her before I met her. I had watched her sleep. Sat by her side while she burned. I knew the sound of her breathing, the color of her fear.
And I loved her.
It happened quietly, while she didn't even know I was there.
It wasn't complicated.
It was just true.
But now I was useless. I couldn't help her. I couldn't even understand her.
She was a blind spot, just like Anna.
Alice couldn't see her future. Carlisle couldn't explain her symptoms. Nothing made sense.
Anna had asked me to stay, to help Bella. But I didn't know how.
I watched Bella now as she processed what I'd said. "Eight months ago," she echoed, voice tight.
Her expression fell. I realized Anna had never told her.
"She wanted me to find you right away," I said gently, hoping to soften the blow.
"Why?"
"She didn't want you to be alone."
Bella closed her eyes, her jaw tightening.
A long silence passed.
"You saw me in town?" she asked eventually. "Right after I got here."
"I did. And for a second, I thought…" I paused. "I thought you were her."
She looked at me and nodded. "I know. We look the same."
Too much the same. It shouldn't have been that exact. Even their smiles were identical.
"I tried to talk to you, but you looked like you needed space. Then I heard you…"
"You've been here this whole time?" she whispered.
"I didn't want to leave you."
"You don't even know me," she snapped.
I smiled softly. "Well. Let's change that, shall we?"