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Chapter 38
Day of Fear
Edward
On the way to the meeting, I was paged by the law office.
I called back immediately.
"What is it, Miss Denali?", I asked.
"I really need some more signatures, Mr. Volturi, it's piling up here. The papers from the Cullen case and the ones from the Smith/Miller case should be out today. Mr. Smith has already called ..."
"Yes, I'll come by for a moment," I interrupted her flood of words and cut the connection.
So I went over to the other building, quickly signed the papers on my desk, let Tanya's ramblings wash over me and then walked back to the palace.
Great, almost nine thirty. I would definitely be late for the meeting. Dad would definitely not be thrilled about it and would reprimand me later.
A guard opened the door to the assembly hall for me and I entered.
Around the huge long table sat at least sixty Volturi guards discussing crosswise. Dad was arguing rather loudly with Aro, Caius was standing next to them.
So everything was as usual. Probably my absence was hardly noticed.
Jasper looked briefly at me and nodded in a friendly manner. He was talking to Marcus.
Emmett waved at me, grinning broadly because he was clearly bored, and since there was an empty seat next to him, I went over there and slid into the chair next to him.
It was quite noisy because everyone was talking in confusion. Besides, it was warm in here. Some had already taken off their cloaks and hung them over the backs of the chairs.
"Why are you so late?" asked Em.
"James is hunting, so I was going to get Demetri. But he was probably already here, so I had to have Laurent come. Then the law office paged me and I had to sign something quickly," I enumerated annoyed.
Emmett nodded.
"Sounds great," he said wryly.
I let my gaze wander through the round.
Ah ... Demetri.
"So Isabella is in your rooms with Laurent now?" asked Emmett.
"Yeah, yes, but I'll send Demetri up to them straight away ... or what do you think?" I asked.
"Where's Alec?" asked Emmett.
I did not see him.
Neither did Emmett.
Aro only.
Then several things happened at the same time.
Emmett looked at me with concern.
My cell phone rang and so did Dad's, Jasper's followed.
Alice!, I thought, looking at the display of the cell phone.
Demetri sought my gaze.
"Alice?", I asked when I had accepted the call.
"ISABELLA, Princess bath, ALEC!" yelled Alice into the receiver.
"NO!", I screamed and immediately I ran.
Demetri, Jasper, Dad and Emmett followed me directly.
Dad seemed to be still on the phone with Mom while he was running, who was also screaming hysterically.
"Where?" exclaimed Jasper.
"Princess bath," I called out.
Jasper ran another way and Emmett immediately responded and accompanied him.
The other three of us ran down the main hallway by the quickest route and then down the stairs.
The closer we got to the bathhouse, the greater my fear became!
Why hadn't Alice warned me sooner, damn it? And why was Bella in the bathhouse anyway and not upstairs in our rooms? Once again ... damn!
Even from a distance I saw a palace guard lying dead at the door of the bathhouse.
In a pool of blood. It was a guard from above. Damn, why had she chosen a human guard? We also had two vampires standing up there, didn't we?
I shot into the bathhouse, Dad and Demetri following.
The first thing I stumbled upon was Laurent.
Oh my god, he looked bad.
I looked around.
I thought my heart would break into a thousand pieces.
She was floating in the magnolia pool. With her face in the water. The water was red and it smelled of blood. Isabella's blood.
I cried out in desperation and ran, jumping into the pool and pulling her into my arms.
She was dead ... oh god ... DEAD!
Lifeless, she hung in my arms.
"Isabella," I sobbed desperately.
Dad jumped into the water next to me and shoved me out.
As if mechanically, I moved and carried the body of my beloved wife out of the water.
My brothers rushed in and immediately ran to us.
I dropped to my knees and Dad spread out a towel.
"Put she on there," he commanded, and I obeyed.
I was in a trance. Dead, my wife. I felt so empty.
Good bye my lover, good bye my friend, James Blunt sang in my head. I'm so hollow, so hollow, I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow. Empty. Alone. One half was gone.
Dad fiddled on Isabella and I hummed Blunt's song. (James Blunt - Goodbye, my Lover)
"It may be over but it won't stop there, I am here for you if you'd only care ", I sang.
Jasper picked up Dad's bag. Emmett went to get something.
"You touched my heart you touched my soul. You changed my life and all my goals."
The song was so appropriate and I sang louder. It hurt so much. When I sang, the pain became less. That was good.
"Demetri, hold her aside like this," Dad said to him and he tipped my wife to the side.
I looked at her beautiful back, so delicate ...
"And love is blind and that I knew when, hmm, hmm, hmm, I've kissed your lips and held your head. Shared your dreams and shared your bed. hmm, hmm, hmm, I know your smell."
Oh yes, her scent, she always smelled so incredibly good.
I hummed and her scent swirled around my nose.
I felt it float into my body and fill me, spreading inside me like a bud opening for the first time and pouring its color, its warmth, its fragrance into me...
"Jasper, hold on to this. - Needle. - Bigger! - Swab!"
Dad was a good doctor. But so was Jasper. I already had a great family.
"I've been addicted to you."
Yes, I'm addicted to you, to you, to your voice, your scent, your soft skin, your laugh, your closeness... Dad kissed Isabella, how funny. Why did he do that? Well ... never mind.
"Goodbye my lover. Goodbye my friend. You have been the one. You have been the one for me."
Yes, you are the only one for me, Isabella. So beautiful.
I hummed.
Jasper pricked my wife.
Oh ...
"Give me that, Emmett!" he said.
Oh yes, here we were all squatting in a circle around them. Demetri, Dad, Jasper, Emmett, me - and what has the Volturi-Circle achieved? Nothing.
"I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile. I've watched you sleeping for a while."
Yes, you always sleep so sweetly in my arm. So sweet... hmm..., I hummed and dreamed about our bed, her regular breathing...
"Emmett, give me that - Jasper, hold that - where's the stretcher?", I heard Dad say.
As always the command ...
"I'd be the father of your child. I'd spend a lifetime with you."
Yes, we wanted to have a baby. No, two.
I had to laugh.
How crazy we were, two at once. So beautiful.
"And I love you, I swear that's true. I cannot live without you."
Yes, I swear to you. I love you and I can't survive without you. I also want to die. Do you think there is a heaven? A God? Would the latter take me old murderer? Certainly not, I would burn in hell. And my angel? My sweet Bella angel - she would sit in heaven and play the harp. So even in death I would not be able to be with her. Never again.
"Put them on top of that. Emmett, give me the blanket there. Demetri, call the assembly hall and have Aro arrested."
Dad was a real multitasker. I always thought men couldn't do that?
"Goodbye my lover. Goodbye my friend. You have been the one. You have been the one for me."
The only one for me, that's you, yes ... that's you.
They lifted Bella onto a stretcher and Dad was already hanging over her again with some syringes.
What was he doing all that work for? Dead is dead, he of all people should know that.
"James, you're just in time. Please, carry Edward upstairs. He seems to be completely zoned out mentally. Emmett, see if you can patch up Laurent and take him upstairs. I'll take care of him later," Dad said.
His voice sounded so far away. I am so empty. So alone.
"I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow. I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow. I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow. I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow!", I sang out loud.
James. Oh yes, dear James. Why did he lift me up now? Anyway, I leaned against him and closed my eyes. He had often carried my wife around like that. My sweet little wife. This pain inside me. I'm so hollow. I'm so empty.
At some point, someone shook me.
I opened my eyes ... and looked into Dad's face. He was looking at me worriedly.
"Hello, son," he said softly.
"Hi, Dad," I said.
I looked around.
My living room. My sofa, on which I was lying there. How had I gotten here? What had happened? Had I fainted, had I been asleep?
Irritated, I looked at Dad and sat up.
Like a wrecking ball, the memory came back.
Alec. - Isabella. - Bathhouse. - Blood. - Dead.