Take A Bow

Bella's POV

ca. a day after Bella's 18th birthday party

Tears were streaming down her face. Her vision was blurry, and she tasted salt on her tongue. Here she was, standing in the middle of a forest clearing Edward had rushed her off to. One that she had not been to before.

Her Edward. She flinched at the memories of the party. He had touched her and the next thing she knew she was flying across the room. Painful stinging ran through her body. She had been dazed. Wondering where the red came from that was covering both her hands. Her left eyebrow ached, and a warm thick liquid was quickly seeping into her vision.

She had felt nothing. She was numb, watching the chaos in front of her unfold. She could not even track the movement of the vampires, nausea taking over as she tried.

Bella had closed her eyes in response. Suddenly, the air curled around her, and cold hard hands handled her delicately. Before she had finished even processing the thought of how she was flying, she felt something soft below her. The smell of cedar wood and antiseptic filled her nostrils. She willed her eyes to open. Looking up, she gazed into the golden eyes of Carlisle as he examined her. He murmured some words of encouragement as he treated her. He had patched up the deep gash on her leg, as well as the cut on her right elbow, and carefully stitched her left eyebrow.

Bella had not really said anything while Carlisle was working on her. She had stared into the distance, asking every so often about Edward's whereabouts. Carlisle had not answered. Her fingers tingled. Her head was pounding. The numb feeling had disappeared, and her body started to ache. But she was here. She was alive. Without him here, to support her during her injuries. Without him. The thought was stuck on repeat. A knife twisted in her chest.

“Don’t you understand?!” Edward almost yelled at her. His voice cut straight through her train of thought. His eyes were dark and dull. Focusing somewhere in the distance.

“What is there to understand?” Bella countered. “This was a risk. A risk I willingly took.” She did not know where she had mustered the strength to keep her voice level.

Edward’s eyebrows shot up, and his eyes hardened. “This was never a risk that you should have taken.”

Bella opened her mouth to reply. She needed to. But Edward cut in.

“It. Was. Not. Yours. To. Take” he bit towards her. For a split second, his face showed a myriad of emotions. Too many to identify. And then all his features relaxed. A blank canvas.

She looked at him. Her eyes were burning. Her head felt like it was splitting open. She tried her hardest to find any words, but her efforts went unanswered. Edward continued

“My dear Bella, in the end, you are nothing more than a mere distraction. A way to pass the time. And that time has run out. Your mind, your human mind, is like a sieve. We will leave. You will forget. In the end, your life will be as simple as that.”

Bella just stood there, the words not setting in, “B-but.. how? Why?”

“It was never meant to be.”

“Edward. It has been a year.. a year?!” she cried out. The cold September wind hit her face. The turmoil in her head was taking over. A thousand questions ran through her.

“A great year, but nothing more than that." He quickly glanced at her, before continuing, "I love you, Bella. I love how you blush at every compliment. I love how you bite your lip when you are nervous. I love the way you immerse yourself in books. I love the way your heart beats faster when you are with me. I love your humanity. I love you, the you that you are now.”

She sniffled quietly. A solemn tear fell down her cheek. Her body stood still, but her mind was racing a 100 miles per hour. The one thought, that she kept coming back to, left her lips. She spoke clearly, mustering all of the courage she had left.

“But I will not always be like this. I am human. I age. I will change.”

The corners of Edward’s mouth curled up in a way she had not seen before. His eyes got an unfamiliar glint, as he spoke

“and that, dear Bella, is why you are just. Not. Worth. It.”

And with that crushing sentence, he turned around, and before Bella could even open her mouth to utter any response, he disappeared. The rustling of the forest leaves and the muddy footprints in front of her were the only evidence he had been there.

For a while she just stood there. Devoid of all feelings. The small hole that started in her chest was slowly burning through her body. Pulling her in. Consuming her. There was nothing. There had been nothing, and there would be nothing.

At some point, she dropped to her knees and let out a primal scream. And with that, she let the feeling of nothingness rush over her as she shut her eyes.

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