Chapter 33: A reunion with a bad ending

BPOV

I couldn’t believe my eyes. I wanted to ask someone to pinch me in my arm so I would be certain I
hadn’t fallen asleep at the tree and dreamt it all.

“Oh dear god.” Esme gasped behind me, and her voice sounded almost as shocked as I felt. Edward
watched me as well, his golden eyes analyzing my every move. Beside him, Smith and Mia were
standing, smiling slightly as they watched us from the shadows, but my attention was on Edward. I
concentrated on his features, every detail of them, drinking them in.

“I can’t believe it.” I whispered, my voice weak and low, but I was sure he heard it. “I must be
dreaming.” He stared at me like he thought it was a dream as well, and then, in a spilt of a second,
his expression turned into a glorious smile.

Without hesitating, I rose from my seat and proceeded to run towards him, praying to god I would
trip and fall before I got to him. He almost looked surprised by my sudden act as I reached him,
bumping into him before I could stop. I had forgotten how hard he was now… It was like running into
a cold, cement wall.

Edward, whose reactions were a lot faster than mine, caught me before I could fall, and enfolded me
into a gentle yet firm hug. I knew right then that I he had been missing me as much as I had been
missing him. We were holding each other almost franticly, like we were thinking the other one might
disappear into thin air if we let go of each other just a bit. I buried my face into his chest, and felt
how my before empty heart finally beat with purpose and felt how he leaned his head into my hair,
and breathed deeply. We stood like this for a while, not speaking, not moving; just holding each
other.

I heard how the others talked behind us, but I couldn’t hear what they said. They were like murmurs
in the distant; inaudible but still there. But all my senses were on Edward. I took everything in; his
sweet scent, the sound of his deep and even breaths and the way he touched my bare skin with his
cold yet soft hands.

After a while he spoke quietly, but I heard him absolutely perfectly. “I missed you so much.” He
murmured, and breathed again into my hair. Oh god, how I had missed that velvet voice…

“I missed you too.” I said then, finally finding my voice, and I noticed it was shaky. Edward drew my
face back, his hands on both sides of my face, and as he looked at me I noticed how a flash of worry
appeared in his golden eyes.

So different… I thought for myself, studying the color of his eyes with small sorrow. I still missed his
emerald green eyes that I was so familiar with. At least they’re better than red… I reminded myself
quietly.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, and removed a single tear from my cheek with his hand. Surprised, I
touched my face as well, and noticed they were wet. I dried them as carefully as I could,
remembering all the makeup Alice had put on me, and gave him a small smile.
“I’m just really happy to see you.” He gave me a glorious smile back, and I felt how my heart jolted in
my chest by his alien beauty. I had always found him pretty, beautiful even, but the transformation of
a vampire really perfected a person’s features.

“It was a long year.” He agreed, and stroked my cheek gently with his finger.

“Edward!” Alice suddenly yelled behind us (well, it was suddenly to me, since I had been too busy
studying his face), and both of our attention escaped each other just a bit, and we looked back at
Alice. She was standing now in the exact spot I had been sitting on a few minutes ago with one hand
against the sturdy trunk, like she was afraid she might fall. She gave us an exhilarated grin, and I
immediately understood why she had been so happy these last few days. She knew he was going to
come today. She had known for a long time.

“Alice, it’s so good to see you.” Edward responded, and Alice grinned at her brother. She walked over
to us in dancing steps, and as she reached us, she joined us in our hug. After a few seconds, we all let
go, but Edward immediately grabbed my hand, not releasing me completely.

The next half hour or so continued in this matter. Edward and Mia greeted everyone with hugs and
kind words, still remaining in the shadows though, and I never thought none of us had felt happier.

Esme was crying a river as he came to her after Alice, and I had never seen her so relieved before.
Rose did hardly looked ready to cry, but she was a little emotional as Edward came to hug her as
well. Emmet and Jasper rejoined with him with grins, and it almost looked like they never had missed
him, but I knew that they both were glad and relieved he was here again. The only one though that
didn’t receive a hug was Jake. He was standing in his place, stiff and hard with a stern frown on his
face. I didn’t know if he was unhappy that he was back or that he was worried that there were so
many vampires in the same place with so many humans. All I knew was that he was not glad.

We all stepped inside as the sun disappeared behind large, grey clouds that came from the west, and
as we sat down in the sofa, the silence lasted very shortly. We threw ourselves into a vivid discussion
and listened to each other as we explained to one another how our lives had been the past year.

Everyone in Forks except the Cullen’s and the Lewis’s thought Edward was studying abroad, including
my dad, and for Mia…well, she wanted them to know that she was dead. I became very surprised the
first time I heard it, but as the time went, I sort of understood why she wanted it. She was going to
outlive her family and friends no matter how you saw it, and in one way or another, she was going to
have to leave them. So she decided to do it now instead of waiting. She didn’t want to stay in Forks,
but instead go and live with the Denali clan up in Alaska, surprisingly near where Edward and I had
lived a few years ago. Tanya, the leader of the clan, already knew about Mia’s wish, and welcomed
her with open arms. The Denali had a ‘vegetarian diet’, like Smith had, and since Mia didn’t want to
feed on humans like Edward, she decided to join them.

We talked for so long, all of us glad that they were back, but when Smith suddenly announced that
they were leaving, it felt like a punch to my stomach. I felt how all blood disappeared from my face,
and before I knew it, I had collapsed on the floor.

“Bella?!” Edward exclaimed with worry, but I couldn’t figure out where his voice came from; the
world spun in a violent phase, and black spots clouded my vision.
“Don’t go…” I tried to say, but it all came out like mush. I wanted to beg him, to scream that I wanted
him to stay with me, to not leave me, but I couldn’t find my voice to say it. All my attempts became
weak groans. I heard the others voices rise around me, and then, suddenly, it all disappeared.
Everything went black, and the voices around me faded to nothing. I passed out.

*Later*

After an unknown length of time, I opened my eyes. Confusion lingered in my system as I gazed
around in the familiar room. It was looking exactly alike with its white walls and little furniture. It was
the same guestroom I had woken up in one year ago in the Lewis’s house.

I frowned as I looked around in the empty room, not understanding what I did there, when I
suddenly remembered what had happened earlier. Images of how I passed out on the floor entered
my mind, and I my limbs froze to ice. My breaths came faster, and my heart beat anxiously in my
chest. Where was Edward?! Did he leave? What happened after I passed out? And why am I in the
Lewis’s house?

Questions flooded through my mind, leaving me confused and scared, and I was just about to get out
of the soft bed and find someone who could tell me what was going on when the door opened.
Smith’s worried and pitch black eyes found mine, and he gave me a small smile.

“Finally, you’re up.” He said, and walked over to me. Some worry disappeared, knowing that Smith
was here which mean that maybe Edward was here too, but I was still anxious.

“What happened? Where’s Edward? He didn’t leave, did he?!” I asked him, my questions rushing out
of my mouth. He chuckled slightly at my fussed appearance, and sat down by my bedside, shaking his
head slightly.

“No, he is still here in Forks. When I told you before that we needed to leave, I meant to hunt. The
two of them are still very young vampires, and need to hunt more frequently than I. And especially
since you’re his La tua cantante, he needs to hunt more than usual.”

His explanation made me frown even more. “I…I’m what?”

He gave me a calming look, like he was worried I was going to freak out, and then slowly explained.
“It means….Your blood, it sings to him. In Italian, we call it La tua cantante, which means you’re his
singer. Your blood smells especially appetizing to him, so he needs to fee more often so he won’t get
hungry.” I stared at him with wide eyes. My blood….sang to him? I smelt especially good to him, and
only me?

“So you’re saying…that I smell especially good to him and him only?”

He patted my knee calmingly and nodded. “Yes, that’s true. Anyways, when you passed out, we
decided to bring you to the Lewis’s since we were planning to bring you and Alice here sooner than
later anyways. I decided to stay behind with the mutt and Alice while Mia and Edward went hunting
in the area. But they came back an hour ago.”

My worry and anxiety disappeared, and I could finally breathe. He was here. Edward was still here,
and he wasn’t leaving.
“Can…can I see him?” I asked, and he nodded.

“He’s been waiting to see you, but the mutt doesn’t want him near you, so he’s been waiting
downstairs. Jacob is afraid that we didn’t wait long enough before we came back.”

I sighed, and flung my legs around the edge. Jake was not happy that they were back at all.
Hopefully, he wouldn’t do anything stupid…

Together with Smith, I walked down the stairs to the living room where Jake, Alice, Edward and Mia
were together with the Lewis’s. Leo was for once joined with his family, and all of them smiled as
they saw us entering.

“Hey Bella!” Rick smiled at me. “You feel any better now? You’re the master at passing out I hear.”
He chuckled, and I blushed.

“Remember to breathe next time.” Mick snickered, and he was just about to say something else
when Julie slapped them in the back of their heads for their rudeness.

“Don’t be impolite.” She scolded them with an angry glare, and the two of them shut up, but you
could see in their eyes that they had at least a thousand jokes more to tell.

“Bella!” Alice called, and rose gracefully from her seat and made her way over to me. “We’ve all been
waiting for you.” She grabbed my hand, and then made me sit down next to her and Jake. Jake gave
me a relieved look, and then wrinkled his nose.

“Bells, don’t leave me with all these bloodsucker; they stink.”

Mia, who was sitting next to Edward in another sofa, gave him an annoyed look. “No one is making
you stay, mutt. And besides; you stink even more.” She said, and wrinkled her nose as well. Vampires
and werewolves didn’t like the smell of each other, and the likes to remark that every moment they
could.

I looked at Edward with longing eyes, and he gave me a reassuring smile. We would get time for each
other, I was sure of it, but I had missed him so much when he was gone that now when he actually
was here, I didn’t know what t do.

“Alright, let’s begin now when we’re all here. We need to talk about what you want to do now.” She
said, talking to Edward and Mia.

“I already know what I’m going to do; I’m going to the Denali coven in Alaska. “Mia announced, and
Julie nodded in comprehension.

“I see… and what about you Edward; what will you do? Will you follow Mia to Alaska?”

I looked at Edward expectantly, wanting to know what he wanted to say. I knew what I wanted, but
would he think the same…?

Edward turned his eyes towards me and Alice, and then looked back at Julie. “I want to remain here
in Forks.”

Julie watched him, and then raised one eyebrow. “Really? For how long?”
“As long as I can. As long as there’s people here I care about, I want to stay here with them.”

Julie’s expression turned stern, and she gave me a quick glance before she looked back at him.”So,
you want to stay here in Forks with your family and with Bella? They will age; you won’t.” a stab of
pain ached in my heart, and I knew she spoke the truth. Even though Edward was going to stay here
with me, I would eventually age and die, but he would stay forever 18 and perfect.

His eyes hardened, but I saw that he tried to remain his calm. “Yes, I am aware of that.”

Julie looked at him with serious eyes, and then gestured towards me. “Don’t you want to stay with
Bella? You could change her you know.”I felt how Jake shook beside me as Julie’s words were out,
and I heard how Edward growled.

“No.” he said, his voice curt and cold as ice. I frowned in sorrow, and it felt like crying. He didn’t want
me to be with him forever.

“Absolutely not!” Jake spat out, and I felt how my sorrow began to mix with fury.

“Do I have any say in this?!” I exclaimed, and Edward’s angered eyes turned to me.

“Bella. I won’t let you turn into something like this. You’re staying human.” He said, and I felt how my
cheeks began to blush in irritation. I didn’t say anything else, but at the moment, I felt like screaming
all kinds of things.

Alice stroked my hand gently, and then looked at Edward. “Edward, it’s the safest way you’ll be
together. Your sense of smell will develop under the years, and then she’ll smell even more
appetizing. Are you willing to risk that?” she asked, and Edward looked at her, suddenly looking
unsure. Then, his hardened and his jaw clenched.

“I won’t let that happen. I swear I will never hurt her.”

“But if you’re going to let her stay human, she will eventually die of age. I can’t heal aging. What will
you do when she goes?” Mia asked, a frown planted on her face. Edward looked at her and then let
his eyes fall to his hands in his lap.

“I will return to Volterra and ask for a painless death.” He answered, and I gasped. He was going to
kill himself when I died!? That’s horrible! I couldn’t let him do that!

The discussion continued in this matter, but none of us found peace. Edward refused the idea of
turning me into a vampire, and I refused to let him stay by my side until I got old and died so he then
could go and kill himself. Julie decided to interrupt our never-ending fight, and suggested that we
could continue it tomorrow, since it was late. Smith ordered Edward and Mia to go home to him,
since he needed to talk to them alone, and after I had received a long hug and a small kiss on my
forehead, Edward and Mia disappeared. Alice needed to stay a little longer and talk with Julie about
some quarter-vampire stuff, and since Jake decided to leave in is wolf form, it left me with Smith. I
wasn’t that happy with it, since I wanted to be with Edward, but he convinced that I could spend as
much time as I’d like tomorrow when Edward felt a little better.
Alice and I had been driven to the Lewis’s house by Julie and since Smith didn’t have a car, piggyback
was the only way back for me. The twins of course could borrow one of their cars to us, but I didn’t
bother asking them since I knew they would say no only for the fun of it.

Smith lifted me to his back, and then proceeded to run into the dark forest. It was twilight out, and
even though the sun wasn’t completely gone, I couldn’t see anything as the forest rushed passed me.
Suddenly, the world around me was still. I blinked a few time, wondering if I was imagining it, but
sure enough, Smith wasn’t moving.

“Is there anything wrong?” I asked, not understanding why we had stopped in the middle of the
forest.

Smith released me, and I jumped off, back away from him. He turned around, and his eyes were filled
with pain and sorrow. “Bella…please don’t turn.”

His sudden request surprised me, and I frowned in confusion. “What?”

He looked down at his hands, his black eyes avoiding mine. “I know you want to be with Edward
forever, I understand that. But you could be happy living as a human with him.”

“What brought this up? I thought we were going to continue this conversation tomorrow.”

He looked up at me, and I could see the sorrow in his eyes. “I know what he’s going through. I turned
without a chance to be with Stacy, and years after I had turned, I always wished that I could go back
to her and be with her, but I never wanted her to turn. You don’t understand….the pain you go
through, the hunger you’re forced to face everyday….that’s not something you wish for someone you
love. He wants you to be able to have a reasonably human life, to have the option to do things only
humans can.”

“But I can’t just let him stay with me until I die and then let him kill himself! That’s just sick!” I
exclaimed, and Smith gave me a calming look, not wanting me to get all worked up.

“I know you’re worried, all I’m asking is just that you’ll think about it.” He said, and I sighed.

“Fine, I’ll think about it.” I said, but I doubted I would change my opinion.

“Thank you.” He said, and then closed his eyes and rubbed his temples like he was having a
headache.

“What is it?” I asked, and he opened his eyes and gave me a strained smile.

“I’m weak from not hunting. I should probably get you back right away.”

I nodded, eager to get home as well, and was just about to walk over to him when it happened; the
fatal mistake that changed everything. Being the clumsy person I am, I tripped on the uneven ground,
and fell towards the ground. I braced myself for the fall, and shot out my hands in front of me in a
weak attempt to soften the impact with the ground. I hit something hard with my arm, and I groaned
in pain as a stinging sensation began to spread. I sat up on the ground and examined my arm. When I
saw the damage, I froze in fear. Blood trickled from the wound I had received from my fall, hitting a
sharp rock, and as I looked up at Smith, my fears were answered. Smith was watching me with dark,
hungry eyes, and a small growl began to rise in his throat.

This is not good…I thought to myself, and just as I was about to say something, he moved. In a fast
motion, too fast for my human eyes to see, he jumped at me as I lied there on the ground and
lowered his head towards my neck, letting his teeth sink into my skin.