AVitD- Chapter 8

Chapter~8 Final Goodbyes and Reunions

Bella woke up alone in the meadow.  She felt panic seize her heart.

“Edward?” she yelled out, “Edward!  Edward where are you?”

“I’m right here, love.” he said as he appeared at her side.

Bella wrapped her arms around his neck and breathed a sigh of relief.  His marble like arms wrapped around her protectively.  She felt her heart return to its previous rhythm.

“I thought I lost you.” She said as she breathed in his scent.

“Bella, you will never lose me.” He leaned back and looked into her eyes. “I will always be with you, here,” he placed his hand on her heart, “and here,” he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. “As long as you remember me, I will forever be a part of you.”

There was something different in his voice.  It was something she recognized.  She felt a pain deep in her heart as the realization struck her.  He was saying goodbye.

“Edward, you need to leave now, don’t you?” she asks him in a hushed voice.

“I do.” He said; a sad smile painted on his lips.

Bella looked down and saw the healed scars on her arms where she had cut herself. They were faint, but she could see them clearly now.  Edward took his thumbs and traced the scar on each arm.

“Bella, you are very precious to so many and you have so much more life to live.  Please don’t try to end the life that I hold so dear.”

She nodded in agreement as he leaned down and kissed each healed wound.

He stood up and helped Bella to stand with him.  She ran her hand up the side of his face and through his silken hair.  He was so incredibly beautiful, and he always would be.  Bella smiled at him and then noticed that something over her shoulder caught his attention.  She looked in the same direction and saw Esme standing on the edge of the woods.  Edward smiled and went back to looking down at Bella as he held her hands.

“Why is Esme here?” she asked softly.

Edward looked meaningfully into her eyes willing her to understand.  Bella looked back at Esme and then to Edward.  She gasped.

“No.” she said in a hushed tone.

Edward nodded slowly.

“But how?  Why?” she asked quickly.

“She thought she had lost us both and it was too much for her.”

Bella hung her head and cried silent tears; shouldering the blame of Esme’s demise.  Edward tipped her chin up and kissed her tears away.

“Please don’t be sad, Bella.  Look,” he said as he pointed towards Esme.

Bella wiped the tears from her eyes to take in the sight before her.  Bella felt a smile grow as the tears that now fell were ones of happiness.  In Esme’s arms, wrapped in a light blue blanket, was a baby.  Bella knew without asking that it was Esme’s son who died all those years ago before she was changed by Carlisle.

“She has her son with her,” she said wistfully.

It wasn’t a question, but Edward nodded in acknowledgement.  Then out of the deep forest a man and woman came to stand by Esme.  Edward sucked in a breath causing Bella to look up at him and then back at the new comers.  Bella took in their appearance.  They were dressed in clothes that looked like they were from an era long before she was born.  The man was as tall as Edward and had the same strong jaw line.  He stood with a certain authority.  The woman, whose arm was looped through his, had beautiful long flowing hair that was the exact same shade as Edward’s.  Her soft smile confirmed for Bella what she suspected. She was looking at Edward senior and Elizabeth Masen.  They had come to bring their son home. 

Bella felt Edward’s grip tighten on her and she looked up into his dazzling gold eyes. He looked torn as he looked between Bella and the three people waiting for him.

“It’s time Edward.”

He looked into her eyes as the tears began to fall again.

“They have waited so long for you.  You shouldn’t make them wait any longer.”

His hands held hers as he said, “You are so much stronger than you give yourself credit for.  And you are not going to be alone.  The family is waiting for you.”

“The family?” she looked at him puzzled.

He gave her his trademark crooked smile.

“Bella, he has been waiting patiently for you to come back to him.  He has been there this whole time.  Can’t you hear him?”

Bella stopped for a minute and noticed a voice singing to her.  It sounded far off in the distance.  It was a beautiful voice and she realized that she had heard that same voice singing to her for a long time.  She just hadn’t allowed herself to really hear it.  It was so familiar, but she couldn’t put a face to it. 

“Who is that?” she asked Edward.

He smiled bigger, “You’ll see when you open your eyes.  Now, kiss me goodbye, Bella.  And know that I will love you forever.”

She leaned up and kissed him softly on the lips.  His arms encircled her and they embraced one last time.  She took one last deep breath; memorizing his incredible scent.  She prayed that she would keep that memory for the rest of her life.  Edward buried his nose in her hair doing the same.  She was his only love and he would never regret a moment that he had shared with her.  They pulled apart and she smiled up at him as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I will love you forever too, you know.” She said as he wiped the tears off her cheeks.

“I know,” he nodded, “but don’t forget to keep your heart open.  There is more love waiting for you.”

Edward leaned in and kissed her forehead then slowly backed away.  He held her hand till their finger tips lost their connection.  She wrapped her arms around herself and swore that they felt as strong and soothing as Edward’s had. 

He turned back and gave Bella his beautifully dazzling smile, “Tell Carlisle he was right.  We do keep our souls.”

He turned back away and walked across the field into the open arms of his mother.  It warmed Bella’s heart to know that he had his parents and Esme.  He was then hugged by his father and his adopted mother.  He offered his arm to a smiling Esme.  She shifted the baby to her left arm and linked her right with his.  She looked over at Bella.

“Take care of him for me,” Esme called to her.

Bella didn’t quite understand what Esme meant, but she waved to them as they walked towards the thick line of trees.  Edward senior and Elizabeth led the way.  The trees seemed to change before Bella’s eyes and opened into a fantastically bright light.  It should have hurt her eyes to look at it, but somehow, it didn’t.  Edward and Esme made their way to the edge of the forest and Edward looked back to Bella one last time.  The light did not make him sparkle, but his whole being held an angelic glow that wrapped around him like an aura that she was sure was his love for her.  He mouthed the words ‘I love you’ before he stepped into the light and then they were gone. 

The only sounds were the distant call of a bird in flight and the gentle wind as it danced through the trees.  Bella was alone, but she didn’t feel alone.  She no longer felt the gaping hole in the center of her soul.  She felt warm and safe.  She was sad that Edward (and now Esme) were gone.  She would miss them terribly, but she felt their presence in her heart.  They were a part of who she was and they always would be.  Bella turned and took one last look at the beauty surrounding her in the meadow.  She lay down in the wildflowers as the sun broke through the clouds.  She closed her eyes and let the warmth envelope her.

Bella opened her eyes to the muted light of a new day.  She was no longer in the meadow.  She was somewhere new; somewhere strange.  She took in the room around her.  This was not her room in Forks nor the Cullen’s house.  She had never seen this place before, but there was something oddly familiar about it.  She looked out the window and was hypnotized by the beauty of the sunrise.  The golden hue reminded her so much of Edward’s eyes just after a hunt.  The color washed over her and filled her with an inner peace that she had not had in what seemed like forever.  She was awake and aware of the world around her.  She took a deep breath relishing the feeling of her lungs fully expanding.  As her chest stretched, she felt strong cold arms wrapped around her.  She turned and saw it was Carlisle.  She reached her tiny hand up and cupped his cheek.  He gave her a soft smile and asked if she could hear him.  She nodded. 

“Do you know who I am?” 

She smiled softly and nodded again. 

“Are you hungry?  Would you like something to eat?” 

She paused but then nodded a third time.  He backed away and went to get out of the bed.  Bella reached for him and whimpered. 

“Shhh, it’s okay.  I am just going to the kitchen to make you a quick breakfast.  I will be back in a moment.” 

Her eyes looked terribly frightened. 

“Would you like me to have someone else go and I can stay here with you?” 

Her eyes relaxed as she nodded and attempted to sit up.  Carlisle helped boost Bella into a reclined position against the head board with pillows around her for support.  Even though they had kept her mobile, her muscles had lost some of their previous strength.  Once settled, she quickly wrapped her arm around Carlisle’s.  She wasn’t sure why, but she needed him hear her right now.  Alice was peeking around the door in the next second, anxious to see her friend conscious.

“Bella, I am so glad you are awake.  I have missed you so much.” 

She was talking very slow and softly (especially for Alice).  She hoped Bella would be more receptive if she took it easy.  Bella smiled in return, but didn’t speak.  Jasper came into the room as soon as he felt the hum of new emotions; the most prevalent had to be Carlisle’s relief only slightly less intense was Alice’s excitement.  Bella looked up when he entered the room.  Bella’s last meeting with Jasper had been her ill-fated birthday.  He stepped into the room but remained at the doorway so as to not startle her.

Bella smiled at him and he couldn’t help the smile he shown in return.  When she looked at him he could feel her acceptance and forgiveness.  Bella never held it against Jasper that he tried to feed off of her.  She knew his nature and understood that it was an inherent danger when you socialized with vampires.

Without missing a beat Alice began to explain where they were when she saw Bella look around the room. 

“We moved to Cananda when we left Forks…” she paused afraid that she was going to upset Bella, but she just nodded for Alice to continue. “It is a fantastic house.  Wait till you see the library and family room upstairs.” 

Carlisle interrupted when he felt Bella tense up at his side.  He did not attempt to move from her as Bella held tightly to his arm.

“Alice, why don’t we take this one step at a time?  How about we get Bella some breakfast?”

Alice sucked in a breath realizing that she was probably overwhelming Bella with all this information.

“Sorry Bella.  I am just so excited to have you back.  How about I make you some

blueberry muffins?”

Bella smiled and nodded.  She was trying to absorb everything around her and couldn’t bring herself to speak just yet.  Alice leaned in and gave her a gentle hug and whispered to her.

“You will never know how much you have been missed.”

Bella returned the hug never letting go of her grip on Carlisle.  Alice bounced out of the room and took Jasper with her.

“She’s awake, Jazz!  She’s really awake!  And you can feel her emotions, can’t you? Alice asked as she zipped around the kitchen.

Jasper smiled as Alice’s joy filled him. 

“I sure can, darlin’.”

Alice squealed in excitement as she quickly poured the muffin mix in the pans.  Then she stopped, and then the real Alice showed herself.  She jumped into Jasper’s arms and giggled manically.

“I can see her!  I just got a vision of Bella!”

She squealed again and then pulled out of Jasper’s embrace.

“I gotta go help her.  She needs to use the washroom but doesn’t want Carlisle to help her.” She explained as she bounded back towards the bedroom.

“Watch the muffins for me!” she called back as she made it to the doorway.

After Alice helped her get settled in the shower she grabbed Bella some clothes and stepped back to the bathroom door.  She looked over at Carlisle as he sat on the edge of the bed.  His head was bowed over his folded hands.

“Carlisle, are you okay?”

He looked up, stopping his silent prayer of thanks to God, and smiled.

“I can’t imagine feeling much better than I do at this very moment.”

Alice returned his smile and went back into the washroom.

An hour later, Bella slowly made her way into the kitchen with Alice by her side.  She sat at the kitchen table where the one place setting sat in wait.  Carlisle held her chair for her and pushed it in as Jasper came over with the warm muffins and steaming coffee pot.  Bella felt herself blush at all the attention that was being bestowed upon her.  They all smiled at her pink cheeks.  Just one more thing that reaffirmed that Bella was back.

Alice and Jasper left Bella to eat but as always, Carlisle remained by her side.  He thought that she may want to eat along, but couldn’t bring himself to leave.  Bella was thankful he stayed.  She felt at ease with him near her.  Carlisle did not engage her in conversation.  He opened the newspaper that Jasper had acquired on his trip into town the day before.

Bella saw the date on the paper, October 12th.  Her heart began to speed up and her eyes went wide.  Jasper and Alice were back in a flash as Carlisle dropped the paper and reached out for her hand.

“Bella?  Bella?  Look at me sweetheart.  What’s wrong?” Carlisle asked panicked, but thankful that Bella was making eye contact.

She cleared her throat and willed her voice to come back.

“It’s October?  I’ve been…” she paused not knowing the right word to express her thoughts, “…away for nine months?”

Carlisle kept his gaze locked with hers, “Yes.  It has been just over nine months since you slipped away from us.”

Bella felt a calm rest upon her heart and mind.  She looked to Jasper and saw the concern on his face.  She took a deep breath and gave him a small smile of gratitude.  She took another deep, cleansing breath and closed her eyes for a moment.  When she opened them she saw the worry written all over Carlisle’s angelic face.  She patted his hand that held hers.

“I knew I was there a while, but I had no idea it was nine months.  It is just a lot to make peace with.”

She sat back and pushed her unfinished breakfast away.  Alice came to sit in the chair on her other side.  Jasper sat next to Alice.

“What do you mean ‘there’, Bella?” Alice asked softly.

Bella blushed again as she hooked her hair behind her ear.  She bit her lip as she looked at the three sets of eyes waiting for her to explain.

“You might all think I am crazy, but I was in the meadow,” she paused steeling herself for their reaction, “with Edward.”