Heaven Laid In Tears
Author: Mrs Ronald Weasley
Rating: PG-13 or T
Pairing/s: Edward/Bella, Carlisle, Alice
Category: Tragedy/Angst
Spoilers: Eclipse
Warnings: Major character death, lots of angst
Summary: The future isn’t always clear. It wasn’t on that cold, and snowy December evening. But in a split second, in a flash of red and white lights, of twisted metal, I saw it. Our future changed, forever.
A/N: Takes place during Eclipse. Based somewhat on a true story. My first attempt at writing from Alice’s POV. It’s for you love,
captjackspeanut, in return for the death fic you wrote for me last night. Although I'm not sure I really like what I've done with it, but enjoy anyway.
“Edward?” Emmett stood by the back door, his hand on the frame, waiting.
“Go Emmett, I’ll catch up later,” Edward said, “I’m going to wait for Bella, and make sure she gets here alright. I’m sure it’s quite nasty out there.”
Emmett nodded and then ran out the door to join the others.
Edward paced, I could sense his unease. “She’s going to get here, Edward,” I said, trying to reassure him.
“Have you actually seen it Alice?” he whispered, stopping and turning towards me. “You know I don’t like leaving her. Especially now that we know Victoria is back.” He paused and resumed his pacing. “I knew I should’ve picked her up myself.”
Carlisle appeared in the kitchen doorway. “Edward,” he said his voice even more reassuring than mine had been. Carlisle had always been the best at being able to calm Edward. “She’ll be just fine. Alice and I will take good care of her.”
Edward sucked in a deep breath, sighing, and running a hand over his face. My eyes went to the clock; Bella was running late. Edward’s head snapped in my direction then, his black gaze anxious. I knew what he wanted me to do.
I let my eyes drift shut as I relaxed my mind, and began searching for her. Hoping for just a glimpse. It took a moment before I found her; she was still driving on the highway, just north of the town. The snow and ice pounded on the truck, making it difficult for her to see in the darkness.
“See?” I said to Edward, although I knew he had seen it too. “She’s just being careful. Bella will be-”
My breath caught in fear, as two bright white lights flashed through my mind, blinding me. The truck slid across the highway, its trailer going sideways, and with a cry from both Edward and I, hit Bella’s truck, head-on.
“No!” Edward’s grief-stricken howl met my ears as the panic welled within me.
“What?! What is it Edward?!” Carlisle’s voice was agonized and anxious. Edward had fallen to the floor, tearless sobs tearing through him.
I jumped up from the couch. “Carlisle,” I spoke in a rush. There still might be time. “Go get your bag. Bella’s been in a serious accident.”
He seemed shocked for a moment, but then ran up to his office without a word. “Edward,” I said my voice weak. I pulled him from the floor. “Edward, come on, there still might time.” He didn’t move, didn’t speak.
“Where Alice?” Carlisle appeared beside me. “How far?”
“About fifty miles north of town,” I said. “We need to hurry.” I tugged on Edward’s arm, but he didn’t move. Carlisle was already running to the garage, left with no other choice, I scooped my brother into my arms and ran with him to Carlisle’s car.
I began calculating the time frame in my mind as Carlisle raced through town. “It’s too late,” Edward’s voice was barely audible.
“You don’t know that!” I countered, trying to keep the panic that seemed to be growing with every second at bay.
“And you do?!” Edward hissed, “Alice, I saw exactly what you saw! Don’t tell me-”
“Enough,” Carlisle said. “Edward, Alice is doing everything she can to save Bella. And she’s right; if we hurry we might get there in time to stop the accident from happening.”
“Carlisle!” Edward shouted suddenly. “Stop the car!”
My head snapped up and then I saw it. The truck in front of us hit its brakes suddenly, the sound of its horn, long and deep, echoed through the night. Carlisle pressed down on the brakes, but managed to keep the car from sliding on the ice.
Edward reached for the door handle, and opened it. “No, Edward!” I cried, grabbing a hold of him. “It’s too heavy; you’d never be able to stop it.” I watched helplessly as the truck jackknifed, and with a sickening crunch, hit the vehicle in the on-coming lane.
Carlisle brought the car to a stop on the side of the road, but Edward was already gone. I jumped out and ran after him, Carlisle right behind me.
“Bella?!” Edward’s tortured voice called. He grabbed the driver’s side door of her truck and ripped it off, tossing it aside. “Oh god, love!”
“Edward,” she choked. Her forehead was bleeding, and the dashboard had been pushed back, pinning her to the seat.
“Don’t worry love; we’re going to get you out of here. Everything’s going to be alright.” His hand was on her face, brushing away the tears that streamed down her cheeks.
“It hurts!” I grabbed her failing left hand in my own as she gasped for breath in anguish.
“I know, Bella,” I soothed as best I could, although my strength was slowly starting to crumble at its very foundation. I choked back a sob; I couldn’t stand to see her in such pain. “Carlisle!” I called frantically, wondering where he had gone.
“I’m here,” he said in a disheartened tone. He worked quickly. “Her lung is collapsed, most likely torn from a broken rib, but I can’t...there’s not enough room.”
“Then we pull her out,” Edward said frantically.
“No,” Carlisle whispered, and it wasn’t until now did I notice the steadily increasing scent of Bella’s blood. I looked down and saw it gathering in a dark pool on the floor of the truck. “The damage to her abdomen is extensive. If we pull her out she’ll go into hypovolemic shock.”
“You don’t know that!” Edward shouted, he turned to Bella, “You’re going to be alright Bella.” I couldn’t tell if he was trying to convince her or himself, but the most awful ache began to take hold in my chest. “You have to.”
“She’s lost too much blood,” Carlisle stated solemnly.
“I’m cold,” Bella choked back her tears, trying to hide her pain. Her eyes fluttered closed as her breath caught.
Edward grabbed her face. “Don’t you give up on me! Damn it! You’re better than this Bella...we’re better than this!” A sob escaped him as she cried in anguish.
“Don’t, Edward,” she pleaded in a broken whisper. She was growing weaker already.
His hands shook as he caressed her skin, desperate to get her to stay with him. Her tears were following onto his hands, faster than he could wipe them away.
The sounds of approaching sirens dulled as my own broken sobs broke through. My heart, although already dead, felt like it had been shattered into a million tiny pieces.
“Please, Carlisle,” Edward begged, “please help her.”
“I can’t-I can’t do anything more,” Carlisle cried now too, finally accepting that this was it. That nothing he could do would save her.
“I need you to stay Bella,” Edward whispered.
“Hold on there,” the voice a firefighter said as he ran up to the truck. “We’ll have you out of there in no time.”
None of us paid any attention. “Please, Bella, I want you here.”
She tried to smile her him, probably trying to tell him to stop his whining, and I choked on my breath as I realized that even in her final moments she was still Bella. But the pain of having the dashboard pulled back left her gasping in agony. Her eyes swam in endless tears as she searched for Carlisle, begging him to do something.
“I don’t want to die,” the words slipped from her mouth, shattering any attempt she’d been doing to make this easier.
With a sickening scrape, the front of the truck pulled away, releasing its grip on her. What it revealed made my breath hitch: her blood was everywhere. With nothing to support her, she slid into Edward’s arms, and he laid her flat on the ground. He cradled her head in his hands while I held her hand tightly, and Carlisle reached around into his bag, each of us trying desperately to anchor her to this world.
“She’s bleeding out too fast, I can’t find-” Carlisle hastily pulled out a wad of gauze. He pressed it to her gaping wound. Within seconds it was soaked and her blood began running down onto the pavement, turning the freshly fallen snow a deep red. “I need some help over here!” Carlisle called out.
“The paramedics are on their way,” the firefighter replied.
Bella began gasping for air. We could not lose her like this.
“Bella,” her name fell from my lips in a whisper, a prayer for deliverance. But for her, there was none.
I could hear the police radioing for more help, but their words meant nothing. She was fading right in front of us. And nothing Carlisle could do would stop it. She looked up at Edward, her hand already slackening in mine, she was struggling to keep her eyes open. Her body was shivering, her skin cooling and paling. She was dying.
He kissed her trembling lips. “I need you to stay with me,” he pleaded, “Keep your eyes on me, love. Hang on Bella. Just…stay with me.”
She tried a smile for him, her effort to make this easier for him tearing at my already breaking heart. Nothing could make this easier. This would kill Edward in a way that he would never hope to heal. As the glow faded from her eyes, she squeezed my hand as tightly as she could.
“I love you so much, all of you.” Then she closed her eyes, the last of her tears escaping as Edward kissed her forehead, her cheeks, every part of her he could reach.
Edward’s sobs broke through the night, the pain intensifying with every one. Carlisle got up from beside me and embraced Edward, his own sobs tearing through his chest.
My eyes drifted shut as I tried to shove the pain from my mind, letting it drift to a place blanketed in pristine snow. Under the tree lays a polished grey stone, a single red rose, bright crimson against the white snow. A little piece of heaven, laid in the tears of those who loved Bella Swan.