FIC: Saltwater (Twilight) PG-13
Title: Saltwater: Little Bit Darker 1/20
Author: Niki Jane
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Edward/Bella
Table/Prompt: Gamma/Hero
Word Count: 848
Summary: An AU look at what might have happened if Rosalie hadn't called Edward with the news of Bella's 'suicide'. Set during New Moon.
Author's Notes: This is the first of a 20 part mini-series for my prompt table at twilight20. It might be a little rough, my regular beta isn't a huge Twilight fan, so I'm beta-less at the moment.
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Alice reached him after midnight, the rest of them trailing in behind her. They crowded in the doorway, stomping the snow off of their boots.
The snow was howling outside of the window, scratching on the glass and threatening to break it in with the force of the wind. Not that Edward cared. Not that he cared about anything anymore. He had chosen this place on purpose; the cold temperatures and the lack of running water kept most people away. But the cold didn't bother him, it never bothered him.
Alice sank to her knees at his feet and she spoke to him slowly, as if she were speaking to a child, “Edward, you have to come back with us.”
Her voice caught in her throat and if he weren't so far gone in his own self-pity, his own pain, he might have seen hers. He might have noticed that her dark eyes were a little bit darker. That her voice was thick with it.
“I can't,” he said finally, he felt like his voice should have been hoarse from lack of use. But it wasn't. It was the same voice that had told Bella he didn't love her anymore. That he was leaving. “It's better... for her.”
But what would have been better for her, he thought bitterly, was if she had never come to Forks in the first place. If he had never come to Forks in the first place. Or maybe, if he had never come back that first time, when he'd escaped her scent in the mountains with Tanya and her clan. Up here, with snow packed against the door, he had plenty of time to worry the “what if's” around in his head.
He could hear Rosalie sigh, exasperated from the doorway. He was doing his best to block out all of their thoughts and they were doing their best to shield theirs from him.
“Edward, Bella...” Alice didn't finish, she bowed her head and took a deep, unnecessary breath. “Edward, Bella is gone.”
His breath caught in his throat, she had left Forks? Had she gone back to her mother? Gone back to the sun? Or had more time passed than he'd originally thought? The possibility left him disoriented. The days passed by in quick succession, there was rarely any sunlight this far north. Farther north than Alaska, even. He would have gone to the arctic if he'd thought it would help.
“She left Forks?” he looked up, eyes black because he couldn't remember the last time he had gone hunting.
Alice hung her head, “No, Edward. She's dead.”
He was on his feet, then. His eyes wide and his breath, even though he didn't need it, was coming in panicked gasps. “NO!,” he grabbed Alice by the shoulders, his stone fingers digging into her hard skin. “NOOOO!!” he screamed, again. He would scream and scream and scream if he thought it would bring her back. If he thought that it would make this hurt just a little bit less.
He knew that Jasper was carefully regulating the emotions coming off of him in waves. He knew that Rosalie and Emmett were poised at the doorway, ready to take him down if they needed to. But that was all he knew. It felt like his world, everything in it, had been turned upside down. His head was swimming, he had to know what happened.
“She's... Edward, she's been a mess. I know you asked me not to, but I had to watch out for her. I haven't been back to Forks, but I've been watching. Every little shift, every decision...”
He stood still, still as the stony lump that was once his heart. The heart, that had it been alive and beating, would have been hammering in his chest.
“I saw her...” Alice trailed off. She was deciding what to say, how much to say. But her thoughts were moving too quickly for him to catch a whisper of what she wasn't saying. “I saw her make the decision and... I couldn't stop her, Edward. I was too far away and it took less than a minute and she was gone. I can't see her anymore!”
Pain shook her voice, made it crack into a million pieces rolling off of her lips. But he couldn't comprehend that someone else could be hurting just as much as he was right now.
Alice couldn't see Bella anymore, Bella was gone. He sank to his knees, his head in his hands. He had always been her hero; the one thing that whatever depraved guardian angel that watched over Bella had placed between her and everything that dogged her every step. When he'd left, he thought he had been doing the one thing that would keep her safe, happy.
He choked up a dry sob, he hadn't been able to cry in a century but the emotion, it was still there. He sobbed into his hands, the memory of the relief of crying was like a phantom limb. But he found no relief in this.
Author: Niki Jane
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Edward/Bella
Table/Prompt: Gamma/Hero
Word Count: 848
Summary: An AU look at what might have happened if Rosalie hadn't called Edward with the news of Bella's 'suicide'. Set during New Moon.
Author's Notes: This is the first of a 20 part mini-series for my prompt table at twilight20. It might be a little rough, my regular beta isn't a huge Twilight fan, so I'm beta-less at the moment.
--------------
Alice reached him after midnight, the rest of them trailing in behind her. They crowded in the doorway, stomping the snow off of their boots.
The snow was howling outside of the window, scratching on the glass and threatening to break it in with the force of the wind. Not that Edward cared. Not that he cared about anything anymore. He had chosen this place on purpose; the cold temperatures and the lack of running water kept most people away. But the cold didn't bother him, it never bothered him.
Alice sank to her knees at his feet and she spoke to him slowly, as if she were speaking to a child, “Edward, you have to come back with us.”
Her voice caught in her throat and if he weren't so far gone in his own self-pity, his own pain, he might have seen hers. He might have noticed that her dark eyes were a little bit darker. That her voice was thick with it.
“I can't,” he said finally, he felt like his voice should have been hoarse from lack of use. But it wasn't. It was the same voice that had told Bella he didn't love her anymore. That he was leaving. “It's better... for her.”
But what would have been better for her, he thought bitterly, was if she had never come to Forks in the first place. If he had never come to Forks in the first place. Or maybe, if he had never come back that first time, when he'd escaped her scent in the mountains with Tanya and her clan. Up here, with snow packed against the door, he had plenty of time to worry the “what if's” around in his head.
He could hear Rosalie sigh, exasperated from the doorway. He was doing his best to block out all of their thoughts and they were doing their best to shield theirs from him.
“Edward, Bella...” Alice didn't finish, she bowed her head and took a deep, unnecessary breath. “Edward, Bella is gone.”
His breath caught in his throat, she had left Forks? Had she gone back to her mother? Gone back to the sun? Or had more time passed than he'd originally thought? The possibility left him disoriented. The days passed by in quick succession, there was rarely any sunlight this far north. Farther north than Alaska, even. He would have gone to the arctic if he'd thought it would help.
“She left Forks?” he looked up, eyes black because he couldn't remember the last time he had gone hunting.
Alice hung her head, “No, Edward. She's dead.”
He was on his feet, then. His eyes wide and his breath, even though he didn't need it, was coming in panicked gasps. “NO!,” he grabbed Alice by the shoulders, his stone fingers digging into her hard skin. “NOOOO!!” he screamed, again. He would scream and scream and scream if he thought it would bring her back. If he thought that it would make this hurt just a little bit less.
He knew that Jasper was carefully regulating the emotions coming off of him in waves. He knew that Rosalie and Emmett were poised at the doorway, ready to take him down if they needed to. But that was all he knew. It felt like his world, everything in it, had been turned upside down. His head was swimming, he had to know what happened.
“She's... Edward, she's been a mess. I know you asked me not to, but I had to watch out for her. I haven't been back to Forks, but I've been watching. Every little shift, every decision...”
He stood still, still as the stony lump that was once his heart. The heart, that had it been alive and beating, would have been hammering in his chest.
“I saw her...” Alice trailed off. She was deciding what to say, how much to say. But her thoughts were moving too quickly for him to catch a whisper of what she wasn't saying. “I saw her make the decision and... I couldn't stop her, Edward. I was too far away and it took less than a minute and she was gone. I can't see her anymore!”
Pain shook her voice, made it crack into a million pieces rolling off of her lips. But he couldn't comprehend that someone else could be hurting just as much as he was right now.
Alice couldn't see Bella anymore, Bella was gone. He sank to his knees, his head in his hands. He had always been her hero; the one thing that whatever depraved guardian angel that watched over Bella had placed between her and everything that dogged her every step. When he'd left, he thought he had been doing the one thing that would keep her safe, happy.
He choked up a dry sob, he hadn't been able to cry in a century but the emotion, it was still there. He sobbed into his hands, the memory of the relief of crying was like a phantom limb. But he found no relief in this.