green eyes alternate endings
Author’s Note: It was SO hard not to use this ending. But I knew which one was most fitting and which one was most realistic, however I must say I do like my writing best in this one. For all you Pro-Human fans, this if for you.
Edward’s POV.
“The hospital needed Carlisle for a few hours. He’s really sorry.” Esme’s face was apologetic as she told us why I couldn’t be changed at that second.
As the words sunk in I began to lose faith. What if Aro was right? What if once this was finished it was irreversible? I was sure that my emotions could be easily read on my face at that second, but I didn’t care.
Bella took my hand and led me out back. We sat on the back steps in silence. I wanted to know what she was thinking but I was too wrapped up in myself to be able to ask. My only concern was that if Carlisle didn’t get back in time Bella’s life was more at risk than ever.
“Stop that.” Bella’s voice was scolding.
“Stop what?”
“Giving up hope. You’re just about ready to write up your will.” She replied. Her tone might have been scolding but her eyes were thoughtful. She squeezed my hand tightly.
“I’d rather it was my will than yours.” I said. Her reaction surprised me, as most of her reactions did.
“Don’t give me that.” She was angry. She stood up and walked several feet away from me. What had I said that was so bad? The last thing I wanted to do was upset her.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. This time it was she that stood with her back facing me.
Her voice made it sound like she was fighting tears. “I thought by now you would’ve realized that we’re in this together. Your will, my will, they’re the same thing. We’re not doing this whole I save you or you save me thing anymore. Edward, I want us to save each other.”
I hated making her cry. I hated myself every time I did it, even if it was unintentional.
She wasn’t done speaking. She turned around to look at me and I saw that she’d regained control of her crying. “I love you more than everything in this world combined. But it won’t mean anything if we don’t get past you always trying to spare my life. What do you think I’d do without you Edward? Well you already know, you’ve had to find out before remember? I wouldn’t do anything.”
“Well what would I do with you gone? I’d be a walking corpse.” I shot back. Why couldn’t she understand that I couldn’t help feeling the way I did? I would give anything just so she would have a chance to keep living.
“I’d rather us both be dead than you keep trying to avoid the fact that whatever we do, we’re both doing it.” She said.
I looked at her angelic face; her eyes were lit with a fire I’d never seen before. I felt a need to close the several feet of distance in between us. I walked over to her and put my hands on either side of her face.
“Together.” I said. And this time I meant it. She was right, I couldn’t avoid it any longer and I wasn’t going to.
There was a gasp and then a flash of movement. I let go of Bella’s face and pulled her closer to me. No human could move that fast.
“Jane?” Bella called. I was perplexed by how she knew it was Jane and I didn’t. She seemed to realize what I was thinking. “Who else would be watching us?” she asked.
Jane stepped out from behind the trees. Her expression made it look like that if she could cry she would be doing it.
“Caius told me over and over that he didn’t understand your relationship. Marcus didn’t see a point to it. Not even Aro could fathom it.” She said.
“We don’t care what they think.” I said. I tried not to sound cold; the fact that she looked any degree of vulnerable made me pity her. But only a little.
“I didn’t really understand you either. I didn’t bother too, I was too occupied by losing my spot as favorite. But I guess now it’s because I’ve never had anyone speak to me in that way, how you just spoke to each other. I’ve never in my life heard anyone speak that way to someone else. Not from my Masters, not even from Alec.”
I wanted to ask her why she was telling us this but she answered my question before I got a chance to ask it.
“I don’t understand why someone would wish for something like this to end. When there’s so little of something so pure, why would my masters wish for it to perish?” she asked.
“We don’t know the answer to that question.” Said Bella.
“I’ve never given much thought to right and wrong before, but I guess that’s why I’m living this life. Thoughtlessness. “
And then she was gone.
“I think I might actually like her.” Bella said to me.
I hugged her close to me. We stood like that for several minutes. If I could, I would’ve had us stand like that for eternity. But that wasn’t up to me anymore, was it?
“I wish you luck.” Jane had returned. She had a phone in her hand.
“With what?” I asked her.
“Life as a human.” She replied.
Bella met my eyes with a look of bewilderment. She broke away from me and actually took two steps towards Jane.
“What?” she asked.
“Well, it’s not certain yet. They still want to talk to you, they’re flying back to Forks tonight.” There was no need to ask who they were.
“What did you say?” I asked her. What could’ve changed three heartless vampire’s minds within minutes?
“What I just said to you. I said it to Caius. He was actually quiet for five whole minutes.” Jane answered.
“What did he say afterwards?” asked Bella.
“He said ‘You’ve always seen right through people Jane, why not these two?’ And I said that there was too much to see. Then he said they’d be here this morning.” As she finished her sentence I realized that somebody else had just joined us.
“They’re coming back.” Said Alice.
“We know.” Bella and I said unison.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because they’ve opened their eyes.” Jane answered. The vulnerability had vanished now that we weren’t alone anymore. She started to turn around.
“Wait!” Bella said to her. Jane turned back around. Bella became hesitant. I gave her an encouraging smile. “You’re leaving?” she asked Jane. Jane shrugged.
“There’s no reason why I shouldn’t.” she replied. Alice looked back and forth from Bella to Jane. She met my eyes with questions I couldn’t answer because I could no longer hear her thoughts.
Bella took another step towards Jane. “Thank you.”
“There’s no reason to thank me.” Jane smiled at Bella. “At least this way, I’m still the favorite.”
And then she was gone, but this time it was for good.
I looked around to see that Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme had all joined us. I felt so slow, not knowing about their arrivals beforehand.
“What is going on? Was Jane being thoughtful?” Alice’s tone mirrored all the disbelief in her face. Then her face became blank. We all waited.
“Alice?” asked Esme.
She blinked twice before looking around at us.
She looked at me, and then turned to Bella. “Why do I see the both of you with two little children? And…you look old. Like in your thirties.” She was shocked, but she sounded happy.
I heard Rosalie gasp.
“Jane heard us talking. Apparently they really do trust her judgment.” Bella answered.
And then, somehow it all happened at the same time, dry sobs started to come out of both Rosalie and Esme. Alice joined in and then Bella did as well. She was the only one with tears streaming down her face but I was sure that they would’ve been running down the other’s cheeks, if it were possible.
Jasper and Emmett closed in, and we all stood together. I understood what all the crying was about. Bella and I were both safe, but we’d have to leave.
Bella took my hand, she was still crying. As I felt her warmth, I realized that we’d be missing our family. A part of us would always be with them.
But Bella was my other half; she had an even bigger part of me with her. And she would be with me as long as we both lived.
And with kids.
Alice Cullen turned to her family. “This is the place.”
Everyone was wearing black. The six of them stood before the one gravestone. Written on it were words that the six had never imagined reading.
Here lay Edward and Isabella Cullen.
1988-2065
May God bless your kindred spirits.
Never was there a love so pure.
R.I.P.
Alice took Jasper’s hand. They were silent for several minutes.
“This is how it’s supposed to be.” Rosalie spoke first. Esme placed the dozen roses she’d bought in front of the grave.
They all heard the humans approach, but they didn’t bother to hide. They weren’t walking away, not yet. Alice turned her head to see who had joined them and almost gasped out loud.
“Hello.” Said the girl. “Were you friends of theirs?”
The boy added his own rose to the bouquet.
“Yes.” Answered Carlisle. “They lived a happy life didn’t they?”
The boy nodded. “They were the best grandparents in the world.” He said.
Alice tried to hide her smile. “You look exactly like them.”
The girl grinned. “Grandma Bells used to show me pictures of when she was my age. They died just as gorgeous.”
The boy stepped forward. “I’m sorry, we didn’t ask your names.”
Carlisle spoke. “We’re the Hales. I’m Carlisle, and this is my wife Esme.” He gestured towards the beauty standing beside him. “And these are our adopted children, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice.”
The boy and girl exchanged glances. “Wow. All of you?” the girl’s voice was amazed, but in a complimentary way.
“Where do you all live?” it was amazing how much the boy looked like his grandfather. An exact replica.
“Well, we just moved to Forks, Washington. I’m sure you know that’s where your grandparents grew up.” Said Esme.
“That’s funny, we’re both moving there. We’re going to finish our last two years of high school there. Grandpa always said he’d liked it there. Grandma said it was all thanks to the people. They made us promise that we’d go one day.” The girl glanced at the grave as she spoke.
“Does it really rain that often?” her brother asked them.
“Yes.” They all spoke at the same time.
“Do you know how hard it was not to bite them right then and there?” Alice asked Rosalie when they’d gotten back home.
“I know.” Said Rosalie.
“You wanted to change them?” asked Alice. Rosalie rolled her eyes.
“It may be hard to believe Alice but I did love my brother and sister.” Alice smiled in response to Rosalie calling Bella her sister.
“They look exactly like them.” Emmett said for the thousandth time that evening.
“And they’re going to be living here…Carlisle?” said Jasper.
“No. Why should we expose them to all of this? You saw what it did to Bella and Edward.” He said. “We’re not changing them.”
“It would have been nice.” Said Esme. “Like having them back.”
The family sat in silence, imagining several different ‘what-ifs’.
What if was no good here though, it never was even though the family had asked themselves what if several times in the past five decades.
They would never say they regretted how things had went, because they didn’t. They didn’t regret a single thing because they knew that Edward and Bella Cullen got exactly what they wanted and deserved.
Each other.
ALTERNATE ENDING TWO | HAND IN HAND
Author’s Note: No matter what happens, Edward and Bella should always be hand in hand. That is my final note for this ending.
Edward’s POV
I was scared. I couldn’t deny it.
Bella squeezed my hand in an attempt to calm me.
“I assume Edward is first?” asked Carlisle. I nodded my head. I was about to ask Bella to leave the room, I didn’t want her to see this, but then I remembered that I had made her a promise. I laid down against the one long couch in Carlisle’s study. Bella still held onto my hand.
I can’t really remember the first time this had happened. I was just about dead. When I was changing I had believed I was dead. I didn’t think being alive would equal so much pain. In the end I was never really alive.
And now I was, and it was being taken right from me yet again. But not by a disease this time.
I looked at Bella’s face as Carlisle spoke to the two of us. I was listening, I was taking in the words but I wasn’t understanding them, not yet. I traced the contours of Bella’s face, a favorite pastime of mine. I thought of all we’d been through. The promises we’d made and broken. And the one she’d kept…the one I’d kept.
Then I sat up.
“Wait.” Carlisle frowned. Bella looked anxious.
“Are you having second thoughts?” she asked me. I shook my head and stood up. Her hand was still in mine.
“Can this wait one more night?” I asked him. He considered.
“I was wondering if you’d ask for a little more time.” He gave me and Bella a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
I pulled Bella out of the study and all the way up to our room. I placed her on the bed.
“What is going on?” she asked me. The confused look on her face was so incredibly adorable and sincere that I had to lean in and kiss her before explaining. I felt my pulse quicken as the kiss deepened. My pulse. I haven’t had a pulse in almost a century.
It was such a strange feeling, like an animal trying to break out of your chest. I pulled Bella into my arms. I was still careful, but there wasn’t too much reason to be at this point. I didn’t know if anyone had really noticed, but I was a lot slower than usual. And a lot softer.
Still, I wouldn’t risk it. I wouldn’t risk Bella’s life for anything because Bella was my everything.
“Not that I’m complaining or anything,” She said in between quick little breaths. I moved to her neck. “But what’s all this?”
I looked up at her. “Do you remember what you wanted your last human experience to be?” I asked her.
Her brown eyes lit up with the memory. “Of course.”
“Why did you want that?”
She seemed perplexed by my question and all of my actions in general. “Because once I became a vampire I wouldn’t be able to feel my pulse quicken. I wouldn’t be able to feel the heat. I wouldn’t have pink cheeks, I wouldn’t be able to feel like my heart was about to explode. And I needed that feeling one last time.”
“Then, can you understand why I want this now, more than ever? When I have an actual heartbeat? Now that I’m warm and I can blush?” I asked.
She didn’t reply right away. It tortured me so much that I couldn’t know what she was thinking. Even now, when I could quite literally feel my gift slipping away, the fact that I could barely hear everyone else’s minds didn’t matter. I still yearned for hers.
“You want to sleep with me when you’re about 90% human, before you change back?” she asked me.
“Yes.”
She smiled. “It’s nice to see you wanting to do this.” Then she leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. Even though mine were warm, I would never get over her warmness.
Her mouth moved slowly against mine. I groaned as her tongue forced my mouth open. I reached up to pull her shirt off. I started to kiss all around her neck as she took off my shirt and got rid of my jeans.
She practically sighed my name as I turned her over.
I loved her. I love her. She was so utterly the epitome of all that was good in this world. She wasn’t perfect, not in the dictionary sense, but she was my kind of perfect. Wherever I ended up, as long as I was with her it didn’t matter.
It wasn’t as painful as I remembered. Though painful it was. I was aware of two voices above me, but I couldn’t see anything.
I was good at tuning things out, so long as I didn’t think about them. I tuned out my own thoughts sometimes. So I did my best to tune out the pain. I was feeling it, but not really comprehending it.
The most beautiful sound in the world played in my ears.
“I won’t!” it sounded scared.
“Bella, you have to let go.” said another voice. That voice was scared as well, panicked.
“Carlisle, you have to stop this!” the voice was practically screaming now. I was aware of a tightening on some part of my body. My hand? Did I even have one anymore? I could barely feel it there.
“Bella, it’s all tainted. To drink would be to die.” The other voice was shaky. “We should have waited.”
I could hear the beautiful voice sobbing. Hysterical sobs.
“I’ll give you a moment. I have to go get the others.” It was all quiet except for the sobbing.
Who knew such a sad sound could sound so beautiful?
“Edward, I won’t let go. I promise. I promise. They can’t make me.” It was my Bella. “Edward? Edward, please say something!”
Her voice grew more panicked. I wanted to reach out, and tell her that it was okay. That I would get up again. But I didn’t know how to use my body. The sobs came back, more breathy.
“You can’t leave me. Edward, it can’t be true.” I knew she was talking to herself now. But now I was listening, really listening. It was my Bella. “Carlisle said that the new venom is mixing with your old venom, which is mixing with your new human blood.” She paused. “I don’t know if you can hear me Edward…”
I can hear you Bella.
But she couldn’t hear me.
“The venom is killing everything, like it’s supposed to, but the old venom has grown accustomed to your blood. It’s fighting the new venom. They’re both fighting and they’re getting weak. You’re almost out of blood, and once it’s gone Edward…” her voice shook. I could hear her crying now. It was so much louder.
At that second, the pain intensified. I was sure that if I was in control of my body I would’ve cringed.
Something changed.
Bella wasn’t crying anymore. I felt a different kind of pressure. Something soft though. Something I knew well. Her lips.
“We promised we’d leave hand and hand.” She said. What was she doing? I wanted to tell to her stop when I realized that she had drunk from my infected venom. I was losing focus.
What was happening? I heard a scream, several new voices.
“She drank from him!” A high voice. I couldn’t place whose it was, but I knew it.
More sobbing.
Several moments passed. The pressure that I had felt earlier, on what might’ve been my hand, slackened, but didn’t stop.
“They’re holding hands.” Another voice I knew. Who was the person speaking? A female?
“Bella? Edward?” The panicked male’s voice from before. Carlisle. I wanted to call out to him. To ask for him to save Bella. I wondered if Bella was trying to call out as well.
“It’s as if Romeo and Juliet was written for them.” Another male’s voice. With each new voice, they sounded sadder and sadder. And farther away. Like a dream.
Another sob. A female. “But she just joined our family.” And then, “Oh Edward!”
The voices continued to speak, getting more hysterical as time went on, but I couldn’t make sense of their words. I didn’t know who was speaking or who was in the room.
Except for Bella.
I knew she was right beside me. I could feel her. And for once I knew what she was thinking, as she thought her final thoughts.
I love you.
That was the last emotion I would feel. My love for Bella. The strongest and most wonderful feeling and love I’ve ever had in my life.
It was as if we shared a brain. I was so sure she was thinking about what I was thinking about. How could she not be?
Never let go.
And I wouldn’t. I’d promised her forever, as long as our forever lasted. If this was the end of our forever, I still wasn’t letting go. And I knew she wasn’t either.
Thank you so much to all the many people who've read my story, I'm at 316 comments now, OMFG! xD
Edward’s POV.
“The hospital needed Carlisle for a few hours. He’s really sorry.” Esme’s face was apologetic as she told us why I couldn’t be changed at that second.
As the words sunk in I began to lose faith. What if Aro was right? What if once this was finished it was irreversible? I was sure that my emotions could be easily read on my face at that second, but I didn’t care.
Bella took my hand and led me out back. We sat on the back steps in silence. I wanted to know what she was thinking but I was too wrapped up in myself to be able to ask. My only concern was that if Carlisle didn’t get back in time Bella’s life was more at risk than ever.
“Stop that.” Bella’s voice was scolding.
“Stop what?”
“Giving up hope. You’re just about ready to write up your will.” She replied. Her tone might have been scolding but her eyes were thoughtful. She squeezed my hand tightly.
“I’d rather it was my will than yours.” I said. Her reaction surprised me, as most of her reactions did.
“Don’t give me that.” She was angry. She stood up and walked several feet away from me. What had I said that was so bad? The last thing I wanted to do was upset her.
“What’s wrong?” I asked. This time it was she that stood with her back facing me.
Her voice made it sound like she was fighting tears. “I thought by now you would’ve realized that we’re in this together. Your will, my will, they’re the same thing. We’re not doing this whole I save you or you save me thing anymore. Edward, I want us to save each other.”
I hated making her cry. I hated myself every time I did it, even if it was unintentional.
She wasn’t done speaking. She turned around to look at me and I saw that she’d regained control of her crying. “I love you more than everything in this world combined. But it won’t mean anything if we don’t get past you always trying to spare my life. What do you think I’d do without you Edward? Well you already know, you’ve had to find out before remember? I wouldn’t do anything.”
“Well what would I do with you gone? I’d be a walking corpse.” I shot back. Why couldn’t she understand that I couldn’t help feeling the way I did? I would give anything just so she would have a chance to keep living.
“I’d rather us both be dead than you keep trying to avoid the fact that whatever we do, we’re both doing it.” She said.
I looked at her angelic face; her eyes were lit with a fire I’d never seen before. I felt a need to close the several feet of distance in between us. I walked over to her and put my hands on either side of her face.
“Together.” I said. And this time I meant it. She was right, I couldn’t avoid it any longer and I wasn’t going to.
There was a gasp and then a flash of movement. I let go of Bella’s face and pulled her closer to me. No human could move that fast.
“Jane?” Bella called. I was perplexed by how she knew it was Jane and I didn’t. She seemed to realize what I was thinking. “Who else would be watching us?” she asked.
Jane stepped out from behind the trees. Her expression made it look like that if she could cry she would be doing it.
“Caius told me over and over that he didn’t understand your relationship. Marcus didn’t see a point to it. Not even Aro could fathom it.” She said.
“We don’t care what they think.” I said. I tried not to sound cold; the fact that she looked any degree of vulnerable made me pity her. But only a little.
“I didn’t really understand you either. I didn’t bother too, I was too occupied by losing my spot as favorite. But I guess now it’s because I’ve never had anyone speak to me in that way, how you just spoke to each other. I’ve never in my life heard anyone speak that way to someone else. Not from my Masters, not even from Alec.”
I wanted to ask her why she was telling us this but she answered my question before I got a chance to ask it.
“I don’t understand why someone would wish for something like this to end. When there’s so little of something so pure, why would my masters wish for it to perish?” she asked.
“We don’t know the answer to that question.” Said Bella.
“I’ve never given much thought to right and wrong before, but I guess that’s why I’m living this life. Thoughtlessness. “
And then she was gone.
“I think I might actually like her.” Bella said to me.
I hugged her close to me. We stood like that for several minutes. If I could, I would’ve had us stand like that for eternity. But that wasn’t up to me anymore, was it?
“I wish you luck.” Jane had returned. She had a phone in her hand.
“With what?” I asked her.
“Life as a human.” She replied.
Bella met my eyes with a look of bewilderment. She broke away from me and actually took two steps towards Jane.
“What?” she asked.
“Well, it’s not certain yet. They still want to talk to you, they’re flying back to Forks tonight.” There was no need to ask who they were.
“What did you say?” I asked her. What could’ve changed three heartless vampire’s minds within minutes?
“What I just said to you. I said it to Caius. He was actually quiet for five whole minutes.” Jane answered.
“What did he say afterwards?” asked Bella.
“He said ‘You’ve always seen right through people Jane, why not these two?’ And I said that there was too much to see. Then he said they’d be here this morning.” As she finished her sentence I realized that somebody else had just joined us.
“They’re coming back.” Said Alice.
“We know.” Bella and I said unison.
“Why?” she asked.
“Because they’ve opened their eyes.” Jane answered. The vulnerability had vanished now that we weren’t alone anymore. She started to turn around.
“Wait!” Bella said to her. Jane turned back around. Bella became hesitant. I gave her an encouraging smile. “You’re leaving?” she asked Jane. Jane shrugged.
“There’s no reason why I shouldn’t.” she replied. Alice looked back and forth from Bella to Jane. She met my eyes with questions I couldn’t answer because I could no longer hear her thoughts.
Bella took another step towards Jane. “Thank you.”
“There’s no reason to thank me.” Jane smiled at Bella. “At least this way, I’m still the favorite.”
And then she was gone, but this time it was for good.
I looked around to see that Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and Esme had all joined us. I felt so slow, not knowing about their arrivals beforehand.
“What is going on? Was Jane being thoughtful?” Alice’s tone mirrored all the disbelief in her face. Then her face became blank. We all waited.
“Alice?” asked Esme.
She blinked twice before looking around at us.
She looked at me, and then turned to Bella. “Why do I see the both of you with two little children? And…you look old. Like in your thirties.” She was shocked, but she sounded happy.
I heard Rosalie gasp.
“Jane heard us talking. Apparently they really do trust her judgment.” Bella answered.
And then, somehow it all happened at the same time, dry sobs started to come out of both Rosalie and Esme. Alice joined in and then Bella did as well. She was the only one with tears streaming down her face but I was sure that they would’ve been running down the other’s cheeks, if it were possible.
Jasper and Emmett closed in, and we all stood together. I understood what all the crying was about. Bella and I were both safe, but we’d have to leave.
Bella took my hand, she was still crying. As I felt her warmth, I realized that we’d be missing our family. A part of us would always be with them.
But Bella was my other half; she had an even bigger part of me with her. And she would be with me as long as we both lived.
And with kids.
Alice Cullen turned to her family. “This is the place.”
Everyone was wearing black. The six of them stood before the one gravestone. Written on it were words that the six had never imagined reading.
Here lay Edward and Isabella Cullen.
1988-2065
May God bless your kindred spirits.
Never was there a love so pure.
R.I.P.
Alice took Jasper’s hand. They were silent for several minutes.
“This is how it’s supposed to be.” Rosalie spoke first. Esme placed the dozen roses she’d bought in front of the grave.
They all heard the humans approach, but they didn’t bother to hide. They weren’t walking away, not yet. Alice turned her head to see who had joined them and almost gasped out loud.
“Hello.” Said the girl. “Were you friends of theirs?”
The boy added his own rose to the bouquet.
“Yes.” Answered Carlisle. “They lived a happy life didn’t they?”
The boy nodded. “They were the best grandparents in the world.” He said.
Alice tried to hide her smile. “You look exactly like them.”
The girl grinned. “Grandma Bells used to show me pictures of when she was my age. They died just as gorgeous.”
The boy stepped forward. “I’m sorry, we didn’t ask your names.”
Carlisle spoke. “We’re the Hales. I’m Carlisle, and this is my wife Esme.” He gestured towards the beauty standing beside him. “And these are our adopted children, Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and Alice.”
The boy and girl exchanged glances. “Wow. All of you?” the girl’s voice was amazed, but in a complimentary way.
“Where do you all live?” it was amazing how much the boy looked like his grandfather. An exact replica.
“Well, we just moved to Forks, Washington. I’m sure you know that’s where your grandparents grew up.” Said Esme.
“That’s funny, we’re both moving there. We’re going to finish our last two years of high school there. Grandpa always said he’d liked it there. Grandma said it was all thanks to the people. They made us promise that we’d go one day.” The girl glanced at the grave as she spoke.
“Does it really rain that often?” her brother asked them.
“Yes.” They all spoke at the same time.
“Do you know how hard it was not to bite them right then and there?” Alice asked Rosalie when they’d gotten back home.
“I know.” Said Rosalie.
“You wanted to change them?” asked Alice. Rosalie rolled her eyes.
“It may be hard to believe Alice but I did love my brother and sister.” Alice smiled in response to Rosalie calling Bella her sister.
“They look exactly like them.” Emmett said for the thousandth time that evening.
“And they’re going to be living here…Carlisle?” said Jasper.
“No. Why should we expose them to all of this? You saw what it did to Bella and Edward.” He said. “We’re not changing them.”
“It would have been nice.” Said Esme. “Like having them back.”
The family sat in silence, imagining several different ‘what-ifs’.
What if was no good here though, it never was even though the family had asked themselves what if several times in the past five decades.
They would never say they regretted how things had went, because they didn’t. They didn’t regret a single thing because they knew that Edward and Bella Cullen got exactly what they wanted and deserved.
Each other.
ALTERNATE ENDING TWO | HAND IN HAND
Author’s Note: No matter what happens, Edward and Bella should always be hand in hand. That is my final note for this ending.
Edward’s POV
I was scared. I couldn’t deny it.
Bella squeezed my hand in an attempt to calm me.
“I assume Edward is first?” asked Carlisle. I nodded my head. I was about to ask Bella to leave the room, I didn’t want her to see this, but then I remembered that I had made her a promise. I laid down against the one long couch in Carlisle’s study. Bella still held onto my hand.
I can’t really remember the first time this had happened. I was just about dead. When I was changing I had believed I was dead. I didn’t think being alive would equal so much pain. In the end I was never really alive.
And now I was, and it was being taken right from me yet again. But not by a disease this time.
I looked at Bella’s face as Carlisle spoke to the two of us. I was listening, I was taking in the words but I wasn’t understanding them, not yet. I traced the contours of Bella’s face, a favorite pastime of mine. I thought of all we’d been through. The promises we’d made and broken. And the one she’d kept…the one I’d kept.
Then I sat up.
“Wait.” Carlisle frowned. Bella looked anxious.
“Are you having second thoughts?” she asked me. I shook my head and stood up. Her hand was still in mine.
“Can this wait one more night?” I asked him. He considered.
“I was wondering if you’d ask for a little more time.” He gave me and Bella a smile. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
I pulled Bella out of the study and all the way up to our room. I placed her on the bed.
“What is going on?” she asked me. The confused look on her face was so incredibly adorable and sincere that I had to lean in and kiss her before explaining. I felt my pulse quicken as the kiss deepened. My pulse. I haven’t had a pulse in almost a century.
It was such a strange feeling, like an animal trying to break out of your chest. I pulled Bella into my arms. I was still careful, but there wasn’t too much reason to be at this point. I didn’t know if anyone had really noticed, but I was a lot slower than usual. And a lot softer.
Still, I wouldn’t risk it. I wouldn’t risk Bella’s life for anything because Bella was my everything.
“Not that I’m complaining or anything,” She said in between quick little breaths. I moved to her neck. “But what’s all this?”
I looked up at her. “Do you remember what you wanted your last human experience to be?” I asked her.
Her brown eyes lit up with the memory. “Of course.”
“Why did you want that?”
She seemed perplexed by my question and all of my actions in general. “Because once I became a vampire I wouldn’t be able to feel my pulse quicken. I wouldn’t be able to feel the heat. I wouldn’t have pink cheeks, I wouldn’t be able to feel like my heart was about to explode. And I needed that feeling one last time.”
“Then, can you understand why I want this now, more than ever? When I have an actual heartbeat? Now that I’m warm and I can blush?” I asked.
She didn’t reply right away. It tortured me so much that I couldn’t know what she was thinking. Even now, when I could quite literally feel my gift slipping away, the fact that I could barely hear everyone else’s minds didn’t matter. I still yearned for hers.
“You want to sleep with me when you’re about 90% human, before you change back?” she asked me.
“Yes.”
She smiled. “It’s nice to see you wanting to do this.” Then she leaned in and pressed her lips to mine. Even though mine were warm, I would never get over her warmness.
Her mouth moved slowly against mine. I groaned as her tongue forced my mouth open. I reached up to pull her shirt off. I started to kiss all around her neck as she took off my shirt and got rid of my jeans.
She practically sighed my name as I turned her over.
I loved her. I love her. She was so utterly the epitome of all that was good in this world. She wasn’t perfect, not in the dictionary sense, but she was my kind of perfect. Wherever I ended up, as long as I was with her it didn’t matter.
It wasn’t as painful as I remembered. Though painful it was. I was aware of two voices above me, but I couldn’t see anything.
I was good at tuning things out, so long as I didn’t think about them. I tuned out my own thoughts sometimes. So I did my best to tune out the pain. I was feeling it, but not really comprehending it.
The most beautiful sound in the world played in my ears.
“I won’t!” it sounded scared.
“Bella, you have to let go.” said another voice. That voice was scared as well, panicked.
“Carlisle, you have to stop this!” the voice was practically screaming now. I was aware of a tightening on some part of my body. My hand? Did I even have one anymore? I could barely feel it there.
“Bella, it’s all tainted. To drink would be to die.” The other voice was shaky. “We should have waited.”
I could hear the beautiful voice sobbing. Hysterical sobs.
“I’ll give you a moment. I have to go get the others.” It was all quiet except for the sobbing.
Who knew such a sad sound could sound so beautiful?
“Edward, I won’t let go. I promise. I promise. They can’t make me.” It was my Bella. “Edward? Edward, please say something!”
Her voice grew more panicked. I wanted to reach out, and tell her that it was okay. That I would get up again. But I didn’t know how to use my body. The sobs came back, more breathy.
“You can’t leave me. Edward, it can’t be true.” I knew she was talking to herself now. But now I was listening, really listening. It was my Bella. “Carlisle said that the new venom is mixing with your old venom, which is mixing with your new human blood.” She paused. “I don’t know if you can hear me Edward…”
I can hear you Bella.
But she couldn’t hear me.
“The venom is killing everything, like it’s supposed to, but the old venom has grown accustomed to your blood. It’s fighting the new venom. They’re both fighting and they’re getting weak. You’re almost out of blood, and once it’s gone Edward…” her voice shook. I could hear her crying now. It was so much louder.
At that second, the pain intensified. I was sure that if I was in control of my body I would’ve cringed.
Something changed.
Bella wasn’t crying anymore. I felt a different kind of pressure. Something soft though. Something I knew well. Her lips.
“We promised we’d leave hand and hand.” She said. What was she doing? I wanted to tell to her stop when I realized that she had drunk from my infected venom. I was losing focus.
What was happening? I heard a scream, several new voices.
“She drank from him!” A high voice. I couldn’t place whose it was, but I knew it.
More sobbing.
Several moments passed. The pressure that I had felt earlier, on what might’ve been my hand, slackened, but didn’t stop.
“They’re holding hands.” Another voice I knew. Who was the person speaking? A female?
“Bella? Edward?” The panicked male’s voice from before. Carlisle. I wanted to call out to him. To ask for him to save Bella. I wondered if Bella was trying to call out as well.
“It’s as if Romeo and Juliet was written for them.” Another male’s voice. With each new voice, they sounded sadder and sadder. And farther away. Like a dream.
Another sob. A female. “But she just joined our family.” And then, “Oh Edward!”
The voices continued to speak, getting more hysterical as time went on, but I couldn’t make sense of their words. I didn’t know who was speaking or who was in the room.
Except for Bella.
I knew she was right beside me. I could feel her. And for once I knew what she was thinking, as she thought her final thoughts.
I love you.
That was the last emotion I would feel. My love for Bella. The strongest and most wonderful feeling and love I’ve ever had in my life.
It was as if we shared a brain. I was so sure she was thinking about what I was thinking about. How could she not be?
Never let go.
And I wouldn’t. I’d promised her forever, as long as our forever lasted. If this was the end of our forever, I still wasn’t letting go. And I knew she wasn’t either.
Thank you so much to all the many people who've read my story, I'm at 316 comments now, OMFG! xD