Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ The Fragrance of the Perfect Lie ❯ Facing the Demons of One's Soul ( Chapter 14 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Not for the first time, Edward once again silently cursed himself for what had happened in the past few months. It was his fault that he hadn’t warned Bella severely enough in her dreams. It was his fault that the Volturi went after him in the first place. It was his fault that he couldn’t save Charlie in time.

A wave of alertness unexpectedly washed over him, snapping him back into reality.

“I’m sorry,” Edward apologized as he glided through the woods.

“You really need to stop torturing yourself over this,” Jasper scolded quietly. “None of this is your fault.”

“Yeah, and you know that Bella doesn’t blame you for any of this,” Emmett agreed. “You’re no good for her if you keep spacing out like this.”

A grim frown appeared on Edward’s face as he thought about what had happened only a few minutes ago. He had allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts after he thought he had finished off the last of the Sustantivo prevalence. Just as he let his guard down, its few remaining members ambushed him. With the help of Emmett and Tanya’s coven, he eventually disposed of them. Emmett was absolutely correct; he would be useless to Bella if he continued to become easily distracted.

“You’re doing it again.”

With an exasperated sigh, he turned his focus back to the present. Now that the werewolf pack was exterminated, Edward wanted to make sure Bella was safe. None of them had reported seeing any of the Volturi for the past few hours, so he had become a little suspicious.

“I wonder where the Volturi are,” Edward thought out loud.

“I don’t know,” Jasper admitted with a thoughtful frown. “Perhaps they’re re-gathering to formulate a new plan.”

Emmett stiffened as he caught a whiff of two distinct, yet very different scents. They were both faintly sweet, and he was sure that these two scents were located only thirty feet away.

“Edward, Jasper,” Emmett said in a low whisper. “I found a couple of scents that belong to other vampires. They’re only twenty five feet away or so.”

“We’ll investigate it, then.” Edward replied, his eyes fixed upon the thinning forest before him.

It’s where I last left Bella with Carlisle!

Nothing could’ve prepared them for what they saw once they reached the end of the woods.

They discovered Jane humming a cheerful tune to herself as she carefully examined what was clearly Carlisle’s left shoe. Stepping backwards in horror, Edward tuned out his brothers’ agitated thoughts to look for Carlisle’s thoughts. Any last shred of hope he had held on to was now long gone, as he continued to fruitlessly extend the perimeters of his hearing range.

Nothing.

He couldn’t even detect a whisper of Carlisle’s thoughts. The calm, yet passionate texture of Carlisle’s numerous thoughts were never to be heard again. Before Edward was able to fully register the fact that his father figure - no, father, he mentally corrected himself - was dead, a crowd of new voices appeared. It was none other than the Volturi.

Volturi.

Edward’s teeth grinded furiously together as the hot red lettering of the name of his father’s murderers presented itself before him.

They are going to pay for what they have done to my family.

This was Edward’s last coherent thought before complete rage consumed his entire being.

Jasper and Emmett merely stared as Edward lunged towards Jane with a vicious snarl. A playful, yet calm smirk appeared on Jane’s face as Edward wrapped his hands around her neck, which only made him even more furious.

“Now you finally have a taste of your own medicine,” She managed to whisper. “I considered taking your mate instead, but why should I? I’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’ll show your true interior, your inner monster, to her. Feel free to say goodbye to Bella for the last time.”

Struggling to regain his logic, he turned his livid gaze to Bella’s. A stream of tears ran down her face, which saturated the hand Marcus had around her mouth. Livio was nowhere to be seen.

“Bella…” Edward growled, turning his gaze back to Jane.

This had to be the toughest decision he had ever faced in his hundred plus years of existence. Should he avenge his father, or save the love of his life?Forget the female human, his inner demons commanded. Get your revenge on these disgusting, oppressive beings that call themselves the royalty of vampires. After all, you wouldn’t have met the girl if it weren’t for Carlisle.

No, Edward argued back. They’ll kill Bella if I kill Jane.
His hold on Jane’s neck began to tighten. If he squeezed her neck a few more centimeters, the bones would completely shatter.

It doesn’t matter! The voice snarled. They’ll kill you if you spare Jane. You might as well avenge Carlisle while you have the time!

If my death ensures Bella’s safety, then let me die!

Think of the rest of your family. Think of the rest of the vampires worldwide. You’ll be doing them a favor by killing the Volturi’s most lethal member.

SHUT UP!!!

Did his inner demon have a point, though? This was probably the closest Jane had ever been to true death. If he didn’t kill her now, then who would? Wasn’t it also true that more people would die if he didn’t kill her?

“Choose wisely,” Jane wheezed, her eyes full with unfiltered hate. “Your human, or the rest of your coven?”Choking back a wave of dry sobs, Edward made his final decision.

Please forgive me.

Just as he was about to take action, a pair of gigantic wolves tackled both him and Jane from behind.

“STOP!” Bella’s fierce cry was the last thing he heard before losing consciousness.

Whaa-?

Instead of being pulled into the fiery pits of the ground as he had originally imagined would happen, he was lulled into a room full of blinding light. The white light instantly dimmed down to a volume that was comfortable enough to his sensitive eyesight.

“Where am I?” Edward voiced out loud.

“I’m not exactly sure, myself.” Carlisle replied, resting his hand on Edward’s shoulder.

Edward gave a yelp of surprise, stumbling backwards at the unexpected sight of Carlisle.

“I never would’ve imagined that I would end up in the same place as you.”

“What compels you to say that?” Carlisle asked, looking hurt.

“It’s just that…well…erm…you’re a much better person than I am.”To Edward’s complete surprise, Carlisle landed a well-aimed punch to his nose. He was too stunned to even react. He fell flat on his back to stare at Carlisle with a shocked expression.

“If you can’t even learn to love yourself, how can you give Bella your whole heart?”“How can you say that, Carlisle?”“Bella will never completely be out of harm’s way as long as there is doubt in your will.”

“I love Bella with my entire being! I’ll do anything to ensure her safety!”
“Except letting go of the demons of your past.”For the second time that day, Edward became completely speechless.

“You’re not allowing Bella to heal you. You’re still keeping your flaws hidden from her as long as possible. When you first fell in love with her, I had not noticed much improvement in your well-being. As time passed by, I realized that it wasn’t her fault. It was yours.“I…why didn’t you..?”“I was meaning to talk to you after we return home, but I obviously had to tell you now.”“I need some time to think over what you just said.”With an understanding smile, Carlisle disappeared to who-knows-where.

Edward’s first reaction to what Carlisle had said was one of utter shock and hurt. He was happier once Bella came along, at least, that was what he thought. Life had meaning once again, and he felt it was his responsibility to keep her safe. He then thought back when he would watch Bella in her sleep, and let his mind wander about the mysteries of the future.

He also remembered when he had left Bella, but for what he thought were good reasons. It had turned out that she suffered even more than he had.

How can Bella love a monster like me?

Carlisle was right. Why, you don’t deserve her if you can’t even try harder to accept her love.

“But how?” Edward cried, wringing his hands in frustration.

“Talk to her,” Carlisle re-appeared. “Express your each and every thought. Let her understand you and how your mind works. Only then will you be able to accept her love and give it in return.”A small weight lift from his chest as Carlisle said this.

“I see.”“Good luck, son.” Carlisle spread his arms out with a softened gaze.

With a grateful smile, Edward returned the gesture and hugged him.

“You too, father.”The white light from before returned, and momentarily blinded his vision. Without warning, he awoke from unconsciousness to have Emmett violently shaking his shoulders.

“You awake yet?!”“Argh! Yes, yes, I’m back! Now let me go!”

Letting go of his shoulders, Edward quickly sat up with a gasp. He looked down, and saw stitches cover various parts of his arms and legs.

“Where’s Bella? Where’s the Volturi? What happened?”“Stay still,” Sam warned. “Your stitches will fall apart if you don’t.”Leah and an annoyed Jacob appeared before him.
“We apologize for giving you those injuries in the first place,” Leah spoke up. “It’s just that you vampires all smell the same to us.”“I accept your apology,” Edward replied. “But what exactly happened while I was…gone?”“Long story short, Sam’s pack and both Volturis from both universes fought. We won, and they eventually destroyed each other,” Bella wrapped her arms lightly around his neck. “The two Volturis, that is.”“Bella!”He locked his lips against hers, giving her a soft, yet passionate kiss. Feeling the heat of her blush reach his lips, he gently backed away.

“Livio survived,” Bella reported, her face as red as a tomato. “The good Livio, I mean. So did everyone else, except for Carlisle…”“I spoke with Carlisle while I was unconscious.”

“What?”“I’ll explain later. Now let’s go find Livio.”

After a few minutes, Edward and Bella gathered everyone whom belonged to the original universe together. They profusely thanked Sam’s pack before getting ready to leave.

“Be sure to travel back if you ever need anything again,” Sam promised with a polite smile.

“Try to transport us back to the right universe, please.” Emmett chuckled, half-joking and half-serious.

“I’ll try my best,” Livio said sarcastically. “Link your hands together, everybody!”With matching grins, Bella and Edward gave each other’s hands a quick squeeze. As long as they remained together, Bella wouldn’t have minded if they ended up on Mars.