Goodbye Too Soon

**************************************

“Death is not the biggest fear we have; our biggest fear is taking the risk to be alive—the risk to be alive and express what we truly are.” Don Ruiz.

**************************************

Chapter 1

Bella had stepped into a room that took her back several hundred years. Its cold stone walls feeling so damp she was sure she could reach out and touch the dripping water, but looking she could see they were actually dry. The cold seemed to seep into her bones only chilling her, in her wet clothes, even more and made her shudder. The hand holding hers closed a little tighter. She wanted him to hold her close but he had already pushed her at a small distance from him, minimal touching, knowing that his skin would only lower her body temperature more. 

But he was here. He was alive and she had saved him. That was more than she could have ever hoped for looking back and remembering that horrid memory when Alice told her what he planned to do. He thought she had died and he had horribly decided to die too. But she had reached him in time only to now find them back in danger. It was more than danger, they were right in the pit of hell standing and waiting for judgment.

The room was scarcely furnished, a couple of heavy wooden tables, chairs lined along the walls, some iron poled lamps lit with a fire that she wished she could wrap herself around for even a hint of warmth.   There were figures all around them. Vampires. Even now that word seemed almost foreign to her, strange on her tongue. It shouldn’t be. She had given herself, everything she was and would ever be, to him when she had met him. Then he left. She wouldn’t go there again no, she couldn’t. It was just too painful to keep pulsing it through her brain like some willed upon form of self punishment.

For right now he was beside her, holding her hand. Then she felt him stiffen as a door began to open. Her heart beat quickened as the change in Edward’s stance, the narrowing of his eyes spoke to her of the danger that was coming.

Of course danger was coming. That was the story of her life wasn’t it? How silly of her to think that she could swoop in, save her love then simply swoop back home. Being here seemed inevitable for whatever reason.