EPOV

I was losing her. I watched Bella slip deeper and deeper inside herself. I felt like I was slowly losing parts of my soul. How could fate be so cruel as to give me my Bella back just to steal her away again?

“Bella?” I asked. It was another quiet, empty day. Bella was sitting at the piano, staring at the keys. She didn’t move. She wasn’t even breathing. “Bella, my love? Please, please talk to me.” She still sat motionless.

I walked over to the piano bench and sat next to her. Her skin was even paler than the usual vampire pale. The diet of stale blood that I had been feeding to her was not enough. Bella was literally wasting away before my eyes.

BPOV

Talk to him. My subconscious ordered me. No! I argued back I couldn’t face the world. It felt like everyone I cared about was slowly leaving me. Edward’s not about to leave you again. You said that you believe it. I had no response. I did believe it, but then, I would never have believed that Jacob would end up dying for me either. It would not have crossed my mind that Charlie might die anytime soon.

You’re pushing him away! The old Bella screamed at me. My heart was shattering. If I kept this up, I would lose him, but I was drowning. I couldn’t claw my way to the surface. Every time I tried, memories surfaced that pushed me back down into the shadows.

“Please, my love. I’m not going to leave you. I need you to talk to me.” He was begging. It seemed as if he could read my mind, but I knew he could not. I heard him as if from a great distance. The old Bella cried for him, hating me. I felt bad for her, for him. This perfect creature deserved much better than me.

EPOV

“Bella.” I whispered. I felt her moving away from me. It was akin to when James had bitten her. I could literally feel her disappearing from in front of me, but this time, I didn’t know how to stop it. I didn’t know how to pull her back to me.

“Edward?” Alice said from behind me.