Midnight Sun Part 2

Epilogue An Occasion

Bella was absolutely stunning. I couldn’t take my eyes off of her.

It was the evening of the much ballyhooed prom and Bella and I were on our way. She, of course, was not happy about it. I’d picked her up at her housegrumpy, but gorgeousafter my sister had tortured her for most of the day in “Alice’s Bathroom of Horrors.”

The results were magical. Bella was wearing a deep blue, shoulder–baring gown, with nothing holding it up but her curves and a side zipper. It had a snugly fitted top with tiered ruffles cascading down from the waist. Alice had made up Bella’s eyes to appear even larger than they are, and arranged her hair in a partly–up, partly–down design with wisps of hair around her face and long, soft curls in the back. She wore a simple silver necklace and high–heeled shoes. Well, one high–heeled shoe…and one walking cast.

Bella had finally healed enough to be released from the hospital. Carlisle had returned to Phoenix and accompanied us back to Seattleparental supervision and all that. It was reassuring to have him there, knowing that if Bella became ill or experienced pain during the trip, he could help. Charlie couldn’t argue with that logic when Carlisle had suggested he fly down and escort us home. Bella had said goodbye to her tearful mother at the hospital and we’d whisked her to the airport.

When we delivered Bella to Charlie’s house six hours later, his mind was a jumble of mixed emotions. First, he was happy and relieved to have Bella back, more or less intact, after two–and–a–half weeks away. Next, he was utterly grateful to Carlisle for having been on the spot to save Bella after the accident. Finally, he was furious at me for inciting Bella to leaveas he saw itand only slightly less angry at her for going.

After I’d escorted Bella into the living room and she’d asked me to help her up to her bedroom, Charlie had moved between us and taken Bella’s hand from my arm and placed it on his. She protested, butall in all I thought it better not to make a fuss. I would come back in a few hours anyway and climb through Bella’s window. Besides, it had been ages since I’d hunted. I was starting to feel a little unsafe.

I could use a short break, too. I wanted to think about our disastrous experience of the last three weeks and what to take from it. The problem was that what I should take from it and what I could take from it were not the same thing. What I should have learned, without a doubt, was that it was time for me to leave. Bella couldn’t bring herself to move to Jacksonville with her mother because I was here. She was not going to accept my leaving either, but I knew now more than ever that I must. My world was simply too dangerous for her, and I wasn’t willing to make her one of us…but I couldn’t make myself go either.

Carlisle and I rode home in silence. It was only when we’d reached our driveway that Carlisle spoke.

“What’s on your mind, son?”

So, my distress was that obvious. His question released a flood of emotion in me.

“She’s going to die, Carlisle,” I blurted out. “If I stay with her, she will die.”

“Yes, well Edward, she is going to die sometime. Why would you think that you’re any more responsible for that than Fate itself?”

“Being tortured to death by a vampire isn’t exactly an ordinary human death.”

“No, but have you forgotten that if you hadn’t been near when Bella was almost hit

 by the van, she would already be gone? My point is that as a human, Bella has to live according to the rules of human existence, including the certainty that she will die and that her death could occur at any time. You will have to accept that for as long as she remains human.”