Perpetual Existence

Perpetual Darkness

My family's inner voices dissipate as the distance between us increases. The speed at which I run alarms me; it's slower than usual. I know why, but the denial is at the tip of my tongue, the forefront of my thoughts.

I don't want to leave her.

The second I can no longer pick up Bella's heartbeat, I come to a screeching halt, toppling hundred-year-old spruce. My breathing is harsh, not because it hurts to breathe, but because I can't pick up Bella's scent. It worries me I can no longer hear her heart; without it, how can I tell if she still lives?

I am aware that as long as the day continues, she's still here with me. In this perpetual hell of our own creation. She claims she has the ability to manipulate time and events until she is safe, but I am the main reason why we're still here, living and dying in perpetual death.

Does a heart still beat when it's broken?

The devastation on her sweet face, after I fired such vile words at her, lingers and haunts me. As it always will. Another image soon replaces the first, a twist of her soft lips and the fire that metaphorically and emotionally stings from her slap.

I deserved it, after such blasphemous words. I hurt her again; it almost seems inevitable for me to be the cause of her pain. All of her pain.

My cell phone rings in my pocket several minutes later, and despite the despair that clings to me like death, the beast within me insists I answer. He needs reassurance the vessel that carries such luscious essence is still alive.

"You need to get back here now!" Alice screams before I can ask why. "She's right, Edward. Something is after her."

"We're talking Final Destination shit!" Emmett is quick to add, grunting for some reason. "I just saved her from electrocution."

"Oh, what now?" Alice screams again, the call ends before she can tell me what's wrong.

I fail to understand what's happening.

My beast bellows from within. "Something more supernatural than us is trying to kill her."

My feet are already moving toward home. I pick up speed and hear Bella's racing heart. It's surrounded by the chaotic minds of my family. The moment they sense my return, they bombard me with their memories of the last couple of minutes. Showing me five different attempts on her life since I ran away.

"Son, I don't know what's going on, but she needs your help." Carlisle's plea is the first thought that reaches through the rest.

"This can't be happening," Rosalie roars. I watch from her mind as she holds up the large plasma television screen from falling on Bella.

The poor girl shakes in a fetal position on the floor, and it's my undoing.

"You've got to be kidding me." The once wall-mounted television starts to crumble in Rosalie's hold.

Emmett sees this, rolling underneath and gathering Bella in his arms. He rolls to a stand smoothly, sensing my approach at the back of the house. It doesn't take long for him to come to a standstill, looking down at the fragile girl in his hold. Embedded in Bella's arm is a large piece of ceramic from one of Esme's lamps. It's from the one that tried to electrocute her, Emmett notes, looking up in my direction.

My feet move impossibly faster, but will it be fast enough?

Emmett's gaze snaps to Jasper, who has frozen on the spot, the look of bloodlust instantly taking over his facial features, overcoming him.