Twilight: blood & brimstone

Bella Swan was running.

But she wasn't sure if she was running toward something—

Or trying to escape it.

Alice gripped the steering wheel tightly, her knuckles white as she pushed the car well past its limits. The highway blurred around them, the speedometer needle creeping higher.

But Bella barely noticed.

Her mind was too loud.

Edward was going to die.

Because of her. Because of him.

Her fingers curled against her lap, her stomach twisting. She should be more afraid. She should be devastated.

But she wasn't.

Not entirely.

And that terrified her.

Alice Sees It First

Alice exhaled sharply, her fingers twitching as her vision shifted again.

Her voice was tight. "He's going to expose himself in the square."

Bella's chest constricted.

Alice's jaw clenched. "We're running out of time."

Jasper, silent in the back seat, finally spoke, his voice low. "Even if we get there in time—what happens after?"

Bella stilled.

Because she knew what he was asking.

What she hadn't let herself think about.

If they saved Edward—what then?

Did she go back? Pretend none of this had happened?

Pretend she didn't feel the way she did when he was around?

Her fingers trembled.

She didn't know.

And she was afraid of what that meant.

Volterra – The Clock Tower

The streets were packed.

The festival celebrating Saint Marcus was in full swing, people dressed in red, laughing, completely unaware of the monster about to step into the sun.

Bella's heart pounded as she ran, her breath sharp in her lungs.

Alice's voice was urgent in her ear. "You have seconds, Bella!"

And then—

She saw him.

Edward.

Walking toward the light.

Toward death.

Her throat closed. "No—"

And then she was screaming.

"EDWARD!"

He stopped.

Turned.

His black eyes locked onto hers—

And for the first time in weeks, she saw it.

The boy she had once loved.

The boy she had lost.

The boy she wasn't sure she wanted to save anymore.

Her breath stuttered.

Because she wasn't the same girl who had once chased after him without question.

And he wasn't the same either.

Not after what she had done.

What she had let happen.

But none of that mattered.

Not yet.

She threw herself forward, crashing into him just before he could step into the light, her arms tight around him, her breath shaking.

"Don't," she whispered.

His hands hovered over her back like he wasn't sure he was allowed to touch her.

Like he knew.

Like he felt it too.

"…Bella?" His voice was hoarse.

She swallowed, her fingers curling into his shirt.

And she lied.

Because she had to.

Because she wasn't ready for the truth.

"I'm here," she whispered.

"I came back for you."