So, here is another chapter. I thank all those who have stayed with me throughout this story and scent all the amazing reviews. You truly are the ones that keep me going. So I hope you enjoy this chapter, and want to say that this story is not over… probably not for a little while longer.  Enjoy.

Disclaimer: This is not mine.

Chapter 18: Home

(Edwards point of view)

For once, I wasn't the one driving. Alex sat at the wheel, his crimson eyes dulled by grief as he drove us down the winding road back home. I sat in the back seat of the car, cradling Bella to me, looking down listlessly at her pale face. Her body was rapidly losing heat, my chilled skin seaming to speed up the process.

Left is silence, only Alex's thoughts and the occasional intrusion of another mind that passed us on the road, left me time to think. I wondered how the others would take the news of Bella's demise, or if Alice had already seen the outcome of our trip. If we had had more time, would she have been able to warn us, or was it a split second decision on Ivan's part, leaving my sister in the dark until we brought her corpse back to them?

I shook my head, having to shove that train of thought out of my head. What ifs wouldn't do us any good. It wouldn't bring Bella back, and would only cause unnecessary pain. So instead, I remembered the past, the happy times, in which Bella was full of life, and oh so beautiful. I remembered my love and how she lived.

My mind traveled back to the first day I saw her, how her scent had me to believe she was my own personal demon, sent to ruin me for my past sins. It was almost humorous how drastically our relationship changed from that first day.

It didn't hurt so much now. When we were apart for those many agonizing years I could hardly recall her name without being cast into a pit of torture and despair. Now I could remember it all, thinking of the time we shared together, desperately clinging to the sense of completion I knew I would never feel again; not with my love gone from this world.

My mind flitted to the possibility of Volterra, of ending my life there. But I quickly abandoned the thought, knowing that A, if I dwelled on it too long Alice would see it, and B, that I wasn't sure I wanted to hurt the family that way. The loss of Bella would be almost too much for us to bare, her presence altering our lives so subtly and so completely, that it risked the destruction of the family; like it almost did when we left her behind. The only thing that kept any of us going, was the knowledge she was living somewhere, safe, and happy.

How wrong we had been.

I let out a haggard sight and bent over Bella's body, my forehead resting on her chest, a chest that no longer rose with her soft breathing, and was silent. I lost all sense of time, finding solace only in our memories together, ones of her human life, and more recent ones of the past few months she had been reunited with me. My soul, once again, complete.

I felt the car crawl to a stop, and looked up in surprise. The great house loomed before us, the car sliding into place in the garage amongst the others. It had seemed that only minutes passed, not hours.

I took a moment to gather myself together, being thrust back into reality as the door to the garage opened and the family stepped out to join us. Their faces were excited and relieved, and I hated that I would be the one to destroy that sense of peace they all shared.

Jasper was the first one to notice something was wrong. He picked up on the emotions of dread and sadness poring off of us and immediately knew something happened. Something horrible.

"Edward?" He questioned.

Solemnly, I stepped out of the car, cradling the limp body to my chest. Collective gasps and whimpers met my ears as they saw what had become of Bella. I couldn't meet their gazes, guilt still a fresh wound in my heart.

I walked passed the family, carrying her into the house and up the stirs and into my room. I placed her on the centre of my bed, pulling the covers up to her neck, hiding the gruesome crimson stain that dominated her torso. The illusion made it look like she was only sleeping. But on closer inspection I noticed the too pale color of her skin, the clammy tone that covered her completion, and the absence of life that even a sleeping person radiated.

I could hear pained voices coming from downstairs and knew I should join the family. Tearing myself away from her side, I left Bella and joined my family, who had gathered in the living room, Alex finishing explaining what had happened with Ivan and Bella's demise.

I sat down in the armchair, my head bent over my lap. I hardly acknowledged Alice coming over to my side, and placing a comforting hand on my shoulder. Only then did I realize I was trembling. As faint as the tremors may have been, they were racking through my body, unable to still myself. But I didn't break down, not yet. Shock was a wonderful thing sometimes.

We all sat in silence for an immeasurable amount of time, each of us lost in his or her thoughts and memories until Carlisle broke the stillness, ever the strong one in the family; ever the leader.

"We need to decide on the arrangements for Bella." He said in a distressed tone, not even him able to keep a calm façade.

"Bella always wanted to be buried." Alex said. When we looked at him questionably, he explained. "Everyone in the PBI was supposed to fill out some documents, in case the worst was to happen. She said she wanted a proper burial. But she never stated where."

"Forks." I said at once. "She should be put to rest back in Forks. Beside Charlie."

"Yes," Agreed Alice. "She would have wanted that." The others also voiced their approval.

"It will be easier this way as well, since there is already a grave marker for her beside Charlie's at Forks cemetery." Jasper added, the voice of reason. I just nodded.

"I'm going to go and change Bella's clothes." Alice said, stepping away and disappearing up the stairs. I didn't say anything about it being pointless, that it wouldn't matter what she was wearing, Alice's thoughts a jumbled mess and this, only thing she could think of doing at the moment. Who was I to tell her how to grieve?

I wanted to follow her up, needing to be with Bella until I said my final goodbye as she was lowered into the ground, sleeping in the soft brown earth, where I so desperately longed to join her. But I knew Alice needed this time for herself, to realize the passing of her best friend and come to terms with it.

"Edward!" Alice's voice rang out, high and tight with panic. I was instantly on my feat, heading to her side. The small vampire was in the hallway outside my room, almost shaking. Her eyes were wide and black with repressed fear and panic. Her mind was a jumbled mess that I couldn't make sense out of.

"Alice," I asked, "What is it? What happened?"

But she didn't answer. The rest of the family gathered on the landing, Alice's husband pulling him to her side, washing waves of calm over her small frame. She almost sagged with relief, as the weight of her emotions was dissipated.

"I-it's Bella." She managed to stutter. "She's gone."

I raced into the room, not giving them a second glance. The bed was empty, slightly stained sheets hanging off the end of the mattress. The window was open, a slight breeze waving the curtains in a dance. Bella was nowhere to be seen.

Cliffy! Haven't done one of these in a while. I'll try to get the next chapter out within the next week or two. Fingers crossed. Until then… Review!