Title: When the Levee Bends and Breaks For You

Rating: PG-13

Characters: Angela/Edward, Edward/Bella, Angela/Ben

Timeline: Eclipse/AU

Summary: Edward has never doubted the love that he has for Bella Swan. As a matter of fact, he believes it to be one of the truest, most unwavering things in his undead life. So imagine his surprise when an unexpected friendship arises between him and the shy, Angela Weber and he is forced to discover what he can and can't live without.

Disclaimer: All characters that belong to Stephenie Meyer belong to Stephenie Meyer, I'm just borrowing.

Notes: This preface is a little unorthodox because it starts in medias res or "in the middle or midst of things". Chapter one will pick up 3 months ago, from the beginning to explain how everything got this way. This has been on my mind for such a long time; I finally just decided to get it out. And also, it's been rather hard to find Edward/Angela fiction, so I got to it. Hope you enjoy!

Promotion: Angela/Edward Livejournal Community- Sense of Kinship- .com/senseofkinship/

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Preface

She told me to never pity her; to never rest my eyes on her with any look of forlorn or sadness, because death—as tragic as it may be—was also a part of living. I wanted to believe that maybe this concept was so foreign to me because I'd existed on this earth for over a hundred years and never truly felt—never truly lived nor loved—until I'd met il mio cantante in the form of the human, Isabella Swan. Not only did her warm, sweet blood sing to me, but for the very first time in what seemed like an eternity, I knew what it felt like to be complete and with purpose.

This was my truth.

This feeling my absolute, but as I stood by the bed side of my frail friend, I realized that unlike Bella, it wasn't her blood that kept me grounded at her side, unwilling to leave.

It was her heart.

I felt as if a part of me was slipping away with the young girl as she struggled to breathe on her own. Her small, clammy hand rested lovingly against the cool, marble skin of my cheek and I leaned into her touch, almost desperate. I wanted to hold her here—to keep her with me even when I knew that with all the power that I possessed, I was completely helpless to save her.

"Lay with me?" she requested, voice barely above a whisper and quickly I obliged, unable, or maybe just unwilling, to deny her anything at this point. I waited patiently as she slowly moved over in the small hospital bed to make room for me before slipping in easily as I'd done every night for the past three months.

I molded into her, adjusting her head so that my arm become her makeshift pillow. I pulled her to me and sighed with breath that I no longer needed. It was a sigh of relief when I felt the rhythm of her heart beating against my chest. I could hear it just fine from any point within the room, but it made me feel better to have her this close. Holding her made her tangible, like maybe she couldn't slip away unless I made the conscious choice to let her go. And there wasn't any time when I could see myself doing that, so I held on as tight as I possibly could without hurting her.

The morphine that dripped into her IV to dull the pain made her drowsy to the point that her thoughts became hazy—a mystery to me. This, I did not like and often I found myself more anxious and worried than usual. I was so accustomed to hearing her thoughts that to be without them gave me a mere taste of what it would be like if she were not here with me.

It was absolute torture.

I wanted to know what she needed of me at such a critical stage of her illness. I wanted to grant her whatever small pleasures that she desired in the time that we did have together.

"This is nice," she breathed softly, nestling against my chest. "This is all I need."

It was as if she were reading my thoughts now.

Her breathes quickly became shallow and I could tell that she was falling asleep. I lulled her, gently stroking her face as she dozed. "Sleep my angel," I whispered close to her ear. "Sleep and I shall be here when you open your eyes."

She sighed contently, a smile on her pale lips and I knew within a few passing minutes that she was lost in slumber. Left to my own thoughts, I was more torn than ever.

I'd never fully understood why Bella's friendship with the young wolf, Jacob Black was so hard for her to shake, or more importantly, why it was so hard for me to accept. The issue of him being a werewolf and I, a vampire was only a minor source of the level of animosity that I felt toward the young man and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that even though Bella loved me, there was also a part of her that cared deeply for Jacob as well. He was her best friend. There was a connection there; a mutual feeling of respect, admiration, and of love.

In the past, this idea of two kinds of love that occupied the same heart was an enigma to me. I'd never known a love like the kind that Bella and I'd shared; therefore, I did not understood how such a thing could exist, especially if one felt as strongly as I did about her.

To have your heart torn between the love you feel for one and the growing love you share with another…?

It was so basic; so human, yet I was in awe of it all. It certainly was not a position that I expected to find myself in, but lo and behold.

It was selfish of me to want them both; to have my Bella, but to also keep the wonderful girl that rested so peacefully in my arms. I looked down at her angelic face as she slept and couldn't help but think that maybe, I had it all wrong from the beginning.

Maybe it wasn't the fact that death had eluded me for so long that I was unable to accept that it was a natural part of life—a natural part of living.

My logic was less complex than that.

I just honestly could not imagine a world without the kind and beautiful, Angela Weber in it.