8/14/2019 Only Human25

1/5

Chapter 25

Title: Only Human (25/27)Author: Amethyst JacksonRating: M/NC-17Category: Drama, Angst, RomancePairing: Edward/BellaSummary: A wish sends Bella back in time to Chicago, 1918, and to a human Edward.Disclaimer:All this genius belongs to Stephanie Meyer. Im just having a little fun.

I slept off and on, lying on the bed next to Edward. I could never stay asleep for long though it

was more comfortable than the chair in the hospital had been, Edwards occasional cries would

wake me. He never fully screamed, fighting to hold the sounds in, but I had a feeling it was only a

matter of time.

8/14/2019 Only Human25

2/5

8/14/2019 Only Human25

3/5

Twenty-four hours passed, and he continued to struggle against his pain, to keep it inside, though

he didnt seem to have a rational reason to do so. I could tell he no longer recognized me

perhaps he tried not to scream simply for something to focus on other than the pain.

I did my best to soothe him with cool water, afraid to stray too far from his side. I ate again, and

fell asleep curled up against him. When nearly 48 hours had passed, I woke to a sharp scream anda pain in my arm. I realized Edward was grasping my wrist for dear life, his fingers unnaturally and

dangerously tight around the small bones. I couldnt ask him to let go, however. I waited for him to

relax a bit, and he finally loosened his clasp.

I could barely stand to watch, but I couldnt turn away. His eyes remained open wide, unseeing

and edged with terror. The tendons in his neck and arms stood out as he strained against the

venom coursing through him. His nails tore holes in the bedspread beneath him.

The very core of me protested against seeing him this way, but I couldnt deny the small, scared

part of me that watched this with fear for myself. I knew now, without a doubt, what I would

experience if Edward kept his word and changed me. I had proof in the worst way of everything

Edward had warned me of how I would experience a pain so thorough that I would wish for

death before the end.

Was I ready? Everything within me cringed away from the idea of that much pain, but when I

remembered my reasoningfor Edward the fear was tamed from a snarling leopard to a clawing

kitten. It was more than manageable. I could survive this much pain for an eternity with the person

who made my world turn.

The last day was by far the worst. Edward cried out continuously, growing hoarse but never

ceasing. Carlisle told me his internal organs would be shutting down now, and that would cause

him excruciating pain.

I took advantage of those last, long hours, lying close to him, feeling his fading warmth as the flow

of blood slowed, listening to his ragged breaths and raging heartbeat as it fought against his ailing

body. Even knowing exactly what he would be like after the transformation, even knowing I would

love him just as deeply, it broke my heart to see the changes in progress, to know his sweet, boyish

innocence would never return.

Edwards fingers clutched at me involuntarily, curling into the folds of my clothing, clenching and

unclenching with pain. He bruised me, but I couldnt move from my place against him, nor did I

turn away when his screams turned to sobs and he wept in agony.

Carlisle came back into the room as the sun began to set on the third day.

Youll need to leave, Bella, he told me regretfully. His heartbeat is growing dangerously slow.

His transformation will likely endwithin an hour or two, and Im sure you know what will happen

if youre here when he wakes.

Yesyes, of course, I answered dazedly. Truthfully, Id put this moment far out of my mind. Id

known it would come, but had never thought about it. Now what? Now that my time with Edward

8/14/2019 Only Human25

4/5

was clearly done, what would I do? Where would I go? I no longer had a place to stay; I had no

money, nothing

Everything will happen as it should, Carlisle promised me, reading my worried expression. He

held out a pile of bills to me. Should you find yourself unable to return to your own time, this

should sustain you for several months, at the very least. But I believe you willfind your way back,where you belong.

Thank you. I didnt protest against taking the money. I might very well need it, and I wasnt at all

sure I had the survival skills necessary for this time period. And thank you for everything youve

done, Carlisle.

Of course, he replied with a nod. I should be thanking you, I think.

If if he remembers me, when he wakes, tell him I love him. That I always will.

I will, he promised. Ill keep him safe for you.

Thank you. I turned back to Edward, who remained oblivious to the exchange. I pressed my lips

to the already-hardening skin of his cheek. Wait for me, I whispered before placing another,

final kiss on his lips.

It took all my strength to leave him there, knowing what he would have to face without me the

expanse of years between us, the time he would spend trying to cope with what he had become, the

time he would waste trying to protect me from himselfI hated to leave him to those long years

alone. I hated the fear that, should I never return to my own time, this would be the last time I saw

his face.

Carlisle, if I cant get back I began to say as he walked me down the stairs.

If youre still here a week from now, call me, he said. Wellwell work something out.

All right, I agreed, stepping tentatively out the front door. I guessif you dont hear from me,

this is goodbye.

A farewell, he countered, smiling. We will see each other again, one way or another.

Right. Farewell, then.

I felt his eyes remain watching me as I went down the street. Only when I was out of sight of the

house did the tears begin to fall. Edwardmy Edward. Human or vampire, he was always mine,

but the happy ending always seemed to be one step out of reach. Wed been so very happy before

all this, fresh from our honeymoon, on the brink of a bright new eternityand now it was all

thrown into shadow again, made even more painful by the fact that he was out of reach to me

both in this time, and in the future I couldnt find my way back to.

8/14/2019 Only Human25

5/5

I let my feet lead the way; my eyes were blind with tears, and my mind was oblivious. I wandered

lost in my sorrow. My scene of grief was nothing out of the ordinary in this time, in this city, and no

one approached me or hindered me.

Sometime later it could have been minutes or hours or days, for all that I was paying attention I

ran out of tears and came to a stop in the middle of the street.

As I looked around, I realized Id been here before. The first time, it had been busy, full of

shoppers and workers. It was much bleaker today, with only the occasionally person scurrying

down the road in transit to another location; no one lingered but me. Nevertheless, I recognized

the buildings, the exact view around me. I was in precisely the place I had arrived in this time, just

the place where Id turned around to find Edward looking back at me.

Was it fate that had brought me here? Had my subconscious decided to return to this place? Or

was it all a coincidence that Id wandered back to the place where Id started?

Did it even matter? No matter where I went in this time, it would never take me back to 2006, to

the Forks I knew, to my Edward, to the life Id left behind and was desperate to return to. There

was nothing and no one that could help me now.

I sank to the brick-paved street in despair, curling in on myself, wrapping my arms around my

knees. What was the point of it all if I couldnt go back now? Could Fate really be so cruel?

I closed my eyes and dreamed of cold hands on my face and gentle lips, of a voice like honey and

a crooked smile. The thought only made me ache harder, tormented by what I didnt have.

I wish I could go back to my own time. I wish I could go back to my own life.

And then I opened my eyes.