Parallax

Chapter 9

Edward's head shot up and he stared at her with his brows furrowed.

"You know why... in the forest... I told you why I had to leave."

Now of course she wouldn't know. If it was between her counterpart and him, then that information was not available to her unless she'd be able to tap into the memories of this body and know exactly what happened to this Bella's life.

"No, I don't. I still don't understand so I want you to tell me now. Why leave?"

She almost demanded.

"It was the only way to protect you... to keep you away from being hurt" he reasoned.

The moment Edward said those words, a sudden memory flashed in her mind paired with a sudden surge of emotions that was not hers at all.

She gripped the edge of the table tighter and Edward saw the change and was suddenly looking at her worriedly.

"Bella, are you okay? "

She held up her hand at him and focused on the memory that was trying to surface.

It was a memory of her in a forest and she immediately realized that it wasn't hers at all when Edward was there in the memory. She didn't know how or why but somehow, with Edward there, the Bella in this timeline was now trying to come out but since she was still there inside her, she was only able to share her memories.

Bella was now being given firsthand knowledge of exactly what happened the day that Edward left and when that memory finally surfaced, the rest of the memories were finally flowing freely inside her mind.

Her eyes scrunched closed and her body buckled with the surge of memories that was overpowering her. She was not only seeing everything that her counterpart went through when Edward left but she was also feeling it.

She could sense Edward was already beside her but she could barely focus on Edward trying to call out her name when she was experiencing all of Bella's emotions and memories at the same time.

All of her pain, her loss, her emptiness from the moment that Edward left and the months thereafter, she was now experiencing and it was too much for her. She barely registered herself already kneeling on the ground while she clutched her chest, panting, trying to get a hold of the emotions flowing in the body that she was in.

Was this really how Bella felt? She'd heard it from Charlie and she knew that it was bad but this was something else. How could a human feel this much pain? She was surprised that this Bella was able to survive it all. She was right to be grateful of Jacob and the people around her who had seemed to keep this Bella from... letting go.

She was scared of the feeling. Ever since she heard what this Bella had experienced, she'd feared it. She didn't want to experience it but now, she didn't have any choice. She thought about the pain of the transformation. She'd lived, or technically, died through that, but that was necessary for her to be with her mate and new family and she was thankful that she wouldn't have to go through all of that ever again. This, whatever this is that she was feeling was a whole different level altogether.

"Bella! Bella! What's wrong?! Please... talk to me" She could hear Edward's frantic voice in the background but the pounding in her heart was too strong that it was getting difficult to breath with all the pain and the memories that she's being shown. This was Bella in her darkest moment in her life, and she was reliving it.

"Carlisle! Help!" From behind her tear-soaked eyes, she could see a figure in front of her and she wasn't sure if it was still Edward. She wanted to cry out but she held it in, trying to stay strong for herself and for the Bella inside her.