"Save him!" Her hoarse, weak whisper raged in my ears even now as I leapt across the rooftops.

Save him, Elizabeth? Didn’t you know that there is only one way? Do you know what that means? Perhaps she didn’t. Perhaps she had only thought, even if she had known the secret behind my unnatural existence, that I had other means of saving her son. I clung strongly to that belief!

And yet, it was impossible to forget the urgent plea in her duress emerald gaze when she had made her demand.

Somehow, Elizabeth Masen knew my secret.

The interior of my house was drenched in darkness, the curtains pulled closed, even against this overcast afternoon. As I entered the living room, balancing Edward’s weight effortlessly, I kicked the door closed with my foot and did not bother to turn on the lamps. I didn’t want any distractions as I lay him on the sofa.

I knelt beside him, scrutinizing his frailty. He remained unconscious, sallow and with his eyes closed, but a tiny part of him was still with me. It hadn’t been long since he had vomited, so I knew he had slivers of strength left in his body. I stood, deciding to give him some water in an attempt to clear his throat, possibly make him cough again.

I returned from the kitchen with a glass of chilling water in my hand and a steaming towel, only to encounter Edward forcing his body up in a sitting position, his hand cupping his mouth as a rampant cough spewed from within his lungs. I sprang to his side, holding his back and shoulders.

"Steady, Edward."

He was about to throw his back down in an abrupt fling, if I hadn’t caught him and settled him safely down. I slipped a cushion under his head. He heaved a strong sigh. The spasm had left him exhausted.

I extended the glass of water in front of his face with the arm that wasn’t supporting his back, touching it to his faded lips. His lips must’ve been very red, deep vermilion like his mother’s. Edward’s lips barely opened but I manage to seep through a few drops. His right hand lay limply, the palm facing down but I smelled something tangy. Upon lifting his hand up, my eyes encountered the splatters of blood on the palm.

I sighed, pulling the glass away.

I felt I couldn’t look at him like this anymore.

"Save him.."

A thick growl.

I leapt back, terrorized, sadly, not fast enough.

The ravishing creature’s image was not perfectly clear in my mind as I stood over Edward. Only the screams that erupted from my throat, the creature’s depthless eyes swollen with hunger. With all those people surrounding him, he couldn’t stay where he was, next to my body, gushing blood and take his fill…

Edward’s screams were relevant to my own at the time.

"Edward…"

My hand trailed through the brilliant strands of bronze hair on his cocked head, there were faint strands of gold brimming within the reddish brown.

Will you ever forgive me?