And Third, I Was Unconditionally And Irrevocably

It Will Be As If I'd Never Existed, He'd Promised Me. I Felt The Smooth Wooden Floor Beneath My Knees, And Then The Palms Of My Hands, And Then It Was Pressed Against The Skin Of My Cheek. I Hoped That I Was Fainting, But, To My Disappointment, I Didn't Lose Consciousness. The Waves Of Pain That Had Only Lapped At Me Before Now Reared High Up And Washed Over My Head, Pulling Me Under. I Did Not Resurface.

But You See, Just Because We've Been...dealt A Certain Hand...it Doesn't Mean We Can't Choose To Rise Above- To Conquer The Boundaries Of A Destiny That None Of Us Wanted. To Try To Retain Whatever Essential Humanity We Can.

He Thinks Things Through Too Much.

He Was Giving Up On Keeping Me Alive, Letting Nature–or Rather Mob Justice–take Its Course. When He Returned, And I Was Dead, He Wouldn't Hold Anyone Responsible. He Would Not Mourn. All This I Could Hear In Those Three Words.

My Old Mind Hadn’t Been Capable Of Holding This Much Love. My Old Heart Had Not Been Strong Enough To Bear It. Maybe This Was The Part Of Me That I’d Brought Forward To Be Intensified In My New Life. Like Carlisle’s Compassion And Esme’s Devotion. I Would Probably Never Be Able To Do Anything Interesting Or Special Like Edward, Alice, And Jasper Could Do. Maybe I Would Just Love Edward More Than Anyone In The History Of The World Had Ever Loved Anyone Else. I Could Live With That.