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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ❝ I WANT HER TO WATCH YOUDIE. ❞ ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
THE DRIVE UP THE winding roads had been quiet, save for the occasional comment from Bella about how she remembered the way like the back of her hand. Talia sat in the passenger seat, arms crossed, eyes fixed on the trees blurring past the window.
She didn't like this.
She didn't like how hopeful Bella sounded, how she kept gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly whenever she mentioned Edward's name. It felt like she was setting herself up for disappointment, and Talia wasn't sure she had the energy to pick up the pieces afterward.
"You know it's winter, right?" Talia finally said, breaking the silence as Bella maneuvered the truck over a bumpy dirt path.
Bella huffed a small laugh. "Yeah, I know."
"And you also know flowers don't grow in the middle of winter, right?"
Bella shot her a look. "I know that, Talia. But it's worth a shot. It's a really beautiful place."
Talia sighed, shaking her head, but she didn't push it.
Minutes later, they finally parked, and Bella hopped out, tugging her coat tighter around herself. Talia followed, stepping carefully onto the damp ground, her breath visible in the crisp air. The two trudged through the woods, Bella leading the way with determined steps.
Talia kept an eye on her. She wasn't going to let her wander off alone, not when Bella was still dealing with everything. Finally, they emerged into the clearing. Bella stopped dead in her tracks. Talia came to a slow halt beside her.
The field—Edward's field—was nothing but a patch of dead, brittle grass. The vibrant wildflowers Bella had been hoping to see were gone, replaced by dull, lifeless earth.
Bella exhaled shakily. "Oh," she whispered.
Talia watched her carefully. For a moment, Bella just stood there, staring, her face unreadable. Then, almost as if her body finally caught up with her emotions, she sank to her knees in the dirt.
Talia's chest tightened. She didn't know what to say. She had told Bella this was a bad idea, but even she hadn't expected the sight to be this bleak. The sheer emptiness of it all made something sink in her stomach.
Bella reached out, running her fingers through the dry grass. "I thought..." She trailed off, shaking her head.
