Kiss Me Now, Kiss Me Never

Epilogue

Carlisle

My heart plummeted to my stomach as they hit the ground. Esme cried out as she started toward them, with me following closely behind her. I shifted her aside and had her help me move them into more comfortable positions. As she held Bella's head in her lap, I lightly tapped Edward's cheek in the hope of reviving him.

His breathing and pulse were normal, but it was the fact there was a great deal of rapid eye movement beneath his lids that concerned me. He was in essence dreaming. I removed the pen light I often kept on hand from my pant pocket and could see his pupils were slightly dilated.

"Is he all right?" Esme asked.

"He's asleep. I think."

"And Bella."

I carefully examined her as I had Edward and found her in the same state. From the corner of my eye, I could see Angela as she snuck in the room, considering she had left before, that could not be a good thing.

Before I could stop her, Bella gasped, "Beverly. Anthony."

The temperature of the room had dropped considerably once the spell had been broken, and more so when Bella and Edward had collapsed. I felt Esme's hand creep up my arm as I continued to look Edward over. Then suddenly, I felt the bite of her nails.

"Carlisle!" she gasped. When my gaze rose to hers, I found her looking up instead. I followed to where she was looking, startled and fell back on my ass.

There, standing at the feet of Edward and Bella were none other than the ghostly apparitions of Beverly Weatherby and Anthony Masen.

Edward

"Bella," I called out for her as I tried to open my eyes. I heard her moan and felt her shift from where we were sprawled on the floor. I groaned, checking to make sure everything was intact. My head still felt fuzzy, but other than that, I seemed fine.

"What happened?" Bella asked.

"We apologize," a soft female voice said overhead. Immediately, I snapped up and my head spun again.

"Careful there."

"Oh God," Bella murmured as her hand clasped mine. She sat up but her gaze remained on something in front of her. "Beverly. Anthony."

I looked up to see two people standing nearby, smiling down at us. Neither said a word, only waited as Bella and I rose to our feet. From what I could see, we were still in the dining room of our house.

Growling, I faced them. "We better not be dead," I hissed.

Anthony shook his head. "We needed a way to speak to you both."

"For what?" Bella murmured beside me. Squeezing my hand, she held onto it for dear life. Not that blamed her; it was strange to come face to face with the two people we'd dreamed of for half our lives. They were the same people that started everything and ultimately changed many lives.

Beverly, who I had originally thought looked very much like Bella, stepped forward. There was a resemblance around the eyes and their hair color. But Bella's nose was more petite and her lips were fuller, Beverly's face was rounder since she would've been about nineteen years of age when she died.

"To thank you," Beverly said with a small smile on her face. "We can move on, in peace," she turned toward Anthony, who held out his hand for hers, "Together."

Bella's brow furrowed and then her eyes widened. "You couldn't be together until the curse was broken?"

"No," Beverly replied. "But thanks to you two, we can, now."