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When Carlisle finished healing Bella, both of them left the room and encountered Edward waiting for them in the hallway. Carlisle understood that things with Jasper were not going well, and he probably couldn't handle the guilt consuming him at the moment.

"Can you go ahead to the car?" Edward placed his hands on Bella's shoulders. "I'll be there in a moment."

Bella looked at both men and left without saying a word, even though she wanted to hear anything they had to say.

Carlisle and Edward exchanged cautious glances before the blonde started speaking.

"How is Jasper?" he asked as they entered the study. Carlisle began tidying up the things left on the desk.

Edward shook his head with lowered eyes. "Not very well. I tried talking to him and telling him it wasn't his fault, but he feels genuinely guilty for what happened."

Carlisle closed his briefcase and approached Edward, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll talk to him later," there was a brief silence, "but there's someone else I'm concerned about. Devon."

They locked eyes. Devon.

"Ronan will take care of that," Edward said.

But Carlisle shook his head with a sad smile. "I don't think he needs to hear Ronan's words. I genuinely believe he needs you, Edward. Besides, I assume you understand that a very important decision needs to be made. Could you bring him home tomorrow?"

"Agreed."

"It's easy to protect and control his thirst while we're here, but it will be a real danger if we leave him alone. He has never been directly exposed to human blood, and he's probably thinking about what happened."

Edward nodded, about to say something more, but he thought better of it.

"I'll bring him tomorrow," he walked towards the door, "I'll drop Bella off at home."

Carlisle nodded and watched him walk down the hallway. The night wasn't supposed to end like this.

Bella was already in the passenger seat when Edward got into the truck. The girl had her gaze down, hugging her own arms. Edward started the engine without saying a word, unsure of what he could say. The journey was mostly silent.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had turned me," Bella suddenly spoke without looking ahead. She sounded almost annoyed.

They were very close to their destination.

"You know my stance on that, and I won't change my mind," he spoke in a low but firm voice.

Bella huffed and settled into her seat.

"But now I'm older than you," she complained, and it almost sounded amusing to Edward, "every day I'm getting older, and I'm sure you won't love me anymore when I look like my grandmother. Besides..." her voice softened, "if you turn me... we could be happy together forever."

"Bella... we can be happy this way. You don't need to be turned to be happy," he glanced at her quickly. They were about to arrive.

Bella rolled her eyes with annoyance.

"Then why did you turn Devon? He didn't even know about you."

Edward frowned with some irritation.

"You know why I did it," he spoke with a raised and annoyed voice, "Devon was dying."

Anger flooded Bella's veins. She hated that Edward cared so much about Devon and left her in the background. He was with her, not him.

"Well, maybe you should have let him die!" she shouted, and the car abruptly stopped.

A terrifying silence conquered the truck cabin as Edward looked at Bella, hoping she hadn't really said those words.

Then Bella realized what she said, but it was too late to take it back. The words had come out, and even if she apologized, nothing would be the same.

"I didn't...," she began with regret, "I didn't mean that."

"But you did," Edward's voice sounded colder than Bella had ever heard. She even felt a chill running down her spine, "you should put your thoughts in order."

Bella felt annoyed again and, without thinking, got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. Edward also stepped out of the car and watched her walk into her house without saying anything more. He hoped the girl would reflect on what she had said.

The next day, Devon woke up with Ronan hugging him like some kind of koala. He smiled a little as he checked the time, realizing it was quite early.

Ronan also woke up at that moment and looked at Devon with a smile.

"Hey," Ronan greeted, hugging Devon tighter.

Devon ran his fingers through Ronan's hair. It was like a little kitten.

"Hey," he greeted back.

Ronan got up and approached Devon to unite their lips in a soft and slow kiss. The perks of being dead were that there was no bad breath. They separated after a few seconds, and Ronan settled back into Devon's arms. Devon couldn't help but think Ronan was acting strangely.

"Is everything okay?" he dared to ask.

Ronan tensed for a moment, but then he relaxed and, without looking at Devon, nodded.

"Of course. Just... I like being with you like this."

Devon smiled, but he knew Ronan wasn't being sincere. However, he didn't want to press.

A couple of hours later, Devon left the house even though it was still quite early. He said goodbye to his mother, who had handed him his lunch, and to Charlie, who was halfway through his coffee cup. Bella hadn't shown up yet.

However, as soon as he left the house, he saw Ronan waiting by the motorcycle. He had a furrowed brow and seemed worried about something. He was looking at his phone, but as soon as he noticed Devon's presence, he put it in his pocket.

"We won't go to class today," Ronan told him, tossing him a helmet, "there's a family meeting."

Devon wasn't sure what was happening, but he put on the helmet.

"A family meeting?" he asked as he climbed onto the motorcycle behind Ronan and hugged him around the waist, "what do you mean?"

"With the Cullens. They want to talk about what happened with Bella yesterday, and it seems like certain decisions will be made that you should be a part of."

Devon wasn't sure if he fully understood what was going on, but he didn't ask anything more. He was curious to know what kind of meeting it was.

The trip was quick and silent. Once they parked the motorcycle in front of the house, both entered and went to the living room where everyone was already gathered, and they were the only ones missing.

Devon didn't miss the expressions on everyone's faces, how downcast and sad they seemed. He didn't say anything and simply took a seat on one of the couches. Carlisle was at the forefront, and when Ronan also took a seat, he began to speak.

"I thank you all for gathering here today. I know it's hasty, but it's something I felt we needed to discuss as a family," he looked at Devon, "you are also part of this family now, Devon. I hope you know that."

The mentioned nodded with a small grateful smile. It brought him some happiness to be considered that way.

"The issue is," Carlisle continued, "that talking with Jasper and Alice this morning, both decided to leave Forks for a while

. We all understand that it wasn't Jasper's fault, but we must respect his decision. The question is... should we all leave?"

There was a short silence, and Edward stood up, drawing everyone's attention.

"It's my fault that I exposed Isabella to so many dangers," he began, "and in no way do I think Jasper is to blame for what happened. But I believe the best course of action would be to get away from here for a while. I want Bella to be safe, and since I met her, all I've done is put her in danger. So yes, I think we should all leave."

Carlisle nodded.

"I share a similar opinion with Edward," Carlisle said, "Esme and I discussed it before we gathered, and we think leaving for a while would be ideal."

Emmett and Rosalie exchanged glances.

"I like the town," Emmett commented, "but if everyone agrees to this, it's okay. Rosalie and I were thinking of having another honeymoon," the girl smiled and gave her husband a small hit on the arm.

Carlisle nodded and looked at Devon.

"Devon, the reason I asked you to come is because now you're one of us, and being recently turned, you don't have enough control to be on your own. In the end, it's your decision, Devon, but I think it would be best if you left with us."

He looked at Carlisle with a furrowed brow and then glanced at the others who seemed sad. They didn't want to pressure him, but everyone knew it was the best decision. Even he knew it. If it wasn't Jasper who had attacked Bella, it would most likely have been him.

"I understand," he murmured, "I guess it would be the best."

Alice, who was sitting next to him, placed a hand on his arm and looked at him with a sad smile.

"I can help you find an excuse for your mother."

Devon returned the smile.

"Thank you, Alice. But don't worry, I think I already know what I could tell her."

Devon felt like he was making a hasty decision, but... did he have another choice? What would happen if one day he lost control, and none of the Cullens were around? What if he accidentally killed someone? He wouldn't have the slightest idea of what to do. This world was still new to him.

The boy stood up and looked at Carlisle.

"When will you leave?"

"Jasper and Alice will leave today. We won't be together, so you can decide who to go with," Carlisle gave a quick glance to Ronan, who hadn't said anything, "although I don't think you'd want to go with Rosalie and Emmett."

Those present laughed.

"Come with me," Edward suddenly spoke, and everyone looked at him. Devon didn't know what to say; he didn't expect Edward to say that.

Both locked eyes for a long moment.

"Okay," he said almost without thinking.

Ronan stood up and walked towards the stairs but stopped before going up.

"Thank you for having me, Carlisle. I'll leave tonight," without looking at anyone else, he went upstairs.

Devon looked at Edward, but without saying anything, he followed Ronan, who was already halfway to his room. Both entered Ronan's room, where he took out a backpack and began to put some things that seemed rather random. Devon sat on the edge of the bed and watched Ronan go back and forth.

"Are you upset?" he finally dared to ask.

Ronan stopped for a moment, and without looking at Devon, he answered.

"No," he sounded quite hurt, "just... I thought... I don't know," he wasn't sure what to say, "I thought we'd be here much longer, and... I just arrived not long ago, and I wanted to enjoy this a bit more. It's just that."

Devon didn't understand.

"Are you upset because Edward asked me to go with him?"

This time he turned to look at him and sat next to him.

"I'm not going to deny that I felt a little hurt, but I couldn't ask you to come with me because I have some matters to attend to on my own. Even if I wished you could come with me, it's not possible," he smiled a little, "it's just that... it sickens me that despite everything, you still love Edward."

Devon lowered his gaze.

"I thought we had an agreement. You told me perfectly that you didn't want anything serious with me and that you didn't care if I was with someone else."

"I know," he murmured, "and it's something that has always worked for me. The problem is that this time... this time I... fell in love for real for the first time."

Devon felt guilty.

"Rony..." but he shook his head.

"It's okay," he tried to smile, "I guess it was my fault. I asked you not to love me, to keep me only as a friend, and I should have followed my own advice."

"I love you, Ronan," he took one of his hands and brought it to his lips to give it a kiss, "and sorry for not being able to love you the way you deserve."

Ronan smiled but knew he wasn't being sincere.

"I love you, Devon. But you're not mine," he closed his eyes, "I want you to know that meeting you was one of the best things that happened in my life."

He leaned in to give him a quick kiss on the lips and stood up again to continue packing his things.

"But it's not a definitive goodbye," Ronan spoke again, "we'll see each other again."

"I hope so."

Devon stood up and approached Ronan from behind, passing his hands over his abdomen and hugging him. Then he left a kiss on his shoulder and finally backed away, leaving the room.

It was weird. Before, he had ended relationships, maybe not many, and although he hadn't had a formal relationship with Ronan, it was really painful to say goodbye. Devon arrived in the living room, where no one was left. They were probably making their preparations to leave. Esme came out of the kitchen, gave him a friendly smile, and approached him for a hug.

He didn't know he needed it until that moment. Just a hug, without words or anything else.

"Everything will be fine," she told him after they separated, "it's not a goodbye forever; it will be for some time."

Devon nodded.

"I know. I know this is for the best," he tried to smile, "I'll go see my mother."

"We'll be here when you come back."

Devon left. He felt confused, and his head was spinning. Everything was happening so quickly, but he didn't have a plan B. He knew it was the best, but he had just started living with his own mother, and now he had to say goodbye.

Before he realized it, he was already outside the Cullen house, and Edward was in front of him.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he offered.

Devon shook his head.

"It's something I'd like to do alone," he smiled a little, "but I'll see you later. I guess you still have to talk to Bella."

Bella's words still echoed in Edward

's mind. Had she always thought that way about Devon?

"Yes. Although I'll wait until everyone leaves so she doesn't try to find us. Is that okay?"

Devon nodded.

"Do what you have to do."

Devon got on his motorcycle and put on his helmet. There was another helmet, which he threw to Edward.

"Give it to Ronan for me," he said, "it's his."

Edward smiled faintly.

"Okay."

And Devon took off. His mind was blank, but he knew perfectly well what he had to do now. He just hoped he wouldn't hurt his mother. Although, on second thought, all of this was to avoid hurting anyone else.