His Name Was Edward
Summary: Bella recalls the day she met Edward Masen - a day that would haunt her for the rest of her life. Rated M for violence. AH. OOC. DARKWARD
Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer ownsTwilight and all its characters.
I'd like to thank my super-awesome beta, Mari (booty492). You rock!
WARNING: If the subject of a psychotic, insane Edward is disturbing to you, then this story is not for you. If you are expecting a HEA, then you may want to read something else.
Note: While this story does take place on Halloween, it's not a Halloween story. Unless you want it to be.
OoO
I am troubled
Immeasurably
By your eyes
I am struck
By the feather of your soft
Reply
The sound of glass
Speaks quick
Disdain
And conceals
What your eyes fight
To explain
- Jim Morrison
OoO
"Auntie B!" Rang an enthusiastic voice from the front door, just before it slammed shut.
"In here sweets!" Bella called from the kitchen.
"It smells like Halloween threw up in here - but in a good way. What are you making?"
Bella smiled at her niece's interesting observation. "I roasted pumpkin seeds, and now I'm making pumpkin cookies. How was school?" Judging by the hopeful glint she recognized in her eyes, she guessed it was a good one.
"It was awesome! I'm so glad it's Friday! Amanda's throwing a Halloween party tonight, and Monday, onHalloween, a bunch of us are going trick-or-treating!"
"Aren't you a little old for trick-or-treating?"
"You're never too old for candy, Auntie B." She said this as if it stating the obvious and Bella simply nodded, for there was no disputing that.
"Oh, and six people dressed up as Father Death. Six! I tried explaining to a couple of people that it was in fact called Father Death, not The Scream Costume, and was only dubbed said costume after the movie came out, but they were totally stupid. Not Ryan, though..." Bella couldn't help but notice that her eyes lit up when she said his name. It made her smile. "He knew exactly what I was talking about. He thought it was hilarious when I hit Chad on the head with my Tootsie Roll Pop and told him that he had a stupidity leak."
They both giggled as they munched on pumpkin seeds. At that moment, Bella decided that she was going to watch Screamtonight. Her favorite part was watching Drew Barrymore hanging lifeless from the tree. Not that she had anything against Drew Barrymore - she just thought it was awesome, and was made even better watching it in the dark. Alone.
Their giggles died down and the atmosphere suddenly seemed thick. "Aunt Bella?" She quickly glanced at her niece, for she rarely called her Bella. She figured it must be serious but it was almost difficult to take her seriously when she was dressed as Wonder Woman. Almost.
"What's up Samantha? Is everything alright?" Samantha sat down at the table. Bella poured two glasses of milk, grabbed a plate of cookies, and followed suit.
"Um, I got to school early today, 'cause Ryan asked me if I could help him with his Trig homework, so being the good student and friend that I am, I of course said yes." She beamed.
"Of course." Bella agreed with a smile, rolling her eyes playfully.
"Well, we finished before school started and Ryan had to go out to his car for something. I was on my way to my locker and Mrs. Lewis had her arms fullof Halloween shit." She shifted her eyes over to Bella, who gave her a disapproving look. "Um, I mean stuff."
"Uh huh. Sure you did."
"Anyways, this giant tombstone was about to fall out of her arms, but I was able to catch it before its impending death... what do you suppose one would put on a tombstone's tombstone?" Samantha put her finger to her chin and appeared to be deep in thought.
"I swear you really are your father's daughter," Bella laughed, "not that I'm not entertained, but does this story have a point...?"
"Yeah, sorry. So, when I caught the tombstone, she seemed eternally grateful and asked if I could take it to the teacher's lounge for her. I said 'no problem'." She raised her hand in the air and pointed at her head. "Good student."
Bella took a bite of her cookie, followed by a drink of milk. "So, you go to the teacher's lounge..." She's used to her niece's ADD tendencies; it reminds her of her own self.
"I go to the teacher's lounge and the door is kinda propped open but before I go inside, I get a text from Ryan. Now, I wouldn't really call it eavesdropping, but while I'm reading my text, I overhear two teacher's talking inside; Mrs. Newton and Mrs. Crowley."
Bella's blood suddenly ran cold and she got up to set her empty glass in the sink. She returned to the table, looked at Samantha, who was looking at her lap and biting her bottom lip; a gene that was no doubt courtesy of her.
Samantha looked back up at her aunt and noticed that she looked slightly paler than she did a few minutes ago. She felt her nerves crumbling, but she desperately wanted to know. "They, um, they were talking about... you. I'm not completely sure what they were talking about, but I definitely heard your name and I didn't like the way they were talking about you."
"You know what they say about eavesdroppers..."
"I wasn't eavesdropping... and, no. What do they say?"
Bella smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "That they never hear anything good."
"Whatever. Mrs. Crowley is a stuck-up nasty bitch!"
"Samantha Rose McCarty." Bella's voice took on an authoritative tone and she gave her niece a stern look. "However true that may be, she is still a teacher."
"I know Auntie B. I would never say that to her face; maybe after I graduate next year... I'm just glad she's not one of myteachers. I don't think I could stomach fifty minutes of her nasally, whinny voice."
Bella had to fight her smile back. "Was there a question in there, or did you just want to inform me that, while you were eavesdropping, you discovered that two teachers had nothing better to do than bring up my name?"
Samantha was still worrying her bottom lip and she began fidgeting in her lap.
Bella reached out and placed a loving hand on top of her niece's. "What is it Samantha?"
The silence seemed to be deafening for ten long seconds, until Samantha spoke the words that made Bella freeze, and her heart drop to the floor.
"Who is Edward?" Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Samantha noticed that her aunt's hands, which rested on top of her own, started to feel clammy and she appeared to be locked in place with all the blood seemed to have drained from her face. After a couple of minutes of strong silence, Samantha began to panic. "Auntie B?... Aunt Bella?"
She went to stand up, to go for the phone, when Bella's hand suddenly grabbed a hold of Samantha's wrist. "Did Jess-, was Mrs. Newton and Mrs. Crowley the one's you heard that name from?" Her voice was eerily calm.
A little freaked out by her aunt's reaction, all Samantha could do was nod.
Bella shook her head in disgust. "Will they ever stop talking about it?" She wondered aloud, mostly to herself.
"Stop talking about what?" She knew she was bordering on nosy and intrusive and while she didn't like the way those snotty teachers sneered her aunt's name and whispered about a guy named Edward, it had definitely piqued her curiosity. She wondered, based on his name, if this Edward had been an older man - or possibly a teacher there?
"Samantha... it's something that's best left in the past. Although, I have to say in a town this size and given the people in it, I'm surprised it's taken this long."
"Please Auntie B!" She pleaded, as she rose from her chair. "From what I could hear, it was obvious that something happened to you. I hate those bitches, but if I hadn't been on my way to the teacher's lounge, then I never would have known that there was anything totalk about! I have to know!"
"NO YOU DON'T!" Samantha was startled at her aunt's sudden outburst and she took a step back.
Bella took a deep breath and let it out, slowly, through her nose. "It's not something that bears repeating and trust me when I say that you're too young to know."
At this, Samantha felt her anger start to flare. "But you were myage!"
Bella cocked her head to the side and wondered just how much her niece had heard what those spiteful bitches were saying. "It's been a long time and I'mstill not old enough... I… I'm sorry, but I just can't talk about it. Not with you, not with anyone. And not to mention, your mother would kill me."
"But…"
"I said no, Samantha. I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to drop it."
Samantha looked as though she wanted to protest, but given the pained look on her aunt's face, she decided to accept defeat and kept her mouth shut.
"I'm going to go lay down for a bit, I'm suddenly tired. Don't you need to go home and get ready for a certain party tonight? It's getting dark."
She felt bad about having upset her aunt. They were both in such good spirits when she got there and the mood had darkened, considerably. "Yeah... I'm sorry Auntie B, I didn't mean …"
Bella raised her hand to silence her niece. "It's alright... Hey, I want you to have fun tonight and be safe, okay?"
"I will."
"I'd prefer it if you didn't drink or smoke anything, but I'm not stupid."
"I…"
Samantha started to protest, but Bella once again raised her hand to silence her. "Just promise me that if you indulge too much, you will call one of your parents, or me to pick you up. I'd rather be pissed at you than have to identify your body and please, don't ride with anybody who's messed up, either."
She seemed to consider what her aunt was saying and realized that she was dead serious. "I promise."
Bella nodded, and turned to go to her room, but quickly turned back around, just as Samantha placed her hand on the door knob. "I love you."
She paused and turned around to face her most favorite aunt. "I love you too, Auntie B."
Samantha headed home to get ready for her party and Bella went to her room to take a much needed nap. While she slept, she had the most vivid dream she's had in nearly twenty years. This one wasn't like the other ones, where she simply saw his face. This dream was so real, it was as if she relived that day over again...
OoO
"Bella! Hurry up, you don't wanna be late for school!" Bella cringed in the mirror. She didn't like it when her father used his "outdoor" voice. It made him sound far more intimidating.
"Be right down!" She yelled around her toothbrush. She had over slept this morning, not hearing her alarm clock going off for forty five minutes. She had been in a deep sleep, no doubt due to the fact that she had been up for half the night, chatting with her mother online.
She finally finished up and bounded downstairs where her father, Charlie, was waiting impatiently by the front door. "Why aren't you wearing a costume? It's Halloween!"
"Because I'm seventeen." Bella rolled her eyes as she said this, as she thought it should have been obvious.
Charlie harrumphed. "You're never too old for Halloween."
"Then why aren't you wearing a costume?" She raised her eyebrow expectantly.
"Who says I won't dress up later tonight? Maybe I'll be a Cowboy."
"Yeah...sure."
"C'mon, let's go. I've got to get to work."
She hated that she had to rely on her father for transportation, even if it was temporary, but that's what happens when you have an ancient truck - it breaks down a lot.
She reluctantly climbed in the passenger's side; not thrilled about having to hitch a ride in the police cruiser, but, again, that's what happens when your father is the Chief of Police - shit happens.
"So," Charlie started, "there's a new student staring today, huh?"
Bella briefly wondered how her father had known that, but then she remembered,Oh yeah. I'm in Forks. "Yeah. Edward something..."
"Masen. He's one of Dr. Cullen's new kids. He's been in foster care for ten years now and Carlisle says he's a handful, but he seemed hopeful about the boy."
"Hmm." Was all Bella said. She had never been one to talk about other people, but she supposed she didn't really consider this gossip; just information.
"I just hope I don't ever have to deal with him as a cop." Charlie continued. "As long as he doesn't give my baby girl any trouble, we should be alright."
"Dad!"
"I know, I know." He chuckled, as he pulled into the Forks High School parking lot. "Have a good day; can't wait to hear all about it."
Bella rolled her eyes playfully. "Bye, Dad. See you at three." She said, as she hopped out of the cruiser.
"I'll be here."
Bella closed the door and watched as her dad drove away. It was severely overcast, but it hadn't yet started to rain, although it was predicted to for the better part of the day. She didn't understand the point in Forks having a meteorologist; how much could they possibly pay him to say the same thing every day: 'It's going to rain today?'
By the time she reached her first class, she had already heard the whispers starting.
"... I heard he's been in and out of foster care his whole life..."
"... I heard he's clinically insane..."
"... I heard he has three pet tarantulas and he named them all Kenny..."
"... I heard his birth parents killed themselves in a double suicide..."
"... I heard he murdered his first foster parents..."
All this made Bella's stomach churn. Not because she thought there was any truth to the gossip, but because she couldn't believe the cruelty of her fellow classmates. She had been new here less than a year ago. She shuddered to think what they had said about her.
Even though she had yet to meet him, she suddenly found herself feeling a sort of kinship with Edward Masen. She knew what it was like being the new kid in a small town and she decided then that she would reach out to him.
All through first period English, she thought of different ways she could approach Edward, without seeming like the overly friendly type. By the time class ended, she decided to go with the simple approach:Hi, I'm Bella.
She was on her way to her second class, when she rounded a corner, and collided with a hard body. She stumbled back a bit and the book she was carrying fell to the ground. "Oh, I'm s-sorry..." she stammered, trailing off when she looked at the boy, who hadn't moved.
He was nearly a foot taller than her five foot four and he was lanky, yet muscular. He had ear length reddish-brown hair, that seemed to have a mind of its own, and he was wearing a snug fitting black t-shirt, faded jeans, and very worn-looking combat boots. Then there was his eyes. She had seen people with green eyes before, but not like this. It was like staring into two shiny emeralds and they wereglaringback at her.
She had never seen him before, so she could only surmise that this must be Edward Masen. She felt uncomfortable under his seemingly hostile glare, and briefly wondered if there was some truth to the nasty rumors. She dismissed them just as quickly and mentally scolded herself for her impromptu judgment.
She decided that now was just as good a time as any to introduce herself. "Hi, I'm B-bella. You must be Ed-Edward?"
He remained silent. In fact, he still hadn't moved at all since their collision, he just continued to glare. Bella felt the familiar heat rise to her face; till she was sure it was the color of a fire truck.
Just then, the warning bell rang, and she remembered her book was still on the ground. Since he was obviously less than chivalrous, she bent down to pick it up, and Edward followed her every movement with his eyes.
"Well, I b-better get to class..." Deciding that she was going to get nowhere, she gave up and hurried off to Spanish, stumbling over her own two feet on the sidewalk. She did not give Edward Masen a second glance.
Once she was out of view, Edward felt one corner of his mouth turn up. "Nice to meet you, B-Bella."
OoO
The rest of the day passed in a blur; her mind was too preoccupied with Edward.What was his problem? She thought.Maybe he is clinically insane because that certainly wasn't normal behavior... She berated herself, again, and reminded herself that just because he's outside the norm, doesn't make him insane.
'Outside the norm' doesn't seem to cover it. She continued.He wasn't even in the same ballpark as normal.
Her last class let out early, so she knew she had a little while before her father would arrive. She decided she would wait for him in the parking lol and read her worn copy ofWuthering Heights. She was pleasantly surprised when she reached the curb to see that it was dry. It had drizzled earlier, but let up sometime after lunch. However, from the looks of it, it was sure to rain again, soon.
It looked as though almost all the students had already left; there were only a couple of cars in the parking lot. She knew a couple of them to be the teachers', but she wasn't sure who the black Mercedes belonged to.
She was so engrossed in her book; she didn't hear anybody approach her. She saw a shadow move across her book and that's when she noticed the tall figure standing over her. She looked up, only to be met with green eyes, but this time, they seemed less hostile.
"Hello there, B-Bella." He seemed to mock her. She swallowed the lump in her throat. She couldn't help but notice that his voice was smooth, like satin and it had a certain charm to it; it was like no other she had ever heard. She was beginning to think that Edward Masen was in a class all of his own.
"I'm Edward and I want to thank you for talking to me today. You were the only one who did. Willingly, anyway." As he said this, one corner of his mouth turned up into the most gorgeous crooked smile she had ever seen. She had been too distracted to notice before, but Edward was a very good-looking guy.He was beautiful, she decided.
He then held out his hand for her to take.
She couldn't help but feel as though her fate hung in the balance. She, also, briefly wondered if he was bipolar, and decided that it was entirely possible.
With a steeling breath, she tentatively held out a slightly trembling hand and placed it in his. It was warm, soft, and strong. And he had long fingers.
Without warning, he grabbed a hold of her wrist and yanked up to her feet. She gasped and tried to pull away, but with a firm hold, he pulled her into him and wrapped his arm around her waist.
Bella began to panic. "What are you d…"
Edward released her wrist and brought a finger to her mouth. "Shhh."
She tried to move her head away, while simultaneously trying to blink back the tears that were threatening to spill over.
"Come with me." He said in a gentle voice. It was very contradictory.
"W-what? No, my- my dad!" She tried to push away, but it was useless. He still had a good hold on her and he was much stronger than her.
Then, slowly - as if watching an action movie, where everything is in slow motion during that one, pivotal moment - he reached behind his back, and pulled out a knife. He held it just above her naval. She thought it was the worst kind of pressure. It wasn't piercing her skin, but knowing that it could at any moment, made her want to scream.
But she knew that would be very stupid.
"It wasn't a request, B-Bella." To a casual observer, it would appear as though Edward was engaged in polite conversation.
She stood stalk-still and finally allowed the tears to flow freely. "Please." She breathed.
He cocked his to the side and his croocked smile slowly spread across his face. He nodded to the black Mercedes that was about ten feet away. "Get in the car." He said.
A sob shuddered in her chest and she made to go for her bag that was next to the curb.
"Leave it." He commanded, all politeness gone from his voice.
Edward had the knife, discreetly, pressed to her back and he guided her over to the car.
With the greatest apprehension she had ever felt, Bella climbed into the driver's side and slid over to the passenger's seat.
"Put your seatbelt on. Safety first!" Bella gave him an incredulous look. He sounded as though he was lecturing a nine year old.
He raised an eyebrow at her, as if daring her to challenge him. She didn't think that would be wise, so she reached for her belt, pulled it across her, and snapped it into place.
He pulled out of the parking lot, onto the road, and headed towards the highway, whistling to himself. Bella was furiously wiping away tears the whole way.
OoO
They had been on the road for three hours and it was starting to get dark. Bella wasn't sure where they were headed, but they were long past Seattle. Her cheeks felt chapped from her dried tears, but she only stopped crying an hour ago.
Not a word had been spoken since the parking lot. For the first two hours, the only sounds had been Bella's quiet crying. Now, the only sounds were the hum of the engine. She would occasionally glance at Edward, but he remained focused on the road. He was the picture of calm.
Bella thought about Charlie and that made her want to cry, again, but with some effort, she was able to fight back the tears.
She bravely decided that it was time to break the silence. "Where are we going?" Her voice was quiet, but surprisingly steady.
Edward glanced at her and a smile was tugging at his lips. "Good things come to those wait." Was all he said.
Bella felt a couple of tears break through. "Why are you doing this?" Her voice broke at the end.
Edward tightened his grip on the steering wheel and he turned his attention back to the road. "Please don't do that. Something so beautiful shouldn't cry."
At this she scoffed, which seemed to anger Edward, his knuckles turning white. She decided that he was a walking, talking contradiction.
"You don't think you're beautiful." It was more of a statement, than a question.
She refused to entertain his line of conversation and opted to stare out the window instead. From her peripheral vision, she saw Edward reach a hand out toward her, which caused her heart rate to spike, but before her panic went into overdrive, his hand retreated back to the steering wheel.
Several minutes of uncomfortable silence went by, when Edward, suddenly, jerked the car to the right and came to an abrupt stop on the side of the quiet highway.
Before Bella had time to register his action, he was on top of her, straddling her lap, with her face in his hands. She grasped onto her seat with both hands and she was sure they would be sore later. "Why don't you think you're beautiful?" He yelled, his nose a mere inch from her own.
She couldn't seem to form a coherent thought, much less words. She was too stunned to even cry.
He slammed his hand against her headrest, which caused her to cry out. "ANSWER ME!"
For the third time that day, she allowed the tears flow down her face. "I-I-I don't...know." Her voice was barely audible.
He then did something completely unexpected - which is all he had done since the moment she laid eyes on him. He collapsed in her arms and started sobbing.
"You are beautiful, Bella! YouARE!"
To say she was shocked was an understatement. She was confused. She had never been more uncertain of a situation in her entire life.
Edward lay there, with his cheek resting on Bella's breast, and cried for twenty minutes. Then, she knew without a doubt…Edward Masen is certifiably insane.
She wasn't sure why she did it- she was terrified of the man, but at the same time, it pained her to see him weeping- she brought her hand up and placed it on the back of Edward's head. He stopped crying immediately, but he made no movement.
She threaded her fingers through his hair.So soft. She thought. She refused to admit that she had wanted to do that since she met him.
He lifted his head and locked eyes with her. He slowly brought his face closer, until their lips were touching.
Bella wasn't sure what to do. He began moving his mouth, but she stayed frozen. After a couple of minutes, she responded, which caused him to breathe harder. When she opened her mouth, Edward slid his tongue inside and she moaned.
Edward broke the kiss and laughed. He brought his hands up to the top of her midnight blue blouse and tore it open.
She gasped and tried to cover herself, but he was suddenly holding the knife against her chest.
The knife! She thought in a panic.Why didn't I go for the knife?She knew it was too little too late, but if she was being honest with herself, she knew that she would have been too much of a coward to use it anyway.
"Oh, B-Bella, such an enigma. I wonder..." he said, as he slowly dragged the knife down her chest, not quite breaking the skin, "if you're as beautiful on the inside as you are on the outside...?"
She felt the stress of the situation and knew that if he decided to slit her throat and leave her on the side of the highway, there was nothing she could do about it.
"Please, Edward." Her voice sounded small, even to her. "You don't want to do this."
"I don't?" He said, while raising an eyebrow.
"No." She shook her head. "My dad is a cop."
Edward bellowed a laughed. "And my new daddy is a doctor."
She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to will herself to be anywhere, but where she was. Her legs were beginning throb, painfully, with the weight of Edward.
Just then, headlights illuminated the inside, signaling an approaching vehicle.
A truck started to drive past, but obviously having seen the car, decided to pull over. Bella assumed it was to make sure everything was okay. She was equal parts relieved and terrified.
Edward slid back over to his seat and while the pressure off her legs was a welcome relief, it suddenly felt like needles were stabbing her.
He gave her a menacing glare, that seemed to say 'don't even fucking think about it'.
A man, who appeared to be in his early forties, got out of the truck and walked over to the car. Edward looked as cool as a cucumber and Bella was trying to control her breathing.
He glanced at her from the side, and tapped his knife against the seat, which he was holding down by his right leg. She tried to hold her blouse together, in modesty, which caused Edward to smirk.
The man approached the driver's side of the car and tried to look through; with it being dark and the tinted windows, it was nearly impossible.
Edward pushed the button to roll down his window, which seemed to slightly startle the man. He peeked his head in and looked at the both of them.
"Good evening," Edward said with a smile, "is there something we can help you with?"
The man seemed a little taken back. "Uh, I was just checking to see if everything is alright. You know, just saw a car on the side of the highway and wanted to make sure you all were okay. Is everything alright?" When he asked this, he shifted his eyes to Bella.
"Everything's just fine." Edward was so calm, it was frightening.
The man turned his attention to Bella and he took in her appearance. "Ma'am, are you okay?"
She was panicking on the inside and she was too afraid to form words. She glanced at Edward, who was giving her a murderous glare. "I-"
"She's fine." Edward interrupted, turning his attention back to the man with a friendly smile.
"She doesn't look fine." The man was obviously less than convinced.
Edward opened his door and stepped out, holding the knife behind his back. "I said she's fine. You can go now." All friendliness was gone from his voice.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Bella was starting to severely fear for the man's safety, so she did the only thing she could think of to do. "Edward, honey." She said, while leaning over. She was surprised that her voice was steady. "Get back in the car, we've got to go."
As if they had been together for years, Edward turned to get back in the car.
But the man was obviously too stupid to know better.
"Hey!" He said and did the one thing that he should not have done. He grabbed Edward by the shoulder.
Edward whipped around and without a second thought, stabbed the man in the stomach.
Bella screamed and covered her mouth in horror.
The man fell to his knees and Edward roughly pulled the knife out. "I said she wasFIIINE!" He yelled and brought both his hands up to his head, still clutching the blood soaked knife.
Bella still had her hands over her mouth and she was sobbing violently.
Edward wiped his knife on the man's shirt, who lay unconscious and bleeding on the ground, tucked it away, and walked back to the car. He got in, slammed the door shut, put on his seat belt and peeled away.
The only sounds in the car were Bella's sobbing and Edward's angry breathing.
"Why did you do that?" She screamed through her sobs.
He punched the steering wheel, repeatedly, for a good ten seconds. She looked at the speedometer and noted they were going ninety seven miles per hour. "I didn't want to, but he made me!"
Bella suddenly found herself very angry. "NO HE DIDN"T! He was just trying to help!" She let out another angry sob.
Edward clutched his hair with both hands violently, not slowing down. "I didn't want to! I don't want to. I don't want to do it anymore. I don't want to do it anymore." He began to chant this over and over again.
"You don't have to, Edward." Her voice became soft. "You can change...if you really want to." She didn't know if what she was saying was true, but she liked to believe it.
He was still gripping his hair tightly and he continued to chant, as if he hadn't heard her, but she had a feeling he did.
She wondered if Dr. Cullen knew how bad off Edward was, but then assumed not, or else she liked to think he wouldn't have been allowed in public.
He still hadn't taken a hold of the steering wheel and they hadn't slowed down. She could see that the road turned to the right up ahead, but Edward didn't appear to notice or even care. She felt the panic begin to rise again, and she knew that if she didn't do something, they were going to crash.
In a bold move, she reached for the steering wheel, which seemed to snap him out of his trance. He roughly grabbed a hold of her wrist and she cried out in pain.
A look of genuine concern crossed his face and he released her wrist, taking hold of the wheel. For the briefest moment, they locked eyes, and something seemed to pass through them. In that moment, Bella could see that through all his insanity, there was still a fragile seventeen year old boy in there.
She turned her eyes back to the road and as she did, she saw another car was rounding the corner, and Edward had veered to the left. She gasped and he cut his eyes away, jerking the car to the right. They hit the side rail and the car spun to the left, just as the other car passed. They hit an abandoned tire that lay off to the left and they flipped two or three times, landing upside down in the field.
Bella was semi-conscious and she could feel the warm blood pooling down her face, tasting it in her mouth. She was aware that someone was undoing her seatbelt and she was pulled from the car.
Moments later the car exploded and everything went black.
OoO
Bella woke with a start and sat upright in bed. She was drenched in sweat, her hair sticking to her forehead. She climbed out of bed and went to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face, dried it off with a towel, and stared at herself in the mirror.
She smoothed her hair back from her head and ran her finger over the two inch long scar at her hairline. She did something that she hasn't done in twenty years – she, willingly, allowed her thoughts to go to Edward.
She wondered where he was and what he was doing. There was no body found in the wreckage and the authorities gave up the manhunt after three months. He was never heard or seen again.
And there never did seem to be a method to his insanity.
Still traumatized and spending time in therapy, she didn't return to school for almost a month. She was pleasantly surprised to find that most of the students were sympathetic and didn't give her a hard time; aside from Jessica and Lauren that is. After talking with her niece today, she realized that some things never change.
Not a day has gone by since, however uninvited, that Edward hasn't popped in her head and she doubted that there ever would be.
She figured he could be anywhere in the world; Chicago, Italy, or even dead by now. She wasn't sure why, but she hoped it wasn't the latter. She knew that it was a very real possibility.
Bella never got over what happened to her that day. Even though the memories still haunt her, she has still managed to live a relatively normal life. Aside from the fact that she's thirty seven, lives alone, and has no plans of ever getting married.
Shutting her mind off, she left bathroom, and went to the living room. She looked at the clock and saw it was after eleven. She looked at her phone and saw that she had two texts; one from her sister, Rosalie, reminding her that she will be over at ten tomorrow morning to get ready for their own Halloween party, and one from Samantha, letting her know that she was home safely. Bella smiled to herself.
With a sigh, she went to her DVD collection, grabbed her copy of Scream, and retreated to her room. She put the movie in her DVD player and turned off the lights.
OoO
A little ways down the road, a bronze haired man, in his late thirties, was driving a silver Volvo on the one- oh- one. He passed a sign on the highway that read 'Forks: 40 Miles'. He smiled mischievously to himself and pressed harder on the accelerator.
OoO
A/N: I'm not writer, so I'm sure there's bound to be mistakes. If you feel compelled to leave a review, please do so, as I'd love to hear what you thought. I only ask that you please don't hate.
Thanks for reading!
Ruby