The snow fell still and silently down into our faces. Edward fell to his knees, me still in his arms, despite the snow and the coolness of his body I was warmer than I'd felt in months - and getting warmer with every tingle in my body. Understanding filled the silence, broken eventually by his tearless sobs. This was the only thing that brought a sense of pain back into my heart, almost wiping the smile completely from my still lips. Edward's moans cracked in loss, his body arched over mine to protect me and he hugged me closely to his hard chest. My head tucked safely into the crook in his neck I couldn't see his face. Don't cry, I wanted to say please don't cry, I hate to see you cry. But my lips wouldn't move for me, they wouldn't part and I wouldn't inhale.
I felt like I was being torn away from Edward.
And then, only then.
I was suddenly scared.
Eight months ago I was happy, well, not entirely, but my life was normal, dully normal in fact - nothing huge to complain about. Then on an ordinary Monday morning, it was consequentially turned upside down.
'Excuse me Miss?' someone was calling me, could they not see that I was in the middle of something? I typed the last of my sentence out, sighed, and turned my gaze upwards. What met my eyes next knocked the breath back into my lungs.
His eyes were black, inviting, but somehow cold. They were set symmetrically into his sharp features; his cheekbones were high and his lips full, red, contrasting against the translucent white of his skin. God! I cursed under my breath; any girl would kill for a face that beautiful!
'Can I help you?' I asked, stuttering over the words. He smiled, the edges of his perfect lips twitching up at the corners in an almost playful tease.
'Yes, could you find me a book? It's the Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling' his voice was smooth, low and husky, hiding a hint of humour.
'Um, yep, let me just check that one up for you' I hurried to find what he wanted on my computer screen, my long awkward fingers failing me, acting stupid and slow. 'aha, there it is…right' I pushed my chair back from the desk and rose swiftly, stumbling along the aisles, and gesturing for him to follow 'you'll find that... Right here…yes' I slipped the correct book out of its place on the shelves and passed it into his white hands.
'Thanks' he smiled down at me, flicking his sleek black hair from his curious eyes, 'I'm James Moore' he declared, thrusting out his hand. I shook it shyly, his skin was cold, smooth but hard. I took another quiet gasp of shock.
'Um- I'm Bella, Isabella Swan' he nodded too quickly, as if he already knew this.
'Right well, thank you Isabella, how long can I keep this out for?' his gaze sunk into mine, sending my stomach fluttering and my knees wobbling.
'Uh-um, a week, one week' I bobbed my head, trying to appear casual, while my darting eyelashes gave me away 'I'll um get your name down, James Moore is it?' I asked, even though I clearly had memorised every syllable and noun of his name since he had first given it to me.
'Yes, well, I'll see you soon then Miss. Swan' he finished off the limited conversation politely and walked out of the library as graceful as a cat with one last smile over his shoulder.
I stifled a giggle and walked back to the desk, swinging myself into the chair and jotting down his name in the out books.
'Bella! I told you to go home an hour ago! Your Dads been calling, didn't I tell you?' I looked up from my doodling and met the accusing glare of Clair Donald's. She wasn't much older than Charlie, but her eyes were worn, wrinkled and bleak, her hair stripped completely of its original black now lay in wispy strands of grey around her heart shaped face.
'Alright, alright Claire! I'll just clear up here and head out' I assured her, giving the pretence of packing away my things.
This seemed to satisfy her, as she turned her bent back on me and began to huddle out of the room into her small office, 'oh and remember dear, be careful, I hear a real storm brewing' she waved a tired withered looking hand at me and bustled about closing the door with a quiet snap.
I slumped back into the chair, sighed and brushed my fingers through my hair. Days working at the library were long. Being surrounded by books all day was oddly tiresome. But it was much better than being stuck in at home, unemployed and bored with unsatisfying phone calls from Mike Newton.
Ever since graduation things had gone down hill for my social life. This suited me fine - but left me with little to do to keep myself occupied. My life was dully normal, but every now and then, I couldn't help but feel like something great was missing, like a piece in my memory had erased itself - a period of time just submerged into everything else, unnoticed and unfulfilled…
A distant roll of thunder brought me back to my senses. The clock on the wall read ten past seven pm. I'd worked overtime again, Claire never usually minded, but every now and then Charlie would ring up worried. And unsurprisingly Claire wasn't one to want to get in trouble with the chief.
I yawned, stretching my arms and legs and slid out from behind the desk.
The wind had picked up outside, tearing at my clothes and whipping my hair around my neck. The rain pounded down onto my head as I ran to my truck and clambered into the cab. Claire had been right about the storm, if it was going to get any worse than this I had to make my way back quickly, missing the stop off at the groceries store. The engine chugged into life with a roar and a groan.
'I know, I know' I patted the steering wheel supportively as the truck whined while it pulled out of the parking lot and onto the empty high street. The windscreen wipers worked away, furiously; determined to clear my driving vision- but it only worsened. The rain coming down in thick, heavy sheets. I eased along the slippery road like a snail, at this rate it would take an hour to get home. Oh well, I yawned exhaustedly, better to be safe than sorry.
Bursts of lightning flashed across the sky, illuminating the curtains of rain that plundered down from the black heavens. Rolls of thunder followed on, crashing together like giant angry fists. I shivered, it was growing cold and the ancient heater was bust. Pulling my coat around me tightly the road was again enlightened with a show of lightning, just for a second but long enough for me to notice a dark figure standing directly in front of my headlights.
I hit hard on the brakes, screeching the truck to a shuddering stop. Gasping I wiped away at the misted windscreen, searching desperately for what I had just seen there seconds before.
That was so strange. There had been something there. Dark, large, it almost looked like a giant bird, an oddly deformed shape.
But there was nothing there now.
I shook my head, perhaps I was even more tired than I thought I was, then slammed the truck into reverse. It moaned in a loud protest but got moving nonetheless, as eager as I was to get back home.
I pulled into the drive, shutting down the truck for the night and dashing indoors, bringing tails of storm in puddles around my feet.
'Bella?' Charlie shouted from the couch.
'Yes Dad it's me'
'how was work?' he called. I stopped on my way to the kitchen, observing him lounged out in front of the TV, eyes glued to the flashing screen.
'Fine thanks, have you eaten? Sorry I'm late again, I did leave some spaghetti out for you' I turned away and slouched into the kitchen, taking in the washed bowl and empty pots.
'Yeah I did hunny, thanks'
'right well - I'm gunna get washed up and go to bed, night Dad' I turned, and limply began to climb the stairs leading to my room. Shutting the door behind me I threw myself onto the bed, aware now of how my eyes itched for sleep. With a final shred of energy, I pulled the covers over my head and fell asleep still in my wet clothes.
Dawn broke through the window, a bright grey light that cast shadows around the room. Remembering I'd forgotten to close the curtains I tried to pull the covers over my head, only to then remember the reason to why they were so damp. I groaned, it must be at least 6.30 in the morning. The rain having stopped sometime during the night left an eerie silence hovering around the room.
I stretched and got up, the floor felt revivingly cool under my feet, as I made my way silently to the bathroom. Charlie would be up soon anyway, I decided, while I lifted the rain soaked clothes off of my shivering body and started up the shower.
The water fell smoothly across my skin, hot and comforting, sliding its way down my shoulder blades and into the dip of my back. I flinched, turning my body towards the shower head and positioning my back away from the heat.
Today was a Sunday, I remembered with a tear in my stomach - the most boring day of the week, the library was shut and with no friends to meet I had all but nothing to do.
'Bella?' Charlie called me from my hole of self pity,
'Yeah?' I shouted over the sound of running water.
'I'm heading off now, have a nice day' I snorted at that last comment. Unlikely. Like Sunday was ever a nice day.
'Okay Dad, you too' I heard the front door bang shut and jumped out of the shower, into the steamy room. Towel drying my hair I snatched some clothes from the dry rack, and pulled them over my damp figure. The clothes clung to me awkwardly, the sleeves of my shirt hanging down useless against my sides.
Usually I'd be finishing some work, but with no more school, there was no more school work to be done, so, lightly, I jumped downstairs, grabbed my raincoat from the sofa and headed swiftly outdoors into the crisp morning air.
Birds sung in the close green forest, a sweet melody, echoing in time with the other. I took a step forwards into the empty road, unsure yet which path I was going to venture.
I looked into the trees and decided on the one I had followed yesterday morning. It was small and secluded winding its way around the thorns and mud that boobitrapped the forest, perfect and hidden.
I crossed the short distance separating me from the woods and entered the green entanglement, treading carefully over any dangerous roots or twigs.
The route was narrow, surrounded on both sides by rising trees and damp shrubs. Sometimes it would disappear altogether and I'd have to fight my way through clumps of painful branches to clear my footing again.
I walked further than I'd gone yesterday, listening to the melodic birds answer the calls of other animals and insects and enjoying the fresh air that mornings always promised.
After a while it began to rain, the water penetrated the forest, dropping through the canopy and falling onto my head and drizzling down my back. The sound it made was eerie, a soft pattering echoing through the tightly enclosed surroundings - everything else was abruptly silenced.
I quickened my pace, striding clumsily over large rolls of bark and jutting rocks. The rain fell faster, matching with my steps, thundering down into the mossy undergrowth.
The familiar feeling of being watched crept slowly over me, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I looked around, sure that someone or something else was around, hiding behind a tree or lurking behind the next tall bush. A branch was broken somewhere to my right with a cracking thud, causing me to stop and jerk around frantically.
'Hello?' I called into the unknown twists and turns of the dark forest beyond my pitiful vision. My voice sounded frightened, childish even, as I called again for someone to come out. Nothing happened. The stretching silence sent my nerves haywire, my feet fidgeted for movement, but fear had me rooted to the ground. I could sense something staring back at me through the dank darkness a few feet beyond my nose, I could feel something's presence, something lurking in the shadows just beyond my sight.
I waited for another minute before quickly turning and running head long back towards home, unaware of how deep I had come today.
I tripped and stumbled, too scared to take care of cuts and bruises I would achieve by running so fast.
The feeling didn't pass, whatever it was, must still be around - following my destructive path through the wet vegetation. I ran for a while, not slowing my desperate pace until the feeling wondered away and the edge of the trees approached. I could see the road through the gaps in the leaves, framing the house and my safe truck based protectively outside.
I broke through the hostile branches noisily and hit the tarmac with an ear splitting smack. Hurriedly I went to rise, balancing my weight onto my hands while my knees scraped to regain original footing. I stood and brushed off the dirt, mildly noting the cuts and new bruises that stained my skin, and took a step forwards to cross the road, raising my lowered head but not in time to notice him standing directly in front of me. My ridiculously fragile body collided with his hard, armor like muscle. His cold arms went quickly around me, steadying and preventing my second fatal fall.
'James! Hi!' I stumbled to get out of his grip, afraid of my reddening cheeks.
'Hi Isabella-'
'Bella'
'sorry, Bella, I noticed the library was closed today' his voice sounded strained, hoarse, different from his smooth husky tone that I remembered. His appearance was messy, the dark purple circles under his eyes sharpened, illuminating the strange black that they had become. His skin was whiter than I had ever imagined; vibrant blue veins showing beneath the translucent complexion of his neck. 'Are you alright Bella?' he asked, taking in my disheveled appearance and turning my wondering thoughts back on me. I hesitated for a good excuse to why I was a wreck from head to toe.
'Um well, I fell over, you must have seen me surely' I came up with the obvious escape answer and turned the conversation's headlights away from my apparent state. 'Are you alright yourself? You look tired, was there a special reason you came to find me?'
He hesitated, an unreadable expression flickering across his brow. 'well I went to take that book back, but it wasn't open, I needed an excuse to come see you, but that blew over, so I just came to find you instead' I blushed, unable to hide it this time, I wasn't used to being hit on so blatantly. His eyes lit up in amusement. It was strange; something about that statement just didn't seem to fit. 'So in conclusion, would you let me take you to lunch - well - breakfast' he flashed me a dazzling smile, his teeth sharp, and brilliantly white.
'Well - uh why don't you come in?' I suggested hurriedly, wanting nothing more than to get freshened up. His eyes flashed even brighter - obviously having got further along the date scale than he had anticipated being. 'Oh well you know, just so I can put on some dry clothes, then we can head out somewhere' I suggested, quickly extinguishing any hope he had of getting on very well while Charlie was at work.
'Sure' he smiled, his polite charm having survived the subtle blow to his ego.
'Great' I led him across the road and unlocked the front door to the house. He closed it once on the inside and followed me into the kitchen. 'You can wait here, I really won't be long!' I headed back out and up the stairs shouting 'help yourself to a drink!' on my way.
When safely in my room I practically pulled apart my wardrobe hoping to spot something slightly attractive to wear. I ended up with an old top, low cut and oddly morbid, and pulled it hurriedly over my head, discarding my limp wet one onto the bed. Then I re-entered the mess of clothes that clustered the old wardrobe and found a new-ish pair of black jeans I'd never worn before, tight enough and accordingly in fashion, a present from Renée of course. I tore a brush quickly through my hair, then, half falling down the stairs in my haste, I straightened myself out and put on a cool, indifferent expression before turning the corner and entering the kitchen.
James had seated himself upon the worktop, with an oddly unopened soda resting in his hands. He looked up as I came in and smiled, his eyes growing bright in appreciation.
'You look good' he said, his eyes straying over my figure. I felt the red flush up my neck and into my cheeks, betraying my appearance of cool and relaxed. He laughed, then jumped down lightly and walked over to me, a little closely for someone I'd just met - but that didn't stop my pulse racing around my heart; sending it haywire.
He was tall, at least a head or so more than me, I looked up into his gaze, noticing how silkily his dark hair fell into his reddish eyes. I puzzled away, unconsciously taking a step backwards.
'What's the matter?' he asked, shying away a step or two in response. I put a hand to my hair then looked curiously back at him.
'Just your eyes - are you wearing contacts?' he laughed serenely then led the way out of the house, leaving my question unanswered.
It had begun to rain again, lightly, leaving the air humid with a heavy sense of anticipation.
James followed my thoughts and looked skyward into the large oppressive clouds.
'looks like another storm coming' he stated confidently and strolled over to his little black convertible, parked outside on the road, opening the passenger's door for me. I clambered clumsily down into the leather seat and flinched slightly as he slammed it shut. It was about then I began to wander what I was really doing, hardly knowing this man, yet his absolute charm and good looks quickly diminished these be-sensible-Bella-what-would-Charlie-say thoughts.
He got in beside me, swiftly and smoothly, having obviously done it a thousand times over, and started the engine. It was a huge contrast to my '54 Chevy truck, having a soft, alluring, purr instead of a raging, almost frightening, roar. I chuckled, despite myself and looked quickly out of the window to hide my amusement.
'What's so funny?' he asked, my efforts having failed me again.
'Oh nothing, ha, just it's a little different to my usual transport'
'What that big old truck?' his tone was curious instead of judgmental, even so I couldn't help but get defensive, me and that faithful truck had gotten a lot more stick then we deserved.
'It's actually not that old and as for big? Well it's pretty darn good for some of these stupid forest "roads" ' I speech bubbled that last word, then glanced over and laughed at his expression. An odd look of delight and confusion spread across his pale features.
'I agree! Something a little more stable than this would be perfect for this town, though I wouldn't really need it - I actually live in Port Angeles see' I stared blankly for a faction of a second then nodded.
'Yeah, something a bit more flash would be better for the city I suppose' he laughed, and I laughed along with him, until he pulled out onto the freeway and shifted the gear stick into fifth. The car lurched forwards eagerly, shuddering slightly at the speed it was allowed to travel at.
I gripped the sides of the cream leather seat and glanced briefly at the blur of green and grays outside before feeling a little queasy. I turned my head fully away from his line of vision and squeezed my eyes shut tight, becoming acutely aware of the knotty feeling of unease in the pit of my stomach. Slightly confused of whether it was due to the rueful speed of the tiny black car or the fact that I was in it with a stranger traveling into the unknown. It was both terrifying and exiting. In the end the excitement won, battling its way across my stomach and unleashing the butterflies.
'So where are you taking me?' I questioned, my voice a little higher than I had intended it to be.
'Well let's see - there's this great fish place down in Port Angeles, it's pretty near my place, or there's this nice little café, small real sweet, if you fancy something lighter' I contemplated the possible outcomes of going to a restaurant near his home then decided on the latter option.
'Um, the café sounds good to me' He smiled neatly and quite abruptly pulled off the freeway and entered the city of Newport. 'That was fast!' I exclaimed, looking around me to really confirm where we were.
He chuckled.
'Car good for cities remember'.
The café was indeed small, vines crept up the walls of the outside area and little two seated circular tables clustered the spaces between the outside and in. Candles and small vases of flowers were propped up in the middle of them, setting the scene along with the compacted cobble grounds.
The café was unmistakably made for couples. Shifting a little on the spot I watched as James greet the waitress with recognising warmth. I wandered briefly how many times he came here while she led us to a table in the corner beside the small framed windows, having a nice view of the inside where more lovers were seated nicely but clumsily around the room.
'So, d'you like it? We can go someplace else if you want' he offered, observing my expression tentatively. I breathed in deeply, smelling the sweet pungent scent of the lavender in the little pink vase.
'No, it's lovely, really it is' I assured, my statement full of complete truth. 'It's really nice'. He looked one last time at my reassuring gaze, then, satisfied, picked up the menu and scanned it briefly before replacing it in the menu stand. I did the same, quicker, subconsciously determined on not letting him have any kind of upper hand. He smiled slightly, though it did not reach his eyes, it still made his face look surreally handsome.
'Miss' he called, raising a hand into the air to call her over, all the while keeping steady eye contact with me.
The waitress came over quicker than she had probably intended to and stared at James while he ordered a coffee. 'What would you like Bella?' he added as the waitress was obviously oblivious to my presence until he pointed it out. She turned her dull, boring eyes over to me with reluctance, her pen positioned pointedly on her notepad.
'The same please' I asked, though my stomach screamed at my negligence. Later I reassured it, I don't want to look like a pig, if he orders a coffee; that's all I order too. James looked quickly over to me then snatched up his menu abnormally fast and ordered me a pain o'chocolat without hesitance.
I stared at him, wild eyed for a moment before realising and closed my mouth, looking down at my napkin before he'd noticed. When I glanced back up he was looking intensely at me, unabashed by my notice, he continued to gaze into my eyes until I felt dizzy. The waitress returned just in time to stop me fainting and placed our orders in front of us. The smell wafting up at me left me a little light headed but still I took my time in eating and sipping politely, listening to his mostly one sided conversation for a while until I had finished eating and had no excuse to give for my silence.
'Well Bella, I've mused over how it is to live here and what the weather's usually up to at all times of the year. Now tell me something interesting, tell me something about you' he smiled encouragingly at me over the table. I replaced my mug on the frilly coaster in front of me, sighed deeply and said,
'What d'you want to know?' the question seemed small enough but his demands were bigger, alarmingly overconfident for someone I'd just met.
'Have you lived in Forks your whole life? How come you don't live with your mum, where is she? Have you ever been in love? What's your favourite colour?' I stared blankly, taken aback with his abruptness, his almost desperate need to know everything about me at once. Then, before I could answer something else snagged on my warning alert list.
'How did you know I don't live with my mum?' he seemed to hesitate. But for less than a heartbeat, going unnoticed before he answered swiftly;
'You told me earlier'
'No I didn't'
'Yeah you mentioned something about someone called Charlie, so I assumed you were living with your steady long-term boyfriend until you agreed to go on a date with me. And to which I concluded that you had a suitably female roommate named Charlie, and therefore no longer lived with your parents' he held my gaze levelly, it was a good explanation, I couldn't find a flaw in it - no doubt I had let something slip about Charlie though I couldn't remember doing so, it wasn't impossible.
'Okay- um let's see, I used to live in Phoenix until I moved here at the beginning of last year, Charlie's not my boyfriend or my roommate, he's actually my Dad' I watched carefully as I said this and noticed, satisfyingly, the quick flicker of surprise flash across his brow. 'Um, Charlie and Renée split when I was a baby, she lives in Jacksonville with her new baseball champ boyfriend' I paused, pondering on how much I was actually telling this stranger about me, but couldn't resist this strange pull to tell him everything 'I haven't been in love before' my heart suddenly did a strange kind of back flip as I glanced up into James' now hard black eyes. 'And my favourite colour is grey'. I finished with a little nod and relaxed back into the spindly wicker chair. Suddenly feeling exhausted.
He continued to look at me with that inappropriate kind of intensity, the hardness of his eyes softened a little, turning an odd burgundy colour.
'How d'you do that?' I couldn't help myself.
'Do what?'
'Like change your eyes, they were black before' He took a quick gulp of coffee, then answered me, this time looking up at the vines over our heads.
'Family trait' I puzzled over that for a moment, deciding if it was really possible to inherit eyes that changed colour every other minute.
'So, how 'bout you?' I asked 'D'you live with your parents?' he made a disgusted noise and crinkled his nose.
'I haven't lived with my parents since I was 14' he plonked his mug un-carefully back onto his own frilly coaster, causing the hot liquid to slop over the sides onto his fingers. He didn't seem to notice.
'Uh- how come?' I dared myself to push him for more, while tearing my goggle eyed stare away from his surely scorching fingers. He took a deep breath but didn't hesitate.
'She was a bad woman, my mum, alcoholic, drugs, I won't go into it. Well then there's my Dad, doesn't know what to do with her when she gets out of hand -so he gets out of hand too. It gets a bit crazy. Every day it was like that. I was about 13 when I realised that I actually didn't count in this one on one family war anymore, so a year later, I packed up my bags and left' I looked down into my mug, finding it hard to look him in the face any more,
'S-so where did you go after that?' my voice cracked slightly.
'Ah, another story for another time' I looked up in time to catch his boyish wink. I cringed; perhaps he wasn't the smooth operator I assumed he was.
'So, have you left school?' I asked, changing the subject to lighter things.
'Yeah, I have, I left 4 years ago'
'so that would make you-'
'22' my stomach tightened, Charlie would flip. I hadn't thought about his age before, only 4 years older than me, I thought innocently, but if I took him home, we would definitely have to sort that out, a little white lie wouldn't hurt. 'What about you?' he asked. I swore under my breath; lie or tell the truth? The temptation to tell him I was 22 in September was amazingly strong.
'Uh- 18, I was 18 in September' damn.
'Cool' he smiled, seemingly un-repelled by this latest information. He reached across the table, taking me completely by surprise, and grabbed my hand. He skin was ice cold and hard, like stone. I gasped again, as I had done the first time he'd touched me, but quickly disguised it as a stifled yawn.
'Are you tired?'
'No, not at all' I lied.
'come on, you've finished your coffee, I'll take you home'
The drive home was even shorter, the same built up anxiety crawled it's way into my chest as the car flew down the freeway, but in no time at all he pulled up in front of the house.
'Thanks James, I've had fun' I smiled as I climbed out of the ridiculously low convertible. Once feet securely on the ground I turned to face him again before shutting the door.
'Hey, might see you 'round yeah?'
'Yeah, see yah' I swung the door closed, thinking nothing more of the demand he'd just asked of me,
and skipped lightly across the porch to unlock the door.
'Hey Bells where've you been?' Charlie's disembodied voice called to me from somewhere in the house. 'Mike Newton called' I rolled my eyes in relief, thinking of the alternative day I might have had with Mike.
'Uh- um I was just out getting the groceries I didn't pick up yesterday'
'Groceries?' Charlie appeared around the corner to the kitchen, leaning against the frame with an accusing glare set sternly across his tired face. 'Your truck was still there when I got back, besides-'
'I walked-'
'It's closed today- you walked?' his eyebrows shot into the air, carving deep unflattering lines across his forehead. I needed to think quickly to get out of this one.
'Yeah I walked, but it was only when I got there I realised it was shut, hence I have no groceries' I rolled my eyes and walked into the kitchen, dismissing the matter. Charlie was never good at arguing.
I rummaged around in the fridge before spotting some old pots of noodles. 'Just noodles tonight Dad then, that alright chief?' I heard Charlie sigh from the doorway before slouching into the living room and flicking on the TV.
'Yeah, that's fine hunny' I smiled despite myself, having successfully gotten out of that sticky spot rather well. I cooked the noodles and dished them out into two bowls before washing up the pan I'd used.
'Dad! It's ready' I called from the kitchen, a moment later he shuffled in and gabbed his bowl and fork from the table,
'Thanks Bells' I heard him mumble as he shuffled back out to the TV. I sighed, brushing a hand through my hair and looked my own bowl full of food up and down before realising I wasn't the slightest bit hungry, all the excitement of the day had done away with any instinct to eat. So instead, I packaged the noodles into a little blue tub and set it aside for another night, washed up my bowl and skipped two a step to reach my room.
It was dark, not unusual for an afternoon in Forks. Flicking the overhead light on the room was quickly bathed in a yellow neon light. I stepped in, closing the door with a sharp snap, and collapsed onto my bed. The springs shrieked in protest before groaning and moulding into my shape.
I reflected with flutters in my stomach the day I had had with James, and fell asleep thinking of his face.
Someone was looking at me through the grass. His eyes were like liguid. Hot, flowing topaz that held that similar intensity of someone else I knew. His skin was white and smooth, like marble, and his bronze hair tickled and curved the shape of his neck. The sky overhead was periwinkle blue as far as I could see. And the green, green grass filled my nostrils with their scent as they blew together playfully in the wind.
'Bella?' his voice was soft and deep but somewhat distant. He smiled at my confused stare, his mouth raising in the one corner into a crooked grin. I sighed, gazing up; he was beautiful, no, beautiful wasn't the right word- indescribable... Why was everyone so indescribably beautiful?
'Bella, can you hear me?' he was asking, his lovely voice becoming further and further away.
'Who are you?' I asked innocently. His crooked smile disappeared. And his eyes were instead filled with an indescribable pain. 'Oh! I didn't mean to offend you! I'm sorry' I said frantically, desperately wanting him to stay. But too late, the gorgeous boy was already walking swiftly away through the meadow we were in, quickly becoming a dot in the distance.
I woke up to darkness. Charlie must have come in and turned out the light, I thought guiltily as I raised myself off the creaking bed. A sudden cold breeze rooted my feet to the spot, it was quick - but the affect was terrifying, like someone breathing cold gushes of wind right onto my face. I shivered and tried to look around the darkness. I stayed where I was for over a minute, too scared to move. I ended up feeling like a child again, scared of the dark and of the ghosts it might be hiding. But all the same I practically sprinted the few feet between the bed and the light switch.
I flipped it on triumphantly and watched as the room was thrown into light. I laughed warily as I spied the open window and crossed over confidentially to close it. But as I reached the frame and slid my hand outside to reach for the handle, I noticed with unease the hot humid night outside. Not a breath of wind. I shuddered again and looked shakily at the overthrown chair in the corner beside me.
Someone had been watching me sleep.
There was a sudden bang from behind me, and I whirled around to face the now inhabited doorway.