Full Moon

By:Racquelle Sandoval

I could see him now. And I could see that he could not see me

It was really him, no hallucination this time. And I realized that my delusions were more flawed than I'd realized; they'd never done him justice.

Edward stood motionless as a statue just a few feet from the mouth of the alley. His eyes were closed, the rings underneath them deep purple, his arms relaxed at his sides, his palms turned forward. His expression was very peaceful, like he was dreaming pleasant things. The marble skin of his chest was bare-there was a small pile of white fabric at his feet. The light reflection from the pavement of the square gleamed dimly from his skin.

I'd never seen anything more beautiful-even as I ran gasping and screaming, I could appreciate that. And the last seven months meant nothing. And it did not matter if he did want me. I would never want anything but him, no matter how long I lived.

The clock tolled, and took a large stride toward the light.

"No!" I screamed. "Edward, look at me!"

He wasn't listening. He smiled very slightly. He raised his foot to take the step that would put him directly in the path of the sun.

"Edward, no!" I screamed. "Don't do it, Edward!"

I screamed and screamed while running, but I was too late. He was directly in the path of the sun. His marble skin of his bare chest was sparkling under the sun. The sight brought me back to the day in our meadow.

I didn't see them until they were at Edward's sides, pulling him to the shadows.

"Bella?" Edward gasped.

"Edward!" I sang.

I ran to him tasting the sweetness of reunion in the air. I ran into his waiting arms. The burn of his icy skin felt good and normal. My lungs filled with the deep scent that came off his skin. Even in mortal danger everything was perfect. I felt well. Whole. It was perfect-not healed, but as if there had never been a wound in the first place.

Then the tears began to spill from my eyes, making his perfect face a blur. I knew it was stupid to react this way, but I was finally free of pain after seven long, lifeless months. I had to make this moment last because we would be dead any second now.

I wiped my tears away and looked up at the beautiful face that I had been longing to see. My eyes traced over his pale white features: the hard square of his jaw, the softer curve of his full lips-twisted up into a smile now, the straight line of his nose, the sharp angle his cheekbones, the smooth marble span of his forehead-partially obscured by a tangle of tousled bronze hair.

I saved his eyes for last, knowing that when I gazed into them I was likely to forget everything. They were wide, pure black from thirst, and framed by a thick fringe of black lashes. Staring into his eyes always made me feel extraordinary-sort of like my bones were turning into sponge. I was also a little lightheaded, but that could have been because I'd forgotten to breathe. Again.

He took my face securely between his iron hands, ignoring everyone and everything around us.

"Wait, Edward," I whispered.

He stopped, his lips just half an inch from mine.

"What?" he demanded. His sweet breath blew into my face, making my head whirl.

"I love you. And there is nothing you can do about it."

He chuckled. "I love you, too." he replied.

His mouth was on mine then, and I couldn't fight him. Not because he was a thousand times stronger than me, but because my will crumbled into dust the second our lips met. This kiss was not quite as careful as others I remembered, which suited me just fine. If I was going to die soon, I might as well get as much in trade as possible.

So I kissed him back, my heart pounding out a jagged, disjointed rhythm while my breathing turned to panting and my fingers moved greedily to his face. I could feel his marble body against every line of mine, and I was so glad he hadn't stopped then-there was no pain in the world that would have justified missing this. His hands memorized my face, the same way mine were tracing his, and, in the brief seconds when his lips were free, he whispered my name.

Then I remembered that we were in Volterra, Italy. And in extreme mortal danger with the Volturi.

Abruptly, but unwillingly I pulled away.

"What's the ma-" Edward started to ask, but suddenly realized my reasoning for pulling away.

There were the two men in black cloaks, who had pulled Edward to the shadows before anyone could notice him. They pulled Edward from me.

"Let's behave ourselves, shall we?" a lilting voice suggested. "There are ladies present."

Alice was suddenly at my side, her stance casual. There was no hint of underlying tension. She looked so tiny, so fragile. Her little arms swung like a child's.

Yet the two men straightened up, their cloaks swirling slightly as a gust of wind funneled through the alley.

"Felix, Demetri." Alice greeted the two men in a calm and pleasant voice.

"Alice, how are you this afternoon?" asked Demetri.

"Fine, Thank you."

"Edward, you have disobeyed the rules. And I am sure that you know the consequences, especially for almost disposing what we are." Felix said in a low but stern voice.

"Shall we find somewhere more secluded to talk?"

"I'll be right behind you," Edward said dryly. "Bella, why don't you go enjoy the festival?"

"No, bring the girl!" demanded Felix.

After going through lots of passageways, we finally got to our designated room in the underground.

Edward had his arm around my waist the whole way, while his free hand traced my face. I had both my arms wrapped around him, never wanting to let go. I wanted nothing more than to be with him, mortal danger or not.

The conversation was too fast for me, but I understood that there was no way of getting out of this situation. I was never going to see Charlie, Renee, Jake, Phil, or any of my friends from Forks ever again. I never even got to say goodbye to anybody. And the only people who would know what happen are the Cullens, Jake, and the wolves.

After what seemed like hours, they had come to a decision. And I was pretty sure I knew what it was before the words came out their mouths.

"I love you, Edward!" were my last words to him.

Full Moon

By: Racquelle Sandoval