AN: This is my continuation of The Green Light one shot I wrote for the Off The Pages contest. The prologue is the same as the one shot, no changes have been made so if you've already read it you can save yourself the time. The entire story is going to be a short novella, with roughly 10 chapters total.
If you haven't read The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, I highly recommend it. This is going to be very loosely based on the premise and may contain spoilers for the book.
Hope you enjoy!
From the Shattered Pieces Shine a Green Light
~Prologue~
Night after night, the champagne poured freely, the people danced gaily, and I sat wearily hoping for one glimpse of her soft, brown hair. As I walked through the halls, I studied the faces of each woman that passed through my door. None of them had her chocolate brown eyes that I longed for.
"Another splendid party, Cullen."
Random, nameless faces praised every night. Their words drifted in one ear and out the other. They never lingered in my mind, for the sole reason they were not words that had escaped her lips.
It was not always like this. There was once a time when I could greedily hold my Bella's slender frame in my arms and bask in the glory of her presence. I was a young soldier and was subject to being called to war at any moment.
Oh, how I dreaded the moment I would be ripped away from my sweet Bella because of the war raging on overseas. I savored every moment I was with her, soaking in her every breath.
Unfortunately, the time came when I was to go on and fight for my country. We vowed to marry when I returned, but time took hold of both of us. My time overseas was longer than expected and slowly we drifted apart. Letters to each other spaced further and further apart, until eventually there were none.
Despite the distance and years between us, I still dreamt of her every night, needing to have her in my arms once again.
After the war, I traveled, searching for her. My eyes had seen every inch of America, to no avail. When I was about to lose all hope, I stumbled upon her whereabouts. She was in New York's East Egg, the island of old money. To my disappointment, I discovered Bella was married to former Yale footballer, Emmett McCarty. The news of this crushed all my dreams of being with her.
Depression overtook me and I spent my time wandering from town to town, clutching onto the memories of my darling Bella. Sometimes, I'd be walking down the street, see milky white skin or chestnut hair, and my heart would be on the edge of a cliff, ready to jump into the waters. Then the woman would turn and it was simply my mind playing the cruelest of tricks.
Eventually I drifted back to New York, but not to East Egg. Instead I traveled across the water to West Egg, the island of new money. Aimlessly I wondered along the water, looking to where my love was living her new life happily. Across the water a green light shown, it may have been at the end of a dock, or from a home on the other side. However, in my mind it was her.
For hours I stared at that green light. I even outstretched my arms, reaching for it, reaching for her. All of my hopes and dreams were in that single strand of light.
In due time, the sun came up and the green light disappeared, just as she had. When I turned around, the back of a large mansion was in my view. I walked straight up to the door and noticed it was abandoned. I took the legal steps to owning it, just so I could look for that green light every night, to look for her.
The social scene in West Egg was lively and there were parties every night. It was at one of those parties I decided I would begin to throw my own. Surely, she would hear my name attached and seek me out if that was what she desired, I thought to myself.
That first party was a success in the eyes of all the dilettantes that surrounded me, but to me it was a failure because she had not shown.
For ten weeks, I would throw a party every Saturday night, just in the hopes of seeing her one last time. Unknown women would throw their arms around me, hoping for something from me, but I felt nothing for them. How could I have? They were not Bella.
In those ten weeks, there wasn't a night I didn't look into that green light. I prayed for her to appear beside me and stop the aching I felt for her.
Next door a young man with a friendly face moved in. We struck up a friendship. His name was Jasper Whitlock and he was courting the young Alice Brandon, a frequenter of my parties. One day the three of us were casually talking of nothing in particular when a familiar name slipped past Alice's lips.
"Excuse me, you know Bella McCarty?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, but failing.
"Why of course. She's Jasper's second cousin, removed by marriage and my dearest friend. Do you know her?" Alice said nonchalantly.
Everything within me tingled as if Bella were right there. This was my chance. They could be the missing link to my Bella.
"Yes, actually. We knew each other once, when she was still Bella Swan. Before she …" I trailed off, knowing if I spoke the words, it would send me spiraling down all over again. "But alas, time got in the way and I have not seen her since." I continued.
"Well, we shall bring her to your next party for a reunion," Jasper said and my heart soared through the heavens.
My Bella will be with me again.
The night of my next party, I wore a new suit and dressed to the nines. Awaiting her arrival I stood in the foyer, watching as people came. Time passed slowly, my heart thumping in my ear. Anxiety and excitement overwhelmed me.
Then after all this time without her, she appeared. Oxygen stopped filling my lungs and I stared. Her skin was still youthful—white as porcelain. Her eyes still held the color of warm chocolate, as did her hair. Once I was able to breathe again, her scent invaded my senses and I willingly drowned in the citrusy aroma.
She walked towards me, a knowing smile tugged at her lips.
"Edward. It has been far too long." Her angelic voice filled my ears, almost knocking me over.
"It has, Bella," I said my voice shaky. "Shall I show you around?" I asked, begging to spend every waking moment with her for the rest of my life.
We walked silently to the top of the stairs. I studied her every move, graceful and calculated, her evening dress hugging every inch of her slender body flawlessly. She was more beautiful than I remembered.
In the study, I pointed out a few of my favorite books I had acquired over the years. Then in the guest bedroom, I explained how I had gotten the silk bed sheets from my travels across the country.
When we reached the master bedroom, my bedroom, nervousness crept up my spine, sending shivers down my body. Bella would be in my room, with my bed. Having her so close in such a private setting was almost too much to handle.
Animalistic instincts started crowding my thoughts. I quickly shook them off and led her back downstairs. Jasper and Alice were waiting for us there.
"Isn't it lovely to be seeing each other again, after such a long time?" Alice inquired.
"Yes, yes it is." I looked at Bella as I spoke, basking in her radiance.
The four of us sat outside, drank champagne, and enjoyed each other's company. For the first time since I was twenty years old, I found myself smiling genuinely, because I finally had my Bella with me.
Every night I would no longer ache for the green light. Instead I would speak to Jasper. A sort of bond forged between us. We spoke of many things, but usually we discussed my past with Bella. I told him of my desires to have her mine again.
"I wouldn't ask too much of her," he replied. "You can't change the past."
"Can't change the past?" I cried incredulously. "Why of course you can! I'm going to fix everything just the way it was before," I said, nodding determinedly. "She'll see."
Bella and I would meet for lunch every now and again and discuss everything from life to politics. Bella would come to my parties anytime I had one and we would spend the entire evening together just reminiscing.
One night in particular, I finally gathered the courage to ask her to dance. We moved together, swaying to the music.
"Edward, why do you never ask me about my marriage to Emmett?" She laid her head upon my shoulder and whispered in my ear. My neck tingled where her warm breath splayed across my skin.
It was true though. In the time we had been talking those previous weeks, I had yet to mention her marriage, but then again, she spoke nothing of it either during those times.
"It never crossed my mind," I lied. "Do you have something in particular to say about it?" I finished, not wanting to hear her response for it may have been filled with happiness that would have crushed me.
"Emmett is seeing another woman." A part of me leapt for joy, but another part wept for her pain.
"I'm so sorry to hear that, my Bella. You deserve much better." Suddenly, she stopped moving in time with me, and looked straight into my eyes.
"I know." There was much more meaning behind those two little words. Her lips were mere inches from my face and I ached to press mine against hers.
Then, as if she heard my thoughts, she pressed those pink lips against mine. She pulled away and searched my eyes for answers I could not give.
"May I see your bedroom once more, please?" she questioned and I internally fought to find the answer.
With every fiber of my being, I longed to be with her in that sense. I nodded and took her hand in mine, leading her back to my room.
Quickly we made it back to my bedroom and I locked the door behind us. Her dress swished as she turned to face me. She cocked an eyebrow at me and sat. The sight of her on my bed was almost too much, my body needed to be closer to her.
"Come sit with me, Edward." She patted the spot next to her and I complied.
"You don't know how long I've waited for you." My voice trembled with the emotion surging through my body.
"Oh, Edward!" she exclaimed and threw her arms around my neck, placing a rough kiss on my lips. At first, her bold movement startled me, but then I eased into her, our lips dancing together.
Kissing her instantly ignited a reaction from my body, as to be expected from a man in such a situation.
Slowly she began to lean backwards onto my soft mattress and I hovered over her, our limbs becoming a tangled mess. I pulled away for only a moment to observe the beauty lying beneath me.
"I never did stop loving you, Bella. Every thing I ever did, I did for you. I stared across the water every night towards the green light from the dock, dreaming of you. It hurt to know you were only a few short miles from me and there was nothing I could do to close that aching gap between us."
Tears welled in her eyes and my name lingered on her beautiful lips as I closed the distance between us, kissing her once again. I reveled in the pleasure of holding her once again in my arms, as I had imagined doing so many times before.
Subtly her hands traced the buttons of my suit jacket, as I slipped the straps of her silk dress down her soft shoulders. If I could have crawled under her velvety skin and lived, I would have done so gleefully.
Our hands explored the newly exposed skin of each other's figures and I could physically feel the love between us. Every touch, every kiss—there was so much emotion in each movement I felt as if I could drown in it.
All of my senses were smothered with her. The scent of sweet citrus, the feel of silky skin, the sight of perfection underneath me, the sounds of my name on her tongue, the sweet taste of her—all fogged my perception.
In time, there was no more fabric separating her from me and my memories drifted back to the first time I was with Bella in a situation much like the present one. Every inch of her I knew was older, but still she did not look a day over eighteen in my eyes.
It was as if my mind froze in the time when we were young and still so new to feelings and motions such as love and making love. It all still felt so new.
Gently I closed the expanse between our bodies—joining, becoming one. The sensation of being with Bella so close and delicately was incomparable to anything I'd ever felt. The heat radiated from her close proximity surged through me. We moved together in perfect unison, never taking our eyes off each other.
Completely and utterly enraptured in the moment, it consumed us. There was no West or East Egg. There was no party downstairs. Most of all the green light I glared at every night was here, with me in the most sacred of unions.
It seemed we were joined for hours, just moving with each other. I never wanted it to end. I wanted to have this moment last for the rest of eternity.
The familiar tightening began in the pit of my stomach, but much more intense that I recognized. Our movements became quicker, desperate, seeking that release from each other.
"I love you, Edward," was the last thing she whispered as she succumbed to the pleasure sweeping her. It was also those four words that sent me spiraling into my own personal abyss of bliss.
An immeasurable amount of time passed before I finally rolled to lie on my side. Instantly I was cold without her embrace. My arms found her and held her close to my body, feeling her warmth once again.
I kissed her neck, my breathing steadying from earlier activities.
"Love isn't a strong enough word to describe my feelings for you, Bella," I whispered into her ear.
So began our secret love affair.