Between Night and Day
Chapter 2 Getting to Know All About You
Note: This will be in Emma's POV unless otherwise stated.
A few weeks had passed where Edward and I got to know each other better. It was nice having a guy pay attention to me, but with Edward I felt there were a lot of unanswered questions. His speech was tentative, eyes searching, he never tried to make a move, but? I couldn't put my finger on it.
We could talk about just about everything except some critical things I just could not figure out. I rang up Rikki and Cleo and we met on the beach.
"Yeah, Edward and I get along good, but there is something really odd about him. Like, he's cold whenever I touch him. He looks kind of pale, don't you think?" I asked them, hoping maybe they picked up a vibe I didn't.
"Zane says his name is Edward Cullen, and the Cullen's are kind of like the Addams family or something, " Rikki leaned forward as she shared this information.
"I know him but I feel like I don't," I exclaimed. "Too many things are just not adding up". We took off our flip-flops and started to walk along the sandy beach. "Walking helps me clear my head though".
"Well I think he seem s like he is nice, his sister Alice does too, but I get uneasy around her too. She seems friendly enough." Cleo offered, playing with a pigtail.
I suddenly stopped. "One day Edward jumped out of NOWHERE when Ash slipped on the floor carrying juice glasses. I mean I saw him on the other side of the café! Like how did he get there so fast?" When Ash disappeared to get cleaned up, I froze the water. Now Edward looks at me strangely. Do you think he suspects something?"
"Well if he did, he's not saying anything." Rikki stated. "Wow do you think he knows our secret?"
"Just see what you can find out about him, Emma. Don't worry, we're here for you. We're all in this together." Cleo put her arm around me.
"Anyway, back to him. From what you've told us, he could be a werewolf or something, but NOBODY is THAT weird." Rikki scrunched up her face.
Just then the phone illuminates and it's Ash. I ignored it to focus on my friends.
"He's fast, his skin is cold, and I bet he is strong too. I did some research on the internet. I found some things that seem too wild to be true. I think I'd better ask Lewis, you know what a computer guru he thinks he is."
Later that day, we all met with Lewis. He agreed to check out our information so we could all piece this together. I'm glad for their friendship and it made me feel less alone. We always thought Lewis was a bit overprotective, but now it seemed a comfort to know he cared for us. Now even more than ever.
I met Edward at the Juice Net to talk and it was strange he never drank anything.
"Aren't you thirsty?" I ventured.
He spoke slowly. "Well…I took care of that before I met you here." It was like he had to premeditate everything before he spoke.
I was not satisfied. "Um, okay."
"Edward, I've been checking out all the things that you've been telling me. I need some answers." I drank some of my mango drink.
"Are you 17-18 years old?" I started.
"Yes…for a long time now. A long time."
I probed further. "Did you have any recent girlfriends?"
He shakes his head NO. He was not giving any feedback; it was all yes and no and I was getting frustrated.
"Emma, I tried to resist wanting to know you. You seem really nice and I tried deliberately to be a pain in the butt to you." Edward ran a hand through his hair.
"But…why Edward? I really like you and want to know more about you." I was confused. No guy was ever this difficult! I was working too hard at this!
"I …don't get out… much. Places that kids like to go hang out are …um... too crowded or too bright for me. You look at my eyes…it's the sunlight. That's why we eat at dusk, nightfall whatever you call it... It's where we get our strength. Emma, let's leave this place. I want to show you something." He rose from the table. Over my shoulder I could see Ash observing us.
"OK" We arrived at an inlet. "There are no woods here where we can hunt, so we go to the bush and get our dinners there. But your country does have some rainforest areas and that works too."
"What kind of dinners do you like? " I asked him, holding his hand.
Edward stopped and looked me over. "Emma, I…don't know if I...can say this right. But you're... amazing and I wanted to meet someone like you for what seems forever. If you have done research about me like you say, then maybe you have an idea of why I can't say it."
"You are very strong, you seem very fast, your skin is cold and your eyes have this quality like you'd like to live outside of your skin…"
"Stop right there." Edward held my shoulder, his eyes bore into mine. I felt like a captive animal. At that time I didn't know how right my perceptions were.
I walked alongside him, wondering what he would say next.
"I am…undead… Do you understand?" His eyes were concerned about me, I could tell.
"A...a…vampire? So you are telling me you feed on…animals?" I inquired. Then like a bolt of lightning, I finally put it all together. Puzzlement gave way to fear as I coiled back in shock. "Are you going to hurt me?" I whispered, fearing the answer.
"NO Emma I could never bring myself to do that. I can talk to you. It's hard to make friends outside my family" Edward leaned closer.
I relaxed at that point, and then found myself tensing up again. "My friends, are they safe too?"
"Are Lewis and Zane part of your friends too?"
"Y-yes they are," I stammered my reply."Edward, are they safe too? Please tell me they are!"
"Why don't you meet me here tomorrow and you can meet my family?"
"But they don't…." I wanted to meet them for sure.
"Ok they don't…eat…like humans think of eating. Don't worry you will be OK,"
I had no choice but to believe him.
