Hi. Thanks to the people that have read my little story and reviewed. I really appreciate it. Please keep on reading and reviewing!!
I do not own Twilight.
Little Gray Cloud
She was alone.
It was not unusual that she was hiding among the stacks of her favorite bookstore. It was not unusual that she was vigorously reading through a Jane Austen novel. It was not unusual in the least.
It was late, near closing time, yet she did not note the dwindling number of customers idly walking the aisles. The store, small as it was for being in Seattle, held the fresh aroma of coffee and the heady scent of books. Again, she noted none of this. She was enraptured once again by the same book that had held her fancy ever since she had read it. Pride and Prejudice.
She knew it was silly, nothing more than impossible romance. There was no Mr. Darcy out there, at least not for her, to sweep her off her feet. There was no such thing as love.
Yet she read these romance stories once and again, unable to tear herself away from the pages that called out to her, the plots and characters that seemed all too real, albeit from another era. These were worlds that she wished, feverently, that she was a part of- the world of fantasy. It was an improvement from the reality that she was forced to participate in.
Her attention was fixed on the story unfolding with every turn of the page, her heart full of hope that Elizabeth Bennett might finally realize she was meant to be with Mr. Darcy even though she knew that in the end they lived happily ever after. It was the only time she let herself feel more than the aching loneliness, the only time she truly let herself dream and hope things that she dared not conjure up since that nightmarish day nearly fifteen years ago.
As always, the reminder of the day she lost everything brought the world into abrupt perspective. The text no longer held the fanciful hope of lovers, the happiness of the human being. It was just a book. It was all a figment of our imagination.
The loneliness she had managed to keep at bay swept through her as she silently closed the cover of her battered copy. She did not bother to mark her place, knowing full well it would be a while before she would be able to read this particular story and enjoy it.
She tucked her book into her black messenger bag, slowly rising to her unsteady feet as she slung the bag over her shoulder. Taking careful steps forward, she began to walk out of the classics section and her only happiness.
The ring of her cell phone startled her from her concentration, making her jump up in surprise. She quickly rummaged through her bag as the phone rang on, pulling it out and pressing the answer button.
"Hello?" She answered, knowing already who was on the other end of the line.
"Are you at that dreadful little bookstore again Bella? You may be living on your own now and attending college, but don't let that freedom get over your head." A familiar deep, male voice barked out from the other end.
"Yes, I was just catching up on some class readings, Uncle James. I'm on my way out." Bella answered, lying easily to the one and only family she had left in the world. It wasn't like he would care much if she told him her real reason for coming; he would say she was an idiot for seeking refuge from the loneliness in a bookstore.
"Good. Wouldn't want you to be out to late, now would we?" He asked in a deceptively sweet voice, the undercurrent of his cruel sarcasm not unnoticed by Bella.
"Is there any reason in particular you decided to call?" She snapped, impatience simmering through her.
"Now, now, Isabella, I was just worried about your well being. What kind of uncle would I be if I let my only niece out in the dangerous streets of Seattle late at night?"
Silence was the only response James got.
"Alright, since you are being so friendly I might as well tell you. You will come to visit me and your Aunt Victoria this Saturday." He snarled out, commanding her rather than asking if she was able to come. Typical of Uncle James.
"Is there any special reason for this? Did something happen?" Bella asked, an edge of anxiety sharpening her words. James never ordered her to visit unless it was something big. Something important. Business or otherwise.
"You'll know when you come. Have a goodnight, little Bella." He replied, cutting the conversation short as the annoying dial tone rang through Bella's ears. Bella put away her phone, sighing heavily while dragging a hand through her hair. It was always draining having to deal with her uncle, family or not.
Caught up in thoughts of what might have happened that James wanted her to go to Forks tomorrow, Bella walked forth rather recklessly, unaware of the tall, lithe figure she was rapidly approaching until it was too late.
She collided with the man's chest as he was turning to face her, staggering backwards as the force of the collision and the weight of her bag flung her down. The man, a blur of alabaster skin and bronze hair, caught her by the waist as she began to free-fall to the ground.
Time seemed to suspend for an eternity. He held her tightly against him, securely wrapping his muscled arms around her in a protective stance. It was only when she was sure that she was at no risk of falling that she chanced to look up at her savior.
He was beautiful beyond words. His messy bronze hair fell lazily across his emerald eyes, his face angular and perfect like a god's. Everything about him was masculine and sensual, leaving her speechless as her mouth hung open in awe. She couldn't help but stare, either. It was the only rational response her body managed.
The Greek god did not move as she gawked at his perfection. He stood still, with Bella in his arms for a full minute. After he was absolutely convinced she would not fall once again, he slowly began to straighten his body and unwind his arms out of their embrace.
"Are you alright?" A smooth, velvety voice asked. And Bella became only more incapacitated as she realized the deep, deliciously male voice was coming from him. The angel.
She couldn't think, much less speak coherently. It was like he short circuited her brain into a bumbling mess, leaving her helpless under his intense green gaze.
"Yes. Thanks." She heard herself squeak out, proud that she finally managed to gather some of her wits about her.
And then, oh God, he smiled. He smiled. It was not a perfect, tooth commercial smile, but one where one corner of his mouth lifted higher than the other. A perfectly crooked smile. She felt like melting.
Her brain clouded once again. What was it about this stranger that made her act like a moron, for God's sake. She was nineteen and very independent, thank you very much. No man was going to make her crumble by just smiling at her.
Well, no man except the god in front of her.
"You aren't hurt, are you? Would have been a nasty fall had you actually hit the floor." He asked, his velvety voice washing over Bella once again.
After a considerable amount of willpower, she managed to answer him. "I'm fine. It happens all the time."
He laughed a musical, lulling laugh that had Bella glassy eyed in a matter of seconds. It was such a joy to hear, that she was sure no woman in her right mind would be able to ignore the charms that this god possessed.
She was so steeped in her ogling of the most perfect man that had ever graced the world that she didn't catch him staring right back at her, his green eyes glinting with amusement.
"Do you make it a habit to stare at people too?" He asked, the humor evident in his voice.
Realizing she had been caught red handed staring at a complete stranger, she blushed a profuse crimson, mortified he had seen her practically drool over him.
"No. Thanks for, you know, saving me. It really was my fault because I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, and I was really just on my way out, and you came out of no where so-" Bella rambled on, as she usually did when nervous, and managed to cut her rant mid-sentence before saying any more embarrassing babble.
The beautiful stranger simply laughed, clearly amused by Bella's chagrin. The girl began to blush a lovely shade of red as mortification set in on her. He hadn't laughed like he just did these last five minutes in two whole years. He really hadn't meant to catch her, to be honest; it had simply been a reflex. When he'd looked down and actually seen the girl in his arms, he'd felt like the air was being pulled out of him. She was gorgeous in a natural, ethereal way so much unlike that of the girls that threw themselves at him. Staring deep into her molten brown eyes, he knew that this girl was truly something. And that was all the reasoning he needed to do what he did next.
Acting on impulse, he took her hand and looked her directly in those warm brown eyes.
"I know this is rather rash, but, could I escort you to your home? I don't think I'll have any peace of mind knowing you might of hit your head because your shoe caught on air." He asked, sincerity ringing in his every word.
Bella came up short; this man, this god, was asking her, plain old Bella Swan if he could take her home? Things like this did not happen to girls like her. It was not normal, it was not logical. Why would he even care if she cracked her head on a sidewalk anyways? He was simply a stranger. Did someone put him up to this, to see how far he could get with the nerdy girl? Was he some psychopath in search of his next victim? If he was, he sure didn't look like it.
"I... don't know. I met you minutes ago. You could be a murderer for all I know." Bella wearily replied, unsure of exactly why she hadn't flat out denied his request even though she had walked to the bookstore that day. Maybe it was the eyes. They were such a beautiful green that it muddled any logical thought process. He seemed to consider this for a minute before shaking her hand as if introducing himself. It was when she thought this that she realized what he was doing.
"I'm Edward, and I'm a recent transfer to University of Washington. I'm 19, and am very pleased to meet you..." Edward trailed off, waiting with baited breath for the beautiful girl's response. If only he could know her name...
"Bella. Bella Swan. I go to University of Washington too, and I'm also 19. Nice to meet you Edward." She said, smiling at his antics.
"Well, now I'm not a stranger, am I Bella? You know me. So can I please make sure you don't die on your way home?" Edward asked once again, looking Bella in the eyes. His irrational need to protect her was beginning to frighten Edward.
It was the eyes, she thought to herself. There was no doubt about it as she felt herself nod, dazzled by his enigmatic gaze. Edward smiled then; his perfect crooked smile. If Bella was dazzled then, she was putty in his hands now.
He tugged her along as he made his way out of the store, meanwhile mentally screaming at himself for doing something so... crazy.
Since when did he ask random girls if he could take them home? For God's sake, he barely moved here and he was acting like a lunatic. Alice would probably say that it was about time he asked a girl out, no matter how unorthodox his methods; Emmett would laugh in his face for weeks on end.
Yet it seemed the only logical thing to do to keep the beautiful girl from walking out of his life. He had seen her enthralled in an Austen novel; Pride and Prejudice, by the looks of it. But it wasn't only her gorgeous face or womanly body that had caught his eye; it had been the deeply etched sadness in the chocolate brown orbs that had done him in.
She was suffering, carrying with her a little gray cloud from the past that just wouldn't go away. He should know; one accompanied him too.
He opened the door like a gentleman, as Esme had taught him, and once she was safely inside his beloved Volvo he ran to the driver's side. As Edward pulled out of the parking lot and asked for directions to Bella's apartment, he knew he would commit them to memory. As he saw her blushing nervously from the corner of his eye, he knew she was it; she was the one he had been gone so long without. Maybe he was being irrational and delusional after all that had happened to him; but never in his life had he felt more sure about anything as Bella made easy conversation with him, laughing beautifully as they neared her apartment complex.
He felt an acute loneliness and despair as she stumbled out of the car, smiling weakly at him as she thanked him for the ride. He felt saddened as her figure loomed farther away until it went out of sight as she entered the building.
He sighed as he ran a hand through his messy hair, a smile tugging at his lips.
Bella. Bella Swan.
