Wow, you have no idea how excited I am after reading your reviews. Here is the next installment of Alone, Alone, I hope you enjoy! It gets pretty angsty here, but there will be much love to come. Keep reading and let me know what you think.

Edward didn't think he could be happier than he was now: Kim was here, she and he were eating a delicious meal of omelets and cookies, and she had asked to be shown the rest of the mansion. It couldn't possibly get better than this, he thought.

After they'd finished their breakfast, Edward took her through the different rooms of the house. He showed her the inventor's work room and the room where he was created. They moved on to the various bedrooms upstairs and the library, which Kim liked the best. She promised to read to Edward sometime, making him smile. He hoped she liked poetry.

When they passed a door and Kim found it was locked, she looked to Edward to open it. He didn't.

"That…that's where I put him after…I wanted to make him comfortable," he explained in a small voice. She understood, taking his face in her hands and kissed him softly.

"It's okay, Edward. We won't go in there then." He nodded, grateful for her understanding.

They explored nearly the whole house, finally back in the attic where Edward slept. She went over and sat on the bed, looking at the pictures he'd pasted on the wall.

Edward unexpectedly felt a blush crawl up his neck and stain his face. Kim was sitting on his bed, oblivious to his discomfort. Father had told him it was ungentlemanly to allow a woman to be on the bed you slept on. Edward didn't quite know why, as the Inventor had been brief on the subject, but he didn't ever want to be rude with Kim.

Luckily, she'd stood before he had to say anything, and he felt at ease again. "Want to go to the gardens, Edward?" she asked, looking out the windows to the hedges and flowers below. He nodded his approval, and they went outside, sitting in the grass near a tiny pond in the back garden.

They talked on and on, time seeming to not exist inside their own private world. Edward contributed more to the conversation than he had the day before, but all too soon the sun began to set behind the clouds on the horizon. It was almost time to say goodbye.

Kim sighed, knowing that she had to go soon, but not wanting to leave.

"You...could stay here," Edward spoke up for the first time in what seemed like forever. She turned to him, eyes wide at the idea. He misread her expression. "If-If you want to, that is."

Kim smiled. "I can't tonight Edward, but maybe if I clear it with Mom I can tomorrow," she told him, hoping with all her heart her mother would understand.

A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. "Alright," he agreed, also hoping for her to stay there tomorrow.

She left soon after their goodbye kiss, again he walked her to the gate to make sure she got home safely.

xXx

Kim made her way home; it was very dark now, so there was no chance anyone would see her. She couldn't wait to tell her mom about the day spent with Edward.

But when she opened the door, it was not her mother's voice she heard. It was a high-pitched woman's voice, with a Southern drawl tingeing it.

Joyce Monroe.

Kim quickly hid herself behind the ledge of the wall before the dining room, where Joyce was talking with her mother. But she hadn't hidden before Peg noticed her daughter come in. Instead of ratting her out, Peg let her listen in on the conversation, as it concerned her daughter.

"…And I just think she needs to stop going up there. He'd dead, she needs to move on. You know, there are a lot of boys that would love to date her. I'm sure she could find a very nice boy to date that would take her mind off things," Joyce sniffed disdainfully. Kim scowled, how in the world had she found out?

"Well, I know Kim and Edward were very good friends, and I don't think she's going to forget about him that easily," Peg told her. Peg wasn't fond of lying, but she sure wasn't going to say "Oh no, Edward is still alive and well and he's now dating my daughter'. That wouldn't go over so well.

"Yes, yes, I know. But he killed her boyfriend! Shouldn't she hate everything he represented? And besides, he didn't love her. He was infatuated with me, you know. After what happened…" she left the sentence hanging. After all this time, she still told people he had tried to rape her, when such a thing couldn't be farther from the truth.

Kim nearly stood up and started yelling at Mrs. Monroe. Who the hell did this woman think she was? Undermining Edward like he was nothing but dirt; telling the mother who loved him like a son that he didn't love her daughter.

It was all too much. Silently, she stood and shot her mother a meaningful look. She quietly stalked out the door and closed it without a sound. Mrs. Monroe was too caught up in her nagging to even notice.

Kim ran the entire way back to the mansion, tears flowing down her face as she replayed Mrs. Monroe's words over in her mind. She was so angry she suddenly had the desire to have knives for hands just so she could rip that woman apart herself. How dare she. She thought angrily.

She had reached the mansion in record time, and she shoved open the door, running up the stairs to the attic. When she reached it, she nearly shouted, "Edward!"

"Kim?" came a startled voice from the chimney base. She turned to see him sitting on his bed, looking at her with such shock that it made her want to laugh and cry all at the same time.

"Edward…" was all she could say before she broke down sobbing. Edward hurried to her side, fearful of why she was here and crying. He hesitantly wrapped his arms around her, careful to position his blades away from her, murmuring comforting words in her ear.

She suddenly kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her hand in his wild hair. This time he froze for a moment, but did not draw away. Instead, he kissed her with equal ardor.

The kiss was building in intensity, and they felt themselves drowning in each other's love. They broke away for a breath and Kim held his face as she tried to slow her breathing. "Are you okay?" he asked carefully.

She nodded, pulling him back in for a softer kiss. "I am now."

xXx

When Edward asked what had upset her so bad, she explained the whole situation with Mrs. Monroe. Edward felt her anger, and he felt upset that he couldn't console her.

"Can….can I stay here tonight?" she asked almost inaudibly. Edward looked into her eyes for a moment, then nodded, leading her to one of the spare bedrooms near the attic, so she would be close to him.

She held him again, leaning her head on his shoulder, and breathed a sigh of release. "Goodnight Edward," she said as she unleashed her grasp on him and walked into her room. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Kim. Sweet dreams." Now that she was here, he knew his dreams would be pleasant. He walked back to his room with a smile on his face.

Edward lay on his bed, arms tucked awkwardly away from his body, keeping a safe distance from his scissors. He thought about the strange events of the day, pleased at how they went, though he was upset that Mrs. Monroe had angered Kim. He thought of ways he could make her feel better tomorrow, but he soon felt heavy sleep trying to claim him. He was just drifting, hoping to have a nice dream tonight, when he suddenly heard the loudest scream he ever heard; even louder than the one he had caused when they found Jim dead.

"SPIDER!" echoed down the hall and was so loud he thought he felt the mansion shake.

He scrambled into a sitting position as a blur of white and blonde flew into his room, hurling itself at him. He only had enough time to put his arms down from their defensive position when the blur landed nearly on top of him.

"Spider! Spider! Ew, it's crawling on me! Get it off!" Kim shrieked, writhing around as she tried to dislodge the tiny creature Edward could see crawling on her shoulder. He very carefully reached up and flicked the fearsome beast off her and she cringed away from it as it crawled on the ground away from the chaos.

When Kim took a deep breath and looked towards Edward, she was speechless.

He looked terrified.

"Edward, what's wrong?"

His eyes were wide and his mouth was twisted into an expression of horror as he stared at her arm. She looked down, following his gaze until she saw a long, shallow gash extending partway down her forearm. The blood seeped into the sleeve of the nightdress she wore, reminding Edward of last Christmas.

The cut itself wasn't deep, Kim decided, just bleeding a lot. She reached up to slide her fingers over the wound, peering curiously at the red liquid oozing swiftly from it.

"I-I'm sorry," Edward stuttered out, backing away slowly. No. No. No. He chanted in his mind, trying to will the gash to go away. Apologizing over and over in a shaky, self-loathing voice, he backed away further from her. She looked up from the blood and raised her arm out to touch him. "It's alright Edward. It's just a small cut. I'll be good as new as soon as I get this cleaned up—" He backed away from her fingers, fear radiating from every portion of his body.

"Don't come near me!" his voice raised slightly, which caused Kim to freeze. He had never raised his voice before.

"I-I don't want to hurt you," he whispered softly. Suddenly, he turned and fled the room, leaving KIm in her still stunned stupor, her arm throbbing slightly.

xXx

Edward ran as quickly as he could out to the garden, where he collapsed into the grass, hating himself. He had cut his love; hurt her! He had just put a blemish on her lovely skin, marked her with these hideous blades he called hands.

He was Fortune's fool; it never let him have any peace. It simply taunted him with momentary happiness, then took it all away just as quickly. God, what had he done? Kim would hate him now. Hate him just like everyone had after he hurt Kevin. Hurt those closest to him, because he was a monster.

"I'm a monster…" he whispered out loud, with no one to hear but his hedges.

Why can't humans be like the hedges, he wondered. Why couldn't he benefit them, making them beautiful and unique using his hands? Why couldn't he just get it right for once?

He shoved to his feet, anger for himself in his eyes. He stormed to the other side of the house where a small pond rested quietly in the moon's glow. He kneeled before it, glaring at his reflection. Scars marred his features, and he hated them. Hated what they represented. They represented the failure to preserve; either himself or those he cared about.

He raised his scissors to his face and ran it quickly across the skin there. A new mark bled, leached colorless by the moon. He smiled grimly, at least now he had a mark to represent his most recent failure.

"Edward?" a tiny voice came from several feet behind him. He started, rising to his feet to run again, when a hand caught his arm.

"Edward, please! Don't run! I'm completely fine. It was really a small scratch, and I cleaned it see?" Kim begged him quietly to stay, and finally, Edward looked at the cut. It wasn't bleeding anymore. It was an angrily puckered pink line now, and it looked a little better. But Edward still turned away, facing the pond again. Kim walked to face him again.

"Edward…really, I'm alright. Please, don't blame yourself. I was the one who freaked out about the spider. I ran right into you. You couldn't have prevented it. I promise I'll be more careful next time—What happened to your face?" She suddenly broke off, noticing the new cut on his pallid skin.

Edward looked down at the grass, not responding to her.

"Oh, Edward. Did you do that on purpose?" she asked, almost looking angry. Well, he thought, she has every right to be angry at me for whatever reason she wants. He nodded slowly.

"Edward! Don't ever do that again! Don't you see it's not your fault?" her voice suddenly softened from the harsh tone that was making him look like a kicked puppy. "Come on, let's get the blood cleaned off your face."

She brought him back into the house, carefully leading him by the arm, like he was especially breakable. It should be the other way around, He thought miserably.

They got to the dusty counter of the bathroom and Kim ran the tap and found a cloth in the cupboard. Wetting it, she began to clean the cut on his face while staring into his eyes; pleading with him to forgive himself for something that wasn't even his fault.

Looking back, Edward told her with his eyes that he never could.