Thanks to my beta Leah, not only for being your awesome self, but for getting this back to me so fast! I think I would have had a heart attack if I had to wait to put this one out!!
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Chapter 7: Nothing Else Matters
Edward and I arrived at my car in what felt like record time. Throughout the walk, I had found myself struggling to keep up with his quick pace. I made a mental note to hit the gym when I got back to Seattle.
"Keys?" He requested as he walked around to the driver's side of the car.
"You're not driving my car!" I exclaimed.
"Bella..." he said patronizingly. "Remember, I've driven your car before- to the hospital for you. Also, you don't know where my house is."
"Your house?" I asked tentatively.
"I just have to grab a couple things before we go. Can I have the keys?" He asked again.
"Fine," I mumbled, grabbing the keys out of my car and throwing them at him.
He caught them easily even though my pitching skills were subpar.
"Impressive," I said with a teasing smile.
"I aim to please," he said with a wink as we got into the car.
My head spun and butterflies filled my stomach as his beautiful smile blossomed on his face again.
No, no, no, Bella. I admonished myself. You're just starting to become friends. Don't mess that up with other feelings.
I got in the car and tried to ignore the fact that perfection personified was beside me in the driver's seat.
We drove to his house in easy conversation. He asked me about my life in Seattle, and I asked him about his life here in return. I tried asking where he was taking me, but he wouldn't give me an answer, turning instead toward a discussion on whether or not I would be coming back to Forks soon. I told him no, and I couldn't help but catch the slight disappointment on his face.
We arrived at his house after about twenty minutes of driving. It was a beautiful old house with a wrap around porch and antique charm that I couldn't imagine in any other home. Edward invited me inside while he ran upstairs to gather his things.
The inside of the house was just as beautiful as the outside, but less antique. The living room was decorated impeccably; it was the perfect combination of understated old world style with modern touches scattered throughout. I was passing along a shelf filled with family photos when a woman's voice from behind me interrupted my perusal.
"Hello, you must be Bella," she said gently.
I turned to see a woman with smooth features and affectionate smile standing in front of me.
"I'm Esme, Edward's mother," she said.
"Hi, I'm Bella Swan," I replied with a smile.
She returned a knowing smile.
"Would you like to come into the kitchen? I can get you a drink if you would like."
I agreed and followed her into the kitchen, where she motioned for me to sit at one of the stools that lined the counter while she poured me a glass of water.
I watched her as she went to the cabinet and took out a tall glass, setting it down on the counter noiselessly. My eyes were trained on her—mesmerized by her grace and ethereal beauty as she opened the refrigerator and retrieved a pitcher of water from the top shelf. After pouring my glass of water, she returned the pitcher to the refrigerator. I couldn't help but notice the refrigerator's pristine condition.
It wasn't just clean—it was empty. There was nothing in the refrigerator other than the pitcher of water that Esme had just replaced.
I tried to maintain an ignorant expression while Esme turned back around to face me and bring me my glass of water. I smiled and thanked her politely before she excused herself from the room and exited out the back door of the kitchen.
My head spun while I drank the cool water. Empty? Who had a completely empty refrigerator with seven people in the house? Where was all their food?
My thoughts were interrupted by voices from outside the kitchen. I couldn't understand what they were saying, so I quickly drank the rest of my water and followed the voices into the living room. Edward was standing in the middle of the room with a bag thrown over his shoulder, arguing with a tall blonde that I could only assume was his other sister.
"She shouldn't be here!" I heard the blonde spit.
My eyes widened and I froze in my tracks. The girl's eyes turned to me as I stood there, sharp displeasure written all over her face. She must have realized that I had heard her words. However, her expression didn't show remorse or chagrin; if anything, she looked glad that I heard her comment.
When Edward saw me frozen in the doorway, his already darkened demeanor deepened.
"Come on, Bella. Let's go," he said as he stalked toward the door.
He held the door open as he waited for me to pass through, staring daggers at his sister the entire time.
I slowly uprooted myself and moved toward the door where Edward was waiting. I could feel the girl's eyes boring holes into my back as I made my way to the door, silently urging me to get out of the house faster.
Edward followed me through the door and slammed it behind us, quietly making his way back to my car and throwing his bag into the backseat as he got into the driver's side.
I mutely followed him out to the car and once again climbed into the passenger's seat. He didn't say a word, which left me to my thoughts- first of the empty refrigerator and second of his sister's scorn.
We drove back down the road that led out of town in silence. Edward appeared tense, driving with one hand tight on the wheel and the other clenched in his lap. We jetted down the road at speeds I was afraid to know. Suddenly, he took a deep breath and slowed the car and pulled off to the side of the road.
He turned his whole body toward me and leaned forward.
"Bella, I'm really sorry about the way my sister acted," he began slowly, "and I'm sorry I reacted the way I did. It doesn't matter what she thinks about our... friendship."
I smiled slightly when he mentioned our friendship. He was easy to talk to and fun to be around, not to mention the best looking person I had ever seen, so I was proud to call myself his friend. I could really only find one fault in our friendship- I got butterflies every time he looked at me.
"It's okay," I replied casually. "That's why I'm friends with you- not with your sister."
Edward chuckled lightly and it seemed his good humor had returned. Shaking his head, he pulled the car back out onto the road and resumed driving.
"I guess you got a pretty good taste of Rosalie," he said with a playful smile. "She doesn't like anything or anybody. She expects the world to just fall at her feet."
I raised my eyebrows and laughed at his description of his sister. From the four inch heels to the perfectly styled hair, I could tell from one glance that Rosalie considered herself a superior being.
"So won't you tell me where we're going?" I asked, changing the subject.
"Nope," he said, popping the "p" with a finality that solidified his statement.
I rolled my eyes.
"Why are you taking me?" I asked. I was sure that there were plenty of other people with whom he would rather spend the afternoon. I was just the clumsy girl he met when she was knocked out on the forest floor.
His brow furrowed and he looked at me in confusion. "You want to know why I'm taking you," he stated slowly, as if he was processing my question. "Well, Bella, I think you're nice to talk to and fun to be with. And you smell good."
"I smell good?"
He just shrugged, a smile playing on his lips while he watched my reaction to his statement.
"Like I said earlier Edward, you're different."
The smile that had been threatening to emerge finally won over, and my heart melted as he directed it toward me.
"Just be careful, Bella," he admonished.
I rolled my eyes. Everyone was always telling me to be careful.
"Sooo... Will you tell me what's in the bag?" I asked, pointing with my thumb toward the duffel bag in the backseat.
"Can't you just be patient?" He asked with a small chuckle.
I crossed my arms over my chest and shot him a mock glare.
Ten minutes later, we pulled off to the side of the road and Edward put the car into park.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"I thought you gave up on asking questions," he said with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.
I stuck my tongue out at him in mock animosity.
He got out of the car and opened the back door to grab the duffel bag.
"Well," I replied as I got out of the car and tucked my jacket closely around my body, "I thought I would know once we got here, but obviously not."
He just shrugged and threw the duffel bag across his back.
"Come on," he called, walking into the forest without another glance back at me.
I hesitated to follow him for a moment, but quickly hurried after him once I realized he wasn't going to turn back. We wove back and forth through the trees, up through the hills. I had no idea how we were going to get back, but Edward seemed self-assured; I could only continue to follow him.
He didn't say much as we walked, only turning around to make sure I was still following him, giving me a quick smile, and turning ahead again.
He finally stopped.
"We're here," he announced, turning to me with a proud smile.
When I looked up, I suddenly realized that I could see the cloudy gray sky ahead of me instead of the vast expanse of trees that I had been seeing for the last half hour.
"Where are we?"
"This is my favorite place in Forks," Edward sighed, stepping forward onto the cliffs in front of us.
"It's beautiful," I breathed. My eyes tried to take in the overwhelming beauty of the landscape in front of me.
Just feet from the edge of the tree line, the soft soil turned to jagged rock, dropping down dramatically to a thick forest below. From the edge of the rocks, you could see for what seemed like hundreds of miles. The rolling hills beyond looked like something out of a green heaven, and the low lying clouds clustered in the valleys, turning the landscape into a beautiful portrait of grays and greens.
"Come here," Edward urged, motioning me to the edge of the rock where he was standing.
I looked at the sharp cliff warily.
"I don't think so," I said. "I'll fall."
Edward chuckled and backed away from the edge.
"Okay," he conceded, "first thing out of the bag."
He zipped open the duffel and brought out a large blanket, spreading it on the ground in front of me.
I put my bag down and sat down on the blanket when he motioned, and he sat down beside me.
"Why did you bring me up here?" I asked.
He shrugged and met my eyes with his honey colored ones.
"You don't like Forks," he said simply.
"And?"
"I just wanted to show you something I love about it."
I nodded slowly. I would admit it was beautiful up here. It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen.
I leaned back onto my palms and looked up at the sky that seemed like it stretched on forever above us. A gentle breeze blew down and ruffled my hair, and Edward stiffened beside me. He turned the other way and breathed deeply before shifting his weight where he sat.
"What's wrong?" I asked, slightly worried by the pained expression on his face.
"Nothing," he said, with a forced smile.
I gave him a worried look before turning my attention back to the landscape in front of me.
"Doesn't it look like its going to rain?" I asked worriedly, eyeing the continuously darkening clouds overhead.
The comfortable smile returned to Edward's face.
"It's the most beautiful when it rains," he said. "It might even make you think twice about calling the rain terrible again."
"Hmph," I grunted. "I highly doubt that."
"You never know," he said, flashing that perfect smile at me again.
He began asking me about my life back in Seattle, and I humored him by telling him about Jacob and all our crazy experiences trying to figure out how to live alone in the city.
"So this Jacob guy isn't your boyfriend?" He asked when I got through telling him about our search for an apartment in the city.
"No!" I huffed.
"Kidding," he said with an evil grin. "You just made it all too clear that he definitely wasn't- you must have said it ten times."
"Sorry," I blushed. I knew I had been intent on making sure Edward knew that I didn't have a boyfriend- obviously too much so.
Suddenly, a raindrop hit my cheek, cooling the burning sensation caused by the blush. It was quickly followed by several others, dotting the deep purple shirt I was wearing and sending a chill down my back.
Edward smiled at me and reached into his bag, pulling out a couple of bright yellow rain ponchos. He draped the first around my back and pulled the hood up over my head, smiling into my eyes as he adjusted it to cover my hair.
How could anyone be this perfect?
"Look," he said, sitting back onto the blanket under his own poncho and looking out over the cliff.
I watched as the rain seemed to divide into cascading sheets, glistening and sparkling as it fell from the sky onto the trees below, coating them with tiny prisms of light. For as far as I could see, the sky was full of shining crystal.
"Its... amazing," I said, searching for the right words to describe such a beautiful scene.
A proud smile shone on his face.
"I thought you would like it."
I nodded in amazed agreement as I continued to watch the magical scene in front of me.
"Is Forks really so bad?" He asked a few minutes later.
"Not from here," I murmured.
He met my eyes and smiled, and my heart hammered in my chest.
He stood once again and walked to the edge of the cliff where he had been standing before. I felt my whole body tense as I measured the small distance between his shoes and the edge of the rock.
He turned around and looked at me as I bit my lip in apprehension.
"Come here," he said, beckoning to me from where he stood a few feet away.
I rapidly shook my head.
"You must be certifiably crazy if you think I'm getting up there," I said decidedly.
He rolled his eyes and turned back around to face the landscape in front of us again.
As I watched him warily, the daredevil buried deep inside me urged me to go closer to the edge and see the beautiful landscape as if I were floating above it. I decided on a simple compromise. I remained seated, but gradually scooted closer to the cliff. When I got to the edge, I leaned forward to look down to the forest below and my stomach dropped, and I gasped.
Edward looked down at me and laughed.
"Bella, what are you doing?"
"I'm closer to the edge!" I said, forming a pout at his lack of appreciation for my compromise.
"But you can't get the full effect until you can't feel the ground underneath you like that," he said.
I rolled my eyes and remained seated on the rock with my legs crossed underneath me, just close enough that I could see over.
After a moment, I could feel Edward's eyes looking down at me.
"Fine!" I sighed deeply in surrender. "If I fall and die, though, it'll be your fault."
"I won't let you fall," Edward smiled.
I unfolded my legs from underneath me and carefully placed my hands on the cool, wet rock on either side of me to steady myself. As I stood to my feet, my legs shook slightly from fear and apprehension. I finally straightened my back and I was able to look out over the forest from a whole new viewpoint.
"You're right," I said slowly. "It's even better from here. I feel like I'm floating above it all."
I was afraid to move, but when I heard him laugh from beside me, my heart won out and I turned my head stiffly to see him smile.
"Relax, Bella," he said gently when he saw the fear still present in my eyes. "I won't let you fall."
I forced myself to take a deep breath and try to relax my tense muscles one at a time. The gentle rain was now falling lightly over the hills in front of us, and I tried to focus my attention on that instead of the large distance between myself and the ground at the bottom of the cliff.
A few minutes later, I realized I was breathing steadily and I was completely relaxed, all anxiety washed away by the gentle raindrops. Edward looked over at me and smiled.
"See? It's not so bad."
"I guess not," I replied confidently.
"I've got something else for you," he said, turning to go back to the duffel bag. "Come here."
Having lost all my cautiousness, I turned around to walk back to where Edward stood over his bag. As I turned, I felt something go wrong. My right foot missed the solid top of the rock, instead landing on one of the steeply sloped portions that were made even more dangerous from the rain. I tried to keep my footing solely on my left foot, but I felt my body falling backwards. My eyes clamped shut and I couldn't even scream as I began to fall.
Then, out of nowhere, a frigid grip caught my hand tightly. My whole body tingled as though I had lost feeling everywhere but my hand, which was now extended above my head, caught in whatever cold grasp I had found.
I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes, preferring the dark sanctuary I had found inside my own head to the picture of hard ground a hundred feet below me.
"Bella?" A panicked voice said from above me.
The fear in that beautiful voice finally brought me back to reality, and I opened my eyes and looked up. Edward was there, leaning over the side of the rock with my hand held tightly in his own. His eyes portrayed all of the fear I had been feeling, and it seemed as though his naturally pale skin had been drained of any color it had.
However, of all the things spinning through my head, my mind only focused on one thing. I only felt the icy grasp of his rock solid hand over mine. It seemed as though the fact that I was hanging over the side of a cliff suddenly became a trivial matter, and a series of thoughts began racing through my head.
I could hear Michael Charles' voice repeating in my head, "Their skin feels like ice to the touch. It's one of their most distinguishing and easily recognizable characteristics."
"She shouldn't be here!" I heard Rosalie shout from the back of my mind.
"They call themselves vegetarians, I believe," Mr. Charles had said.
The picture of the empty refrigerator in the Cullen's kitchen came crashing back to me with a whole new significance.
My thoughts were interrupted when Edward began pulling me back up onto the rock. My body felt numb, but Edward pulled me up like I weighed as much as an old ragdoll and sat me gently on the ground.
In the few short seconds that I had to process the events from this long day, I had realized without a trace of doubt what was so different about Edward.
"You..." I trailed off slowly, unable to vocalize my new discovery.
Edward gazed at me in concern while I searched for words. He held my shoulders tightly between his firm hands and stroked my damp hair that was falling down my back.
"What's wrong, Bella?" He asked, his handsome features furrowed deep with distress.
"You... Your family..." I tried to begin again. "You're... You're not human."
As soon as the words were out of my mouth, his expression of concern disappeared and his eyes widened. He let go of my shoulders and leaned back away from me.
"What are you saying, Bella?" He asked, his voice now rough.
I summoned all the courage remaining inside me before meeting his honey colored eyes.
"Vampires," I choked out. "You're vampires."
His hands balled into tight fists with my words and his chiseled features were now set into an angry stare. Our eyes stayed locked together for what seemed like an immeasurable amount of time, the electricity almost tangible as it ran between us.
He finally broke my gaze as he pounded his fist into the rock at our feet, cracking the hard surface and leaving a small pit where he struck.
"Come on," he said, standing to his feet without another look at me.
I stood hastily and chased after him.
"Where are we going?" I demanded.
"I'm taking you back to your car," he growled.
I didn't dare say another word, but the tears streamed silently down my face, blurring my vision and combining with the steady rain that was still falling overhead.
EPOV
As I sat on the edge of the cliff, looking out at the treetops below, my mind was consumed with one thing. It was the same thing that had been echoing through my mind for the past three days. Bella. All of a sudden, she had become the reason to keep leading this monotonous life that I had come to dread day by day, decade by decade.
And now she knew my secret.
I hated the way I had reacted when she revealed what she knew, but I hated myself even more for thinking I could have a relationship with someone so unlike myself. As I sat on the edge of the cliff, I regained control of myself. I couldn't stop thinking about her. Every little thing about her captivated me, like no one ever had before. It wasn't just her smell or her beauty that drew me to her, but it was all the little human things. I was fascinated by her heartbeat. There was a thin line between being close enough to her to hear her heart beating steadily in her chest, and being too close to her so that her scent was too overwhelming. I loved to make her blush- to see the rosy color of her cheeks when the tempting blood pooled to the surface of her skin. She awoke a protective nature in me that I never knew existed.
I had been out hunting the first time I smelled her delicious scent, and it took all the self-control I had cultivated for over a century to keep from killing her then and there. Her seemingly lifeless form lay on the forest floor, and I remembered fighting an internal battle with three options. The first was to turn and run, protecting this girl from my dangerous being. The second option I considered was the choice to give in to my darkest desires and take her life, quenching the demanding thirst in my throat. The final option was to help her. I could tell she was hurt, and I knew I could use the training I had received as a doctor to help her. As I stood in the forest, refusing to breathe, I made my choice. I would protect this girl- the other two options didn't even seem like distant possibilities- and that protective nature hadn't subsided once I helped her out of danger for the first time. I constantly worried about her. When Alice saw her in the forest again on Friday, I knew I had to be in the forest as well.
She had me constantly on edge because of her investigation. I knew how close she was getting to the truth, but I tried to rationalize the small chance that she would actually discover my family's secret. Every time I came home with a smile on my face, everyone in my family immediately knew I had seen Bella again. Their opinions on the matter varied. Some, like my mother, were just happy that I had found someone special, but others, namely Rosalie, were worried for our family's safety- and obviously for good reason.
Her mind was unreadable and her thoughts indiscernible. She drove me crazy with the guarded shroud that kept me from hearing her thoughts like I could hear the rest. It was easy to find peace with her, uninterrupted by her thoughts in my head. Sitting there on the cliff with her had been the most perfect, serene moment I had ever spent with anyone.
I continued to find things I loved about Bella, finally coming up to the one thing that had been my downfall—the feel of her skin. I had carefully avoided touching her every time I had been around her, even though the temptation was always strong. As she fell, however, I knew there was no other choice if she were to live. Her skin was so soft, so warm, and so extremely fragile.
Her reaction to my touch terrified me. I was not only afraid for the safety of my family, but also afraid of her reaction to my secret. She thought I was a monster. I should have known that Bella and I could never have been together, but the cold truth seemed so much more real.
"I'm leaving, Edward," she had said as she got back into her car. "I'm leaving tomorrow morning and I won't ever be back to Forks."
Her words struck me like a knife through the chest when she said them to me, as if her absence would cause me physical pain.
Stop being ridiculous, Edward, I told myself sharply. She's just a girl. A human girl.
I continued to sit on the cliff as night fell, my sharp vision picking out the stars that emerged overhead before it was even completely dark. I felt utterly helpless. It was the first time I could ever remember feeling this way. Bella was leaving, and the one person in the whole world that mattered was going to be gone out of my life forever.
Helplessness was replaced by anger as the night drew on. Anger that told me things might have been different if I wasn't a monster. Anger that reprimanded me for losing my temper with her. If I hadn't acted like a monster, she might have given me a chance. Instead, she was leaving.
I didn't move as night trailed on, my thoughts never leaving Bella. As day broke over the horizon in the distance, I knew what I had to do.
I hope you all enjoyed a snippet from our dear Edward's point of view!
When I was writing the scene from the cliff, I got the idea from a place I've actually been to. I grew up in east Tennessee with the beautiful mountains out there, and I decided to bring a little of that into the story. When my beta Leah read it though, she actually found pictures of the place it brought to mind! (She's from Kentucky which has a lot of the same beautiful mountains of Tennessee) This is what she came up with: . So go on over there and click on the individual pictures on that site to get a good idea of the place I imagined for that scene. :)
With Love,
Maggie
