Finally realizing that I had reached my destination… I stopped where I was and sat down in exhaustion right there on the gravel pathway to the house… I closed my eyes and trusted that he would be near me soon to help me… I trusted him….
I felt him once again scoop me up into his cold hard arms… I inhaled his scent and felt at ease as he carried me back to the large white house… I buried my face within his chest and realized as my heart crashed against my chest wall that this is where I belonged….
EPOV
"She'll be coming soon…" she says to me as she hops out of her yellow Porsche…
"Who…" I asked, not really paying attention to the words coming out of her mouth…
My mind was still recovering from the total surrender to my senses… all night I hunted… all night I ran as far as I could… trying to safely distance myself from her tempting existence…trying to satisfy my insatiable need for blood… desperately trying to get her scent out of my mind….
Useless…
I realized that it wasn't blood I needed… it was her… my thirst for her could never be satiisfied…
My thoughts reverted back to the intoxicating creature who single-handedly destroyed everything that I believed in… who broke down my monotonous reason for existing only to build me back up with hope and despair, intertwined in an unbreakable hold…. I could not help but think of the beauty that entranced me with a single look from her eyes… a single beat of her heart…
"Bella…"
My eyes shot up at Alice… my territorial instincts were sent into overdrive… I was livid… no one was to go near her…
I saw a flash of fear come and go as Alice's gaze met mine "How do you know about Bel-"… before I could finish my sentence she answered me…
"I saw you last night Edward… your future was all over the place it was impossible to ignore… visions of you killing her, hurting her, changing her…. Each vision a different scenario, each vision ending bloody… it was so hard to watch you struggle with yourself… the dilemma that you were in… her scent was so strong…"
She approached me and put her hand on my shoulder… "It was such a surprise to me when you decided that you loved her… the emotions were so strong, so real… I felt it… I knew it was true… It was then that you decided to keep her safe and alive… I thought I saw you leave her and run away… but then her future disappeared from my visions and I thought that you had gone back and…" her voice dropped off in a melancholy silence….
I immediately regretted the anger that I felt for my sister… there could never by any secrets between us… she knew me better than I knew myself…
Now, the guilt that had accompanied me throughout the night was pushed to the forefront… Alice now knew that I wanted to kill her… she knew the deplorable thoughts that raged through my mind…
Then, her words sank into my consciousness…. "What do you mean disappeared??" I berated myself for leaving her in such a fragile state… how could I have been so careless… What if something happened to her… my mind went blank as I forced myself into Alice's thoughts…
"I know… it freaked me out too… I waited and waited for you to come home but you were taking too long and I was getting worried… I needed to make sure that you were ok… that if you needed my help I would be there… I needed to check on her… and you…"
Her thoughts granted me access to the memory as it played through her mind… The familiar house in the forest… the gravel driveway… she was searching for something… anything…
Then the memory of the scent she found lingering around the house hit me… it was so familiar… it was revolting… the stench…
But it reminded me of a night long ago when we first arrived here at Forks… the Quileute Tribe… the wolves…
impossible…
My eyes shot open as I begged Alice to give me answers….
Images of my car, mangled and crushed, at the edge of the driveway where I had left it… What the… there was fur and blood inside of the wreckage… not Bella's blood… the wolf…
She followed the scent as it led up and into the house… my senses were on fire at this time… why did the creature enter the house… why was there a wolf near my Bella…
Alice's thoughts continued on… gracefully, she climbed the house in search for signs of life… listening and following the sound of the steady breathing… she made her way up onto the second story and peered into the first window … nothing… clothes were strewn across the bathroom floor… the material matching that of Bella's nightdress...
Alice paused and scanned the surrounding forest with her eyes, then continued her task… Bella's house was technically in neutral territory, but a vampire stalking up the side of a human's house was reason enough for the wolves to mount an attack… not that she would be hurt… it was just unnecessary and time consuming…
The next window gave me a clear line of vision into her bedroom… the light was just enough to see her lying there, her beautiful brown hair strewn about, her lips a wonderful shade of pink… her body wrapped in nothing but a towel… and she lay there peacefully… in the arms of another man… my thoughts grew dark as an unfamiliar feeling raged through the core of my being… "ALICE…. Who is THAT?!"
"Calm down Edward… I'm getting there…"
"Now," I commanded.
The thoughts returned as Bella began to stir in the bed, struggling to free herself from under his weight… When she was free from his death trap, Alice jumped down and made her way to my large mangled paperweight car and easily dragged it into the forest and out of sight where it would not attract any attention…
Her next image caught me off guard… Bella, flustered from her run down the stairs, her hair slightly tousled, a wonderful shade of blue complementing her features. Her wonderful jaw opened slightly in awe… no doubt recognizing the similarites between myself and Alice, our skin, our cool touch… a hint of pain lingered in her eyes…
I felt the memory of the thirst burn the back of Alice's throat when Bella's intoxicating scent filled her senses…
"Alice…" I said reproachfully…
"Edward… I don't know how you could stand it… to be around her. If your vision was any indication of how strong the effect was on you…I knew that if I was that close, I would not have stood a chance…" she shuddered at the thought, "you were so close to her… neck…" she solemnly stated….
Flashes of the intimate moment shared on Bella's couch drew into her memory… my lips skimming the translucent skin of Bella's neck…
I closed my eyes at the memory, "Alice… imagine how you felt, the thirst the pain… the need for her blood…"
"Uh-hmm"… I felt the memory once again… Bella's scent did not nearly have and ounce of the same effect on Alice… but she was still more appetizing than the average human…
"Multiply that by a thousand … "
"Uh-hmm…"
"That is not even 1/100 of the effect that her scent had on me… Alice, it was completely maddening"… her eyes widened at the revelation…
"A singer…"
I looked down in shame, "I have never felt this or experienced something like this in my entire existence, I've waited over a century for her…"
Her thoughts then allowed me to resume the recap of this morning's events… finally, he appeared… Jacob… his name resonated in her mind… Bella's voice saying his name… again that unfamiliar rage ran through me… my name should be escaping her lips… not his… I was so infuriated and chagrinned ... his arm snaked around her slender waist… holding her to him… disgusting….
He was the dog… the source of the stench that surrounded the house… his scent was unmistakable… the fiend who destroyed my car…
Images of him as he furiously fought the change that was trying so hard to burst out of him flooded my mind… and panic spread through me… Alice's very presence sent his body into an instinctual defense mode… how careless that he could endanger Bella… how could he let himself lose control … so close…
Alice's voice brought me back to reality, "That was why her future escaped my visions… it has to be the reason Edward… he is a wolf… or a shapes shifter… whatever… I can't see his future… and I couldn't see hers because he was involved…"
"I guess we are both having malfunctions today…" I grunted… wishing Alice's thoughts would just continue… she eyed me warily, but decided not to question my comment…
I felt Alice's dilemma… she did not want to instigate his transformation any further by snatching Bella away… her mind frantically searched for something to do… for something to distract from his phasing human form… then… she watched in shock and amazement as Bella turned her body to him and calmed down the raging beast… placing both hands on his chest… soothing him with her melodic voice… then moving her small hands to his face… forcing his gaze into hers… where it immediately softened…
I saw it through Alice's eyes… he loved her… she willed him to come back to her… and just like a dog, obediently followed her command… their connection was undeniable… disgusting… a DOG…
Did she love him??
"I wish that you were there… Edward I wanted so badly to climb into her mind and understand … what was she thinking? So close to a young werewolf… has she no sense of self-preservation?"
"Alice… about what I said earlier… I am not able to hear her thoughts…" I searched her face, gauging her reaction…
"What do you mean, 'I can't hear her thou-'…"
"Exactly what it sounds like… her mind is closed off to me… I have no way of decoding her emotions or her reactions to something anymore than you do… I have no idea why… she fascinates me…"
"Well that makes things a little more complicated… interesting… but complicated…" she said, her voice barely a whisper…
The argument that ensued between the beast and my sister was interesting… so it was true… he did love her… he was threatening to mount an attack on my family if we 'bloodsuckers' didn't stop 'stalking' Bella… he was threatening to rip each and every one of us to 'shreds'…
I almost scoffed out loud… he was such a child…
But undeniably, he was menacing… that mongrel... but he was no match for Alice… she already knew how much Bella meant to me… she was fighting for her as hard as I would have…
She reminded Jacob… that he could easily kill her just as well… he almost phased no more than inches away from Bella's frail human body… a deadly price that she would have had to pay… She reminded him that we were not breaking any treaty agreements… there would be no reason to attack…
But most interestingly of all, Bella was… completely oblivious… completely unaware of the fact that those closest to her were… super human… to say the least. She had no idea that those persons she held dear to her were sworn mortal enemies… Powerful sworn mortal enemies whose treaty was being held at the crossroads… only she could decide where our fates were headed… she was the bargaining chip for peace or war… and her fate, her destiny … was hopelessly intertwined with mine…
"That's when she slipped away… I was so engrossed in fighting with the dog… that I didn't notice her escape…"
"You didn't notice??"…. I exhaled rapidly… trying to control my anger… pinching the bridge of my nose…
"No… she slipped out and started driving into the forest… I would have followed her, but I had a vision of her… coming here… she would somehow end up here…"
"HERE?! She is coming here??"
"Edward. Prepare yourself… you worst dream come true is going to be arriving fairly soon. She needs you right now… Edward, like you, she has made her decision already… 5:47 p.m…. expect her then… OH! And DO NOT follow her into the forest..." her eyes closed as a vision mounted… Bella screaming… someone chasing her… a glint of white and bronze… "It could get ugly… wait for her here… and don't look so… dead…"she smiled… "You will be fine…promise" and with that Alice called off to Jasper upstairs and they were off, leaving me alone to face her… I couldn't help but get the feeling that Alice was hiding something from me… that there was something that she wasn't letting me see…
What had Alice meant… 'she has made her decision already'… would I really let this wonderful creature fall in love with me? Am I ready to do this…
Hopelessly I knew that no matter if I was ready or not, when it came to her I would have no choice… I needed to be near her… I felt the anticipation budding in my chest…
Oh what I wouldn't give for me to be able to be human with her, to experience this feeling, these emotions with her the way that it should be experienced… How I wish I could be in her presence and be intoxicated by only her… just her… to fall in love and be loved as it should happen… not to be plagued by thoughts of her blood… her taste…
I pushed those hopeless thoughts and desires to the side… if I was going to make it through this… if she was going to make it through this… I needed to focus!
And so I focused on Bella… focused on somehow … trying to make her smile… to illicit that musical sound of her laughter once again… I could not think of a more fulfilling way to spend eternity than to make her happy… trying to show her that even if she did not love me in return… that I would always love her… she would always be loved for as long as she lived… I am hers eternally…
Taking my newfound determination I began attempting to make this experience for her as normal as possible…
A small chuckle escaped from my throat… huh normal….
It was nice… I haven't laughed in so long… a feeling of euphoria spread through me…
I stopped my musing, realizing that Bella would be arriving soon, hungry and thirsty…
Oh... I would be thirsty too…
I checked my watch… 2:29… ok I've got time…
I decided to hunt near my house, a large deer fell prey to me as I ensured that my hunger would be kept at bay, further satiating my thirst…
Food… I ran to the local grocery store and picked up… disgusting human food…. Hmmm… what would I find appealing if I were human…
I returned home and began to prepare… Meatloaf, gravy, mashed potatoes, steamed vegetables… Oh! I wonder if she's vegetarian… THAT would give us something to talk about… again another chuckle… another wave of euphoria…
Her impending arrival began to near, and my nervousness began to surmount… I was trembling… so anxious… fighting to keep control… the anticipation was killing me…
I peered out the window and noticed her figure… I could clearly see her, exhausted and parched… wandering up the long driveway…
The twilight made her look exquisite… she was beautiful… the wind carried her faint scent to me and I knew that it was time to go to her… I made my way to the front door, leaving behind any apprehension… I could do this…
I slowly walked towards her… trying not to run to her side…
She saw me from a distance… I'm sure that she couldn't see me clearly… but still, relief spread through her features… she weakly, faintly smiled, her face turning a crimson red, the blush reaching the tip of her ears… and slowly, she lowered herself on the driveway… too exhausted to move… it took all of my will power to not rush to her… I heard her slow and steady heart beat… she needed food… water… she was so dehydrated… she needed me…
She briefly closed her eyes… I seized my chance… I ran to her side and once again scooped her up and into my arms… no, she was not hurt… she limply wrapped her arms around my neck and hid her face in my chest… her wonderful porcelain skin was further accentuated by the shade of blue on her cardigan… I mentally noted to compliment her when she was more conscious…
Then it was my turn… the relief of feeling whole again was never this bittersweet… I looked down at this vulnerable creature in my hands … this wonderful fragile being… and felt my heart ache with such a love that I was overwhelmed… for the first time in a long time… a century's worth of a long time… I begged the heavens to hear me…
Dear God…I pleaded with every fiber of my being…of all the things you have taken from me…please... please give me this… the strength to at least keep her alive… to just keep her safe…if nothing else...
I unwillingly tilted my face towards her hair, inhaling that wonderful flirtation of freesia and lavender… I held her closer and admired the scent of her blood that was singing to me… the finest wine… I reveled in its presence… appreciating the most fragrant bouquet… yet willing myself to abstain from the thirst…
Nervous and confident at the same time, I slowly, at human speed, made my way back to the house….
Laying her down softly on the living room couch, I returned to the kitchen and brought back with me a glass of ice cold water…
"Here Bella… drink this…" I said as her fingertips touched my hand as I gave her the glass…
"Thank you…" she greedily drank down the water and immediately the color started returning to her cheeks… "It smells… wonderful in here…" her nose picking up on the scent of food cooking in the oven… it was the first time it has been used… ever…
"I was just making dinner… would you… care to join me…" I asked… my eyes searched her face as she contemplated on her decision…
A/N: I KNOW!! YOU HATE ME!! ILL UPDATE SOON ... I ALMOST HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER DONE... SOOOO REVIEW and TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!!
