Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or the characters. Thanks a million to my beta, CrystalRaindrop!
: - Dedication - :
Firstly, and most importantly, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to jessikate for dreaming about this story. THAT, my friends, is the ultimate ego boost. Secondly, I'd like to dedicate it to Shadowman55 for offering to be my bodyguard. Believe me, I'll need you soon. Things are gonna get rough in the next ... ten chapter or so? And finally, I dedicate this to InsatiableHanner for giving me, by far, THE LONGEST REVIEW I'VE EVER GOTTEN! 730 words ... the the size of some STORY CHAPTERS I've seen! I LOVE YOU!
A Child of the Night — Chapter Seven
Previously ...
I sighed, and held myself tighter to him.
I would tell him. Soon. I would have to.
But not tonight. Tonight, I just wanted to be in his arms. And even though the rain fell around us, cold and hard, I wanted nothing more than to stay in his warm embrace.
"Edward," I breathed, and he held me closer. I was so happy. So content.
And I neither of us had any clue of how simply that happiness could shatter. Or how quickly, how soon, it would.
February 14th, Thursday - 5:30 PM — Edward POV
I stared at my hands gravely as I awaited my sentence. My father stared disapprovingly down at me, and my mother sighed again and again as her eyes ran over the bright, red lettering stamped across the top of my paper.
Fail.
"Edward …"
"I know," I grumbled, sighing and rolling my eyes before turning my gaze to the ceiling and away from my parent's disappointed eyes. "I'm grounded until I ace the make-up test, huh?"
"Yes," my father sighed, and he took the paper from my mother. "You only did thirteen of fifty-seven problems, Edward. What in the world were you thinking? This test is important! Edward, this is your last year of High School, and then you're moving onto to college." He could see I was about to interrupt, so he put his hand up to stop me. "Whatever path you choose, Edward, whether it be music or medicine, this is important."
He waved the test in front of my face, and I nodded, sighing deeply.
"No more music," he began, and I groaned. "No movies. No friends — "
" As if I have any."
" — No driving. No reading anything that does not pertain to Trigonometry. No more going out at night after seven — "
"What!?" I cried, and I stood from my chair so quickly that it fell to the floor. I wouldn't be able to see Bella! For weeks! And the fact that I could live without my music longer than I could live without Bella only reinforced my belief that she was special. To me, and to everyone. "Why the hell not!?"
My father sighed, and my mother raised an eyebrow.
"Edward, these are the rules, and they have been since your first year of school. No leaving the house after seven. No exceptions."
"Just for tonight," I begged, for I knew that I needed to let Bella know that I would be gone. If I just left her, like she had accidentally left me, I knew that I would, once again, plant the seed of doubt and pain in her heart. "Please."
My father seemed to think this over. "Why? If you tell me why, I'll consider it."
I sighed, and frowned. No one knew about Bella yet. She was my secret. I smiled at the thought, and then remembered that my parents were still standing in front of me.
"I'm meeting someone."
My father's eyebrow raised until it was in danger of entering a parasitic relationship with his hair. "Oh, really? A female someone?"
"Yes," I mumbled, and I could see that, now, he was fighting a smile. "A girl. Her name is Bella. I met her about two weeks ago. If I don't tell her I'm grounded, she's going to think I left her. She's been hurt by so many people before. If I up and disappear, I'm only going to hurt her more. Please."
My father nodded very slowly, and I knew that it was the fact that I was afraid of hurting this girl he'd never even met that made up his mind.
"Very well. Just for tonight. Be in before eight, though. And Edward, I'm serious. Eight."
I grinned; my punishment suddenly seemed so much brighter. "Yes, sir."
He shook his head in amusement, and then swatted me over the head with my test before dropping it into my lap. My fingers curled around it, hiding the pitiful score that had been born from my worry and impatience only two days ago.
"Study. Now," my father demanded, his expression serious but his eyes light.
I nodded, and took the test from his hand before climbing the stairs to my room.
Two more hours until dark, I thought, and I smiled. Two hours until I can see Bella.
7:02 PM — Bella POV
I moved slowly, carefully, through the woods, determined to make it to Edward unscathed today. But my impatience eventually took over, and I began to run. I was still careful, though, and somehow, by some small miracle, I made it to the clearing with minimal damage. I smiled in triumph.
I was going to tell him tonight.
I was determined. He deserved to know. He deserved to know what kind of girl I was. What kind of girl he had asked to stay by his side.
And then I heard him, moving slowly to my side. And he took my hand, and though I had yet to hear his voice, I knew it was him, for the warm touch that made my heart beat so frantically could only be his. I smiled.
"Hi," I breathed, and he chuckled a little at my anti-climatic greeting.
"Hello yourself, Bella," he said, and we sat down together on the damp grass. The world around us was silent for several moments. I heard only she soft chirping of birds and the gently bubbling of the stream that was so close. I took a deep breath in, closing my eyes and letting the scent of the forest around me fill my senses.
I sighed, and opened my eyes — though I still saw nothing, simply having them open made me feel that much more normal. I took yet another deep breath in, as I always did when I was nervous, and held it for several moments. But just as I was about to speak, to utter the words that would change my life in one way or another — as I was about to whisper, "I have something I need to tell you" — his voice floated over me, and my courage evaporated.
"Bella, I … I'm not going to be able to come here for a while. I'm not going to be able to see you for a while."
My heart sank, and then it shattered.
"W-why?" I stuttered, afraid of his answer.
I've decided I don't want to be around you anymore.
I know your secret, and I'm leaving. I can't be with someone like you.
I've grown tired of you.
"I'm grounded."
Well, that was unexpected.
"Oh," was all I said, and he chuckled, brushing his fingers across my cheek.
"Silly Bella. Did you think I would leave you? Didn't you hear anything I said before? I can't leave you."
I smiled then, encouraged by his words, and thrilled by the honestly I could hear ringing in every word. Overjoyed at the happiness that laced his declaration of assurance.
I wanted to tell him. I had to. I opened my mouth to speak, and then he spoke again, interrupting me even though he didn't know he was doing it.
"So I was thinking. I'm basically grounded from going out at night, and going out to see friends. But I bet you anything my parents would let you come over to our house. You could meet my family if you did come over. Oh, I bet my mother would love you so much. And Alice would, too," he said, and I could almost feel the hope that burned in every word. "Please, Bella. Will you come over"
I knew it was more than just a simple invitation. It was a request for me to meet his parents, his family, the ones his loved.
I sucked in a deep breath, and whispered my answer very quietly.
( Edward POV )
"I … I can't. I'm sorry, Edward."
Her words shattered all of the hope that had built up inside of me, and I bit my lip, hoping she couldn't feel my disappointment. But she could, and she whispered softly, "Not during the day, at least. Could … could I come after dark?"
I felt relief pour through my body at her half-acceptance, and I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. My mood suddenly lifted, and the disappointment and sorrow that had filled me before were completely gone.
"After dark?" I laughed, smiling softly at her, excited that she hadn't turned me down completely, that she was willing to come with me and meet my family. "Actually, come to think of it, I've never seen you in the sun. What are you? A vampire or something?" I teased, and I pressed my finger lightly against her nose. But she didn't laugh as I expected her to. Instead, she forced a small, sad smile, and chuckled nervously.
"Or something."
I stared at her in confusion, and then shrugged, too jubilant to dwell on such trivial things for very long.
"After dark would be fine, I suppose. Tomorrow, maybe?"
She shrugged, a real smile lighting her lips now. "Maybe."
And then we were silent. And when I had to leave, I pressed my lips very softly to her forehead, marveling in the warmth that laid under my lips. I smiled as I pulled back, reveling in the soft blush that lit her pale cheeks.
And then I turned around and ran.
I didn't get far, however, because I heard her yell after me, "How will I contact you!?"
I smiled, and stood still for a mere moment. How hard could it be to get the Police Chief's phone number? "I'll contact you," I said, and then I left once more, surrounded by only the sounds of the forest around me.
8:01 PM
When I stumbled through the doorway, it was exactly eight-oh-one. My father looked pointedly at me, and then at the clock. He smiled the smallest bit, and then shrugged, as if to say "what's one minute?".
I barely had time to change out of my soaked jeans before mom called us all for dinner. Alice picked at her green beans, declaring again and again how they were 'yucky', and Emmett made weird faces at his meatloaf. I simply ate it all as if I was starving. It tasted very good, and it was warm and filled me up. I smiled, and slowly drank my milk as I watched my family, imagine Bella sitting with us, talking quietly as I hoped she would do soon.
The table was silent until my father spoke, several moments later.
"Dr. Snow asked me to do something for him," he murmured, and he placed his paper down on the table before turning to my mother.
"Oh, really?" my mom asked, and she was genuinely curious. "Oh, Carlisle, he didn't ask you to work overtime, did he? We barely have any time as a family anymore as it is. You simply work too much already."
My father laughed gently. "No, no, Esme, nothing like that."
"Oh," she breathed, and she relaxed. Anything else, I knew, she would be more than willing to do to help Dr. Snow. The most important thing to her was our family … and that was the one thing she was unwilling to give up. I smiled, and my father continued.
"Everyone in town has taken the same precautions. There is a young girl that lives here in Forks with Xeroderma Pigmentosum. In short, it is a disease that affects the healing of damaged skin cells. They call her a Child of the Night, for if she goes outside during the day, she could die. Dr. Snow has asked us to tint all of our windows with a special UV protecting plastic, so she would be safe should she ever to come to our home. He says it's fairly expensive, and told me that he, and several others in town, would be willing to pitch in could we not afford it. I told him I would have to speak to you about it, Esme dear, because I know how much you love the sunlight."
"Oh, dear. Poor girl. Of course we can," she whispered, but I heard nothing else after my father's words, for in that moment, everything came rushing back.
"Actually, come to think of it, I've never seen you in the sun. What are you? A vampire or something?"
And then I remembered her nervous, stuttered words, and the acceptance that followed my teasing accusation.
"Or something."
I felt sick. More than sick, I felt helpless, and stupid. How could I not have realized it before? And why hadn't she told me? Did she not trust me? I felt an intense pain welling in my chest at that thought, and the fact that she didn't trust me hurt more than the revelation of what she was, what she lived with every day.
"I'm weird," she had whispered, a pained edge to her voice. "I'm different. A freak. That's what everyone says."
"Do they treat you that way because you're blind?"
"Only partly."
I felt so nauseous then that I could barely stay upright. I gripped the edge of the table with both hands, and clenched my eyes shut, willing the voices to leave my head. I clenched the table tighter, and I could vaguely hear voices in the background, concerned and worried. The voice of my family. Of my mother, and my father, and Alice and Emmett.
Bella.
I stumbled from the table, desperate to get to her. I had to talk to her, to touch her, to ask her why. I needed to see her, to understand why she hadn't told me.
Bella.
Why? Why her? She was blind, and now this, too? Was she destined to live in darkness, not only because of her blindness, but because of this disease that plagued her? Even if she could see, would she still be cursed to a world without light?
Why? What had she ever done? Why her?
Bella.
"Edward!"
I didn't realize until that moment, when my father yelled out, that I had fallen. I felt cold, and I knew I was shivering.
And then the world around me disappeared, and for the few brief moments that I was trapped inside my own, dark mind, I understood what it was like to never see the light, or to feel it, or to simply be able to stand under the sun.
And I wondered what kind of god would curse such a sweet, beautiful girl like Bella. She'd never done anything wrong, so why had she been chosen? Why had she been chosen to live her life alone, mocked, teased, abused? Why, God, why?
The darkness closed in fast, and then I saw nothing, and I felt nothing, and I heard nothing.
Bella.
I stumbled forward, fighting the darkness as I reached for the door. I grasped the handle in my hand and turned it, breathing deep and fast as my vision slowly returned. I felt my father's hand on my shoulder, but, with strength I didn't know I had, I pushed him away and ran into the rain, my feet bare on the hard concrete.
And I ran. I ran toward Bella.
Bella.
So I'm kind of hoping I can get a good response to this chapter. I'm really, really freaked out about it. No matter how many times I write it ... yeah. Oh, and it's been decided for me that I'm psychic. If you haven't read Breaking Dawn, go do it — and then read my other story, My Miracle, My Angel.
Please Review! ( I also accept Anon. reviews. So you don't need an account to review. )
NEXT CHAPTER:
"Why?" he questioned again, and his voice rose. I choked back a sob, not willing to speak. "Damn it, Bella! Why!?"
