Disclaimer: I own nothing in this story except for my own little plot line. Everything else is property of the genius Stephenie Meyer.
A/N: Thanks for the great reviews last time. This update adds in a little more suspense, so I hope you all enjoy it! And like always, a big thanks to my beta, twi-ction.
Chapter Seven: Tuesday
It was Tuesday. The cold chilling morning breeze kissed her window and her eyes fluttered open. Small, warm fingers were curled by her cheek and her eyelashes lightly brushed against her skin.
Today was Tuesday. It was the second day in the week. And with a deep breath of fresh air, filling her lungs whole and refreshing, she believed that today was a new day. Though her throat still hummed with discomfort and her head still throbbed with a dull ache, she felt better than she had in the past couple of days.
Last night brought a smile to her coral-colored lips. Edward had stayed with her, rambling on about everything while she ate. He told her that he grew up in Chicago, but that his parents had died by some illness they contracted when they went on a cruise overseas. After that, he went into the system where a gracious, loving family adopted him. He told her of his siblings, all of whom were also adopted, and how he missed every single one of them. She felt sorrow at the emptiness in his eyes when he spoke of his parents. She laughed when he told her that his older brother made fun of his interest in anthropology. "Why study humans?" he had said. "They're very bizarre." "And isn't he a human?" she had asked him. And Edward only smiled and said nothing more on the subject.
When her eyes grew heavy and her vision began to blur, she remembered Edward taking her bowl away from her lazy hands and pulling up the sheets around her shoulders. "Sleep, Bella," he had whispered in her ear. She could smell him around her then, a scent that was full of spice and the promise of the sun. Though his skin was frigid, his essence brought warmth to her – a kind of warmth she hadn't felt in so very long. "Go to sleep," he had whispered to her again. And as she felt the darkness of her dreams take over, she could have sworn she heard his musical voice murmur, "You are beautiful."
She closed her eyes and sighed, her smile widening in the early hours of the cloudy sky. When she opened them, little flames from her candles danced around the room. Resolutely, she got up and waved her hand in the air, starting the coffee pot that spit and gurgled to life. She felt raw. She felt alive. She felt… fear.
Never had she felt so strongly for someone since Jacob was murdered. That feeling, alone, frightened her. She was connected to Edward now. Pushing him to the sidelines was no longer an option. When he was with her, she felt life pulse within her veins. He made each passing minute of her life that much more tolerable. Time was still there, still telling her that she would have all the days in the world, but for once, maybe she didn't have to be alone. Though what would he say if he were to ever find out who and what she was? Would he believe her? Probably not. People came and went in her life. Angela and Jessica would move on after they graduated and Bella knew that she would never see them again. But in that passing moment, it was nice to have friends, to feel like she wasn't entirely on her own.
Edward just merely passing in and out of her existence, however, was not acceptable to her. Bella found that she didn't want him to stay away from her. That when she graduated, she wanted to still keep in touch with him. And there would come a time when she would need to explain the truth, but for now that could wait. Maybe things didn't make quite as much sense to her as she would have liked, but it would have to do for now.
She stood in the middle of her small, rectangular shaped room, the floorboards cold beneath her feet. A frown tugged at the corners of her lips and she wondered if she would be able to handle the sense of rejection she would feel when he realized that she was unnatural – a freak. The term, "immortality," was something thrown about in fairy tales and legends. It was mythical and mystical, but it was not real, at least not to those around her.
When the coffee machine beeped loudly, a siren that broke her thoughts, she chose to ignore it. Her feet carried her to the bathroom where the tiled floor was even more frozen than in her room. She turned the hot water on from the shower and watched as steaming rain poured to the white tub below. Her clothes were stripped off and she stepped under the soothing liquid beads, pulling the shower curtain close behind her.
Thoughts and memories flooded her mind. She felt the loss of Jacob. Her chest clenched over the death of Alice. She remembered the death of her father clearly, because in fact, he didn't die when she was very young like she told Edward. He died before Alice's hanging. The 'failing of the heart' is what they had called it then. And she remembered clutching his hand within her own and feeling the hot tears pour down her face as the last breath left his lips when his lungs collapsed. She remembered feeling the loneliness when wanting to speak to her mother and never getting the chance to, for she died during childbirth. Alice was a sister, mother, and friend to her all at once. She met her when she had turned sixteen and they were close from the very start. The one thing she remembered the most about her dear friend, apart from her vivacious joy for life, was the color of her eyes. They were rich like honey and flecks of gold shown throughout the irises, gleaming with knowledge and things to come. It was those eyes that reminded her of Edward. And again, the uncertainty of being with him threatened to tear her apart. Bella had lived through many losses in her life. Could she live through his too?
Steam floated in the air around her, soaking her skin and filling her sinuses with heat. She closed her eyes as she stood beneath the raining water that cleansed her body, and she wept.
Today was Tuesday. It was the day in the week where Bella only had one class. Histology was something she could not miss, so she bundled up in her winter coat, gloves and hat, and trudged through the crystalline white snow. It crunched beneath her boots as the stinging wind prickled the skin on her face. Her nose was the color of the dahlia flowers in the classroom, their petals a rich crimson. Puddles of clear liquid dotted the linoleum floor as she made her way to the lab table in the back. She deposited her winter coverings and pulled out a notebook and pen as she sat down on the high stool.
More students began to filter in, taking their seats and her professor pulled up his PowerPoint lecture from the sleek silver laptop at his desk. As the large hand of the clock struck the number twelve, he began dispersing knowledge about the formation of cells and how they create many forms of life. He gave them slides to look at under their microscopes and Bella wrote down the identification of each. While she worked, she wondered if the cells in her body were normal. Could she possibly be a specimen that students would study under their microscopes? Did her body's miniscule cells multiply like they should? Or were they mutated and tainted from the curse that had been bestowed upon her so many years ago?
Carlisle was sitting in her father's study, pouring over countless books by candlelight. When she entered the room, he said, "How doest thou feel?" Though he never looked up to her, she knew that he had sensed her presence.
"Better," she muttered, though her skin still felt clammy with fear. Her stomach was twisted in knots and the haunting cry that escaped Jacob's lips still permeated her mind.
Carlisle turned to her; flimsy framed spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose. "Thou needest not lie, Isabella." He sighed heavily, a sad smile gracing his poised face. He spoke to her without pretense or formality. "The sick pallor of your skin and the sheen of sweat that coats your forehead tells me otherwise. I know how you feel, though you may choose to not believe me."
Isabella swallowed and glanced around the room, trying her best to keep another wave of tears at bay. "What is thou doing?"
"Research."
The golden waves of his hair shone in the dull lighting of the room. She watched him through tired eyes, her hand resting on the frame of the doorway. "Carlisle," she whispered. "What is happening?"
The tiny fragility that was her voice spoke volumes to him. It made his chest constrict and sorrow fill his heart. "Unspeakable things, dear one," he disclosed, his quiet, almost inaudible, voice reaching her ears.
Finally, he stood from the worn, wooden desk to come stand before her. The goldenrod flecks of his irises sparked in the darkness. "We need to talk."
"About what?" she asked, wary of the intonation in his voice.
There was a brief silence, one that engulfed her from her feet up to her head and she waited, not breathing in a single breath, until he finally spoke.
"Alice."
"All right, next week we'll discuss the different transformation of cancer cells. Those slides and the ones you looked at today will be included on the next exam."
Her professor's voice broke through her thoughts, and Bella shakily cleaned up her station as other students piled books into their bags, ready to leave.
As she left the science hall, she hugged her arms around her tightly, trying to fight off the chilling cold of the Washington winter. Students milled past her, some attempting to ride their bikes to class on the salt-ridden pathways. Her dorm was not far away, but as she passed the library with its menacing stone gargoyles, she heard the faintest whisper on the wind. It carried across campus, floating amongst the light snowflakes that swirled in the air, past the heads of passersby, until it reached her awaiting ears. "Isabella."
She froze, her blood running cold. Someone yelled, "Watch it!" behind her, but she didn't notice as the person brushed past in annoyance. She stood still on the sidewalk, her gaze searching the large, gothic building before her. As her eyes flitted along the perimeter of the library, she spotted something within the trees. A moment so quick, she barely even registered it. But as she narrowed her gaze, her heart quickening in its pace, she spotted a pair of eyes staring back at her – eyes the color of fresh blood.
Her past was suddenly brought to the forefront of her mind.
"What about Alice?"
Carlisle sighed heavily, forced. His nostrils flared minutely. "Doest thou remember the tonic Alice made thee the night of her arrest?"
Isabella nodded uncertainly, remembering how her friend insisted that she needed the liquid for her jumbled nerves.
"She conjured something – a potion. It was mixed in the tonic."
Ice-cold shock washed over her. Carlisle was the only other being that knew of she and Alice's gifts. They only toyed in mere trivial spells and he never thought it pertinent for the townsfolk to know. When Carlisle requested a specific herb for his medicine collection, Alice and Isabella showed him their talents and he watched in awe as his request grew up from out of the soiled earth. From that point on, he knew and kept their secret safe.
"That is impossible," she retorted, though her voice trembled with disbelief.
Carlisle looked down to the dirtied floor beneath his feet, frowning. "Thou knowest that Alice was a seer?"
Again, only a nod came from Isabella.
"Whatever it was that she saw, she felt it important that thou be protected from it."
Eyes widened, Isabella looked up at the young, strange doctor before her. Like Alice, he also had the same tawny, alien eyes. "What exactly did I drink, Carlisle?"
"An elixir of protection," he answered quietly. "One that has now given thou life an unnatural length."
Crazed, feeling the brink of hysteria clawing its way to the surface, Isabella clutched at his arm. "Doest thou speakest of immortality?"
He looked at her grimly, not even wincing when her grip tightened. "Yes."
"That is impossible," she growled, her words hard. "There is no one who can live an immortal life."
A beat of silence showered over the room. Carlisle watched her calmly as sheer terror spread throughout the layers of her flesh. "Vampires live an immortal life, Isabella."
Her feet stumbled across the sidewalk and her lungs screamed in protest at the sharp, stabbing inhales of ice-cold air as she ran. Fear latched on to the beating organ in her chest. She had heard about these eyes. She had seen them in her nightmares. Even running through the woods that fateful night with Jacob, she could have sworn she saw a pair of scarlet eyes peering out at them through the forest. So, they had found her. Finally.
Tiny bumps rose along her flesh beneath her jacket as she entered her dorm. She rushed up the stairs, her nose running and her throat dry. Her boots slipped across the slick floor as she reached the third level where her room was located. She was so preoccupied with turning behind her to see if anyone had followed her that she didn't notice someone was standing in the middle of the hallway.
She collided with something hard and strong. Two arms encircled her shaking body, holding her upright. She screamed, turning to face the unknown identity of her imprisonment when she saw the familiar face of a boy.
"Edward," she choked out. "Wha-What are you doing here?" Nervousness laced her voice as she pulled away from him; turning to look back behind her to make sure no one else had joined them.
When she finally returned her gaze to Edward, she came up short. Her breath caught in her throat. His eyes, normally a soft amber in color, were jet black. They were hollow, empty. A familiarity scratched at her from the inside as she stared at him. She knew those eyes…
"Your eyes," she whispered.
"Are you okay?" he asked her, his voice strained, his jaws clenched tight.
"Yes."
Bella watched him in alarm as she pulled the keys from her bag and began to unlock her door. As she motioned to open it, Edward grabbed her wrist, gently pulling it away and stepped in front of her, as if protecting her from something. He opened the door, stepping inside the room with a sense of warning. She slowly followed him in, her gaze trained on his back, the way his muscles were drawn tightly together beneath his shirt.
Edward's eyes searched the room and he inhaled deeply. A low growl rumbled in his chest and Bella dropped her bag to floor with a loud clamor, startled.
She watched as his fists clenched by his thighs and he spun around to leave. "I have to go," he hissed. "I'm sorry."
Confused, she reached out to him, her small hand only halfway wrapping around his forearm. "Edward, wait."
He turned on her sharply and Bella immediately let go of him, as if burned. The animosity in his face was frightening. Minutes seemed to pass between them and soon, his features softened, forming a disgusted frown on his lips.
"Hey," she whispered, coming to stand closer to him. "What's wrong?"
Edward looked down at her, his midnight gaze full of worry and guilt. "I… I was just worried about you. I'm sorry about my behavior. It was wrong of me to come – "
She shook her head and let both of her hands fall on his arms. Where was the young man she spoke with last night? Where was the one that made her smile and laugh and her heart stammer within her chest? Without thinking, she stood up on tiptoe and pressed her forehead against his, closing her eyes in relief. Whatever happened in the past few minutes could be explained later. Right now, she didn't want him to leave her. She was afraid of what would happen if she were left alone. The pressure of his own forehead pushing back against hers was welcoming.
"I have to go," he murmured, his lips close to hers. And then he was gone from her, opening the door to make his exit. She gasped at the sudden void that filled her chest.
"Edward," she called out, running to the door to stop him. He turned back to her, his brows drawn down. "Will you come back?"
Slowly, he reached out to her, his cold hand cupping her flushed cheek. The pain that etched its way in the lines of his face was nearly intolerable and she wanted to smooth away the distress that was clearly written all over him. His lips separated and she watched the full flesh there move as he whispered, "Yes."
Bella stood by her door, watching him leave and feeling a deep ache within her gut with each step he took away from her. When she closed the door, she let her body lean up against it, her mind running back through everything that had just happened.
Today was Tuesday. It was the day that vampires had re-entered her life.
