Hi again! It's so awesome to see you again! By the way, just so everyone knows, I've been in New Brunswick for the past two weeks, which is, like, 2, 000 miles away from Haydon. We've only had chat to comunicate with eachother, which kinda sucks because I can only use a laptop at my aunt's since my grandparents' computer died. I also lost, like, three chapters of Light Wings Behind Dark Fangs, for anyone who reads that over at fictionpress.
But at this point, I'm just venting, so I don't care if you were actually listening.
Anyway, please enjoy chapter ten of The Darkness of an Eclipse.
This chapter was courtesy of Haydon Darescog.
That stupid jerk. God, he looked so smug. She just wanted too...To hit him. To hurt him like he had hurt her. It was such a strange revelation for Anna that she stopped dead on the stairs. Gabriel gave a short little bark of laughter, thinking that she had stopped because of his taunt. He moved past her into the sitting room, smirking all the way.
But Anna just stayed standing there, holding the dark mahogany banister tightly in one hand. She had never wanted to hurt anyone before in her life. Not when she got beat up at school, not when some local boys killed her dog, not even when Mr. Zetes had been hunting them. She had wanted to stop him, yes, but all she had really wanted him locked away for a long time.
But this...She had honestly wanted to attack Gabriel. And he was a friend―one who made stupid decisions, mind you―but still someone she counted on.
"Anna?" Kait's voice issued from the room below, calling her back down for the "meeting" Carlisle had insisted.
"Coming!" she called, trying to keep her voice its usual serene tone. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment as she descended the dark-paneled steps. Keep it together, Ann. You're a pacifist, remember? she thought to herself. When she entered the room, the whole group was spread out about the room. The three young vampire (she considered Bella one of them) couples were sitting on dining room chairs along the right wall that had been moved in for extra seating. She had to hide her shock when she noticed the vampire sitting next to Alice was the one from Kait's drawing. He had kept to the background earlier, so she hadn't really looked at him. Jasper, Edward had said.
Esme and Carlisle sat on a love seat at the far end on the room, facing its occupants as if to oversee the meeting. The psychics all sat stiffly on a beautiful red leather couch on the left wall. She slid in next to Lewis, who gave her a little smile.
You okay? he thought to her as she settled in.
Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, she thought to him, and felt his relief at her reply.
"Alright. Now that we are all accounted for, I would like to hear your story. The whole story."
Anna suddenly realized who was missing.
"Where's Lydia?" she sent through the web, as well as said aloud.
"She would only get in trouble if she stayed here and found out about us." Carlisle gestured to his family. Anna understood.
She's packing now, and Joyce is picking her up tomorrow, Lewis thought, and Anna couldn't help feeling sorry for him. He had been looking forward to spending time with her on the trip. Then she felt Kait sigh through the web. She was the sort of unofficial leader of their little team, so they all knew she would be the one to tell their tale.
"Ok. But before I begin, once again, please hold your questions to the end." Carlisle nodded in the red-head's direction and she began. She told them everything; their start at the institute, how Gabriel created the web, them going on the run, the crystal (several raised eyebrows at that), the search for the people in the white house, and the great conclusion to their quest.
By the end, Kait looked exhausted. They all did. Remembering all those things and laying them all out at once like that made it really sink in. Everything that had happened, the people they'd lost...and in such a short time. They had met less than two weeks ago, and it seemed unreal.
After the room stayed quiet for a minute, Esme said, "I'm so sorry."
She looked so sad, so genuinely upset about their experiences that Anna felt the need to comfort her in some way.
"Thank you. But really, it wasn't all bad. We got a chance to meet each other, after all." she said, and glanced meaningfully up at Rob, who smiled.
Esme grinned at her. "Yes. You're right. Now, I guess, you'd like to hear our story?"
An hour later, Anna was lying in the huge be upstairs, her head buzzing with the stories of each
of the vampires. They were all tragedies, in their own way, but they also all ended somewhat happily. They all found each other, and they lived out their "second lives" in peace (until Bella came along). It was a crazy thought that the people in the rooms below her would never die. If they kept living like this, they could live until the next millennia. And the one after that. Forever.
The thoughts were too big for her to wrap her head around, and kept her from relaxing into a much needed rest. Unlike Kaitlyn. She glanced over her shoulder at her sleeping friend, who had been out the minute she set her head down on the lovely down pillows.
Anna forced her thoughts to slow down. She took deep breaths and thought of easy things; The wonderful feeling of connecting mentally with an animal, the huge breakfast Esme had promised as they staggered up to bed, and Rob. Mostly him. She let herself slowly fall into the memories of him; their first kiss (that they had managed to keep secret), the way he looked at her sometimes, the way he smelled...
She was asleep in seconds.
Over the next week, Anna slid back into her old personality. She didn't know what had happened to her on that first night, but she didn't really care, as long as it didn't cause her any trouble anymore. She slowly got used to their strange new living accommodations, too. They ate Esme's amazing cooking, learned more about Victoria and newborn vampires, and started to show the Cullen's their powers. They were a great audience, and were amazed with their abilities. It was a welcome change from the scornful glances and angry stares of her hometown, and she began to grow attached to the family.
Kait was having a harder time, however. She and Gabe were having a "rough patch", as she put it. Anna hadn't seen them do anything remotely romantic since they had arrived, and Gabe had taken to disappearing for hours on what he said were "walks". He never let his walls down anymore either, which lead Anna to believe that something was going on with him. But she didn't dare bring it up with her friend, for fear that she would be right and that it would spark a fight.
She asked Kait if she wanted to talk about it, but she only told her, "It's his problem. He can work it out."
So they spent their free time getting to know the Cullens better. Emmett was a riot, and he readily welcomed any company. Alice became their particular friend, and one night, a few days after their arrival, she took Anna and Kait out shopping. It was the most Anna she had had in weeks, and Alice seemed determined to buy them both completely new wardrobes. They returned to the house with bags full of expensive clothing, new makeup, and a beautiful set of watercolor paints for Kaitlyn.
They all tiptoed through the quiet house, and Alice wished them goodnight before slipping down a hallway towards her and Jasper's room. Anna climbed the steps silently, with Kait on her heels, and slid into their room. She walked to the huge window and looked down onto the edge of the dark forest below. It was beautiful and clear out, and the moonlight lit up the ground in a stark contrast with the dark branches of the trees.
Just the, two figures stumbled out from between the trees, and stopped on the grass. It was a man and a woman, she could tell from here, and they had their arms around each other. The man bent his head and kissed the woman, and she pushed her fingers into his hair. They turned slightly, and the moonlight suddenly hit them properly. The woman had light blond curly hair that fell past her shoulders, and pale skin. The man was also pale, but with dark, unruly hair. Hair that fell over one eye...
Anna gasped. It was Gabriel. Gabriel and Rosalie. And they were making out in the forest. Oh. God.
"What're you looking at?" Kait said suddenly, and walked up behind her. "Is it bats or someth―?" She stopped dead, staring out of the window.