Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters in it. This is a nonprofit story.
His cold hand was wrapped around the top of my arm; unrelenting, and firm, but that wasn't my concern. My concern was that he was stomping to his room, dragging me behind him with no explanation as to why. I wanted to ask him why he was so angry, but something told me he wouldn't answer me. I glanced behind me as he dragged me along, hoping to see somebody like Alice. She would help me, I knew. Unfortunately, she was not around.
"Why are you so angry?" I demanded as I stumbled along, hurrying to keep pace with him. He quickened his pace. I reached for the wall, grasping it with my fingertips in an attempt to halt him. He yanked me forward, causing me to lose my grasp and stumble once more. "I didn't do anything!" I snapped, losing my temper easily. I almost instantly regretted it, knowing it wouldn't help his temper in the least bit. He pulled open the door to his room and pulled me in, shutting it soundly behind him.
"Didn't do anything?" he repeated, his teeth clenched together. He was speaking now that we were in his room.
"Yes, that's right. I didn't do anything," I said slowly, trying to keep myself calm.
"Wrong!" was his answer.
"Then what did I do, pray tell?" I asked, crossing my arms across my chest.
"I told you to stay in here, and you disobeyed my order!" He was pacing back and forth, his hands balled into fists at his side. I raised my eyebrows, a bit taken back by his answer. I knew disobeying him would anger him, but it wouldn't cause him to become so infuriated. At least, I didn't think so. I dropped my arms from my chest, taking a hesitant step toward him. Hopefully, I could coax the actual answer out of him. I took another step forward, trying to be quiet in my steps so as not to startle him.
"Edward," I began softly. "What's really the problem?"
"That is the problem," he insisted, muttering it under his breath. He put a hand in his bronze hair and continued pacing. I took a deep breath and let it out slowly, knowing I had to remain calm.
"Something else is bothering you," I informed him, even though I was sure he was already aware of that. "What is the problem?"
"It's that vile Newton," he practically snarled, still pacing. Once again, I was surprised by his answer. I went to interject, to ask him what he didn't like about Mike, but he continued to talk. "He... he proposed to you," he choked out. "He should have at least received Carlisle's permission to leave work. He can't just get up and walk out. And besides, he could have asked for an escort to the other kingdoms, so we would know you'd be safe. He should have..." He paused here, staring down at his hands. "Worst thing is he acted as if you would say... as if you would say yes!"
I was silent for a long minute, trying to think of wait to say. "I could have said yes," was all I could think to say. "Why do you care?"
"Why do I care?" he muttered more to himself then me, pacing once more. "But he shouldn't have proposed to you!" he said, his voice at normal volume again. "You two would not work well together. Even I can see that. You need somebody who would respect you for you, and somebody who can support you as well. You need someone who would remain entirely faithful, but not in the puppy dog type of way. In the way where his eyes and mind never strayed from you. You need... somebody else."
"Edward Cullen," I whispered, licking my dry lips. I didn't want to say my suspicions in fear of being wrong, but I realized it would be better to take the chance of being wrong then never knowing for sure. Then again, he might just lie to save himself embarrassment. "You're not... jealous, are you?"
He stared at me, not responding to my question. His eyes roamed down from my face, pausing at my neck; he was much too polite to look down further. His eyes went down to look at my hand... my left hand. I realized what he was looking for, and I clenched my hand into a fist. Pleased that he saw no engagement ring there, his eyes returned to my face once more. "I shouldn't be," he muttered, so low I had barely heard him. My mouth fell open quietly, my eyes widening. Surely I had misheard.
"Pardon?" I asked.
"I shouldn't be," he repeated, raising his voice so I could hear him clearly.
"That doesn't answer my question," I pointed out.
He sighed loudly, shaking his head. "I shouldn't be jealous," he repeated.
"But are you?" I asked quietly, not wanting to raise my voice. I almost didn't want the answer.
Again, he was silent. His eyes returned to the floor; distressed, calculating. He balled his hands into fists before relaxing them, allowing his palms to lay open. After a minute, the smallest of a smile appeared on his face. "I know what my problem is," he told me, walking slowly in my direction. I resisted the urge to walk backwards, a small part of me still afraid. But the more dominant side of me knew he would not hurt me, and that's what kept me from backing away from him.
"Oh?"
"Yes."
"I thought your problem was Mike." I meant for it to be a question, but my tone came out flat.
He chuckled. "He is part of it. But I know what the big problem here is." He had a small smile on his face, but that seemed strained.
"And what is your big problem?" I prodded.
"You."
"What?"
"You." I was speechless. My mouth abruptly went dry, not allowing me to respond. I gulped, licking my parched lips once more in an attempt to regain my speech. I was his problem. Did he not... want me around? Was he tired of me and my boldness?
"Pardon me, but how am I your... problem?" I whispered, not able to bring my voice up any higher.
He started pacing again. "Ever since you came here, my life has been harder than it should be. I've had to keep an eye on you to make sure you don't get yourself raped, or agree to a ridiculous proposal out of pity. I've had to keep you inside my room over night to keep you safe, you're that much trouble. Normally, I would spend my days reading or playing music. Instead, I find myself following you from here to there just to make sure you're safe. You seem to recoil from my touch, despite the fact I've saved your life numerous times. You won't tell me anything about your past, and when you do, I have to force it from you and I have a hard time believing the things you tell me. What you've told me is so simple, so ordinary... everything you're not. You won't trust me with whatever you're hiding, I've realized. Because yes, you are most definitely hiding something from me. I don't know why you won't trust me; when I would never, on the life of me, hurt you or let anyone else hurt you." He took a deep, shuddering gasp, and then continued. "Every time I close my eyes, I see you there. I try not to blink, to refrain from seeing you there, but I can't help it. Your face is always there, and I always want your company. I can't stand the thought of somebody or something hurting you, and I don't want anybody but myself to be able to look upon you." He sighed, letting the air out slowly, keeping his gaze on mine. "And that is the problem."
I wasn't quite able to speak. "Edward, that's so..."
I couldn't finish my sentence. Tears were building in my in eyes, prepared to leak out, but I pushed them back.
"I'm sorry. It was inappropriate of me to say all of that. Now is has made you feel awkward." He sighed loudly, placing his face in his hands. "Truly, I am sorry. I have not been acting very kind towards you. I have just been very... frustrated, as I'm sure you've realized." I could see he nearly smiled. "But frustration is no excuse for immature actions. I hope you can accept my apology, because I assure you it is completely sincere." I couldn't believe he was apologizing to me.
And before I could stop myself, I began walking towards him at a quick pace. I saw him raise his eyebrows, but that was all I saw before I tossed my arms around his neck, enveloping him in an embrace. He was stiff for one moment, but then his arms wound around my waist, pulling me to my chest. "Don't be sorry," I whispered. He didn't respond, just moved one hand up so it touched the back of my head. I buried my head into his chest, keeping my arms around his neck. "Please don't be sorry," I repeated.
"I'm not." His voice was low, hoarse. I smiled.
"Good," was my response.
"Trust me," he muttered.
"What?" I asked.
"Trust me," he said once more.
"With what?" I questioned, feigning confusion.
"With your past. With whatever you're hiding." I stiffened, wanting to pull away from our embrace to see his expression. But at the same time, I knew I would miss the feel of his arms around me. I decided to stay as I was, choosing not to answer. After a few minutes of being quiet, he seemed to realize, but not accept, the fact I was not going to answer. "Please, Mimi. I will never hurt you. I will never let anybody else hurt you. Trust me, please."
Part of me desperately wanted to believe him. I wanted to trust him and tell him everything. About how Charlie was my father, how he wanted to marry me and what he did to me. I wanted to tell him about Gretchen's courage, how this was her idea and how I owed her my entire life. And yet another part of me knew I couldn't risk it. If I told him the truth, he might send me back to Charlie or use me as a bargaining peace to help out his kingdom or to prevent a war. After all, Charlie would start a war over me. I highly doubted Edward would.
And yet he was suffering because I wouldn't tell him.
"Oh, Edward," I muttered, shaking my head against his chest.
"Please."
"I can't," I confessed. "I can't, Edward, I can't."
"You mean you won't. There's a big difference." His tone was sharp, and I was fairly certain I could sense a bit of hurt that I wouldn't trust him.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, trying to hold back my tears.
"Why, Mimi? Please, at least tell me why you won't trust me. Tell me where I went wrong!" he begged, tightening his grip on me. And finally, for the first time in a long time, I burst out crying. The tears soundly rolled down my face, dripping onto the wooden floor below. They soaked his shirt as they fell relentlessly, not allowing me to stop and catch my breath. It wasn't his fault, I wanted to say. It was my entire fault I was the one who wouldn't trust him out of fear for myself. It was not his fault in the least bit.
I cried over the father and mother I had lost. I cried over the loss of my home and everyone I had loved there. I cried over what my father had done to me, and what in return that had done to my emotional health. I cried over the fact I would never have my dream wedding or any other childish fantasies. I cried over the fact I was now a servant and would be forever more. I cried over the fact I so desperately wanted to tell Edward everything, and yet I couldn't bring myself to.
And Edward held me this entire time, allowing me to seek the comfort I so desperately wanted.
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Authors Note: I figured she deserved a good cry. But see, their relationship is progressing.
Also, on a quick note, I get a lot of reviews saying "when is she going to tell him?" I'm going to inform everyone now that he WILL find out but I will not say anything else on that matter except it will happen when it happens. You'll have to be patient with that. No, I'm not trying to drag this story out longer then it needs to be. As much as I love to write this, I need to keep it realistic. (Well, as realistic as it can be since it is a fairytale mixed with vampires.)
I'm sorry if you thought this chapter was slow. It was, yes, but I just wanted them to talk a bit more. Things will speed up, no worries, and exciting things will happen. I didn't write this story to bore you, after all, haha!
On a happier note, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for all of the amazing reviews! Thank you all SO much! Honestly, I can't even express my gratitude. I got over one hundred reviews! Could we try for that again? That would be so amazing.
I hope you enjoyed. Please review!
xoxo