As I was waking, my dream Edward whispered 'I love you'. I smiled even more and opened my eyes to my ceiling.
"How the hell did that happen?" The question had two contexts; One – how the hell did I end up at home, unclothed in my bed? Two – how the hell did I get to the point where I wanted Edward to whisper those words to me? I could've sworn I hated him. I tried to remember back to where I had stopped hating him and I couldn't find it. Pete was right. Hate is the closest thing to love. I would have to be careful now. I couldn't let him know, not unless I was sure he felt the same way. I sat up, covering myself with the thin blanket and went to take a shower. I washed all of the makeup and hair products out, until I felt like plain old Bella again. I dried off, got dressed and went to find Pete and Ali.
They were painting. They had enough money to hire a thousand decorators, but they enjoyed the actual process of decorating, so they did it themselves. I was careful not to touch anything when I walked into the room.
"Hey sleepy!" Pete laughed. He was covered in paint.
"How was your night?" Ali asked. She hadn't a single drop on her. The difference between these two made me laugh so often.
"Um. I don't remember much after dinner." Lie, I remembered everything after dinner, except where I had fallen asleep. "We were driving home and..." I trailed shrugging, and wincing.
"Edward carried you inside, you were fast asleep Bella." Pete laughed.
"I stayed up most of the night!" I complained. Ali hugged me. Pete came over to do the same and I shrieked, ducking away.
"So what happened?" Ali asked.
"We talked. We ate. He took me to the Chateau du Sureau for Pete's sake! Oh, um, no pun intended."
"Wow. High class. Did you have fun?" Ali asked. I nodded. "Despite the fact that you hate him?" she prodded. I couldn't help it, I blushed. Ali smiled, knowingly and continued painting.
"I like the colour guys." The phone rang then and I picked it up.
"Bella! Tell me everything! Edward hasn't been home yet, so none of us know anything and it's driving me insane!" It was Alice. I walked down into the rarely used living room and carefully talked.
"Um, we talked, we ate, he drove me home."
"There's more. You're holding out. What did....did he kiss you?"
"No!" I practically yelled. "It wasn't like that. Look, this is really a conversation you'd better have with Edward." Alice moaned and complained, but I was barely listening. I was imagining him kissing me, again. What would it be like? Would it be as explosive as the first time, or better, or worse?
"Bella!"
"Sorry... what?"
"Would you like to come over later?"
"Um, I have to ask Pete and Ali, hold on a second." I walked back upstairs.
"Ali? Would it be okay if I went over Alice's later?"
"Why?" Pete asked. "A second date already?" I blushed and I heard Alice laugh through the phone.
"Alice wants to hear all about it right? She wants to know every detail of the date?"
"I am so glad I have a woman in the house who understands the workings of the teenage mind." I sighed.
"I don't get it. Why doesn't Alice just ask her brother?" Pete asked. Ali, Alice and I all laughed. Pete, realising this was way out of his territory shrugged and went back to painting. Ali gave her permission and I accepted Alice's invitation, wondering just how awkward that conversation would be. I was also wondering where Edward was. I went downstairs and sat on my bed, looking at my recently acquired dress. From the corner of my eye I saw a flash of white. I walked over to my dresser and picked up my hairbrush. It had a mirror on the back. I tilted it to look discreetly out of the window behind me and saw him. He was resting against a tree, observing. Stalking. My mind supplied. I refused to believe that. A real stalker wouldn't make himself so noticeable. Mine hadn't.
"Come on in Edward." I said. He jumped back, startled, smiled and jumped swiftly over the pool. He came in, looking curious.
"How did you know?"
"Maybe I can read minds," I laughed, "no, Alice called and told me you hadn't gone home yet, and I saw you with the eyes in the back of my head." I added seriously. He jumped playfully behind me, lifting my hair, searching for the hidden eyes. I laughed again and went to sit on my bed.
"Why haven't you gone home yet?"
"I don't want to face Alice. She can be scary when she wants to be."
"Well I don't want to explain to your family what I've learned, all by myself. I'd rather you go first and tell them beforehand. That way, if they decide to shut me up at least I'll be prepared." I half joked. I was actually afraid that they might not like a human knowing their secret. Edward glared at me.
"They would never hurt you. I would never let them." He added more quietly. My heart leapt again and I forced myself to act normally. I looked up at the ceiling. Dust must have tickled my nose because I sneezed. And boy it hurt. I sneezed twice more and was practically crying. Edward began searching for my pain medication. I pointed to the dresser. He handed me some ibuprofen. I swallowed it dry, it was easy; the pills were small. I sat, waiting for the pills to take effect. It would take about twenty minutes. Until then, I tried not to breathe or move. Edward sat, carefully beside me, and gently held my hand while I waited for the pain to stop. I looked down at his cold hand, softly clasping mine and my heart fluttered again. I began to feel dizzy and I realised that I hadn't breathed in a while. As I drew in the breath I inhaled his scent and the moment was too much. I passed out.
When I woke up I was lying on my bed. Edward was looking worriedly at me, clearly wondering if he should get Ali and Pete.
"I'm okay." I said, sitting up slowly. The room spun once and stopped. I looked at his worried face. "My shoulder was hurting, I hadn't breathed in a while, and you smelled really good." I admitted. He gave a small smile. I took his hand again, using it as support. I stood up and realised that the pain meds still hadn't quite had the time to make my shoulder feel better. Edward was still holding my hand, and I realised that the strange electricity was running through both of us.
"No twenty questions today?"
"Do my questions bother you?"
"Your reactions do."
"Do I react badly?"
"No you take everything so coolly. It's unnerving."
"You never answered some of my questions from last night." I reminded him. He frowned and thought back.
"What ones?"
"How does the mind reading thing work? Can you read everyone anywhere? Why do you think you can't hear me?"
"I can't hear everyone everywhere. I'm limited to about a four mile radius. If I've heard someone's mind before it can be more, and with my brethren it's the farthest. I think I can't hear you because your mind is...how do I explain this? It's like I'm an old radio. I can pick up all of the am frequency, but you are a brand new station on fm."
"So my mind doesn't work right? I'm a freak or something?"
"I hear voices in my mind and you're worried you're the freak?" I had to admit, it did sound kind of silly. I let go of his hand and started to push him towards the door.
"What did I do?" he asked.
"You have to talk to your family. It's the only thing I'm demanding. If I have to face a house full of angry vampires, I want to know about it." I said. He smiled again and leaned towards me, as if about to kiss me. I froze. He lifted his hand to my face and stroked my face, from my temple, tracing my cheekbone, to my nose. And then he was gone. I was finding it suddenly hard to breathe. I sat down and tried to think clearly again. At around two o'clock I was snapped out of my meditation by the phone. It was Alice, she sounded tense.
"Um Bella, you can come now. Do you need a ride?"
"No, I'm fine Alice."
I biked, trying to clear my head. I pedalled as fast as possible, using only one hand. I eventually got to the no-hand stage. That was easier. It was a little easier to control my balance. When I finally got to the house, Edward was waiting for me. He looked almost angry.
"I would've driven you." He pointed out.
"Biking is healthier." I retorted. He hugged me. It was an unexpected move, but a welcome one. I stayed there, in his cold, strong embrace, until he sighed and let go.
"Come on. They want to talk to you." Edward pulled me inside. I sat at the kitchen table. I didn't even flinch when they all suddenly appeared beside me, but that probably had something to do with the large dose of ibuprofen running through my system. Rosalie looked angry. Esme looked smug. Carlisle looked cautious. Jasper looked curious. Alice looked hyper. Emmett looked nervous, but only because he was watching Rosalie. Edward I couldn't see, he stood beside me.
No one spoke. I realised I needed to sneeze again.
"Shit." I said right before it, then sneezed. A flash of pain shot through my shoulder. Edward winced and Carlisle came forward.
"Have you..."
"I took two ibuprofen about three hours ago." I said. Now that the tense atmosphere was broken, everyone seemed to relax a little. Something occurred to me.
"Hey Edward?"
"Yes?"
"How old are you?" I asked, looking at him.
"Seventeen." He answered promptly, smiling. I opened my mouth to restate the question.
"I was born," he interrupted, "in 1901. In 1918 Carlisle found me in a hospital dying of the Spanish Influenza."
My eyes were full of questions, I was smiling, and yet my mouth was agape, trying to absorb that information. Edward was a century old. The others took in my reaction, seeming pleased, yet they had questions of their own.
"How did you figure it out?" Alice asked. They all sat at the table and I closed my eyes, starting from the beginning. I told them all the hints I'd seen, the small abnormalities that gave them away. I laughed when I realised the irony at watching Dracula in a house full of vampires. They seemed to absorb everything, until finally they sat smiling. Well everyone but Rosalie did.
"Aren't you scared?" Esme asked, bemused.
"Can't Jasper tell you?" I asked, a small smile on my face. "I'm not, though I realise I should be. I'm maybe a little scared of Rosalie right now though." They looked at her and she got up and disappeared.
"I'm confused. I thought she liked me?"
"She doesn't like having the family's fate in your hands."
"Hand. I can't use the other one." This got a smile from Esme and Carlisle and a laugh from Emmett. "Besides, I wouldn't tell on you guys. Everyone has their secrets." It was then that I saw a flash of guilt overcome Alice's face. My stomach dropped.
"Alice?" I asked quietly. She looked down at her hands.
"Edward and I did some research." She admitted. I stopped breathing, waiting for the end. "We found out about your father, and his murder. Bella I'm so sorry." Alice said. I took a few deep breaths, trying to calm myself.
"It's okay. I guess you have the right to know a little about me. Re-level the playing field." I shrugged and winced. As long as the rest stayed hidden I was fine. We stared at each other for a while.
"So I'm assuming you heard all about last night?" I asked. Alice jumped up excitedly.
"Actually, no. We only got the after dinner conversation. I want to know everything you were thinking!"
"Um, how about a compromise. Twenty questions, but I ask one, then you, then me." Alice nodded and dragged me to her room.
"Was he a good gentleman sort, or was he acting more like a player?"
"Gentleman, well except when he growled at me."
"Growled at you?"
"Nuh uh, my turn. How old are you all?"
"Jasper is twenty six, I am twenty, I think, Esme is twenty eight, Carlisle is twenty six, Emmett is twenty nine, Rosalie is twenty three. Edward is seventeen."
"Give or take eighty odd years." I pointed out.
"He growled at you?" The next thirty minutes we spent answering questions. I found out that Alice was the youngest of all of them, followed by Rosalie, then Esme, then Edward, Jasper, then Carlisle being the first of the bizarre family. I found out about their super-senses. The fact that they knew I had come to sleep at their house. The fact that everyone in the house could hear what we were saying anyway, so doors and walls were really no use. It got to Alice's last question when I wouldn't answer.
"How do you feel about my brother?"
"Emmett is still scary yet fun looking." She growled at me. I tried to convey with my eyes that I did not want Edward or the others to hear this. She took me to a computer and told me to type my answer.
"But your thoughts?"
"I can block Edward." She grinned very menacingly and I turned back to the blank word document. What to type? His smell intoxicated me, his presence uplifted me, his eyes smothered me, his smile dazzled me, his voice was literally the most beautiful sound ever, his touch made me feel safe. It was then I realised just how much I loved him. I loved him.
When I typed it, I typed a whole bunch of nonsense, to make it sound like I was actually writing something important. Amidst it all I typed three words.
Bunny rabbits can't fly without the miracle of paper airplanes. My underwear is blue silk, I think you'd like it. Thirteen is my favourite number. The dot on top of the 'i' is called a tittle. I love him. The sky is only blue on Thursdays. You can only win on Wednesday – before the apocalypse. I like this randomness_
Alice laughed at my randomness. I could only imagine what Edward was thinking, or imagining right now. She saw the three little words and kissed my hair.
Then I can't wait to see Edward's reaction when he eventually realises it_
She deleted it all and took me by the hand upstairs. Edward was looking angry. He was also humming at the top of his lungs.
"What are you doing to him?" I asked Alice.
"Remembering a very eventful night between Jasper and myself." She replied grinning menacingly again. "However, Jasper darling, we may have to make some new memories soon, Bella's opinion is very hard to drown out." Alice said, she wrapped her arms around the neck of her mate and he cleared his throat.
"It sounds good to me."
I laughed and went over to Edward. I stared him straight in the eyes.
"It was nothing bad. Don't worry."
Suddenly Alice gasped and came up behind me. Her hand slid down the back of my shorts and she giggled. Especially since I jumped up in shock.
"No personal boundaries. What the hell Alice?"
"Just checking. And you're right, I do like them." She meant the blue silk underwear.
"Well you bought them for me."
"True." I smiled. Edward and Jasper realised what we were talking about and immediately looked embarrassed.
"Let's do something." I searched around the room, looking for inspiration. I saw a chess board and pointed. "How good are you guys at chess?"
Alice and Edward playing chess was hilarious. He would think about making a move, she would see it and make her move depending on what she saw. Edward would see Alice seeing him making the move and possibly change strategy. It was confusing to think about. Two pawns were moved before Alice flicked over her king. I laughed; the game had taken two minutes.
Jasper played me next and we stalemated. He was impressed. I was put up against Edward and I won. He was so used to reading the minds of his opponents that I confused him. Against Alice I lost, or so she told me, since we never actually played. Emmett gave up a minute in and decided to sling me over his shoulder instead. Despite his seemingly rough movements he never actually jostled my shoulder. My laughing caused me more pain. Edward sat, still trying to pry what I had written from Alice's mind. Carlisle and Esme came down, looking disapprovingly at Emmett. He put me down, apologized and sulked off, to see his wife.
"I thought I told you to take it easy." Carlisle said, pointing to my shoulder. I sighed, feeling scolded too. It was my first real scolding in almost three years. Esme laughed though and hugged me gently.
"Are you really so comfortable around so many vampires?" she said.
"Yeah. You're still people, even if you aren't human." I smiled back. She accepted that. Alice forced us into a game of karaoke again, this time threatening me with what she had learned. I sung every song she threw at me, to the best of my ability, receiving rounds of applause. Edward sung one that made me blush in the darkness of the room.
"You're a falling star, you're the getaway car.
You're the line in the sand when I go too far.
You're the swimming pool, on an August day.
And you're the perfect thing to say.
And you play it coy but it's kinda cute.
Ah, when you smile at me you know exactly what you do.
Baby don't pretend that you don't know it's true.
'cause you can see it when I look at you.
And in this crazy life, and through these crazy times
It's you, it's you, you make me sing.
You're every line, you're every word,
You're everything."
I tried not to let the longing enter my eyes, but Jasper's laughter was evidence enough. Edward looked quickly at him and then shuddered; obviously Jazz was also blocking Edward.
When it came time to go home, Edward took me. He picked up my bike in one hand and offered me his other one.
"You aren't going to throw me like your car are you?" this sent Emmett into bales of laughter, I could hear it from outside the house.
"You don't trust me?" he asked back. I took hold of his hand and he slung me onto his back. I held on, with one arm and locked both of my legs around him. And then he was running. It took seconds to get to my house. He stopped, putting my bike down. I couldn't move. I felt sick, I was dizzy and a little terrified.
"You can let go."
"I think I need help." I said. Edward laughed and gently put me down. I promptly collapsed. Edward caught me, holding me close to him.
"Bella? Are you alright?"
"Motion sickness, I think." I was fighting the urge to not throw up. Standing in his embrace helped to calm me a little. After a few minutes, I felt okay again.
"I'm good." I said pulling away from him. "So tonight?"
"I'll come and pick you up."
"You're going to do that again aren't you?" I said.
"Yes. I love running. Maybe next time you should close your eyes."
That night he appeared at my window. I sighed and climbed onto his back again, keeping my eyes firmly closed. We got to his house and went straight around back, to his room. Alice was there. She looked happy.
"Bella! Guess what?"
"You're going to force me to go shopping again?"
"I will, yes, but only because we have prom coming up! The school will announce it tomorrow!"
"I'm not going." I said, waves of fear crashing through me. Jasper appeared by my side in a second, confused. I was still on Edward's back. He dropped me gently on the bed and I stared determinedly at the floor.
"Bella?" Jasper asked. Waves of calm and happiness coursed through me. I bit my tongue. I wasn't going to tell them why. Not tonight, not ever. I stayed quiet until Alice sighed.
"Alright. I trust you Bella. Not this year then. Promise me someday though?" she asked hopefully. It was unlikely, but I nodded anyway. She and Jasper left, leaving me staring at the floor.
"Not for the first time, I wish I could read your mind." Edward sighed. His hands reached forward to grab mine, then he restrained himself and went to sit at the piano stool.
"Any requests or am I given freedom?" he asked. I remained silent for a moment, until I was sure I could control my voice.
"Hold me." I asked, so softly I thought he didn't hear it. I looked up, to see his shocked, confused expression. "Please?" I mouthed. Edward carefully stood and sat beside me. His arm snaked around, resting gently under my sling. I lay my head on his chest and we sat there beside each other. I could feel his cool breath on my hair. He ever so tenderly rested his chin on my head. I sat there, wanting to tell him the story, the sad story that would haunt me for life, but I was unable to find the words to begin.
"I want to tell you, I really do...but..."
"But you also don't want to tell me. The fact that part of you wants to tell me at all is enough." He whispered back. I smiled.
"The lullaby again. Does it have a name?" I asked. Edward let go of me and I climbed into his bed, getting comfortable.
"No. Well, it does, but I don't want to tell you it. And yet..."
"You do as well." That made us even for tonight. I lay down and closed my eyes as the sweet familiar melody began to fill the room. My dream had changed, yet I think I liked this one more.
We were sitting in the middle of the field, our backs to the Volvo, staring at the stars. The car stereo was playing the lullaby. Edward sat, with his arm wrapped around me, his chin resting on my head.
"I love you." He whispered.
"I love you too Edward." I whispered back.