Woohoo two chapters in one day! Yay me! This one is pretty long too! Please review guys!
Edward POV
I was sitting on a bench in a park in London wondering what to do next when my phone rang. I glanced at the caller ID swiftly before putting the phone up to my ear.
"Alice?"
"What's going on Edward? I can't see anything concerning Bella," her worried voice floated through the phone, "You on the other hand… what are you doing on a bench in London?"
"Alice, I'm pretty confused as well..." I replied
"Yeah? Fill me in," she responded and I started describing everything that happened from me following Bella to England to her meeting with the boy to his calling her Tessa. When I finished she was quiet on the other end. After a few moments I heard her breathe, "Wow..."
"I know," I murmured quietly, "We didn't really know her, did we?"
"No, but Edward, there is a reason to everything. She cared for you, anyone could see that so there must have been a reason for her to keep all this from you. From what I heard you say, she wasn't really expecting to see this Jem boy so she wasn't really cheating on you or him. Somethings going on and we should find out."
"Yeah, but I have no idea where she is right now. Also, I don't think she'll take to kindly to finding out that I followed her."
"Well you did and what's done is done. Do you want us to come down there?" Alice asked.
I sighed heavily, "No, stay in America. If I need you guys, I'll call when I can but I'll do this alone now."
"Ïf you're sure..." she trailed off, "Watch out for her Edward. She's still my best friend."
"No problem, Pixie," I responded, "I'll talk you later."
"Bye."
"Bye," I hung up and stuck my phone down my pocket. Night had fallen and I realized I should probably get moving. I started walking and as I found myself passing by the bridge, I found I could not pick up Bella's-or Tessa's- scent at all. It was as if she hadn't been here at all. But I knew she had, an image of her lips locked to the black-haired boy flashed through my mind. I pushed the image from my mind and tried to empty it completely. I kept walking through London, not wanting to check into a hotel for the night.
"Well you're not human." I voice rang out from the alley I was passing. I whipped to the side to find the source of the voice. A young man leaned against the wall, his arm crossed, the image of ease. He flashed a lazy grin at me and I froze. His incisors were slightly longer than his other teeth and looked needle sharp. His teeth were the cliche vampire teeth but I knew that wasn't possible. I was a vampire and my teeth weren't like that. Maybe his teeth were fake? Maybe he was a crazy junkie who had some sort of surgery. His right eyebrow lifted ever so slightly and I realized that he was waiting for me to say something.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," I replied coldly. The young man tipped his head back and let out a short laugh.
"Don't worry, man. Can't you recognize your own kind?" He pushed off the wall and walked towards me. He stopped in front of me and cocked his head to the side, "Well maybe not my kind. Almost but not quite..." he trailed off, studying me. Suddenly his eyes widened in recognition, "You're not a regular vampire, are you?"
Not knowing how to respond, I stayed quiet. I kept my face the perfect mask of indifference even though I was screaming on the inside. I hoped he'd explain what he meant by "regular vampire."
He chuckled and ran his tongue over his teeth. "You're a cold one aren't you?" My sharp intake of breath seemed to be answer enough for him and his smile widened to one of triumph. He stuck out his hand, "Hi, I'm Abraxas. I'm not a Cold One but I'm still a vampire. Judging by your face, I doubt you believe me or maybe this is a lot to swallow." I stood frozen and he rolled his eyes, "Mate, just shake my hand. It's the polite thing to do."
Something told me that I should believe this man. After being in his presence this long I realized he wasn't human. Something was just...off and my instinct screamed "not human." I realized I needed to know more so I reached out my hand and clasped his.
"Hello, I'm Edward."
Tessa POV
I sat on my bed with my back leaning against the wall. I had my knees pulled up to my chest with my arms wrapped around them. I rested my chin on my knees and flicked my eyes to the clock. 1:00 am. It became pretty clear after crawling into bed that sleep would evade me. Too many thoughts swirled around my head. The Black Swords were one of quite a few concerns. They were many and we were few but, I realized thinking back to all my near death experiences, me and my friends were strong. We'd fight this as hard as we could. My thoughts moved on to my personal problems. Jem was back. He was alive and well and here. All my love for him came flooding back. Honestly, it was never gone, simply pushed into the deepest parts of my heart and locked away. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to be Tessa Gray, trying on gold wedding dresses in anticipation of becoming Tessa Carstairs once more but this time with our happy ending. Will had given me a happy ending. I will always remember my time with him fondly but having Jem back caused me to think about what could have been. I wanted to be with Jem.
There was one problem, Edward. It seemed that I could never love Jem without loving another. Edward made me happy when I was extremely lonely. He had served as a ray of sunlight through the dark clouds. It would also make sense to be with him due to the fact he was immortal. We could have forever. Except, I had lied to him. I had hid everything about me when I knew his deepest secrets. I pulled my bottom lip into my teeth and chewed on it anxiously. I wondered how Edward would react. I remembered Magnus telling me that he was here at London. Maybe he already knew about me and Jem. I felt horrible. This wonderful man had loved me and helped me, without knowing it, and I repaid him like this? Gods, I was a horrible person.
Right then I heard three short knocks at my door. It was 1 am… who was up right now?
"Tessa?" I heard Jem's voice, "I know you're up. The light is shining through the door."
"Yeah, come in," I called and watched as the door swung forward slowly. Jem stepped in and shut the door behind him softly, probably not wanting to wake Magnus.
"Hi," he said softly.
"Hi," I whispered back to him. He padded across the carpeted floor and sat down next to me.
"It's late Tess," he murmured, his hand brushing my foot.
"You're up too," I teased him lightly, suppressing the shiver that threatened to run up my spine from his touch. He crawled on the bed until he was right next to me with his back against the wall as well. His finger trailed down my cheek and slowly turned my head towards me.
"Tess… I missed you," he whispered. I could barely see his pupils dilate in his black eyes. His hand was now cupping my cheek lightly, his thumb stroking me gently. My eyelids dropped halfway down as pressed my face into his hands.
"And I you, James," I whispered back to him. His face screwed up ever so slightly.
"Did, you?" His eyes widened when he realized what he said and I jerked back from his hand.
"What's that supposed to mean?" I hissed at him, hurt.
"Tessa, I'm sorry," he whispered frantically, "I don't know why I said that. I wasn't thinking. Tess I- I'm sorry." His face spasmed with guilt.
"James..." I whispered, my eyes searching his, "Why would you say that? Of course I missed you."
"Ï know, Tessa," he responded quietly, "It's just a lot to take in." He looked down and one of his hands reached up to run through his hair. "To love one girl for over 100 years. To pine for that one girl for over 100 years. To have her so close but so far for so long…. It's..." he trailed off, "Then to find out that you could be with her. To hope that she would want you as desperately as you want her only to find out that she now found comfort in the arms of another… Tessa it hurts." His gaze met mine again, "It's selfish of me though. Of course you found love, who am I to deny you of it? I'm sorry, please forgive what I said."
I swung around so I was straddling his lap. His eyes widened slightly and I took his face in my hands. My eyes bored into his eyes as I fiercely whispered, "James Carstairs, I have loved you for a century. I will still love you in the next and the next. Fate cruelly stole you away from me and me from you. When I met Edward, I thought there would be no happy ending in store for us but now there is. I don't know what I'm going to do about him but know this, I want you too. So bad, Jem."
At this he groaned slightly and one of his hands moved to the small of my back and the other to the back of my head and he pulled me into him. His lips met mine in a desperate kiss that took my breath away. My arms had moved to pull him as close to me as possible until he was crushed to me. It would have hurt but all I felt was the slow burn unfurling inside me. He rolled us over until I was stretched out on the bed with his weight on me. Our lips moved together and I felt his tongue trail over my bottom lip. I met his tongue with mine and it became a frantic dance with the other fighting for dominance but no one winning. Somehow my shirt had hitched up to right under my bra and I felt his fingers leave a burning, tingling path as his hand trailed up and down my torso. His other was tangled in my hair. My legs moved up to wrap around him and press him even closer and I felt, rather than hear him groan. His lips broke away from mine as I gasped for breath and moved down my neck. His mouth finally latched onto a sensitive spot and sucked. I gasped and arched against him.
"Jem..." I breathed and I felt his lips smile against my skin. His face moved up until it was just above mine, our noses almost touching and his eyes burning in mine.
"Tessa Gray, I love you."
"Jem Carstairs, I love you too," he smiled before pressing his lips to mine in a soft sweet kiss.
"I should head back to my room," he murmured against my lips and smiled when I pouted. "Love, I don't have much self-control right now..." I could tell that his cheeks were tinged pink. I laughed silently.
"That's okay," I smiled up at him, my hand stroking his cheek, "I want you too"
He propped himself up on one elbow and caught my hand and pressed it to his mouth in a soft kiss. "Not until you figure out where your heart lies. I'll wait, Tessa. I have been for quite a while." He pushed off me and stood up. He smiled down at me softly, "I love you Tessa. Sleep well," he said before leaving my room. I stayed where I was a little bewildered at his hasty retreat. I pushed myself off the bed. Of course, Jem was a perfect gentleman and he would want me when I was ready. Now that my head was clear, I was thankful for his stopping us. I needed to end one of my relationships before I moved on with the other. With this, I managed to find the sleep that had been evading me and I fell asleep without even crawling under the covers.
