The days continued to fly by, and some kind of routine was established. There was school and studying, the Cullens, and Edward. Esme was thrilled to have someone to dote on and insisted on honing her culinary skills by putting together elaborate meals for me twice a week. The rest of the family was far from impressed with her new hobby, as their noses wrinkled in disgust on those nights and they spent most of their time outside. Emmett and Rose were expectantly absent on dinner nights, but the rest of the family indulged her, and me. Thankfully, they didn't insist on watching me eat, which would have only served to have made me even more uncomfortable. Edward sat with me of course, and let me know how happy I'd made Esme. Apparently vampires, even teenage ones, didn't need much looking after and the mothering instinct was strong within the matriarch of the family. Which, given her past, was understandable. She'd shared her story one night as we cooked together. Esme had lost her infant son before she really even had a chance to be a mother, and it devastated her. In her grief, she leapt from a cliff intending to end her life. By some twist of fate she was found and taken directly to the morgue, presumed dead. It just so happened that Carlisle was there and heard her faint heartbeat. He gave her a new life, and she was thankful to the good doctor for another chance, but would never forget her tragic loss. She tried to fill the void with the house full of vampires, but apparently it wasn't the same as having a human child to look after. That was where I came in.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the attention and affection. Esme reminded me of everything I'd been missing since my own mother abandoned me. There was just something so primal about needing a mother's care. After years of just sort of existing, I finally felt like I was home. Carlisle and Esme jumped at any chance to fill the parental roles in my life, and it was wonderful to feel so cared for, even if it was difficult to let them do the things I was used to doing for myself. It was hard at first to stand back and let Esme cook and serve me dinner. I felt like I was being lazy. It was when I realized how much she enjoyed caring for me, that I was able to finally relax and enjoy it.
Alice had taken to kicking Edward out of my apartment on a regular basis so that we could have some much needed "girl time." She insisted he and Jasper go do their own bonding, and though we hated being apart, it was nice for us to have other friends to spend time with. I'd never been into the typical girl things, as my father insisted those kinds of things only encouraged vanity and promiscuity. A woman should never flaunt her beauty. A man should choose a wife based on modesty and purity of heart and mind. As much as I'd resented some of his teachings, I did agree with him to a certain extent, as did Edward. There was no need for anyone to dress as provocatively as Jessica and Lauren did. We both found their behavior quite appalling. So, while I continued to dress more modestly than most of the other girls at school, Alice was able to bring out a bit more of my feminine side. My clothes were more fashionable and flattering now, and I learned a bit of mascara and lip gloss wasn't a sin. I'd balked at visiting the salon, but Alice can be quite insistent. I discovered how relaxing a nice massage and manicure could be. Again, it was hard to let someone else take care of me, but once I let go of that control, I found I enjoyed the experience much more than I thought I would. I found there wasn't anything inherently wrong with being pampered every now and then, and Alice was thrilled that she'd been the one to share another one of my first experiences. She was already planning our next trip.
It felt good to be able to act like more of a normal teenager. It was nice to give up a little bit of independence and let others care for me as well.
On Friday, Edward was waiting for me after gym. I couldn't help but return the face-splitting grin he was giving me, but part of me was wary. "Ready?" He asked, as he grasped my hand and pulled me quickly down the hall.
"I guess." I replied with a chuckle. He was certainly excited about whatever he had planned. When Alice shot me a knowing grin and let Jasper guide her over to Emmett's jeep, I knew Edward had something up his sleeve.
Before I could think too much, he had pressed me up against the side of his car for a searing kiss. It was a moment before I could return it. What had gotten into him? I'd never seen him so excited and he'd certainly never kissed me like that in public. He pulled away with a chuckle and opened my door for me. Still reeling from the kiss, I smiled dazedly at him as I slid into the passenger seat. He practically skipped around the car to the driver's side.
I finally gathered my wits about me once we were on the road. "So, not that I'm complaining or anything, but what was that about?"
"Can't I just be happy to see you? It's the weekend, no school for two days. Two days that I get to spend with you, without anyone else interfering."
"Sure, I guess I'm just not used to you being...like this." I replied. He shrugged.
"Are we going to your house?" I asked, when we passed my apartment.
"No, I want to show you something." He looked so carefree when he grinned like that. Not to mention what it did to my insides.
"I have to study, Edward. There's only two weeks of school left, and I can't fail." I reminded him softly. I couldn't help but resent vampire eidetic memory, knowing that they didn't even have to pay attention in class and they could recall the teacher's lecture perfectly, word for word. I'd been working so hard to catch up, as well as learn the current material, that my brain felt like mush. I only hoped I could retain enough of what I'd learned to pass my final exams.
"You aren't going to fail, Bella. You've been working too hard and it's time you took a break, otherwise you're going to overwhelm yourself. Tonight is just about us. I've been horribly remiss. I haven't even taken you on a proper date."
I couldn't help the snort that escaped, and I didn't miss the frown that flashed across his face. I didn't mean to hurt his feelings. "Sorry. So, we're going on a date?" I didn't object entirely to the idea, but the relationship I had with Edward was anything but traditional. Staying home and lounging on the couch together was a perfectly acceptable way for us to spend our time. I didn't need flowers or dinners out, and I didn't want him to make himself uncomfortable in order to give me those things.
His frown deepened. "Well not a date, exactly. I wanted to show you something, and I thought we could talk."
"Are you going to tell me where we're going?"
Edward shook his head and smirked. "It's a surprise." My sigh didn't escape his notice. "I know you don't like surprises, but I have it on good authority you'll like this one."
"Oh, so now you're going to Alice to find out if it's okay to surprise me or not?" My tone was a little more clipped than I intended. It was hard to accept that my fate could be manipulated so easily. I knew it was never Alice's intention, but with her gift, it was unavoidable. Edward knew I didn't like surprises. I wanted to know where we were going so I could be prepared for whatever I was going to be facing. As horrible as Sundays were with my father, it was never a surprise. I always knew what was coming. There was some strange sense of comfort in the routine we had. I knew what to expect. Since that day, I'd felt like I was flying blindly through life without a solid plan.
But with Alice in the picture, Edward somehow felt he could disregard my feelings, as long as she said I'd end up liking the surprise in the end. It was all just a bit too much. I felt like they were planning my life for me, against my wishes. Taking the control out of my hands once again.
Edward suddenly pulled the car off to the side of the road and stopped, his hands falling into his lap. "Do you want to go home?" He asked. I couldn't stand the sound of defeat in his voice.
I slid my hand under his and intertwined our fingers. He still wouldn't look at me, but he gently squeezed my hand. "No, it's fine. Let's go. I want to see what you have to show me."
He looked up at me then and studied my face for a moment. Apparently satisfied that I was telling the truth, he started the car and pulled back out onto the road, holding my hand the entire way, except for when he needed to shift.
Before long, he pulled onto a gravel road that wound through the forest for a while before coming to a dead end. I looked around trying to figure out what we were doing here. Anticipating my question, Edward spoke before I could even draw in the breath to voice my query.
"We'll have to walk from here. It's not far and I won't let you fall."
I swallowed nervously. Months ago he'd warned me of the dangers of the woods, and more recently I learned what exactly be lurking in those woods thick with trees and moss and fog.
"Sure you haven't just decided that I'm more trouble than I'm worth?" I asked playfully.
His expression changed in an instant, his voice was a mere whisper. "I thought you trusted me."
I'd never seen him so vulnerable and regretted my joke immediately. "I'm sorry. I was just kidding. I do trust you, Edward, with my life. You know that."
He swallowed thickly and nodded. "I would never hurt you, but you have every right to be afraid of me. I wouldn't blame you if..."
I cut him off before he could continue his self-loathing. "I'm not afraid of you. There's nothing you can say that would scare me away, Edward. I love you. I'm yours."
His golden eyes burned with so much emotion. An instant later, his lips were pressed firmly against my own as his hands wove through my hair. His kiss was so full of hunger, as if he wanted to devour me. And I wanted him to.
He pulled away and sat back in his seat with a satisfied smile. "Let's go." My door opened before his even clicked closed, a pale, cold hand extended for me to take. His long fingers wrapped around my hand and I marveled in how right everything was with him by my side, despite his mercurial moods today. His car alarm chirped as we set off into the trees.
After the third time I tripped over some hidden root or tangle of moss, he suddenly scooped me up and tossed me onto his back like a backpack. The unexpected movement threw me off and my anxiety spiked as I braced myself for whatever was to come. Tightening my grip around his neck, I wrapped my legs tightly around his hips and squeezed my eyes shut. "Relax, Bella. It's just easier this way. Hold on." He chuckled, grinning at me over his shoulder, before taking off at a run. It wasn't the frenzied pace he'd taken last time. I didn't feel like I was going to pass out or lose my lunch.
I felt his body shake with laughter. "Open your eyes. I'm not going that fast." I reluctantly obeyed and immediately flinched when a branch appeared just a little too close for my comfort. However, I quickly learned that his sight and reflexes allowed us to pass through completely unscathed. Just as I became comfortable with his pace and the blurring of the trees as we ran by, he slowed. There was an opening up ahead, and as he stepped out of the treeline, I sucked in a breath at the beautiful meadow that stretched before us. It was a perfect circle, and wildflowers flourished among the tall grass that swayed in the late afternoon breeze. Edward peeled my legs from around his waist and I slid to the ground slowly. My knees wobbled a bit, but he steadied me as he always did, in more ways than one. He was my rock.
"It's beautiful." I told him earnestly. It was a true gem of nature tucked away in the dark, damp forests.
"I like to come here when the weather is nice." I smiled broadly knowing he was sharing a private part of himself with me. "Come." He held his hand out to me and I took it, letting him lead me towards the center of the meadow. We made ourselves comfortable in the lush grass and I followed his lead as he laid back, his eyes trained on the clouds above.
"Honesty is very important to you." He started. I nodded and looked at him out of the corner of my eye. In a lightening fast move, he was suddenly on his side, his head propped on his hand as he watched me intently. "I want to tell you everything. It's just hard sometimes because I also want to protect you. I worry each day that today will be the day you learn something that proves to be too much and sends you running. I couldn't bear to lose you again."
"Edward..."
He gently pressed his fingers to my lips. "Let me finish." He replaced his fingers with his lips and my heart stuttered in my chest leaving me breathless. Edward chuckled and caressed my face as he pulled back. "I thought we could enjoy the afternoon here and talk. I'll tell you anything you want to know. I don't want anymore secrets between us."
I nodded, at a loss for words. Now that he was willing to tell me anything, I couldn't think of what to ask. Glancing around at the meadow, I noticed how dense and dark the trees were. While I knew I was safe with Edward, I couldn't help but remember those others who came out of the forests and tensed suddenly.
I turned back to Edward quickly and his brow was furrowed, already wondering what was wrong.
"Are we safe here?" I spoke lowly, even though I knew if there were others out here they could hear me from quite a distance. My heartbeat would be a beacon to them out here.
"I won't let anything hurt you, Bella."
"I know, but what if there are more...of them...out there. What if she is out there?"
"Alice would have seen it, I'm sure. But you do know, I am capable of protecting you, right?"
I nodded, not entirely convinced. "Unless there's more than one." I whispered. He reached out and wrapped his arm around my waist, his thumb rubbing my side gently.
"Relax, we'll be fine." He assured me, golden eyes blazing into mine.
"Are there many of your kind out there?"
"That depends on what you mean by many." He raked his hand through his hair and looked off into the trees, gathering his thoughts. "Our family is unique. Most vampires are nomads, traveling through this world alone. They take a victim or two, and then move on. They can't risk suspicion, you understand." I nodded, inwardly grimacing at his implication. Of course a vampire in one city long enough would rouse suspicion when too many people went missing.
"We're much closer to animals than humans, especially when we stick with our intended diet. It makes us territorial, not unlike the lions of the Serengeti. Just as they defend their territory, and their food supply by extension, vampires also defend their territory. It's unusual for human drinking vampires to co-exist with others. The exception would be the Volturi, but they have their own ways, so it doesn't really apply to them."
"Because of our diet, and the abundance of prey animals in the vast area of land we have access too, we don't have these same territorial instincts. Carlisle believes our choice to abstain helps us hold on to some parts of our humanity, and we're able to form bonds of affection with each other beyond the typical mate relationship. There is one other family that lives as we do, and they are in Alaska. We view them as cousins, if you will. We are the only two families in the world that lives the way we do. Those three vampires that we encountered were passing through, hunting as they traveled. They took a few lives in the area and then were moving on. You happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and you do smell much better than most humans." He said with a wry smile, ducking his head and waiting for my reaction. I wrinkled my nose at the thought, and wondered why I wasn't more freaked out about all of this than I was. It was as if we were having a normal, everyday conversation, not one about supernatural creatures and their feeding habits.
I snorted, earning a curious look from Edward. I shook my head dismissively.
"It's so hard not knowing what you're thinking." He murmured with a smile.
"Now you know what it's like to be the rest of us."
He tilted his head with a nod of concession. "My point is that you are safe here. There are no other vampires in the area right now. Even Victoria has disappeared for now." His chest rumbled with a growl. "Forks has had far more than their share of the supernatural lately. We're usually not this concentrated in one area. You might have one or two in a city at any given time, for instance. It's very unlikely that a human will ever encounter even one of our kind in a lifetime...except for you apparently." He smiled wryly.
"Yes, I'm up to twelve now, I believe?"
"I'm sorry." He breathed, the mood turning somber quickly.
"For what, Edward?"
"If it weren't for me...my family..."
"Don't even say it! I probably wouldn't even be alive if it wasn't for your family. I could have died in that closet if it wasn't for you. I am so thankful that someone cared enough about me to worry. I'd been alone for so long, and I'd pushed everyone away. You'll never know how much it means to me that someone out there cares about what happens to me." I blinked quickly against the stinging of tears that had begun to well up in my eyes.
Edward's face twisted into a grimace and he pulled me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me. His voice was rough and desperate. "I can never apologize enough for not stepping in sooner. We've always kept our distance from humans, never allowing ourselves to get to comfortable or forge relationships with them. With familiarity comes too many questions, as you know. I tried, so hard, to stay away. I tried to ignore you, but you were always there like a star shooting across the sky. If I hadn't tried so hard, maybe I could have figured it out sooner. You should never have had to go through that. You'll think me more of the monster I already am, but if he wasn't already dead, Bella, it would be very difficult for me not to kill him myself. No one deserves to be treated like that, especially not a child." He fumed. His outrage over my treatment was touching.
"So you didn't then..." I mused.
His brow furrowed for a moment, and then shock and hurt were evident on his marble face. "Dear God, no! Bella! Did you really think..."
I silenced him with a kiss, relieved to have heard him say it, even though I'd never seriously believed they would have done something like that. "It crossed my mind once or twice." I admitted quietly.
"It's just as Carlisle told you. Your father died of natural causes. Alice didn't see it at all. She never had a reason to look for him. She did try to look for you, but everything was fuzzy." He swallowed thickly. "I...um...I convinced her to wait when you didn't show up for school on Monday. I'm so sorry, Bella. I just thought that you might be sick or something and there was no reason for us to come barging into your life. Please, forgive me."
"Edward." I called to him gently, but he refused to look up at me. "Edward!" I stated more firmly. "Look at me!." He didn't relent until I curled my fingers under his chin and tugged. "I'm just glad you came for me at all. Don't blame yourself, or Alice. You couldn't have known, even with your extra abilities. The fact is that you did come, and you're here now."
He nodded, and we spent a few minutes in silence, his arms wrapped around me from behind and his chin resting on my shoulder. It was beautiful there and the sounds of the birds chirping and wind rustling were quite soothing.
"Did you want to talk about what happened to you?" Edward murmured in my ear.
I stiffened. "What do you mean?"
"Well, Carlisle wants you to see a therapist, but that got put on hold once you learned what we are. He wasn't sure if you'd be able to handle it, and of course we had to worry about you spilling everything to one of his colleagues. Not that you would, but we have to be very careful. Psychologists are nosy and can have you talking about things before you even realize it. That's their job of course." I nodded, even though I was a little hurt that they didn't trust me. "I thought maybe talking about it would help. I already know the gist of it. I heard you that day in Carlisle's office." He admitted.
I felt the blush immediately flooding my face.
"Bella." He cooed. "I can hear the highway from here, and even if my hearing wasn't so sensitive, I would have seen it in his thoughts at some point. It's not something I can turn off. I'm sorry if you feel like your privacy was violated. That was never my intent."
I sucked in a breath. "No, it's okay. I know you can't help it. I didn't know at the time, of course, but what's done is done. There's not much more to tell. He had his beliefs, and as time went on, he became more extreme, especially after my mother left. He thought he was being punished by God, so he ate less, slept less, prayed more. His sessions of self-mortification became more intense. He thought all of this would bring him closer to God and that he would be forgiven. That my mother would come back one day. When he realized she wasn't coming back, he continued because he believed he deserved the punishment. What kind of man was he, if he couldn't keep his wife? As far as I was concerned, he just wanted to instil Christian values in me and make sure I never strayed from the path of righteousness. You know, train up a child the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it." I shrugged.
"How can you be so blasé about this, Bella? Your father abused you. He neglected your health and well being. Surely you have some kind of feelings about how he treated you."
"He didn't abuse me, Edward. At least not in the sense you mean it. He never flew into rages or beat me just to inflict pain. It was only on Sundays, and I knew what to expect. Some parents ground their children, or even spank them. Mine just used a whip." He looked at me incredulously. "I have to try to understand his side of things. I owe him that much. It's not any less than what I'd do for you." I continued in a whisper. "He was never able to forgive himself for whatever sins he thought he committed. I have no choice but to forgive him, Edward. He was only trying to do his best in raising me. At least he didn't give me up when things got hard." The bitterness crept in again and I wondered at my ability to forgive one parent, but not the other.
Edward seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "You can't forgive your mother?"
"No." I hissed.
"Why are you able to forgive him, but not her? He's the one who hurt you." He asked gently. As much as I didn't want to talk about it, I knew I owed him something. After all, I was asking him to be honest with me and tell me things he'd rather not. I had to give something too.
"It's just different." I insisted. "I mean, my mother knew exactly what I was living with and she could have stopped it. She could have gone to the cops, or a shelter...we could have gone away. At any point, she could have come back for me, but she didn't. She cared more about her own happiness than her own daughter's well being. My mother did what was best for her. With Charlie, even with his warped and misguided beliefs, he still was trying to do what was best for me. He cared enough about me to make sure I was provided for, and even if we didn't have much, it was enough. He cared enough about my eternal soul to try to shape me into a pure and virtuous woman. What my father did, he did out of love. What she did was nothing but pure selfishness. She knew I could have had a better life away from my father, but she did nothing about it. She abandoned me, and I'm just not ready to forgive her. She was supposed to protect me."
"So was he."
I huffed in frustration that had nothing to do with Edward's reply. It just wasn't as easy as that. Some part of my father was sick. He grasped onto his faith with both hands and refused to let go. It was fanatical and it was delusional. It was a disease. He let go of any rationality and immersed himself in his faith. Any other man might have turned to alcohol, drugs, or any other number of vices. My father turned to religion. He was addicted. There was no doubt he got some kind of euphoric high when he'd whip himself into such a frenzy that he believed he heard the voice of God speaking to him. In the end, he went too far, as many others have with their vices, and it destroyed him. I could only hope he'd finally found the peace he sought. He wasn't a cruel man. He didn't do things in order to cause me pain. He did them because he believed they would keep me pure. It was his own warped version of a father's love.
I think my ability to forgive had a lot to do with time. I'd had years to come to terms with my father's rules, yet I'd only recently learned of my mother's abandonment. I'd thought she was dead. Perhaps, with time, I would be able to forgive her as well. But now, the wound was too fresh, the pain too raw. Seeing her living a life of luxury while I'd suffered, hearing her deny my existence, was just too much. What mother could ever just forget they'd had a child?
"I don't want to talk about them anymore." I murmured. The bitterness I felt was tainting the beauty of the meadow.
Edward's icy lips pressed against my neck quickly in acceptance. "Did you have anymore questions for me?"
"I have probably a million questions for you, but I don't even know where to begin."
He laid back down and pulled me with him so my head was resting on his chest. One arm rested across my stomach and his other hand was playing with my hair. "Why don't we start at the beginning?"
"Okay." I blew out a breath. "You already told me what you remembered from your human life and how Carlisle changed you. What was it like, being turned into a vampire?"
I felt him stiffen beneath me and assumed he wasn't going to tell me. He finally spoke in a hushed tone. "Painful. The worst pain you've ever felt. It was like being burned alive and I wished for death every second of the three days it lasted."
"Oh," was all I could offer.
"The pain finally started receding, concentrating in my heart instead. It felt like it was going to burst out of my chest, and then it just stopped. My first unnecessary breath was overwhelming, and when you added in all the other senses, plus being able to hear thoughts...it was just completely overwhelming and disorienting. I had no idea what I had become. The voices in my head drowned out everything else and I thought I was surely in hell. It was only when Carlisle realized I was answering questions he had not spoken aloud that we figured out what was happening. We immediately left the city and headed someplace more rural where I couldn't hear anyone. Over the years I learned to tune out some of it, or ignore it, but it's always there in the background. Except for when I'm with you." His thumb had been rubbing gently along my ribs and lightly brushed against the side of my breast as he tightened his arm around me.
"So, is it quiet for you now?"
"Yes. There isn't anyone in a two mile radius right now. That's one of the reasons I like to come here. Sometimes there are hikers, but it's not hard to ignore them. Being here with you is like my own personal heaven."
"I could lay here with you forever." I stated, though I'm not sure he understood how serious my offer was.
His fingers intertwined with mine over my belly. "What else would you like to know?"
"Well...did you and Rosalie ever...?"
"Ever what?"
"You know...were you ever together?" I mean she was the most beautiful creature I'd ever laid my eyes on. I couldn't blame him if he'd been attracted to her. Edward hadn't told me the details of everyone's history, claiming they were their stories to tell, but I did know that he and Rosalie were two single vampires in the same coven and I wasn't completely naïve that they both had needs.
His chest rumbled with laughter and he held me tighter so I didn't bounce around too much. "No." He choked out. "There was never anything between me and Rose but animosity." I let out a sigh of relief and waited for him to calm down. "Um, I think Carlisle had hoped that I might find what he had with Esme, with Rosalie, but no, there was never a chance that anything like that would develop between us."
I couldn't help the smug smile that spread across my face.
"There's only ever been you, Bella. If you don't believe me, you can ask any member of my family. I've never even been attracted to anyone, until you."
I flipped over as quickly as I could and pressed my lips quickly to his before laying back down. It was hard to believe as wonderful and handsome as Edward was, that he had never entertained another woman. The idea that I was the first and only made me giddy.
In a movement too fast for me to see, Edward was suddenly hovering over me. "You must have been made just for me, Isabella. All these years, I've been waiting for you." He murmured as his golden eyes blazed. He stroked my cheek lovingly, eyes darting around my face as if memorizing every millimeter. His expression was frantic, though he dipped his head carefully, claiming my lips delicately, then kissing me passionately. A moan escaped as his lips traveled to my throat and I arched my back, wanting to feel every inch of his body against mine. It was a need so primal, I had no control over it. Edward's arms curled around me and we rolled until I was on top. My legs parted and I was forced to straddle him. I gasped at the feeling of him hard beneath me, the bulge in his pants unmistakable. The feel of it sent tremors through my body and I felt myself clenching in want for him. He let out a groan and threw his head back, his face was screwed up in an expression of both pain and pleasure. I waited, placing soft kisses along the strong column of his neck, but holding very still otherwise, not wanting to overwhelm him.
Edward's hands finally left my hips and found their way into my hair as he pulled my lips down to his once more. We kissed for minutes or hours, whimpers and moans escaping from our desperate embrace. I shifted my hips in order to get a better angle and he cried out, grabbing them once more to still them. His kisses became less frantic and slower, until he pressed his face into my hair, panting.
"We have to stop. I want you too much." He whispered furiously.
"I know." I gulped, trying to calm my racing heart.
We broke apart and lay on our backs, side by side, fingers intertwined once more. It was hard not to feel rejected, but I knew neither one of us was ready for more. Our attraction to each other was undeniable, and I was elated that I was able to elicit such an erotic response from him. Everything, every feeling, was so new and intense. I knew he was right. I was made just for him. There would only ever be Edward.
He sat up suddenly, his brow furrowed.
"What is it?" I asked, alarmed.
He held up one slender finger and gave me a smirk. Then he was gone. I whipped my head around frantically trying to see where he might have disappeared to, but there was no sign of him. My heart started to pound and my fingers grew cold with anxiety that there was something out there, some kind of threat that he needed to save me from. My mind was running through scenarios and I was trying to figure out how to get out of there, how to get help. All of this happened in less than half a minute, before Edward suddenly appeared in front of me, like an apparition forming from the mist. A gust of air was all that alerted me to the fact that he had been moving, for he was kneeling in front of me, still as a statue, with a bouquet of wildflowers in his hand.
When I finally recovered from the shock, I accepted the offering and inhaled the scent of the flowers deeply. He waited until I was looking back up at him before he spoke.
"Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the honor of going on a date with me?"
I almost rolled my eyes, but knew that his feelings would be hurt. My vampire was from a different time, and though his actions may sometimes be antiquated, I wouldn't change him for the world. "Of course I will." I replied, and his answering smile warmed my heart.
Just then the clouds parted and the meadow was filled with light from the seldom seen sun. My first instinct was to look at the sky, and then I realized Edward was sitting in front of me, completely exposed. I gasped and jumped up as I looked around for something to protect him, but as soon as I laid eyes on him, I was enthralled. His skin sparkled like a million tiny diamonds were imbedded in his flesh. Rainbows danced over the meadow as the sun was refracted. I'd accused him of being dazzling before, but the sight in front of me left me speechless. He truly looked like an angel. A beautiful creature carved from marble and shimmering in the sun like a precious gem.
He stood, his features twisting in pain. His hand shook as he reached towards me, his fingers delicately wiping away tears that I did not know had fallen.
"You're beautiful." I whispered.
"Beautiful?" His voice cracked. "I'm a predator. All of this?" He gestured to himself disgustingly. "It's to attract our prey. My looks, my voice, even my smell is supposed to draw you in...make the kill easier..."
I grasped his face between my palms. "Enough! I've had enough of this self-loathing, Edward. I know what you are. I know who you are, and I will not stand here and listen to you say these things about yourself. You may be a vampire. You may be a predator, created to kill humans. You can't change what you are, but you have overcome so much. You are a good man. You are beautiful, and I have chosen you. I will always choose you. Nothing you can say will ever send me running. I know you. And even if you think I shouldn't, I love you!"
"God help me, I love you too. I know I shouldn't. I don't deserve you. Just please don't leave me, Bella? I couldn't bear to be apart from you again. Please..." The emotion swirling in his eyes made my heart race. He grasped my hands in his, his expression pleading. "I want you to be mine forever. Marry me?"
I gasped at his words. "Forever?"
"For eternity." He nodded, his expression deadly serious.
I couldn't breathe. I couldn't speak. I don't think I even grasped the question he was asking. All I heard was forever. Edward wanted me forever. Could it be that I had finally gotten through to him? Was he really and truly offering me eternity?
"Bella?"
I shook my head to clear my thoughts. "What?"
"Will you?"
"Will I what?"
"Marry me?"