Wow! The response the previous chapter received was amazing. Thank you!
The credit for readability and flow of this chapter goes to Frannie and Angela, who are two of the best betas any writer can ask for. Frannie is also hosting 'Summer Vacationward Postcard Contest' over at Facebook with some really brilliant entries. Please go and show your talent or send some love to the participants and her.
'Extraordinary things are always hiding in places people never think to look.'
-Jodi Picoult
Neither a twitch nor a flicker broke her stony calm.
"I'm a vampire, Bella."
"I heard you the first time, Edward."
"So is my family."
"I suspected as much."
He gawked at her, disbelief at her blasé reaction strong on his face. Then again, his expression smoothed.
"I'm not joking, nor am I delirious, or schizophrenic."
"The first time I talked to you, it was past midnight, in a hospital room, with a storm raging outside," She shifted, leaning against the pillows. "The day you told me about your mother, you left dents in the shape of your fingers on the metallic frame of my bed … When I told you about my suicide attempt, you crushed all the paint bottles in your hands, but not a scratch came to you."
His mouth hung open, his tongue a dry and leaden mass of flesh.
"Then there were little things … Your eyes change color whenever you are angry. Sometimes when you're distracted, you move too fast, like the time when you caught the glass I had accidentally dropped."
Bella looked down, fidgeting with her duvet.
"But despite everything, I still doubted my theory. For quite some time I wondered if was losing my mind."
Bracing himself for the impact, Edward prompted for the inevitable denouement.
"What made you sure?"
"You made my portrait."