26. Pumpkin
The rain had been coming down in sheets since right after we had opened the bookstore and it didn't look like it was going to ease up.
Inside, it was deathly quiet in every way, except for the ticking of the clock on the wall and my fingers tapping on the computer keys as I began the long job of processing the boxes of books sent from St Louis.
Edward had handled all the online orders that had come in over the weekend and bagged them up ready for a post office run. Since then, he had sat on the stool behind the cash desk, reading a book about dreams and their meanings.
Needing a break from my screen, I used the restroom, put the kettle on and made myself another coffee. Then I stretched my legs by doing circuits around the store.
"What's it like to be a vampire?" I asked as I wandered, assuming Edward would hear me.
"That's like asking how long is a piece of string. Could you be more specific?"
"Just after… you know."
"It's different for each of us, especially those with a special ability like mine. Everything overwhelms you – sight, sound, sensation – it's all heightened exponentially. Some take to it instantly, like my brother Emmett, and some don't, but none of us can escape the one imperative – the bloodlust."
I stopped in front of a bookcase and my eyes alighted on the book of Quileute legends. I put my coffee down on the floor and pulled the book off the shelf, opening it by chance to a gruesome picture labelled 'Cold One' that I had somehow missed before.
"It consumes your every thought," Edward said. "Nothing else matters and even when you think you've had your fill, you want more. You remember every kill, every desiccated body, every life you've taken and there is no escape from it because you cannot die and you cannot sleep."
"And after? When the bloodlust passes?"
A gust of cool air blew across the back of my neck, sending shivers down my spine.
"It doesn't pass, Bella," Edward murmured into my ear.
He pressed his body against mine, bringing his arms around me so his hands were resting on a bookshelf. His cheek brushed mine as he leaned over my shoulder to look at the book in my hands.
"With practice, it can be controlled," he said, "but some have no desire to quell the monster within. Alice and Jasper each found their own conscience and chose a more civilised path. Myself, Esme, Rosalie and Emmett – we had Carlisle to guide us, to help us retain some semblance of humanity."
As he drew back, he ran his nose over my jaw and inhaled. Then he stepped away, leaving me quivering on the spot. Before I could blink, the book was removed from my hands and returned to the shelf.
"Finish your coffee, Bella. It's getting cold."
Half dazed, I picked up my mug and returned to my desk. Edward was perched on the stool by the cash desk with the book about dreams in his hand and his brow furrowed in concentration.
Mike didn't come for lunch but I wasn't surprised. Even his most expensive waterproof would not have kept him dry. The rain did lessen throughout the afternoon, but we still didn't get anyone coming in. Edward did the post office run in my truck and returned for me as I was closing up the store.
I ran on autopilot all evening, wondering if I should stand out in the rain so I could let my unshed tears fall unnoticed. Edward patiently moved around me, sat alongside me and then held me through the night.
…
On Wednesday morning, he made my last breakfast, packed my last lunch and drove us to the store without a word, not that I was feeling particularly talkative myself.
At ten o'clock, he placed a mug of coffee on my desk and perched on the arm of the battered leather chair.
"Bella?"
"Hmm?" I said, keeping my eyes on the computer.
"Are you looking forward to the party tonight?"
No. I hate parties. And partings. "Of course."
"Do you have a supernatural date lined up?"
I couldn't help it. Miserable as I was feeling, I laughed. "I think so."
"You're not sure?" I could hear the smile in his voice.
"Everyone else thinks my date is a vampire but I have yet to be convinced."
I turned my head to wink at him but he had gone.
"Edward?"
"Over here."
He stood at the end of the History section, his mouth curved up on one side, beckoning me with one hand. I got up and walked slowly toward him, not taking my eyes off him for a moment, but he somehow managed to disappear again.
He had me chase him all over the store in that manner until I was flushed and giggly. When the first customer came in, I returned to my desk with a smile on my face and worked at processing the new stock until just before midday.
Edward left to hunt, assuming I would have company, but Mike never showed up and my smile soon wore off when I remembered that the grilled cheese sandwich I was eating would be my last made by Edward.
An elderly gentleman with a beard came in as I was making my afternoon coffee. He found several volumes to purchase and after I'd packed them up and taken his money, he asked if I would help carry the books out to his car.
When I walked back into the store, the bell clanging above me, the first thing I noticed was the grinning pumpkin lantern with pointy fangs sitting on my desk, complete with flickering candle.
Edward was perched on the arm of the battered leather chair, sporting a similar grin and amber eyes.
"My turn to chase you," he said and what followed was a playful game that ended with me pinned against the very bookcase that had tried to kill me weeks before.
Edward lowered his face to my neck and snapped his teeth together. "Have I convinced you yet?"
I giggled. "No."
The bell clanged and we broke apart, returning to our duties – me with my glowing, orange companion by my side.
We took the lantern home with us and I ate the soup Edward had made from its flesh. The party hour was fast approaching and while that filled me with a certain trepidation, it was the witching hour that had me truly terrified.
…
Clutching my invitation in one hand, I pulled my cloak around me with the other, grateful that said invitation had not specified a dress code. A skimpy costume was the last thing I would want to be wearing underground on a chilly night in Port Angeles, Halloween party or otherwise.
As we approached the meeting spot, Edward took hold of my hand and my cloak fell open again. I scanned the assembled guests but I couldn't see Angela among them, nor any of her usual crowd. In fact, I did not recognise a single soul.
I held the invitation up to my face, squinting at the print in the dim light of the moon to double check we were in the right place at the right time, only to have the thick piece of embossed card whisked out of my hand.
"Ah, at last. Miss Swan and guest." The middle-aged tour guide was dressed in a smart black dinner suit with a bow tie and a bowler hat. His smile faltered momentarily when he came face to face with Edward, but he quickly regained his composure and turned back to the rest of the group.
"Now we are all here," he said, tucking my invitation under the clip on his board, "let us descend into the bowels of Port Angeles. Stay close now. I wouldn't want to lose anyone along the way."
He grasped my wrist firmly and pulled me toward a set of steps. In turn, I tightened my grip on Edward's hand and dragged him after me.
Over the next couple of hours, we followed our guide along underground passages and forgotten sidewalks. We wound our way in and out of abandoned stores, past dilapidated storefronts and painted murals depicting lost views of the old city.
On occasion, figures dressed in period clothing would emerge from the shadows to tell their stories and, invariably, Edward would be the only person aside from the tour guide not to jump or squeal in surprise.
As the tour was nearing its end, one last ghostly character dressed in a long white lace dress scared me into Edward's arms. He bent his head down and whispered in my ear, "I'm the scariest creature down here and yet you jump right into my arms at the slightest provocation."
"There is nothing scary about you," I said, rubbing my face against his chest. In my head, however, I couldn't help but acknowledge that of which I was genuinely fearful. At midnight he would be leaving me.
He began to make the oddest sound. It started as a rumble in his chest and then rose in volume as he let it out right by my ear. If he'd been anything other than what he was, I'd have said he had growled.
The effect was instantaneous. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, my heart rate picked up and my fingers clenched into fists filled with the fabric of Edward's coat. It was entirely possible that I trembled, although whether that was out of fear or excitement, I could not say.
"If I'd wanted to," he whispered, "I could have snapped the necks of this entire tour party before you'd uttered your first scream."
I looked up at him and, despite his furrowed brow and black eyes, I couldn't help but smile.
He shook his head and sighed. "You'll never believe me until you've experienced it first hand, will you?"
"Probably not."
He leaned down, pressed his lips to the side of my neck and murmured, "You do realise that there's only one way for that to happen, don't you?"
I tilted my head back and whispered, "Bite me."
"With pleasure," he said, releasing me from his arms and striding away, "but not here."
"What?!" I swayed on the spot and then almost tripped over my own feet as I ran after him.
We rejoined the group on the sidewalk at the top of the steps, thanked our guide and began the walk back to my apartment. But barely had we turned the corner than I found myself hoisted off the ground and thrown onto Edward's back.
The long skirt of my emerald green wrap dress split open as I wound my bare legs around Edward's waist.
"Hold on tight," he said, gripping my thighs, and then he set off through the empty city streets, eventually picking up speed under the cover of the trees.
He ran for less than ten minutes before he set me on my feet again in front of a small wooden building.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"It's an old schoolhouse."
I sniggered. "Are you going to teach me a thing or two?"
He stepped up to the entrance, fiddled with the lock and opened the door. I followed him inside and sniffed the air. The one room building appeared to be dry and well cared for, not that I could see that clearly in the darkness.
Edward walked over to the far wall, unbuttoned his coat and laid it on the floor.
"Bella?" I stopped my turnabout and faced him. "I will change you if that's what you want, but I do have one condition."
"Are you offering to exchange your venom for sex?" I asked hopefully.
"No, although once you are a vampire, I wouldn't be averse to it."
"But you're averse to it now."
"You know my reasons for holding back."
The thought was out the moment it entered my mind. "I'm not marrying you."
He smirked. "Did I ask you to marry me? Do I really seem like the kind of man that would want an arranged marriage?"
"Arranged?"
"That's how it starts – with the bartering."
"So bartering is acceptable but not when it comes to marriage."
"Or sex."
I sighed. "What's your condition?"
"There is something you have to tell me."
"And it can't it wait until afterward?"
"No, and you had better hurry. Our contract runs out at midnight."
"One hundred and fifty dollars."
"What?" His eyebrows shot up toward his hairline.
"Dammit! That isn't what you meant, is it?" I schooled my face.
"You only paid one hundred and fifty dollars? For me? For six weeks?"
"I was supposed to house you and feed you for six weeks. Besides, we both know your sister wasn't after my money."
"And that didn't make you suspicious?"
"I was being asked to house a man for six weeks at my own expense."
"A vampire."
"Yes, but I didn't believe that then, did I?"
"And you do now?"
"I…" I raised my chin. "I'll tell you when you've changed me."
"Did you really pay so very little?"
"It's bugging you, isn't it?"
"Maybe."
"I'm playing with you, Edward. Really I am." I smiled. "Now, what is it you want me to tell you?"
"Ah. You'll have to work that one out for yourself."
"No hints?"
He shook his head.
"But there's less than an hour till midnight."
His face showed no emotion.
"Rumplestiltskin?" He shook his head again and I shrugged. "It was worth a try."
"What will you do when the contract is over?"
I looked down at my feet. "I don't know. You?"
"If I'm not running after a newborn vampire, I'll be stalking the woman I love."
My chest tightened. "Remember when I told you my views on love?"
"Like you said the words yesterday."
"I'm not afraid of becoming my mother, Edward," I whispered, "I'm afraid of becoming my dad."
"Then don't."
I stared at him for the longest time and in those minutes of silence, I became aware of a clock somewhere in the room, chiming the third quarter of the hour.
My mind drifted back to my conversation with Angela – her regret at having the potential for lifelong happiness right in front of her and letting it go without a fight. I recalled Mrs C telling me not to be afraid to change my life. And then I thought of my dad, who had waited seven long years for me to be strong enough to live my life without him. He had waited until I had found…
"Edward, I…"
His eyes widened as if he were pleading for something and then his lips moved silently.
"What did you say?"
"Say it, Bella. Please."
"Please don't stalk her."
"Who?"
"Either of them. The vampire. That woman."
He pursed his lips. "Why not?"
"Because I want you to stay with me. I want you to love me."
"Why, Bella?"
"Because, Edward, I really, really love you."
He crossed the room in two strides and pulled me into his arms, bending me backward so my neck was exposed.
"You have only seconds to live, seconds to change your mind and then I'm claiming what is mine."
"What?!"
The clock whirred and chimed once, twice, thrice… and on the eleventh chime, Edward pressed his lips to my neck, first with a kiss and then with a nip, and said, "Ready?"