Stephenie Meyer owns the Cullens, I own the original characters. This is just for entertainment reasons, no infringement or slander intended. Please review!
Chapter Twenty-Six:
Even after the extremely emotional, yet perfect day, my dreams that night were darker and more vivid than I remembered. The surroundings that filled my subconscious were just as dark as Edward's bedroom had been when I finally fell asleep, but there was a harsher undertone here than what I'd felt in my waking hours. I also couldn't feel Edward's cold embrace in the deep shadows of my dream.
Visions and images swirled around me, almost as if I was standing in the middle of a dark clearing; imagining that the boogyman was going to pop out and scare me silly. But then things changed and I found myself standing in the middle of a crowded hospital. It was the ER, I could tell just from the rows of cots and pastel-patterned curtains that hinted at privacy. There was no such thing in a crowded emergency room. I didn't even try to resist as my bare feet began to move and I didn't even glance down when I felt a satiny rustle of fabric against my legs. I didn't realize I was even holding my breath until I reached my unknown destination.
The girl in the bed before me was skin and bones. Her cheeks had sunken in and the most dominant feature on her face now was her jaw and cheekbones. Her eyes were closed, framed by dark circles with limp, dark hair clinging to the sides and back of her skull. I didn't have to reach out and touch her to know that her hair was damp with sweat or that her touch might be cold. The lips, flawed but still full held the lightest shade of blue, but were distorted around a tube covered with medical tape. The thing that horrified me the most was that this tube no longer connected her to any type of machinery. Nor did the needles still taped to her arms. The electrodes that peeked out underneath her hospital gown were also disconnected, her chest no longer rising and falling with breath. But when I glanced down at her left hand, my heart lodged mercilessly in my throat. There, on the third finger of her left hand, was the beautiful three-stoned ring that Edward had presented me with just hours before. Only, there was no accompanying wedding band.
But none of that compared to the pain I suddenly felt when I realized that the girl lying in the bed was me. That was bareable in lieu of the angel face that was resting against the edge of her pillow. If it were possible, I would've been sure that he was crying. Even though it was impossible, I still had the overwhelming thought that a scene like this would have made my angel capable of human tears. I slowly walked around to the other side of the bed and peered down, wanting and desperately needing a better look at his face. He was, of course, immobile with dark eyes never once leaving the pale skin that had creased into the woman's final expression. I simply didn't have it in me to admit that this woman was still me. Even with the engagement ring and the beautiful creature sitting like a statue at her side.
The dream continued and I looked up with a gasp when Carlisle stoically entered the room. Suddenly I wanted to start screaming. Why hadn't they saved her? Her heart had obviously stopped beating, but why had they brought her here to die? Why did they continue with the human charade of hooking her to machines and prolonging her life instead of fulfilling the one wish she'd wanted most?!
I looked at her again and noticed that there were no bite marks, no traces of blood escaping her cancer-stricken body. They hadn't even raised a finger to propel her into immortality. They'd simply...let her waste away. Before I could make any more sense of the immortal faces in front of me, a new person entered the room. A man that I'd never seen before, but I was absolutely sure of. I knew this man, even if I'd never seen him before now...
I was gasping for air when I jerked awake, thankfully swallowing back a shallow cry of pain when my body forced me into an upright position. My heart pounded violently in my ears and no matter how many times I blinked, I could not get the image of that girl out of my head. Her distorted face, her tiny body which looked even more breakable beneath a mound of hospital blankets. They hadn't saved her... Or worse yet, they hadn't saved me.
Edward's arms wound around me tightly just seconds after I jerked awake and I could feel tears streaming down my cheeks as his lips gently touched my ear. "You're safe." He crooned, his voice like melting honey. "It was just a dream."
Words were beyond me, so far gone that I wasn't even sure I could fully remember how to speak. Instead, I just turned and blindly reached out for him. I was dimly aware that he'd shifted sometime in the night, sitting up against the arm of the couch while I slumbered with my head resting against his stomach. The blanket that had been wrapped around me now felt like I was being suffocated and I futily kicked the ends loose. I didn't get very far and a small whimper from the back of my throat had Edward reaching out quickly to wrench the fabric away from me so I could move however I wanted. "It felt so real."
"Do you want to tell me about it?" His voice was still a quiet melody as I settled back against him, my head now higher up on his body as I clenched my eyes shut. Even though I felt like I was stifling, I had no idea what temperature my actual skin had taken on. How did I suddenly feel against Edward's eternally cold body? That question just pushed a million more, all stemming from my disturbing nightmare, into the forefront and a small noise filled my throat as I tried to block it out with no avail.
"You didn't save me." I whispered in a broken cry, still breathless from no doubt crying in my sleep. It was strangely tougher for me to regain my breath now than it had been just hours before when I'd laid here underneath him, kissing him until I was dizzy and lacking oxygen.
"What?" His voice rose an octave, but he did his best to hide the undercurrent of anger. It was only because I knew him so well, that I heard the subtle hint. "What didn't I save you from, Houston?"
"Everything." While I hadn't fully intended on telling Edward about my dream, I did with one simple word. Even with the plans we were making, the promises he'd given me just hours ago, I still felt a painful pang of fear that things just weren't going to work out in our favor. He didn't say anything after my answer, only holding me close as his hands slid through my hair. I could tell that he was trying to soothe me, to silently confirm that my nightmares were just that, and I finally relented when he began to hum an unfamiliar melody under his breath. I was too tired to fight against the unconsciousness starting to swirl around me again. It was overpowering, even with my adamant desire to hold everything back out of fear that my dreams would start up right where they'd left off. But when I closed my eyes again and fell asleep, I was thankfully met by nothingness.
The sunlight was the first thing I noticed when I woke up again, Edward's stone arms still drawn protectively around me. It was his embrace, the mere presence of his cold body against mine, and his scent filling my senses, that kept the nightmares at bay long enough for my tired body to draw in at least a couple hours' sleep. I wasn't as disoriented this time as I slowly opened my eyes and buried my face in the front of his shirt to keep the rare rays of sunlight out of my eyes.
"Any more nightmares?" His beautiful voice had been waiting for me and one look into his eyes gave away his unabashed concern that I would wake again with another fitful dream in the forefront of my mind.
"Thankfully no." I sighed and stretched my legs out slowly. I was suddenly unaware of how long I'd slept. My entire body felt stiff and I hadn't moved even an inch in my sleep. That was very rare for me, I usually tossed and turned until I found a position that wouldn't cause me any discomfort or pain. But again, my angel had provided me with enough love that I could be normal. At least for a little while. "How long have I been out?" I sighed and stretched again, this time sliding onto my back as one arm moved to shield my eyes.
He chuckled quietly and reached out to push stray hairs off my forehead. That pulled my arm away so that I could look up at him again. "About fourteen hours. Once you were out, you were out. I didn't want to move you."
"You could have." I grumbled and wrinkled my nose slightly, suddenly hating the fact that he'd willingly stayed still that long just so I could sleep dreamlessly. While I was grateful for it, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at myself. Obviously I couldn't sleep without him anymore.
"I was comfortable right where I was." He grinned down at me, his teeth flashing vibrantly from the natural light streaming in, then leaned down and gently kissed my forehead on his way to climb to his feet. "It's merely habit for me now, moving every once in a while. I have no problem staying still as long as I need to."
My nose stayed scrunched up as I watched him pretend to stretch dramatically then stride over to his vast closet. I didn't bother to close or even cover my eyes now as I lay curled up on the side I'd neglected in my sleep, as I watched him replace rumpled clothes for a fresh white, button-down shirt and khakis. He never ceased to amaze me in his immaculate perfection. I climbed to my own feet, fighting back dizziness as I started to gather up some clean clothes for myself. Even though I was lacking in the balance department, everything else seemed managable. I wanted to get out for a little while and the snap decision I'd made in the few hours of consciousness was right back in my mind. I wanted to go see Dr. Copeland and figure out how progressed my condition now was. After all, I had something to keep fighting for. I just needed the time to see everything through. I was determined to keep my dream from happening.
Once I had showered and changed, I wandered downstairs when I didn't find Edward in his bedroom. He sat at the grand piano that I'd once asked Esme about, his long fingers sliding gracefully over the ivory and black keys. I tried not to disturb him as I walked up behind him, spontaniously recognizing the melody his fingers were creating. It was the same tune he'd hummed in order to get me back to sleep. But before I could ask him about it, Emmett and Jasper bounded into the room with grim expressions on their faces. Alice entered the room just seconds after her brothers, her own expression causing my heart to seize in panic. I knew that look. She'd seen something while I'd been sleeping.
"It's about time." Emmett joked and thumped Edward on the back as he passed us, grinning brightly at me before he pitched onto the nearby couch. I followed in a daze-like haze, my entire focus still trained on Alice. Her eyes held a slightly glazed over look, something that told me she was trying to see more of whatever had assaulted her subconscious before.
"Shut up." I muttered and plopped down next to him, unconsciously letting my hand fly back against his shoulder. I squeaked in surprise, and pain, which just caused all three men in the room to chuckle. "You're an ass." I muttered again, darkly this time and stuck my tongue out at him childishly when he just grinned at me in response to my sudden violence.
"Just you wait." Edward chuckled and pulled me gently against the side of his body. I didn't waste time in relaxing against him with my head against his shoulder. "Pretty soon, she'll be able to overpower everyone in this house."
"What?" I sputtered and quickly swiveled my face around to meet his amused expression. "What do you mean, I'll be able to overpower everyone?! Have you seen me next to your brother?! He's abnormally massive and I'm not exactly a force to be wreckoned with."
"Not yet." Edward continued to smile breathtakingly at me, then Jasper interjected.
"Houston, you're going to be stronger than any of us during your first year."
"Yeah." Edward chose then to take up his brother's previous statement, leaving me even more confused. That just caused him to grin a little more then abruptly slap the back of Emmett's head. "Stop thinking that." He shot out, trying his best to look menacing. Too bad the corners of his lips started to twitch, giving him away instantly. He looked down at me then, his hand easily molding against my shoulder. "We're all the strongest in our first year. You'll still have human blood pumping in your veins and it takes about that long for your strength to wan into what you'll have for the rest of eternity. During that year, if you wanted, you could easily cause any one of us pain."
"Hmmm." I muttered, my thoughts instantly spiraling into all the ways I could get Emmett back for the jokes he'd made in the time I'd known him. It would be refreshing to have the upper hand, even if only for a year. I'd become so used to being helpless and weak that the idea of invincibility was a foreign concept to me. I just couldn't picture it in my head. I couldn't imagine myself with gold eyes, icy stone skin, impossible speed, and superhuman strength. It was all just way too weird for me. Shaking my head slightly, mostly to clear all of the possibilities I could set Emmett up with, I just looked up at Edward and lightly slapped my hand against his unbreakable thigh. "I need to run an errand, feel like coming with me?"
"Wow, she's already running away." Emmett snorted under his breath, causing me to wink at Edward before I flew off the couch for the front door. In my wake, I could hear the bigger Cullen cuss while the other two laughed under their breaths. I had to get used to Jasper being so willing to start spending time with me. I knew that, with his ability to change emotions, he must not like being around me very much. I was in a constant state of pain and I figured he could feel that just as easily as he felt peace and serenity around Alice. Those looks were way too easy to notice, even for my human eyes.