Chapter Twenty-Nine: Learning to Lie
Angela (POV)
A loud burst of laughter from Joshua woke me up, as little Issac screamed about his breakfast a second later. I was curled into a small ball, my back and shoulders throbbing from hours of stillness and strain from being dragged around like a ragdoll. I felt myself start to cry before I even opened my eyes, when a gentle hand rested my unhurt shoulder. I flinched at the contact, and then melted. He was already there for me, watching over me as I slept. I brought my hand up and covered his, and clenched hard.
"Lingering shadows. Dreams are gossamer, you'll wave them away as soon as you let your eyes open." He whispered to me, his voice soothing.
"I saw a castle, covered in blood. You were sitting on a throne of bodies, a dark woman standing next to you. I was just some peasant woman, brought before you to die. You didn't even ask me a question before announcing my execution." I had to get my dream out, it spoke to the fears I held inside. He started to reply but I shook my head. "Some faceless executioner took me towards gallows in the throne room, and just as he was ready to kill me things shifted, and I was standing next to you and the dark woman was in my place beneath the executioner. I called for her death with pleasure… I killed for pleasure. Will that be me?" I could hear my own fragility and my voice cracked as I spoke. I knew I was terrified, but I hadn't realized to what degree.
"I don't believe so. Most transitions are brutal, the fires wash away the person they were without their human support system to reinforce their old personality. Their sire usually teaches them to feed, and after that first kill it is hard to hold onto humanity. Bella had a very different experience, coupled with her gift and she is remarkably well controlled. I can assume your experience will be more common, but we can help you resist your more violent impulses. Do you believe she has changed into a monster?" He spoke easily, and the rational argument felt comforting.
"She seems like Bella, maybe a little more aggressive and confidant. Human Bella would never have rejected Edward like that, no matter what he had done." I mused, curious about how different it would feel to be like one of them. While still reeling from the nightmare that felt as real as his hand, a hand that I was confidant would never fly towards me in rage.
Was it normal to have warm feelings for a mass murderer? I had struggled all night trying to put Mason's past into perspective. There was no denying my feelings for him, no matter how new, I couldn't deny how strong our connection was. Everything he appeared to be, although in contradiction with his origins, was exactly the type of man I had always dreamed of. He was of equal dazzle to Edward, a man so breathtakingly beautiful that he made me confused just looking at him.
I didn't care that he had enough baggage to fill the Titanic. Yet a part of me, and I didn't know how large that part was, that couldn't shut out an odd sinking feeling in my heart. It was a warning that there was a chance he wasn't the person that he was saying he was. Although, every time I put thought into it, his actions proved to me that he wasn't being deceitful. He shared his past willingly, to everyone. It had taken me several hours to realize the root of the problem, me.
How could this god of a man be interested in me? He had shrugged off his own nature to protect people that were, by his own instinct, food. He had been with women that he described as intelligent, powerful, and beautiful. No matter his insistence to the country, I knew I wasn't anything more than normal, perhaps a little above average looking. The sad truth was that had I not been close to Bella, I wouldn't even know about their world. I wondered idly what things would've been like if Edward had saved her that day.
Playing out that possible series of events in my mind's eye, painted a vastly different picture then the one surrounding me. It was likely that I might never have been an important part of Bella's life as she fell for Edward and became a part of his life. Would James and Victoria have hunted her? Would they have gotten to Charlie? Would Mason have had the courage to seek out the Cullen's? It was a fascinating thought experiment, but honestly only a distraction from my own chaotic life. It hurt to think of an alternate future, where I wasn't Bella's best friend. The fact that I couldn't help her now in her hour of need, made it feel worse, as once yet again I had to wait for news of a newborn vampire.
I felt like screaming, but I couldn't let my family know anything of my new life. It was clear to me that I would have to leave them in days, maybe hours. Before all this… drama, I had measured my future in years, an indeterminate road ahead of me with vague concepts of college, career and maybe a family of my own. Watching my brothers grow, watching my parents grow old and enjoy retirement. Weeping at their funerals. Soon I wouldn't even be able to cry, or dream, or even eat. Soon, I would crave blood.
It was enough to make me feel like my sanity was slipping away.
Then he started to sing, softly enough that only I could hear, but clearly. The words were foreign and sounded ancient. Magical lyrics bending my ear to a history long forgotten. The melody was haunting, but somehow soothing and I felt as if he were wrapping me in a warm blanket made entirely of his voice. I drifted away again, a sleep that easily shifted into peaceful dreams. I was vaguely aware he was still nearby, but I felt safe for the first time in days. The nightmare didn't return, but before I knew it my alarm was going off.
"I don't want to go to school." I said flipping over onto my back. Mason was no longer in my room, and I felt a touch of panic wondering where he had gone.
"Angela, breakfast is ready!" Mom shouted at me from downstairs, which was unusual for her. Of course, I had been overly punctual most of my life, which had changed dramatically since Bella's 'death'.
"I'll be down in five minutes." I shouted back, sighing deeply. I stared at my ceiling for as long as I dared, and then forced myself out of bed. I glanced out of my window and wondered if he could see me and thought idly about changing in front of him. Would the sight of me naked be tempting for him? I shook away that impulse and took my clothes into the bathroom. The shower proved too tempting, and I cleaned off quickly before throwing on clothes, grabbing my bag and running downstairs. My mom was frowning at me already, I had taken ten minutes.
"You're going to be late." She said in frustration.
"Sorry mom." I said trying to sound apologetic, but I wasn't sure I came across as sincere.
"Tonight, we need to sit down with you and have discussion about your recent behavior." She said still frowning deeply at me.
"Okay, I'll be here." I nodded, grabbed some food and went out to my car. The Toyota had barely been used in days, and it felt weird getting behind the wheel. I got a block down and found Mason standing on the sidewalk as if waiting for me. I stopped and unlocked the doors, he slipped into the passenger seat with barely a sound except for the door opening and closing.
"Thank you for this morning, whatever that song is I love it." I said pulling away and heading into Forks towards school
"It was a song of my people; I am the only one in the world who knows its melody. Perhaps one of the few that know the language of its lyrics. I pains me to know how much of a living monument to the past I am, how many things I have seen washed away by time or war. I'm glad you have heard it; I feel like singing it to you has unburdened my soul by just a little." He was looking down at his hands, and I could see how the weight of time had pressed down on him.
"You can share any of your past with me. I have no problem shouldering some of your burdens." I caught my breath as I said it, dumbfounded at the arrogance of offering to carry some of the burdens of an immortal so old that he predated recorded history. Yet, the look he gave me was one of gratitude.
"How can you be?" He asked, the question confusing me.
"Mom fell in love with dad during one of his very first sermons and decided that he was going to be the father of her children." I said trying to parse what he meant.
"No, well, yes… I mean how can you exist now. Why did fate wait so long? I don't understand." He was grasping at something, and I still couldn't quite understand what he meant. Then it dawned on me, and the weight of that realization almost made me run a red light. If I was right, then this man had fallen in love for the first time in his life… with me.
"Can I ask you a question? A personal one?" I asked, and he nodded immediately. "From your story, I gathered that you never loved Rachel or Celesta or even Katherine. Am I right?"
"I suppose I loved them in a way, although each were different. In retrospect, I cannot describe even what I felt for Katherine as romantic love." He said with an introspective tone of voice, almost smiling at some recollection of a distant memory.
"How could you know? I mean if you've never felt romantic love, how can you tell the difference?" I asked the question, and he looked at me with an intense expression.
"Tonight, can we go on that date?" He asked out of nowhere, instantly changing the subject.
"I would love… shit. My parents want to talk tonight about my 'behavior'. They both get home around four, so maybe later?" I said a bit sheepishly, but he just smiled.
"Perfect. I'll pick you up around six o'clock?" He said with an even brighter smile. I nodded, and then he was gone. I had to blink and almost ran into someone as I made the final turn into the school parking lot.
Nothing seemed weird at first, but as soon as I got out, I could hear the whispers. No one was looking at me of course, I had been a school pariah for months. No, they were talking about Chief Swan. It was the second day of his disappearance and the community had come out in force to start a search for him. Earlier that morning, his squad car was found abandoned near the entrance of one of the most difficult hiking trails, the kind that had a warning of dangers ahead. I kept my head down as I made my way to class. I quickly found out that knowing the truth about Charlie's disappearance was harder than I could've imagined, because he was the topic of discussion all day. Our teachers brought up the search and asked we relay a request for volunteers to search for him.
As I made my way to lunch, I realized my parents would want to be out there too, meaning my date with Mason would have to be postponed. I was grumpy as I sat down to a very distracted looking Alice who wasn't even trying to appear as if she were eating the lunch sitting in front of her.
"Alice?" She turned to look at me as if she were startled by my presence.
"Angela. I thought…" She looked sad and shook her head. Then she started to stand, grabbing her tray.
"Alice, I'm not angry with you." She stopped and looked at me strangely.
"You should be. I didn't see, and you got hurt." She motioned towards the bandage on my temple.
"You know this doesn't matter?" I said motioning towards my head. "I'm here, you're here. We have so much more to worry about than blame." I tried to explain, but she shook her head.
"All these whispers, they are worried about a man who will outlive all of them. Which is my fault. If I hadn't gone there that night none of this would've happened. I didn't even know about you until after, instead I was busy getting Bella's father killed." Alice started speaking a little too loudly, and drew the attention of a couple people nearby.
"Alice, they'll hear." I warned, but she stood and shook her head and motioned towards the room.
"That's right, it is all my fault. I got Charlie killed. I got Bella killed. I'm responsible for all of this mess!" She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, and the room flinched. Then she ran, just a touch too quickly. Almost everyone stared at me for a few seconds before launching into conversations with each other. I got up and bussed her tray, and then followed her. I found her where she always went to think, where most students would never think to look, the roof.
"That was stupid." I said as I closed the door to the roof, giving us a modicum of privacy.
"I don't care. None of this matters, we'll be at a new school in a couple of years anyway. No one at this school is going to think we are anything other than drama queens." Alice shook her head and got up to look out over the forest near the edge of the school's rear property line.
"You don't believe that. Alice, I know you're hurting, but none of this is your fault. It's Tyler's fault, Edward's.. mine. There is a long line of people ahead of you if you're starting to play the blame game. Charlie got bit; you know what, you fought to kept him alive for Bella. Sure, you made a mistake going there, but do you know what that proves? That you give shit. That you care about him, and Bella, and me and our family. You care so goddamn much that you're practically catatonic with guilt. I'm about to die soon, well sorta, and I have to somehow figure out how to say goodbye to my family. My best friend is watching her father suffer, and you're what? Moping? I'm sorry Alice, but I don't get it." I let out more than I intended, and Alice turned to me coldly meeting my eyes with a tortured expression.
"You're right, you don't get it. No one does, except maybe Edward. I've been holding back what I saw, because the truth is so much worse than I could bring myself to say. We're taken by the Volturi. You, me, Bella and Rosalie. We were the survivors, because that's it, everyone else was gone. Dead. Your beloved Mason wasn't even there. I have to carry that. A vision foretelling the death of my entire fucking family is why I can't move. Yes, I feel desperately guilty about my part in what happened to Charlie, but that's not why I'm broken. I'm shattered into pieces because I have no clue how we get through this alive." Alice was clutching herself tightly, the terror on her face clear as day.
"Wow." Was all I could say. "Do you know how it starts?" I asked, hoping to help in some way.
"Some point soon, you have an intimate conversation with Mason. Something happens that sends us on the wrong path. You end up in a coma, and when you awaken, we have some kind high summit, a gathering of my kind so large the likes of which hasn't been witnessed in centuries. We gather to fight, and we still lose. You and Mason are the keys, but I have no idea why or how." She summarized too quickly, but I caught the main points, including the fact that I was hurt bad enough to put me in a coma. But I ignored that detail and focused on the why's of it. Why would Mason's presence make a difference?
"He's powerful, but not so powerful that he would tip the scales in a conflict large enough to beat a gathering as big as you're describing." I pondered out loud.
"Maybe it is tied to why Mason leaves. I don't have any particulars, but things you said in that meeting lead me to believe he died." She wasn't holding back, I was pretty sure whatever filter Alice normally possessed was completely gone, she was a raw nerve now and everything came out exactly as she thought of it.
"Dead." I couldn't think about him dying, it made my stomach turn over. "I won't let that happen; we have to change what happens to him."
"Yes, but how? I don't even know what drives him away." She said with a shrug.
"We were going on a date tonight, but it's probably going to be pushed out to tomorrow. Maybe we can talk about it then." I suggested, maybe telling him and working through his perspective could alter things. She started to shake her head, and then her face went blank. For ten terrifying seconds I waited for her vision to end, but then she was blinking, and she sighed deeply.
"No. That doesn't work. You convince him to stay, and things are even worse because the Volturi attack as well. Only I survive." Alice looked defeated, and I had nothing left. "I don't know for sure, but I think your date is when you have the conversation, but I have no timetable here."
"Fuck." I said letting out a swear I rarely used.
"Yeah. Fuck me gently with a chainsaw." She said shaking her head.
"Oh, god. That's awful." The imagery made me gag a little, and I looked at her trying to figure out why she would say something like that. She shrugged again.
"Blame Christian Slater." Her explanation and smirk explained nothing, but at least I knew it was a quote from some movie I had never seen.
"Right, lets get back to class or skip out on the rest of school and go for a drive." I said, not sure which I was hoping for.
"You go, I need to think." She said after a few seconds. Which I did. I made it just in time for my final period class, and immediately wished I hadn't. Every student was staring at me when I entered, and each stole glances at me during the entire lecture. It was enough that the teacher even noticed and asked what was wrong.
"Ask her, she's the one that knows what happened to Chief Swan." Lauren Mallory said with a malice I couldn't even begin to understand. We had been friends not terribly long ago, or at least I thought we had been friends. The teacher directed the question at me.
"Alice blames herself because she didn't go check on him. None of us thought to look in on him, and now..." I lowered my head and started to cry, the tears coming far too easily.
"I'm sorry Ms. Weber, if you need to see the nurse." I looked up and nodded once. He motioned towards the hall pass, and I left class. I thought about just going home, but instead I actually went to the school nurse. She was curious and attentive, and she even asked what happened to my head noticing the bandage, and she checked the wound and the perfect stitches.
"I guess it is nice to have a friend like Doctor Cullen." The nurse said with a big smile.
"They took me on a family outing to cheer me up, I tried to catch a baseball and it hit me in the head." The lie slid off my tongue easily, and I followed up quickly with another one. "My head really hurts; can I lay down?" Lying was starting to turn into a skill I was good at. Before I learned about supernatural creatures living in my small town, I had prided myself on the fact I couldn't lie very well and went out of my way to tell the truth whenever I could.
She nodded solemnly and showed me to the cot in the corner of her office. Then she drew the privacy screen and lowered the lights. It wasn't perfect, but I did end up falling asleep. She woke me up a while later with a gentle touch and asked if I could make it home on my own. I managed to get away from her easily enough and had a note from the nurse excusing me for the missed class.
Then I went home and expected to find my parents waiting for me. Instead they had left a note apologizing, explaining that they had gone to join the search for Chief Swan. I ran up to my room and collapsed in my bed. I slept for a while restlessly, until I cracked an eye open and noticed it was nearly Five-Thirty. I sat bolt upright and rushed to get myself dressed. I picked out a dress I had worn once for an Easter dinner, and put on make-up which I almost never bothered with. My hair was a lost cause, but I managed to get it looking presentable. And before I knew it the doorbell rang.
I rushed downstairs and got the door open, and found Mason holding a bouquet of all white flowers, made up of roses and lilies and lilacs. I was immediately overwhelmed and took the flowers with what must have been a goofy smile on my face. He kissed my cheek and offered an arm, and we started to walk towards his car when I saw my parent's SUV out of the corner of my eye.
"Oh god, I'm sorry." I said turning to him in horror. "I haven't told them about you for obvious reasons. Dad is not going to understand."
"You are eighteen, why does it matter?" He asked clearly confused.
"I'll explain human parents sometime… if I survive this." I winced and gave Mason's face a serious examination to see how much older he looked. I didn't think he looked much older than twenty, but he was clearly older than me.
My father pulled into the driveway aggressively, at least for him, and got out nearly slamming the door behind him. Mom stayed and looked after the twins, but she was staring at Mason. He marched over to us and stopped when he was just beyond arm's reach and crossed his arms.
"I need an explanation young lady." He said angrily, and seemingly had no interest in even looking at Mason.
"We're going on a date. Our first date." I said honestly, hoping that would help my case.
"Mister Weber, please accept my apologies. I had hoped to meet you when I arrived this evening." Mason interjected holding out a hand to my father, who looked at it like he was being handed a bomb.
"And who is this?" Dad said being almost comically overbearing.
"Mason, he's an old friend of Emmett's in town for an extended visit." I lied again, almost too easily. My stomach turning as internalized I would have to lie like this for the rest of my life.
"Mason, and what do you do Mason?" The question wasn't lost on either of us, the implication was clear, Mason was too old for me in my father's eyes. If only he knew the truth of it.
"I just started my sophomore year at Washington State, and Doctor Cullen was gracious enough to let me stay with his family." Mason said with a practiced ease, the lie rolling off his tongue like silk.
"Heck of a commute." Dad said looking suspicious.
"I have a dorm on weeknights, but I come here on weekends." He answered without hesitation or obvious thought.
"Of course, and how long have you known my daughter?" My father said finally getting to what he trying to find out.
"Not long, the last time I went over to the Cullen's, before Bella passed, I met Mason. We meant to go out sooner, but you know. I just haven't felt like spending time enjoying myself. Mason convinced me that I needed a night out, to try and let myself have some fun." My lie wasn't as perfect, but I thought it hit the right notes.
"Ah. Well I wish you had mentioned him before. I guess you'll be a junior when she's a Freshman, so it isn't that bad." Dad said trying to justify letting us go. "Fine, but don't stay out past nine-thirty."
"We're going to Port Angeles for dinner; the drive would make that almost impossible." I said pleadingly. "Eleven thirty."
"Eleven." He said unfolding his arms and holding out his hand to Mason. "You can call me Mister Weber."
"It is a great honor to meet you Mister Weber, your daughter speaks very highly of you and your wife." Mason said and the praise did seem to make a small impression on my father.
"Angela?" Mom called from the car. "Could you help me settle the boys before you go out?" I nodded at her and repressed the urge to sigh with impatience. I helped her get my brothers into the house, and as soon as they were in their playpen she turned on me.
"I've had enough! You have been acting spoiled and rebellious, but this is taking it too far. He must be five years older than you! And I won't have it, not now after everything you've put us through." She was so angry that I couldn't really see my mother anymore, she was so different from the person that I had grown up with. It made it impossible to recover my thoughts fast enough to react rationally.
"Enough, why enough! I'm eighteen mom. I can do what I want. I've put up with your punishment even though I've been going through some major stuff. And now you want me to give up the one thing that makes any sense anymore? I'm done, I just done pretending. Mason is my future and you aren't a part of that!" I felt the heat on my face and the pain in my clenched hands. My heart was pumping violently as my words sunk in. Then I absorbed the mix of fury and sadness in mother's expression and it broke me. Tears started to stream down my face and my knees almost gave out from the built-up tension. She spent a long time staring at me, and finally she calmed down. I felt her familiar arms wrap around me and her head rest on my shoulder.
"Whatever you think you need to do; you will always be a part of our lives. You are so important to us, and we just don't want to see you go down a path that you might not be able to pull yourself out of. But a boy isn't the answer to everything, as much as it feels like he is right now. Can you trust me on that?" I nodded absently not really hearing her words. "You'll be going to college soon and he will be a distant memory. And when that happens, you'll understand what I'm saying. He is too old for you. And I know you don't want to believe it, but he is probably just using you." Everything she was saying finally sunk in. I reacted irrationally again and pushed her away a little too hard, and then I looked defiantly into her disbelieving eyes.
"You have no idea what you're are saying. You think I'm just acting on impulse, that I'm making a choice without thinking it through. You have no idea how much thought I've put into my decisions, you have no idea how good he is, or how much he has done for me. He has literally saved my life, and I... care deeply about him." She looked shocked, and suddenly the realization that she was losing me crossed her face.
"I don't know what to say, I wish... If he were so important why didn't you tell us about him?" She was grasping, but she had a point.
"Because I knew you wouldn't understand, which I know is a juvenile evasion, but it's all I have. Our relationship isn't exactly normal, and until a couple of days ago I wasn't even sure how much he meant to me." She nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes. Then she reached out a hand to me. I took it and she cleared her throat a couple of times before starting again.
"Okay, I think I forgot that we're supposed to trust you. Up until a few months ago I would never have imagined that we would be fighting like this. But here we are, and I must believe that you'll be smart, otherwise I could never let you go. Can you promise me one thing?" I nodded at her and gave her a soft smile, "Don't run away. We're not kicking you out. Were just worried about you sweetie, and I need you to understand that. I'm begging you to be an adult about this." She was so sincere and heartfelt that I couldn't refuse her.
"Alright, but only if you give him a real chance. He is really important to me and if I am forced to choose, I'll probably choose him." She frowned slightly but nodded.
"We'll be here when you get home." She tried to smile her famous maternal smile, but it came out a little wrong. The result was almost comical, the runny make up making her resemble a raccoon and the twisted expression almost made me laugh. But I was just a little too sad to laugh, I didn't want this to be one of her last memories of me.
"I love you mom." I gave her a long, tight hug. Then after a minute we parted and both moved outside. Mason and my father hadn't moved, and were talking quietly to one another. Unlike my explosive confrontation, Mason seemed to be fairing quite a bit better. I felt a little bold and wrapped an arm around Mason's waist. This caused both of my parents to react, but Mason accepted the contact gracefully. My father's eyebrows were so high that it made his forehead look like an accordion. I let a little grin curl at my mouth at the sight of his goofy expression, and sighed softly, relishing the first chance to live without lies in what seemed like forever.
We said our goodbye to my parents, and eventually made our way to Mason's car, and he took the time to open the door for me. I smiled at his chivalry and took my seat quickly. Before I even had my seat-belt secure, he was opening the driver's side door.
"So where are we going?" He glanced at the house for a long moment. Then he turned and smiled mischievously. Although it was a silly expression, I could see there was more going on under the surface.
"On a long drive, where were going to have a very long talk. The destination however is a surprise." He had turned serious for a moment, but his expression changed back to playful as he finished.
We drove in silence for longer then I wanted to. Neither of us quite ready to speak first. There were so many things to talk about and no words to discuss them. But in the ten minutes since we had gotten into the car, I couldn't come up with anything to say.
"I don't know what to say." He said a little sheepishly, which didn't suit him.
"I thought we had a lot to discuss. I was waiting for you to start." I looked at him with a goofy smile on my face as we both realized that we were waiting for each other.
"Exactly, I was gathering my thoughts. Oh, who am I kidding, I don't know what to say anymore. When I'm around you everything else seems less important." He sounded a little lost, and I took in a deep breath and held it for a long moment, looking out the window to hide my excitement at the thought I could befuddle him.
"How did the tracking thing go?" I started, but he shook his head in disappointment, as if it were the last thing he wanted to talk about.
"Not so great, she managed to evade us, and eventually lost her at the airport. I almost bought a ticket to follow her, but we don't even know where she's headed." His frustration was written on his face, but I almost couldn't meet his gaze, so I continued to stare out the window.
"Is that where you went before picking me up?" I said looking at his reflection in the glass.
"Yes, but to be fair I had no expectation that we would find her when I made plans with you earlier. Victoria is very elusive, which is quite impressive considering our numbers. Her tracker must've taught her a great many tricks, or perhaps she taught him. Considering her patience, I think it is probably the latter." He paused for a long moment, and it gave me time to process the information and figure out a response.
"So, what's happening next, are you all going to try and figure out where she went?" I finally turned to look at him, not sure if this meant I was no longer in immediate danger.
"Emmett and Edward are leaving shortly, after we settle Chief Swan. There was apparently an altercation when he awoke. But I doubt they will be able to pick up her trail, even with Edward's gifts." He didn't sound very hopeful, and I found myself frowning, closing my eyes to try and tamp down my inner turmoil.
"Charlie, god... how's Bella dealing with all of this?" I said, feeling my emotions overwhelming me as my body began to shiver involuntarily.
"I don't know, I spoke with Edward briefly after Bella left with her father to hunt. I think she's better now that he's active. We'll see how he adapts to this life." He said somberly, shaking his head. "Carlisle asked me to train everyone in expanding or developing their gifts. I don't know why, maybe as a way to cope with all this change." He gave me a shrug, but I shook my head.
"No, it is to prepare. Alice told me more of her vision, and I think they are worried that nothing will be enough for what is coming." I couldn't shake the fear in my voice, and he reached out a hand to squeeze my shoulder in support. I had to admit the small contact helped a bit, and I felt myself regain some measure of control over my emotions.
"We'll work out something, I have some thoughts on a solution at least to deal with the Volturi." He seemed to be holding something back, and I couldn't quite figure out what he wasn't saying.
"What is it?" I asked, hoping he would let me in to what he was planning.
"Oh, it's nothing. I've just been feeling rather foolish around you. I think it's becoming a serious issue." He looked completely serious, but somehow it came across in a way that struck me funny. I started to laugh, and the laughter quickly got away from me. He watched me for too long, enough that I wondered how he was watching where we were going.
"You going to drive, or stare at me?" He asked managing to get my laughter under control. He just rolled his eyes at me.
"I'm not going to crash Angela." He promised, but I didn't feel any reassurance.
"I never told you about what I saw in that first moment we met." He said unexpectedly. I shook my head, curious to what he was about to say. "You had just shoved Alice out of that little yellow Porsche careening down the highway far too fast. I saw her body hit the ground and launched myself onto the car. I'm not sure I know what I expected to find, but Angela although you were bracing yourself for death, you looked so peaceful and almost ethereally beautiful in that instant of time, I was taken aback. If the truck's air horn hadn't gone off, we would've crashed because I distracted by you. I felt like an idiot for being so foolish, for letting myself get distracted when life and death were on the line. But honestly, I wouldn't trade that moment for anything."
I couldn't stop staring at him, he had been interested in me from the very beginning. I wasn't sure how to take that, because I honestly felt the same. I knew my reaction stemmed from him saving my life, but I had no words to respond to him. He just smiled at me, and then turned back to the road. After another ten minutes he looked over.
"Were almost there." He said reassuringly. I honestly hadn't even thought about our destination.
"There? Oh, the secret. Okay." I had no questions because I trusted him. He pulled onto a long stretch of gravel road that lead to a plot with a recent sold sign at the entrance.
"Yes the secret, it is my private place. I was seriously into climbing these mountains when I was here before. That's when I literally stumbled upon it. I vowed if I ever returned to this part of the world, I would find a way to own it, and live here for as long as possible without drawing undue attention. The house near forks is only an interim home." He spoke with enthusiasm plastered across his face or and joy laced through his voice.
"Oh, you've been to America before?" I asked with genuine curiosity.
"Once a long time ago. I wondered the country for a few decades before returning to Europe. It was peaceful here, but I missed the old world." He said with a totally different expression than anything I had seen before. He was excited about something, as if just sharing his life with me was important to him.
"I think I get that, even though I've never been anywhere." I said off hand.
"Wait you've never traveled?" He asked looking a bit shocked. I shook my head, and felt myself frown slightly. "We'll have to remedy that before too long. I have never really stayed in one place too long. So, I would love to share with you the wonders I have seen." His offer sounded amazing, and I felt myself smiling brightly, and happy tears stung at the corner of my eyes.
"I love you." I said in response, realizing that there was nothing else I wanted to say.
Author's Note: This turned into a far bigger chapter than I intended, which is why it took so long to get out. It also takes place slightly later chronologically than the next Edward chapter so unfortunately this has minor spoilers for that chapter.
The next chapter will be up on time, assuming it doesn't go off the rails like this one.
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Thank you for reading!