I am so floored by the response to this one! Thank you all!
Before we get into it this morning, quick note about Edward's storyline-in the beginning, his experience very much reflects mine from last year, so if you were interested what was going on elsewhere in the world last March, here's a little peek at this corner of the world.
GMT is Greenwich Mean Time, which is what the UK is in (8 hours ahead of the California where Bella was yesterday).
As always, thank you to my beta, Fran S. Flower, and my pre-readers, Jgaff & DaniDarlingxx.
Day 1: March 13, 2020
Edward
18:36 GMT
Aberdeen, Scotland
I'm riding the high of sitting through an excellent lecture. The guest was from Oxford and was a surprise, and I'm glad I caught the flyer before it was too late. She was fucking brilliant, and I'm pumped to go home and do more research.
"Hey, Ed!"
I look up, taking in the few students along the street. I spot my friend Peter a few meters down from me, and I nod. "Hey Pete, how's it going?"
He grins as I get closer to him, falling into step with me. "All right, mate. Hear about all this shit going on?"
I look at him and frown. "What shit?"
He arches a brow at me. "The pandemic that was just declared," he snorts, shaking his head at my blank look. "Man, Ed. Do you ever come out of the library?"
I roll my eyes. I know that there's a bad virus going around, but so far, apart from some fliers on campus, there isn't much word about it here. "Dick," I mutter. "It's a pandemic?"
Peter nods. "Just declared. The whole US is shutting down."
I hesitate. "Really?"
He nods, oblivious to my rising concern. "Yeah, they are going into a lockdown or something." He rolls his eyes, and it's obvious he's confident it won't happen in the UK. But my mind is racing with this new information.
"When?" I ask. He looks at me.
"Just today, I think. That's what I heard from some bird in my last lecture."
I nod, reaching up to rub the back of my neck. "Shit, okay. I gotta call my family."
He frowns. His family is all down in England, and it's clear he's not worried about them. My dad has heart issues, and if it's a full-blown pandemic now, I need to check in with them.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, distracted. "I'll see you later, Pete."
He nods. "All right, see ya."
I leave him on the corner of High Street to call my family.
For those of you worried about Edward being so far away, fear not. Edward will be facing some adventures of his own soon enough.
If you're interested in some photos, for this story, check me out on Facebook!
Until tomorrow, my doves!