Four days earlier
I hurried down the dim streets of Italy, cursing myself for staying out so late. I hadn't intended to, but I had become absorbed in sketching a particularly interesting balcony that was opposite the coffee shop I had situated myself at after dinner. Not even the sun setting had made me realize how late it was and I had sat there drawing until the shop owner came over and said in broken English that he was going to close the shop.
Now, I was ten minutes past curfew and I was going to be in serious trouble not three days into the art program. I only hoped that the fact that I was neither drunk nor high would help excuse my tardiness.
I had just turned onto a smaller, cobbled street off the main, lit street when I gasped as I tripped over the uneven ground and ran into what felt like a smooth stone wall. I knew it couldn't have actually been a wall since it had come around the corner in front of me but the force of the impact was such that it winded me and sent me stumbling back while all my books and papers fell out of my arms. My pencil case clattered open upon hitting the ground and pens and pencils rolled across the cobbled Italian street.
"Oh no!" I groaned to myself as I look down at the mess before looking up quickly as I remember the person I had bumped into. "Oh, sorry, er, um, ah, Scusa..."
I trailed off as my eyes rose to look at a rather broad chest before continuing to lift up to stare at the tall stranger I'd literally walked into. It was difficult because it was so dark and the dim streetlamp a few feet down from us wasn't really doing much to help. But from the little I could see, I could instantly tell this man - for he was indeed a man, not a boy - was absolutely gorgeous. Chiseled jaws curved up to high cheekbones and pale lips that were currently curled in a polite smile looked like they had been painted on they were so perfectly shaped despite being a little on the thin side. It was too dark for me to really see all of his face or get a good look at his eyes, but I guessed that he was anywhere between twenty-five to thirty years old and I could sense he was surprised as he looked down at me.
"The apologies are all mine, signorina."
He finally spoke, breaking the sudden and awkward silence with his smooth but faintly accented English. That was not what had me blinking rapidly though, and my heart thrummed at the heavenly chime that seemed to be layered into every syllable his soft voice uttered. I was so startled I had to scramble back down when I realized he was already bent down to gather my things for me.
'Get a grip! You'd think you were meeting the Cullens all over again.' I scolded myself while grabbing pencils haphazardly.
The thought had me pause briefly as I wondered if this man could be… but then I shook the thought out of my head. Vampires, non-vegetarian ones especially, as far as the Cullens had described were not exactly known to randomly bump into humans let alone help them. And I'd definitely gotten the sense that this man had been surprised when I'd almost run him over, which was impossible with a vampire. Not only would he have heard me from probably a mile away, he would have smelt me too.
"Thanks, but I can get that." I said quickly as the man helped me pick up my notes, drawings and pencils.
"It is the least I could do." He responded before he paused as he glanced at one of my drawings that he'd picked up. "This is very good."
My cheeks flushed at his compliment and I muttered awkwardly, "Thank you, but it's still very much a draft."
"That does not detract from the fact that you have a skilled hand."
His answer only made me blush even harder. I was eternally grateful to the darkness that hid my embarrassment; I was still very uncomfortable with people looking at my drawings. Being passionate about the subject, I was quite the critic with my own work and that often made it difficult to take compliments at face value.
"I think the darkness is helping to hide the flaws, but thanks anyway." I mumbled.
"I doubt that. I have excellent vision." He answered with a chuckle and I almost toppled over at the sound.
It was like the sound of soft golden chimes, and I had to mentally recover as I glanced over the man once again. No, I decided eventually; he couldn't be, not with the way we'd awkwardly met. He just was a perfect-looking guy with a voice to die for. I almost chuckled to myself as I pictured what Edward's face would have looked like if I'd thought that near him - then nearly scowled as I felt the bitterness that always followed memories of my sister's ex-boyfriend. Stupid vampire with stupidly high morals. And stupid Bella for being so stupidly infatuated with him.
"Is everything all right?"
His honey-like voice brought my attention back to the present and the unbelievably good-looking man before me.
"Yeah, everything's fine. Just got a little lost in thought." I answered and I could feel his curiosity although he didn't press me any further.
"Are you from around here?" I asked to deflect attention, and also because I was quite curious. His English was perfect albeit the very faint accent that I couldn't place at all. It didn't sound Italian, but then again I realized I probably wasn't a very good judge - after all, this was only my second time in Italy and despite the numerous jokes behind my and my sister's names, we didn't actually know any Italian.
"Yes and no." He answered with a small smile. "You, however, are most certainly not from around here at all."
"What gave me away?" I smiled in return before shaking my head. "I'm here for a study program."
As soon as the words left me lips, I wondered if I should have kept that bit of information to myself. Not a vampire aside, this guy could still easily be a serial killer about to mug me or worse. Although it would be odd for him to help me with my stuff first if he intended to kill me.
"Yes… I think I would have remembered seeing you."
His grin widened while I blushed furiously at his words. Coughing to cover my awkwardness as I wondered if this greek god was flirting with me, I answered quickly.
"I doubt that very much, unless you haven't met another American before. I'm pretty ordinary."
I almost stumbled over the lie and thought sarcastically to myself, 'Yeah right. You're as normal as the Cullens were.'
Noticing the way the man seemed to tilt his head as though he heard the lie in my words, I forced myself to focus back on the stranger before me. Not that it's any challenge to do so with his heavenly looks and voice. Although it was those same attributes that seemed to be doing an excellent job of distracting me, too.
"Nothing too special here." I continued, waving my hands vaguely to indicate myself.
"I doubt that." The man responded at last in a teasing voice, his tone so light and airy that it made me smile shyly and did little to lessen my blush - in fact, by this point I was thanking every deity I could think of that it was so dark.
He seemed to sense the growing warmth of my cheeks, however, as he let out another amused chuckle that did strange things to my heart before he offered me a gloved hand - 'wow, Europeans really are posh,' my brain vaguely noted - and helped me to stand up. His glove was cold, almost unusually so given that the nights were getting slightly warmer now, but the soft leather was still pleasant to touch and I brushed off the chill. Now that I was closer, I could also smell faint hints of something sweet like honey intermingled with a delicate spice I couldn't name if I tried, and I wondered if it's his cologne. As we rose, I felt him inhale right by my ear and I stilled for just a second.
'Did he just… sniff me?' I wondered before shaking my head. All that time I'd spent around the supernatural in the past year had to be catching up with me if I was thinking random albeit handsome strangers could be something other than the most common (to my knowledge) humanoid species called homo sapiens.
"Thanks again for helping me with, you know."
I gestured bashfully with my chin to my full hands again. His smile widened, and I swore my heart melted at the single gesture. 'To think I made so much fun of Bella with how she described how Edward made her feel...'
"You are very welcome." He replied, still sounding a tad amused.
I briskly pulled myself together, forcing myself to look just a little to the side of this stranger's eye. It helped keep my head clear, especially when he offered, "Would you like some help getting those to where you need them?"
"No, it's fine. My motel's not far." I replied hastily although part of my brain screamed at me incredulously for not just accepting this handsome stranger's help.
"The one around the corner? 'Rosa della vita'?." He questioned and I looked at him in surprise.
"Yes… how did you know that?" I asked, a little suspicious again. He chuckled in that velvety smooth voice.
"I just passed it." He explained, once again amused while I blinked and then blushed.
"Right..." I muttered awkwardly.
"I suppose that isn't so far that you need an escort after all. Pity." He noted with a hint of teasing in his tone.
"Maybe for you - I, however, am running late enough as it is." I answered rather sheepishly.
I saw a flash of white as his teeth glinted in the light when he smiled, but then it was gone. His head turned slightly, as if he was looking at something over my shoulder, and he let out a sigh of frustration. I looked at him in confusion.
"What is it?" I asked, puzzled, turning around and feeling more bewildered when he seemed to be staring into nothing at the end of the street. He shook his head and looked back at me.
"Nothing - I am simply running a little late as well." He answered.
"Oh, right." I answered stupidly. "Um, well, thanks again. And sorry for bumping into you and making you late."
"It was no fault of yours, and my absolute pleasure."
He smiled in the dim light, making my heart skip a beat, and I was torn because I was sure if it could be so beautiful in the dark then his smile must be absolutely swoon-worthy in the light. But then I was glad it was dark because it would probably have been extremely (more) embarrassing if I had swooned in front of this mysterious man.
"Goodbye."
He disappeared before I could regain composure after his soft farewell. It was only after he was gone and I'd regained my senses that I realized I didn't even ask the guy for his name.
Present
Alice comes to a stop as soon as we're through the doors and away from the screams, but she doesn't put me down. If anything, she hugs me tighter and I become aware of the fact that I'm crying. No, that sounds too tame for what I'm doing - I'm choking on my own breath as sobs wrack through my trembling body and block my ability to breathe while the tears drip down my face unchecked and soak through Alice's shirt.
"Sh..." Alice shushes me in vain. "I'm sorry, Mia… it's going to be okay…"
She doesn't sound confident though and I just cry harder.
My heart is pounding enough that it's hard to hear much else besides the thundering in my ears. It must be torture for Alice, whose eyes I noticed earlier had become darker with her thirst. But I can't help it. Adrenaline and fear (no terror is a better word) is pushing the blood through my body while bile is burning up my throat. I vaguely wonder if it's anywhere close to the burning that vampires feel when their thirst kicks in.
A noise on my left makes me aware of the fact that Bella is in a similar state as me, choking down sobs as she comes to terms with what we heard; the massacre we witnessed. Edward is trying to soothe her, rubbing circles on her arms and covering her face and wiping her tears away in his odd grey cloak as if that can wipe away the truth. I'm suddenly aware that Alice is doing the same to me - when did she start doing that? It doesn't really matter. It isn't helping. Not in the slightest.
"Aro will want to see you again… after."
I almost jump out of my skin when Demetri's voice speaks up from somewhere behind me.
Alice's arms tighten around me when my heart stutters audibly and I join Bella in choking in surprise and dismay. Demetri's words, even though he made an attempt at delicacy, are not what I need right now and that charming, silken voice of his is the last thing I want to hear.
I shudder as the screams repeat in my head, and I morbidly wonder which one had been Daisy's. The image my mind conjures of her, torn into and bled dry while a red-eyed monster stands above her with blood dripping down his face, makes me start wailing all over again while Alice tries in vain to comfort me.
I don't know how but I know when Demetri leaves. Maybe it's the feeling like a gentle breeze, maybe it's the disappearance of a gaze probing the back of my head, or maybe it's the fact that even after what happened, I can sense when he leaves a room. As if some warmth has been sapped from me. The irony is not lost on me.
'How did I not see it?' I berate myself in between seeing flashes of Daisy being murdered as we sit in this opulent room that now holds none of the magic it had when I first entered. 'How could I have missed the signs? They were all there - pale skin, dark eyes, meetings in the dark, extraordinarily beautiful and with a voice to make musicians cry. How did I miss it?'
The answer is obvious but not one I want. I had noticed, at least subconsciously. But I had wanted it to not be true and closed my subconscious eye while pretending everything was fine. See no evil.
"Is there anything I can get you?"
I start violently at the polite voice and look up tearfully to see the green-eyed woman from before, the one who had sat at the reception desk. Her face is concerned but clinically detached at the same time - professional. It hits me then that this human woman knows but she either doesn't care or she doesn't mind. I don't know which one disturbs me more.
"No, we're fine." Alice speaks in a cool tone.
The woman nods, smiles politely and then retreats. I put my head back on Alice's shoulder and she gently brushes my hair in a soothing manner. I appreciate the gesture, and hope she understands even if it does little to stop my trembling or mend my weeping heart.
'How can she sit there every day and see people walk past her to their deaths? How is she able to face herself every day?'
"You're safe, Mia." Alice soothed. "I'm sorry… but you're safe and you'll be okay."
'Will I be?'
Demetri's kind face flashes through my mind before it warps into the red-eyed and cold man (no, monster) I briefly glimpsed earlier, and the morose thought suffocates me. It's like I am drowning and I gulp instinctively for breath that my body refuses to feed it as all my muscles seem to seize up and all functions shut down.
"Breathe, Mia… You have to breathe..."
I gulp down air as Alice's cold hand circles my hunched muscles and releases some of the tension while her soft and achingly beautiful voice coaxes me to do as she says.
'Because she's like them.'
I shove the thought out of my head; Alice was the same species but she wasn't the monster Edward often said they were.
'It's not who we are; it's what we do that defines us.'
The quote from some movie I couldn't remember exactly at this moment sprung to mind. It had struck a chord with me when I'd first heard it and now, I can't help but think it is the single wisest sentence to ever have been uttered.
I close my eyes and will myself to try and regain control. It takes a long time, I think - I've lost track of time by the time I finally am quiet in Alice's arms. But the silence that is broken only by my and Bella's steady breathing is deceptive. Because in my head, I can still hear the screams over and over and behind my closed eyes, all I can see are Demetri's red eyes.
*A/N I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who has favourited and reviewed already. Thank you so much for showing such support and especially to my recurring readers from some of my other stories! I read every review and get notified on every favourite so thank you very much!