The Whispering Woods

Chapter Fourteen

Edward's eyes flicked to the rearview mirror, watching for Bella. She had yet to turn down the long driveway that led to his new house. He tried to wave her to head back, but she still followed him.

Stubborn, cute, and sexy as fuck. He never thought he had a type until now.

He heard her car door slam closed after he parked in front of the house. What would she think of the ultra-modern, glass monstrosity his parents decided to make into their new home?

"Wow, I didn't think anyone would buy the Richardson house." She leaned against his car with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Did you know the owner?" He closed his car door and stood in front of her. One look over his shoulder confirmed no one was home yet.

She shook her head. "He was this elusive architect that had his food delivered, barely came into town. Only lived here for about two years." Her brow furrowed for a second. "Moved away a few months after my mom disappeared."

"Huh."

Bella nodded. "He was a suspect, but they couldn't pin anything on him. Solid alibi."

"Small town, doesn't matter if he had nothing to do with her disappearance, people would still believe it."

"Yeah, he had to move away. People wanted someone to blame."

"Did your father blame him?"

Bella shook her head. "He said he never suspected him."

"Huh."

"Yeah, he never indicated why he believed he'd been innocent from the beginning."

"So, what do people think now?" Edward wasn't sure why he asked, but the more information he had the better. He needed to be prepared in case someone at school asked him anything.

"That she ran away and abandoned us." She sighed again and grasped his belt loop, her gaze focused on the ground. It almost seemed like she needed to have him close. He couldn't argue with that. "I think that, too."

Edward stepped closer, tipping up her chin. "No, you don't."

She looked at him. "No, I don't. The woods claimed her."

The freaky woods that, for some reason, chose to spit them out, leaving them with no memories of whom or what saved them.

"Carlisle, my father, said the woods are pretty fucking huge. It's possible, right?"

"Yes, the area is abundant in wildlife, especially predators."

"You think a wolf got her?" He watched as she winced, her fingers dropping from his belt loop of his jeans. "Sorry."

"It's fine. You're not saying anything I haven't already dreamed about."

"Nightmares, you mean." He hated that she had nightmares; his own kept him up most nights.

Her purple eyes softened. "Sometimes they can be; other times, I see her walk through a pair of twisted trees and simply disappear."

"Yeah, I have some like that, too." He explained that he lost his birth parents in a car accident he'd also been involved in. "Sometimes, I see the car going through this invisible window in time or something instead of the telephone pole and we come out just fine in the end."

"Ah, a what if?" She understood him, her eyes darkening a little. "I'm guessing you like fantasy?"

Edward cleared his throat, refusing to acknowledge his geeky side. "You mean do I like to fantasize?" Had his voice deepened?

"You're a teenage boy, of course, you do." She laughed, catching his belt loop again. One tug and they were pressed together.

She would get no complaints from him.

"Are you going to fantasize about me, Edward?"

Her incredible eyes darkened further, and he swore the tiny green star in each one sparked. He dismissed the ridiculous thought, his imagination getting the best of him.

"At least two times tonight."

She laughed, her whole body shaking from it. Her hardened nipples noticeable underneath her shirt.

"Make that four."

AN: This fandom has some of the best readers ever. No doubt in my mind. Thank you all for your amazing support, for reading, and reviewing. Your kind words always make my day. Thanks to MC for encouraging and sometimes enabling my addiction to write fanfiction, it truly provides the perfect escape and creative outlet. See you Tuesday.