First, I need to give a huge shout out to Noee… This person is from Argentina and English is not their first language. Noee has been going above and beyond with not only just reviewing, but also has been using google translator just to read my story. I have written over 34,000 words so far, and Noee has translated each and every word. I don't think you'd ever understand how touched and honored I am to know you went through the trouble to do that. Thank you, so much Noee. I can't express how grateful I am for that. I am glad to have met you, too! (:
I also want to thank Kyr for reading my story today and leaving multiple reviews on their thoughts! And yes, you guessed correctly!
Thank you to William Francies Reisen-Newman for your first review on my story! I'm glad you liked it!
Thank you so much to KittenAlice2 and Ladysylphide for the incredibly nice words you both have left! When you told me that I should publish my own novel based on this, I was through the moon… I'm so touched to have read you say that and I even called my dad and read aloud what both of you had written. No, I have not actually read Richelle Mead or watched Lost Girls before. My original idea of this story had come from StrangeHeart's fanfiction, which I had made sure to give her credit for in the Prologue. It is very possible that she got these ideas from those sources, but I had changed her version of a succubus up a little bit to create my own version! I'm glad you both are enjoying the story!
And of course, myfanficaddiction, it is always a pleasure to hear from you. I opened up the reviews at 10:24 pm and shielded my face with my hands, gleeing with excitement that you had left a review. I always look forward to your input. You seem to be very attentive to the story, catching the small details I throw in to keep as much of Bella as herself along with mixing her succubus side in! You might be on to the right idea, too!
I want to address a question real quick that 3moons had, which is a very valid one! 3moons had asked how Bella, a high school student, had enough money to pay for contacts and a plane ticket. In Twilight, Bella mentioned that she had saved up enough money so that she could afford to buy herself a car, but Billy had given Charlie the Chevy Truck for free, so Bella was able to keep the money she had saved up. (Which can be said to be a considerable amount since it was enough to purchase a car.) The contacts Bella buys are not prescription. They are the cheap cosplay kind you can buy online or in stores like Hot Topic or Spencer's. She didn't need to worry about the quality since she buys them in a very dark brown color/black. And she used part of her savings to buy the plane ticket! I hope that clears things up for you!
Please keep reviewing you guys. Not only does reviewing help boost the story but reading your replies and your thoughts intrigue me to want to keep writing! I most likely would continue either way, but the reviews brighten my day more than you know! (: Thank you!
I have to apologize though; I won't be updating as often as I have been recently. I have three exams coming up on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, a project due on Friday and a lot of written homework to do which will occupy my time until after they are done with. College is so fun… _
All rights to these characters and the Twilight Saga go to Stephenie Meyer. Enjoy!(:
I felt my body seize—coming to a stop. The tension began to heighten. The tension began to tighten in my core as I knew I no longer was alone. And then I could hear it.
Growling.
Chapter 5: Halliday
Growling and snarling as it continued to follow. It slowly lurked in the shadows behind me, but I did not turn my head to look. I stood there, unable to move by how frightened I felt. I didn't know where I was, nor did I know how to get home… but what I was sure of, was that I was in danger.
I slowly turned my head letting my hair drape over my cheeks, trying to capture the creature in my peripheral view. The growling had hiccupped when it saw me move, but it had not seen my face, nor had it seen my eyes. I had no idea if there was a possibility to use my gift of mind manipulation on this growling creature. I had no idea if it would even save me if I did.
Standing behind me, with its lengthy legs and strong paws as it stepped carefully over a broken branch. It started to sidestep itself to get a closer look at me, but I flinched my face away as it stepped around. Keeping it in my peripheral vision.
As I scanned the body of the beast, glancing my eyes up the long two front legs that seemed to not end until they had made it up to the height of my throat. It's large black frame with its perfectly groomed shaggy coat had now entered my sight. A wolf to not be mistaken, but a wolf that was mutated and altered to be larger than one. Possible as big or larger than a bear. Its existence shouldn't have been possible. No reports or sighting of this beast was incomprehensible. How had no one encountered it before or had seen it from a distance? Unless it had killed anyone that had crossed its path. But no, no death reports were reported. Not even of the man that I had killed only a couple of days ago.
Its scent was rather earthy, the smell of the freshly moistened pine of the woods. It wasn't an unpleasant odor. It was rather a charming one. One that you would expect of a lumberjack to emit, but one that had rolled around into the wet grass that had rooted into the soft earthy soil. I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes, trying to identify the scent. Store it in my memories, store the scent in my parietal lobe to be able to identify it later.
Another loud bone chilling snarl came from it as it had heard me inhaling deeply. I felt myself frozen again, watching it in my peripheral vision as it started circling me. Another pair of four-legged footfalls started to approach. Then I knew, I was being herded. The black wolf must have somehow alerted the other one that I was here. With that thought in my mind, the adrenaline came flooding into my body. The sensation glistened inside of my veins as my heart began to drum sporadically, and before I knew it, I was sprinting.
Their large paws galloped against the ground at full force only a few short moments after I had begun my escape. Swerving myself between the trees at random movements—trying to not run in the same direction. They were fast, much faster than I was. They were easily beginning to approach me as I noticed one farther on my left, which had short, but thick brown fur and dark gray around his eyes resembling a mask, was running at my same pace that seemed too easy for it to follow as it tried to mirror and map out what movements I would take next. As I moved left, it had too mirrored the same action. As I moved right, it had come closer to me, but now his running had turned slightly diagonal. I glanced to my right, still keeping my head down to look in my peripheral vision, I noticed the black wolf was following the same movements as the dark brown one on my left. Their directions were both diagonal which would cause them to at some point cross into my path. Their plan was to catch me in the middle.
What were these creatures? Certainly, there could not be more mystery in the supernatural world than there already was. How could there be any more room? How have humans survived for so long with these predators that doomed their existence? Humans have always prided themselves at being on the top of the food chain, but only if they knew. They were not alone.
The wolf effortlessly began to speed up, passing by me by keeping its sights on my form, while the other one slowed slightly, but continued to keep pace. I had no clue of their plan, but I knew I could not create these random jagged movements. One would catch me if not both, until the black wolf had now picked up its pace, cutting directly left to get in front of me while the one on my left shifted to the right, crossing my path.
Panic.
If their plan was to catch me in the middle as I thought, then I knew there was no escaping. Inertia had me now and I could not come to an abrupt stop or turn around quick enough to stop myself from colliding into them as physics would have me do. My choices were limited as their forms were coming closer together in front of me. Limited more with each passing second, until—
Parvulus… The subconscious voice said, a little worried but it had also soothed me. Soothed the panic in my mind that was colliding with itself to my near end. As the voice rushed over the icy chills in my body, my mind had felt much clearer now. My subconscious monster was back.
I leapt my body into the air, soaring through the thick mist that hovered over the ground and in between the tree until my hands had accurately captured onto a horizontal branch that stretched out to another. My grasp on it tightened as I could feel the branch begin to quake under my weight. I swung myself higher into the air, my legs kicking out underneath me at the shock of what I had found myself doing. I couldn't help but let out a solaced laugh that chimed and echoed into the mist and the branches of the trees.
As my body soared over thirty feet in the air, I had noticed the wolves continued their pace, looking up in the air between the tree limbs, trying to identify where I was. They had let out exasperated growls. I had caught onto the trunk, wrapping my legs around it, watching the wolves continue to slow down as they were now only trotting forwards with their heads turning in many directions. They were not able to follow my scent, and it seemed to have irritated them more. I stayed silent as I gripped my body around the treetops, continuing to watch them.
I held my breath, trying to hide any possible noise that would erupt from my lungs. They were no longer in my view, but I could still hear them. I looked around from above the trees, trying to find any sort of light that illuminated from behind them. Looking for streetlights or a town. I had noticed one area that seemed to be lit up. It was La Push. Had they known there were these treacherous and perilous wolves lingered near their reservation? Had no one from their land been discovered to be missing? That didn't seem likely. Jake, Embry, and Quil all seemed to go hiking often enough. The wolves most likely would have scented them being near. The wolves would have come after them and attacked. They wouldn't have been close or near as fortunate as I had found myself to be.
I untightened my neck, leaning it against my shoulder, exhaling the air from my lungs and inhaling deeply. What was this world we lived in? Humans had no idea how precarious the world they had inhabited was.
When I had made it home, I climbed up the tree next to my room swinging my legs gracefully through my window. I got out my jean jacket and shoes, placing them back into my closet. I felt tired, but not physically. Mentally having to comprehend everything, going through the events of my encounters in Forks numerous times, trying to come up with the most logical idea. But I haven't a clue. What were the reasons for all of these supernatural creatures inhabiting the continent? Edward and his family with the molten gold eyes, the large wolves that could not be just a normal species that you would find in a zoology textbook. Nothing was normal here. The only thing other than humans and the normal that I had encountered in Phoenix was myself and Vilinsea, but we were of the same species. Forks on the other hand, for how small of an omniscient town it was, fell havoc to the supernatural.
The rest of the week had gone by as slow as it was to be expected. With the impending thoughts and questions in my mind that I could not answer for myself, the days had continued to feel like they were dragging on.
I no longer left my room at night anymore this week. I didn't feel safe enough to leave. My number was running thin, much thinner than when I had previously died before. I know my time would only come to an end eventually if I had come across something else. I almost had felt that I would no longer exist after last night. No longer be able to see Charlie in the morning before he would leave for work. No longer be able to cook him dinner like I had been doing this week. No longer be able to reply to the multiple emails that Renee had sent me in flusters of worry over whether I was doing fine.
I couldn't do that to them. If I had to appreciate one thing for not dying on that horrendous night in Phoenix, it was that I would not have broken my parents' hearts. They still had me around. They could still see me and call me, ground me when I became disobedient to their authority. Even though I would have been dead and not have been able to know their pain, it still struck a populous chord of pain in me.
The morning was the usual event. I no longer took showers like I had before since Charlie would use up most of the hot water in the morning, but I made sure to rinse my body off in whatever was left of it and got dressed and put my contacts in I decided to wear one of my grey fitting knit sweaters and dark washed jeans with my sneakers that were covered in mud on the edges of them. I needed new shoes. I had my rain boots, but I wouldn't need those this weekend unless the forecast decides to predictably change like it normally does.
I had noticed that with all the energy I had used in the last few days, that my throat had slightly tickled. Not enough to have bothered me enough to need to feed for possibly until next week, but it was there. Charlie was already out the door and had left for work before I had gotten dressed, so I headed downstairs to cook myself some eggs with running yolk and some toast that I would dip into the yolk. It soothed the slight tickle that had felt more as if I was going to be getting congested later. The feeling you get knowing that you were going to have a slight cough tomorrow. It wasn't bad, but it was there. I knew I would be able to manage it today with ease. Nevertheless, I made sure to pack a few extra pairs of contacts in my bag today just in case they slightly began to burn over throughout the day.
I drove up to the school, seeing Mike and Eric, and another random boy I had not met yet waiting for me at the usual parking spot that I would drive my truck into. I looked across the parking lot, still noticing that the silver Volvo was not here and instead that took its place was Emmett's jeep that he drove unlawfully at unsafe speeds around the students. I idled my truck into the space, hearing the loud backfire of the engine as it tried to shift gears. I cut the engine off quickly and exhaled a frustrated sigh. I saw Eric and Mike and the other boy flinch at the loud roar, but it was something they were getting more used to by now. The wide grins on their faces lingered as they waited for me to step out of the truck.
"Bella!" They said in unison, continuing to grin at me. Mike immediately walked over to me, enveloping my body in a tight embrace. He held his hand on the back of my hand cradling, and slightly traced his fingers in between the strains of my hair.
"Mike?" I said with uneasiness. "You can let me down now."
"Yeah, you can't keep her all to yourself. You have to share," Eric said, tugging onto Mike's backpack. He looked annoyed and desperate to get Mike away from me. The other boy looked shyer as his smile was much smaller than the rest of theirs. He held his footing on the grass in front of my truck, swaying his body back and forth as he waited.
He wasn't necessarily short, taller than I was, and possibly close to Mike's height. His eyes held a deep brown and his hair was slightly blonde and swept to the size. He was wearing a tan Carhartt jacket and navy-blue jeans with red sneakers. I smiled at him politely but raised my eyebrow at Mike as he finally let go of my embrace. Eric now had felt entitled to wrap his arms around me in a less tight hug. It was more of a small side hug that used two arms instead of one. He had let go of me before he had breathed in the scent of my hair and grabbed my book bag for me.
"Oh, I can handle that," I said uncomfortably, taking it back from him. It was going to be a long school year with these two. I wish there was a way to turn off my succubus attraction. It made life less easy and more unavoidable. I unzipped the bag, opened it up and pulled out Mike's notebook, handing it to him. "Thanks for the notes. I copied them down last night."
Mike smiled at me, and I could see a light trace of crimson enter his cheeks. "No problem, Bella." I looked back over at the shy kid that was still standing there, looking at me.
"Hi. Sorry, have we met?" I asked him but kept a light tone in my voice to be polite. He shook his head at me, continuing to smile. I raised my eyebrow at him, clicking my tongue against my teeth. I nodded at him. "Okay… well, I'm Bella."
"I know," he replied. Mike's face looked annoyed as he then walked over to me, placing his hand on the back of my book bag to gesture me to walk forwards to the school. I resisted him. The boy looked pleased by this.
"That's Ethan," Mike said, rolling his eyes. The boy's smile grew more faint at Mike's expression. "He sits at the other tables across from us at lunch." Oh no, had I possibly made eye contact with this boy during lunch before? No, I couldn't have had. If I did, this boy would have lunged at me the moment I had.
The boy nodded. "I just wanted to get to know you more." Ah, it was the succubus attraction that both Mike and Eric felt towards me. Even without socializing with this boy in the past, it still held effects on those nearby. That was another thing I had noticed before in Phoenix. I didn't need eye contact to lure someone. Socializing didn't lure, but it did wake the succubus enough to form bonds between me and the others that I would speak to. I noticed these effects well, too, when I went to La Push during the weekend I flew here. Jacob, Quil, and Embry seemed much too comfortable around me when they first met me. Within the first five minutes of conversation, they already had the courage to bring me into their embraces with friendly hugs.
I hadn't really put much attention into what the teachers thought of me. I didn't like the idea behind it. I was a minor and didn't want to entertain whether the teachers had some kind of attraction towards me. Mr. Mason seemed to glance at me more whenever I would take notes, but that was about it. Maybe they felt uncomfortable, too.
"Oh," I replied, hiding my face under the strands of my hair trying to fight an embarrassed blush. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Ethan but I need to get to class."
"I could walk you," he said.
"No, that's my job," Mike interjected. His voice held jealousy and dominance. I furrowed my eyebrows at Mike. He thought of me as a job to handle. That was uncomfortable and unnerving to deal with.
I moved away from the three of them and walked inside of the building, trying to get away from their increased foot falls behind me as I headed to my first class of the day. The day was normal. I felt that I could focus more on my notes this time, taking them down quickly. English was my first class with Mr. Mason as it normally was, but a substitute took his place today. I felt bad for the man—the students clearly didn't respect authority when substitutes took over. Eric Yorkie continued to look over towards me frequently trying to apologize for something that he didn't know he was apologizing for and Mike continued to elbow him whenever he glanced at me.
When class was over, Mike and Eric were quickly on their feet to follow me out the door and asked numerous questions about the plans I had made with Jacob this weekend. I relentlessly needed to remind them that it was just a birthday party, and they were not invited. My next class was government which I took to understanding easily. After that, trig was already the worst close of the day since I had no clue what was going on. Math was never something I was strong with. Jessica was in that class with me and in my Spanish class, too. I had wondered if it would be possible if she could tutor me in at least trig throughout the remainder of the semester. I would need to offer her a reward for her favors if she agreed.
Jessica and I walked into the cafeteria as she talked endlessly about what she wanted to wear this weekend when she and Lauren decided to go to see a movie together. I didn't understand why it mattered with whatever she decided. Movie theaters were dark, and no one would notice the outfit. She had to remind me it was the principal of it in case you do walk into someone walking into and out of the theater. I nodded at her, trying to hide the slight chuckle at how ridiculous it sounded. I guess I wouldn't understand, though. I never cared to be worried about what I had looked like. I enjoyed the comfort of my clothes.
Ethan had ended up joining us at lunch which made Mike and Eric uncomfortable. I started to notice that Tyler started to become rigid in his seat as well whenever he would take small glances at me. The most gentlemen of them were Ben Cheney who never actually cared to take a peek at me before. He was very consumed in looking at Angela, who also didn't seem to mind too much. I would see her blush every now and then when he looked at her or spoke to her one on one. I was pleased for her, she looked genuinely happy by the attention she was getting from him. Jessica on the other hand didn't seem too amused by Mike who continued to speak to me throughout lunch, asking if I needed to copy down any notes that he might have done better at taking than me. I was sort of offended, but I knew he didn't mean it. His interest in providing me with anything only ascended because of the bond he felt towards me.
Ethan was quiet, but his eyes never left my swollen pink cheeks. I think I had felt a little more flattered by him, along with embarrassment. Only because he didn't notoriously bombard me with providing him attention. He stayed silent and only mostly spoke up if he was ever engaged in a conversation.
The Cullen table still was missing their fifth member. I had wondered when he would decide to come back, but I hoped it wouldn't be any time soon. I wasn't prepared for it. The late-night running, excitement, and adrenaline that coursed in me from fear had taken a lot out of me. I knew that if he was around, I would be able to handle it better now since I had enough energy left from the hiker that I killed, but I knew that to keep up appearances, and to keep myself under control, I would unfortunately have to feed again. I thought about what I would do. Possibly scope out different places outside of Forks. Keep a low profile. I didn't like the idea of killing people that Charlie possibly knew.
Luckily though, having the Cullens in the same lunchroom as I was very much practice enough. They had the same energy that emitted off them that Edward had. I remembered in the bathroom when Alice had cornered me, it was very prudent of me to hold my breath. Only small flips of energy had entered my nostrils when I was trapped in there, but I wasn't prepared on that day in biology to sit so close to him and inhale the energy entirely into my lungs that caused me to rage in a frenzy and storm out of the school.
I never wanted to feel like that again.
After lunch had ended, Mike and Angela walked with me to biology. She chuckled about the things that Ben joked about during lunch. The crimson in her cheeks grew wild with each thought about Ben that passed in her mind. I shook my head at her with a smile. It was easy to talk to her. She was a very kind person, but very reserved. Mike on the other hand kept grazing his arm against my shoulder and wiggled his fingers near my hand which I quickly had to remind myself to hold my hands against the straps of my bookbag to avoid that kind of physical affection from him.
We walked into biology together, where Angela had walked away to take her seat and Mike joined me at the lab table that he had taken upon himself to steal from Edward. I wondered if he understood that he had left his lab partner practically behind. I looked backwards at the young red headed girl sitting by herself who looked adamantly annoyed as she continued to click the back of her pen. I felt bad. We had partners for a reason to help each other out, but lab day wasn't until Monday. I would make sure to remind Mike to take his seat with his lab partner then. Until then, I supposed I couldn't force Mike to not sit with me, unless of course I adamantly felt the need to persuade him against his will. I rolled my eyes at the thought.
Mr. Banner began writing on the chalkboard, starting with the date of Friday, January fourteenth of two-thousand five. Today was Jacob's fifteenth birthday. I would need to make sure to call him after I got out of school. I was pleased with the idea that I had come up with for his birthday present. Yesterday, I had made sure to get a smaller copy of the photo of the two of us as young kids. The women put it into a small thin plastic rectangular case. I only needed to add a few things to it, which I could handle today or tomorrow morning before the party.
Before I had realized it, the epithelial tissue in my throat began to constrict, almost pulsating at the smell of sunshine, lilac, and decadent honey. I looked over at Mike to see if there was anything different that he was doing, but he was only just sitting there, writing down the date in his notebook and his name along with the title of the lecture we were going over today. I studied him, looking intently at his chest, watching it expand and depress with each breath. He wasn't any closer than he was before.
"Mike?" a stern musical voice had spoken to my right. I could feel my body tense up. Oh no.
Mike's face looked up immediately as his hand had dropped the pencil from his fingers onto the notepad. He looked horror struck, but then aggravated. I could hear his heart rate began to rise and then a small grumble in his chest as he stared at the boy beside me. I didn't dare look as I kept my face slanted sideways at Mike, draping my hair over my cheeks. He looked at me with an agonizing facial expression before he finally decided to stand up and take his notepad and book bag with him and walk back over to sit next to his regular lab partner.
I could hear a slight sound as the chair moved in Edward's grasp before he decided to sit down. He placed his book bag down between our chairs and pulled out a binder and a pen. I shielded my face from him, boring my eyes deep down into my own notes. He cleared his throat before looking at the board, almost coughing into his hand for a small brief moment. Then he fell silent.
The drumming of my heart became more obnoxious. I wish I could turn it off. I just knew immediately that my contacts started fading around the edges. They wouldn't violently fade since I wasn't starving, but they would fade enough to show the amethyst hue of them. I couldn't look up at the board incase Mr. Banner glanced my way. I couldn't look up from my notebook at all.
I wondered what Edward's reaction was to me. Did he know what I was? Had he figured it out? Or again, maybe he didn't recognize me as the girl who leaped off of the mountain to escape from him. But his body was silent. I couldn't hear anything coming from his chest. It was as if he didn't have a heartbeat at all. As if he was dead. Even in the zombie movies I had watched as a kid, the zombies still had heartbeats that pumped full of toxic waste and deteriorating blood tissue. But they weren't beautiful, not like Edward was.
He didn't seem bothered by me the way he did on the first day of school. He didn't seem to show any malice intent towards me. What had changed? I knew that he spoke to Tanya of how I was fascinating to him, or even possibly attracted, but still, what had made him hate me so much on the first day? But I could see in my peripheral view through the small strands of my hair that left gaps that he did take occasional glances towards me.
Mr. Banner carried on with the lecture after Edward sat down. I could hear mumbles coming from the lips of the classmates in the room talking about how Edward was back. That he must have been feeling better from the fake fever he had. They didn't know it was fake though.
"Hello, my name is Edward Cullen," I heard him mumble softly. It was much too faint, but I could clearly hear it well. I took a small sharp intake of air as I noticed my body flinch with a wave of icy chills down my body as he spoke to me. I clenched my fingers around my pencil. Hearing the small splinters inside the wood creak in my grasp. I lightened my grip immediately and began to bite down on the inside of my cheek. I could see the corners of the right side of his mouth turn upwards as he nodded. Looking as if he had just figured something out. Did I do something wrong? I didn't reply to him. I kept my gaze down at the paper, paying small attentiveness to my peripheral view.
He was sitting rather far from me, but his chair had been slightly angled diagonally towards my own. He continued looking up at Mr. Banner, writing down notes into his binder quickly. When I looked over, I noticed that his penmanship was sharp. Not like the penmanship you would see of a regular high school student. It was very neat, refined even. I looked back at my own which looked like a bunch of scribbles from my anxiety. I sighed and then leaned over to my book bag to grab an old water bottle that was only half filled. I tried my best to calmly unscrew the cap and closed my eyes, sipping on the water.
The water helped with the constriction of the tissues of my throat. I knew I would need to feed. I would need to feed tonight. It wasn't as much of a dire need as it was before, but if I were in the need to obtain any ounce of control around Jacob and his friends tomorrow after this moment that Edward Cullen was causing, then I would need to feed tonight. The sour taste in my mouth at the thought was apparent. I didn't want to. It was Edward's fault.
"Your name is Bella, correct? Bella Swan?" He faintly mumbled, again. I looked to my right at the other students who didn't seem to notice Edward was speaking to me. At that unpredictable moment to me, I realized something very vital and important. Edward knew I could hear him. I cursed underneath my breath. He did know. He saw me that day. He recognized me. Why wait until now to come back to school then? Why wait until now to confront me? I saw his eyebrow raise as another upward turn of the side of his mouth formed. He had a beautiful side smile. What did he want? Was he going to kill me now? He laughed a soft enchanting chuckle when I continued to ignore him.
This was funny to him? My pending death was a joke?
"I hate to impose, but it can be said to be very rude to ignore someone who is trying to form a conversation with you."
"Leave me alone," I mumbled harshly to him. He seemed to take a slight offense to my response. Good. I lifted my hand to grab a few more pieces of hair that draped over my back, slightly pushing them forward to cascade thickly over the side of my face. He was now boring his molten golden eyes attentively at me. The energy waves of sunshine and lilac were subtle compared to the decadent honey that was pouring into my throat. I held my breath, trying to hold in the energy that he had emitted from his breath into the tissues. Trying to somehow possibly be able to let it simmer until it no longer pleasurably hurt anymore. I needed to stay away from him like Billy said.
The rattling sound of the school bell to release students from their classes buzzed into my ear drums, causing me to expel the breath in my lungs dramatically. I dropped the pencil from my hand onto my paper and quickly grabbed my book bag from the side of my seat and pushed my stuff into it in an unorganized manner. When I looked over, I saw that he didn't move from his seat as he continued to watch me. I paused, taking in his form, but quickly looked away again, shaking my head as I swung the backpack over my shoulder, walking towards the exit.
Mike was standing at the doorway with his arms crossed as he continued to glare at Edward. When he noticed I was walking towards him, his glance went to me and a large smile appeared on his face. He turned to the side, motioning that he was letting me pass the threshold before him.
"Ladies first," he said cheerfully. I smiled at him and walked forward.
Mike waited on me from the outside of the bathroom door while I took my time to replace the contacts in my eyes. They had burned away much more than I had expected, but still, it was better progress from before. I gathered my stuff and left the bathroom, seeing a cheeky smile from Mike there waiting to escort me to our last period of the day, gym.
He always stood too close to me during gym, as if he wanted to protect me from the basketball. I didn't need protection. I still wasn't the best at sports like I hoped I would be from the change, I was good, but not amazing, and I knew I wasn't going to get hurt. I was more coordinated now. With him standing so close to me the entire time, neither of us were going to have a productive day at gym.
After class was over, I went into the locker room to get changed. The girls in there were talking about how Edward seemed less rigid today and that they were glad he wasn't sick anymore. They missed staring at him. I wasn't going to lie to myself and say I wasn't attracted to how beautiful he was, but I also wasn't going to condone the girls mentally fondling him. It was disgusting.
When I left the locker room dressed, Mike was there again, waiting for me. I sighed at that. I was a little annoyed. He was very nice to me which I appreciated, but I knew it wasn't real. He only wanted to be around me so much because I was drawing him to me. Not on purpose, but that was basically what his bond to me was. Involuntary. I also was annoyed because I was used to being alone. I was used to being able to handle going throughout my day by myself. When we walked out of the gym, we started walking down the hallway to get to our lockers. I grabbed another notebook of mine, putting it in my backpack and grabbed my keys, as well.
When we exited the building, Eric wasn't there this time, but Ethan was. Waiting on me. He barely spoke a few words to me today, but it was kind of sweet. I didn't find myself attracted emotionally or physically to him, but I didn't mind him being around. It was like having a silent friend that didn't try to invade my privacy. Mike and Ethan both walked me to my truck. I briefly glanced behind me, noticing Edward had his back leaned against the door of his Volvo. His arms were crossed as he continued to stare at me like I was a science experiment that he was trying to form a hypothesis and a correct conclusion to. I moved my glance away from him and continued to follow the boys to my truck.
"So, Bella," Mike said when we got to my truck. "I was wondering if maybe you'd want to come over to my house this weekend. We could study the new material together." He formed a pleading look on his face as the corners of his mouth turned up. It seemed he was worried about me rejecting him.
"It's only the first week of school," I replied. "And it's material we mostly already know from previous courses. Why would we need to study it?" I looked slightly glanced over at Edward through the windows of my truck. His eyebrow raised and his posture became more rigid.
Mike followed my glance at Edward and the upward turn of the corners of his mouth no longer lingered. "Oh, I just thought maybe we could go over it like a refresher."
I chuckled lightly at him, trying to figure out the proper way to turn him down. "Um, maybe next time, okay? I kind of have a busy weekend."
"Yeah, I know you're going to that party Saturday, but wasn't sure if you had any plans Sunday."
"Just some chores. Going to organize things that I haven't had a chance to do yet since I moved in." He nodded at my response and quickly pulled me into a tight hug. I fell limp into his embrace that he didn't seem to notice. Mike was very handsy. I would need to make sure he knows to stop that. After he let me go, I looked over at Ethan who was just looking aimlessly around the parking lot like he was lost in thought. Yes, I knew I was going to like him even if he only had attraction towards me because of what I am.
"I'll see you guys Monday, then?" I asked, opening my truck door and climbing in. They both nodded at me and walked away. I leaned my head against the headrest of the seat and slouched down. Today couldn't possibly get any worse. I put my key in the ignition of my truck, flinching at the anticipation of the roar of it, which soon followed. I put it in reverse, pulling out of the parking spot. I quickly glanced in the rearview mirror to check if there was anything I was going to hit, but I noticed immediately that Edward was still standing leaning against the door of the Volvo while he intently starred in my direction. I looked down quickly and drove off.
I went to a craft store nearby to pick up a few things for Jacob's present. I wasn't remotely good at creating things, but something like what I planned on giving him should be easy enough. After I paid for the supplies, I drove back home.
The leftover casserole was already gone from the night before, so I decided I would prepare something that would be easy and quick to make, such as chili. I couldn't escape my thoughts and the thunderous pounding in my chest. I didn't know what Edward's plan was, or when he would decide to come after me, though I knew that he was going to kill me. I didn't know why he was going to kill me. I didn't want to kill him, so I didn't see the problem with either of us being around each other. Then again, I also wasn't sure if Edward even wanted to kill me. He seemed rather kind today, but I wasn't sure if he was just testing me. I might have pushed him over the edge to quicken his decision when I decided to be rude to him.
Charlie came home a few minutes earlier than usual and he seemed pleased by the aroma of the food that encased inside of the kitchen. He apparently really liked chili, so I would make sure to add this to one of his favorite meals to make more frequent for him. It wasn't a hard dish to make, nor did it require expensive ingredients. I enjoyed it, as well so I didn't mind the idea of making this one of our regular meals.
"Excited for the party tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yeah, I'm almost done with his present actually," I replied. "I hope he likes it. I couldn't really think of any other ideas."
"I'm sure he'll like it if it comes from you."
"Edward was back at school today," I said, looking up at Charlie's reaction. I could see the corners of his mouth turn up into a flatted half smile.
"That's good news. I heard he was sick the last few days." I nodded at him, finishing my bowl of chili and taking his when he had finished. I immediately started to clean and put the leftover chili into a large tupperware so that Charlie could bring it to Billy's house tomorrow for the both of them to eat while they watched television.
When Charlie did his usual routine of retiring to the couch, I walked over to the phone. I looked on the note pad that he had nailed to the wall full of a list of phone numbers and quickly dialed Billy Black's house phone.
"Hello?" Billy answered after a couple of rings.
"Hello, Billy. This is Bella, how're you?" I asked him, trying to sound polite.
"I'm doing good, I'm doing good. Hanging in there as usual. Jake's pretty excited for you to come over tomorrow for his birthday."
"Yeah, I wouldn't miss it." I replied, a small smile formed on my lips. "Is he home right now?"
"Yeah, he's out in his garage building that car of his. Want me to holler at him for you?"
"Please?" I asked.
"Jacob!" Billy shouted farther away from the phone. Sounded like he left it on the counter. "Bella's on the phone for you!" I waited for half a minute before I heard the phone sliding off the counter and starting to make scratching noises as it was placed to an ear. "Bella!?" Jacob said in a surprised voice.
"Hey! I was calling to wish you a happy birthday!" I expressed with enthusiasm.
"Thanks! I wasn't expecting to hear from you until tomorrow. I'm glad you called."
"So, I hear you already started working on your car?" I asked, looking over at Charlie who seemed slightly amused.
"Yeah, thanks to you for taking that hunk of metal out of here."
"Hey, hey, no bad mouthing my truck," I said sternly to him with a hint of a joking tone behind it.
"I guess I don't have to anymore since I don't have to deal with it," he chuckled into the phone.
"I'll have you know that my truck works great. I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to keep it."
I could almost hear the eye roll from his side of the call. "Oh yeah, totally." I chuckled with him.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, then?" I asked.
"I hope so, you never declined the invitation." He said, snickering. "I already have a party hat with your name on it." Now it was my turn to roll my eyes.
"As long as you wear yours, too."
"Ha. Ha. See you tomorrow!" I hung up the phone and headed upstairs to take a shower.
I got dressed into a different pair of jeans and put on one of my oversized shirts, slipping under the covers of my bed. I pretended to study the new material while I waited for Charlie to go upstairs and head to bed. His timing was usually impeccable. He had already knocked on my door to tell me goodnight and then closed his bedroom door behind him and went to sleep. I waited until I heard the snoring as I usually would and climbed back out of bed. I put on a more fitting long sleeve shirt and grabbed my jean jacket and sneakers and headed out through my window.
I wasn't going to go into the woods this time. Not after what happened the other night, and not after knowing Edward was back into town. I formulated my idea quickly and walked quickly on foot down the road. I didn't want to kill anyone in town that Charlie could possibly mourn over. He was attached to the townsfolk here, and I knew anyone dying would be hard on him. Knowing that as a cop, he couldn't have been able to save them. I wished Edward only thought that way before he decided to plan how he was going to kill me.
When I noticed I was safe enough to start running, I started to go north, following the windy road that slithered. I needed to get out of the town of Forks. Find somewhere that I could go. I passed a few restaurants, hiding in the shadows as I kept going further. I needed to do this tonight so that I could have complete control for tomorrow. The further I got out of town, the more I noticed the amount of forest there was until you made it into the next town. Shuwah was the first town I had passed, but it seemed a tad more scarce compared to the one further down the road. I passed by several gas stations where a group of teenagers were hanging out at and passed a few bars where a bunch of drunks were walking into and leaving from.
No, if I was going to do this, it would have to be someone who was alone. I continued my journey until I saw a park that looked deserted for the rest of the night. I slowed my pace, now walking at regular human speed as I looked around. I smiled at the playground area where the swings swayed back and forth in the cold air. I continued my slow pace, looking around. In the farther corner of the park near the trees, there was a large pond, and I had noticed there was a man sitting there on the bench. I looked around at my surroundings to make sure there were no witnesses before I decided to engage in this man. There were not.
I picked up my speed as he was rather far away. As I got closer, I noticed he had the stature of an older man, maybe in his early eighties. I felt my lips turn into a frown at the sight of him. He was an old man, who must have lived a full life, and here I was, choosing to take that from him. As I got closer, I noticed he had a large bag full of seed in his hand that he was lightly tossing into the water for the local ducks to eat. They seemed to be enjoying it. I then felt a smile. What was this older man doing so late at night kindly feeding the ducks?
I silently walked closer to him, hoping to make my appearance known before I had given him a heart attack. He was wearing a brown sport coat with tie and brown slacks with polished shoes. He wore dark charcoal fedora and rounded glasses. When he frailly looked in my direction, he smiled at me and looked back at the pond, tossing another handful of seed at the excited ducks. I sat down next to him, letting out a heavy sigh at what I was about to do.
"Hello, young lady," He said, his voice cracking a little due to his age, but it still held a subtle deep tone to it.
"Hello," I replied, trying to force a smile at him. I kept my eyes down, staring at the pond watching the ducks gather as much food as they could. They quickly dipped their mouths into the water as they continued to feed.
"Sweetheart, a young pretty girl like you shouldn't be outside at night. Something bad could happen to you," he looked at me with his eyebrows furrowed. His tone sounded like a worried grandfather speaking to one of his grandchildren. I smiled at him. I knew too well about that kind of situation.
"I know, you're right." I said, exhaling a breath of hair from my lungs. I was feeling nervous, mostly clammy now.
"Honey, is something wrong? Do you need my help with something? I may seem like an old man, but I still have some fight left in me if you're in trouble." I laughed aloud at his comment. He was funny. I liked that. His tone already helped calm me down, but I still felt an anchor in my chest.
"No, nothing is wrong. I promise you," I smiled at him, patting my hand on his that was placed against the bench. He looked down at it and then back up at me.
"You're here to take me… aren't you?" He asked, his mouth was pushed to the side of his face as he seemed to be accepting something.
"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.
"You're here to take me home to my wife, that's why you're here, right?" His voice cracked again as he seemed to believe I was something that I was not. Something more celestial and biblical. I had a feeling that his wife must not be alive anymore.
"Is that something you would want me to do?" I asked, looking at his mouth that held only slightly raw emotion on it. I could see it quivering a little bit as if he was feeling a tad gloom. But he nodded at my question after a few moments, fixing the hat on his head and sighing. It had a touch of relief to it.
"That's all I've been waiting for, miss." His voice was quieter this time but held confidence in it. I nodded at him, feeling a tear roll down my cheek. This poor man wanted to die. He wanted to go home to his wife. "Can I ask a favor of you before you take me away?" He moved his hand out from under mine and then placed his palm on the top of my hand, squeezing lightly on it. I didn't know if there was a favor that I could properly grant him. There wasn't something I could grant him that was out of my power to do. But I was curious. I wanted to give him whatever he asked for.
"Of course," I said to him, offering a small smile. He grinned softly back at me and nodded.
"Could we go see my wife's grave before you take me away? I would like to be able to die next to her, if that's okay." I started to croak as I could feel the sobs trying to escape my throat. I couldn't cry. I couldn't cry for him in front of him when he was deciding to make this decision. I had to be strong.
"I don't have a car or local form of transportation," I admitted.
"That's okay. I never stray too far from her anyways. The graveyard is nearby." He said looking in the direction that we were going to be heading in. "Besides, I wouldn't mind taking a nice stroll before I go." I nodded at him. I stood up from the bench, extending my hand out to him to help him get up, but he quickly turned me down, waving it away. It seemed like getting up was a hard task for him to do, but he made it. He turned around, grabbing the bag of bird seed and clutched against himself.
"Okay, I'm ready," He nodded at me. He was fairly a short man, but that was due to his posture of being hunched over slightly. I smiled at him as he held out his arm, waiting for me to wrap mine into his. I did so, and he clasped his other hand over mine that was lightly gripped to his forearm. I stood close to him as he started to lead me into the direction of the graveyard.
"So, can I ask you about your life?" I asked, looking down at him. He had such a warm smile on his face as he seemed eager to get there.
"Anything, sweetheart," he replied in a sweet grandfather-like tone.
"What was your wife like? Did she have a name?"
"Of course, she had a name. Everyone does. Her name was Lucille. She was a painter, and a very good one if I might add."
"Did she have any paintings I would be familiar with?" I asked, looking at him.
"No, no. She didn't like the idea of selling her work. It was just for her." I nodded at him.
"How long were you two married for?" I slowed down the pace a little bit so we could spend a little more time together. He had reminded me of a man that could be my grandfather, and these would be my last moments with him.
"Sixty-four years," he said, another humble smile spread across his face.
"And those were good and happy years?"
He chuckled at my question. "Hell, no. She hated my guts since the moment we met."
I raised my eyebrow at him, and joined his laugh, wiping the tears out of my eyes. I knew he was only joking. "You two didn't get along?"
"Eh, she said I was annoying her too damn much. She even threw one of her curling irons at me when she found out she was pregnant."
"I take it she didn't want to be pregnant."
"Not at her age, no. She said it was improper to have a baby before the wedding. We were engaged at the time, but me and Lucille couldn't seem to find it in us to wait, no matter how many Sunday morning services we went to."
"So, you were a religious man?" I asked.
"Both of us were Catholics. We met each other when we were sixteen years old at the private catholic school we went to. She sure looked damn cute in one of those plaid skirts and knee-high socks they made the young women wear." He chuckled, rubbing his chin in between his thumb and index finger. "She was always a beauty queen. Even when she aged, her beauty never melted away. You know they say the part of us that stays youthful as we grow old is our eyes. She had the deepest blue eyes, and I could stare at them every day of our marriage. She said I was getting in the way of her painting."
"I'm sure she was as beautiful as you say she is," I smiled at him, leaning against his shoulder a little bit. "So, you mentioned that you got her pregnant. Did you have more than one kid?" I needed to ask this information. It was partially important.
"Sure, we did. We had seven in total. Four boys and three girls. But they are all older now and moved away to start their own families." I could feel another tear rolling down my cheek. He was alone and had spent most of his time alone since his wife died, feeding the local ducks and never straying too far away from her. I would never have that life. To grow old, start a family one day. I would be stuck like this for the rest of my life.
"Can I ask how long ago she passed?"
"She passed away on October third, nineteen-nintey-nine. She died a few days after her eightieth birthday," he said, a frown was now passed on his face. "She told me she saw one of you. She began shaking me awake, saying there was a beautiful woman in the room. I saw her, too. She had the same eyes as you, which is how I knew you were going to take me away too." He looked up at me, another relieved smile entered his expression. "I knew it was my time the moment you sat down on the bench and I saw your eyes glisten across the water. I knew it was my time to go home to my Lucille."
I held strong against another choked sob that wanted to escape. Someone with my same eyes had taken his wife from him. I had hoped it had no malice intent.
"Was she sick?" I asked him softly, not sure I wanted to hear the answer. If it was no, then someone of my kind had unrightfully taken her life away from her husband who was now left all alone.
"Yes, she had brain cancer. When she kept telling me she saw someone in our room, and started violently shaking me, I thought it was just another one of her hallucinations… She had a lot of those… though she wasn't wrong this time. I was relieved in a way. She was no longer going to be in pain. We opted out of any medical treatment. She didn't want to go through with it. She said she would die before she ever had to go bald." He let out another laugh that followed with a tear rolling down his face. "She finally looked so peaceful."
I couldn't stop the pooling of tears that started streaming down my face. I frequently pulled my long sleeve from under my jacket sleeve and continued to wipe my eyes with it. He looked up at me, giving me a humble smile and pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. He stopped walking for a moment and started to dab my eyes for me. I left out another soft laugh at his kind gesture.
"Now, now. Don't you go crying for me. You're supposed to be the strong one. That other lady didn't cry no tears because she knew she was doing the right thing. And now you are, too. You are doing the kindest thing anyone could ever do for me." I smiled sheepishly at him, trying to hold back any more tears from falling from my eyes. "This was the same handkerchief that Lucille gave to me. Now, I won't be needing it anymore. I want you to have it, if you will." I nodded at him as he placed the handkerchief in the front pocket of my jean jacket. "I want Lucille to always know what you did for me tonight." He changed his glance to a field that was edged with rose bushes. There was a stone arch where the only entrance was. Inside the field were many tombstones that had flowers placed at each grave. Some had more than others.
The man resumed our position and led me the rest of the way there. We walked in silence now as I knew the man needed time to process his thoughts before he was ready to go. He continued to bite his lip and nod as he gently closed his eyes at some points, whispering silently to himself. I suppose he was using his last prayer to take him to Lucille.
We had made it inside of the graveyard where we slowly walked over to Lucille's grave. There was an empty spot next to her that was wide enough and long enough for another one to be put next to hers.
"I have been paying dues every month to keep this spot open for me for whenever it was my time, and now it seems that it is." He turned to me, setting down the bag of seed and placing both of my hands into his. "I do have another favor, if you will grant me it."
"Absolutely, anything for you," I said, smiling at him holding back the tears that I could feel forming underneath my eyelids.
"I have been feeding those ducks for over five years now about two times a week. They rely on me, you know. Every Tuesday and Friday evening. I was hoping it wouldn't be too much trouble for you if you could take over for me." He smiled, and I noticed he had dimples in his cheeks. I nodded quickly at him, and grabbed the handkerchief from my front pocket, quickly drying away the tears pooling down my face. He chuckled a little bit as he changed his glance over towards his wife's tombstone.
"Lucille Eloise Halliday. A gracious mother, grandmother, and wife. September 29th, 1919—October 3rd, 1999"
"You love her very much," I said softly to him.
"Forever," he said, not taking his stare from the words that were written.
"Did you live a full and happy life?" I asked.
"Every day that I was with her made it much more than that." I nodded at him. Pondering another question.
"I never asked what your name was," I said, feeling terrible that it never came across my mind. "Or when you were born." I wanted to make note of it. I knew no one would know that he had passed away, but I would. I wanted to be able to make a tombstone for him next to his wife and find a way to continue paying the bills for him to allow him and his wife to rest peacefully here, forever.
He chuckled, now looking back to me. "My name is Theodore Eugene Halliday. Lucille liked to call me Teddy." Another chuckle escaped his lips as he let out another relieved sigh. "That's usually what I go by. I was born on July seventeenth. Nineteen-Nineteen."
I nodded at him, trying to keep a friendly composure on my face. I needed to be strong for him if these were his last moments.
"Do you have a name, miss? I would very much like to know the guardian angel that is doing me the favor of taking me home to my wife."
"Isabella… Isabella Marie Swan." I could see a tear now rolling down his face as he felt embarrassed by that. He smiled at me as a soft blushed formed on his apple cheeks.
"A very beautiful name, fitting for a beautiful angel like yourself. I know my wife is going to hit me for that when I see her. She was rather the jealous type." He snickered.
"I won't tell her if you won't," I winked at him, trying to lighten the dreary mood I was in.
He sighed, "Oh, I'm sure she already knows. She watches me every day. I can hear her sometimes yelling at me to buy more seed for the ducks. She always enjoyed watching them. That's why she wanted to be buried here." I only nodded at him, now. These were his last moments. He let go of my hands and walked closer to her tombstone, placing a small kiss on it. "I'll see you soon, Lucy." He stood back up, straightening his tie.
"I understand I won't have a casket made for me, and I'm okay with that. But I do want to be buried next to her."
"I understand," I said, nodding at him. He started walking over the empty spot next to her grave, bending his knees as he held onto her tombstone for support, trying to get on to the ground. "Oh, let me help you," I said, quickly walking over to him.
"No, no. I climbed in and out of bed every day next to my wife on my own. And I plan to do it on my own one last time." He took his hat off of his head, dropping it onto the ground as he grunted getting down on his knees. Breathing a little rougher until he felt the courage to kick his legs out from under him and support his weight with his arm until he was fully laid on the ground. I quickly reached my hand to support the underside of his head before it had touched the grass. He looked up at me, pressing a flattened smile to the side of his face, giving me a nod. He reached his left hand out to place it next to a lone flower petal that was on her grave.
I bent down next to him, sitting on my knees. I took his other hand, holding it as it was placed on his chest.
"Have you heard of the kiss of death?" I asked him.
"I saw it with my own eyes, dear. Don't worry, I'm ready, Miss Swan." He looked back over to the grave next to him and smiled as he shut his eyes. I replaced my hand with the hat he had placed next to him and tucked it underneath the back of his head.
I leaned down, placing my lips over his, and he slightly parted his mouth, exhaling his last breath as I inhaled the rest of the energy he had. I listened to his heart rate slow down… until it was completely gone as the last form of decadent honey graced itself inside of me.
"Goodbye, Teddy."
A/N
Moment of silence for Theodore Eugene Halliday. A dutiful father, grandfather, and loving husband. July 17th, 1919—January 15th, 2005.