Welcome back! Thank you to Guestdod, CarlaPA, Kyr, kutsune2477, Kathryn L. Malone, William Francies Reisen-Newman, alyana black, Guest, Guest, Ladysylphide, Guest, Shelby Duncan, Jesspots1704, Guest, ForrestersWitch, Guest, DawnXXX92, Pauliiiiiiiiiiiine, myfanficaddiction, jlap . mypersonalfiles, Guest, NatalieKatee, aljaira, Memeymyu, NaFemaleGem, Guest, Noee, ginkgo00, and writingblondie, and Guest for reviewing!
Guestdod, understandable right now. She's not happy with them either.
CarlaPA, here you go!(:
Kyr, Esme is always the most compassionate one. And we will have to just see!
kitsune2477, I'm happy you are enjoying the read! Midnight Sun had definitely resparked many of the Twihards back into fanfiction and movies. It was my favorite fictional love story when Twilight first came out and I'm happy to be back into it!
Kathryn L. Malone, Hell yes, go Esme! She's always been the most compassionate character.
William Francies Reisen-Newman, thanks for the review!(:
alyana black, glad you are enjoying the story! Esme is definitely having a stern talking to them that night!
Guest, Yeah, finals are coming up so it has been hard to update…. I couldn't really proclaim the wolves entirely being jerks. Just over protective. Gotta remember, when the ancestors met the Cullens, they weren't happy either, but the Cullens were already vegetarians.. Bella is a newborn succubus who had buried a dead body on their lands. Forks is no-man's land so wolves and vampires are free to roam there. But yes, being definitely unwelcoming to Bella.
Guest, definitely low blow, yes, but in the upcoming chapters, more will be explained! It definitely is a tad annoying to not have their POV to be able to tell it or to explain their actions or how the meeting between the wolves and Cullens went to be able to help Bella understand the reason for them ignoring her, but, again, chapters to come will help! Maybe Esme will straighten them out! And with Bella, she never saw the men. They had attacked her from behind and she woke up after the effects of the chloroform and in pain… so sadly she doesn't know who to take her revenge on.
Ladysylphide, and as always, amazing review from you! You definitely are on the right track about the subconscious monster! Future chapters will come to explain further. Esme is definitely going to be yelling at them after the last chapter! And I know, Edward is definitely seeming like a bastard right now, but future chapters will go into why he's acting that way. Edward most likely when he said that just wanted to get her to admit it because Bella said she hated liars, but was lying as well about it lol.
Guest, thank you! Glad you are loving it!
Shelby Duncan, I'm glad my story is helping you.. You can always reach out if you ever need someone to talk to! I'm at my computer almost 24/7 studying and doing homework everyday, so I'll definitely be able reach back to you if you ever need to vent!
Jesspots1704, glad you loved it. I had to go back and tweak it a little bit and combine sentences. I posted this story when I was on the brink of passing out from studying so I didn't thoroughly get to check for how it flowed together because I used Microsoft Word at the end of writing it just for spelling mistakes and places that it suggested for commas. When I re-read it, I realized I hated it because of how horrible it flowed, but I'm glad you still enjoyed it!
Guest, hope you continue to read throughout the next updates!
DawnXXX92, I appreciate that! (:
Pauliiiiiiiiiiiine, the review came perfectly well in English! I'm thrilled my story was able to reach out to you! Binging has been something I've been doing since last year on fanfiction.. I have to find new stories everynight to read, and I'm happy that you gave mine a chance and ended up enjoying it! Yeah, Stephenie Meyer skipped the month of February entirely, so I'm trying to fill that month in before we pick up where she started off in March! Wanted to show her human life as well as the struggles she faces as a succubus. Glad you are enjoying this version of Bella! I try my best to keep it as canon as possible to the books because she had a sense of humor.
myfanficaddiction, that's so sweet! I love Jacob and her friendship too and have always enjoyed reading their dialogue throughout the books. They were so easy to be around and their friendship was always my comfort zone. Yes! Glad you had read that about her noticing that those closest to her aren't affecting her appetite. I thought that would be a good addition to her, and useful later. More information on the subconscious monster will be revealed in the following chapters to come! Yes, the Lure not affecting Sam, lust wise, definitely does have to do with the imprint he has on Emily because it was said to be a very binding one that could not break. More about Bella's abilities will be further discussed in following future chapters, as well. Yes, with Mike, I know Edward had read his mind of him having disgusting thoughts about Bella, so in most fanfictions, they have Bella completely write him off and dismiss him… which he definitely deserved, but it always seemed out of character to me. I wanted to keep the story with the canon version of her, so I wanted Bella to just let him down and remind him that they are only just friends. I love to add random words as the chapter names, and giggled when I decided to name that one 'Peanut Butter.' Esme is the best, always has been!
jlap . mypersonalfiles, Bella has found herself comfortable in this new friendship of hers! Esme is always welcomed! (:
Guest, yes, that's actually a really good point considering that the Cullens do seem to have an unlimited amount of energy that she could sustain herself with. Although, I'm not sure she had come to that conclusion, yet, or had completely thought through that idea. She still feels threatened by them, and has no indication yet if she could overpower him.
NatalieKatee, thank you, here's more.
Memeymyu, inhale some more, because now we have a new chapter! Thank you so much for the support… I really do enjoy writing this story!
NaFemaleGem, I'm glad to have you here! And thank you for your kind words. I also have a hard time finding new stories that I enjoy now because I've already gone through so many. I usually look for canon stories or I look for stories that take place in the future, or anything that has Bella already a part of the supernatural world!
Guest, I'm sorry.. I know I wish I could have updated sooner. I'm being bombarded with school right now.
Noee, Kisses to you, friend! Thank you as always for your kind words. Yes, her physical appearance still is flattering, just not as vibrant and full of life as when she does when she feeds. Bella runs out of energy the more she starves, and since she had previously hunted more frequently since she's been with Charlie, her body is craving more. Will have to look further into the relationship with Edward!
ginkgo00, I'll never abandon! Maybe take breaks, but never abandon! (:
writingblondie, you are very sweet and thank you so much! I'm glad you had a chance to read the other story that I had used the idea from. I loved the idea of their version of the succubus and I wanted to redo it myself to create a version of my own and I'm happy you enjoy it! Jacob was a character in Twilight I've always had a soft spot for, so I wanted to preserve their friendship. With Billy, I believe he is just confused on what to think. He loves Bella because he was there for Charlie and watched her grow as a child, but he also is having trouble rationalizing the threat she poses.
I had a lot of reviews from multiple 'Guests' this chapter! There is a section where you can add a username to your comment so that when you do review, my shout-out and replies will be more decipherable to who is leaving the review! I did put each shout out in order.
NOTICE: Last chapter ended on Friday of February 11th, 2005. We had time-jumped two weeks….
All rights to the characters and to the Twilight Saga go to Stephenie Meyer. Enjoy!(:
Chapter 11: Hands
Monday had come around the corner quickly after the weekend that I had spent most of my time with Jacob, Quil, and Embry at my house for. Quil had decided that he wanted to teach me to play poker and that we would be playing not for money, but for shells that they had brought over in a bucket. He said this was his way of not losing actual money to Embry. Though, I had to admit that them coming over wasn't my way of creating a social event. It was my way of learning self-control, and with that, I had done my own thirst experiment by having Jacob there. While he was around, filling the room with his energy after each breath, and ecstatic laughter, I had been completely stricken with no alarming thirst or hunger for any of those in the room.
It was easy being around Quil and Embry while Jacob was there, sitting closest to me, because as long as he was, my hunger for others around me had decreased significantly like it was never there. The hunger for Quil and Embry weren't as strong as they normally would be considering the bond that was growing with them, but whenever Jacob had gotten up to grab a drink out of my fridge, the hunger had consumed me again, but went away when Jacob had come to the table to resume our game. My hypothesis on the matter had been correct when it came to those who I cared for the most around me. It was as though my subconscious monster and my body did not want to register my need to replenish when I was around those people, and for that, I was grateful.
Driving into the school parking in the sprinkling rain lot had been a normal event where Mike and Ethan would regularly be there waiting for me, but this time it had become unusual when I had noticed Ethan carrying a rose in this hand and Mike holding up a heart shaped red box with a cheesy smile on his face.
Oh, right. It was Valentine's day.
I pulled into the usual parking spot where Mike and Ethan would move out of the way for when I had successfully pulled in. Their hair had been glossed with the small droplets of the rain that seemed to not have bothered them in the slightest. I eyed both of them before I had thrown the hood of my jacket over my head and grabbed my bookbag and slung it over my shoulder to hop out of the driver's seat.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Bella!" Mike said, holding out the red heart shaped box towards me. It was an assorted box of chocolate that my mother would normally get for me each year when I was a young child. My favorites as a kid were the chocolates that held the marshmallow fluff on the inside, and I suspected that they would be again.
"Thanks," I breathed out. I took the box from him, feeling the heat rush into my cheeks when I noticed that our group of friends were on the staircase leading to the front doors of the building watching us.
"Yeah, Happy Valentine's Day, Bella," Ethan said more softly, holding out a rose to me that I had shyly taken from him in my grip. I twirled the stem of the rose between my fingertips, looking up at the both of them that were still holding wide smiles towards me. I nodded my head at them, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth. The three of us stood there for more than awkward seconds before I turned away and walked away and started my aim towards the building. They both had followed after me, shoving their shoulders against each other like young boys. I shook my head at them and had done my best to divert my eyes from Jessica's who had bore hers onto me. She didn't look relatively happy with the events that had just transpired, so I tucked the box and flower into the inside of my jacket pockets and walked inside ignoring the rest of the students.
I hadn't been surprised by the overwhelming flood of energies that had spiraled into my nostrils from the events and flood of students in the hallway. I knew my contacts wouldn't last long, so I had pulled out my damaged sunglasses and placed them onto my face, hopefully being able to embrace them for the rest of the day. Mr. Varner had looked at me strangely when he had noticed I was wearing the dark shades inside of his classroom but had only stuttered and turned back around to write on the board. I knew he wouldn't say anything because it had been almost obvious that my presence had tethered him the same way it had affected the other boys in the room. I sighed, crossing my arms. The hungrier I was, the more they had been affected by me. Not that my appearance was better than when I would be sustained with a meal, but it was my own starved presence that would draw them, hoping to find a victim to feed off of.
The subconscious monster had been dormant when I was at school for the most part, other than to remind me to control myself. Most of the time, he would find his way creeping into my thoughts when I was alone at night, reminding me that it was important to feed myself. It would cause me to toss and turn over the weekend, knowing that it was right, but I couldn't appease it while the wolves were holding their attention on me. Whenever Jacob had left in the afternoons, I had waited for Charlie to get home so that he would soften the pain that I was being inflicted with.
Jessica had ignored me in trig today by diverting her eyes to the board whenever I would slightly turn around to look in her direction. I had a feeling she was upset with me because she has a liking towards Mike, and I was in the way of their relationship progressing. When I tried to speak softly to her, to assure her that I have no shared feelings, she would simply ignore me with her hand held up. I would nod and turn back around to face the board that now held new information that I wasn't sure of. This behavior continued after class when she had decided to not walk with me today to the lunch table, but it had given me the opportunity to slip out of the building through the lunch exit doors instead so that I could spend the lunch period outside on the picnic table instead.
I wasn't doing well, and the burn was only inflicting more pain on me the more I was grouped around people. The hallways between classes had been the worst part of the day so far, with all the students crowded together and their energy scents fusing to form large gaseous bubbles of delicacy towards me. I knew that I wouldn't have been able to handle sitting in the lunchroom with the five overwhelming energy sources sitting in the corner of the room, but I also knew that I wouldn't be able to handle being around Edward today. Having Jacob around over the weekend had helped me greatly, but it would immediately remind me how starved I was when he was gone.
The lunch bell had rung, causing the irritating rattling in my ears, signaling me that I would need to face the fears I had the most of for the day: having to endure an hour sitting next to Edward Cullen. I leaned back against the picnic table again, inhaling the moisture in the air after the sprinkling of the rain had halted. The moisture of the air had helped lubricate my throat and soothed me for quite some time while there were no other scents in the air. I investigated the cafeteria windows, seeing the new crowd of students heading to the lunchroom while the lunch class I was a part of had been exiting the room. I waited and watched while the hallways began to clear as the students filed into their next classes. It seemed as good of a time as any to go ahead and head to biology. I looked back towards the trees, inhaling again, while I grabbed my bookbag and headed inside.
The overwhelming energy of Edward hadn't hit when I walked into the classroom, which was odd enough because it was something I was normally used to. I eyed him, confused as I nodded to Mr. Banner when he looked at me queer for being late. I pulled my backpack off my shoulder and sat it next to the desk as I sat down in my usual seat. Edward wouldn't have been someone that I would say I cared deeply for in a familial way like I had for Jacob and my parents, so I felt unsure why he had now shown almost no effect towards me. I leaned forward against my desk, propping my elbows up on the desk as I rested my chin on my hands, eying him up and down. Nothing about my feelings for him had changed in the slightest since the last time, other than my annoyance that he and his family had caused me with their activities of keeping me from being able to leave my home and ignoring me like I had never existed.
As I continued looking over at his form, extracting the information that his body had been completely still and unmoving, I realized that there was no energy to be attracted to because he had not been exhaling any in the first place. I gasped lightly at this, trying to take sneak peaks of him to confirm my suspicions, and evidently enough, it was true. Edward was holding his breath the whole time, keeping his body as still as a beam pole. He hadn't moved to take the notes that Mr. Banner had been writing on the board, except he only stared ahead at what Mr. Banner had been saying. I, on the other hand, had fallen completely distracted by him. I held curiosity as to why he had been holding his breath in the room. Maybe he was having a hard time with his thirst and needed to hold his breath from inhaling any of the scents of the others in the room, including myself. My evaluation would be correct if only one of the characteristics about him held true, but his eyes were not the onyx color that they usually held when he was having a hard time with this. They were the golden honey I had remembered seeing before when he was in the woods after taking down the deer when he exposed himself. He was doing this for me, though I wasn't sure how he had come to the conclusion that this was a proper way to help me.
I slouched in my chair, tapping my fingers against the wooden pencil in my hand. The strands of my hair had covered the side of my face, but I slightly looked up at him again.
"Thank you," I whispered quickly as I pulled my lip between my teeth, anticipating the silence that I would receive back from him. Edward's body had reacted to my words as his shoulders slightly flinched. I tucked my chin, but continued to keep my gaze up at him as I peeked through the strands of my hair.
Edward slightly looked in my direction, forming a small upturn on the corner of his mouth as he nodded and then flicked his gaze back towards the board. I oddly felt warmed by the slight smile on his mouth. I was right, he had been holding his breath for me as if he knew that his exhales had been something that had been inflicting pain on me. I furrowed my eyebrows, pinching the upper lip of my lips with my teeth at the thought. How had he known, and why would he want to help me?
"So, if you guys are all caught up with cell structure, then I would like to go ahead and get into osmolarity. It's a simple enough topic, but I thought it would be more interesting to watch a video on it instead of hearing me talk anymore on the subject." He leaned forward onto his desk, grabbing a stack of papers that he waved in the air with a pressed smile on his face.
"And you will fill in answers to the questions on this paper as you continue through the video." He proceeded forward through the aisles, passing out two sheets per lab table to each of the students. I passed a sheet over to Edward who took it from me lightly, still holding himself stiff. I had felt unwell with the idea that he looked uncomfortable. Maybe he did not need to breathe considering that he hadn't exhaled or taken another breath in, but I could see that holding his breath was something that was troubling him.
Mr. Banner turned the lights off in the room, which had been fine for me because I could easily see clearly through the darkness with my sunglasses on either way, but Mr. Banner had called to my attention by clearing his throat and had motioned his fingers towards his eyes. I sighed, nodding at him, and kept my gaze down as I took the sunglasses off. The contacts that I had previously worn earlier had already melted away, leaving only the glasses that would confine the color of my eyes, but now I knew that I would no longer be able to keep attention towards the board as the light of the screen would reflect off my irises.
I was immediately bombarded with the decadent honey scent, causing my direction to quickly look towards Edward who had his hand clasped against his mouth and nose as his body jumped with subtle chuckles. I assumed he had been laughing at me since Mr. Banner had enforced for me to disarm my glasses, and now I had been unfortunately exposed in the room. I was annoyed that that had been amusing to him; but I suppose I had been able to find the funny in the idea when Clark Kent came into mind. The glasses were covering up my eyes to cloak my unnatural appearance just like Clark Kent had used them to hide his secret identity.
After a couple of minutes of the video, I had already answered most of the questions on the sheet without needing to listen or watch what was going on the screen. I noticed Edward had peered down at my face multiple times, trying to peek at me, but I kept my glances downwards, continuing to answer the questions on the paper. The video had cut off after another five minutes, leaving an extra ten minutes of class left to discuss the topic. Mr. Banner had picked up our sheets of papers, leaving the class groaning at the fact that they hadn't been able to answer all of them. Mr. Banner assured us that this was only just a participation grade and nothing serious.
I lifted the glasses back onto my face after Mr. Banner turned the lights back on and wheeled the television out of the room and into the hallway. He clasped his hands together to tell us that he would allow us the rest of the ten minutes to discuss quietly with our lab partners and informed us to begin discussing who would join our groups for class.
Edward continued to sit in silence as he looked over at me a few more times and down at his desk, tapping his pencil against the inside of his hand. Mike had come over to crouch next to my desk to ask if I wanted to be in his group for the project, causing me to have to shield my face with my sleeve in hopes that it would block the energy radiating through his lips. I agreed to his proposal and he smiled. He briefly looked over at Edward, narrowing his eyes and stood up to walk back over towards his desk.
I felt a cold touch against the side of my hand, causing me to gasp at the unexpectancy of it. I looked over at Edward and glanced back down at my hand and back up to me. I looked down, noticing a note with the perfect form of calligraphy on it.
You must know the 'effect' you have on that boy. I tightened my eyebrows at the words, confused by what they had meant. I realized quickly that he was referring to our last conversation when I had reminded him that he caused the same effects on others around him with his looks, causing those to become dazzled by him. I rolled my eyes and leaned back in my desk pushing the note away as I crossed my arms.
"So, now you're talking to me?" I asked, looking over at him.
He tightened his lips together and leaned to pull the note back over towards him as he grabbed his pencil and flipped the scrap of paper to the other side and continued to write another sentence on it. He slid it back across the lab table towards me with the ends of his lips upturned, trying to fight back a smile, and I picked it up to read it again.
Talking would mean I would have to form words and sentences towards you, which I am not. I crumbed the note into the palm of my hand.
"Maybe you should continue not talking to me then," I said through my clenched teeth, grinding them together. I grew frustrated with him. For the past two weeks he had been ignoring me and having his family do the same. His family would on rare occasions watch through the woods towards my house to keep me locked up. It wasn't often, mostly it was the wolves that would be participating in this.
The bell had chimed to allow the class to be dismissed. I looked over at Mike who had already been on his feet as he scrambled with his notebook trying to shove it into his backpack as he walked towards me with a grin on his face. I smiled back at him but glanced back at Edward who held a humorous smile on his lips as he did not look back up to meet my gaze.
The tires of my truck had done well enough in the rain. There was only light hydroplaning, but other than that, it was steady enough. It only reminded me about the need to order replacements for them and ask Jacob if he could change them for me.
When I had gotten home and found myself alone in the house, it had only reminded me of the intense pain that was scorching through tonsils with a never-ending throb that constantly held individual melting pins and needles against it. There were no others around me that would cause this uninterrupted torture, so I only knew that my body no longer could handle the pain that was searing. My body wanted to feed, and it wanted to feed sooner than later. I could possibly handle another weeklong of this, but I knew that I needed to make definite plans soon.
It was possible that I could find a way around the wolves if I chose to lie to them about where my whereabouts were headed, but I knew they would still follow. I understood their reasonings for being hostile. Even though I was lying to them and myself about my actions towards that hiker, I still knew the truth, and so did they. I had killed that man for my own pleasure, for my own sustain. He was never meant to die that day on my account. Maybe if he were to run into a bear or a mountain lion on one of his adventures when hiking, but not by me. The wolves had every right to see me as a threat to others around me, to be worried about me harming another living person. I was fearful of myself at my own times understandably. I never wanted to hurt anyone, and I hated myself for doing so.
Another week was possible, but I couldn't run away from the inevitable forever. Students and others around me were coming closer to becoming victims with each passing day that I did not feed. Possibly I could escape out of town from the wolves and enter a building that was succumbed by crowds of drunks and partygoers. That would be a plan that I could master myself. I could lure away an easy enough man or woman into a bathroom. Hide my tracks by placing them into the bathroom stall onto a toilet as if the alcohol had induced a heart attack while they had relieved themselves. That was a plausible scenario, and it would not take long either. No. Yes. It was inevitable. I would rather starve myself and continue a life of torment, but not if it meant that I would become a threat to those that I had considered friends at school that weren't immune to me.
Could I go now and get it over with? Yes, if I see the need to instead of trying to extend the plausible threat. I sighed, looking over at the microwave to see the time of the day knowing already that it was only thirty minutes past three. I needed to find a way to pass the time to keep myself distracted from the flames. I went upstairs to unload my backpack onto my bed, spreading out my texts and notebooks. I went ahead and grabbed some page markers to separate the different chapters and sections in the textbooks, then I had decided to reorganize my notebook so that the ordering of the notes was in better consecutive order with the chapters. This only took about an hour out of my afternoon that I had left.
I went over to my closet to organize the clothes in there, only to realize that most of my clothes and sweaters had left over stains from my adventures in the woods and Alaska. I sighed, knowing that I loved my wardrobe and was sad to realize that I was only left mostly with my more flattering blouses. I cringed at the idea that I knew I would need to go shopping soon. I pulled out one of my knit sweaters, placing it over my head to get out of the dampened one that I was already wearing. I went ahead and decided to change into a new pair of jeans, but there was a crumpled-up paper in my pocket. I pulled it out, noticing the shade of the nice delicate piece and unraveled it, seeing that it was the note that Edward had written to me in class. I must not have gotten around to throwing it out. I placed it into the drawer of my nightstand, not wanting to look any further into it.
The procrastination wasn't enough to hold me over. I looked out my window, scanning my eyes over towards the tree line to see for any of the wolves, which I had expected. They never showed their own appearances, but they normally would make it known in other forms, but if there was a way for me to take my chances and find my way around them, then it would be as good as time as any.
I looked out the window again, scanning my eyes. I quietly flicked the window lock, opening the creaking window only slightly, inhaling incredibly. The scent of them was to the left of my window, about diagonally behind the cluster of trees. If I were to make it past them, I could go towards the other side of the house and head the opposite way towards the Forks line to the next city. I closed the window slightly and exited my room. When I got into the hallway, I pushed open Charlie's door, wincing when the creaking of this hinges on his door in the silent house was loud enough to notify the wolves, but possibly they wouldn't guess my plans. I walked in, tiptoeing through the room, and walked nearer to his window.
I couldn't do this slow. I would need to quickly open it and jump out as fast as I could. I exhaled a shaken breath, clearing my mind and allowing the gift to ripple over my skin as it was beginning to glaze over my scent—hiding it. I looked back out the window again.
"Here goes nothing," I whispered. I pushed open the window, hearing the loud whine of it as it hadn't been opened in a long while. I jumped out of it, landing directly onto my feet. I didn't look back once, but I had already figured the wolves would catch on when they heard the noise. I made my haste through the trees, running as fast as I could. Their loud piercing howls vibrated through my ear drums. There were only two of them so I should be able to outmaneuver them as long as they didn't flank me from both sides like they had done before. I continued running, not looking back, only looking forward. The direction I was headed in should lead me straight out of town, but I knew I would need to pass through several of the neighborhoods that were hidden in the trees.
They were following behind me, and they were ganging up on me fast. They didn't need to follow my scent; they were having a successful time just listening to my heavy panting and adrenaline pumping heart alone. I tried to maneuver zigzag attempts to distract them, but it seemed to be relentless as they anticipated my movements. I pushed harder through the brush, passing the trees that were flying past me, but the wolves were already flanked on either side of me. I glanced over towards my left, seeing the large black wolf's eyes daggering at me as he growled through each long stride that he constructed. To my right was Jared, who only briefly glanced at me and looked over towards Sam as if he needed a form of confirmation from him.
Thud, I was rolling on the ground after a blow from Sam on my left side. I continued to roll down the slight incline as they followed after me, but I quickly sled my legs out from beside me and forced myself to get up from the ground. I darted forward again, but they were not slowing down, nor were they speeding up. They were watching me. I huffed with disapproval and continued forward. The growling continued louder that it seemed that anyone within a mile radius would have heard it coming from our direction.
This time I wasn't going to let them get the surprise on me again. Jared had launched towards me with his paws extending out and his teeth baring towards my peripheral vision. I bent my knees in my long strides and used as much force as I had done before in the past to launch myself up into the air into the closest tree. Sam had jumped towards me but had only slightly missed as he grazed the side of my shoe, ripping off a piece of the rubber on the sole of it. Damn I really liked these sneakers. I climbed through the trees that were nearby, jumping to the next after the previous, and continued. The wolves had their muzzles aim towards the sky as they were following the direction I was aiming towards.
I needed the scents. I needed the energy that my body was craving. That my body was following for. The tree line was ending in front of me as there was a road circling the area to veer off into a different direction. The trees were beginning to thin out as a parking lot was coming closer towards my pursued direction. The gap was much too large. There was a long white bricked building with a dark shingled roof and windows repeatedly placed along the exterior. As I was nearing the last tree that I could swing, I thrusted myself forward through the air, kicking my legs in a walking motion as my body hurdled in the direction.
I landed down into a roll as I had made impact with the asphalt of the parking lot for the building. I ignored the sign, not caring what this building was or whether or not it was open. I took off into a sprint through the small parking lot, nearing the white span of bricks until I had successfully made it to the entrance of it. I needed to get away from the wolves, and more than likely they wouldn't follow me here. Not with possible watching eyes, and more so not inside. I noticed the light featuring through glass doors, and hastily pushed myself through them, hearing the metal of the frame groaning.
I was panting with my back against the glass doors as I looked around the room, seeing the faces of the receptionists at the front desk with their eyes widened at my sudden bombardment into the building. I looked around again, glancing for a sign that would notify me where I was until I noticed the words on a pamphlet at the front desk notifying me that this was the Forks' Nursing Home. I exhaled another breath of air through my lips, trying to settle myself down, and quickly flicked my hair away from my face and pushed the strands behind my ears. I straightened my posture and looked back over towards the first receptionist whose jaw had slacked but, quickly she blinked and regained her composure.
"Hello and welcome to Forks' Assisted Living Facility," She said, still with the look of shock from the way I had come into the room. "Can I help you?"
I nodded walking over to the desk, looking around the room again to understand how it was possible that I had found myself landed here. I suppose it had to do with the fact that it was a scent that I had been most recently familiar with considering my last victim had been of an old age, and my senses had brought me towards a building full of them. I wrinkled my nose, trying to suppress the raw burn in my throat.
"Yes," I replied, tapping my fingers lightly against it, not making a sound, looking back through the glass doors. The wolves must be near. They wouldn't have given up that easily.
The woman nodded, "Well our visiting hours are over right now, but if you can wait another two, you can sign yourself in."
"Oh, no. I'm not here to visit anyone," I paused. I had remembered that I had wanted to find a job before and the idea of working at a nursing home had come to mind. "I was hoping I could speak about applying for a job?"
"Uh," she sucked in her bottom lip, shuffling through a stack of papers on her desk, and leaned forward when finding what she was looking for. She pulled at the sticky note and glanced up at me before proceeding to dial the number onto the phone. It rang three times before a rough voice had answered. "Yes, I have a young girl here who would like to apply for a job…." she placed her hand against the microphone of it. "Did you bring a resume with you, sweetheart?" She asked, looking down at my empty hands. I shook my head at her, looking down at the ground, and trailed my eyes towards the glass doors. The wolves must still be out there, and I needed to buy as much time as I could. "No, she does not, sir." She winced when a loud voice started scolding her through the phone, ranting about how a teenager comes to a place of work with no resume in her hand, but proceeds to ask for a job anyways.
I could feel the heat flooding into my cheeks as I had felt a tinge of embarrassment at my lack of preparedness for the situation. "Um, if I may," I spoke. "Could I possibly meet him and give him an oral resume of myself?"
In the same moment, a man barged through one of the wooden doors that was behind the front desk. His hair was a disheveled grease of a mess, and a five o'clock shadow had been forming on his face under his dark sunken eyes. I looked up at him, slightly gasping at his unwelcoming appearance as he glanced back towards the receptionist, who I had not captured the name of, with a scolding look.
"Miss, if you have no resume, I will not be seeing you. Visiting hours are not in operation right now, so unless you have someone here that you plan to wait for, then I think you should get going," he said. I took a step back, lowering my gaze towards the floor at his masculine hostility that had seemed unwarranted in the slightest. He must have not been in the best of moods today, but there was no need for that kind of reaction. I flexed my fingers a tad bit trying to get over the nerves that had been inflicted on me. A small flash of realization came over me as I lifted my hand up to my hair, lightly grazing a strand to place it in a more fixed location. I exhaled a breath of air, feeling disappointed in myself with the actions I tend to display.
I looked up at him slightly as my chin was tucked in. I looked up at him through my lashes and glimmered a smile towards his direction, showing only partialness of the white of my teeth through my lips.
"I'm so sorry, sir," I spoke in a higher pitch voice. "I had left my resume at home on my own fault and am very disappointed with myself for coming unprepared. I had hoped that maybe we could talk it over together in your office and I could offer you all the information you need about me." The mad had stiffened as he peered towards me. He loudly gulped as he continued to stare and quickly felt his hands against his belt, fixing the position of his pants and pulling them up a tad bit. I hid the disgust to myself as it clearly took effect on him, knowing that I still was in the body of a sixteen-year-old, but I had reminded myself that that's not entirely his fault considering I know the effects of what my species has on people.
"I, uh," he stuttered. "Yes, that should be fine." He stood there still motionless and then noticed himself and stepped backwards and pushed the door behind him open. "Right this way, miss."
I followed behind the front desk, walking past him into his office. The room was small with the dreadful yellow mustard walls. There was a shelf on the right side of the room with a dead plant that had been completely lifeless, along with stacked paperwork along his desk with the room only illuminated by the computer screen and the lamp in the far corner of the room. I smiled at him as he walked behind me and gestured me to sit down at the seat in front of his desk. He sat down after I had slowly lowered myself in the seat. He grabbed his computer mouse, closing out browsers and then looked back over at me. I could see his forehead perspiring as he blinked when one of the drops had landed in his eye lashes.
"I suppose I should start by giving my name," I spoke, breaking the awkward silence while trying to swallow down the saliva that was pooling into my mouth. "My name is Isabella Swan. I am seventeen years old, and I go to Forks High School."
"Oh, yes. Sorry, I'm Benjamin Taylor. I am the manager of this facility," he pressed a smile, clearing his throat. He leaned back in his desk, fixing his trousers again. "I must say, though. There aren't many job offers for your age here including the lack of a high school diploma. We do allow volunteer work, though if you are interested."
I pressed my lips together at his reply. I could volunteer, but that would offer no money in my pocket which I would eventually need to start creating a cash flow into my account to fund my expenses.
I leaned forward, taking my jacket off my shoulder and folding it slowly to place it down onto my crossed legs. The shirt I was wearing wasn't the most flattering, but it did expose my neck and collarbones exceptionally well.
"Mr. Taylor, in all honesty, I do need a paying job," I spoke in a fluent tone, still peering at him through my eyelashes and offering as much of a flattering smile as I could. "I do have experience from my last job in Phoenix, Arizona where I am from. It is not much, but I bagged groceries before and had babysat in the past, but I am looking for something more."
Mr. Taylor coughed in his hand, trying to clear his throat as he eyed my throat and chest for a longer than needed moment. "I wish there was something I could offer you, Miss Swan, but volunteering is all I can legally apply for you at the age that you are." I bit down onto my lip, frustrated that my attempts weren't working. I nodded my head at him and slowly stood up, draping my jacket over my forearm, and walked over towards him. He looked up at me, widening his eyes with a slack jaw as he gazed upon my figure.
I leaned forward trying to hold myself back from the hunger I felt, placing my hand against the top of his palm. I grazed my fingers along it with a feather like touch and smiled at him. "I understand, Mr. Taylor. I'm sorry for the inconvenience." I leaned away from him, taking my hand away slowly as my fingertips rolled off his hand as I backed up. He quickly opened his hand, grasping onto my middle finger lightly with his own, and cleared his throat once again.
"Maybe there is something that I could offer you," he spoke. "Under special circumstances, of course. Since you are not eighteen and do not have a high school diploma, maybe I could offer you access to a job under the act that you fill out paperwork claiming that you are in need of experience for your future interest in a field close to this one. It will also require a parent signature," he said. I looked down at him, rounding my cheeks as I offered a bright smile towards him.
"Would it be possible that I could apply for a receptionist job, or maybe help in assisting the elderly?"
"I definitely cannot offer you a job with assistance for liability reasons, but I could offer you a receptionist job. We are needing someone who can work part time on the weekdays, especially closer towards the evening shift."
"That would be perfect," I twinkled my eyes at him staring down towards the middle of his nose, trying to appear that I was making sensual eye contact with him.
"You can start next week," he spoke, clearing his throat again and looking over at his desk, grabbing a pair of reading glasses and frantically began wiping the smudges on the lenses.
I giggled, placing my fingers against my lips. I needed to start work now so that I could continue to buy more time from the wolves that were loitering outside. "I was actually hoping I could start today, if that's possible."
He eyed me for a second, placing the glasses onto the bridge of his nose. "Uh, well. The attire of the receptionists is usually in scrubs, or we require presentable attire such as slacks and blouses along with rubber grip shoes," he paused, looking at me again as I continued to smile at him, nodding. "I do think we have some scrubs in one of the boxes in storage that I could offer you."
"That would be lovely, thank you." He nodded and left the room to grab the box. He came back quickly and showed me where the faculty bathroom was so I could get changed into them. He also had offered me a timecard since I wasn't on file yet and would be paying me my first week under the counter. He mentioned he would add the hours of the week to my work file when he has completed it after I turn in the paperwork needed to allow me to work under the age of eighteen at this job.
He mentioned that he would also offer me a name tag by this time next week and asked what name I would prefer to be placed into it. I told him I go by Bella instead of Isabella and he nodded at me with a smile. I did my best at this point to lower my potential flirting antics to give the poor guy a break. I knew that either way, he would be inclined to be attracted to me, but at least I could help him out by no longer pursuing him to leave him with hope that there was a chance between us.
The women at the front counter had looked shocked to see me in the scrubs uniform and took a glance back at Mr. Taylor who told them that me getting the job would fall under the special circumstances of me needing the experience and hours for future job listings in this same demographic. They nodded at him with a smile but glanced back at me with judgmental stares and sly comments to one another about my age and how I had practically had to perform for the manager to get this job. I sat down in the chair behind the front counter as Paige, one of the receptionists, had helped me make a login for the computer and showed me the information on how to check in the family and friends of the residents. I quickly understood the computer techniques as she only had to show me one time. She also handed me the schedule that showed the working hours, names, and phone numbers of the staff. I smiled kindly at her and placed it next to me to take home with me later.
Ellen, the other receptionist who seemed to be around in her late thirties, had reminded Paige that she was clocking out to go home and make dinner for her kids and husband. She only worked morning to afternoon shifts because it was easier for her schedule so that she could get home in time to do that.
Paige was closer to my age. She mentioned she was twenty-one years old, and she was in school to become a nurse. I asked if she had plans to work with the elderly, but she said no because her girlfriend hates the way they smell and already chastises her for coming home every night smelling of very potent perfume. I laughed at her comment. Paige seemed to already be warming up to me only just after her and Ellen's brief reluctance towards me getting the job, but I already waved away the thought to start off fresh.
Mr. Taylor came out from his office after some time to hand out new schedules that had my name on it. He said that there was no need to alarm Ellen or the other staff because she still has her same hours and that I'm only adding to the evening shift of the schedule. I thanked him quickly and went back to looking at the computer.
When Paige went to the bathroom, I opened the list of residents, looking at each of their names, birth dates, how long they have been here, and what illnesses or reasons they are living at an assisted living facility for. Some of the patients seemed to have been checked in because of their kids no longer being able to look after them for regular reasons such as being bound to a wheelchair, and not wanting to hire an at home service. Other reasons were dementia, Alzheimer's, paralyzation, frequent medical attention need, etc. This information was important for me to know based on my reasonings for needing a job here.
Paige walked back over to the desk, and I closed out of the tab, not sure if it was okay or not to have been nosy about the patients in the first place. I'm sure there were some confidentiality conflicts with what I had done, but as long as I kept it discreet, I'm sure it was fine. Paige told me what to say to the guests that were arriving, and quickly reminded me the check in process one more time and to make sure they filled out their names on the tags provided to stick on their shirts. Paige smiled at me, letting me know that I seemed to be easy to train, and had been following correctly with protocol.
I made sure to call Charlie when I knew he would be home to let him know that I would be home late, and I would explain to him why later.
When the sun began to set outside, the visitors started making their way out of the building, saying goodbye to their friends, and loved ones. Paige told me since it was my first day, she would get the cleaning done around the front desk area if I made sure to close down our logins. I asked her who stayed overnight, to which she replied that the nursing staff have off and on shifts, but there are at least two nursing staff that stay behind overnight. Forks was a small town with little amount of elderly in the assisted living facility.
Paige had told me to go ahead and head out, but I wasn't so sure if that was the wisest idea at the moment. I knew the wolves must have been out there waiting for me to leave the premises of the building and I also had no ride home besides my own two legs, which wouldn't be an issue if I wasn't trying to make sure I could outrun the wolves again. I sighed, closing out of my own login and grabbed the papers handed to me today and placed them into a folder. I waved Paige goodbye and thanked Mr. Taylor again for offering me the job.
I stood in front of the glass entrance doors, staring out towards the road. I didn't see any movement happening outside that would raise alarm for me; no visible forms of the wolves were hiding in the tree line either. I turned my neck to glance briefly at Paige again who smiled as she continued to sweep the floor and I pushed the doors open to head outside. I clutched the folder against my chest as I turned left from the doors to head down the road to get to the nearest tree line. The only way for me to get home would be to run on foot, and I needed to be out of sight, but not until I had picked up the nearby scent.
Sunshine, lilac, and sweet potent decadent honey.
I halted my stride along the road, pulling in a rasp breath of air through my teeth as I slightly turned my neck to my right. There it was— or he was. My eyes traced over his pale white features where the moon light had cascaded over the hard square of his jaw, shadowing the softer curve of his full lips which were tightly pressed together. The light featured the straight line of his nose and the top of his forehead that had been partially obscured by the tangle of rain-darkened bronze hair. His body was leaned against the nearest tree diagonal towards me. He continued to stare at me while I only looked upon him through my peripheral vision.
"What the hell are you doing here," I scolded. He fixed his posture against the tree as he began to straighten himself to walk towards me. "No," I warned him through the raspiness of my mangled throat with my hand-held forwards. The staleness of his breath had been present as the damp air had carried it towards me. I looked away from him, staring down at the ground as I hissed silently at it. Why was he here, and where were the wolves?
Caute procedere, Isabella, the subconscious monster spoke. I had been able to decipher some of its past Latin language, but the word this time that I had been able to decipher as familiar had been 'procedere,' meaning 'proceed.'
"Bella," he spoke, glancing his eyes against the green foliage that was illuminated by the moonlight. "I thought it would be needed for me to take you home tonight." He awkwardly raised his hands up in the air in surrender, taking small steps forward towards me with caution.
"Stay the hell back, Edward!" I hissed, taking longer backwards strides away from him. I coughed lightly, almost gagging at the burn that was erupting in my throat as the energy flowed through his lips when he spoke and scorched through the pulsing epithelial tissue lining my throat. His energy had hit me like a battering ram— like a grenade that had rolled over towards me, exploding in my path. I turned away from him, balling my fists as I tried to find any other scent to mask the dazing decadent honey that had been tailing for attention, but it was no use as my stomach twisted with the hunger and my muscles coiled to spring.
The monster that was always within me the entire time through my façade could no longer be tamed. The rage that had set fire in my throat could no longer be ignored. Edward was speaking more words through his lips, though I could not hear through the subconscious monster's tapping fingers against my eardrums— wanting to point me towards the direction of him as it had now become excited for his presence as we were all alone out here in the dark, out of view of others. It seemed he had been eager for this, now ignoring the aspect that Edward had been a vampire, or it was confident. It would not go ignored.
"Screw it," I exhaled through my gritted teeth, dropping the folder in my arms. "I'm starving." I spun my neck towards him, feeling the air turn cold over my skin as I took long strides towards him in a movement that could not have been noticeable to the human eye.
"Bella," Edward choked, clenching his eyes as my hand was clasped against his throat, embedding my fingers into his cold stone-like skin. I could feel the small tingle of electricity flowing between us, but I smiled pleasurably at him for I was ahead, but his hands had reached up to mine, successfully tugging at my fingers to pry them away, forcing me to drop my arm against the side of my body. I glanced up at him, looking for any sign of hesitation from him and had quickly used my other arm to place my hand over his pressure point.
Edward growled at me as he had then had my wrist tightened in his hand. I had used whatever milliseconds I had left and dug my index finger into it, but his body hadn't become rendered by my touch. I gasped when I felt his chilled arms wrap around me, holding my arms down against my sides as he held me, caging my back against his stiff body in quick movements. "Bella, stop!" he yelled out near my ear.
Realizing he was no easy prey, I pressed the back of my skull against his chest, feeling my lungs heaving with adrenaline and my mind trying to strategize the next move. He was quicker than I and much stronger, too. I was at a disadvantage to him since I did not pose the same strength and prowess. I knew that words alone wouldn't work on him to render him against my will. It had worked on Jared, but not Sam, and I was sure that Edward wouldn't fall willingly to my command. With whatever I could muster quickly in my mind to find a way out of his tight hold, I bent my knee, forcing my body weight forward and causing him to tumble over me and land against the ground. He grunted as the air had been forced from his lungs.
Dizziness overwhelmed me as I had felt almost intoxicated by the energy flow. My tongue glided over my top lip as I quickly recovered and leaned forward to press my hand against his chest, holding him down.
"I told you to stay the hell back," I scowled. "You didn't listen." He looked up at me with his distinctive golden eyes that showed fear and surprise, but before I could make direct eye contact with him— to force him to submit—he had quickly clasped his hardened hand over the lids of mine, shielding me from being able to look upon his own. "Agh!"
I hadn't noticed, or even felt the change in our movements until I could no longer feel the asphalt of the road against my kneecaps. We were both soaring through the air across the road as his arms had been wrapped around my torso. With a thud, my body had landed onto the moist and dampened foliage of the muddied grass as trees had been cascaded around us. I looked around at my surroundings, seeing that Edward had launched us both deeper into the woods, and his form had been hovering over me, holding me down.
"Calm down, Bella! I'm not here to hurt you!" He shouted at me with his hands placed against my shoulders, but I had ignored him and carried my knee up to the lower half of his body, making contact. Crack, his body had been knocked forward off me, succeeding me free. Before I could make my escape and overcome him again to capture my meal, he had already flung his body onto me from behind, causing us to roll farther into the foliage as his body had then crashed against the tree next to us. He had me down on my back again with one of his hands against my shoulder and the other placed against my eyes, holding the back of my skull down against the ground.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" I shrieked at him through breathless pants, trying to move my face away to remove his hand from my eyes.
"I've seen what happens to those you make eye contact with," he said softly in a calming tone. "Please, Bella. Calm down and let me help you!" The pressure he exerted had felt light as he seemed to not be trying to inflict any harm or damage to me, but I didn't care to offer him the same kindness. With a growl I rushed my fingers in between the follicles of his hair, trying to pull onto it to cause him pain. I used my strength to keep my hold and pulled his head down against the ground next to me, repeatedly slamming his perfected structures against the hardened rocky surface that had been slightly lifted past the softened ground.
He was not weakened by the act, which had me question his stamina. It didn't matter anymore. I tried to crane my neck up against his hold, which had been slightly working as I now commenced to push his face downwards towards me, but his head wouldn't budge any closer as he continued to growl through his clenched teeth. I was annoyed now. I pulled my hand back again, still grasping it near the root of his hair, and yanked it backwards behind him.
He yelped, letting go the hand that he had placed against my eyes, and yanked my fingers out of his hair. In a quick motion that I hadn't anticipated, he already had his knees placed against my thighs to keep me from jerking them around. Both of his hands had been grasped around my wrists that he held pinned above me against the damp Earth. His eyes were shut, and his face was tilted the other way.
Blue sky. Hands. Boy. Background laughter. Cellphones. Grocery cart. Keys. Bruises. Rag. More hands.
A loud gasp from Edward and a drawn-out whimpering sound that had begun to escape my throat as a flood of unwelcomed flashbacks had pooled my eyesight. I continued to thrash my hips around, trying to free myself. I could feel my eyes burning through tears, knowing that they were no longer earthly looking. I could see the bright amethyst glow of mine as they reflected off Edward's marbled cheek. I screamed out a cry.
Hands. Screaming. Principal office. Malicious grin. Embarrassment. Laughter. Hands. Shame.
"Bella," Edward sounded choked as he spoke through his gasp, loosening his grip on my wrists until his hands were placed on the side of his body. His face had looked petrified through the swarm of tears that glossed over my eyes. "Bella, what were those images?"
I paused, sucking in another gutted breath of air through my lungs. Had he heard my mind? Surely not, he told me that my mind was silent to him; unreadable. The glow of my eyes faded away from his marbled cheek, knowing that they were now back to normal. I could feel the tears sliding down my cheeks into my hair as my vision started to clear past them, but soon I felt strong arms pull me up into a sitting position as one of them had wrapped around my body, pressing me into his chest. His other hand had been placed on the back of my head and it held my cheek against the crook of his neck.
"What happened to you?" He whispered into my hair, holding his arm tightly around me.
I wanted to fight against him as I felt the potential threat of his tight grip around my side, but the chill of his skin against my cheek and the electricity that trickled between our compressed chests had quickly brushed a wave of relaxation over me. I closed my eyes, trying to fight back the hum that had vibrated in my chest as he whispered words that I wasn't able to decipher against the top of my hair. His cool skin had felt like a breath of cool air: relaxing, nice like the feeling of flipping your pillow around to obtain the cold side of it. The trills of electricity that had shocked against my cheekbone only held me closer to him, attaching me more to his skin as he comforted me with his fingers sliding up and down the side of my hip.
I had almost forgotten why we were in this position as our close contact had distracted me from it. I exhaled a row of unsteady breaths as the riddles of the past sobs had still been trying to wash through me. I felt Edward's face shift from his past undecipherable words, hearing the air whistle into his nostrils as he inhaled a slow and full breath into his lungs. Was he breathing in my scent? I knew it had bothered him before, but now our bodies were completely compressed together as if neither of us had been bothered by the close proximity of each other. The energy that radiated from his lips still caused the burn to reignite in my throat, but the effect of it had decreased almost twenty percent than it had been before. Was I forming a bond with him? Of course not, he wanted to kill me, and I wanted to kill him. Him and his family had ignored me for weeks, including him acting as if the chair next to him in biology class was empty. But I couldn't deny the slight lessening of the ache that had continued to sizzle across my tonsils.
But then his lips had pressed against the top of my hair, almost softly like it was meant for me to not notice, but I had. I lifted my head up from the crook of his neck, eliminating the energy that was tingling across my cheek.
I looked up at him, not paying mind to the issue of what I had just done as our eyes now made contact with each other. The golden irises of his had locked with the amethyst ones of my own. His eyes had widened while the golden hue had started to darken quickly into deep onyx. I gasped, pushing myself out of his arms, but his widened eyes had never left my face as he followed forwards to me. I backed away slowly, but he mirrored my movements.
"Edward…" I spoke softly, trying to break through to him. I continued my footing, pacing backwards away from him.
"Bella…" he spoke as he stretched out the syllables of my name, rolling the 'll's off his tongue in the most sensual tone. He reached his arm out to me, but I flinched away from it.
The mistake I had been trying to prevent had happened without my purpose to do so. I initially had tried to use this action, to render him helpless to me so that I could force myself on him enough to hopefully take my own meal tonight, but now I was almost rendered speechless. Getting away from him would be a difficult task if he had forced himself to pursue me. Whenever this happened in Phoenix in the past, it was easy to outrun a human, but from what I had witnessed before, vampires were much faster than I was. I had a chance to get away if I hid my scent from him, but he seemed more agile than I. He knew of my gift and now would most likely be able to follow my sporadic movements if I had jumped into a tree the same way I would do to get away from the wolves.
I kept backing away from him until my shoulder blades landed against the trunk of a tree. I could feel the tears now pooling in the corners of my eyes. I never had felt completely afraid of Edward before, knowing the risk that he had been to me with his strength and speed, but there was something about Edward that I held me from being afraid, not until now. I knew that I was more than terrified of him.
"Edward," I said, mustering up enough courage to force the words to him. "Edward, walk away from me," I ordered. His body only grew slightly rigid as the muscles in his neck coiled, but it seemed he had quickly shrugged off what had come over him and continued coming forward towards me. He had gotten close enough to where his hands were placed on either side of me against the tree. Chills had spiraled down through the vertebrae of my spine as I tilted my chin up, looking away from him. I held my breath, trying to keep the sobs contained.
The chill of his nose had begun to glide across my shoulder, dipping into the crevice of my clavicle and slowly making its way up the side of his neck as he continued to inhale my scent. I could hear a grumble vibrate in his chest as he seemed pleased with the way I had smell as he was so close. I could feel as he slowly rolled the tip of his nose back and forth up my neck, slowly, only gliding it towards the back of my ear as he removed one of his hands to gently push a strand of my hair away from it. He continued to inhale deeply this time where the humming in his throat continued to follow suit. His thumb brushed against it, rubbing circles repeatedly over the carotid artery, and I could almost feel his teeth ever so lightly graze across.
He was no longer Edward. His neck snapped away from me as I heard growls rasp through his gritted teeth.
"Bella," he snarled as his body had become rigid, in what seemed to be pain. His hand still placed against my pulsing artery, not moving from it. "Go."
"Wh-what?" I asked, shakenly. Was he allowing me my access to freedom as he was fighting with his own self?
His fist had moved from me, and instead collided into the trunk of the tree next to my shoulder, causing it to crack and shake where his fist had impacted it. "I said, GO!" he howled at me.
I bent down, slipping underneath his arm as he groaned and had seemed to be in a battle with himself. I didn't look back at him to see if he was following me or not. I completely lifted the scent off my body and from the trail that was following behind me, racing home through the trees as I swung from their branches to the next. I needed to create as much of a diversion in case he had decided to follow me. It was still possible he could find me if he had been silently following behind, but I didn't dare to check, I only continued further.
As I made it home, seeing the light on the porch flicker, I slammed the door behind me, causing the front room to rattle. Charlie had called from the living room couch asking if I was okay and assured him that I was. Running into Charlie after the events that had displayed had not left me enough time to decipher through the details myself. I knew I had to answer to my father now.
"You're wearing scrubs?" He asked. I had almost forgotten my attire and my entire afternoon to evening shift after the events that had transpired between Edward and I. It had also reminded me that I no longer was carrying the folder of papers that I needed to give Charlie to sign that acknowledged parent permission to allow their underage daughter to work as a receptionist. I would need to ask Mr. Taylor for a new copy later.
"Oh, yeah," I huffed out a breathy exhale. "I got a job at the nursing home."
"Nursing home?" Charlie raised his eyebrow with question.
"Yeah, I needed a job, and they were hiring," I explained. "I forgot the paperwork on the desk, but I'll bring it to you tomorrow for you to sign." I looked down at his hands, seeing that he had a half-eaten slice folded in his palm. I frowned, realizing that I took a job that would cause issues with making sure Charlie had dinner each night. I needed to plan out making food ahead of time so that I could wrap it up and place it in the fridge for him to reheat later.
Charlie nodded, biting into the slice of pizza. "Well, Jacob stopped by earlier," he said, peeking up at me. "I told him that I would remind you to call him whenever you get back. He left you something upstairs in your room."
"Thanks," I nodded at him with a fatigued smile, turning around to head up the stairs to my room. I was too exhausted to decide to call him back tonight, besides, it was already late, and he possibly would be going to bed right around this time. When I opened my door, I noticed there were a few small items laid on my bed. I raised my eyebrow in confusion as I walked over towards them, noticing a box of Brach's conversation hearts, a bag of strawberry Twizzlers, and a small cardboard white box. I smiled at the contents, and lifted the small cardboard box in my hand, pulling apart the cardboard notches that held it together. I turned it over, dropping the content inside of it into the palm of my hand.
To my own surprise, it was a small glass vial that held contents of sand and small shells that rattled around inside of it as I inspected it, turning it over frequently to watch the sand move against the glass. There was a cork that closed the top to hold the contents inside with a short keychain attached to it.
I looked down at the bed again, noticing there was an envelope that I notedly looked over when seeing the box instead. I smiled at the vile of sand and shells and leaned down to grab the envelope that held a card inside. I pulled it out, and almost exhaled a loud laughter at the unfathomable card he had picked out that was covered in glitter and personified hearts with googly eyes on them. I opened the card, seeing a handwritten note on the inside.
Happy Valentine's Day, Bells. Now we both have keychains. La Push misses you ~ Jacob.
I lifted my hand up to my mouth, softly tracing my lips at my own gasp. Considering the note that he had left, the sand and shells must have been from La Push beach. I softly chuckled, re-reading the note again and did my best to hold back the drainage that was forming in my sinuses, causing me to sniffle. Jacob had gone out of his way to do this for me. I didn't understand what I had done to deserve his kindness and friendship, but I was glad for whatever the reason was. Jacob was my friend. I would never hurt him…
But Edward might hurt me, and that unrequested and involuntary feeling was mutual.
A/N
So. I was going to actually add more to this chapter, but I advised against myself and decided to save that stuff for the next chapter instead since this one had already hit 11,600 words. I wanted to add more realizations, but so far... Edward read Bella's mind. Any theories why that happened? I already know, but I would like to read your thoughts on it! I get out of school May 14th, so expect updates to be more frequent after that. Thank you, guys, for being patient… and I hope to read from you soon! Until next time!(: