As the sun rose, blinding and bright, on Monday morning, I tried my best to control my anger and irritation. In an attempt to soothe myself, I sent Bella a quick text message to inform her that while I will not be able to attend school with her, that I would be thinking of her regardless. As I awaited her reply, my best efforts to manage my emotional state were not enough for my bad mood to escape Jasper's notice.
"It's one day, Edward. I am sure you will both survive." Jasper muttered from the room he shared with Alice.
"Oh, be nice." Alice quietly admonished her husband.
I frowned at them, even though neither of them could see me, and looked down at the cell phone in my hands as I waited for Bella's reply. "He does have a point though, Edward." Alice remarked, "There's no use sitting around the house moping all day. You should come hunting with me, it will do you some good."
"Alright." I grumbled my reply sullenly.
Eventually, my phone dinged, alerting me of Bella's message.
Hey. I did sleep well. Unfortunately without your company I fear I will find school to be simply unbearable.
I frowned at the message as my fingers hesitated over the keys, unsure of what to say in reply. Knowing Bella, and her dry sense of humour, it was very likely that she was being facetious, however if our roles were reversed I would indeed find the school day unbearable without Bella's company. I quickly fingered my reply.
I am unable to tell through text whether you are being sarcastic or not. -E
I didn't have to wait long for Bella's reply.
Sarcastic. Very much so. Although I will miss you. What are your plans for the day?
I didn't hesitate in texting back.
Hunting with Alice. - E
A few moments went by with no reply from Bella, so I took the opportunity to hastily change into some clothes suitable for hunting.
Is it appropriate to say good luck?
I chuckled at the message, and I rushed my way through the rest of my pre-hunt routine before I typed out my reply.
It is not inappropriate to wish me luck- E
There wasn't much of a wait before Bella's next message came through.
Well, good luck then. I'm at school now so I'll be putting my phone on silent. See you again when the weather gets better… or worse?
I shook my head mirthfully at Bella's message before I tucked my phone securely away in my pocket.
"Finish texting with your beau?" Alice teased lightly as she danced into my room.
"Yes." I replied with a grin. I wasn't upset by Alice's lighthearted jest, in fact the innocent quip filled me with a glowing warmth, a radiant sense of pride – Bella was indeed my beau, and no amount of teasing from my siblings was going to make me ashamed of that fact.
Alice and I didn't waste time with any more words before we dashed out of the house like a pair of wild horses.
In spite of the good weather, prey was scarce to come by. I was certain that the animals of the Olympic Peninsula were being deliberately difficult, thoroughly intent on making my bad day worse. I had managed to wrangle a particularly mean spirited wolverine into submission, but it hardly made for a satisfying meal. Alice wasn't having much luck either, and so we made the decision to head further afield and up into the mountains in search for a better hunt. We were halfway up the mountain when Alice's vision came to her.
Alice skidded to a halt, mud and stone flew out around her as her bare feet dug into the earth in an attempt to stop her mad dash. I stopped as well and immediately went to my sister's side. Alice made no attempt to conceal the fragmented vision from me, and for that I was grateful.
I was confused by the images I was seeing, at first all I could see was a bright burst of white light that was blurred as it swirled around in Alice's mind's-eye. Slowly, the tempest of light slowed and a more precise image came forward. A splatter of dark, fresh blood on stained white tiles. The image started to become clearer, focusing on the blood as it pooled and filled the grout between the tiles, creating tiny rivers of crimson. There was a brief flash of intense pain, but it dulled quickly, and then the image of the blood covered tiles changed to an unstable, swirling image of Bella's face, blood dripping from her chin and splattering onto the tiles.
The vision ended abruptly, but I was already moving. I sprinted away from Alice and began a hasty decent down the mountain. Alice was hot on my heels. "You go to the school, I'll check her house." She called out to me before shifting directions to get a more direct approach to the Swan house. I did the same, angling myself towards the high school. I had no idea what the vision meant, and I didn't want to find out. I could only hope to find Bella before Alice's prophesy became reality. There seemed to be so much blood, splattered everywhere and collecting in pools, and Bella… was it her blood? Or had she attacked someone? The way the blood dripped heavily off her chin was reminiscent of her full moon hunt, would she attack someone? Could she? Oh, I knew she was perfectly capable of it, what with the way she had dealt with those vermin in Port Angeles, but this was different. Who at Forks High would pose such a threat to Bella as to warrant such a violent response.
The other, much more horrifying possibility was that the blood was Bella's. Just the thought of it made me push myself faster. If it was Bella's blood, that meant someone had hurt her, and I would not – could not – stand for that.
Finally the school building came into view, and I immediately knew Bella was inside. It was approaching the end of the school day, and I knew her final class was gym. I rushed into the school and followed Bella's scent to the girl's locker-room, barely pausing to make sure Bella was the only occupant.
It was the scent that hit me first.
Sweeter than freshly picked strawberries in summer, and yet as warm and savoury as newly baked bread, the smell of Bella's blood filled my senses and consumed my every thought. Recent and raw, the unsullied scent of Bella's newly spilled blood caused my throat to burst into flames and venom to viciously pool in my mouth. I had to stop, feet frozen on the stained tile floor, unable to move towards my love, lest I do something I would forever regret. Slowly, the scent dulled, turned sour as it dried and began to congeal, and when I was certain that I was once again in full control of all my faculties, I walked further into the room.
Bella was standing in front of one of the dingy sinks, her hands hid her face from view as she groaned mournfully. I could see a few drops of ruby red blood drying on the tiles, they created a delicious trail that led towards the door to the gym. I pulled my eyes away from them and turned my attention to Bella.
I slowly drifted closer to her, I purposefully ignored the scattering of thin tissue stained red and pink with blood, and the terrible, terrible thoughts and desires they invoked in me. "Do you need a hand?" I asked kindly.
Bella jolted violently as she yelped in surprise, she spun around with a palm pressed securely against her chest. "Don't do that!" Bella snapped as she reached out and roughly shoved me back, "You scared the crap outta me!"
Bemused at her overreaction to my sudden appearance, I couldn't help but smirk. However, all humour drained out me the moment my eyes narrowed in on Bella's misshapen nose, there was a large bulge in the cartilage, and the end was squished and pointed slightly to the side. I gently cupped either side of her face in my hands to hold her still while I surveyed the damage. "What happened?" I murmured worryingly.
"Dodge-ball." Bella answered dismissively as she batted my hands away. "What are you even doing here?" Bella hissed accusingly, her eyes darted around to make sure no one had seen my sudden appearance in the girls locker-room.
"Alice had a vision, I was worried so I came to check on you." I answered softly, I didn't want to upset her any more than I already had by just showing up. I forced my hands to stay by my sides, even though they ached to return to Bella's face and continue my appraisal of the damage.
Bella turned her back to me and began to look over her injured nose, scowling sourly at it as if it had personally offended her. "A vision? What did she see?" Bella's eyes met mine through the reflection in the mirror.
"She has trouble seeing you. It's like you're… blurry to her." I frowned at the memory of the mismatched images that had brought me here. "The visions she has of you are all fragmented, just bits and pieces without any context. She saw you getting hurt, and she saw blood." I was unable to stop myself, the urge to hold Bella was overwhelming. I shuffled up behind her and curled my arms around her slender waist as I buried my nose in the crook of her neck. As I inhaled, I did my best to ignore how her scent, still so fresh with her recently spilled blood, made my thirst ignite anew. "It scared me. I had to know if you were alright." I admitted weakly.
With my body pressed intimately against Bella's I could feel her every movement, every breath, every heartbeat, and I felt the way she melted at my touch as she leaned against me. "Yeah, I'm okay." Bella assured me with a tired sigh. "Well other than the fact that my nose healed all wrong." She continued, the words coming out bitter as she glared at her own reflection.
As much as I would have loved to keep my nose pressed against Bella's jugular, to keep her thin yet muscular frame crushed against mine so I could forever indulge in the blistering heat that radiated from her body, I knew that I could not. I moved at a glacial pace as I withdrew my arms from around Bella's torso. I took a small step back so Bella could move about freely, but this small concession was already too much. The loss of her body against mine overwhelmed me, it wreaked havoc on my mind and body, I could feel my more monstrous impulses rear up in rebellion against my actions. I found it difficult to ignore them. I was so thirsty, I had waited too long to hunt, and now I had become interrupted by Bella's emergency. As my thirst increased, I could feel it chipping away at the small pieces of my humanity that I held so dear, it took every ounce of my self control to wrestle the beast back into it's cage. I could feel it in there, in my throat, in my chest, in my head. The monster inside of me resisted every humane part of me, it threatened to destroy everything in it's wake, just so it could hold Bella's flaming frame once more. It was growling dark promises filled with death, and blood, and unholy devastation if I did not give in to it, and put my hands on Bella's body.
"I can fix that for you." The words left my mouth before I had even thought of them. For a moment I was concerned, wondering what part of me had made the suggestion. Before I could spiral into a whirlwind decent of self-doubt and anxiety, Bella turned and raised a single dubious eyebrow in my direction. I was suddenly struck with the desire to prove myself, and the vampiric beast preened at the suggestion, apparently if I could not hold her and touch her, impressing Bella with my abilities as a healer would also satisfy my more monstrous instincts. "I can!" I proclaimed. "I have been to medical school, you know." I added smugly.
"Really?" Bella eyed me warily.
"Yes, twice actually." I retorted proudly. "Are you going to let me help?" I asked with a small smile.
"I don't think I have much choice." Bella sighed in resignation.
Bella closed the small distance between us, and I immediately placed my hands on either side of her face. My mind was working overtime, rapidly going over every piece of information I had ever consumed about the human nose. Diagrams of cartilage from medical journals, filled with lines and numbers swam in the forefront of my mind. While I was confident that I could do this, I was also conscious of the fact I had never actually practised medicine before. "Alright. On three. One… two.-" I quickly snapped the cartilage in Bella's nose, the sickening noise reverberated in my mind and made me cringe. I hurried to rearrange Bella's nose into position before she could heal. In my desire to help, I didn't fully think this plan through, and as I manipulated Bella's nose, a heavy flow of thick, viscous blood came gushing out of Bella's nose. I could feel the warm liquid drip onto my hands, and a split second later I felt the agonising wildfire erupt in my throat.
"Ow fuck!" Bella howled as she roughly shoved me away, the tips of her fingers barely brushed against the material of my shirt before I threw myself across the room. At the sight of fresh blood, so sweet smelling, so deliciously warm, it took all of my will power to ignore the urge to step forward and lick the blood off her face before it could fall to the ground to become sullied by the dirt. I launched myself across the room, and only stopped once I felt the press of hard tile against my back.
"What the hell happened to three!?" Bella demanded, and as she spoke my eyes zeroed in on her plump lips. The fresh blood was dripping onto the cupid's bow of her lips, and as she berated me, it trickled into her mouth. The desire to kiss her burned through me, it scorched a path through my very soul leaving the remains charred and blackened in it's wake. Any part of me that was still good, or righteous, was incinerated by the ravenous hunger that was slowly consuming me. It would have been so easy, so simple, to press my lips against hers. Bella would have been surprised by my actions, but she would receive me well and readily return my affections. My tongue would slide into her mouth, and I would finally be gifted a taste of that most tantalising ambrosia. No one would know. And it wasn't like Bella could actually stop me, even if she wanted to…
No!
I could not betray Bella like that.
"I am sorry." I replied, my voice strained with the weight of my thirst. I wasn't sure what I was sorry for – my actions, or my thoughts.
Bella turned around and her innocent brown eyes widened at the sight of me. I had no doubt what I looked like in that moment – a ravenous vampire. "You should go hunt." She whispered.
I couldn't risk opening my mouth again to reply, and gave her a curt nod in reply before escaping the locker room in a blur of speed. I ran from the school and continued into the forest, running as fast as I could so I could escape the pulsating scent of Bella's blood. It was futile, the memory of the fresh crimson, dripping down her delicate face plagued my mind and my senses.
It was then I realised my hands were still coated in the now sticky substance.
A wretched howl erupted out of my throat as I warred with the urge to lick and suck the blood of my fingers. I ran towards the sound of running water, completely mindless in my quest to rid myself of the one thing I wanted but could not indulge in. The fire in my throat raged, uncontrollable and damn near unbearable. The thirst I had felt during Bella's transformation was nought but an ember in comparison to this inferno. I had never regretted putting off a hunt more than I did in that moment. Barbaric growls rumbled in my chest and echoed in the empty forest around me as I mentally berated myself. I knew better than this. I knew that the worse the thirst became, the less human I would become, that as the thirst grew so did my capacity for vampiric violence.
A small river came into view, and I staggered like a drunkard into the water. I plunged my hands into the icy waters and frantically scrubbed at my iron skin. The clear water turned pink, tinted by Bella's blood and the monster inside of me roared in protest, at the loss. I kept scrubbing until the water cleared, but it wasn't enough. The memory was too fresh. I waded to the river bank and clawed at the mud, I smeared it across my flesh, forced it under my short fingernails, anything to rid myself of the reminder of Bella's frustratingly provocative blood.
"Edward?" I barely registered my sister's concerned voice, and could only answer her in a pained whine. "You need to hunt." She murmured, and a moment later, - or was it hours later? - Alice shoved a large, unconscious mountain lion into my muddy hands.
The pulsating heart of the defenceless creature was stilled a moment later. I savagely bit into the muscular neck of the large cat and moaned as its warm blood flooded into my mouth and quenched the fire in my throat. When all I was left with was an empty husk, I dropped the dead animal into the river.
Clarity returned to my mind and I blinked up at Alice who was staring at me with concerned amusement. "Better?" She smiled sadly at me.
"Yes, thank you." I replied timidly. It was then that I realised that night had fallen, and I wasn't entirely sure when that had happened. "I… I need to go check on Bella." I murmured dazedly as I crawled my way out of the river.
Alice stopped me with a firm hand on my arm. "Hold up. You need to hunt some more, and then you need to shower." She ordered.
"Alice." I complained.
"Hunt." Alice glared at me as she pointed towards the thicket of trees.
I huffed out a petulant sigh and dashed off into the woods. I wasn't picky in my haste to satisfy my thirst. I devoured a few raccoon's, a rabbit, a couple of squirrels and one particularly fat marmot. As I tossed the final rodent away from me I looked over to my sister who had observed my harried feast with watchful eyes. She pursed her lips for a moment before nodding once, I took off towards home before she could change her mind and demand that I hunt further.
I could hear her scornful thoughts yell out to me. Remember to shower before you go to see Bella! You look like a swamp monster!
I sprinted home, forgoing the front door I jumped up through my open window. I rushed into the bathroom with a blur of speed and hurried through a shower. As I scrubbed away the layers of caked on mud, a wave of embarrassment coursed through me. How could have I been so weak? So enraptured by Bella's blood that I had covered myself in dirt in an attempt to cleanse myself of the scent? It was despicable.
Whoa, there brother. That is some serious self-loathing, you alright? Jasper's thoughts broke through as he thought pointedly in my direction.
"Fine." I grumbled as I continued to scrub at my skin.
Liar.
"I lost it. Went feral." I muttered bitterly as I watched the brown water swirl down the drain.
Did you hurt anyone? Jasper's thoughts were kind, completely free of judgement.
"No!" I growled.
Then what's got you all torn up inside?
"It was Bella. I was… I was just so thirsty, and she was bleeding… and just… FUCK!" I roared as my fist slammed into the wall of the shower, shattering the tile and creating a hole in the wall.
"Watch your profanity." Emmett chimed in childishly from somewhere in the house.
"Not now, Em" Jasper warned in a stern voice.
I rinsed off any remaining soap from my body as Jasper's thoughts drifted up to me.
Did she see?
"No." I groaned as I turned off the water and trudged back to my room to get dressed. "It's just the fact it happened at all." I muttered as I pulled out a set of clean clothes from my closet.
You are always too hard on yourself, brother. Jasper admonished me lovingly. No one was hurt, Bella didn't see anything… besides even if she had, how certain are you that she would have been upset anyhow?
I had to admit, Jasper did have a point. As disgraceful my display earlier in the day was, I couldn't say with any certainty that Bella would have been disturbed by it. Bella seemed able to embrace my less than human side with a level of acceptance that she could not reserve for her own more monstrous displays. Before I could put a voice to the reluctant acceptance I was feeling, Jasper's smug thoughts brushed against my mind.
See? Nothing to worry about.
I rolled my eyes, even though Jasper couldn't see me. Once I was dressed, I checked my hair in the mirror before launching myself out the window. I ran to Bella's house, knowing that it was late and she was probably sleeping, but still hoping that she wasn't so I could speak with her and make sure she was alright.
When I arrived at the Swan house, everything was quiet, not a single light was on in the house. A sharp stab of sadness pierced my chest at the realisation that Bella was indeed asleep.
And then I spotted her open window.
I was moving up the tree outside her window, and before I even realised it I was ducking through the small window. I didn't have time to regret my actions as I eyed Bella in her bed. She looked like an angel, all tucked up in her blankets. A veritable mountain of blankets and pillows surrounded Bella, with only her head peaking out the top of her cosy cocoon. I smiled adoringly as Bella shifted in her sleep, she murmured something incomprehensible as she nuzzled down into her nest.
Bella talked in her sleep.
What a delightful development.
"Don't." Bella whimpered, but it wasn't a distressed noise, it was more … pleading. I shifted slightly in an attempt to get a better look at her. A few more minutes passed before Bella began to move again. She churned restlessly, and began to kick down the mound of blankets in agitation. "Please, stay." Bella grumbled in a sleepy slur. "Edward." My name left Bella's lips in a dreamy sigh.
I sucked in a shocked breath, caught completely off guard by Bella saying my name in her sleep. I immediately regretted the action when I noticed Bella's demeanour change, her heartbeat sped up slightly as she woke up, her body stilled slightly before a sleepy groan sounded out in the room. I didn't know what to do. Should I stay? Should I try and make a break for it?
The decision was made for me as Bella slowly sat up in her bed. Bella's sleepy movements as she rubbed at her eyes were simply adorable, and took my breath away. Bella blinked into the darkness of the room, and for a split second I thought I was going to get away with this.
And then Bella's eyes zeroed in on me.
In a flurry of movement, Bella jolted out of bed and landed gracefully on the floor without a single sound. I watched as she paused for a moment, and she cocked her head slightly in an entirely wolfish way, apparently satisfied with whatever she heard she advanced towards me. Without warning, I had a face full of angry werewolf.
"What. Are. You. Doing. Lurking. In. My. Room!?" Bella hissed angrily, punctuating each word with an aggressive shove, each more forceful than the last.
I grabbed Bella's wrists gingerly, trying to halt the bombardment without injuring her. "I needed to see you," I whispered, not willing to admit just how badly I needed to see her.
I could see the anger visibly melt from Bella's expression. "How'd you even get in here?" She sighed tiredly.
"The window." I smirked.
"Okay." Bella mumbled, her voice thick with sleep despite her earlier rampage. "While I am happy to see you. You can't just break into my room whenever you feel like it!" Bella whispered harshly. "My dad is right next door. You know, the super old very powerful werewolf, who also happens to be the chief of police?" She hissed sarcastically.
"He'll never know I was here." I soothed her as I pulled her into a comforting hug. Who I was comforting is still a mystery.
"He'll smell you." Bella mumbled against my chest.
I ducked my head down near Bella's ear to take a deep, comforting breath of her scent. I was overjoyed by the lack of thirst I felt as Bella's scent filled my senses. Not a single flicker of a flame. Just a heavenly sense of contentment and calm. "I've been visiting you enough that my scent would be in your house anyway. It's fine, Bella. It's our little secret." I whispered against the shell of her ear.
"Well, next time you wanna sneak into my room, maybe ask first? Yeah?" Bella mumbled as she slowly pulled away and padded back to her bed. She began to pull down the sheet and blankets and rearrange everything to her liking.
"Of course, Bella." I replied easily as I watched her work. "I didn't mean to invade your privacy-" My words caught in my throat as I spotted a familiar piece of cloth twisted up with the rest of Bella's bedding. I smirked as I sauntered over to the bed and plucked my t-shirt out of Bella's bed. "Are you cuddling with my clothes, Bella?" I asked teasingly as I held the shirt aloft.
"No!" Bella replied crankily. She tried to swipe it from my out stretched hand but I swiftly moved it out of her reach. Bella pouted up at me. "Okay fine. I was! Happy?" She groused and took another swipe at the shirt, this time I made no attempt to keep it from her grasp. Bella's confession caused a brilliant warmth to spread through my entire being. Happy didn't even begin to describe it.
"Oh Bella, you have no idea." I murmured passionately. I curled my hand around the back of her neck and coaxed her closer. I slowly pressed my lips against Bella's, and after a startled gasp, she kissed me back hungrily. The beast inside of me that had been sleeping, was suddenly awake and raving. As much as I didn't want to leave, I also didn't want to risk Bella's safety. Decision made, I left Bella's room in a blur of movement, fully intent on hunting until dawn.
I heard Bella's shocked gasp before I heard her grumble, "Stupid handsome vampire, being all sneaky and fast and shit." And as I heard her angrily shut her bedroom window, I couldn't help but laugh joyfully.