Author's Note: Hi everyone! I'm so sorry for my late update! Some unexpected family things happened which meant I didn't have time to write but I'm all back and so excited to continue this adventure! I hope you like this chapter and are looking forward to all the things I have planned! I really hope this chapter isn't too disappointing! I was so afraid to post it, but I promise the coming ones will be better!Thank you to all the beautiful stars that have reviewed, followed and favorited! You have truly made my day and year so far! As usual I'll leave review responses at the bottom! I can't wait to hear what you think! Happy reading!
As the stars shone and flickered and faded into that light blue mist…we became hypnotized by the other as we spoke and danced and kissed…kiss…I had never been kissed since this evening, never felt another's heart swallow my own and caress my quivering soul. He was so gentle, so fragile as we lay against the cool grass and shed our deepest secrets, wishes and dreams. For in that evening, it was just us…just two souls, sewing that silky thread that would bind our hearts forever.
Yet when the sun broke through those twisted branches, a sudden heaviness that was sour to taste filled me whole. I knew he wouldn't be coming to school today, that he had to return to his family but – that selfish part of me wished he could stay, wished and begged those silent God's that we could run away as two individuals without a past, present or future. But as he walked me to the edge of the forest, as our fingers grazed and our words and stories soared…I knew our future would be one of complications, one of….
My tiptoes brushed the edge of the forest, brushed the sunlight as I turned to face him with wide and sad eyes. But before I could speak, before my lips could part and my heart stutter…he smiled that crooked grin and brushed his lips against mine. I fell against him, drunk on the sweetness of love as his hands held me against him. My fingers scuttled across the crisp fabric of his shirt, pressing the material against his back as we eventually ended our kiss and held one another in a silent but desperate embrace. He had no heartbeat, no breath…but he didn't need to. I could feel his hands tremble against my back as his chin rested against my hair. I felt so protective in that moment, so ready to step in front of any danger and save him from whatever he may need saving from.
His fingers brushed my chin as he pulled away and raised my head up for our eyes to meet. Our sadness mirrored one another, but we did not let it taint this moment.
"You are the embodiment of every dream and forbidden wish I have ever had, ever wanted yet dare not speak aloud." He whispered, my lower lip trembling as I raised myself up on my tiptoes and he bent down to kiss me. His lips quivered against mine before he pulled a mere millimeter away – my breath warm as it floated and caressed his skin. "Go." He whispered, "Bella and Charlie will be waking up soon." I shook my head, turning around to gaze up at the awakening sky before looking back up at him.
"It's rising too fast," the words were soft and broken as they spilled out of me. For I didn't want to leave him, not when...not when I had only truly just found him, claimed him as he claimed me.
Raising a hand, he caressed my cheek, his skin rough against me as he held me like a delicate flower. "We'll see each other tonight, I promise you." He said gently, his texan twang lacing every word. I wasn't sure why, but I was afraid to leave him, afraid to go back into that mundane world. For everything had changed, and I knew then that my life could never go back to how it was, and I did not want it to. Because despite knowing the complications that will fill our future, despite our differences and challenges ahead...we were better for having one another. Because just as I would save him, he would save me.
And so when I turned to leave, to wonder back down that familiar street to my house and then school - I knew I was leaving some part of me with him, just as I had some part of him, nestled deep in my heart...where no one else could see or know.
Dressed in a white, just above the knee dress, a mint green raincoat, and brown ankle boots – I nimbly walked down the busy hall to my next class. With a cup of hot coco in my hand, I quietly apologized to anyone I touched as I weaved in between them whilst lightly blowing on my drink. Although the sun was dominating the sky, it's warmth had not yet spread through the air. It was the class before lunch, and I couldn't help but grin in excitement for the class that I was about to attend – Environmental Science.
With the sun a rare occurrence here, our teacher decided to take us out on a field-trip to test the pollution levels of different bodies of water. It was only when we reached our last stop that I took off my shoes and curled my toes around a rock that if I jumped off from…would allow me to fall into one of the most beautiful and enchanting pools of water my eyes had ever seen.
But before I could, before I could peek over my shoulder and give Otto and Josie a cheeky grin and jump off the rock…. something caught my eye…something that I knew had teased the corners of my nightmares. Bellow, in the tree's surrounding the lake…were two red eyes. I felt my blood go cold, felt my heart shiver as I felt those red eyes slither inside me. They were familiar, nostalgic in some haunting way and I…
"I'll…. I'll be right back." I quietly told my friends who were too lost in their own game of twig made jenga to hear me.
Taking my shoes off, I carefully climbed down the rocks. Slipping a few times, dirt and leaves clung to me but I did not care…and despite knowing I should be careful whilst going down the slippery rocks…I couldn't tear my eyes away from those two red ones that stared back at me. I needed to know…. needed to know if it was someone from my dream, someone from my parent's past but…as I landed softly on a cluster of leaves, as I approached those two shrouded eyes with absolute hypnotic caution…there was something too familiar about them….to fresh in my memory, too real.
I wetted my lips as I approached the hidden figure…a man, no – a boy…my age. His eyes glowed red, yet there was something about the way those eyes pinched upwards at the side that I…
"Fitz?" His name was softer than any whisper - broken and helpless for it couldn't be him...it couldn't be.
My hand outstretched, about to brush those leaves and twigs and branches back when suddenly, I heard Otto call my name.
"I'll be there in a minute!" I called back, my heart beating thunderously inside me as I walked towards the forest. My eyes were wide, my hands shivering as I walked towards those two red eyes that pulled me towards him. He had control of my heart, of my every breath and movement and just as I was about to pull the leaves away...a strange coolness slithered through me and coated my veins - as if warning me to run, to turn away and never return to this area. But whoever this person, this creature was...he had me - his puppet.
Yet when I blinked, when I pulled away the leaves...no one was there. Those eyes had disappeared, and all that was left were two footprints of where this creature had once stood. I swallowed deeply, embarking further into the forest as if that would lead me to him, but it didn't. All that was left was that cool breeze and those two footprints. Looking down at them, I crouched down - running my fingers over the dirt and grass and imprint of his feet. This creature had been barefoot, and by the size of his feet...they were similar to Fitz's. I allowed my eyes to mist over as my fingers traced the imprint in the earth, allow myself to slowly remember that one time when -
The sun was bright and raw as it ruled that heated sky. We had been walking all day, Fitz and I...sharing stories as he told me of the wonders of science and I told him of the arts. We were opposites in every way, and I loved him all the more for it. Taking his hand in mine as we walked down the street, I squeezed lightly as I made him twirl me.
"Do you suppose you could come to house tonight?" I asked him gleefully, taking his other hand in mine as I walked backwards and he forwards. "I heard that mama is going to make her famous ratatouille!" He smiled brightly down at me, releasing my hand to push his thick-rimmed glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose. He was dressed in a white shirt that was tucked neatly into his cream trousers.
"You really wouldn't mind?" He asked shyly, stopping as his shoulders slumped forward slightly. I smiled gently as his fragile and timid nature.
"Of course not, I wouldn't be inviting you if I didn't now wouldn't I?" I told him kindly. "Now, shall we -"
"Stop!" The sudden loudness in his voice caused my eyes too widen and my body to stiffen. He never spoke like that, only when he was in the science lab or discovering something. A timid smile pinched my lips.
"What is it?" I asked, looking around me yet not moving my feet. "What have you seen?"
"Don't move." He said excitedly, letting go off my hands and crouching down. His fingers brushed my bare legs. "Beautiful." He whispered in awe.
"Oh?" My breath hitched in my chest. "I've never heard you to be so forward before," I said with a cheeky smile, looking down at Fitz as his fingers continued to tickle my leg before he stood up with his hands before his face and his eyes wide with enchantment.
"No, look Willa. Isn't it beautiful?" I licked my lips with absolute hypnotism as in his hands he held the most exquisite insect I had ever seen.
"What," I swallowed back my fascination, 'What is it?" I asked with excitement, my fingers twitching at my sides as I wanted to reach out and touch it.
"It's a Phyllium giganteum." He said in awe, watching as the insect crawled over his hands. "Isn't it exquisite?" He breathed. "Did you know that that they only eat leaves of bramble, rose and oak but cannot eat undamaged or fresh new leaves?"
"No," I sighed with a smile, looking into his eyes as he beheld the creature as if it was the most rare and precious thing in the universe. "I did not know."
"They need a lot of vegetation and humidity to survive so why, why don't we just place him on this tree right here or -" I could see the thought that lingered in his brain.
"You want to take it home don't you?" I asked sweetly, brushing the back of the insect ever so delicately.
"Yes, well, no but...but wouldn't it be a wonderful insect to study?" His eyes finally flicked up to meet mine. "No, no...you're right. I should better leave it in it's true home." I shook my head with the smile, my long hair waving down my shoulders and over my chest.
"My darling I did not say anything." I told him, watching as he placed the insect on a leaf.
"I know, but you were thinking it weren't you? Or at least say you were before I pick him back up and take him home with me." His eyes were soft, the color of a melted blue petal...endless in it's depth and mystery.
"Come on, let's go home my darling." I said softly, brushing a stray strand of brown hair away from his eyes.
"You are too you know." He suddenly said once we had nearly approached my house. I paused, looked up at him with curious eyes. He gave me that shy smile of his that I had come to love more then any other sight in the world.
"What?" I asked softly, my fingers playing with the flowers that we had picked on our walk.
"Beautiful." The word caught me off guard, but I wasn't sure if it was became he had said it, or because of the tone he used. He was so shy, so timid and polite and cautious when it came to the opposite sex. Yet now, when he spoke...when he looked into me...there was no grain left of the boy I called my best friend. His back seemed straighter, his smile wider and his voice confident. I suddenly felt my heart beat in a different way, it's notes changing to something I had never heard nor felt before. Fitz was my best friend, my only true friend that I have ever had. Yet something changed once he had said that, something unspoken and I was happy to leave it that way - silent.
I swallowed deeply, smiling shyly as if I had stolen his timid nature. But before I could turn back towards my house, before we could go on and make dinner...I couldn't stop myself from saying. "You're perfect, perfect with that irresistible and cosmic mind and heart of yours." He had never stared at me so long before, never looked so surprised and enchanted at the same time before, not even during his science experiments. And I suppose...in that moment, neither had I. "Come on, mama will be waiting."
Flickering my eyes open, I looked back down at the footprints on the dirt that my fingers traced. I was afraid, not just of what that creature may be or who it was, but because some part of me felt like I had betrayed Fitz. Betrayed him by being happy, by giving my heart to someone else. I had never given my heart to Fitz, never kissed him or touched him with that romantic graze of fingertip against fingertip. But apart of me belonged to him, and I knew it always would. I felt a salty wetness prickle my eyes. I missed him, missed him so much that my heart ached and fell in my chest like some dead weight. He used to be my everything, used to fill my every thought and rule my excitement and intrigue. But now...he no longer had that power over me.
I licked my tears away that clung to my lips. It couldn't be Fitz, no...it was impossible. He was still in India. Safe. I must have just missed him so that my eyes must have conjured him. Shaking my head, I stood and brushed of the dirt and grass that clung to the skirt of my dress.
"Enough now." I whispered to myself. "Enough."
Once school had finished, I made my way over to the hospital – my feet bare as I peddled my bike and hummed softly to no one in particular. This afternoon, Bella and I were going to Port Angeles with her friends. But until then, I could not resist the pull of my heart to go to the hospital. It became stronger and stronger each day - that desire to help and heal people. It was consuming, drowning as I gave into it's call. I had lost sleep with all my nightshifts, but apart of me did not care. I felt selfish if I wasn't helping them, as if i was robbing them of something that was my responsibility to do. Yet despite loving it so, it felt overwhelming, frightening even.
When the time came to leave the hospital, I lazily draped my violin case over my shoulder and strolled out of the children's ward. It pained me to do so, to leave their small faces and fingers and spirits. I couldn't help but feel attached to them, to feel attached to that memory, memories...of my mother and I, volunteering at hospitals together yet now I knew, now I knew that she had not just been playing music and dancing. No. She had been doing so much more. When I rounded the corner to where the main entrance to the hospital was, I captured sight of Doctor Cullen. He was dressed in blue and white - his blond hair shining underneath the artificial light like some iced over sun. Hunched over a clipboard, I watched as his fingers ran over the page, as they traced certain letters and folded corners of specific pages.
Walking towards him quietly, I smiled brightly as he lifted his eyes to meet mine. They softened instantly, became tender as if his heart had swelled with care and affection.
"Hello." I said softly, the corners of my lips titling upwards as my eyes became light and bright.
"Willa, it's a pleasure to see you again." He placed his clipboard down on a nearby table and folded his hands in front of him.
Brushing my hair behind my ears, i nervously asked, "I was wondering if I could ask you a question?" He released a small puff of laugher, placed a hand on my back as he guided me over to two spare seats in the waiting room.
"Willa, you do not need to ask my permission to ask me a question." He said with tender amusement.
"I'm sorry," I stuttered out, my cheeks blossoming a faint pink in embarrassment. "Earlier, you said that you would maybe take me on as your student and I…" I brushed a stray lock of hair behind my ears. "It's just…every moment I am here, every patient I see…I feel this strong urge to heal them, to help them and I…I don't want to appear useless or –"
"You're not useless." He said with a surprisingly serious tone to his words. "You are the furthest thing from it."
"But," I paused, looking away with shame. "But I'm not healing anyone." I felt fingertips brush my chin as he lifted my head upwards to meet his gaze.
"Just became you aren't healing them physically, does not mean that you aren't healing them emotionally, mentally or spiritually. I think you'll be surprised on the affect that your presence has on these children." His words were soft, fragile as if he spoke a note too hard then he could crack me.
"That's impossibly sweet and generous of you to say." I replied, smiling bashfully as he rested his hand on my cheek for a moment before allowing his hand to fall to his lap.
"But?"
"But it's not enough. I want to learn, to know everything and anything there is to do with your profession. I know it is a lot to ask but I…"
"You're wish is my command." He said simply, the rest of my sentence not needing completion as he looked deep into my eyes. He was so caring, so compassionate and tender that I wanted to reach out to him and embrace him in my arms – for him to feel my warmth and shatter his coolness. He was a saint, and so I couldn't help but look up at him with complete awe.
"Do you really mean that?" I asked softly, "I wouldn't be a hassle or an inconvenience? "
"Never." He replied without hesitation. "Now, how about you come around to the hospital tomorrow night after your shift in the children's ward and I'll give you your first lesson."
The widest smile blossomed on my face as a small squeal escaped my throat and glee claimed me. I was filled with happiness, with gratitude as I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around his neck.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" I whispered against the crisp fabric of his white coat. I felt his arms wrap around me, felt him press me to him as I continued to smile and glow with that absolute bliss. I would finally get my opportunity to learn, finally be able to help people without secrecy or this magic that fluttered within me.
Pulling away, I suddenly had this overwhelming need to do him proud. Not only because of who he was in a professional sense, but because he was Jasper's father. Jasper...every-time I thought of him, every time his face misted behind my eyelids as I blinked...I felt this impossibly longing to be near him, to hear his voice in my ear and his fingertips dance across my skin. I missed him, missed him more and more as I said goodbye to Doctor Cullen and sat in the car with Bella and her friends as we drove.
As we drove towards Port Angeles, I couldn't help but remain a silent thing at the back of the car. I felt this immense gratefulness in my heart, but also a sense of betrayal. I knew what Doctor Cullen was, what his whole family was...yet...I breathed in deeply, trying to steady the stuttering of my heart as conflict squeezed it. I wonder what my parents would have thought, to know that their only daughter was completely in love with a vampire. I could feel my betrayal nip at my heart, but I tried to suppress it, tried to burry it deep down as they...he, was different. Different. We were different. Needing to feel my parents, to feel their love melt inside me...I closed my eyes and succumbed to a world of memories and dreams that were not my own.
Her back was cut into flimsy ribbons as loose flesh fluttered and quivered on Flora's back. She lay in a helpless heap on the floor of her rotting cell – her legs coiled up so her chin rested on her knees as her eyes glisten with both fresh and old tears. She had no idea of how long she had been here, of how much time had passed since she had been dragged away from her Silas who bleed into the monster's pit. She could feel her bones jutting out, feel her skin struggle to protect her faint beating heart as she wasted away days upon days on the floor of this cell. It was dark, with only the faintest dreads of moonlight flittering into the room.
She wanted to die, and a part of her wondered if she already had.
Footsteps echoed down the damp hallway, but she did not stir…did not have the energy too. She did not care anymore about her life, did not care if they would bite her or drain her. They only thing she did care about, was Silas. That was the one thing she could not bare – to see him in pain. And they knew that. Knew it and used it to their advantage, for their sick comedic pleasure.
The steps became louder and louder as they neared her cell, and she did not have the strength to even look up as her cell door opened and hands ran over her back, and shoulder and arms and then face. She couldn't respond to the touch, couldn't register to pick up the urgency and love in them. For she was too lost…to paralyzed and broken to even hear that sweet voice that came to her in her dreams.
Yes, she must be dreaming. For when she looked up at the man who now knelt before her, who's hands stroked her dirty face and matted hair…. she had to be dreaming. A small smile made her lips twitch as she stared up at her lover, at her Silas whose hair teased her cheeks and eyes drowned out her sorrows.
"What a beautiful dream." She whispered, her voice scratchy and dry as it suffered without water or food.
Silas shook his head, his rough hands cupping her face with panic and need. "No, no my angel. This is no dream." But she did not believe him, for, how could she? His thumb ran over her cracked lips. "You need to get up, now…while we still have time. We can get out of here."
She licked her lips, but her saliva was little to none. "Are you real?" She whispered, doubt crossing her eyes as her eyebrows attempted to furrow together. But she had no strength.
"I'm real, this…this is real." He whispered, "feel it, feel me." He pressed his lips to hers, pressed them with passionate urgency and care as she moaned against his mouth and parted her lips for his tongue to enter. But he pulled away, brushing her hair away from her eyes and he silently pleaded with her to move.
"How?" She said, suddenly coming to her sense, suddenly feeling and seeing that this was not a dream.
"I made a key, two keys…I'll explain later but now we have to move. I'm not sure how much more time we have but –"
"Your wrists." She murmured in disbelief. There were no metal bracelets, nothing and as she allowed herself to look at him closer…she could see he was healing. Every second, every moment…he was become healthier and stronger but oh so slowly…too slowly.
"Here." He moved away silently, pulling out an ancient key that opened her bracelets. Carefully he removed them, pulling out the spikes that had pieced her skin and poisoned her healer's magic. Flora let out a loud gasp, as her body began to tremble at the feeling of her blood waking up, of it starting to heal her and sooth her heart as if to say it will all be alright.
"We have to leave, now." Silas whispered, sliding his arms underneath her weak body as he lifted her up in one smooth motion. She weighed barely anything, and that terrified him. For when he opened the door to her cell, when he lay eyes on her broken body…he wasn't sure if he wanted this escape to be real if it meant seeing her that way.
Her head fell back against his chest as he held her, as he ran from corridor to corridor before kissing her nose and saying, "I made you a promise, and nothing in this world will make me break it. Even death." And with that, he continued running, running and running and running until they broke free from the monster's fortress and slunk into the shadows and darkness so they could heal and remember and love.
Love.
My eyes fluttered open at the sound Jessica's annoyance as she repeatedly asked and asked me a question until it woke me up from that dream that was not a dream.
"I'm sorry," I told her sheepishly, rubbing my eyes as I straightened myself up in my seat. "What was the question?"
"Did you ever go to a dance with a boyfriend or something? Bella said she's never which I find hard to believe as so many boys have asked her here." Jessica said skeptically, parking the car next to the dress shop that we would be going to.
"I told her, I didn't go out much. Still don't really like to." Bella said groggily from the front which made me smile and lean forward to squeeze her shoulder before falling back in my seat.
"I have been." I told Jessica honestly. "To a dance with someone, but he was not my boyfriend. "
"Oh? Then who was he?" Jessica asked as we got out of the car, the doors slamming softly as we began walking towards the store.
"He was my best friend." I told her, "nothing more and nothing less." Yet when I spoke that sentence, it felt like a lie...because despite everything...it was. For we were more then just best friends, yet what that 'more' was, remained, but a silent thing between us. And in that moment I couldn't help but wonder that if I had stayed in India, if maybe Fitz and I could have been something more.
"Really?" She asked, raising an eyebrow that she suggested she did not believe me, and I could not blame her.
"Really." I replied, and linked arms with Bella as we entered the store.
The dress store was small but sweet, as if it held a sort of vintage element to it. Neither Bella nor I tried on any dresses as the real reason we both came was to go to a book store together. We both sat on low chairs by the dressing rooms as we politely told Jessica and Angela what we thought of their dresses. For senior prom, I already had a dress that I was going to wear. It belonged to my mother and it was the most beautiful dress I had ever laid eyes on. It was the most delicate of blues, and the fabric, long and fragile was made from the most beautiful of tulle and lace detail. If an ocean were a dress then this would be it.
"Are you alright?" I asked Bella as we waited for both Angela and Jessica to re-emerge in their new dresses. I could feel her fuming, feel her anger and embarrassment as she sat rigidly next to me.
"Yea," she shook her said, knowing that I could see right through her. "No." She confessed. 'I'm still fuming over the rumor that Tyler spread about me and him going to the dance together." She offered me a lopsided smile. 'And I'm getting a little impatient about going to this bookstore." She held up the small piece of paper with the address scribbled on to it.
"Bookstore?" Jessica asked as she emerged in a pink dress. "What bookstore?"
"Well, we were really wanting to go to this one, if it's alright? We could meet you two at the restaurant?" Bella said, trying to hide her desperation to leave. She had never really enjoyed shopping and I suppose in that way she was my opposite. I adored clothes, adored the different colors and fabrics and shapes. Whereas to Bella…it was but a blur.
"You're really not into this are you." Jessica said disappointingly. Bella shook her head. "Okay well, let's meet at the restaurant in say an hour?"
"That would be great!" Bella replied, standing up motioning for me to follow.
We wondered the streets for a while, looking for the bookstore as we talked and laughed like no one existed but each other. I suppose that was one of the things that I loved most about Bella...her innocent ability to make me feel normal, to forget and relish this mundane moment of two cousins arm in arm as we walked the silent streets. When we reached the bookstore, it turned out to not be the one that we wanted, yet I was still intrigued by what it held. It was only when we left the store and went for a wonder that Bella asked, "how is volunteering at the hospital?"
"It's wonderful, near-perfection I suppose." I told her, looking at my feet as I walked. "I just wish I could do more, help more. I had this conversation with Doctor Cullen and…despite everything…. I think he is helping me open up some part of me I never knew existed. It's like he is blossoming a love for medicine in me."
"Medicine?" She asked, "I thought you wanted to go into the arts?"
"I do, but…don't you ever feel like you could be doing more? Helping other's more? I just want to learn and know as much as I can and maybe, maybe if I knew more I could have –"
"Willa," Bella stopped walking, taking my dainty hand in hers and swallowed it whole. "Don't finish that sentence." For she knew I was going to say my mama. If only I could have saved her…could have…I thought she passed from a brain tumor but now…after everything, I couldn't believe that.
"I miss her." I confessed softly. 'I miss her laugh, the way her nose crinkled as she smiled…. her never ending shine." I looked away, my breath stuttering as I tried to control myself, tried to remain strong in front of my little cousin. For I had to, I had to. "But Doctor Cullen, he's giving me hope in some strange way that I didn't expect. Just like today, I saw him at the hospital before I joined you and –"
"He was at the hospital?" I smiled at her innocence, tapping her nose lightly.
"Of course, my lovely, he does work there after all." Her eyebrows furrowed.
"But aren't his family away on a hike? Jessica said that whenever the weather is nice they go on these adventures."
"Maybe they came back early? I'm not sure my angel, but why does it concern you so?"
"I don't think that they are human." She whispered, shivering. "It just doesn't make sense."
"I know." I replied faintly and distantly.
"Have you, have you talked to any of the other Cullens?" Her question caught me of guard, made my heart pause as if it was suddenly afraid to be heard by anyone else but me.
"No," the word escaped me like some pink mist - soft and floaty as it drifted in the air between us. "I'm sorry." I looked away, my eyes becoming shy and nervous at the lie I had just confessed. But despite the guilt that nipped at my heart, I could not tell her. "They tend to keep to themselves." I said airily. "But Bella, I know this is about Edward and I need you to know, to believe in your heart that you have not done anything wrong." I took her hands in mine, allowed my fingertips to graze her skin as she beheld me. "That you are perfect and smart and beautiful and if he is avoiding you, then maybe it is to protect you? For there is no other reason before you, my shining star, are just that."
Her cheeks blushed an embarrassed pink, as if she was suddenly overwhelmed with flattery. "I love you." She said with a smile.
"I love you too, now shall we make our way back to the restaurant?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I wrapped my arms around my body which began to shiver in the increasing cold.
It was only when we realised that we had gone the wrong way that a chilly bite nipped at the wind and blackened sky. We had been talking too much, getting too distracting in our own stories and laughter that the world around us became a blur. Stopping, I rested a gentle hand on Bella's arm and looked up at her with wide and worry filled eyes.
"I, I think we've taken a wrong turn." I tell her, trying to recapture our whereabouts. The streets were silent, empty and abandoned as street lights flickered weakly in the darkness. I felt Bella lean against me, felt her warmth and stiffness as she wrapped an arm around my waist and breathed out a small cloud of cool air. "Maybe, maybe we should go east?" I tell her innocently, looking down in embarrassment that I had been so foolish as to lead my little cousin to nowhere in particular. She nodded her response and seeing the worry in my eyes, she placed a kiss on my forehead as I shivered slightly. I never liked disappointing Bella. It was one of my biggest fears…and seeing that I had just done so…I trembled as I walked beside her, as we wondered the streets and darkness in hopes of recapturing where we were.
As we were walking down the street, a group of four men came towards us – an arrogant swagger in their step as their eyes moved to meet ours. They appeared threatening, as if intoxicated by either alcohol or drugs. Instantly, I wrapped my arm around Bella, pulled her closer against me as we walked towards them and they towards us. They looked so much like the man who had harmed me, who had attacked me in the night. And knowing that Bella was by my side, my fear seemed to escalated as my heart quivered and my body shivered. I couldn't protect her, I could not protect myself and suddenly…I had never felt so helpless.
"Hey there." One of the strangers called as they passed. I could feel his eyes linger on me, linger on my little cousin as if we were but a meal to them. My eyes were too shy to look up, too vulnerable and weak to meet theirs but I could hear them slow, hear the sounds of their rough shoes against the pavement soften.
"Hello." Bella mumbled, and my hand tightened around her waist. But we kept on walking, kept on going despite their laughing and calls for us to stop and join them. My feet, small and dainty, were taking three steps for every one of Bella's. We were moving fast and nimbly through the streets, but the sound of their laughter and shoes scuffing the pavement did not fade.
Pausing, I looked around us helplessly. There was nowhere to run, no way to escape and I…taking a deep breath I turned to Bella and grasped her shoulders – my eyes wide with panic and foolish determination.
"I need you to run." I told her softly, my hands stroking her cheeks as the wind whisked our hair together. "There's too many of them. I'll try and lure them away and you…you keep running my lovely." My voice was soft but quick, like broke petals falling in an uncontrollable wind. "Go find help, everything will be alright."
"No, I'm not leaving you." I pressed a finger to her lips. I had encountered these types of people before, and I couldn't let them touch her…couldn't let them hurt her and so this was the only way I knew how, no matter how silly and foolish it may seem. My need to protect her was too strong, too loud as it rang through my ears and heart.
"I'll be alright. Now please, go…. go and get help and I'll, I'll meet you at the restaurant." I didn't give her a chance to reply before I kissed her forehead and walked towards the men that approached us. I could see some one them ignore me, see with fear as he continued to follow Bella but I had the attention of most of them. I tried to ignore the bite of their eyes as I approached them, tried to remain positive and hopeful.
"Hello sweetheart." One of them said. He was taller than the others, young and rough with long hair and sharp stubble. I forced my eyes to meet his. There had to be some good in him, some grain that would let me go. "What's your name then?" He asked, stopping a few inches in front of me as his friends circled me. I had to remain calm, had to, I…" Answer me." His hand shot out and grabbed my chin, his nails digging into my skin as his eyes swallowed me whole. They were glazed, wild as he looked at me and his tongue slithered out between his teeth as he laughed. "I'm dying to hear what a beautiful thing like you sounds like. Doesn't she look pure boys? Pure and irresistible."
Swallowing deeply, I placed a hand on his wrist, pleaded with my eyes for him to let me go. "Please," I whispered. "Please let me go." I felt hands grasp my hips from behind me and silent tears ran down my cheeks. But Bella, she needed time, she needed to be safe. That was all that mattered. "What happened to you?" I asked him and the sadness in my voice caught me off guard. "Maybe," I swallowed my tears, swallowed my fear and shivering heart. "Maybe I could help you. There's so much more to life than –"
Before I could finish my sentence, rough lips smashed against my own. My eyes were wide as I struggled against him, against them as I felt their hands and laughs and dirty words strangle my heart. I was crying, struggling and fighting until I finally managed to slide down to the floor, crawl out between their legs and run. I could hear them shout, hear them chase me as I ran and wiped my sleeve against my lips to get rid of that taste and touch and…I had to keep running, had to keep my heartbeat strong but I was struggling. My body was shaking too much, collapsing too quickly from fear that I stumbled and tripped as I went. But I had to keep going, had to keep running even if I had no idea where I was. But at least Bella was safe. That was all that mattered, all that matters. I kept that thought pounding in my head as I went, as my heart bleed out from trauma and fear and sadness at the lives that those individuals must have had to corrupt them so.
As I rounded a sharp corner I looked over my shoulder, my eyes widening as I saw them running after me. And I knew then that I had made a terrible mistake in doing so, because the moment I looked back…was the moment I tripped and felt my flesh rip apart on my bare and exposed legs. I bit my lip as I stifled a scream, as I tried to scramble to my feet when a silver car suddenly sped into view and came to screeching stop. I tried to scramble back on my hands from the approaching men. I couldn't stand, couldn't as fear claimed me and the pavement cut my hands and legs open.
"Please." A feeble whispered escaped my lips when suddenly, the door to the silver car opened and gentle hands pulled me up and into the car. The hands were too gentle, too familiar to fight against as I soon found myself sitting in the backseat of the car, staring into the eyes of Edward Cullen. I took in deep and shaky breaths as I stared at him and him at me…as we beheld one another without touch and I could see his pain, see his anger and impossible restraint as he did up my seatbelt and moved to the front seat to drive away.
"Willa, Willa are you alright?" My little cousin's voice made me tear my eyes away from the back of Edward's head as I looked to where she sat in the front seat beside him.
"I…" my eyes darted down to my hands which were slowly healing. I quickly hid them underneath my jacket and gave her an encouraging smile. "I'm alright," I told her, but my voice was too shaky, too fragile that it suggested otherwise. "I see you managed to find someone to help." I commented softly, allowing my eyes to drift back to Edward who was watching me through the car's mirror. I wanted to reach out and touch his hand, to sooth him and his pulsing anger. I tried to soften my eyes, tried to hide the panic and fear in my eyes from what had just happened, but...I couldn't. And I knew that was fuelling his anger, seeing that broken fragility within Bella and I and...
"Yea, Edward was nearby and he saw me and that one guy who followed me and here we are." She said all of that with her eyes constantly flickering towards Edward.
Licking my lips, I leaned forward in my seat and placed a hand on his shoulder. He stiffened at my touch, and looked back for a moment to see me. His eyes were dark, wide and yet pinched with visible fury. "Thank you." I whispered gently, sucking in my lower lip as he nodded in response and I fell back into my seat.
"No." He hissed out, that one word venomous and threatening. "I should go back and rip those guys heads off."
"Um, no you shouldn't!" Bella quickly interjected, her eyes wide at his words. But Edward shook his head, his teeth clenched and his grip on the steering wheel tightening.
"You don't know the vile and repulsive things that they are thinking." He spat out, the car increasing in speed as his anger rose. I felt panic rise up inside me. His anger was consuming him completely, and I knew that by the look of my cousin…she did not know how to calm him.
"And you do?" Bella asked accusingly, her eyes wide as a mixture of shock and a challenge laced her words.
"Well it's not hard to guess." Edward replied, a crack of nervousness coming through. I knew he was different, knew what that difference was but Bella did not. And I knew it was not my place to tell, it never could be. "Can we talk about something else? Distract me so I won't turn around."
"You should put your seatbelt on." Bella replied quickly, her eyes remaining fixed on his.
A small smile broke across Edward's lips. "You should put your seatbelt on." Edward looked back towards me, his eyes softening slightly as he saw my quivering form. "Willa, my jacket should be on the seat next to you, if you're cold you're welcome to use it." He stated bluntly but carefully. Yet I ignored him, ignored Bella as I undid my seatbelt, leaned forward in-between the two front seats and placed a hand on his forearm.
"Edward, maybe…maybe you should slow down?" I swallowed deeply, my eyes remaining fixed on his as he drove. "Please." I whispered delicately, my eyes wide and innocent as my fingers moved gently across the fabric of his jacket.I could feel his skin tense, feel it stiffen and then slowly relax and calm as he pulled over and stopped the car.
Getting out in one fluid movement, I opened his door and crouched down before him. He refused to look at me, refused to loosen that clenched jaw of his. Licking my lips, I hesitated before I placed my shaky hand over his. His skin was cold, ice - frozen as my fingers drew small circles on the back of his hand. I parted my lips a few times, trying to find the right words to calm him, to thank him. His hands were smoother than Jasper's, younger in the way that had been less exposed to a world of violence and darkness. My eyes flicked to Bella, and I could tell she was just as lost for words as I was.
"It's sad." I whispered, flicking my eyes back to his hand.
"What's sad?" He asked a little too harshly, yet he did not remove his hand as I felt the weight of his eyes on me.
"What people must have been through to be like that." I winced at his sneer, my hands hiccuping against his skin as he released a mean laugh.
"It's not sad, it's repulsive." He spat, yet I shook my head. "You shouldn't be so naive, Willa." My eyes hardened at his statement.
"I think you should be saying that to yourself." I was surprised at the strength in my voice. "People don't just become like that, there is always a reason. Always, and you should know that." His eyes narrowed at my last statement, yet I did not care. "Yes those people are vile and horrible and...a whole bunch of other terrible words. But they need help, and I think it is sad that they lead lives they way they did that has resulted in this. They were not corrupted in isolation, they weren't born that way - something must have happened and -"
"Don't go near those people again." He interrupted, his voice slightly softer then before. "You can't help them."
"You don't know that." I said gently, but he leaned forward, so quickly that I would have fallen backwards had he not placed his other hand atop of mine.
"Yes I do, you know why?" My eyes widened at the darkness in his eyes. I shook my head, silent and quivering at what I found in his eyes. "Because they don't want help. You can't help someone who doesn't want it." I felt his hands tighten around mine, and I winced in pain as I was still healing, still - realisation glimmered in his eyes as he looked down to my crushed hand and instantly pulled away. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright." I whispered, slowly getting to my feet as Edward got out of the car. He towered over me, and I could see his guilt. He rested a hand against my arm - his touch so light that it barely pressed the fabric of my coat against my skin.
"Are you alright? Is there...is there anything I can do?" He kept his voice low, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear, as if suddenly a rare sense of tender care coated his words that his tongue had not tasted in decades.
I gave him a shy smile. "I'm alright." Yet I knew I wasn't. His words were true. How could I help someone who did not want it? I felt my heart tighten and then wither inside me like a dying flower. "But perhaps you could take Bella to dinner?" His eyes softened and smiled at my suggestion.
"But what about you?" He asked kindly.
"I'll go home with Angela and Jessica, I'm rather tired and I think an early night of hot coco in bed may just be the remedy that I need." He nodded in response, his hand squeezing my arm in reassurance. "If there is anything I can do, anything I can -" I went up on my tiptoes and placed a single kiss on his cheek. He jerked away at the movement, as if he had no experienced something like that before.
"You're too kind, I'll be alright. Now, take my darling cousin to dinner and -" looking behind him at Bella, I went up on my tiptoes once more and whispered in his ear. "And please make sure she eats and drinks enough." He could hear the motherly worry in my voice and gave me a reassuring smile as I fell back down to the balls of my feet.
"As long as you do the same." He said, opening my door for me so he could drive us to meet Jessica and Angela.
"I promise." I replied with a smile, a fake smile for my heart was too weak, too conflicted as it withered and drooped in my chest the whole ride to the restaurant and home.
With the moonlight blue against my skin, I ran through the forest, ran barefoot to those abandoned stables as his heart called to me and mine to his. The wounds on my hands and legs had healed, healed into that pale complexation that seemed to glow in the ever-watching moonlight. My dress pooled around me as I ran, as my loose hair swayed behind me like feathers in the wind as suddenly, my wide and innocent eyes captured sight of him. Leaning against a tree, a book in hand, Jasper was dressed in a black hoodie and track pants – his hair a beautiful tosseled mess as it fell into his eyes.
"Jasper!" I called softly to him, and without hesitance he closed his book and placed it on the grass.
"Willa," my name was sweet and gentle against his tongue, as he walked towards me, his eyes scanning over me whole before I collided into his chest with a dainty forced and wrapped my arms around his neck. I felt him hold me, felt him lift me of the ground as I buried my face against the crook of his neck. I breathed him in deeply with a gentle sigh. He smelted of old books, maple cinnamon and oak. I let my fingers play with his hair as he held me, as he nuzzled his nose against my cheek and sighed in relief and longing.
Placing me on my feet, we still held each other as I looked up into his eyes and shivered lightly.
"Something's happened." He exhaled, worry glazing his eyes as a repressed anger wrapped around his heart and squeezed. "You're trembling."
"Why," I took in a deep breath, biting my lip as I struggled to string my emotions into words. "Why are people the way they are?" I looked up at him with lost eyes. "I don't understand it, I –"my voice cracked as I looked away as I shook my head and replayed what had happened this evening, what had happened in the past and the terrors that plagued the world. "Why do people hurt one another? Taunt one another and find amusement in it?" I…" I swallowed deeply. "I convince myself that it is because they are lost, that internally they are suffering more than any other individual to perform such an act but when I look into their eyes, when I try and help them…heal their soul… they push me away, push the idea of being helped away and," tears slid from my eyes as I spoke, spoke in this broken way as my inner conflicts came spilling out. "I feel like it's my responsibility to heal the world, to help it blossom and bloom but how can I? How can I when people are so lost in this darkness, when…when they don't even know that they are lost in it? I'm afraid, afraid that – "
"It's not your responsibility." He interrupted me softly. He shook his head, searching my eyes as I held onto him, as if he was the only thing that kept me tethered to this world.
"But it is." I cried gently, my fingers holding onto his forearms as his eyes held me upright. "It's what I am. A healer and I…it's my place to heal the world. And I'm scared, I'm so afraid that I will fail." His hands cupped my cheeks, his thumbs wiping away my tears as determination filled his eyes, determination for me to not only hear but believe his words.
"You won't." He said, "You won't." I could feel the hardness in his voice, feel it break slightly as he pressed his forehead against mine.
"You don't know that." I whispered, my voice breaking as he nuzzled his nose against mine.
"Yes, I do." He pulled away, pulled away as his hands fell from my face and took my tiny hands in his. "Because you're not alone in this." And when he said those words, suddenly…I no longer felt alone. Because I wasn't. He was different like me, he knew my heart, he knew my differences, coiled up inside and around them to protect them. "Feel me" he whispered, using my words from the other night. He pulled me towards me, pulled me so close that my cheek rested against his chest and his fingers played with my hair. "This, us…this is real." He pulled away, searching my eyes as he said "and we have this moment."
"This moment." I whispered back, nodding my promise to him as he did to me before he bent down and pressed his lips against mine. His mouth melted against mine, just as our bodies did as I leaned against him and he me. I allowed my eyes to close, to get lost in his lips against mine and as they traveled down my chin, neck and shoulder before drifting back up to my mouth. He tasted so sweet, so addicting as he kissed my eyelids and my hands trembled against his chest with absolute overwhelming love.
"I wish we could just run away." I whispered, pulling away from him gently. "I think I've been running my whole life."
"I understand, I...I know." He replied without hesitation. "But we can't." Yet I could tell he wanted to, feel his body swell against mine in that need to leave everything else behind but each-other.
"I know," I replied with a small smile, leaning into the palm that caressed my cheek.
"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise you." His eyes were filled with this unspoken threat, this silent danger that mystifyingly fizzed within me.
But I shook my head, took his free hand in mine as I pressed it against his chest. "No, I promise you."
Author's Note: Hi everyone! So there you have it! What do you think?! I can't wait to read all of your beautiful thoughts and theories! I'm super excited for ya'll to read the next chapter where there will be lots more of Jasper and Willa interaction and heaps more! Thank you all so much for reading and I hope you all are having the most wonderful start to the new year! Much Love, Lisette
LMarie99: Hi! Thank you so much! I hope you like this chapter too! I'm so sorry if it disappoints! I've been going through a lot personally but I hope it is alright! In the next chapter, there will be a lot more Jasper and Willa interaction where they have time to really talk about everything that has come out! I hope you are having the most wonderful new year and I can't wait to see what you think of this chapter! Thank you once more!
Dunesque: Oh my goodness thank you so much! Your review made me so overwhelmed with happiness that I don't know how to thank you! I've never had confidence in my writing, always been shy but to read what you wrote...goodness I have no idea how to truly thank you for that. I can just only hope that you enjoy the rest of the story as much as you have enjoyed it so far! I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I truly can't wait for you to see what is to come! I hope you are having a beautiful and enchanting new year! Much Love, Lisette!
BelguimBear: Thank you so much! That was so incredibly sweet of you to write! I remember reading your review and my heart was so overwhelmed with happiness! I hope you enjoy this chapter too and I can't wait to hear what you think of it! I have so much planned for the next chapter and ones to follow!
JessEwa26: Hi! Thank you so much for your sweet review! It made me truly so happy! I hope you liked this chapter! As for when other's find out about Jasper and Willa, that will come soon but it will be rather complicated and mixed! I hope you are having a beautiful and enchanting new year! Much Love, Lisette!
Littlecosma001: Hiya! Thank you so so much times a million for your review! I love reading them so much and gah! Your theories and ideas and what you pick up on it's just incredible! I feel so blessed to have a reader like you and I really hope you liked this chapter and what is to come! When I read your review I honestly felt tears in my eyes! Especially when you talked about how I wrote Jasper! I was so nervous because I really wanted to capture his character and remain true to who he is so I hope it is alright in this chapter too! There will be a LOT more Jasper and Willa interaction in the next one! That's alright! I love questions! I won't be able to answer them all but I'll see what I can do! For the James question, I can't really answer that but as for is Willa like the wolves then yes she is in some ways! So she disappears from Alice's visions, Edward cannot read her mind and Jasper cannot feel or manipulate her emotions. Oh for that I mean he can see her pain in her face but his power had no effective on her. So I guess she is just very expressive! Oooh I wish I could answer your last question so much but I can't! What I can say, is that I'm looking forward to writing new moon even more then the twilight plot! I can't wait to see what you think of this chapter and I hope you are having a beautiful and exciting new year! Much Love, Lisette!
islajune44: Thank you so much for your beautiful review! I always get so shy about positing and to hear you say that about my writing means the world to me! Thank you so! I hope you enjoy this chapter and I can't wait to read what you think of it! I hope you are having a beautiful new year!
AmberinAshes: Hi! N'aww thank you so much! That was so sweet of you to say! I hope you liked this chapter too! There will be a lot of Jasper and Willa interaction in the next one so you have heaps to look forward too! Thank yo so much again and I can't wait to hear what you thought! Much Love, Lisette
connnieee: Hi! I'm so sorry for my late update, I've been going through a lot with my family so I haven't had time. It was very sudden, but I haven't finished this story at all and there is so much more to come! I'll be posting once a week from now on so I hope you are excited about the coming chapters! And oh no, that's alright! I am not a native speaker either so I completely understand what it's like and your english is truly brilliant! Thank you so much for your beautiful review and I hope you continue to enjoy this story! Much Love, Lisette!
JJ-SNAPE-96: Thank you so much for your amazing review! I really hope you liked this chapter and are looking forward to more! You are so sweet for what you said and I thank you from the bottom of my heart! I hope you are having a wonderful new year!
TohruKur:Thank you so much from my whole heart! You're review left me speechless! I so hope that you enjoy this chapter and that it meets your expectations! You are truly so sweet and wonderful for what you wrote! I hope you are having a wonderful new year and I can't wait to see what you think of this chapter and the ones to come!
