We were driving through Germany toward Austria in 1932. Charlie was adamant that we leave Germany after the German National People's Party was gaining momentum for the upcoming election. Its leader was some guy named Adolf something or another. I didn't know much about it, but Charlie was worried. "It's best we leave while we can," he told me back in our hotel in Habsburg.
So we did! We bought ourselves an old, used, cheap car to drive across the alps. Beautiful countryside; that's something I would come to miss in later years. It was so peaceful, with lots of little rustic alpine villages scattered everywhere. Of course we could only travel after sunset and when the weather was bad, but we didn't mind. Charlie drove while I sat back and enjoyed the scenery. We were just about to pass through the Austrian border when I let out a contented sigh.
"Beautiful…" I hummed and Charlie nodded in agreement, keeping one hand on the wheel while relaxing his chin in the other. "Sure is." "It's incredible how fast you can get anywhere in cars now. I remember back when street cars were a luxury." "Yup, motor vehicles have changed the world; there's no doubt about that. Back in my day, you'd have to use a horse-drawn carriage to get anywhere. If you told me that cars would have existed someday, I wouldn't have believed you." "And who knows? Maybe flying will be the next big travel innovation? They're making real headway on planes now." Charlie chuckled at this, lowering his head slightly. "I don't think flying will ever become a common thing, Bells; not like cars or trains anyway. It's too expensive. Flying is something mostly militaries will use, I should think." "Mmmmmm, makes sense; most plane technology has developed from the war. We're lucky enough to have cars anyway."
My adoptive father nodded his head again, keeping his eyes on the road. "Right, but don't ever let me catch you driving one. These things are like tanks; one accident would destroy that fragile human body of yours." "Haha, don't worry; I don't ever plan to learn to drive. Why would I? Lots of countries don't even allow women to drive anyway, and I have you to chauffer me around." "I'll take you wherever you want to go, so long as we go together….." Charlie sighed and I smiled at him. "We are together. You're my dad; where am I gonna go without you?"
He shrugged. "I know you've wanted to go see the tropics someday….." I waved my hand dismissively in the air. "Bah, we can do that together. We've travelled everywhere else without getting caught, after all. Why would someone south be any different? We just…. have to be extra careful." Charlie watched me a moment from the corner of his eye before stretching a hand out to cover one of mine. "Don't you worry. I'll take you to Hawaii and the Caribbean one of these days. You can count on it, sweetheart." And my smiled shown back his way as our fingers intertwined with familial affection.
"I know I can, Dad."
"Are you sure it's not going to be a problem if I stay here? I don't want to make the other residents feel awkward or uncomfortable in their own home." "It's your home now too, kid. Look, don't worry about the Cullens. This is a hotel where vampires come to rest and recover; you're undergoing a fast, which means you'll need plenty of time to recover." "But…." I hesitated. Garrett was walking me back to my room in the East Wing. It was my first-ever night sleeping in the hotel and the reaction of the Cullen kids had me on edge. My guardian acted like they were more of a nuisance than anything, treating the whole thing flippantly.
We arrived at my door and Garrett flashed me a reassuring expression. "Would you stop worrying about it? I'll go have a chat with Carlisle and Esme; we'll sort this all out. Leave it to me, ok?" "Well, ok… But I don't like putting it on your shoulders like this. You and the Cullen parents didn't ask for any of this trouble." "Neither did you. Look, you're not doing anything wrong, Bella; you're allowed to be here. That Cullen boy was just being a brat. They should have enough self-control not to go berserk by the smell of your blood. I mean, come on," he rolled his eyes. I was still reluctant, letting my hand linger on the doorknob for a minute. My eyes drifted down to the carpet in-between our feet.
"Ok then, if you're sure….." "It'll be fine; you'll see. By the time you get up tomorrow morning, this'll all be sorted. You can count on it," Garrett gave me a thumbs up. My heart skipped a beat; my eyes widened. "W-What did you just say?" "Huh?" He blinked at me, surprised by my dumbfounded reaction. I blinked too, instantly regaining my composure. "N-Nothing; it's….. nothing. Have a good night, Garrett." "You too. See you in the morning. Remember, don't hesitate to call for me if you need anything," he began to walk away, giving me a wave as he did. "I will!" I yelled back before going inside my room. I went inside and immediately locked the door; you can never be too careful in a castle full of vampires.
I got ready for bed in the usual way; brushed my teeth and hair, and got changed into my classic white nightgown I'd brought with me. After changing, I made my way over the giant clear-glass window in my room. Drawing back the huge, very heavy curtains, moonlight poured onto the floor and over to the wall. I stared up at a minute, letting my hands rest on the curtains' edges. The night was so bright and quiet, and you could see so many stars from here….. I'll never get over how lucky I am to stay in such a place.
With the curtains drawn open, I walked back over to my massive, canopy bed. On the nightstand beside it I put a picture of Charlie and me; it was taken back when we were in Austria that first time. We were grinning ear-to-ear, and he had his arm draped over my shoulder. Looking at the photo a moment, I smiled to myself, or rather to it. My eyes lowered tenderly a tad. "Good night, Dad. Sweet dreams." Then I shut my eyes, remembering sweet memories as my mind lulled off to a soft, dark place.
It stayed there until a crack from outside woke me up all of a sudden. My eyes shot open and I was instantly awake like you after something frightening happens. All panic subsided after a few seconds as I came to realize I probably had a nightmare or something. Checking my phone, the time revealed that it was the middle of the night- fantastic. I'd have trouble falling back to sleep now.
You know that feeling you get when someone's watching you? Well, out of nowhere, literally seconds later I felt that. It hit me like a shot; someone or something was watching me sleep. "Could it be that wolf from earlier?" I pondered out loud as I pulled back the covers. More curious than scared, I grabbed my housecoat and wandered over to the window. Since there was no one else in my room with me then the observer must be outside somewhere.
Upon looking out from the glass, nothing immediate came into view. I don't know why, but I was looking off into the distance at the mountains first. When nothing out of the ordinary appeared there, my vision drew downwards towards the courtyard. Only then did I see something! The figure of a man stood there, staring up at my window. Whoever he was, he must have known that I saw him because in the blink of an eye, he was gone. Well that proves he's a vampire- only vampires can move THAT fast. Other than that single fact, and that he was a guy, I knew absolutely nothing about him. It was too dark to see any distinguishing features and I don't think I've seen him before here either. My first thought was…. But no, it couldn't be Edward. Why would it be? Why would he stand outside my room to watch me sleep? That's just weird. No, it can't be him; it's probably someone else. Who, I don't know; I'm overthinking this. Still, I did close my curtains for rest of the night.
With a yawn, I next went back to bed and promptly forgot about the whole thing.