Bella was back to wearing her old sweatpants and holey T-shirt. I found myself hoping I would have made room in our two suitcases for the lingerie Alice had bought her. I remembered exactly how weeks ago - still caught in the haze of the accident - I had pushed the lacey garments to the back of the closet and simply left them there, just before leaving.
What a stupid, irrational decision.
A thunder broke outside and I closed the front door with the key. Bella scoured me from head to toe with her gaze, seemingly conflicted about the thick roll of rope in my hands.
"What is that for?" she asked.
I chose not to respond, smiling ever so slightly.
"We don't need that for mountain climbing, if that's what you have in mind," she said, turning around to grab a hairband and pulling her hair in a careless ponytail.
"I can't remember saying anything about mountain climbing."
I started undoing the roll, letting the chord hit the floor as I did so.
"Are you going to tell me what that's about then?" Bella tried again.
"Yes. I would like you to sit down."
She raised her eyebrows, but obliged. The long rocking chair was right behind her, so she positioned herself at the far end of it, making it swing. For a moment, I couldn't help but marvel at her innocuousness.
"We'd had an interesting night," I observed.
"That's one way of putting it."
"Fair enough. I was wondering though: does it always have to be like this?"
"Like what?"
I was still undoing the rope when I answered her:
"You defying any sense of logic, despite the danger."
"I don't understand."
"Oh, I'm sure you do."
I wondered if she could sense the whisper of anger in my tone.
"Please be more specific," she demanded.
"When somebody tells you to run to save your life, you just step right into the danger zone instead, don't you?"
Her breath came out shaking when she understood. The scene of her trying to attack the werewolf flashed painfully through my memories.
"I couldn't just leave you there, Edward, you know that."
"So you thought the better option was to get yourself killed by a beast you didn't even know the name of."
"I was trying to help by distracting it in some way."
"Playing the decoy - not dangerous at all."
The rope was now undone, its chord falling from my hands down to the floor in one big tangled flexuosity that would have probably gone for over two hundred feet if stretched out.
"We're both here now," Bella pointed out. "That's what matters, right?"
I sighed. If only. But I was willing to bet that her foolish bravery was simply going to set a precedent. Because if there was a lesson of self-preservation to be learned from what had happened, Bella would have got it completely backwards.
"What matters, my love, is that I don't lose you, especially not in a much avoidable manner," I said.
Dragging the rope across the floor, I stepped forward, until I was in front of her.
"And what about inviting me to step outside earlier, so that you could have a chat with Nell?" I went on.
If I had my doubts about Bella sensing my slow-boiling anger earlier, they were now gone. Her pupils dilated when I grabbed her chin, to make her look at me.
"It made sense at the time," she muttered. "She wouldn't have been able to read your thoughts anymore if you did do that."
"What part about me leaving you alone with a vampire whose thoughts I can't read makes sense to you?"
When she didn't find an answer, she retorted to what she always did when she felt on edge: she bit her lip and looked away.
"No, no," I scolded her. "Look at me, Bella. I need to know what exactly went through your mind."
When she raised her eyes back to me, they were disconcerted. I knew this exact expression of hers all too well. There was no reasoning with her beyond this point.
"What are you going to do with all that rope, Edward?" she managed to ask, avoiding to offer an explanation.
I let go of her chin. The chord in my hands felt sturdy, clearly crafted to survive the roughest conditions on the mountain.
"Take your clothes off and I will tell you," I demanded, stepping back. "But do it slowly, please."
Bella didn't seem shocked by my request, only dazed. But she grabbed her T-shirt anyway and lifted it, unrushedly revealing the taut skin of her abdomen, then the faultlessly sculpted mounds of her breasts, then the delicate curvature of her clavicle. She let the garment fall to the ground and proceeded with her pants.
She rolled them off her hips, divulging the perfect alabaster flesh of her thighs, flashing one look in my direction before taking them off completely. It took me all my power not to launch at her and rip her underwear away with my own teeth. Instead, I watched as she slipped her fingers under the elastic and peeled her underwear off, bending forward to help herself in her mission. Seconds later, she was sitting naked in front of me, a sight more exquisite than any Renaissance painter could have dreamed of.
My erection was throbbing in my jeans, but I tried to not let it steal away my focus.
"I'm waiting," she said and I could see the effort she put into not letting her eyes wander from my face.
"Lie down," I motioned with one finger, stepping forward until I was back to standing right in front of the long rocking chair.
She lounged on her back, her thighs pressed together, her gaze not once breaking contact with mine. I took a deep breath in before leaning down.
"I will tie you up, Bella," I said, grazing the side of her neck with my palm. "Not just your hands. All of you."
Her lips parted as she watched me speak, awaiting a kiss that never came. This was just the tip of the iceberg of teasing I had prepared for her. I grabbed her wrists and pinned them on either side of her head. Carefully, I began to twist the rope around the wooden railing of the chair, making a tight knot there. When the knot was ready, I pulled the rope through the railing and twisted it around Bella's right wrist, again and again, until it got close to her elbow, before stretching the chord above her head and moving to do the same to her left wrist as well, making another knot.
When I was finished with her hands, I pulled back to look at her. Her eyes were a burning fire.
"Should I go on with this, love?" I checked.
"I really want you to."
Her head lifted just a little and I pressed gently on her neck, to make her stay still.
"Now," I smiled, dragging each side of the chord over her throat. "Will you let me do to you all that I've planned while I have you tied up well? Or are you going to oppose this as well, like you've done with everything in the past few hours?"
She raised herself a little, to allow me to twirl the rope under her back and in a criss-cross pattern over her chest.
"You know you can do anything you want with me already," Bella whispered, slightly out of breath.
I smiled, fully gratified.
"Mmmmm… Will you let me fuck you as hard as I please?"
"Any way you want it, Edward, I'm all yours..."
The way she was offering herself to me on a silver platter, as helplessly in lust as she was, filled my veins with the sweetest static.
"Yes, you are all mine," I emphasized greedily, as I continued to twist the thick rope in X and S shapes all over her body and securing it with knots to the chair. "Now open your legs for me."
Her thighs parted slightly, revealing the most mouth-watering sight. She was glistening. My penis began pulsing fiercely with desire upon seeing Bella so wet. I allowed myself to be tortured as I slid the chord under her buttocks and over her thighs, forcing her to open up more in front of me.
"God, look how wet you are... the things I want to do to you, Bella..."
My words came in an unintended growl and I watched as a delicate thread of liquid seeped out of her. I fastened the rope around her knees, then lowered it to her calves, making new knots along the way.
"But there is something you should probably know beforehand," I said, trying to put all my attention into securing her in place as tightly as possible and less on the need to possess her right then.
"What?"
I had finally arrived at her ankles. My hand wound the cord around a few times, before making the final knots and locking her completely to the chair.
"You will come when I tell you to come, my love," I said. "Understood?"
"I can't promise you that!" she protested.
"You don't have to. I will make sure of it."
I rose up to gaze down at her. I began to wonder if I was ever going to get used to the way her beauty subjugated me. She might have been tied up and ready for me, but I felt just as tied up by the raging yearning I felt for her.
As I was admiring her, I couldn't help but ponder over whether it was the same for human men when it came to desire. For me, this desire had been completely missing for most of my life. Having been changed at 17 meant that I never got to see the women around me in a way that wasn't purely platonic at best. The years during which most men discovered their sexual needs had been the years during which I struggled to understand my new nature and come to terms with who I had become. But even after that, I never really felt the curiosity or need to know a woman beyond the limits of friendship.
Strangely enough, as uninterested as I used to be when it came to this particular subject, my mind had always been soaked with thoughts of sex - they were always there, yet they were never mine. As I came to realize after being subjected to millions of minds throughout the years, sex was a subject that lived rent-free in the thoughts of the majority of people I had met. It didn't take me long at all to feel over-saturated. And then Bella came along and turned my world upside down, erasing everything I thought I knew.
Our first meetings had been dominated by nothing but the wrathful thirst for her blood. It was hard to tell when exactly that thirst began to intertwine with a new craving: the one for her body. I only remembered how it grew slowly, each new small touch adding fuel to a fire that I had never known I could feel burning. Naturally, I had been convinced that this desire would reach a plateau at some point, making it easier from then on to control the need to ravish Bella whenever I got the chance. But things rarely went as expected with my beloved, and this was no different: the longing only grew, becoming a curve forever destined to remain upward.
I got down on my knees in front of her, hopelessly under her spell.
"You have no idea how beautiful you are right now," I told her, allowing my hands to roam freely on her body.
It was a strange thing - to touch her and not be welcomed by her body pressing intently on mine, her hands grabbing my hair with desperation, her mouth searching for me. It would have been unfair if it wouldn't have been so wickedly delightful.
Her palms closed into fists when my hands arrived on her breasts. I smiled.
"Everything all right?"
"Yes," she answered quickly, yet when I gazed down, I saw her arousal dripping on the chair.
I squeezed her nipples, one by one - delicately at first, then rougher when she moaned. I had no intention of rushing, so after a few minutes of playing with her like this, I leaned down further, replacing my hands with my mouth. Her rosy nipples demanded to be taken care of, so I worshipped them the way they deserved: licking them, sucking them, biting them, over and over again.
My lips trailed off to discover the rest of her body. I could never grow tired of the way her waist curved elegantly or the way the muscles in her abdomen tightened when she felt my lips close to her navel. Loving her was always a long stream of rediscoveries that never got old. And there was always something new to be uncovered: such as the almost transparent constellation of freckles on her right hip bone that was now begging me to cherish it.
Bella's breathing pattern was all over the place and I burned to give to her what we both desperately needed. But the ambers of anger from last night still flickered in the pit of my stomach, reminding me of the much necessary rematch. So without further ado, I descended along with my kisses, until my mouth was between her legs, and began the actual torture.
She was wet beyond belief. My tongue hurried to collect the ambrosian sap, swallowing it, careful not to lose any precious drop. In return, she only got wetter. When I raised my eyes to look at her, I could see both her hands closed into tight fists, as she was struggling to breathe.
"Deep breaths, Bella," I guided her, my lips slowly moving against her slit. "We've still got a long road ahead."
"You're driving me crazy!" she panted.
In response, I began flipping her clitoris with my tongue. She almost lost it and I had to take a short pause before going back - I had to be careful, as it was all too easy to bring her to orgasm this way. This time, I began drawing circles around her most sensitive bundle of nerves, trying not to overwhelm her, stopping each time right before she exploded.
Her words had awakened in the back of my mind a memory from many months ago, back when we were enjoying our honeymoon. I had gone with Bella back to the mainland. The plan was to take her out to dinner and a walk through the city, in a bid to change the scenery of Isle Esme. It was nighttime and Rio was brimming with life. The streets were crowded and the rhythmic beats of several songs that played on the restaurants' terraces surrounded us like a canopy.
That night, Bella ordered a paella for herself and ate it between laughs, as we stood in a booth at the back end of the restaurant and I told her stories from my past. I had told her about all the times Emmett and I fought after losing our made-up contests - and how Esme had to come to separate us each time, like a lioness would do with her stubborn cubs. Bella was still laughing by the time she was finished with her paella and, caught in her good spirits, decided to order a glass of champagne for herself. She never did that home - mostly because the legal drinking age in the United States wasn't 18, like it was in Brazil, but also because it simply didn't interest her that much.
Her complete lack of experience with alcohol showed: it didn't take her long to become drowsy. The first sign had been her bewildered eyes, accompanied by a constant giggle. I had no idea what to do with a tipsy human, as I had never been put into the situation of taking care of one before, but I tried my best not to fail her. As we were waiting for the waiter to bring us our bill, she leaned down over the table and whispered seriously: "Do you want to go to the bathroom real quick and do it?"
It had been impossible not to burst out laughing at her request, especially given the state she was in. I politely refused, promising that I would make love to her as soon as she was sober again. Of course, this didn't stop her from coming up with several various indecent proposals throughout the rest of the night. As tempting as she was, I couldn't take advantage of her - even when she was begging me to.
The dawn was creeping in and we were on the boat, on our way back to the island, when I heard her sigh dramatically behind me. I turned around to see what that was about and saw her lying down on the bench, with her eyes closed. She sighed again and murmured: "You're driving me crazy". One minute later, she was already sleeping.
I smiled at the memory. I loved driving her crazy - it only made her come harder in the end.
"Edward, please!" Bella's voice, deliciously laced with lust, made me ache with need.
I pulled back, to get a better look at her face.
"Not yet," I said.
A sound of frustration left her lips and I focused all of my attention into licking her faster, channeling the pressure right where she wanted. Her body trembled under the rope that held her in place and she cried out. I had to stop once more, seconds away from the orgasm that kept building inside her.
Bella gasped when I drew back. Slowly, I slid my index finger inside her, feeling her walls contract around it in a silent welcome. I didn't move, waiting for her to accommodate the feeling fully. She felt perfectly smooth inside, like the core of a rose drenched in morning dew.
"You're so very tight… I can't wait to enter you," my words left my mouth at the same time my brain summoned them.
"Do it now," she pleaded.
"Patience, my love."
I slipped another finger in the narrow space and began to move slowly, feeling my knuckles getting wet from Bella's excitement. Our eyes locked and I held her gaze, wishing desperately to enter not only her body, but her mind as well. What went through her head in these exact moments?
It was dangerous to get caught in the tendrils of this particular fantasy, but that didn't stop me from craving to hear every thought of hers, to hear the most salacious things that floated in her mind, to witness the arousal beyond the way her body reacted to my actions.
"What are you thinking right now?" I whispered.
"I… need... more," she uttered between my thrusts.
I obliged and entered another finger and started pumping harder.
"Is this more?"
She nodded and let out another honeyed cry of pleasure. My fingertips were now rubbing against the most responsive patch inside her body, mustering her orgasm and chasing it away, again and again. I could do this forever, if it wouldn't have been just as torturing for me to not be inside her fully.
"Edward, come on!" her voice was a frenzy in its own right.
"Yes, love?"
"I can't hold it any longer..."
"Try," I groaned. "Until I'm inside you."
Every bone in her body was shaking and I slowed my pace ever so slightly: enough to let her catch her breath, but not enough to keep her far from falling off the edge.
My own control was seriously quivering as I owned her with my fingers. After everything that had transpired last night, I needed to let go just as much. I needed to remember that, even if the world was to catch on fire, it would still be a livable place if I had Bella by my side.
I rose up from between her legs and positioned myself on top of her, but I kept my hand moving between her legs. The chair began to rock slightly back and forth from our combined weights.
"I am begging you..." Bella whimpered.
She looked at me helplessly and I couldn't resist kissing her this time. Her mouth opened as soon as it met mine and I felt her tongue insinuating between my teeth. All my senses went into overdrive and I pressed the length of my body against her, showing her exactly how much I wanted her as well.
"I need you," she breathed when my lips wandered off to her throat.
I stopped pumping my fingers in and out of her and resumed stroking her clitoris.
"And I you, Bella," I murmured against her neck.
Suddenly, there was no time to get rid of my clothes fast enough, so all I did was unzip my pants, to set my erection free. I forgot all about delayed gratification when I felt her wet folds yielding against my tip, giving in to my girth, as I sunk inside her body. I heard Bella calling out my name and I only stopped moving when I was all the way in.
I could still do this slowly.
I took her face in my hands, transfixed by the way pleasure affected her expression. Her eyes were now closed, her eyebrows tilted down at the sides - a mien of sweet vulnerability.
"Look at me," I whispered.
There was nothing I wanted more than to get lost in the infinite pools of her eyes and search their depths while I made love to her.
Bella opened her eyes and looked at me through heavy eyelids. I began to move slowly.
"That's right, I want to see you."
My feeble attempt to keep things slow failed sooner than expected, as my own hunger took control of my reason, making me push harder, rougher, wilder. Her insides felt tight and wet and warm and like home.
Bella's body vibrated underneath mine seconds after I picked up my pace and I knew I had her.
"Don't stop… don't stop… don't stop..." she chanted fanatically, her nails digging deep inside her palms as she closed and opened her fists.
"Never," I groaned.
I watched as my movements drove her over the edge, until there was no coming back.
"Yes, Edward!"
"Come, my love..." I incited her. "Let me feel you, let go with me..."
But she didn't need my words to fall off into the abyss. I felt her walls clenching maddeningly around me - and just before her thrilled wailing filled the room, I was right there with her. Her orgasm collided with mine in a violent storm that had us both succumb into a spiral of animalistic sounds, clamping muscles, ragged breaths and warm fluids. I didn't stop my ramming, riding the afterwaves of her climax until she came undone again. And again. And again. And God, I wanted to live in an universe in which my only purpose was to make Bella come and feast my eyes on her doing so, in an endless loop. What a perfect universe that would be.
I wondered if I was going completely mad from my unbearable need for her - and whether I truly cared if I was.
"What are you doing to me?" she asked, completely out of breath.
"Not stopping," I said, grabbing her tied up wrists in my hands and kissing the perfect hollow of her throat. "Like you asked."
She felt even more slippery than usual, with all of my venom filling her up.
"Mmmmm, you feel so good," she sighed.
I bit her neck - it seemed to be the only logical thing to do whenever my lips arrived there - and she moaned.
"I love it when you do that..."
In response, I did it again.
"What is it that you love so much about this?" I demanded.
I knew why I liked it - it had been such an illicit temptation for so long and I had gone for months on end resisting it, that I couldn't help myself from doing it over and over again now, knowing that I couldn't hurt her.
"It brings me back to..." - she gasped when I pushed deep against her cervix - "...that day, you know."
I knew. Yet the masochist in me still wanted to hear her say it out loud:
"What day?"
"When you changed me… and drank from me."
My body reacted in predictable ways at the memory, yet I still found myself groaning from excitement. There was something absurdly pleasurable in knowing that, one way or another, she had enjoyed my unorthodox act, my utmost perversity, my greatest sin.
"Isabella," - her name sounded like a prayer when I uttered it - "whatever did I do to deserve you, my angel?"
And just like that, the discussion was over and we were back to talking only with our bodies.
I felt prouder than I should have when I returned the climbing rope to its owner in perfect condition. I had taken my time to clean it up - by the time it was ready, it looked brand new. I made a mental note to buy a few ropes like that myself.
As it turned out, Bella loved getting tied up just as much I loved tying her up. I couldn't exactly pinpoint where this specific fantasy originated for either of us - could it possibly have been born during that night I spent with her in her room, after going to the meadow for the first time, when I had locked her wrists in my hands and discovered the rush of having her subdued? - but that didn't prevent me from enjoying it any less.
Our days in Belaya Gora passed by in a bizarre haze. Between making love all day and resuming our fighting training at night, time seemed to lose its shape and become one big amorphous blob. We hadn't heard from Nell again; wherever she was, she was keeping a safe distance from us. We constantly checked in with our family - with Alice especially, since her visions guided our every step.
Elijah Cochran was still on an indefinite hiatus with his statements. Part of me wondered whether Rosalie had been right and he had truly retreated from the public's eye, giving us a mild chance to bury this whole mess behind us. Regardless, the death of the Wilsons had not been forgotten. Their loved ones kept making appearances on TV, as Carlisle informed me constantly - he knew we had no access to a TV, so he did his best to keep us up to date. They demanded justice, understandably so. Bella went into a deep state of quietness whenever she heard something new about them and I could recognize in her eyes all the shades of guilt and shame she felt - shades that had painted my eyes for decades as well. We weren't talking about this particular subject as much as we used to right after the accident. She told me that she needed space to think about it on her own, so I offered her space.
With the Volturi still waiting for a good enough reason to get back to tracking us, we should have had more reasons to feel relieved - yet we couldn't quite get there, given the fact that the encounter with the werewolf still haunted whatever peace we had managed to find. My own lack of practical experience with such a creature felt frustrating. Everything I knew I owed to Carlisle, but he didn't know anything more than what he had already told me decades ago. The only way we could have found more answers regarding how to get rid of a Child of the Moon was to go to the ones who had sought their perdition throughout the centuries: the Volturi themselves. And that was not going to happen anytime soon.
Days turned into weeks faster than I would have thought possible. Bella's birthday was getting closer and closer and I couldn't bring myself to risk it and leave her alone, so that I could buy her a gift. This, of course, pleased her tremendously, since she was adamant about not wanting any presents - especially presents that had a price tag. The timing of her birthday was most certainly ill-placed, but I decided to not let the circumstances stop me.
Every once in a while, Bella would talk to her parents over the phone and tell them how much she loved Cardiff and how she will try her best to visit them on Thanksgiving. It pained me to see her make unkeepable promises to Charlie and Renée, but there was no other alternative. A part of me was mesmerized by the strength with which she handled it all.
We had had uncountable discussions in the past, in her human days, in which I gave it my all to drive away her wish to become a vampire - fruitless efforts, of course. I always made sure to remind her of her parents, of how she might have to see them very rarely, if at all. And in response, she always hit me with a 'Yes, I am fully aware of that'. Doubting those carefree responses had become second nature to me. And yet there she was, proving me wrong with each new phone call she made.
When I asked her how much struggle and hurt actually laid behind her efforts, she responded:
"You want to hear something I cannot tell you, Edward. Because I am fine, really. In fact, it's just like going to college abroad."
"That's a misplaced comparison," I grimaced and she rolled her eyes.
"I knew what I had to leave behind before any of this had happened."
"Yes, but… I cannot help but mourn over the fact that you left so much behind for my sake, love. And for what really? We're basically living on pins and needles - I'm pretty sure it is far from what you've imagined."
"The pins and needles are my own doing," she said, her voice dead-serious. "And I am not forgiving myself for that, believe me. But leaving my old life behind is really such a small price if it means I get to spend an eternity with you. I've told you that."
I cupped her face in my hands.
"And I love you for this," I murmured. "But let me tell you: you have to learn to forgive yourself. It will eat you up from the inside out if you don't."
I know this all too well.
She pressed my lips to mine without saying anything else and I understood that we still had a long way to go.
At night, when we weren't training, Bella would constantly bring up what Nell had suggested when we invited her over: that she might have the gift of being a shield. However, there was no way of testing it just by ourselves. A new idea had blossomed in her mind, thanks to a discussion she had had with Alice over the phone: that maybe, just maybe, she could extend this shield of hers beyond her own self. Alice had met such a case long before she joined our family in 1950.
Bella kept suggesting that we should go find Nell and ask her nicely if she would be willing to partake in this extremely questionable experiment. While the girl seemed lonely - and possibly even bored - enough to accept such a thing, Carlisle suggested that we don't force unnecessary friendships and that we stick to the fighting training for the time being. And that was what we did.
Still, one problem burned fiercer than the others: the werewolf.
The cursed day we crossed paths had put an unintentional target on our backs. It was impossible to track it now, since there was still a week left until the next full moon. Even if we did stumble upon it in its human form, we wouldn't have known. Infected humans never knew it - it was as if their brains could completely shut off any possible memories of the beast that inhabited them. Alice couldn't see anything but flashes of light whenever she tried to pursue visions of us and the beast. What was worse was that nothing seemed to come after those flashes. As if there was no future whatsoever for us past the werewolf. As if we were as good as gone.
What was going to happen next time the Moon would be up and full in the sky? I had no intention to remain in Belaya Gora and find that out. The plan was to leave soon and head to the Philippines. The more stretches of water we put between us and the monster, the better. Carlisle assured me that it will follow us there as well - and anywhere else as well, as long as it was alive. He told me that werewolves had the ability to track several vampires at once - even going as far as chasing after five at a time, when needed.
The only issue with the Philippines plan was Bella's concern for Nell - a concern that I could not possibly understand. We had only had two encounters with her. Indeed, she did save us by distracting the werewolf during one of those encounters, but that didn't make us best friends. Not even friends, actually, just… Amiable acquaintances.
Do not make friends along the way. This was one of the most important rules. I was not breaking it.
And speaking of friends - it seemed that Bella's had not forgotten about her completely, despite her not making any particular efforts to keep in touch with them after graduation. Angela Weber attempted to reach out a few times since then, but Bella had tried to break all ties with her before her transformation, to spare her friend unnecessary trouble.
I expected Angela to be the first one to reach back after the change. Yet fate had a funny way of proving me wrong, because when Bella's phone rang one late morning, it wasn't Angela's name that lit up the screen. It was Jessica's.
Confused and completely startled, Bella answered the phone. Jessica's voice was not as exhausting as her mental blabber used to be. After exchanging pleasantries, she questioned Bella about how married life was going for her. Was there the slightest hint of jealousy in her tone or was I hallucinating? It was hard to tell without my extra hearing.
"It's been going great, Jess. Edward and I have done a lot of traveling ever since."
That was surely one way of putting it.
"Really? Like where?"
"Some countries in Asia, maybe Europe will be next on our list."
"Wow! Go you! I've no idea how you can concentrate on visiting all these places when you've got… that at home, you know?"
Bella seemed as startled as I was.
"I'm not sure what you mean," she said.
"Ugh, come on! Like you'd want to do much sightseeing with Edward there."
Oh, that's what she was getting at.
I pressed my lips together, trying not to laugh. In a way, Jessica was not far from the truth.
Bella laughed nervously.
"We certainly don't go out as often as we should," she admitted. "But tell me about you and Mike: how are things going?"
"Okay, in fact... that's kind of why I called."
Babbling about Mike Newton - so that was the reason behind Jessica interrupting our pleasurable daytime activities? I hadn't thought about that poor boy in months - and I hadn't exactly missed it.
"So you know how we both got into Community College in Olympia, right?" Jessica continued.
What Jessica didn't know was the fact that Mike was more than eager to 'check the waters' as soon as they would arrive in Olympia and see if he could 'do better than Jess' - these had been his exact thoughts on the day we all graduated.
"Of course."
"Well, get this - but wait, you must promise me you'll keep this to yourself for now."
"My lips are sealed."
"Okay, so he told me today that a few weeks ago he got this weird envelope in the mail, when he was checking to see if he got any news about accommodation in Olympia. And this envelope has no tags or anything, which is weird, right? But wouldn't you know, it has a check in it. And not just any check, but… well, you know, a few hundred grand one!"
My brain almost froze. It couldn't possibly be…
"And there's this note saying 'Please, just keep quiet about this and everything else'. So of course he kept it to himself, to see if anyone shows up to claim the check."
To hell with bribing. Alice had paid a hefty sum to send an untagged envelope to the Cochran residence, to avoid any suspicions. How did it ever end up in Mike Newton's hands?
"He thought about telling his parents about it, but they've been kind of busy paying visits to their neighbours, the Cochrans, since they're pretty bummed after the whole accident thing, with the press and whatnot..."
I had no idea whether to laugh hysterically or scream at the top of my lungs. At that moment, either option seemed reasonable.
Misplaced correspondence. Out of all the things that could have prevented Elijah from speaking, the safest bet had been ruined by something so unbelievably trivial. So incredibly human.
If there was a God out there, he had his favourites. And I was clearly not one of them.
"But I digress," Jessica stopped herself in the tracks. "The point was that Mike kept the check and he now wants us to skip the first two weeks of college to go on a holiday abroad. And isn't it crazy? Because like, that's clearly a sign that we're stepping up, you know?"
"Wow," Bella managed, but seeing her eyes fixated blankly on the ceiling, it was perfectly clear that she, as well, had understood what had happened. "That is crazy!"
"Right? And like… I still have to pay for stuff, but he said that he'll do most of the paying."
"That's… so generous!"
"Yeah, but we're definitely not telling our parents, because they would go crazy if they found out about the money and that we intend to skip those first two weeks of college. But we had to tell our friends about this, because it is so cool and..."
I could no longer concentrate on her blabber. All I knew - thanks to Jessica's penchant for gossip and humble-bragging - was that the check that could have bought our freedom was now going to be spent on what was surely going to be a mediocre vacation by none other than Mike. The ordinary, vacuous, lewd Mike Newton.
Life surely had a weird way of keeping me humble.
Now I know some of you had quite a few interesting theories about the missing envelope, but this has been the reason behind it all along. What can I say? Providence is just like that sometimes.
So what did you guys think about this chapter? Or about Edward's rematch plan :)? I would LOVE to know!
Thank you endlessly for your interest in this story and for your patience! I can't tell you enough times how amazing you all are and how grateful I am for the chance to share this story with you.
If you want to get sneak peeks of future chapters, visuals for the chapters, early heads-ups regarding updates and other fun stuff, you are so very welcome to join the Facebook Group "After Nightfall: Updates, sneak peeks, music and discussions" (the link can be found on my profile page).
Until next time, take care, stay safe & happy!
