By the near future, I meant the same day. I'm going to start off by saying that THERE ARE MENTIONS OF ATTEMPTED RAPE. BE WARNED. I'm also not particularly happy with this chapter because I stuck heavily to the source material (the movies and books) and hardly changed anything. I kept debating between making her a badass and fighting off the attackers or having a normal, human, response to the chances of being raped. I went with the latter. Anyone would be frightened when something like that happens, and though Addison is pretty outgoing and outspoken, she still has human reactions and will be terrified. I just wanted to warn you all about it just in case you may think it's out of character.
The first chance I got came sooner than I thought it would.
When Monday came, Jessica and Angela were immediately on me during lunch. They were planning on going dress shopping in Port Angeles for the dance, and considering I may or may not be going, they thought it was a good idea to invite me. Of course, I jumped at the chance to join them. They invited Bella as well, but she declined even after they'd said she could come just to help us pick out dresses. I didn't blame her. Watching people try on clothes wasn't the most ideal way to spend a few hours. We made plans for right after school on Tuesday, and it was decided that we'd be taking Jessica's car. I made it known that I'd probably leave early to visit a book store, but would eventually meet back up with them whenever I was done. They were fine with that, and we continued on with the rest of lunch chatting idly.
The rest of the day passed by quickly, and Tuesday was upon us. The sun was out, once again, and I dressed for the warmer weather with a long-sleeve shirt. Though it was sunny, there was still a chill in the air that didn't warrant a t-shirt without a coat, sadly.
As Bella and I made it to school, I noticed that the silver Volvo was absent for the second day in the row. I'd hoped that I would see Edward sooner, but that hope was painfully squashed. It made me wonder why he and his family had missed school on the days with the best weather. After asking Jessica, she informed me that their father would yank them out for camping trips whenever it was nice outside. I couldn't help but feel a bit envious. Missing school and getting to camp out in the wilderness? That sounded like the perfect time to me.
Once the school day was over, Jessica followed Bella and I home so I could ditch my car and bag. I stuffed my wallet, phone, and keys into a small purse I hardly used, reapplied my lip gloss and mascara, and called out a quick goodbye to Bella before running out to join Jessica. We drove to Angela's house next before finally heading towards the town limits.
The drive there was pleasant, and the longer we were on the road, the more I began to get excited about this girls trip. Jessica was playing music on the radio while we chattered about some of the boys in our classes and inner circle. I learned that she'd gone on a dinner date with Mike, and it had gone well. She was hoping that they'd move on to the first-kiss stage, and I agreed. Hopefully, that would finally get him off my back, and we could continue being friends.
We got to Port Angeles by four and parked at a department store both of them seemed to be familiar with. From what was going around, the dance was semiformal, and neither Jessica nor Angela seemed to know what that meant. I was happy to explain as we went to the section of dresses. "It's basically something dressier than what you'd wear every day, but not too fancy like a gown or tuxedo. Maybe something like this-" I tugged at a saffron-orange dress hanging on display- "but also not like this because the color is awful."
Separating to a different rack, Jessica commented, "You seem to know a lot about dresses and stuff."
I shrugged, scanning through another rack for something that would look good on me. Something black would be a safe choice, but I wanted to dress a bit more colorfully if I did end up going. "Not really. I only know what semiformal wear is because I've been to a couple of school dances up in Phoenix."
Her eyes flickered up to me, interested. "You've never really told us about your life in Phoenix. Did you have any boyfriends or anything while you were there?" she questioned.
I shook my head. "No, nothing like that. There were a few boys who tried, but I always shut them down."
"Are you, like, into girls or something?" her voice was hesitant, as if she was scared of upsetting me somehow.
"No, I just have high standards for guys and none of them met them."
"So, does Tyler meet that standard?" Angela piped in quietly.
My gaze lifted up from the dress in my hands and my brows furrowed. "What?"
"Tyler told everyone he's taking you to prom," Jessica informed me, eyes both curious and excited. I let out a drawn-out sigh while shaking my head. And here I had thought that he was done with asking me out after the accident. I guess he was, considering he hadn't even asked me this time.
"Me and that boy are going to have some words tomorrow. We're not going to prom together; he didn't even ask me. I'm not interested in him-that's a bit too revealing for a semiformal, Jess-and he needs to get it through his thick skull."
"I knew it wasn't true," Angela murmured, holding up a pretty pale pink dress. I encouraged her to try it on, noting that it would bring out the honey tints in her light brown hair. She nodded and draped it across her arm, looking for another option just in case. We continued on that way, calling out occasional suggestions and me keeping Jessica from picking out dresses that showed off too much skin. Eventually, we all had a small pile of dresses to try on and made our way to the dressing rooms.
In the end, Angela decided on the pink dress I had recommended and Jess was torn between two. I urged her against the black one, not liking how plain it was. While the knee-length electric blue dress was a bit of an eye-sore in my opinion, it did look alright on her, so I put my vote on that one. For myself, I'd picked a gold dress that went mid-thigh and had black flowery accents that became more prominent towards the bottom. If anyone asked, I'd deny picking it because it reminded me of the honey gold of Edward's eyes. I'd take it to my grave.
With our dresses picked out, we moved on to shoes and accessories. I was tempted to buy a pair of strappy gold heels to match the dress but decided against it. Instead, I chose a black pair with a small heel. They were on sale, and I would get more use out of them with all the black dresses I owned. After buying a matching necklace, I was done with my shopping. To spend some more time, I helped the two girls decide on their own accessories, and we were done ahead of schedule.
We were planning on going to a little Italian place to eat later and to waste some time, Angela and Jess decided they wanted to walk down the bay for a while, but I declined. "I'm gonna go check out that bookstore now. If all goes well and I find the book I want fast enough, I should be back in time to meet you at the restaurant. If I'm not there, don't wait up on me."
Angela didn't like the idea much. "Are you sure? We can come with you." Jessica nodded even though she glanced down the bay wistfully. I waved them off.
"Yeah, 100 percent. Go have some fun; I'll meet you later." It took a little more convincing, but they eventually nodded and headed off in a direction Jess pointed in. I looked after them for a few more moments before pulling the slip of paper out of my purse to look at the address.
The bookstore wasn't that hard to find; I only took one wrong turn on the way there. It was an odd looking shop, for sure. There were crystals in the window along with dream catchers and books on spiritual healing, but I didn't let them deter me. I knew the book was inside, and I wouldn't let the appearances fool me.
As soon as I stepped inside, the smell of essential oils hit me like a freight train, and I stopped breathing for a second. It was almost unbearable, but I was able to manage by taking tiny breaths occasionally. There was a middle-aged Native American man behind the counter, and he regarded me cautiously as I went to the small selection of books towards the back of the room. It took a long while of scanning, but I eventually spotted the unassuming book amongst children's stories. It made me laugh.
Before going to the counter, I decided to look at some of the crystals that I'd seen displayed. The tiger's eye caught my attention. I thought it was wood at first, but upon closer inspection, noticed that it was much too smooth. Looking at the description, I read that it was supposed to help bring clarity as well as focus and insight. Thinking that it could possibly help with studying, I grabbed it and went to purchase my two items. I could tell the man was suspicious of me and wondered why I'd be interested in legends, but I just smiled pleasantly as I paid.
Walking out of the shop, I decided to meander through the streets a bit, wanting to explore some more. I still had a little bit of time before I had to meet back up with Angela and Jess and wanted to get just a little sight-seeing in. It wasn't the touristy section of town, but I didn't mind that. It was nice to see what the real Port Angeles was like. Nobody I passed on the street even spared me a glance, and I didn't mind. I was too focused on looking around for any other little shops around. There were a few that I passed, but none of them interesting enough to stop in.
After having no luck in finding something interesting, I decided I should begin heading back to Angela and Jessica. I'd probably already be about ten minutes late, but that was still plenty enough time to catch them. As I turned around on my heel and began retracing my steps, I quickly came to the realization that I hadn't been paying as much attention to street signs as I should have. I wracked my brain for landmarks, but I could see none of them on the street that I was currently headed.
Crossing over to another wrong street, I finally accepted that I was lost, to my embarrassment. I would have asked for help but noticed that I seemed to be the only person on the street, and not many cars passed. The sky was starting to get dark as well, and I cursed to myself, trying to ignore the panic building in my chest. I took a deep breath, walking in a direction that seemed sort of, kind of, not really familiar. "Calm down Addie, it's fine. I can just call Jessica to come and-" I pulled my phone out of my pocket- "and my phone is dead. No biggie. That's absolutely no reason to panic. I'll just keep walking until I find someone and ask them for directions. Yeah." Psyching myself up, I continued down the darkening streets, becoming more and more aware of just how alone I was the longer I saw no one around. If push came to shove, I wasn't above flagging down a car.
Luckily, a group of four men turned around the corner I was walking towards. They were joking and laughing loudly amongst themselves. I knew they weren't tourists, like me, and could probably offer me some help with getting back to civilization, but something about them didn't sit right with me. Maybe it was just the fact that they were men, and I was a female all alone on a deserted road or maybe it was something else.
They're criminals. They can hurt me.
That thought was what made me keep my mouth shut and move to the furthest edge of the sidewalk. I didn't look down though. No, I wanted them in my sight just in case they pulled something. I gripped my bags tighter to my chest and hoped none of them bothered me. I had no such luck. Maybe I should have gotten the citrine which was meant for protection and good luck.
"Hey, there!" one of them called as they passed me. The rest of the group began to come to a stop along with him. I didn't dare do the same. If anything, my stride became faster. There was no way I was going to be dumb and put myself in a dangerous situation. I'd just take my chances being rude.
"Hey, wait!" another one called, but I didn't listen. I pretended I didn't hear him and rounded the corner, doing my best not to break out into a full on sprint just yet. I was trying to stay as calm as possible, but that was pretty hard when I knew that they were criminals.
The sky continued to get darker, and cars and people became virtually non-existent. The panic that I'd been trying to keep at bay was steadily growing, and I could feel my breaths coming out sharper. There were no shops or stores I could go in to make a call. Only warehouses and abandoned, run-down buildings remained.
They're following me.
That thought made me stiffen up and steal a quick glance behind me. Sure enough, two men from the group were walking quietly about twenty feet behind me. I was surprised I hadn't heard their footsteps. Now that I was aware of them, I held my bags closer to me and picked up the pace once again. I was nearly jogging at this point, but I didn't care. I could hear their footsteps pick up too. I contemplated dropping my purse and bags on the ground, hoping that would appease them, but I knew they weren't after valuables. I shuddered from a chill that had nothing to do with the weather.
As I was about to turn around a corner I thought would lead me to safety, a scary realization hit me. They're not just following me… they're herding me.
I didn't even have to look around the corner to know that it was probably a dead end. The footsteps got louder, and I turned around to try and continue across the street. Before I could, the other two men were coming around another corner to intercept me. "There you are!" Shit! Shit! Shit!
The men had wicked smiles on their face that rubbed me the wrong way. Just looking at them, I could tell what their intentions were. Fear pumped through my veins along with a heavy dose of adrenaline. They weren't just going to let me leave, and I knew I didn't have enough strength or speed to get past them, not like this, at least.
If I turned into a vampire, I'd kill them. I withered slightly and glanced all around me once more. The men were converging on me faster than I could really comprehend in my panicked state, and I pressed myself as far away as I could with the limited space. Even though I knew they were planning on doing vile things to me, I didn't want to kill them. All I wanted more than anything else was to get far far away… but I would do what I had to to get away unscathed, even if that meant committing murder and unintentionally draining every single one of them dry.
"Stay away from me," I hissed, putting on my most menacing facade. I could tell it threw them off guard for a second, but not enough to give me the opportunity to escape.
"Don't be like that, sugar," the one closest to me called, and I could hear the laughter start up again.
Feeling them coming closer, my instincts took the better of me, and I attempted to rush past them in a burst of speed. I got a few feet away, but their arms grabbed at me before I could get too far. Struggling against them, I opened my mouth and let out the most ear-piercing scream I could muster. The sound even made my ears ring, so I knew someone had to hear it.
Headlights suddenly flew around the corner, and I had to blink a few times before I noticed the familiar silver Volvo. Edward! As if I'd called him, he threw the door open and flew out before the car was even fully in park. The look on his face was downright furious. His eyes were black as coals and his lips were pulled back in a vicious snarl. Despite his frightening appearance, I'd never felt so relieved. The men holding me abruptly let go, and I nearly flew into Edward's side. Already, I could feel my eyes stinging with the urge to cry.
Edward didn't even glance at me as he ordered, "Get in the car, Addison." I hardly recognized his voice. It was filled with malice and complete hatred, but I knew it wasn't directed towards me. All his anger was aimed towards the men who'd, not too long ago, had me in their grasps. Now they were looking warily at Edward, no doubt debating whether it was worth it to take him on to get to me. I made a move to do as he said, but something stopped me.
He'll kill them. If I don't stop him, he's going to kill every single one of these men. I believed that wholeheartedly, and the memory of him calling himself dangerous replayed in my mind. I didn't think he had a weapon, but I had a feeling that he didn't need one.
While I held nothing but bad feelings towards the men who were trying to take advantage of me, I didn't want to see them dead-in jail, definitely, but not dead. So, gathering the minuscule amount of courage I had left, I gripped the sleeve of Edward's jacket tightly and tugged harshly. He didn't budge an inch. "Edward," I couldn't stop my voice from trembling, "let's go. Let's go, please. I really really don't want to be here anymore, Edward," I pleaded in a harsh whisper. My words nearly jumbled together in my panic.
He stared the men down for another five seconds before finally taking a step away. I kept a firm grasp on his sleeve until we were close to his car, only letting go to throw myself into the passenger seat. He slammed the door firmly behind him, and it was a wonder the window didn't shatter.
His hands gripped the wheel tight enough to make his pale knuckles even whiter as he stepped harshly on the gas. We jerked forward and came only centimeters from hitting the group of men who were still staring wide-eyed. They jumped back, tripping over themselves in an effort not to be hit before scrambling to get up and run away. Edward expertly put the car into reverse and maneuvered us back onto the road.
"Put on your seatbelt," he grit through his teeth, still looking absolutely murderous. Dropping my bags haphazardly at my feet, I scrambled to do as he said. It took exponentially longer than it should have with my trembling hands and watery eyes, but I somehow managed to click it into place eventually. He'd blown through several stop signs while I was preoccupied, I noted.
There was a long silence, and I attempted to get my heavy breathing under control. The sudden switch from panic to relief had my heart racing nearly a mile a minute, and it was all I could hear for a long time. When I was finally able to hear the sound of the Volvo's engine, I turned to look at Edward. As I thought, his face was still murderously angry.
Without much thought, I asked, "Are… are you okay?"
He took his eyes off the road to shoot me an incredulous look. "Are you serious? You were just… attacked and you're the one asking me if I'm okay?" When he put it that way, it did sound pretty stupid. I couldn't help it though. He looked almost like a completely different person in his anger, and I really wanted him to be okay.
"I'm sorry, I just… you looked like you were ready to kill those guys back there, and I want to make sure that you… don't."
"I'm tempted, so tempted. I want to make them experience the pain and fear that they made you feel and more. If only you could hear what those… lowlife bastards were thinking, you'd feel the same way. You'd want me to kill them," he growled, gripping the wheel even tighter. I seriously thought it was going to snap.
Glossing over the gorier part of what he'd said, my mind tuned in on the singular part that made my blood run cold. "Wait… you could hear what they were thinking?" I asked, trying to focus my attention on anything other than what had almost happened. I was sure I'd have a full-blown panic attack if I didn't.
He clenched his jaw, looking a bit less murderous and a bit more frustrated. "It wasn't hard to guess." I regarded him carefully. He's lying. I know he is, but I was too stunned to question him further. I was lost in my own mind. If he could hear their thoughts… did that mean he could hear my own? Had he heard everything I'd thought about him or anyone else since that first day? Was he listening now? I immediately tried to think about anything unimportant, like the radio station that was currently turned all the way down, but I couldn't. Too much was happening at once, and I couldn't stop myself from thinking about Edward being a mind reader.
Glancing at the dashboard clock, I noticed that it was well past the time I was supposed to meet back up with Jessica and Angela. They were probably worried. Without a word, Edward made a quick turn and began heading back towards town. I came to the quick realization that he'd probably heard my thoughts. I noticed his jaw clench.
"Are you okay, Addison?" he asked, suddenly. The question had such an obvious answer that I couldn't help but let out a humorless chuckle.
"Am I oka-of course not! I'm the furthest thing from okay right now! Here I was, thinking I was going to have a nice trip with my friends to go buy a dress for the dance, only to get lost and fucking herded like cattle to be-" I took a sharp breath in, realizing I hadn't breathed- "I'm nowhere near okay. I don't know whether to cry, scream, or get angry." The stinging returned to my eyes, and a lump bigger than any other formed in my throat. If I said another word, I was going to burst into tears, I knew it, either that or pass out.
"You're probably going into shock," he said, turning to observe me fully. The fact that he wasn't paying attention to the road didn't even scare me. I felt completely safe in Edward's presence.
"Great… just great." I hit my head against the plush seat with every word. As I thought, tears began to leak from the barrier of my eyelids and roll down my cheeks. I wiped them away furiously, hoping Edward didn't notice them, but knowing he did.
I definitely should have gotten that citrine crystal.