Demetri
The journey has been refreshingly uneventful. We should be arriving in New York soon, where we'll have the intriguing task of evading the border officers. The last obstacle that stands between us and Alexa's safety.
"You should eat." I tell Alexa, knowing we might need our strength.
"I ate this morning." She mumbles, not able to tear her eyes away from the window. She's been staring out at the vast ocean in awe all week. I doubt she had any idea the world was this big. We spotted land about an hour ago, and her eyes have been glued to the expanding shore ever since.
"You ate pancakes." I reply.
"And waffles. And fruit, lots of fruit." She retorts, as if it were the specific dish that I was questioning and not the lack of blood she has consumed. I haven't been able to get her to touch a bag all week. She just keeps shrugging me off, never looking me in the eye, murmuring just a few words about not being hungry or not enjoying it. I hold out the last bag of blood, offering it to her.
"I told you, I don't like the taste." She says awkwardly. I can almost see the tears she's holding back, even with her gaze so obviously diverted.
"Why won't you drink it?" I finally push the subject for the first time all week, fearing the consequences if she continues to starve her vampire half.
"I'm not hungry. I already ate." She argues, still not looking me in the eye.
"It's not the same." I tell her.
"I know. Pancakes are delicious. That stuff, not so much." She retorts, the tears in her eyes finally spilling over.
"Lexa, talk to me. Why won't you drink it?" I ask.
"I don't like it." She answers, a bit too aggressively.
"I don't like the taste of human food but it's never made me cry before." I reply.
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't be crying. I'm stronger than that." She says, wiping away her tears.
"What do you mean stronger?" I ask, reaching out to her.
"Nothing." She answers, quickly dodging my reach. She's been practically glued to me all week, seeking comfort in the familiar. Her sudden distance feels like a hole in my heart. Even though she's a mere foot away from me, it seems more like an entire ocean is separating us. "Can we just drop it?" She finally asks.
"Yes." I reply, ready to do anything if it means closing this strange and unwelcome distance.
"Thank you." She says, running into my arms. I can feel her uneven breathing against my chest as she tries to calm her tears. She doesn't need to do anything she doesn't want to do. I can protect her. I have so far I tell myself, even though a part of me knows that's a lie. If I had been truly able to protect her, we would have taken this journey six years ago. But I was too afraid then. Too selfish.
I wish I could hold her until her tears have all passed, until she's smiling and laughing again. But I can feel the boat pull into shore. We'll need to be ready to go whenever opportunity strikes, without her at full strength, we couldn't take any chances.
"Are you ready?" I ask, reluctantly pulling away.
"We're going to be okay right?" She replies, seeking my reassurance.
"I've faced much scarier than US border control. Plus, who could resist you?" I joke, hoping it's convincing. Truthfully, she hasn't been having the affect on people I've been expecting. I had planned to keep her inside our cabin as much as possible, but how could I keep her locked up after the life she's had? She deserves her freedom, regardless of the consequences. But so far, there haven't been any consequences. Sure, she's been charming the socks off of our fellow passengers, but something tells me that's just her, no supernatural ability necessary. Perhaps Aro and I were wrong about her magnetism? But that couldn't be true. I remember that feeling clear as day. It wouldn't have threatened Aro nearly as much if it weren't real. Unless it was a fluke. Emotions were tense and stakes were high, maybe whatever powers she had were also amplified in that moment. Whatever the explanation is, I'm hoping the Cullens may be able to help solve the mystery.
"So there's a plan?" She questions, her uncertainty written all over her face.
"A vague one." I answer, hoping she'll accept it, knowing she won't.
"What is it?" She continues her interrogation.
"We sneak off the boat, past the border guards."
"How?"
"Quickly." I tell her, fully aware that it's not the strategically thought out plan she's hoping for . She looks unimpressed. "I did say it was vague. Do you trust me?"
"Are you going to ask me that every time I'm unsatisfied with your answer?" She argues. Even I have to admit she has a valid point.
"That depends."
"On what."
"Whether or not it will work." I say, offering a somewhat cheeky smile.
"Well that depends." She counters.
"On what?"
"Whether or not I have a choice." She replies, clearly besting me. All I can do is start laughing at how clever she is. "Great, now you're laughing at me." She says, misunderstanding.
"No, not at you. I will never laugh at you. I promise."
"Then what?"
"You just have absolutely no idea how remarkable you are, do you?"
"Should I?"
"I'm making it my new mission in life to ensure you do."
"You'd think after a thousand years you might have loftier goals."
"How did you get so clever?"
"I'm sure I'm not."
"I know you are. You'll see." I offer her a smile. I can hear that people have started to vacate their cabins. Disembarkment would begin soon. "We should go."
"You're not packed." She says, gesturing to the suitcases that had been waiting for us when we boarded the ship.
"We can't bring them, they might slow us down. Anything you want you'll need to wear or carry."
"Oh." She look disappointed.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Alice will have a fully stocked closet for you when we arrive."
"Can you give me a minute then? I'd like to change." She tells me.
"Sure, I'll go scope out the situation. Meet me on deck when you're ready." I say, giving her a kiss on the top of her head before I go. It seems to have a calming affect on her.
I exit the cabin and follow the stream of passengers out of the hallway and up the stairs towards the top deck when I see it, a bright stream of sunlight. We had been fortunate enough to have cloud cover for most of the week. Of course it would disappear on the day we needed it most. I quickly turn, apologising to everyone as I squeeze past them, clearly walking against the current. I open the door to our cabin to find Alexa wearing the same dress she was in when I found her in Volterra.
"What's wrong?" She asks, sensing my anxiety.
"You changed." I say, surprised.
"Sorry. I told you I was going to, is it a problem?" She replies.
"No, that's not what's wrong. I just wasn't expecting this to be your outfit of choice." I answer.
"It's a reminder." She tells me, which is a bit worrisome. She seems to have enjoyed the freedom she's had this past week. Did she miss her old life? Trapped inside that tower? Was she more indoctrinated than I was aware? "Of the day you rescued me." She smiles, allaying all my fears at once. "So what's the problem?"
"The sun."
"Oh right, most people don't…"
"Sparkle." I finish for her. "Yeah, that's not a normal thing."
"So what do we do?" She asks.
"How long can you hold your breath?"
"I've never tried."
"Well there's a first time for everything."
"What does that mean?"
"We're going to have to swim."
"I don't know how to swim."
"Then I guess you'll just have to hold on tight." I say, wrapping my arms around her.
"Wait!" She stops me. "Do we have something waterproof"
"For what?" She takes a small wooden box out from under her arm. The same one I had seen her take from her bed under Volterra.
"Put on your raincoat." I tell her, as I go to the suitcase, grabbing my own coat before swiftly ripping the waterproof lining of the case. We both throw on our rain jackets and I wrap the small box in the lining, handing it back to her as she stuffs it under her coat. "You ready now?"
"I have to be." She answers simply. She's right. I pull up the oversized hood of my jacket, before lifting her up on to my back again as I walk out to the balcony of our cabin. I take a few furtive glances around to make sure no one can see, but there is no one around. They're probably all on the deck by now, hopefully exiting off the opposite side of the ship. It's now or never.
"Take a deep breath. And pull on my hair when you need to come up." I say. As soon as I hear Alexa inhale I dive, plunging us into the ocean. I start swimming as fast as I can, knowing Alexa might not last very long without oxygen. The plan is to swim as far down shore as possible until she gives me the signal that she needs to surface. Hopefully by that point we will have made it away from the prying eyes of any border control officials or fellow passengers. But I know there's no telling who we might see when we do surface. I'm pleasantly surprised by how long she lasts without air, far longer than any ordinary human. I'm sure we've made it out of the ship's eyeline by the time we come up.
"You okay?" I ask, shifting her from my back so I can look at her.
"Yeah, sorry I couldn't last longer. I was starting to feel dizzy." She replies.
"No, you were brilliant." I smile for a minute before remembering I have no idea where we are. I look around. There's a beach in the distance. It's not too crowded but unfortunately two people in rain jackets and street clothes emerging from the water isn't exactly inconspicuous. Especially when one of those people sparkles.
"We're going to have to wait for the beach to clear." I tell her. "It might be a while."
"Oh. Okay, good. You can teach me how to swim." She smiles.
"I'm not sure I'd be the best teacher."
"Please Metri. I've always wanted to learn." She begs, giving me a puppy dog look that I fear she already knows I can't resist.
"Fine. We already know you can hold your breath, how hard can the rest be?" I say, before showing her a front crawl. We go through the basic strokes, and she manages to pick them all up quite quickly. Within a half hour she's swimming well enough to make the Olympic team, and I'm starting to wonder if there's anything this woman can't do.
Shortly after she's completed showing off her final stroke, we hear a clap of thunder. I look up to see the clouds rolling in. Everyone on the beach is clamouring to pack up their things before the rain starts.
"Here's our chance." I say, starting to swim towards the shore.
"I'll race you." She shouts as she speeds ahead. Perhaps a bit too fast for someone trying not to attract attention.
"Lexa." I shout after her, but she's already made it half way too shore. I dive under the surface, racing after her. She may be fast, but still faster. I manage to catch up in just a few seconds, grabbing her around the waist. "Lexa. Think human. Remember?"
"What?" She asks, obviously confused at my statement.
"Humans can't swim through ocean currents in a storm at that speed. In fact most humans can't do it at all." I explain.
"Oh." She realises her mistake, looking around to make sure she hasn't drawn attention. Luckily we're still a ways from shore and everyone left on the beach is occupied with their own frantic packing.
"Come on, hang on to me. If anyone asks we were out on our boat, and it capsized in the storm. It will explain the clothes." I tell her. "You ready?" I ask, for what might be the thousandth time today.
"I have to be." She repeats her earlier answer. And I find myself longing for the day she won't have to do anything, when her life will belong to her.
"Let's do this." I say, pulling her close to me before making my way toward the shore, trying to be clumsy enough to be believable, but not noticeable.
"Oh my god, are you okay." I hear a voice say as soon as the water is shallow enough for me to stand. Perfect.
"We're fine. We were just out having a bit of fun in our boat and it capsized." I say, hoping that will be enough of an explanation. Unfortunately some humans have an annoying amount of empathy and concern for others, as was apparently the case with this stranger who was now wading out into the water to help us to shore. As she comes to our unnecessary aid, her hand brushes my skin and I hear her gasp.
"You're freezing. You must have hypothermia. We need to get you to a hospital." The stranger says.
"No!" I say a little too forcefully. "I mean, no, you're very kind but it's unnecessary, I have a low body temperature anyway. We just need to get warmed up a bit."
"What about you sweetie, you want to see a doctor?" She asks Alexa suspiciously, and I'm just imagining all the horrible scenarios this woman has concocted in her head.
"I'm wonderful." Alexa says smiling innocently, having no clue how peculiar that answer sounds coming from a girl who supposedly just nearly drowned in the ocean.
"If he's hurting you, you can tell me now. One phone call and he'll be in jail." The woman tells her. Great, now I've got an overly concerned stranger who's convinced Alexa is the victim of some sort of human trafficking ring. If only she knew what I was rescuing the girl from.
"Jail? What? Why would he be hurting me?" Alexa asks, completely naïve to what the situation looks like.
"Who is this man?" The woman asks.
"He's my—" Alexa begins, trailing off as she searches for a way to define us. No one on the boat had asked. People just seemed to assume one thing or another, siblings, lovers, who knows. None of them were brazen enough to ask, not wanting to offend. "He's my everything." Alexa finishes and I groan internally. That was not the answer this woman was looking for.
"I'm calling the police." The stranger says.
"I can assure you miss there's no need." I start to say, but she's already turned and headed back to her pile of belongings, presumably to get her phone. "Oh my back." I whisper to Alexa.
"Huh?" She asks, still confused by the whole ordeal.
"Now." I tell her, leaving no room for argument. As soon as I feel her in place I take off towards a patch of trees just beyond the beach, leaving behind no trace we were ever there, except a very confused woman, who may never be able to forget her concern for the poor girl she encountered on the beach. If I was a better man I might feel bad about it. But I'm not. All I care about is getting Alexa to safety. "Are you okay?" I ask Alexa once we're safely under the cover of the forest.
"Yes." She replies, no doubt still mulling over everything that has just happened. Part of me is glad she doesn't understand. And part of me knows that soon she will. Soon she'll understand better than anyone ever should. And that part of me hurts.
"Let's go home." I say. The word feeling strange in my mouth. Volterra had been my home for centuries, and hers by default, although no one could mistake her tower for a home. It was very clearly a prison. But I was hoping maybe Forks could become home for her. As for me, my home is sitting on my back, clinging to me with all her strength as I run us both towards Washington and into the unknown.