Poco a Poco Chapter 5
-Lianna-
I closed my eyes to process what he had just said, but failed the first three times.
Do you have a gift, Edward? I signed, not willing to address the second part of his sentence yet. "I can read minds." As soon as he said it, I took the pillow from the end of my head and smacked him repeatedly with it until he took it from me. "What's wrong?" Edward asked, taking my left hand before I could punch him in the face again.
WHY, oh why did you force me to tell you the whole thing when you could have just picked it out of my head! You asshole! I went punch him again, but he took both of his hands and wrapped them securely around mine as I fumed and tugged uselessly against his iron and cold grip, unease and discomfort building as strong as his grasp.
"Because I can't read your mind. If I could, I would never have done that to anyone. Your mind is the only one I have never been able to read. I'll prove it too, Helen will by a pineapple from the grocery store." He said, and I glared at him as he gave my hands a gentle squeeze. "I love your reaction. You don't question me, just try to assault me." He laughed again, and despite my anger, his laughter lifted my spirits again. When he realized I wanted to say something and didn't want to try to 'assault' him again, he released me.
Just because I don't ask you about it, doesn't mean I still don't question you. I still don't know if I can trust you. His expression dropped, and as bad as it made me feel, I still couldn't trust him. I didn't even trust Helen 100%. "I suppose that is understandable." He said finally, and then there was more silence, that seemed louder than him talking.
You mentioned your sister…what about your other siblings? I signed, to distract him from his increasingly brooding expression. "Alice and Rosalie are my two sisters, and Emmett and Jasper are my brothers." He said flatly. I love their names. I interjected before he could continue talking, and he smiled, but it was small. "Alice and Jasper are a couple, and Jasper can manipulate emotions." He said, and as he smiled bigger, any happiness I expressed vanished. I didn't like the sound of that at all, but I hid it as Edward met my gaze. And Rosalie and Emmett? I signed quickly, to cover up my lapse in self-control. He fiddled with a hole in my comforter.
"Rosalie and Emmett have been married at least 20 times. Neither of them have a 'supernatural' power, as you might classify my power or Alice and Jasper's powers, but Rosalie is always…stubborn, to say the least. Emmett is very, very strong for a vampire." He finished, and suddenly frowned and took my left hand. Despite the swelling, the faint scars from the self-inflicted bite on my fist were paler than the rest of my skin where Maria had licked me. "Is this where…?" I nodded before he had to finish, and felt the back of my neck heat again.
Edward traced the scars with a decidedly stony expression. Describe Carlisle and Esme. I twisted my hands nimbly out of his loose grasp and signed quickly, to avoid more questions about the murders of my family. He took a moment to answer, and he sounded slightly angry once more, although his words were the opposite. "Carlisle is extremely compassionate, and has almost built immunity to the lure of human blood. He is a doctor. Esme is very kind, and very caring. Although she has never really had a specific job, she loves interior design, and she is very motherly." Edward sighed.
Do you miss them? I signed, feeling that he must be homesick, considering he seemed so unwilling to describe them. He laughed again, and the anger vanished behind his façade. "I've been living with them since I was changed, so not particularly. But I have been away from them for awhile. The whole family is in Toronto except me." And your sister saw me visiting. Are you going to take me across the border tomorrow? I can't mess with the future. I signed, and he laughed louder than I had ever heard him laugh.
"If I can convince Ms. Sanyer in the morning that I'm taking you to scout out music schools, then yes, Alice wants you to come. And I want Carlisle to take a look at your knuckle. It's a miracle you punched me at all. Usually vampires have faster reflexes than that, but I wasn't expecting it." He chuckled, gazing at my left hand. My fingers were nimble and thin from playing so long. I thought they looked rather skeletal and ugly, but I didn't mention this. "What about me do you not trust the most?" He asked suddenly, his poker face on.
It took me awhile to answer. It's a mix of two things. I've feared vampires my whole life, thinking that one day I wouldn't wake up, that she would have come for me. Two, I'm paranoid. I'm being pretty foolish trusting you; you could have made up quite a story. And I still want to see if Helen really buys a pineapple. Edward chuckled, but it didn't have real life like it had before. I shouldn't fear you because you are a vampire, but I do. It's not that I'm afraid of you sucking all the blood out of me, I'm afraid of others like you, even though I know you could hurt me if you wanted to. I elaborated. His lips twitched upward, but he continued to focus on the hole in my comforter.
"Speaking of this 'her'. Do you think that you can describe her and her partner tomorrow for my family? The more minds trying to identify them, the closer we can get to finding them." Edward dropped the first subject and pressed on. It's not that I don't remember what they look like…it's more like I'm afraid of remembering. But if I've been able to come this far, who knows what I can do. Edward lightly rested his hands on mine. "I know you can." He said earnestly, and I smiled the ghostly smile and looked at our hands. His fingers were long and thin, like mine, but at least three shades lighter. The paleness didn't scare me anymore, even though his very presence should have.
We sat that way for awhile, and randomly I would pull away, only to ask a question about vampires. Now that according to Edward, I was 'protected', I wanted to know more, even if he really wasn't here to protect me. I had no expectations, but he told me information willingly enough, even if he needed slight prodding to go into detail. The fact that he didn't sleep, and that no vampire could ever sleep surprised me, and yet, I wished that I didn't need to. Then maybe the nightmares would go away.
"I don't mean to frighten you, but I am going to stay most of the night in your room. I'm not letting you out of my sight." He insisted. That is…sick. I appreciate the concern…but isn't watching me sleep a little…much? I signed, and he shook his head. "I don't want to invade your privacy, but I'm not going to leave." His face turned stubborn. Edward, I got a slight thrill from addressing him directly, it's really not necessary. I don't like it, it's pretty damn creepy.
"I won't be here when you wake up, but I'm staying the night." He crossed his arms. Making sure I don't go anywhere? I challenged, trying to make him mad enough to leave. He threw me a look that said, don't you dare go there. "Lianna, I'm home!" Helen shouted from downstairs, making me flinch. "And I got a little crazy at the store and bought a pineapple for you!" She shouted, and Edward looked smug. This discussion is not over. I signed, and slipped off the bed, grabbed the now warm ice pack and went downstairs.
I helped Helen make spaghetti and wondered what the hell Edward could be doing in my room…
-Edward-
As Lianna walked downstairs, I felt an uncalled for rush of affection at her stubbornness. I spent a good twenty minutes examining her room, looking for any personal detail besides the stacks of extremely advanced violin concertos and solos and was coming up empty. Buried in the back of her sock drawer was a photo of her family, but that was the end of it. I snuck over to her bathroom out of curiosity. There was only a bar of generic soap and towels, a navy brush and generic brand toothpaste with a toothbrush. There wasn't a speck of makeup anywhere, not that she needed it. Her eyes were a clear, light blue that seemed to make it harder to lie.
Dinner was a short and quiet affair for the two, and I was sitting quietly in a far corner of her room looking over music when she came back upstairs, pulled pajamas out of her dresser and went to the bathroom without a word. When she came back, her hair was wet and hung to her elbows in thick strands. She stood by her bed, watching me with a frown. Would you please leave? She signed finally, and I shook my head without looking up from the music. Annoyed, she went over to her closet, picked out a simple pale green dress with a yellow t-shirt underneath and navy leggings for the next day to go with her old school worn-out chucks before throwing me another angry look as she got into bed.
That's when I noticed her only pieces of jewelry; she was putting her hair into a ponytail to sleep. She had two tiny silver studs in her ears, and then a delicate silver locket around her neck. She switched off her light, and for awhile, it was silent, until she started to whimper. Remembering what Helen's diary had described, I restacked her music and rose uncertainly. Her face wore a deep frown as she curled into a ball, getting restless.
It was when she started weeping silently that made me sit at the foot of her bed, unsure of what to do. I knew what she was dreaming about, and I knew that all the pain she had kept from me today was finally being expressed.
"How much further does this scent trail go? It's old and faint. It might not even be her." He complained, but bowed his head in fright at my cold glare. I sniffed the air, and felt that almost fruity scent make my eyes go black.
"I hope she still tastes as good as she smells." He crooned next to me, shooting the newborn who has spoke a fierce glare, making me chuckle.
"Don't worry, she will."