Time Lapse, after the barbeque
Snip…Snip…Snip…
Edward lay in bed, snipping his fingers together. He was constantly doing that, it calmed his nerves. Today had been very different for him. He had been so used to the quiet, lonely life in the mansion on the hill; he had almost forgotten how nice it was to have people around.
He sighed as he thought about them. Peg had been so kind to him, and so gentle. He had never had a mother, but he considered her like one. The kind way she had been caring for him; giving him clothes, not getting mad when they were accidentally stained, and then she had tried to make his face look less scarred. He didn't know why…but she cared so much for him, yet they had only known each other for a day or two.
Then there was Jade…he wasn't sure exactly how he felt towards her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, although he had never actually seen a woman before he met Peg and Jade, other than in books. But the women in the books were so different from her, they looked more like the other girl he had seen in the picture with Jade…Kim was her name.
He didn't consider Kim ugly, but she wasn't nearly as pretty as Jade was. Kim was different as well, her clothes weren't as revealing and her makeup wasn't as heavy, but something about Jade was different. Was it her kindness? He wasn't quite sure…but she had an aura about her that was unlike anything he had ever felt before.
Maybe it was her kindness…she had been so kind to him. And the feeling he got when she touched his cheek…it was like he was flying. Her warm touch had felt so good against his cool skin; he could barely remember where he was until he saw her beautiful smile that brought him back to reality.
His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a blinding yellow light. He shut his eyes tightly; and then realized that someone had turned on the lamp in the bedroom. Was it Peg? Jade? He slowly opened them again, to see the girl from the picture, Kim. She was standing by the mirror. He hadn't met her yet...what would she be like?
He was about to speak when he froze as she started to undress. He began to shake, his scissors refusing to snip from fear. Her shirt was off, and she was about to do more, when she caught sight of him in her bed. A piercing scream came from her lips as she saw Edward, and in her bed no less. She stood, frozen in fear, for a split second, and then rushed out of the room, screaming for her parents.
Edward was shaking violently out of fear, not able to think straight. Suddenly Peg appeared at the doorway, looking worried.
"Oh Edward, dear, you must be terrified! Don't worry, Kim was just a little frightened, it's okay."
She helped Edward up, and put her arm around his shoulder to guide him away from the bed.
"Mom,
what's going on?"
Jade was standing at the doorway, looking
very tired. She was in her pajamas, her hair messy, and her face
painted with exhaustion.
"Oh, Jade…Kim met Edward…"said Peg, sympathetically.
Jade gave a weak smile despite her obvious exhaustion.
"I'm going to go talk to Kim with Bill…why don't you two keep each other company?"
Before either of them could even take in what she had said, she was gone.
Ahg…she always does that…leaving me in awkward situations…
Jade didn't know exactly what to say, so she said the first thing that came to her mind.
"Are…are you okay?"
He gave a weak nod, and sat down on her bed, obviously in shock.
"Don't mind Kim," she began, "she just got back from a camping trip with her friends, she's probably really tir—
"It was my hands, wasn't it?" he said suddenly, gazing at her sadly. His eyes were glossy, like he was in another world.
"What?" Jade said, even though she heard him.
"My hands. She screamed like that…because of my hands."
She looked into his eyes, filled with confusion and pain. He was starring coldly at the floor, his eyes filling with tears.
Jade reached out her hand to touch his shoulder, but hesitated as he looked back up at her, his gaze piercing into her eyes. She couldn't bear to see such an innocent man so saddened, but she wasn't sure what to do.
She gently stroked his face with the tips of her fingers, running over the cool, smooth skin that covered his face. She stopped to trace one of the scars on his cheek with her fingernail, exploring its texture and uniqueness.
She froze when she realized what she was doing, and quickly pulled her hand back, letting it rest awkwardly in her lap. She looked down, muttering an apology.
"It's okay, it didn't hurt."
Jade looked up at him meekly from under her eyelashes, and saw that he meant what he said. She smiled at him, and spoke.
"Edward, listen. No matter what anyone ever says to you, you need to believe the truth."
"What's that?" he whispered.
"That your hands are beautiful. They aren't a defect, a cripple, a weapon…they are your hands. And they are beautiful."
Edward couldn't help but smile at her kind words. He knew she really meant it.
His smile was suddenly gone as he saw a single tear roll down her face.
She gave a weak smile when she saw his concern.
"What's wrong, Jade?" his voice filled with confusion. Hadn't she just been cheering him up?
She just shook her head slightly, another tear falling down her face, her hands releasing his chin.
Edward searched her eyes, looking for any trace of an explanation as to why she was crying. His eyes lit up when he suddenly remembered something the inventor had told him so long ago.
"She was so sad, my wife. I couldn't imagine why…sometimes a woman is emotional and won't tell the man what's wrong…" the old inventor chuckled, "but I figured one thing out. Give a girl a kiss, and it washes away all the sadness and depression from them."
Edward sucked in a little breath, nervously. He wasn't sure what to do, as he had never kissed someone before. He knew what was involved, as he had seen the kiss his wife before.
He slowly returned his gaze to her eyes, hesistating for only a second. He moved his head forward, gently pressing his cold lips to hers, the warmth from her body instantly washing over him. He felt Jade relax instantly, and saw her eyes flutter shut, so he did the same himself. All of a sudden, his thoughts were completely wiped away, as he was caught up in this sensation.
He had never felt anything like this before; so relaxing and emotional, and yet so thrilling and exhilirating. He felt Jade's hand on his cheek, and shivered at her warm touch. For a moment, he began to reach his hand up to her, but stopped, remembering that he couldn't feel, he couldn't express his feelings like she could. Jade broke the kiss, breathing hard. Edward had forgotten that she had needed to breathe, and quickly apologized.
"Don't apologize, Edward." She smiled weakly at his dazed expression, trying to find some indication of what he was thinking.
"Edward! Jade! Come say hi to Kim!"
They both jolted upright at her voice, piercing the silence.
"Guess we better go face the music, huh?"
Edward gave a weak nod, smiling all the while.
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I'm pretty happy with it, but I'm beginning to feel like Jade is coming off as a Mary-Sue, which really sucks…sorry about that. As the story goes on, I'll try to fix that. Drop me a review, if you can spare the few seconds. Just knowing that someone is still reading my story makes me want to keep on writing