Sunrise

Chapter 21: Away From You

Away From You—Aphasia

OOO

I couldn't believe I was being so goddamn stupid.

I was aiming for inconspicuous, but, forgetting to ask Alice for another credit card had been my first mistake. Rita Fowler had long ago been eliminated, and now I had about a hundred bucks in cash. Hardly enough to rent a suitably quick car. So, I guessed Alice would enjoy the fact that I was starting to climb the ladder on my Grand Theft Auto skills.

Now that I thought about it, Jaime and I had played that in Montana. Not bragging or anything—me? Never—but I did whoop his ass on that game, too. The orphan kids and I must have snuck it into the boarding house a thousand times. When Jaime had asked me how I got so good at a "Boy Game," I just replied, "I gots myself some mad skills."

That was one of the few lies he'd bought from me.

Ripping myself from my thoughts, I checked my rearview mirror for the fuzz, and I was lucky. Not one cop. I reached for the coffee in the cup holder—yeah I know: Vampires don't drink coffee. Human seemed the way to go at the time, though. No more sparkling for me.

I also checked the interstate sign. I was in France at the moment—just because I liked driving throughout Europe—note sarcasm—which really isn't all that big, so the signs were not in English. That was bad, because while I knew some Italian (like it was like French in the least), this car didn't have a GPS system. Not like I could type in "Volturi" and it would direct me there, but still. I knew the general location of where the fiends were.

That whole stealing-a-car-without-a-GPS-system thing? That was mistake number two.

I hadn't reached mistake number three yet, but I was just waiting for it to spring out and slap me in the face. I really should have planned this before I ran off. There were so many answers unbidden of which, honestly, I had no desire to know. Sure, I could look and see if Matt still wanted me, but I didn't want to know. It would be less embarrassing if I knew before I got there, but I was a coward.

Hell yes, I could face an army of newborns and squash them with the help of a couple wolves. Hell yes, I could race through an inferno to try and rescue my best friend. Hell yes, I could defeat that son of a bitch—scratch that; the "bitch" was Matt's mom, too. And, hell yes, I could run a gazillion miles an hour because I was a vampire.

But I was a whimpy coward when it came to knowing if I could get my old life back.

I could always go back to my birth family. They said so themselves.

"It seems like you just got here," Esme had said, hugging me in that motherly way. You know, that back and forth motion that makes your brain rattle..

Alice was laughing at me. "But she's been so boring! When she comes back, she'll be so much more fun!"

I shot Alice a questioning glance. "I highly doubt I'll be able to escape the Volturi anytime soon," I replied grimly, crossing my arms as Esme let go. Alice waved me off, rolling her eyes.

"Trust me!" she exclaimed. "I'm Alice."

We all had to laugh at that one. And then it was Jasper saying goodbye, and Rosalie, too. "Miss you, Squirt," Jasper had informed me, while Rosalie had given me a brief hug. I know she envied me immensely—my being able to be human and all—but she somehow also adored me. She doted on me endlessly, as if I were her child, and not Edward and Bella's.

"Don't die," Emmett muttered sadly, actually sounding and looking depressed. I gave him an incredulous look as his puppy-dog eyes focused on me. "Man, you come back, and then you have to go be Edward-like and run off to Italia. Sheesh." He hugged me, almost knocking me to the ground, and I gasped out:

"I'm not gonna die, Em. Chill."

He was actually kind of scaring me. Just a little.

I turned to Carlisle, and he patted me on the back. "Come home soon, Cara," he advised, smiling. "We'll miss you."

"Can I ever call you 'Gramps'?" I hedged. He laughed, throwing his head back.

"Let's give it another couple hundred years or so, okay?"

"Deal."

I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see my father. He was smiling at me, and he pulled me into a hug. I'd been crushed that day about fifteen times. "I'm so very proud of you," he enlightened me. "You've been so strong."

I composed myself before he let me go. When I glanced at his face, he was grinning. I wasn't, but he could tell I was pleased—ha-ha, more like thrilled—with his praise. When I glanced at my mother, she frowned at the whole family.

"I can't believe not a single one of you told her to be careful," she scolded. It sounded like something I would hear from Esme, not my mom.

Emmett looked resentful. "I told her not to die," he insisted. "That has to count for something."

"I'm not going to die! Oh, ye of little faith," I muttered under my breath.

As Bella pulled me into another hug and fixed my hair, she whispered, "Be careful anyway. I know you know everything, but you're pretty arrogant—just like your father." He heard the last part, Edward did, and rolled his eyes.

With that I left, and it wasn't long till I was boarded on the express flight to France—Italy was booked. And after that, it sort of passed in a blur, because I was mostly thinking of fantasies of how I would approach my lover.

Now, my phone buzzed. I ignored it as I switched gears—damn stick shifts—and sped up. Then, one hand on the wheel, I fumbled for the vibrating cell. "Hey."

"Oh. You're alive."

"Hello, Jaime."

He exhaled sharply on the other end. "Cara! My friggen God, did it ever occur to you to mind your own freaking business?"

"Whose business did I mind again?"

"Three killer rapists on the loose! And a girl! Oh, and by the way, thanks for calling. Really appreciated it. Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. I'm so happy that we have that connection, you know? That thing, right, that's called courtesy? You know, like, calling people so they know you didn't get your head blown off from here to effing China? I mean, honestly, sis! This random girl just shows up screaming her freaking head off! And here I am trying to calm her down, and when that doesn't work, Dan splashes her with a drink—"

"Dan did what?" I asked blankly.

There was a slight pause. I'd probably disrupted his momentum—which, in my case, was a good thing. "He threw a drink on her, and then we called the police, and then they did a search. And do you know what they found?"

It was a rhetorical question, but I answered anyways. "Mickey Mouse on parade?"

"No." Jaime's voice was oddly calm at the moment, and that—I had to admit—scared the hell out of me. "They found two crushed guns, blood, and three bodies. Three! You know what could kill three men without a gun—or, sorry, let me rephrase that. Without bullet holes in the guys' chests? Something paranormal. Like, oh, I don't know—a vampire?"

"They all had heart attacks at the same time?" I supplied.

"Bullshit. Do you know that I went through a week of questioning?"

"It's your fault that you dragged the cops into this, dude." I shifted gears again. "Not my fault. You could have called me—I could've given you a kick-ass story."

"I did call you. As in, twenty-seven times a day."

I frowned. "I was… depressed."

"Oh, jeez."

"Alice took me shopping—wouldn't that depress you?"

"I have no idea," he replied, "because your aunt has never taken me shopping before. Big surprise."

"Look, Jaime," I sighed. "This convo has been totally awesome so far, and it's really cheering me up and all, but is there something you want to say that isn't contradicting me?"

I could just picture him running a hand over his face. "Sorry," he amended. "Where are you?"

"Uh…" I glanced at the next street sign. "Nice is seventeen miles south. I'm almost to Italy."

I heard something that sounded like the spitting out of a drink. "Italy?" Jaime repeated, sounding dumb.

"Where did you think I was?"

"New Hampshire?"

"Nope." I grimaced. "No, actually, I'm halfway across the world."

There was a heavy sigh. "Don't die."

"Do you know how many times I've heard that in the past month?" I asked rudely. Jaime laughed.

"You aren't the safest person on the planet, Cara. Don't sound so shocked."

"Whatever. I'll call you when I get to Genova."

"Sure," he replied. "Cool. Take care, now," he added, just to get on my nerves.

"Shut the hell up."

And he did, and I shut the phone.

I pulled over at the next gas station, focusing on Matt again. It still wasn't working! It was so annoying, having a power, getting used to it, and then discovering the glitch. I leaned my head against the steering wheel and breathed heavily. Searching for something that was never going to open up to me was exhausting, not to mention I was fooling myself.

I wasn't even trying.

I loaded the car up with gas and got back in. A few hours later and I'd be in Italy. It only made my heart beat faster.

OOO

I blinked furiously, trying to rid the tiredness from my eyes. I just felt like I could curl up and… go to sleep. I just wanted to fall into that down bed in Matt's room and sleep forever.

A blazing horn changed my mind, though, and I was blinking again. But my eyelids seemed so heavy. I sighed, a shaking hand reaching for my cup, and pushed the last drops of my Jamaican coffee into my mouth.

And just when I started thinking, Shit. I'm going to fall asleep and crash, and then I'm going to die, the castle came into view.

My heart thrummed in my chest, and I shivered. Was I crazy? Did I think that after escaping from the Volturi that I could just come back?

Which got me thinking. How had I gotten away in the first place? Had it been set up?

No, I doubted the Volturi were that patient or creative. They'd grown bored with lengthy experiments. If they'd wanted to test me, they would have just tested me. End of story.

I looked at the clock on the dashboard: it read three AM. Oh my god, freaking three AM. I wanted to die, goddamn it. Die.

I parked the car outside of the gates, getting out and leaning against it in a daze. What I was about to do was suicide. Maybe even torture. I no longer had the gold bracelet to protect me against Aro, Jane, and Marcus. In fact, I was sure that I'd be stopped if I took one step closer.

But something surged me on. It might have been the thought of falling asleep in Matt's scent, in his oh-so-comfy bed that smelled just like him. It might have been the beckoning of a warm shower and clean clothes.

But no, I didn't think that was it.

What I did think it was, was the fact that I hadn't seen Matt in a year. And I missed him. And I needed to make amends.

So I walked forward through the gates, and when I was halfway down to the castle, someone stopped me. Not physically, but they just materialized in front of me, standing there and crossing their arms as if they'd been there the whole time.

"Who goes there?" the person asked softly, barely a whisper above the wind. They weren't very tall—so, that ruled out Aro, Marcus, Caius, and Demetri, and probably the rest of the guard.

"Cara Cullen," I stated. "Who wants to know?"

I couldn't see the midget's face, but the air crackled their surprise. "You don't remember me?" asked the silhouette, slightly louder. The moon slid out from a cloud, and the sudden light illuminated a strand of brown hair from beneath a smoke-like hood.

"Jane?" I gasped, trying to overshadow fear with astonishment.

In the dim light, the figure slowly shook its head. "Not quite," they amended. "Alec, Jane's brother?"

Oh. Oops. "Of course. You'll have to excuse me—it's difficult lighting to be making assumptions. Do forgive me."

If he noted the sarcasm in my tone, he didn't say anything. "Why are you here?" he inquired.

"I have matters to attend to. I'm sure if Aro wants to know, he can ask me himself." I crossed my arms across my chest and frowned. I was tired. I wanted to see Matt. I wanted to sleep, for Christ's sakes.

A grim, ghostly smile lit Alec's features. "Matthias hasn't been exactly competent this past year. He doesn't need any more distractions."

"Me? A distraction? Hardly."

Alec's cold, red eyes ran over me. "Did something happen to your neck?" he asked abruptly, and I clutched my jacket tighter around the scar.

"Yes, something did," I agreed. "But I need to speak with Matthias. Is he here?" I felt myself sway and leaned against the nearest tree, trying to appear not fatigued, but bored.

"No."

"Do you know where he is?"

"Yes."

I rubbed my temples. "Alec, I'm sorry, but I do not have time for games. Please, can you tell me where he is?"

Alec's tone didn't change as he informed me, "I sent him to the forest in the south. Apparently, there have been some misgivings, or, well, problems with the wildlife there."

"Oh." I turned, debating whether to leave now or sleep. I didn't think I'd be much use to Matt if I just showed up and clung to him… or fainted on him.

"I don't suggest leaving," Alec called out, tone neutral, from behind me. The implications sent chills down my spine. It meant that Aro wanted to talk to me before I had a chance to escape. "Actually, I don't believe it's an option."

"I got the message the first time," I growled acidly, shoving my hands in my pockets. "Why aren't you taking me to Aro now?" I demanded suddenly, whipping around to face the small boy. "I did run away, after all."

"Test."

I felt the color drain from my face. "What?"

"I'm sure your dear Matthias will explain it to you when he gets back. Well, if he gets back."

I ignored the last remark, digging my nails back into my palms. "May I go inside then?" I asked rudely, rolling my eyes behind closed lids.

"Be our guest." A Disney phrase, but coming from Alec, it sounded uninviting and just plain creepy.

I trudged into the castle. No one bothered to speak to me, even as I passed Caius and Demetri. They shot me sidelong glances, but didn't utter a word. It was either they weren't surprised, didn't care, or I looked like a walking zombie.

None of which would surprise me.

When I reached the old room—I knew it by heart—I stopped. My footsteps in this particular hallway had been slow and deliberate, and I reached for the doorknob with shaking fingers. I knew he wasn't there, but it didn't stifle my excitement.

The door swung open, and I slipped my feet into the ancient, yet beautiful, carpet, relishing in the soft plush beneath my toes. Not quite the feel of home, but it was the feel of where I should be.

I made my way to the bathroom, deciding to take a shower. I let the burning water relax me, force me to breathe calmly, and shampooed and all. And then I wrapped a towel around myself before returning to the dresser. I slipped into a pressed shirt of his—one of the ones you see in movies, like the kind that go to mid-thigh—and boxers before turning to the bed.

It had been cleaned, that much was obvious, but I realized, as I ran my fingertips across the sheets, that Matt hadn't touched it. Not once. His Latin book was where it had always been—by his leather arm chair on the east side of the room. My note was gone, I realized, as was the locket. He had them.

I glided into the crisp, cool sheets of the bed, turning on my side and pulling my knees to my chest. I fell asleep almost instantly, the rest of the world's weight on my shoulders.

OOO

When I coasted back to consciousness, everything came slowly. My eyelids still felt heavy, and I couldn't move. Which was odd, I thought, because after all, it was a king sized bed. I was curled up almost into a ball, and I felt something touch my hair in a long, fluid motion. Content, I tried to slip deeper into my warm burrow, but something was restraining me.

Slowly, I managed to open my eyes. Drearily, I tried to process what I could see from my position: My waist. I could see my waist. And there was something on my waist—or, not on it, but around it. I squinted harder, trying to determine what I was seeing. Whatever "it" was, it was pale, and strong, and… Oh, my. Very gorgeous, almost glittering.

I yawned, choosing to ignore whatever was around my waste, and snuggled deeper into my burrow. I vaguely recalled another fluid movement, this time down my side: curving around my breast, down my ribcage, into the shallow curve of my waist, over my hip, and trailing along my thigh. The movement sent a spark of lust through me, and I opened my eyes again, confused.

My vision was clearer this time—not so blurry. I managed to lift a fist and rubbed my eye furiously, retracting sleep and mascara from it. Then I focused on my waist again, or, more specifically, what was around it.

Two solid arms, one tucked under me, holding me close to its keeper, and the other draped effortlessly over me, in a way that claimed: "Back off. She's mine." I trailed my gaze up the arm, and it looked painfully familiar, over the shoulder, and down to the chest. And, if I didn't know that chest, well… I just couldn't not know it.

It was a very broad chest, as tan as one could be for a vampire. And my face was pressed up against it, giving me a clear view of the abs beneath the chest. Gorgeous, I decided finally, still confused as to where I was exactly, and why this particular chest was pressed up against my face.

I managed to rub my eyes again, yawning. Then I shook my head, trying to form a coherent thought, and the chest vibrated. The sound reached my ear a moment later.

"As adorable as you are," a deep, husky, velvet voice chuckled, "you're not usually this disoriented in the mornings."

Well, I'll be damned.

OOO

Wow, okay, I'm mad.

I had this all planned out, down to the wire. And I wrote it in biology because my teacher's a skitzo/psycho, and I had nothing better to do. I also wrote Matt's version of this, but I LOST it. So I had to write it from memory. Which SUCKS, because it was pretty close to being just about perfect, if I do say so myself.

So, yeah. I'm mad. But hey, just one thing: This is the second to last chapter. Chapter 22 will be the last chapter. I have it all planned out. Hopefully I don't lose it. Then there will be one more story, which plot I haven't really figured out, but I DO NEED A TITLE, so it has to be a time frame. The outtakes will be called Midnight, because that's halfway between Moonrise and Sunrise.

Do tell if you have a time of day that can be used as the next title. : )

Jamie.