**Author's Note**
As promised, another chapter. I'm also happy to say that I have the next three finished, and just needing to be edited, and polished a little before posting. I am also wrapping up writing the final chapter. So, the end of the story is just a few chapters away. Stay tuned! I should have them up for you all to read soon...That is if I don't get sick, blah! Everyone at work, and many of the patients coming in are, so I have been beyond paranoid. I guess that's what you get when you work in a medical clinic; exposed to all sorts of stuff. I luckily haven't been ill yet this season (knocking on wood). I'm currently taking some herbal remedies, and keeping my fingers crossed ;)
Thank you for your reviews, and keep them coming!
Another thanks to my beta, foxotr, for taking time out of her multitude of things that she has going on, to work on my stuff. I appreciate it so much!
Chapter XX: If You Go Away
Warmth. That was the only thing his groggy, half conscious brain could register. No, wait...something else. Weight. His bed slumped down more on his right side than on his left. Something rested along that side of his body. The warmth was coming from that same side. He slowly opened his eyes to the vision of Vee cuddled up next to him in his bed. Her face resting atop his upper arm, and her hand on his chest.
He had quickly gotten into the habit of sleeping with the sheaths on. In the past, he had woken up to a fly or the breeze tickling a piece of hair on his face, and accidentally cut himself trying to itch it in a half asleep state. It had happened on more than one occasion, and always left a permanent, thin, white line across his face. Now, with his gift from Vee, he didn't have to worry about that as much. Luckily, he was already wearing the sheaths for this reason. For when he awoke to realize she was there, he was so excited that he wrapped his arms around her and held onto her tightly. Strange how you can get so caught up in emotions, as to forget the weapons you have carried your entire life.
She responded by holding him just as tight. Eventually, she looked up at him. "Edward, it is so good to see you," she smiled.
Without a thought at all about it, he leaned in and kissed her lips. She didn't resist or pull back, but he ended it short when he asked, "Why didn't you wake me?!"
Vee smiled at him and pushed an unruly strand of hair away from his eyes. She let her hand linger on his face while she responded, "You looked peaceful. I didn't want to disturb you."
His brow furrowed. "I wasn't though. My nightmares were disturbing me; you could never do that."
She frowned. "I'm sorry. What were you dreaming of?"
"I would rather not think of such things. I just want to enjoy you being with me again." He looked at the flowers on top of his bedside stand. "I picked those for you. I was going to bring them to you when I woke up, but now you're here." The excitement of her return made him forget himself, as he kissed her once more. Unfortunately, this time she did pull away.
With a nervous giggle she said, "I've missed you too. Thank you for the flowers, they're beautiful." Her smile vanished as she propped herself up on one elbow, and looked at him intently. "Edward, I have some things I need to tell you."
A pit formed in his stomach, and he held his breath; fearing the worst. So, it's already happened. She's figured out that she could never love me. Maybe she has already found someone else. Someone better. A normal human being. Not a monster that never deserved her to begin with. She's saying goodbye. He mimicked her movements and also raised himself up, turning toward her so he could be face to face. He waited for the dreaded words.
Her words came gushing out of her. "I have some amazing news! I took your books to my dad, so that he could look at them and do what your father didn't get a chance to; give you your hands. He's sure he can do it, and is going to start constructing them right away. We just need to go to that strange place we found the doorway to in the basement, to get some ingredients." She gulped for air. "Also, your blood is basically the fountain of youth. It has regenerative and healing abilities; it gives you your longevity. Without it you could possibly age, or even die."
Edward shakily started to breathe again. It was slowly sinking in. "Hands? Really?" He wasn't sure if it was safe to get his hopes up, but it was hard not to. "When? When can we go? Can we go now?" He started to get up.
Vee reached out for him and held him down. She laughed at his exuberance, and said, "We can't go right now. I just got back from a long drive, it's late, and I'm so incredibly tired. I also need to get some things prepared for us to bring. Can't very well go on an adventure with nothing but the clothes on our backs, can we? We have no idea how long it will take."
He settled back down on the bed, snuggling in close to her again. "Okay. Well, hurry up and sleep then." He fully intended for her to sleep where she was, and was beyond disappointed when she started to get up. He immensely enjoyed waking up to her in bed with him. And now that he had a taste for it, he didn't want to give it up.
She laughed as she rose from the bed. "I will be back first thing in the morning." She looked back at him, and added, "Don't look so glum; morning will be here before you know it. And I will be right back. I promise." She pulled the covers up around his shoulders, and placed a kiss on his cheek. "Goodnight, Edward. I'll see you soon." With that, she rose, picked up her flowers, and left...again.
He tried to fall back asleep, yet couldn't. The excitement of seeing Vee, and thoughts of the very real possibility of his completion kept him wide awake. There were always books he could read, topiaries to trim, or ice he could carve. Alas, he hated to get up and lose the warmth. She had been kind enough to tuck him in; so he was now extra warm. He closed his eyes again, trying to will the time to go by faster, and forcing himself to sleep.
A scream echoed up the mountain, rousing his attention. Yet, he wasn't sure if he was dreaming the noise. He didn't think that he had dozed off, but what else could it be? Intrigued, he opened his eyes, and reluctantly got out of bed. The frigid night air almost knocked the breath out of his lungs.
He walked out of his room, and crossed the hallway to the door of the attic. As he entered the room, he shivered. The wind was howling through the opening in the roof. Even though he was uncomfortably cold, he walked closer until he was standing in the opening. He instinctively looked in the direction of Vee's house. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary, and turned to leave.
He paused as he heard more shouting. This time he was sure that he heard something. He turned his ear to the direction of her house and cocked his head. The night air was pierced with Vee's voice as she screamed, "You monster!"
He gasped. It was like his nightmare. Yet, this was real. He was confused, though. In his nightmare Vee had called him a monster and rejected him. Yet, she wasn't yelling that to him, was she? It sounded like it was so far away. Why would she ever yell that to him from her house?
He leaned out the gaping hole of the roof, peering at her house closely. That's when he saw the orange lights twirling around the curtains of her balcony. At that distance, he wasn't really sure what he was seeing. So, he decided to get a better look.
As he quickly walked out of his house and down the hill toward hers, he could smell something out of place in the air. He paused mid-step. He could now see the flames clearly, and smell the smoke. Without further hesitation, he ran to her house as fast as he could.
Approaching the house, he could see the flames on the ceiling of her bedroom through the sliding glass doors. He opened the back door, and let himself into the cloud of smoke that was now her kitchen. The house was alive; the roaring noise of the fire and heat were coming from the top floor, and the colors pulsated in varied shades of reds and yellows. He scanned the first floor for her. When he couldn't find her, he immediately ran upstairs.
When he saw her, he let out a sob. It was a heart wrenching sight. Vee looked dead; her arms hung around the bed post, and her torso fell backwards from it. Her head hung upside down, her hair brushing the floor. He thought he heard her whisper his name, but decided he had imagined it. He was wrong earlier about thinking he was living a nightmare; this was his nightmare.
Even though she looked dead, he wasn't going to let her body burn in here. He didn't allow his emotions to make him despair. Instead, he quickly approached her, and ducked his head under her arms. He maneuvered his head through the loop of her arms, so that she was holding onto his neck. Putting his arm under her legs, he tried to lift her. He got snagged halfway up, and fell to his knees.
He looked for the culprit, and noticed her hands. They were a red-purple color from the lack of circulation, and bound to the bed by a strip of plastic. He raised a blade to cut it, and cursed when he saw that he still wore the sheaths. He pushed them off his hands, and let them drop to the floor. With a quick motion, and a reflective orange glint from his blade, the plastic was cut.
This time, he was able to fully stand, raising her up with him. He ducked to pick up her legs, and wrapped his other arm around her back. Glass was popping in the picture frames, the sound saddened him. He loved Vee's interesting possessions, which were now being destroyed. The smoke was so thick he could hardly see. Even if he wanted to come back for some of her things, or try to find Poe, he wouldn't be able to. Edward's eyes stung from the smoke and heat; he blinked several times, and tried to keep them half shut.
Stumbling, he made his way to the stairs, and out into the backyard. He lowered her limp form to the ground, and pulled his arms out from under her. Looking at her hands and feet closer, he noticed more of the plastic things that he had cut at the bed post. He easily sliced through them, freeing her from their painful embrace. Her wrists looked much worse than her ankles; they were raw and bleeding.
He tentatively asked, "Vee?" With concern he touched her face, leaving a bright red cut. He grimaced and pulled his hand away as a red teardrop fell from her cheek. He watched the blood drip off her face while mentally scolding himself.
Her eyes flew open, and she loudly inhaled. She had hardly filled her lungs, when a coughing fit overtook her. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath in relief. He opened them back up to view her hunching over and coughing. Vee was coughing so hard that she was gagging and retching. He wanted to do something; pat her back, hold her...Anything. He couldn't do it though; he wouldn't risk cutting her again. In agony, he sat there and helplessly watched her.
Finally, she stopped coughing, and was taking jagged raspy breaths. She jerked her head up, and looked back and forth, surveying the yard. He didn't understand. He didn't know what happened, or why she had been hurt, or who did it, or why she was frantically looking around. He watched her in confusion.
Something caught her eye, and she wailed, "Oh no! No no no!" She crawled across the ground to a black lump. He followed her and realized what it was. It was Poe. He was lying on the ground with his eyes shut. His leg was twisted at an impossible angle underneath him, and blood had trickled out his nose. There was a large gash right behind his ear, and his fur was slick with the blood from it. She picked up his lifeless form, held him in her lap, and sobbed.
Edward looked closer and saw that Poe's side was barely rising and falling. And then he thought of something he could do. He raised a blade to his neck and made a small cut, letting the blood flow out onto it. He then held the blade to Poe's wound, spreading his blood over it.
Vee looked at him with tear filled eyes. "What are you doing?"
He averted his gaze away from Poe, and to her. "You said my blood had healing properties. Maybe I can help him."
"But..." Her breath caught as she choked back another sob, "He's dead."
"No, he isn't. He is breathing."
She looked closer, until she could also see the slight movement within him. "I need to get him to a vet," she said as she tried to stand. She winced and looked down at her side. He followed her gaze and breathed in sharply. The side of her jacket was red with blood. With her free hand she pulled her jacket and shirt up, revealing several bleeding cuts that resembled claw marks.
Guilt swept through him as he remembered how he had pulled his arm out from under her, after setting her down. Taking his hand away from Poe, he held the flat edge of a blade against the cut that was bleeding the most, trying to stop it. "I'm so sorry, Vee. I didn't mean to-"
The sound of sirens cut him off. They must have been close, to be able to hear it over the raging fire. The house was completely engulfed in flames at this point. The lights from the firetrucks flashed colors through the trees, and they could see them approach the front of the house.
Vee turned to Edward and yelled, "You have to go!" He looked with wide-eyed shock at her. The last thing he wanted to do was to leave her now. Vee's eyes were shining with tears as she yelled louder, "Edward, go! Please! Go home!"
Not being able to deny her anything she wanted, he did as she wished. He got up and left her there. It was torturous, but he did it. I am useless. I can't do anything right. Why would she want me to stay? Look at what I do; cut her, hurt her, make her bleed. Of course she would want me gone. I am a freak. A monster.
With tears in his eyes, he held his arms up and sliced the trees as he walked home. When he got there, he marched up the stairs, and into the attic. He looked at all the vehicles with flashing lights, and the glow of the house. It looked like they were trying to put it out. Water shot out at the house in a white stream, the steam and smoke billowed up and filled the sky. It would be useless. There was no salvaging it.
That was kind of how he felt about his relationship with Vee. How could he even imagine or hope that she could still care about him? There was no way she could after what he had done to her; she would have a few scars to match his own now. The thought of scarring and tarnishing her beauty made him feel sick with guilt.
Edward stood motionless as he continued to watch the house from the distance. So far away. An outsider. That's what I have always been, and what I will now always be. I will never be finished now. I can not be part of that world. Her world. I will never be accepted by anyone; not even her. I couldn't even stay there to help her. Help? Who am I kidding, I can't even do that. Poe is most likely dead. Vee has been mutilated by me, and sent me away. I will always be alone.
That entire night, and throughout the next day he remained statuesque. She never came back. The vehicles with the harshly bright flashing colors had all gone. The house stood there, blackened and smoldering. Yet she didn't return. She had gone away; left him. Just as he expected her to.
Frustrated thoughts of inadequacy abruptly ended when he realized that somebody was to blame for this. Yet, who could be capable of doing such things? Of hurting her...trying to kill her and Poe. He shuddered at the thought of how close she was to dying. He didn't even know if Poe lived. If he had done any good at all.
He thought back to everything Vee had ever told him, searching for an answer. His eyes drifted away from staring at her house, and he didn't look at anything; just gazed off into space. He concentrated, wracking his mind for a clue. With a gasp he shut his eyes. How could I be so dim-witted? It must have been Jack. That is the only person from her life that troubled her so. She said he always found her. Always.
The remaining self pity, confusion, and worry all melted from him, being swiftly replaced by rage. Raw hatred emanated from him in waves. His throat closed up, and he felt as if the blood in his veins was boiling. His complexion and eyes darkened, and with furrowed brows he snarled. Fury exploded from him, and with an aggressive slicing movement of his hand, he struck the wall next to him. As his blade easily went through it, he stumbled toward the newly broken support beam. Producing an ominously loud creak and some crunching noises, the roof above him collapsed.
A crow flew into the attic as the dust finished settling. It hopped up on the large pile of rubble, disturbing a loose roof tile. As it clattered to the floor, the bird ruffled its feathers in response to the noise. It saw something gleaming in the moonlight, and hopped over to it. It eyed it with interest, and cocked its head. Swooping its head down, it pecked at the blade. Finding out it wasn't anything it could carry off, it gave up with a caw. The crow decided to linger there on its perch. It rather enjoyed the drafty quiet old place, void of any life.