A/N: Hello everyone! I know it's been a little while, but the good news is… it's summer! So there will be much more time to write! And I'll have even more time to write this fic in a little while, because my hp fanfic only has two chapter left until it's finished!
Also… I did a bit of editing in the first chapter. When I wrote the first chapter, I included Mike Newton as an intern and Jessica as another employee in the hospital. Then I decided to make the story more true to the books, and included a mention of Mike again in a later chapter but in reference to Forks. So… that has been changed. But Angela and Ben will remain in Seattle as friends with Bella who would not know Edward from Forks. I know, it's confusing. But all I can say is that it is an Alternate Universe, so things will be slightly different.
So… summary Mike and Jessica still from Forks. Angela and Ben live in Seattle and are not from Forks.
Now… Accio Chapter!
Of Curses and Cures
Chapter Eleven
The Loudest Silence
December 13th, 2008
6:00 A.M.
It's one of those rare moments when he can't find the guilt that follows his every move. It is normally always there lying dormant beneath the surface of his marble skin. But when the sunlight creeps through the window pane, throwing prisms of light on the back of her long neck, he forgets to remember that he should have died in 1918. He forgets that for much of his very long life he has secretly wished that he'd never left that hospital bed in Chicago.
And he remembers how to live.
Maybe it doesn't matter that there's decades of difference in their ages, that her skin is unusually breakable, and his is the exact opposite.
Maybe it only matters that he's breathing and she's breathing, too.
That they're breathing here together in a bed Alice bought, in a vampire house where no one sleeps, and she keeps mumbling about ticklish radishes in her dreams.
December 13th, 2008
9:00 A.M.
He has his eyes closed, trying to remember what it was like to dream when he hears the subtle shallowing of Bella's breathing that means he's about to see those brown eyes—the only thing that can make his perfect vampiric memory fail.
"Mmmm… G'morning." She yawns, clenching her fists and stretching her limbs.
"That it is." He smiles, catching her left arm and placing a small kiss on the inside of her wrist.
Her heart skips a beat.
"No fair." She laughs, "You have to give my heart a chance to wake up before you do that."
He releases her hand, grinning crookedly, and rolling off the bed.
"I guess I'll give you some time to wake up then."
He turns around slowly, allowing her to seize his wrist like he knows she will.
"I think I've had enough time."She gives a careful tug, not nearly enough to move him, but he follows anyway. He flies toward her, using his arms to brace himself so as not to crush her, he rolls landing on the opposite side of the bed facing her.
"When did you get so strong?" He smirks.
"Around the same time I stopped being clumsy."
"Oh. So, never then?"
"Hysterical, vampire boy."
He grimaces, before giving a small chuckle. "Let's not make that nickname a habit."
She laughs, and touches a finger to his nose before laying her palm on his cold cheek. "Not too fond of it?"
He pulls her close. "I'm fond of you."
"Me too, if by fond you mean unconditionally and irrevocably in love, then yes… I'm quite fond of you."
He presses his face into her neck, enjoying the way her warmth seeps into his skin. He places a lingering kiss on her collar bone and replies, "Of course. That is the dictionary definition of fond, correct? I could always check you know, I think we have around thirty dictionaries in the house, including a first edition Webster, not to mention encyclopedias from at least five centuries."
She wraps her arms around his midsection tightly, threading her fingers together, unwilling to let him go.
"I think I'll take your word for it."
He leans forward to place a chaste kiss on her lips, unprepared for her reaction. As soon as his lips touch hers, he feels the spark that occasionally accompanies their caresses, and she pushes her lips harder against his. He returns the kiss, cradling the back of her neck, trying to keep his touch as light as possible.
She shivers and her breath fans across his lips. Her hand snakes its way across his shoulders to tangle in his hair and he pulls away. It's getting harder and harder to draw the line.
She smiles impishly, but unwinds her hands.
He takes a deep breath before asking, "So what would you like to do today?"
"I was thinking I could get to know your family a bit better. And then you could meet mine?" She pauses, and it takes a moment before she can meet his eyes.
Confusion flickers on his face.
"I'd like you to meet my Dad." She whispers.
"I would love that."
December 13th, 2008
3:00 P.M.
The morning spent with Edward's family passed quickly. Bella seemed at ease, making conversation with Esme and his brothers and sisters. She held her own against Alice, managing to escape after trying on only two outfits. She did, however, trip during her escape, which provided sufficient entertainment for Emmett, who asked if he could refer to her fondly as his "pet human." Edward had glared, but Bella found the idea hilarious. The pet human had then watched what Jasper and Emmett had determined Extreme Wii. They would challenge each other to multitask—simultaneously playing video games and performing bizarre tricks, like balancing upside down on one hand. Bella's jaw stayed dropped during the entirety of the game.
She had seemed so happy, and he couldn't help the hopeful imaginings of an eternity with both Bella and his family. He tried not to think of that, knowing that she deserved better, but sometimes it was so hard not to be selfish.
But now those blissful moments with his family had passed, and he's holding her hand as she opens the gate to the Forks Cemetery, and the look on her face squashes every selfish desire in him.
She looks terrified, small tears clinging to her lashes, shattering her seemingly strong demeanor. She walks slowly, even slower than her normal human pace. The day is overcast, gray clouds brewing on the horizon.
"I'm scared."
He doesn't know exactly what to say, so he says, "I know."
She pauses, her small feet swallowed by a patch of overgrown grass, and her tiny form teeters slightly in anticipation.
She squeezes his hand, gaining her own reassurance from his, and moves forward. The graveyard is surprisingly large considering the size of the town. Edward wonders if there are more people buried beneath the earth in this town than people actually walking on it.
She hesitates and looks around, searching. She walks past four rows, pauses, and then walks past another four. She looks backward, as though counting, and then moves down the closest row. Edward follows close behind, and they pass eleven gravestones before Bella slows.
They pass three more before Bella stops. Her hand is slick with sweat in his and her grip falters. He pulls her against his chest instead, and she relaxes minutely against him.
"Edward." She whispers.
He tightens his arm around her.
"This is my Dad, Charlie."
"Charlie," her voice cracks with emotion, "I'd like you to meet my Edward."
She lasts a few more moments, and then releases a strangled sob. He sinks his hand into her hair, holding her cheek tight against his cold chest.
"I love you. I'm so proud of you." He whispers, "Your Dad would be so proud, too."
"I know. And he would have loved you."
She continues crying, and the words won't quite come through the tears. But the silence is enough. Holding her is enough. Loving her is more than enough.