A/N:
Thanks as always to my wonderful beta and friend, ms_ambrosia. If you haven't started reading her story, Blossom, than you better go do it now!
I hate disclaimers, because really we are all adults (or should be if you're reading this fic) but if you are uncomfortable with gratuitous drug use than skip this chapter. This is a fiction and these are my characters and they have flaws, as do all teenagers.
The official disclaimer:
Stephanie Meyer owns all things twilight. I just play twister with her characters and see what kinds of weird positions I can stretch them.
*
The rumble of concerned voices drew our attention back to the twisted heap of metal that moments before had been wrapped around me. Emmett and I exchanged a meaningful glance and I could see the confusion and panic in his eyes. Without words, I pleaded with him to remain silent about what he saw.
The voices were approaching, getting louder, more distinct when Emmett stepped forward and reached a hand out to me.
"We'll talk later," he whispered, pulling me close so that only I could hear. My sister was on me a second later, her eyes full of terror, her hands running up and down my arms, my torso.
"Oh god, Edward, are you hurt?" she asked, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
"No…no, I'm okay…Tyler?"
"Dad's checking him out," she answered as my mother came running toward me, relief on her face.
"Edward, thank god," she moaned, her hand coming up to rest on her heart before her knees buckled and she collapsed onto the driveway.
"Mom!" I yelled, Alice and I sprinting over to her to help. We each grasped one of her limp arms, adjusting her to a sitting position. She was in shock, her breathing labored, her face flustered with emotion.
"I thought…I thought I'd lost you," she sputtered through heavy breaths.
"I'm okay, Mom, really," I reassured her while my eyes scanned the darkness for a sign of Bella. Was she out there?
My mother was beginning to regain her senses and noticed my actions. Alice too stopped her ministrations and had turned her attention to me.
"Edward, where's Bella?" she asked, noticing for the first time in all the chaos that she was missing.
"She drove away on her motorcycle a few minutes before the crash," I said hollowly, fabricating the lie as the words fell from my lips. Alice shot a look at me, her eyes narrowed as though she doubted my answer. Jasper approached, placing a comforting hand on my mother's back while Alice continued to scrutinize me.
I ignored her look, kissing my mother's hand before leaving her with Alice and Jasper. I walked around to the other side of the van where my father had Tyler prone, stretched out on the concrete. My father was kneeled over, blocking Tyler from my sight, his hand rifling through his open surgical bag. I hesitantly took a step toward them, my father's attention shifting to me. Taking a deep breath, his hand reached up to squeeze my calf, a thankful smile on his face.
Tyler had a small trail of blood running down his temple, his left arm clenched tightly and awkwardly to his side, but otherwise he looked unharmed. His eyes were glazed in shock but fixed on my father. Emmett stood off to the side with his arm around Rosalie, his brow deeply furrowed as he looked first at me and then down again at Tyler whose lips were stumbling over a stream of apologies in a voice both fearful and genuinely repentant. When Tyler noticed me he broke into a new string of apologies, lifting his shoulders to reach out to me. My father frowned at him and pushed him gently back down.
"No one blames you, Tyler. It's icy tonight," my father said kindly, trying to console him. "I still don't quite understand what happened though. It looks like your van hit something on the side. It's nearly folded in half. I'm just glad it stopped where it did or else this could have been a much bigger tragedy," he added, a serious tone to his voice that sent shivers down my spine. My eyes again were drawn to the darkness. Bella, where are you? This wasn't the first time that I wished that she could hear my thoughts, hear me calling for her, rather than the other way around.
I felt Emmett's eyes on me continually over the next half hour while phone calls were made and my Father eventually determined that it was safe to move Tyler to the hospital. I knew that a conversation was unavoidable and I could feel that he was as anxious for it to happen as I was. I trusted Emmett but he held my happiness - my future - in his hands and it made me more than a little worried. The frightened look on Bella's face as she jolted off into the night was vivid in my mind and I longed to ensure that she never again felt so vulnerable.
It was decided that my Father and Emmett would take Tyler to the hospital. While they were getting my Dad's car ready to transport him, the police came and took a report, and called a tow truck to remove the wreckage from our driveway. The two officers walked around the van several times, gesturing broadly and taking photographs. They questioned both me and Emmett about what happened, writing our statements down on a lined pad.
They both seemed to think that we were leaving something out of our statements as they asked the same questions over and over. They looked at me suspiciously, knowing by my own description of the crash that I should have been killed, my car destroyed. And yet there wasn't a scratch on me or on my car. Anyone who looked at the van could see that the damage didn't make sense. But there was no explanation. Even if I told them the truth they wouldn't have believed me.
When they finally left, nothing felt resolved. Emmett and my father left with Tyler to go to the hospital, leaving the rest of us to head into the house and try to wind down from the anxiety of the evening.
As soon as I stepped through the threshold my mother had me in her arms. "Oh Edward, I don't what I would do if anything happened to you." Her arms were almost painfully tight.
"It's okay, Mom, nothing happened. I'm okay," I reassured her, returning her embrace. "I'm just a little shaken up though. I'm gonna go lay down, okay?"
"Oh…oh okay…you let me know if you need anything," she implored sternly.
"Of course, Mom," I replied, already heading up to my room. I was hoping that Bella would be back. I longed to thank her, to hold her in my arms, to feel her body pressed against mine. Until I saw her, until I touched her, I would feel unsettled.
My room was dark when I entered. I reached down to turn the switch on the bedside lamp, casting a warm glow over the empty space. A cold, unforgiving wind was blowing outside, billowing through the open window, the navy blue curtains fluttering. I walked across the room to pull it closed, searching the darkness outside before sliding it shut. I could just barely make out the broken skid marks arced across the driveway like a hastily sketched broken heart.
I put some music on and collapsed onto my bed, stretching out, and feeling the weight of the events of the night wash over me. Before long my heavy eyelids closed and I drifted into a light, restless sleep. I awoke with a jolt to the sound of clumsy footsteps and the wobbly sensation of the bed shifting underneath me. I opened my eyes, propping myself up on my elbows to find Emmett sitting uneasily on the end of the bed.
His brow was furrowed, his eyes narrowed. "You awake?"
"I am now," I grumbled, pushing myself up to a sitting position.
"I'll be right back. Wait here for me," he said, standing and rushing from the room.
He returned a few minutes later, a bottle of vodka in one hand and his bong in the other. "There's no way in hell I'm having this conversation sober," he said, plopping back down on my bed. He handed me the vodka so that he could pull a baggie of weed and a red plastic lighter out of the front pocket on his jeans. He opened the baggie, pinching a small wad with his fingers and packing it into the bowl of the bong. He lit the hit, inhaled deeply, holding it in his lungs until his face started to turn red, and then expelled it. The smoke filled the space around us, hanging heavy in the air.
He passed the bong to me, reaching out for the vodka bottle. I passed it to him, watching with fascination as he unscrewed the cap and swallowed a generous gulp. He winced at the taste, his face contorting comically. I chuckled but he cut me off. "Smoke some of that shit," he demanded.
I lit the weed in the bowl and sucked until it was all ash. I held the smoke in my lungs until I couldn't take it anymore. I was exhaling when Emmett shoved me in the shoulder. "So now tell me what the fuck is up!" he bellowed. "What is with that girl? I know I'm not going crazy dude. You better clar.." He emphasized the last word, enunciating each syllable slowly, poking me in the shoulder with his meaty index finger.
"Uh, let me have some of that," I pointed to the vodka. I tilted my head back, feeling the burn the instant the viscous liquid hit my throat. "Well…um, Bella is different."
"Yeah, no shit," he spat sarcastically. "She's like a superhero or something. Wondergirl, Spiderwoman, Superbella, some shit like that."
"Um, well, not exactly," I said, hedging. I grabbed the baggie and packed another bowl. I took a deep hit off the bong, exhaling forcefully, gagging on the smoke and coughing. "She's not a superhero, Em."
"Well, what the fuck Edward, give me some answers here," he said, taking another swig from the bottle of clear liquid.
"Em, even if I tell you, you won't believe me," I said with certainty.
"Give me a fucking chance Edward. I'm trying to be understanding here. But that shit I saw earlier was just fucking unbelievable, dude. I need to know what the fuck happened."
"Okay, okay. I know. But you need to understand that she's a good person, Em. No matter what I tell you, you have to believe that, okay? And you have to promise not to tell anyone else. I…I'd do anything to protect her."
"Yeah, yeah okay. What, is she like a monster or something – a werewolf or vampire or some shit like that?" he asked flippantly. My eyes opened wide with shock. I swallowed, hesitating. He took an anxious drink from the bottle and I could tell he was losing patience.
"Well, actually, yes." I said plainly. Emmett choked on the vodka, spewing it across my bed.
"Now that's not something I expected you to say," he said, shaking his head from side to side. He picked up the bong, and despite his artificial calm, induced by alcohol and weed, I noticed his hands trembling. He packed another bowl, lighting it and taking a deep drag. While he held his breath, his bloodshot eyes locked on mine. His face was beginning to turn red, his cheeks puffing out like a blow fish. He exhaled, blowing the heavily fragrant smoke into my face. "Spill, Edward," he demanded authoritatively.
"She is the most amazing girl I've ever met. She's beautiful, kind, sexy, smart, and and…she's a vampire," I whispered.
"Uh huh," Emmett said, slapping me on the back and chuckling in disbelief. I shrugged his languid arm off my back and looked him square in the face.
"I'm not joking, Em, she really is."
"Yeah, well, there has to be some other explanation," he reasoned, his head lolling to the side. I shook my head but said nothing, the effects of the pot and the vodka beginning to take effect on my body.
"I'm not joking, Em," I repeated, but I only vaguely remembered what we were talking about. Bella, I remembered as I grabbed a lose thread on the bottom of my t-shirt and tugged, slowly unraveling the hem, twisting the thread back and forth between my fingers. I began to wind the thread into a tiny ball which I slipped into my pocket. I took another swig from the vodka, handing it over to Emmett afterward. My thoughts were becoming sluggish. I longed to touch Bella, wind my fingers through her hair. I held my fingers up and waved them about as I imagined the movement.
"You're fucked up, dude," Emmett chuckled at me, putting the bong and the vodka down on the bedside table. He stretched his massive form so that his head was at the foot of my bed and his feet were on my pillow.
"Your feet stink," I said, and for some reason, my outburst seemed outrageously funny. Emmett and I both laughed until I realized that I had to go the bathroom and scooted to the edge of my bed. I stood slowly, my room spinning around me, my feet stumbling forward.
"Ed-ward," Emmett slurred. "Dude, so what's the deal with Bella?" he asked, and we both began laughing again.
"Vampire," I said between shuddering breathes, moving forward toward the bathroom door. "Vampire," I repeated, my hand on the doorknob.
"Oh yeah, right," Emmett said tiredly, when a loud bang stopped me in my clumsy tracks and drew our attention to the now open window. I began to sway, my head dizzy, and my hands swinging out to brace my fall. Even sober, I wouldn't have seen Bella's rapid movement across the room. Before my body hit the floor, she had me in her arms and whisked me over to the bed.
It took several moments before I realized that she had actually carried me and that I should probably be embarrassed that my girlfriend saved me from falling in such an emasculating way. But I was too drunk and stoned to really care. I was beginning to get used to Bella catching me. Since I'd known her I seemed to be cursed with clumsiness.
I came to talk with Emmett…to explain, she said in my mind, increasing the sensation of vertigo. I put my head in my hands and bent over. You've been drinking and smoking. I could smell the marijuana from outside. You seem…relaxed, she added, her hand caressing my back soothingly.
I reached out to run my hand down Bella's strong but lovely arm when Emmett's loud gasp shifted my attention. He leaned on one elbow, his wide glassy eyes pointed at Bella, his mouth gaping. With some effort, I craned my head to look up at Bella to see that she was smiling sheepishly at him. I closed my painfully dry eyes for a second, barely opening them in time to see Bella literally soaring across the room toward Emmett. When she came into focus again I saw that she had grabbed the pillows off of my bed and had propped them behind Emmett's back. Recognition slowly settled over Emmett's features as he realized that in the blink of an eye, she'd propped him up comfortably. His pale shock transformed into a crooked, goofy grin as he looked at Bella with awe and admiration.
He crossed his arms over his chest, jutting out his chin. "I could get used to this," he said in a gravelly voice, sending us all into another round of laughter.
"So…," he began, a look of grave seriousness taking over his features, "you really are a…va…vampire?"
"Yes," Bella said, leaning down to cup his cheek with her cold hand.
Emmett's eyes widened for a second, his eyebrows arching in surprise. "Um, Bella, you're not going to bite me or anything, are you? Because I've got some pretty sweet blood and I know you vampires think that shit is awesome."
"Emmett, you idiot!" I reached out with my leg and kicked him in the arm, jostling him to a more alert state. He pushed himself up so that he was in an erect sitting position and looked toward me.
"Hey, it's not a stupid question. I've seen Dracula – Bela Lugosi – he was a cool vampire. Hey, do you sleep in a coffin, or turn into a bat, oh, and how about the stake through the heart thing?"
"Damn Emmett, be quiet for a second and let Bella explain," I demanded, reaching for Bella's hand and pulling her down next to me.
"First of all, Emmett, I don't drink from humans. I never have. Only animals. And I don't sleep in a coffin. In fact, I don't sleep at all. I can't turn into a bat and to be honest, I don't even know about the stake thing. There are some things I don't know," she said quietly, remorsefully.
"Are there others of you, you know, around here?" Emmett asked, suddenly completely sobered with interest.
"No. Not in Forks. Most vampires are nomadic – always travelling from one place to another. Sometimes they come through, but they know not to come to this area," Bella said and I could see in her eyes that she realized that she'd revealed more than she'd wanted to.
He can't know about Jacob and the others yet. It's not my secret to tell, Edward.
"Why don't they come to this area?" Emmett asked.
"Emmett, that's enough for now, okay?" I pleaded, hoping that all he'd learned would appease his curiosity enough that he would drop further questions.
"Yeah, yeah okay." He stretched his arms over his head and stood up, staggering a little before he righted himself. "But you guys gotta know I'm worried for you. I don't want to be a downer or anything, but aren't you guys kind of mismatched. I mean, you're a human," he pointed to me. "And you're not," he pointed to Bella. "How is that going to work?" he slurred, picking up the bong and tucking the nearly empty bottle of vodka under his arm.
His question hung in the air heavily without an answer. He grunted and began to shuffle to the door, but I stopped him. "Em, please keep this a secret."
"Oh yeah, I mean who the fuck would believe this shit anyway!" he said, raising the bong in the air as a toast. "To fucking weird ass secrets!"
"Goodnight Emmett," Bella said sweetly.
"Yeah, goodnight," Emmett answered as he slipped through the door and ambled back to his room.
Bella squeezed her hand in mine, leaning into me. He's right, Edward, what kind of future do we have? I'm a monster, a destroyer. I've damned you.
Even as her words rejected me, she clung to me as tight as she could without bruising my skin. I saw various images of animal carcasses, their bodies mutilated and drained of life. I felt the burning, the thirst as if it were my own. The metallic, earthly smell of fresh blood overpowered my senses as Bella invaded my mind with the pivotal moments of her recent past. I saw the familiar red-headed vampire with the body of a man hanging limp in her hands, her scarlet eyes terrifying in their savagery.
"Stop. Bella, stop!" I begged, and my mind was instantly clear. "Stop torturing yourself! You're not a monster! And…and there is no turning back, do you understand? We are together now! And nothing is going to scare me away from you! I can't be without you!" I trembled with the intensity of my feelings for her. I needed her to understand that no matter what, I was completely devoted to her. She was everything to me. My life had no meaning without her.
"Okay, Edward…okay," she said, but her words didn't have sincerity behind them. I knew she was scared and that she didn't want to drag me into the darker side of her life. My only hope was that her feelings for me were strong enough to bind her to me, as I was irrevocably bound to her.
As we sat on my bed, our legs touching, our upper body's entwined, I couldn't shake the feeling that tonight was just the first of many tense situations that we would face together. And that our connection, our love, would be tested again soon in the future.
Bella's hand wound its way up my arm and slithered up my neck. Her cool hand began to move slowly over my skin, her fingers lovingly rubbing over my sore muscles. Her touch eased up the back of my head where she caressed my scalp, running tendrils of my hair through her fingers. I closed my eyes in ecstasy, feeling lucky to have even this instant of bliss with her and trying with all my might to forget all the things that could possibly go wrong for us. I had faith that we could face anything as long as we were together and that at least for the moment, everything was as it should be.
End Notes:
So what did you think? Do you think Emmett will be able to keep his mouth shut? Thank you for spending your time reading my story! If you are enjoying it, will you let me know?