Chapter 8:
I began to cry, knowing that this would be my last chance, but stopped abruptly. I was already doing something I never should've considered. Giving up. What good would it do if I was also miserable. I was going to hold my head high to the bitter end. I started to wonder what would have happened to me, had I stayed with the Cullens. Should I have stayed? Alice said that I couldn't leave, not that I would be tortured or killed, and they seemed so nice. No. Ted Bundy probably seemed nice to his victims at first too. This was definitely better, this was a certain thing. I was going to die. I knew that, here. There was no knowing what they had planned for me, not there. It's strange that I'm not more panicked, I feel like I should be freaking out, but this is so much different than I had always imagined. This was peaceful, easy. Maybe this really was for the better. I closed my eyes and started to drift off, started to dream.
I was back in the secret garden. Edward was there, and he was smiling at me. He pulled me up into his arms and laid his cheek against my temple and whispered into my ear,
"You truly are a wonder, I never thought you'd make it this far." I smiled, he was complementing me, calling me strong. I pulled myself even closer to him, hooking my arms underneath his and holding onto his shoulder blades. He was so warm, now I knew for sure I was dreaming. I remembered touching him before, his skin was ice cold and hard as stone. Although he was still hard, his skin seemed a more normal temperature now.
"Don't worry Bella, you'll be okay, I'll keep you safe."
I smiled at him tenderly.
"No, you won't. I'm dying, Edward." He looked scared.
"No, don't say that. You'll be fine, we just have to get you back to the house, that's all."
"No, I think I'll stay here." I murmured laying back down onto the patch of ferns, still clutching him in my arms.
"Fine. If you're not going to come quietly, I guess we'll just have to do things the hard way. Again."
Suddenly everything came zooming back into focus. The garden was gone but… Edward really was there. Edward really was in my arms. Edward really was trying to help me. He lifted me from the ferns and on to his back with the same grace and ease as he had in the garden and then again in the woods. Before I could make sense of anything else we were flying through the forest faster than when he was taking me to the clearing. Within a matter of minutes we were back at his mansion, through the front door, and in a large room with a small gathering of couches and a fireplace that would have any firefighter sitting on the edge of their seats. The living room, maybe.
"I need some blankets, she's freezing." He said, laying me down in front of the blazing fire. The waves of heat lapped at my frostbitten body, melting away the ice that was killing me, slowly thawing me. I lay huddled on the floor, clutching onto the hope that Edward did care and also the hope that I might not die this night. I wanted so badly to sit up and look around at everyone, to see what they were feeling about Edward saving me, but it was still too cold for me to even move. My breathing was no more than shallow gasps for air. My eyelids were becoming increasingly heavy. Edward came sweeping back into the room balancing a stack of quilts in his outstretched arms. He knelt down next to me and set the quilts on the floor beside him, pulling the one off the top and wrapping it securely around my shoulders and tucking it underneath the rest of me.
"Bella, listen to me, this is important. You need to stay awake, okay?"
I groaned, I wanted to sleep.
"I know you do, but you must stay conscious. Otherwise you might slip away, you have to hang on for just awhile longer."
"Why? What's it to you if I croak?" He looked shocked, like he couldn't imagine why I would say that.
"Bella, this situation is so much deeper than you seem to realize. Please just concentrate on keeping yourself alive and I'll tell you everything you want to know. I'll take care of you, I promise."
I heard Alice gasp lightly from somewhere behind me. Edward's entire body stiffened and his head inched around to look over his shoulder. I followed his glare, it was directed at Alice who stood loyally at Jasper's side, her hands loosely balled together in front of her face to hide her growing smile.