Disclaimer: Twilight = not mine. End of story.
AN: Hello all! First off, sorry about the delay. Huge delay. I've been in Paris for the past two weeks, and I got back yesterday. It was amazing, but it's also good to be home. :) And then, the standard, thank you all for your lovely reviews, as always!! Now, this chapter is a little short, but that's because its sister chapter in I'll Make a Believer out of You was as well, and I'm trying to match the timeframe in each pretty much exactly. I think I like this one, but I think I may have had some issues with Edward's narration around the dialogue in some parts. Anywho, read on, and I hope you enjoy!
Again, there were those brief few moments of speeding through time, although now it was forward instead of back. It was disconcerting even to me, someone well-versed in the supernatural, so I could only imagine how strange and even frightening it must be for Bella. Yet, I mused, as we sped through quickly aging Chicago streets, she was taking it very well - apart from her original moment of panic when she arrivied and found herself alone. The girl had nerves of steel.
When I finally deposited her back in her house, in her present time, however, I realized that this might not be so much the case, as her experiences of the past hour seemed to have caught up with her, and she sat there, fighting to regain her breath and looking bewildered.
I hated to know that I - me and my search for the afterlife - was the cause of her distress. "I'm sorry I had to pull you away like that," I apologized "I hope I didn't frighten you. You handled it very well." I smiled. It was true; she had, at least until now. "But your mother was wondering where you'd got to, and I couldn't have her coming up here looking."
"So you were here, then," she started, but then she seemed to realize something that caused her expression to change, her eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly as she fixed me with what was now a suspicious, almost accusatory gaze. "Wait- how did you know she was wondering where I was?"
"I hear things." I grinned at her, while wondering if she would be able to handle the full truth. She had done remarkably well so far.
"But Charlie's not here right now," she protested, and I could see she was struggling to unravel my meaning. "She doesn't talk to herself."
"I hear things." I repeated, curious to see if she would be able to work it out for herself.
She looked at me for a second, bewildered, but then something in her face changed, and I could almost hear the click as she put together the double meaning of my words. "Wait. . . are you trying to tell me you can. . hear thoughts?"
I smiled shyly, nodding at her. Brave, and clever, I thought. I definitely wasn't prepared for what came next.
"What?" she almost shouted. "No!" She appeared to be panicking as she continued to shout at me. "Why didn't you warn me, Edward Masen?! That's a dirty trick!"
I realised then why this realization had elicited such a strong reaction in her. "No," I started to explain, hoping to calm her. "don't worry, I-"
She was having none of it. "What did you hear?" she spit at me. Brave and clever, but with a considerable temper.
"Nothing!" I assured her again, slightly put off by her fury.
"Exactly what did you hear, Edward Masen?" She snapped, still clearly distressed. I wondered what she could have been thinking that was so imperative to keep from me. "I think you may have a slightly different definition of nothing than I do."
"No, I promise you," I pled, but my words were only met with a cold, hostile glare. "When I say nothing, I mean nothing. Isabella, I can't hear you."
This seemed to through her for a loop, as she blurted out "What do you mean? I'm not saying anything."
I took care to explain clearly and precisely, as to not set her off again. "Bella, I can't hear you. At all. I don't know why, and it's never happened before, but I can't hear your mind. Not a peep." Again, I contemplated the mystery that were her silent thoughts.
"You can't hear me?"
"truly, no." I smiled at her, at the look of relief on her face. "And I have no idea why. I've never had any trouble before, with ghosts, or humans. Speaking of which, your mother is coming up here to check on you momentarily, so can we relocate to your bedroom?" I hadn't been paying that much attention before, what with her shouting at me, but now I could hear Renée Swan wondering what her daughter was up to, why she'd been so quiet, and hadn't come down all morning.
"Oh, yes, right!" She quickly gathered up my journals and the key to the room, following me out the door, then locking it behind her. As she turned to face me, I saw again the burden in her arms. It was my instinct to offer her help, to take it from her, but I knew I couldn't, and I was frustrated with the limitations that this existence imposed on me.
"I'm sorry," I apologized, even though she hadn't asked for assistance. "I'd offer to help you with those, but it really wouldn't be much help." I reached out to her, demonstrating. I watched her face carefully as she watched my hand sink through her arm as easily as if it were water, but her features showed not shock or fear. She was truly an amazing creature. "As you see," I continued, as it seemed like I should say something, the moment had become too quiet, "I can't make physical contact with things of the livi-" I stopped abruptly, hearing her mother's footsteps and accompanying thoughts on the stairs. I let my image, the faint imprint of the body I had once occupied, fall away, allowing me to see but remain unseen.
Bella was quick to take my cue, sprinting to her bed, sitting down, and opening one of the books on her lap, just as her mother walked through the door. "Oh, there you are, Bella! I was wondering where you'd got to! What have you been doing up here all this time?"
"Just reading, Mom," she said, motioning to the journal in her lap. Luckily, Renée didn't look closely enough to realize that they weren't your average paperback novels.
"Alright honey, you have fun! but maybe try and get outside later, it's a lovely day!"
Bella looked slightly exasperated to be addressed as if she were five years old, but if she was annoyed, it didn't register in her tone as she answered. "'Kay Mom". With that, Renée turned and made her way back downstairs.
As soon as her mother was out of earshot, Bella called my name in an almost angry whisper. "Edward?"
"Yes?" I replied, laughing at the harshness of her tone.
"How do you do that?"
"I've told you before that I can become invisible, I'm sure?"
"Um, no. You definitely haven't. I would remember something like that, I think."
"I'm sure I have,"I repeated. It was one of the first things I'd said to her. Indirectly, but I'd definitely mentioned it. "Regardless, what self-respecting ghost can't become invisible? Most of us choose not to be seen all of the time, my mother, for instance. . ." I trailed off, wondering if it was wise to bring her into this.
This sidetracked her. "Your mother's. . . like you? Your father as well?" she asked.
"No," I told her. He had been lucky enough to escape this. "Just her and me."
"You don't need me to help her too, do you?" she asked me hesitantly "To . . . cross over, I mean?"
"No," I was quick to reassure her. I wouldn't place that much of a burden on her delicate shoulders. "I already know why she cannot cross over."
"But . . .doesn't she need help getting it done?"
"Not exactly." I replied. "You see, she always worried about me, wanted me to be happy. She won't be able to leave here until I do. Which is why I took the trouble to seek you out. I'm not all that concerned with crossing over for myself. But I want her to be able to. Speaking of which, was meeting me today any help? Do you know what we need to do?"
"I think I've got an idea," she replied. Of course she did. I'd definitely picked the right person. "but I want to investigate more. I'm going to read the rest of these," she motioned to the journals, "And I'll probably need to ask you questions. Is that alright?"
"Of course. Whatever you need."
She spent the rest of the afternoon inside, in her room, defying her mother's wishes, and reading my journals while I watched, somewhat impatiently. Occasionally, she would throw a random question at me, but none of them suggested avenues I hadn't already considered and rejected.
Finally, she seemed to come to a conclusion, firmly shutting the last journal with a somewhat ominous sound before addressing me "Edward," she said "I think I've got it."
"What is it?", I pressed.
"Edward, you're going to war."
Well, there you have it, I hope that was an okay return after my weeks of absence. Thanks for reading, and please, please, leave your thoughts in a review. I love getting your reviews, and read every one, so I'd love it if you'd leave a quick note with your thoughts! I'll try and have another chapter up by monday latest. :)
-SkySong.
