"I love you Edward Masen," I had said before we shared our first kiss. That was the moment. The one I had only dreamed about up until now. In fact, I wasn't so certain that he wouldn't disappear into thin air. He was too beautiful, too kind, too selfless, and too much for me. I never expected to find someone like him in my wildest dreams. His soft lips captured mine once, twice, and a third time before he pulled back to look into my eyes.
"I don't think you are a gold digger, Bella. I know you were afraid that I'd believe my parents. But, how could I? Once I had witnessed how warm, selfless, and kind you are, I knew there couldn't be any one else for me."
"I don't deserve you," I said in awe, barely able to tear my boring brown eyes away from his bright emerald ones.
"Yes, you do. We deserve each other. We are right for each other. We're perfect together. I couldn't live without you now." He had grasped my upper arms and looked straight at me. His eyes were intense and big. He had begun talking in such a passionate and hurried voice that I couldn't do anything but to listen to him.
"That's something we can agree on, because I could not live without you either." He kissed me again. "What do we do about your parents?" I kicked myself for ruining such a beautiful moment with questions. And yet, it was an important question.
"I don't know. Let's run away." He said suddenly.
"What?" I asked dumbfounded.
"Bella, run away with me. We can get married and live in the mountains." He chuckled but his eyes told me he was sincere. He wanted to spend his life with me. And oh, how I wanted to spend mine with him.
"But… I… I can't. Edward, please believe me. If I could I'd say let's go right now. But I can't. I have to look after my Mother and Mary Alice. I couldn't abandon them like that." I said sadly, reality kicking in with steel-toed boots. His eyes turned sad, yet I could see he understood why it wasn't an option. "I do love you." I said to reassure him. He gave me a sad smile
"Oh, I know love." He said, already giving me a term of endearment and kissing the top of my head. "I love you too, I just wish we could run away and never look back."
"I wish we could too." I whispered, resting my forehead on his shoulder. That's when I looked down and realized where we were standing. I began to chuckle until it turned into laughter. "Your legs are a bit wet," I laughed. He looked down to see his legs, from the knee down, were absolutely soaked. "I really hope those fancy shoes aren't ruined."
"So are yours," he pointed at my dress which was now heavy with water and hard to walk in. Edward began to laugh, throwing his head back in the process. His face bathed in the sunlight that streamed through the trees, I was sure I had never seen anything more beautiful.
"I guess we should head back." I muttered sadly after he was done laughing. He let go of my hands, and then took one again, wanting to abide by social customs yet not wanting to lose contact. It made me smile.
"You're right. Let's go check on Mary Alice, and see how she is faring." He suggested.
"That's what I was going to suggest as well," we chuckled together, and our fingers interlocked.
"What do you mean she's gone?" I asked, frustrated and confused.
Before us, Mary Alice's mother, stood with tears streaming down her face.
"When I came to get Mary Alice this morning, she was still talking about me getting murdered. Her father was in a rage and he said that he didn't want to hear any more of it, so he called for the asylum to come collect her and check on her. Saying she was crazy and needed treatment immediately. My Mary Alice isn't crazy, I know it to be true. But I don't know what to do." Mrs. Brandon had gone into hysterics, and Edward helped her sit down on the porch.
"No, she's not crazy, and we're going to prove it. I'll get her out of there if it's the last thing I do." I had had enough of this. "Mrs. Brandon, I'm so sorry about how stressful this all must be for you. Come inside, let's get you some tea." Edward and I pulled her to her feet and ushered her inside.
After she had calmed down some, I pulled Edward aside.
"I'm so sorry to do this, but I need to go to Mary Alice. Can you stay with Mrs. Brandon for just a little bit while I go make sure she's okay?"
Edward was more than understanding, "Of course I can do that. Bella, go make sure our friend is okay. Say hello for me." He smiled and I couldn't help but to smile back and peck him on the cheek quickly before taking my leave.
"Mrs. Brandon, I will be right back. I promise. I'm going to go check on your daughter." I promised her and smiled. She seemed to take comfort from it.
As I walked down the street I heard commotion at Mrs. Harbinger's apartment.
"She's collapsed! Someone get some help!" I heard someone shout. I looked to see Mrs. Harbinger fainted on the sidewalk.
"Mrs. Harbinger!" I exclaimed as I knelt down beside her. "Mrs. Harbinger, are you okay?" She was as white as a sheet with a layer of sweat covering her face. Her face suddenly began to take on a slight blue tint, and dark spots covered her cheeks. "Mrs. Harbinger, can you hear me?"
"Get back, Ms. Swan!" I heard a familiar, beautiful voice instruct me. "Get back! You might get infected!" He ordered me as he pulled me away from her side.
"Dr. Cullen! Wait, Infected? Infected with what?" He was wearing a doctor's mask and pushing me away from my friendly neighbor.
"It's influenza. Six people in the last two days have fallen ill. We're trying to keep it from becoming an outbreak…" He looked on Mrs. Harbinger with a sad face, "We may be too late for that."
"What? But my friend, Mary Alice, collapsed too. What if she has the same thing?"
"No. Your friend didn't have the symptoms, she just had a small fever." Suddenly, Mrs. Harbinger began coughing up blood.
I gasped, "Oh no. Mrs. Harbinger…"
"We have got to move quickly. I'm sorry Ms. Swan. Go check on your friend." Dr. Cullen said as they pulled her away.
