Hello all! Sorry it's taking so long with the chapters. But I'm getting back on track!
All of your reviews are keeping me going, and I want you all to know that I absolutely adore them!! So don't be afraid to take the extra two seconds to throw me love :-)
D/C: I do now own Twilight. The honors go to SM. I don't own Edward or Bella. Althought I would love to take Edward and Bella dolls and press them against each other and make kissy noises!!! tee hee
Bella's POV
I didn't want to release my hold on Jasper as he rushed me away from the car. My hands were wrapped around my wrists and dead locked against Jasper's neck, and I wrapped my legs around his waist tightly. I heard a 'whoosh' behind me and the sickening crunch of Edward's car as it slammed into the ground.
"It's okay," Jasper whispered in my ear. I clung tighter, looking around us wildly. To my left I saw Edward lower his arms and look over to me. I gasped when I saw that he looked as if all the energy was drained from his body.
"Bella…" he whispered into the air, and then he fell.
"Edward!" I screamed. Within seconds I had pushed away from Jasper and flew across the road to Edward's side. The others were close behind me and I battled only slightly with Alice for the position next to his side.
"Is he okay?" Rose asked. My hands fluttered across his back, breathing a sigh of relief when I saw that he was still breathing.
"He's never pushed himself this far," Alice said. I looked over at her, still not understanding everything that was happening. I couldn't ignore the obvious; no one in their right mind was that stupid. Edward had kept the car in the air so that I could be extracted safely. He used whatever gift he had to keep me safe before I could have been possibly killed.
"We need to get him home," Alice spoke again. Her voice was firm and full of authority, and I could tell she was daring anyone to argue against her words. I swallowed the lump that began to form in my throat, pushing back the tears that threatened to spill onto my cheeks.
The sound of a car door closing made all of us turn, and I felt bile rise in my throat. Kaiden was mere feet away, standing next to his car with a look of shock on his face. He was looking directly at us.
"Fuck!" Emmett yelled. I could see him move forward, and I knew that he would easily overcome Kaiden and possibly beat him to a bloody pulp.
"No! Don't do it, it's not worth the risk!" Rose had her hands pushed against his chest, somehow holding him back. Kaiden must have seen the threat coming at him, and the realization dawned on his face. He scrambled to get in his car, and before I could blink he was peeling away and out of sight.
"What are we going to do?" I asked, my voice shaking. I didn't know if I was talking about Kaiden or Edward… but Alice took charge.
"Ignore that ass hole and help me get Edward in the car." I stepped back as Emmett and Jasper took a hold of Edward and walked towards the Jeep. He looked so lifeless and weak; I didn't know what to do without overstepping my boundaries. He wouldn't be in this situation if it weren't for me! I wiped my hand across my eyes and felt like smacking myself when I saw the moisture on my skin. Damn tears.
"He'll be fine." I turned to see Jasper closing the door to the backseat. I shook my head and took a step forward. I wanted to be in the car with him.
"Alice has him, she knows what to do," he said, wrapping his arms around me. "You can ride with me." I took a fleeting glance at Emmett's car once more before I let Jasper steer me in the direction of the Trans Am.
"What about Edward's car?" I muttered against Jasper's shirt. I was right; we couldn't just leave it there. The people in the neighborhood would call the police when they saw the crumbled piece of metal. I turned to look at the car, thinking maybe someone could drive it home. But I almost collapsed when I saw the debris of wreckage.
It only felt like I had hit the guardrail once, maybe colliding with something solid twice. But almost every inch of the silver surface was crushed in like aluminum foil, looking like a giant had wrapped his hand around the small car and squeezed tight.
"Oh my god," I whispered. Could I really have been in that?
"Don't look at it. I'll call someone to bring it back to Edward and Alice's house."
"Why? It's totaled." Jasper laughed under his breath as if he were sharing a private joke with me.
"Don't you worry about that," he said as he opened the door for me. I slid in and welcomed the silence when he closed the door. Jasper immediately had his cell phone out and was scrolling through his contacts for a number. Emmett's Jeep was long gone, and I wished I were in the backseat of that car with them. I wanted to see Edward, to hold him and caress his hair, whispering to him that everything would be okay. I had no idea if things would be okay, but I had to believe. After all, Alice seemed knowledgeable to what was going on.
Jasper paced in front of the car for a few seconds, speaking into the receiver with quick words. When he pulled the small phone away from his ear, he slid into the car next to me.
"I have someone picking the car up now. It'll be back at their house within an hour." I couldn't hide the expression on my face, and the look of surprise filled every inch of my face. Jasper saw the look and laughed, shaking his head.
"Throwing an extra bit of money at someone will do wonders, Bella." Ah, his bank account. Of course. Jasper pulled away from the crumpled Volvo, and I took one last glance at it before I closed my eyes. Jasper turned on the radio, letting the soft music fill the car in place of conversation. He knew I was not wanting to talk, at least not yet. There were so many thoughts going through my mind, and I wasn't sure how to breach the subject with anyone.
They all knew about Edward. About his ability.
And what exactly was his ability?
Images flew through my mind: car doors opening, mirrors magically reforming themselves, the car door at Jasper's no longer having a dent, the machines at work moving. My mind lingered on the sight of the Volvo, looking so bent and broken. How did he do it? How did he make all of this happen?
"Penny for your thoughts?" Jasper's voice broke into my erratic thoughts and I jumped.
"I don't think they'll make much sense," I admitted. I looked around the car, surprised to see that we were already within the Forks city limits.
"I know you are having trouble grasping all of this, so if I can help in any way please let me know." Always the gentleman.
"Okay, so you all know about Edward? I mean, before what happened just now?" That question seemed the most important to me at the moment, and I knew that Jasper would tell me the truth. The man didn't have a dishonest bone in his body.
"Yes," Jasper said right away, shifting his weight within his seat. "Alice has naturally known for as long as Edward has. But the rest of us found out over time." I couldn't, no didn't want to, believe it.
"And none of you have a problem with it?" Jasper looked at me with a look of slight irritation.
"Bella, it's not like Edward can help this. He didn't choose to do any of this. And we're his friends. His best friends. So no, we don't have a problem with it." I winced, knowing how my words were sounding.
"I didn't mean it that way…"
"So how did you mean it then?" Jasper sounded hurt and angry. I had to diffuse the situation now before the only person being honest with me at that moment drew a line in our conversation.
"Please don't be mad at me," I pleaded, extending my hand to rest on his shoulder. He didn't tense under my touch, so I took that as an okay to continue. "This is all surprising me, so you have to give me a few minutes to let this sink in."
"Okay," Jasper said simply. I withdrew my hand and took a deep breath.
"I never knew something like this existed," I whispered. "Since I met Edward I could tell things were out of the ordinary. Small things were happening, but I kept pushing the thoughts to the side. But that day at your house when the car was fixed, I knew something was… off." Jasper nodded, not taking his eyes away from the road.
"So I kept watching, waiting for Edward to slip. Waiting for something else to happen. I didn't know what to expect, I really didn't!" I started to shake my head, not knowing where my words would lead me.
"I know you're not in the right mindset for this," Jasper said to me, "but I want you to understand that Edward is in no way a freak of any sort."
"I know he's not…"
"Let me finish," Jasper interrupted me, "I just want you to realize that Edward is a normal guy. He purposely sets him back from anyone because he's afraid that he'll be 'found out' and labeled as a circus freak. I've had this conversation with him, and that's why I was so surprised when he and you started to hang out. None of us expected it, and when he started to slip up around you Alice caught on and warned him. We weren't sure how you would react. Today was inevitable I suppose, but I need you to understand that no matter what, we're on Edward's side. No matter what." I was silent. I knew Jasper and the others would be by Edward's side. And the matter of me being there with them was just a matter of how I dealt with this.
How was I going to deal with this?
"I know," I sighed, "and I expect nothing less from any of you. I don't plan on running away from this, I just need to wrap my head around it all." Jasper nodded, patting my knee gently.
"Good to hear Bella, because Edward really likes you. I'd hate to see something mess this up." The rest of the ride to the Cullen house was spent listening to the radio, and when we pulled into the driveway I had pulled together all of my courage.
I was not going to push Edward away, and I didn't want to lose any of my friends over this. I understood why they kept this from me, hell I was the new girl. But I wanted them all to know that the secret was safe with me.
"Ready?" Jasper asked as we climbed out of his car. I looked around and saw that Emmett's Jeep was already parked in the long driveway, vacant of its previous passengers.
"As I'll ever be," I responded. We walked through the front door, not bothering to knock. I was met with Emmett's back, which was creating a wall in front of the living room. Rose, however, was facing me and her face lit up.
"Bella!" Emmett turned at Rose's exclamation and raised his eyebrows at me. In one quick movement, he had stepped aside, and I was met with the scene of Edward lying on the couch, head in Alice's lap. Edward's eyes were closed, and he looked as if he were asleep. I was happy to see that some of the color had returned to his face. Alice's hands were on Edward's skin, one touching his forehead and one lying on his neck. At first it looked odd, but when I saw that Alice's eyes were also closed, it made the two look as if they were both sleeping.
"What's going on?" I whispered to no one in particular. Jasper walked forward and stood next to Rose, meeting my eyes and giving me a small smile.
"Remember I told you that Alice knew what to do for Edward?" I nodded. "Well, she's doing it. When he uses his… ability… it uses some of his energy. Therefore he needs to be replenished sometimes. She helps him with that." I felt my mouth drop open, and didn't bother to hide the astonishment.
"So she's like his battery? Recharging him?" Rose hid her smile, and Emmett shook his head in laughter. Only Jasper seemed to be unaffected by my statement.
"Yes, you could say that. In some ways it makes sense. They're twins, so they work together. What he is lacking, she makes up for. Why wouldn't that work with their energy as well?" What Jasper was saying made some kind of sense, so I didn't argue with him. I walked around Emmett and stood across from the siblings. My legs still felt week and I realized then that I was coming down from my adrenaline high. I sank down into the couch opposite them, and I watched. Emmett and Rose followed behind me, sitting on the couch next to me. Only Jasper remained standing, perched in a protective stance next to Alice.
The minutes passed, and I counted the seconds to the ticking of the grandfather clock tucked into the corner of the room. No one moved, not even the hovering Jasper. I didn't know what I was to expect, but I didn't move my eyes from Edward's face. His breathing was slow and even, his eyes fluttering beneath his closed lids as if he were having a dream. Alice's eyebrows were furrowed in concentration, her hands unmoving on Edward's skin. My heart was pounding in my chest, giving my cool exterior away. I was glad that no one could hear it, glad that no one would sense that I was scared out of my mind.
"What exactly are we waiting for?" I asked Emmett. His eyes never wavered from Alice and Edward, and after a second of me waiting for an answer, he smiled.
"This." I followed his gaze and sighed when I saw that Alice was looking at me with tired eyes. Edward was slowly starting to stir, eyes fluttering open. I remained seated on the couch while everyone flocked around them. Rose was pulling Edward into a sitting position, and Jasper was running his hands through Alice's hair.
"Are you feeling okay?" Rose asked Edward. He nodded, not focusing on anything in particular. Jasper was whispering something into Alice's ear, and I flinched when her golden eyes snapped to me.
"Bella?" Alice whispered. I nodded in acknowledgement and stood to follow as she walked towards the kitchen. I felt some relief at Jasper's smile. Seeing that made me feel somewhat calm as I left the others behind and walked into a conversation I wasn't ready for. I glanced back and saw that Edward was rubbing his hands over his face, talking softly with Emmett and Rose. I swallowed hard before I turned the corner and out of sight.
Alice was leaning against the kitchen counter, looking tired and pale.
"Are you okay?" I asked immediately. Alice smiled at me and nodded.
"Yeah, just a little drained." I tried to smile, but wasn't sure if it seemed real enough.
"Tow truck's here!" Jasper yelled out. I listened as the others stood and walked outside, effectively leaving Alice and me alone in the house.
"So…" I started. Alice shook her head though, holding up her hands.
"Let me talk first," she said. I was relieved, more than happy to hand the reigns over to the small girl. I didn't know what to say about any of what had happened today, so if she knew how to start it off then I was more than happy to let her.
"I want to ask you first, if you're okay." That surprised me. I sighed and smiled.
"Yes, I'm fine. A little shaken up over everything, but fine regardless." Alice nodded, as if she understood my train of though.
"Good. Well that just leaves one more thing. How you're going to react to my brother." There it was. The inevitable question.
"I won't let you around him until I know what you're going to do," Alice continued, some of her color returning to her face. "I will protect him at all cost, and if that means forcing you away then so be it." I was slightly taken aback by her words, but I refused to take offense to them. She was protecting him, as were the others. I expected nothing less than those exact words that I heard coming from her mouth.
"Alice," I said with a smile, "I care about Edward more than you realize. I'm shocked about all that has happened, you can't blame me for that. But I think this is something that I can deal with in time." Alice was quiet, so I took that moment to say more.
"I don't know all of the details about Edward's gift, or even yours for that matter, but I see him. I actually see him, all of him. And I want nothing more than to spend time with him. I want to get to know more about him. Hell, we just became official last night! But as long as Edward will have me, I'll be here." I didn't know what else to say, so I rocked silently on the heels of my shoes and glanced around the kitchen. Alice was motionless and chewing on her bottom lip.
"Bells…" I angled my head up at her with my eyebrows up.
"Bella," she began again. She pushed off the countertop and took two steps towards me. To say that I wasn't nervous would be a lie. She was like the security for their group; fail the test with her and you were shunned for good. "I'm so glad to hear you say that." I let out a laugh as she threw her arms around me in a hug. My clenched stomach relaxed a little and I shook my head.
"For someone so small, you sure are intimidating," I laughed at her. Alice took a step back and gave me a smirk.
"Looks can be deceiving my dear." Boy was she right.
"Can I ask you some questions?" I asked carefully. I wanted to grasp everything a little tighter before I talked to Edward, that way everything wasn't so surprising with him.
"Absolutely!" I leaned back against the refrigerator and calmed my nerves. I had so many questions, but wasn't sure how to ask her.
"How does it work?" I finally asked. Alice didn't seem surprised by the question and leaned against the counter next to me.
"Well, Edward is basically telekinetic." She took a deep breath and continued. "It's hard to describe his gift, because it's so touchy. He can only move metal, and only when using his hands. It doesn't just work with him thinking about it, he has to use his hands." Again the images of the floating Volvo and opening doors entered my mind.
"When he uses his gift, it takes some of his energy. Small things like doors and whatnot aren't a big deal, but larger things take it out of him."
"You mean like the car?" I asked. Alice nodded.
"He has never moved anything that big before. Ever. I still can't believe he was able to. It scares me to think of what else he could move, but I can't tempt him with that. He'll only push himself too far." I licked my lips nervously and waited for her to continue.
"Unfortunately he realized that his emotions tend to control his gift. If he gets angry or really nervous, he can't control it. It causes him problems because of where he could be when it happens. You know school or at a restaurant."
"Jasper told me that you're like his other half? How does that work?" Pieces of this puzzle were falling into place, and I was drinking up all the knowledge I could.
"Well, when Edward uses the energy to move things, sometimes it leaves him really tired. I found out a long time ago that I could transfer some of my energy into him."
"Transfer energy?" I pictured electricity flowing through her fingertips and into Edward. It was a weird picture. Alice shifted her position and cocked her head to the side as if she were trying to find the easiest way to tell me something.
"Basically I do this same thing he does when he moves things. I concentrate and then I set my hands on him to feel the energy. Instead of moving things towards me or however he does, I move the energy away. It took me a long time to figure out how it works."
"How long has it been going on?" I asked. Alice shook her head though.
"That's a story he needs to tell you. Not my chapter." I nodded. This was amazing.
"Do your parents know?" I wondered aloud. Alice smiled.
"Yes, they do. I think that's why my mother loves you so much. Edward has kept to himself so much, mainly because he's so scared of people thinking of him in the wrong light. He wants acceptance, and living his life like that has taken the toll on him. He's finally found someone… you… and I think he was scared of how you would react." I licked my lips again and shifted uncomfortably on my feet.
"Don't mess this up Bella." No pressure.
"I'm going to go talk to him." Alice nodded and followed me as we walked towards the door leading to the garage area. I kept my feet to the ground until I hit the cement driveway. When I looked up I stopped and actually took a step back. Everyone was standing there, surrounding the Volvo that had been delivered. Edward was looking directly at me. He was standing behind the car. The perfectly shaped car. There was not a single dent in the surface.
Edward had removed every dent.
"How… what?" I was stammering, I knew. Alice saved me though, and walked forward.
"Hey guys, let's get inside. I have to get ready for work, and maybe we can eat something before hand." Everyone took the cue from Alice and nodded, stepping forward and leaving Edward and I alone in the driveway. With the perfect car. The undamaged car. The car that I had just been trapped in over an hour ago. When we were alone, I looked up to meet Edward's gaze.
"How did you do that?" I asked. Edward looked away. I could see his hands clench, each of his fingers straining out before bending back into a fist slowly.
"I'm sure you've already figured it out," Edward said quietly. His voice was low and menacing, laced with an emotion that I did not recognize coming from him. I remained quiet though, still staring at the car as if I were seeing a miracle. Well, it kind of was one I guess.
Edward surprised me then by turning his back to me and walking back to the garage. He disappeared for a moment, and I took a hesitant step forward. Did he leave? What is going on? Edward returned a second later, holding something in his hand. I looked at his face and then back to his hands. What was that? A stick? Edward walked up the car and stared at me.
"How did I do it?" he asked me. He lifted his arms and I gasped when I realized what he was holding.
A sledgehammer.
"Edward?" I asked. Edward swung the sledgehammer around with all of his strength and slammed it down on the hood of the Volvo.
"Edward!" I screamed. My hands flew out as if I could stop him, but I was only met with a grunt as Edward swung the tool back to the same spot, making the indentation even larger.
"Edward! Stop!" My voice was panicky, I knew it. Edward looked up at me and dropped the hammer to the ground.
"How exactly? I don't know." Edward reached out his hand, placing it a foot above the freshly dented car. He looked at me again and then closed his eyes. After only a second I heard a low grinding sound. My eyes flew down to the hood and I gasped when I saw the metal start to lift.
It was like slow motion, the dents popping out one inch at a time. It didn't take long, and the metal smoothed out. Edward dropped his hand, glancing at me again.
"I don't know how I do it. But I do." I let out a breath that I didn't know I had been holding and I met his gaze with my own.
"Thank you," I said quietly. The look that flittered across Edward's face was of surprise.
"What for?" he asked. I took a step forward.
"For saving my life." Edward shook his head and took a step back.
"No, this isn't how it's supposed to work." I stopped my advance on him and tilted my head to the side.
"How what is supposed to work?" I asked.
"You aren't supposed to accept me!" Edward yelled into the air. I jumped and brought my hand to my chest in surprise. Edward's eyes were no longer the soft golden color that I had grown to love. It was now a dark brown, almost black. His face was no longer smooth, but creased in what I assumed to be anger.
"Edward…" I started. But he held up his hand to me. I felt the chain of my necklace lift from my chest and I gasped. His emotions…
"Bella, I don't expect you to understand any of this. So get on with it. Just leave." Leave? What was he talking about?
"Edward, I'm not going anywhere! I'm not just going to leave!" How dare he! But he was shaking his head.
"I know exactly what you're going to say. You and I never would have worked out, and my freak of nature tendencies will just solidify that. You can go and I won't hold a grudge to you." Edward started to walk towards the house, and I could see the coldness in his stance when he walked by me. How was this happening? I wasn't leaving, I wasn't planning on it anyhow. Edward wasn't even giving me the chance to speak! To explain myself!
"Edward!" I yelled at him. He stopped just short of the door and looked back at me.
"It's okay Bella. I just gave you more credit in my mind. I don't blame you. I'll have Jasper give you a ride home." And with that he was gone.
I stood in the driveway, my eyes swelling with tears. What had just happened? Did Edward just send me away? He didn't even give me a chance to say anything! He just assumed that I would call him a freak and want to leave. As the seconds ticked by I realized he wasn't going to come back for me, and I slipped down to the ground. The tears were flowing now, and I was stuck in a state of shock.
Edward broke up with me. After one day of being official, he left me. Gone. Discarded as if I were yesterday's newspaper.
"Bella?" I looked up. Jasper was looking down at me with pity in his eyes.
"He didn't even give me a chance to explain," I muttered. Jasper nodded, bending down to help me to my feet.
"I know sweetie, I know. I'm sorry."
"He didn't even let me accept him." As Jasper walked me to his car, I looked over his shoulder and to the looming white house. I could see Rose looking through the window, touching the pane of glass gently. Almost in a good-bye. The tears were flowing faster. This is what it was going to be. Edward and the others came as a package. Edward dumped me, therefore everyone dumped me.
I was going to be alone.
OK stop. Breathe. Don't worry. Don't hate on Edward just yet. I promise the next chapter to be more rewarding when it comes to explaining Mr. Edward and his moodiness. Tee hee!
OH! And don't forget to look at that little green button below. Do you see it? Yes, the one that says REVIEW!? Yep, that's the one. That's right, go ahead and click on it, leave love. Love=happiness!
~Ashley