*Mild language

In the Grip of Twilight

By: Olivia Tannis Moore

Chapter Fourteen:

Discussions

It was a few minutes before eleven when Edward took me home, or I should say, carried me home. The house was dark except for the dim light of the living room lamp so I figured Charlie must've gone to bed. Last year, before I turned eighteen, he would wait up for me no matter how late. Now, more often than not, he turned in at ten o'clock. When I had joked about this, he'd told me that I was eighteen, the age of "flexibility". Funny thing is, when it came to Edward and the messes we got into, sometimes I needed all the flexibility I could get.

We stood at the edge of the driveway for a moment, not quite ready to give up this new level of closeness we'd reached. As if we feared that once I went into the house it might disappear as though it never happened.

I nuzzled the side of his neck and swore I could still smell the heady fragrance of Night Jasmine from our meadow. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Then I stepped back.

"Give me twenty minutes?" I asked, referring to the time it took me to shower, brush my teeth, and put on my pajamas. I had it down to a well-tuned science by now.

"As usual," he replied, kissing the end of my nose lightly.

"See you soon." I stood on the end of my toes and brushed my lips against his.

***

Edward was punctual—'as usual'. It was exactly twenty minutes to the number when he quietly rapped on my window and then let himself in. I was sitting on the end of my bed brushing my damp hair; I tried not to seem overly eager that he was here instead of the Cullen home. He slid across the bed and behind me, taking the brush from my hand and picking up where I left off. Long, gentle strokes from the crown of my head to the middle of my back. Almost instantly, I was lulled by the sensation and the whisking sound of the bristles against my scalp.

I decided now was as good a time as any to talk about our crazy evening—before I fell asleep while he was brushing my hair. "When do you plan on telling Carlisle about the bite?"

"Soon," he said. "I would've told him while we were down in the vault…but oh well. Sometime tomorrow. I guess I'm in no hurry to become his lab rat."

"And you didn't tell Esme because…" my voice trailed off.

"I didn't want to tell anyone before I told Carlisle. And if Carlisle wants her to know, then he'll tell her." Edward laughed softly. "You'll find out soon enough. Esme is a born worrier. She'll be pacing the floor outside Carlisle's lab as if she were an expectant father; that's if he's able to keep her out in the first place."

"Don't laugh," I warned him. "I'll probably be pacing the floor right along with her."

"It won't amount to much," he tried to reassure me. "Just some tests. I imagine the same tests he performed on the Forgotten all those years ago. He'll gather a little DNA, and voila, it'll be done."

"It'll be the test results I'll be nervous about," I said, already anxious about the whole thing.

He set the hair brush down on the bed. "Hey," he said, gathering my shoulders with his hands. "No worries, okay?"

No worries? He saw those disgusting things under the Forgotten's skin. Was there anything not to worry about? Mutating viruses that caused the host to do things they normally wouldn't even think of doing…and what if this malfunction Alice and Jasper were having had something to do with the virus? Which reminded me…

"You're not having any of the glitches that Alice or Jasper is having, are you?"

"Nope. I'm free and clear for the time."

"Good. We'll keep our fingers crossed—only one catastrophe at a time, right?"

"Right," he said, with that lopsided smile. "That's our limit."

"Speaking of catastrophes…" I said, loathe to bring up the subject, "what will I do while the Volturi are here? You're going to let me hang around, aren't you?"

He looked at me as if I'd just said the most idiotic thing. "You will keep away from the Volturi. That means I'll come here to see you."

My heart sank. My absence would certainly encourage Elena.

Edward wouldn't let me look away; he was determined to rivet me with those topaz eyes, "Bella— promise me."

I frowned. "But Edward…"

"I'm serious, Bella. Promise."

"Oh, fine. I promise, damn it."

He grinned as he cupped the back of my head and kissed the scowl from my mouth.

***

(Thanks for reading! See you tomorrow. ---OTM)