In the Grip of Twilight
By:
Olivia Tannis Moore
Chapter Twenty One:
Love and Aloneness Part III
I heard the music through Edward's closed bedroom door. He was playing the upright piano Esme had given him last Christmas.
Ballads, lullabies, the occasional upbeat tune from some classic movie, those were the songs that Edward had played for me in the past. But what he was playing now…it was both haunting and obsessive. The notes, which could only come from the fast flurry of his hands, were extremely passionate. It seemed as if everything that had happened to us in the past couple of days was being telegraphed through his fingers on the keys: Long sweeps of lyrical sadness, followed by the lifting notes of hope, and then, all of a sudden the anguish of thundering keys would wash it all away.
I stood there for countless moments, adrift on the sounds coming from behind that door, knowing that his soulfully rendered song was also my own. We were two parts of the same story, and his music expressed it all fluently and with frightening accuracy.
The song was winding down now. Lingering notes, perhaps lingering too long, as if he didn't know where to continue from here; the future was unknown.
The last note had barely ended when the door opened, startling me. "You can come in now," he said, turning away without looking at me.
I closed the door behind me. The silence of the room, after the masterpiece he'd just played, was like a vacuum. It reminded me of my own serious lack of skill, while Edward could communicate on so many different levels.
"That…that was incredible," I said, shaking my head in wonder. "I really have no words, except…yeah, I feel the same way."
He nodded. His eyes seemed fixed on the space between us on the floor as he pushed his hands deep into the front pockets of his jeans. He had that look of gloomy expectation that I seldom saw during our time together. And it pained me that I would have to tell him of Aro's plans for us. I had kept my promise to Edward by making no promises to Aro, but we both knew it was only a matter of time.
I went and sat on the piano bench, my fingers grazing the keys that he'd only moments before brought to life. I couldn't bring myself to watch his face as I told him of what Aro expected of us.
"Well?" Edward asked with impatience, then he slid onto the bench beside me and began to play random bits of melody, softly. "What did the Great Aro have to say?"
I removed my fingers from the black and white keys and put them in my lap, out of his way. "He wants us to go to Italy for six weeks," and there, I'd said it.
His voice was cool and detached. "I predicted something like that." His hands hesitated on the keys. "Let me see if I can guess the rest…He wants to change you himself—that would establish a strong bond between him and his new prodigy."
His right hand came down and banged several keys in discord. "But I will rot in Hell before I let that happen."
"No, you're wrong. He's letting me choose," I said, and watched as a dismayed look spread across his face. "He assumes I'll ask you," I whispered. "And what if I did ask you? I know how you feel about changing me, but would you really leave me to do this all alone?"
He was silent. And that worried me.
I took a deep breath. I didn't know what I would do if Edward refused "I told Aro I would talk it over with you." My pulse was pounding behind my ears and a lump had formed in the back of my throat. "Will you come with me? Will you do it?" I asked.
He laughed low and sarcastically. My heart dived into the pit of my stomach and my hands gripped the edges of the bench in torment.
"I was wrong, Bella."
I squeezed my eyes shut. "How so?"
"I told you that you had no choice in the matter—that Aro had already sealed your fate. But really, it's been me all along that had no choice. You see, I didn't believe Alice when she had her vision; it was fuzzy and vague and I couldn't believe that I would change you willingly. I was obviously wrong."
That was as good as a yes. I trembled with relief. As I'd said many times before, I'd never bet against Alice and her visions. But this brought a new relief as well. "Alice is having her visions again?" I blurted.
He shook his head. "The vision of me changing you came months ago. Alice is still getting interference; she thinks it's getting worse."
I sighed. "And Jasper?"
"He says the same thing. He feels like something is blocking his Empath ability. And Rosalie is having very disturbing dreams—not the kind of dreams you have to go to sleep to have, but dreams where her waking thoughts seem to be high-jacked."
He looked at me intently. "She has the same hallucination over and over, where she walks through a city that's engulfed in flames. And when she's finally able to wake from it, she says she can still smell the embers on her skin."
"How awful." I shuddered. "But at least we have something to bargain with…"
Edward cocked his head. "What's that?"
"If we agree to go to Italy, then Aro must let The Forgotten stay here under Carlisle's care. He'll find someway to stop the virus. I know he will."
"What a smart girl you are," Edward said, with a half smile, "even if we are the sacrificial lambs."
"Foxes in lambs' clothing," I corrected him.
"Trying to out-fox a fox—an old wily one at that."
"And maybe Italy won't be so bad…" I mused.
When Edward didn't reply, I turned to look at him. His eyes seemed glazed. I reached over and took his hand and almost recoiled. His normally icy skin was hot to the touch.
"Edward?"
He shook his head and seemed to be fighting off whatever was racking his body. "Give it a minute; it'll go away. It doesn't stay for long," he panted.
***
(Note: My area of the U.S. has had tornados and then a snowstorm today—crazy-bad weather. The power keeps going off and on so I wrote this today on my off day. I'll be back on Tuesday. Be Safe. And thanks for reading.)