Chapter 6: First kill
~Wise men, when in doubt whether to speak or to keep quiet, give themselves the benefit of the doubt, and remain silent. -
Napoleon Hill~
Morning news was where they began with 'Good morning' and then proceeded to tell why it was not.
I knew something was wrong as soon as I woke up. The sky looked dark, gloomy, and very uninviting. After a few minutes, a heavy downpour of rain started. I felt grouchy and irritated as I slowly dressed and went downstairs for breakfast.
So I became alert when I saw the panicked expressions of dad and mom when I entered the living room.
"What's wrong?" I questioned them.
"N-nothing, Bella." Mom stuttered, her face flushing. She was a very bad liar. "Dad was just leaving for work."
"Isn't it a little too early?" I smiled up at dad but his response was a strained one.
Mom turned and led him out quickly. Wondering what was wrong with them; I flopped on the couch and switched on the TV. I still had a few minutes to kill before I started to school.
I was flipping through the channels when a headline caught my attention.
Murder in Forks, Washington
For a moment, I just stared at it. I increased the volume but the reporter was talking about something else. I waited a few more seconds before she went to the topic I was waiting for.
"A young girl was found dead in the outskirts of the town, Forks with her throat slit open. Her face was badly damaged and it is hard for the police to identify her..."
A young dead girl? Badly damaged face? In Forks?
I gulped, 'cause this was not how I wanted the day to start. Then I remembered my parent's odd behavior and realized that they had been trying to hide it from me. They probably knew it would scare me immensely.
"Bella..."
Mom stood on the doorway, her gaze concerned as she accessed me. I stood up and almost ran to my room. She would have guessed that I was simply scared but I had another reason.
I had woken up in the middle of the night when I had heard a scream. The scream was blood curdling but I had assumed it was a part of my dream since it consisted of zombies running all over the town with people screaming their heads off.
I blamed Edward for the nightmare.
I was not one of the girls who followed him around in groups, giggling and trying to get his attention. I would never be caught dead doing that, because it was pathetic and I also suspected him to be the same soldier Edward Masen.
What if that scream I had heard was actually the girl screaming for help?
After some time I got fed up with staring at my bedroom wall. Therefore, I took my school bag and went outside after a low 'bye' to my mom. It was still heavily raining, as if buckets of water were upturned on the town. It was a good thing mom allowed me to burrow her car.
There was no way I was walking in the rain, especially with a serial killer on the loose.
I reached the school in ten minutes but cars were all over the parking lot. Everyone was seeking shelter inside the school and hence no one was there. I glanced out, gingerly placing my left foot out in the rain.
Within a second, it was soaked.
My car was parked at the end and I did not know how I would get inside the school without getting completely drenched. Taking a deep breath and preparing for the worst, I jumped out and tried to keep my pace fast.
A sudden shadow fell over me and the raindrops were not touching me anymore. I looked to the side and was startled to see that it was Edward who was holding his black umbrella over us.
"Thank you, what caused the change of heart?" I asked, staring down at my feet.
The last thing I needed was to trip and fall flat on my face in front of Edward.
He glanced down at me, his green eyes light. "If I'd just walked past you with my umbrella, people would assume I'm rude."
"I hope you're not," I said drily. He always managed sabotage my dignity.
"See," He said with a heart-melting grin. "That is why I'm still holding the umbrella, so you wouldn't be soaked from head to toe."
"You were a little late. I already am." I motioned to my wet outfit.
"You know you shou -" He stopped abruptly as his eyes strayed over my chest.
I looked down self-consciously and by the time, I realized I was cold; both of us were a blushing mess.
Edward cleared his throat and I was too embarrassed to look at him. "You can have my jacket,"
"No, I'm fine." I said, as I started to unbutton my shirt. We finally walked inside the school and Edward closed his umbrella.
He froze when I removed the shirt.
"What are you doing?" He demanded, and turned to face away from me.
"Relax," I rolled my eyes. "I'm wearing a tank top inside."
"You're in the middle of the school corridor and you're undressing?" He still wouldn't look at me.
"Edward, there's nothing wrong in getting out of your wet shirt in the school when you're already wearing a top inside! People do it all the time." I was starting to get annoyed now.
A boy whistled as he passed me. I shot him a dirty look.
"This is so different," Edward ran his hand through his hair angrily. "I could never get used to this."
"You were in Chicago before," I recalled. "I'm sure the girls back there do more than removing a shirt."
"But none of them -" He sighed roughly and shook his head, as if he could not continue anymore.
"What?"
"We should get to class, it's late." He turned on his heel and walked the other way.
Why was he like that? He was most definitely old fashioned. Maybe he was from 1918.
"Did you hear about the murdered girl?" Sasha asked as we stood in line to get food. I could barely hear her over the loud chatter, which filled the cafeteria.
"I saw it in the news this morning," I said uneasily.
"Pity, she was a beautiful girl." She pouted.
"How do you know her? The police were not able to recognize her." I frowned.
"That was in the morning," She flashed her cell to me. "I keep a tab of what it is happening around us every minute, darling."
"So, who is she?"
"Your former neighbor," She gave me a concerned glance. I was frozen.
"You mean Jessica Stanley? Om My God, she was a very nice girl." I covered my mouth with my palm.
"I know, you were the one who introduced me to her. It seems she was here on a vacation from her collage. She went jogging in the trail and was killed brutally by the psycho." Sasha looked around her suspiciously. "I hope they catch him soon enough."
"Yeah, before he comes on our trail."
Before I knew it, lunch had passed and it was time for History period. I wasn't eager since I had to sit in the same bench as Edward and Randall. I knew that Edward shared the same thought.
Thankfully, when Sasha, Heidi and I got inside the classroom, the bench was empty. I slouched forward and sat down. I felt strangely anxious as I waited. Mr Hale was writing something on the board but I did not give him my concentration.
Five minutes later, Edward and Randall rushed in. I shifted my hair and pretended to look at Sasha who staring at Mr Hale's back. She caught my stare and mouthed 'adorable' with a wink.
I rolled my eyes and flipped through my notes to occupy myself since I felt the uncontrollable urge to steal a glance at Edward.
"Can I borrow them?" Randall interrupted my thoughts. "The notes, I mean. I'm two months behind, so..."
"Sure," I shrugged and gave it to him.
"Actually, I wanted them too." Edward said suddenly, his green eyes narrowed at Randall.
"You both live in the same house, right? You both can certainly share." I was bewildered.
"I do not prefer sharing," Edward snapped curtly at Randall who had an amused smirk on his face.
Mr Hale started the class and I sighed with relief. Whatever was going on between the two, I hoped they would solve it soon.
"I have very exciting news, students!" Mr Hale grinned excitedly. "You are all going camping!"
"We are going what?" Sasha nearly fell out of her seat, which was three rows before me.
"Camping, in the thick forest region of Forks," He cried gleefully. "We history teachers had come up with this idea because we think you students need to know how to tolerate any situation, for instance, World War 3 happens, you have to learn to adapt to the places you are confined to in order to survive. Even if it is Sahara desert or Mt Everest. I will be passing a slip and it is your duty to get it signed by your parents or guardians."
I stared at the slip that the girl before me had passed and sighed. As Chief of police, I did not know if dad would allow me in the forest without tight security around me.
"Have you gone camping before?" Edward asked me, twirling the slip in his long elegant hand.
"No," I shook my head. "I'm clumsy and I tend to fall a lot. So camping isn't my thing."
"I'll be there to catch you." Randall smiled charmingly.
"Yeah, I'll be there to break your face." Edward muttered under his breath.
"Excuse me?" There was no way I had heard him right
"Nothing," Edward grinned sheepishly at me, his cheek turning a light pink.
"Ooooh, Eddie is blushing!" Randall chuckled.
"Ooooh, Randy is laughing!" Edward mocked with a roll of his eyes.
"Sibling fight," I sighed contently. "Soo fascinating to watch."
"We're just teasing each other," Randall reasoned. "My first impression when I met Edward was that he was a quiet and brooding boy. You see, everyone in the tent were chatting but Eddie boy wouldn't open his mouth -"
"Tent?" I stopped his confusing speech.
"Tent, of course, no I mean..." Randall stuttered, looking panicked.
"Swan, Cullen," Mr Hale snapped suddenly. "Talking is not allowed."
I blushed and looked down at my hands. Edward and Randall seemed quite relieved at the interruption.
They both were definitely hiding something. Not like a bad ex-girlfriend or abusive step-parents, they possessed secrets even graver than them.
Like someone said, secrets were meant to be taken to the grave, but as usual, I felt the need to dig deeper and find them.
Hey guys,
Hope you enjoyed this chapter. Edward's not-so-secret secret will be revealed in the next few chapters, that is, during the camping. And another thing guys, do you want Jacob and Tanya in this story? Atleast as zombies? :D
-BellaEdwardJacobLove
