DISCLAIMER: In no way do I own Twilight or any of its characters.
Bella was still sleeping when I got back from my hunt. I had to stop by the house for a change of clothes before I made myself comfortable in the only chair inside her room.
The sun was already high up when Bella started to stir. She opened her eyes to gaze around her surroundings and when she caught sight of me, her face immediately lit up and she sat up straight.
"You're here" The happiness in her voice was clear.
"Good Morning" I stood from the chair to sit beside her in bed. She didn't even mind the closeness now.
She was looking at me strangely.
"Your eyes. They're beautiful. Your golden eyes mean you just fed right?" I had to smile.
"Your casual way of asking me if I just fed baffles me knowing what my diet is Bella but yes, I made a quick run before coming back here."
"Coming back? So, you've been here almost the entire night?" Her brows furrowed.
"In a way. I hope you don't find it creepy."
"Oh no, I find it ahm, adorable" She replied shyly." I hope you didn't get bored watching me sleep"
"Hmmm, I don't think I'll ever get bored watching you sleep Bella and besides, you talk in your sleep" I couldn't help but comment. She looked at me horrified and it took a while before she could ask.
"Oh God, what did I say?" She buried her face in her hands with embarrassment.
"You spoke my name." I replied nonchalantly. She buckled her body away from me.
"No, no, no, no!" She panicked.
"Bella, there's nothing to be ashamed of, I actually find it... adorable"
"Go away!" She kept her face buried in her hands.
"Oh Bella, if I could sleep, I would want to dream of you..." And that was true. She looked up and there was that look of fascination on her face again. As much as I wanted to keep this conversation in bed going, I already had plans for the day.
"Come on, time for your breakfast. We're going somewhere" I stood up and she quickly got out of the bed.
"Where to?" She asked curiously.
"You want to know what happens to us against the sun, right?"
Clouds were still covering the sky when we left with the car, but Alice had already seen that there would be plenty of sunlight when we would arrive at our destination. When I found the trail half an hour later, I stopped at the side of the road and got out, followed by Bella who was looking around her surroundings.
"We walk from here. I hope you don't mind a little bit of hiking" I told her and she smiled, waiting for me to lead the way.
There was a trail that led to a deeper part of the woods, but I led her to the opposite direction. The trees were starting to be thicker and the walk more challenging as we were slowly walking on higher ground but when I looked back to check on Bella, she seems to be able to keep up with the pace and not even a hint of tiredness can be shown on her features. We were actually making good time because we were almost there.
"So" She started to say after a few minutes of walking. She was calmly looking around her surroundings.
"Dense forest...vampire alone with a human... no witnesses...a perfect crime scene. Hmmm, nobody is going to see my body for days... or ever" I froze in my tracks. How could she even think that!
I felt her body bump into me and she stopped when she saw the incredulous look on my face.
"You know that was a joke, right?" She raised her eyebrow at me. I was aghast. That's not something to joke about considering what I was capable of! I can't believe she's taking this lightly.
"Bella, please don't joke about that. I would never do anything that can hurt you. I would not forgive myself if I lose control when I'm with you. I can't let anything happen to you" I was rambling, and I was having a hard time shaking off the image from my head.
I felt a warm hand in my arms and she looked at me with full of confidence and reassurance in her eyes.
"Edward. I know" She smiled. "Alright, I'm sorry about the joke but I trust you."
She walked past me and stopped. I heard her intake of breath and when I turned around, we have already arrived.
Just in front of us was an opening in the forest where the light of the sun became a spotlight to a small round spot filled with wildflowers. The view was breathtaking especially with Bella slowly moving towards the center of the meadow as if in trance.
She stood under the glow like an Angel being bathed by the warmth of the sun. I was suddenly afraid of showing her what I look like. Beside her, I would be a freak, a true monster.
She whirled around to face me, but I was hesitant to step out from the shade that the trees provided. Bella held out her hand beckoning me to come to her and like a moth attracted to a flame, I closed my eyes and walked towards her.
I could already feel the light refracting from every part of my skin and I stopped after a few steps. I could hear her increasing heartbeat as she now stood in front of me.
"You are beautiful" I could her the awe in her voice and I opened my eyes.
"I'm a freak"
"No, you're not. You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen"
"You can't say that"
"Yes, I can because it's true" She argued.
"You don't understand" I said in exasperation. In a blink of an eye, I jumped towards a fallen tree at the edge of the meadow.
"I'm fast" She turned towards my voice.
I uprooted a small tree and threw it across the meadow.
"I'm strong"
I moved towards where the tree fell and her eyes easily followed.
"Yet anytime, I could hide this and blend in just like any normal human being. But This..." I slowly walked towards the light, careful not to scare her. "This separates me, us, from the rest. This is the reason why no matter how much we blend in, we are still monsters."
"I am still a monster," I emphasized. "A monster who craves for your blood and a monster who loves you more than my very existence."
My body instinctively moved closer towards her and when our bodies touched, a desire deep within me exploded like fire. It was a human desire that I have yet to experience, far more intense than the desire to drink her blood. Suddenly, I wanted to touch her face, feel the warmth of her lips in mine. I wanted so much to kiss her. My head lowered until our lips were almost touching and when it did, I wasn't prepared at what it did to me.
I couldn't seem to get enough. Bella wrapped her arms around my neck and my hands circled around her bringing her closer to me. Her body responded to the kiss with much enthusiasm and our kiss deepened.
I was suddenly overpowered by the smell of Bella's blood when she exhaled directly to me and I wanted more of it. My lips slowly moved to the side of her lips and down towards her neck. I could already see the veins were the delicious blood was flowing. Just one tear, and I could taste it... Just one...
"Edward" Bella moaned, and I froze.
What have I done?
I stood as still as a statue and it took Bella a few seconds to realize that I wasn't responding. I cut out all my senses until I could feel my control slowly coming back. Too close... that was too close. If she didn't speak, I could have... she could have... This was wrong. I was a fool to think this was going to work. I was sentencing her to death just by being with me.
She was looking at me intently. "Edward, what's wrong?"
"Do you realize what I was about to do to you?" I said through clenched teeth.
"What do you mean?" I can't believe she was not aware how close I was to killing her?
"I almost lost control... I almost killed you" I said in a grave tone. Bella slowly backed away from me and it felt like my body was being ripped apart with every step she made.
"I can understand if you don't want anything to do with me anymore." I couldn't hide the agony in my voice. Bella stopped.
"What are you talking about?" Bella asked. She must be in shock.
"I'm sorry Bella. I am a danger to you" Everything was spiraling out of my control, I thought I was in control of the monster. I thought I could make it work.
"Now I'm confused! One minute you were declaring your love for me and the next, you're pushing me away!" Bella was raising her voice.
"Oh Bella, you are everything to me. I could not imagine existing without you but knowing that I can kill you if I lost control again, it kills me, and it kills me even more seeing you walk away from me but if it means that you would be safer then I would endure it."
She slowly walked back towards me and I held my breath. There was that reassuring smile on her face again. "Edward, I only stepped back to give you room, so you can gain control of yourself. I wasn't going to walk away." Wait, she wasn't? I don't understand
"You're not?" I had to be sure.
"No. You could have killed me, but you didn't" I flinched at the word, trying to erase the memory of my slip earlier.
"I trust you. I told you before when we first met and I'm telling you again now, it doesn't matter to me what you are. You need to understand...dangerous or not, I will be here."
It was my turn to be in awe. Here I was, so afraid of my own monstrosity yet Bella was still trusting me with her life.
"Are you certain?" I tentatively asked. She slowly lifted her hands towards my face and gently rested her palm on my cheek.
"There are a lot of things I'm not certain about right now, who I am, where I come from, why I'm here but if there's one thing that I'm certain about, it's you. My world will not be complete without you"
There was an uneasiness that was nagging me when she said those words, but it was drowned out by the realization that right now, I was hers and she was mine.
AN: Whew! That was a long one. Sorry for the wait. I hope you all enjoyed that. By the way, sorry if the story is a bit fast-paced. I'm trying to incorporate the whole saga into my story. Just think of this as a fanfic series.
BTW, my initial plan was not to include the Quileutes but now, I'm starting to think, you cant really explore the world of Twilight without writing about the shapeshifters too so what do you think, any thoughts?