Chapter Twelve
Edward
I had thought meeting up with Garrett was a good idea, he actually appreciated good music and this concert had been particularly good but afterwards he wanted to go hunting so I agreed to bar hop with him until he found a decent target. I wasn't tempted to join him in the hunt, I'd had my time as a human hunter and found it almost destroyed me, it was insidious, drawing me in until I found myself eager for the next hunt, my next victim and then I had seen myself in a store window, my eyes a vivid crimson, blood staining my lips and a limp body held close as if we were lovers. I had run, as fast as I could back to the man who could save me from my demons, Carlisle Cullen, my sire.
By the third bar I was getting bored, the mundane thoughts of the humans battering my brain like moths around a light bulb and then one set of thoughts ensnared me and I scanned the room looking for their owner. She was sitting in a corner watching me through the semi-darkness,her eyes glued on the corner where we sat. She was interested but in me or Garrett? Then our eyes met and I understood, she wanted to get to know me, I excited her and that made me smile, I knew I was the Alpha male in here and she had zeroed in on me just like they always did. Find the best male in the herd and attach yourself to him.
I excused myself not bothering to explain to Garrett, he could find his own prey, I had something more interesting in mind and Sadie as she introduced herself was it. She was pretty, a little unimaginative but she liked me and was quite happy to take me back to her place after a few drinks, I would find Garrett later.
How it happened I have no idea but I found myself very fond of Sadie so when Garrett showed up I blew him off. He said he'd stay around a few weeks as he'd found himself a poker game. He liked gambling almost as much as women and hunting!
Things went well for a couple of months, Sadie was sweet and willing, happy to do whatever I wanted her to do and I moved into her small apartment promising her a larger one in a better part of town soon but things went wrong from the moment we moved. I bought her nice clothes, took her to the best restaurants, shows, concerts and then found she wasn't interested in good music. Her idea of classical music was Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson and even when I tried to educate her it didn't help, she actually fell asleep at a recital by a famous Viennese pianist.
She was frightened by my anger and that just annoyed me more, I tried, really I did but she just didn't get it. I guess I should have quit trying but it frustrated me that I couldn't get her to see what she was missing. The day I came home early to find her packing her bags I have to admit I lost it a little. I shouldn't have slapped her and I felt bad when the red mist dissipated and I saw her laying there, her cheek bruised and her lip split but I couldn't let her go, she was mine, I had chosen her, moulded her.
I apologized, bought her a gold necklace as a gesture of goodwill and things settled down again but I couldn't let her out of my sight. I knew she was still scared and wanted to leave and that wasn't going to happen then Garrett appeared at our door with a message from Esme. She has been trying to contact me, she was worried, so was Carlisle, they wanted to hear from me, know I was OK for God's sake! Why wouldn't I be? Sadie took to Garrett, she saw him as her saviour just because he was kind to her, she didn't know he was a vampire, he didn't care about humans except as his next meal may be. His appearance was fortuitous, though, he could stay with Sadie and I could hunt properly instead of snatching what I could while she was at the hairdressers or the gym. I just couldn't trust her to be left for any amount of time and I was sick of stray dogs and cats and the odd urban fox.
I guess I should have known better, I couldn't trust anyone, not even my supposed friend. When I got back I found the apartment empty, Sadie's things gone and a note from Garrett. He had taken her away, she was scared of me and had begged him to help her, the bitch! How dare she accuse me of being scary, I'd show her scary.
I traced them to Alaska, surely he wasn't taking her to Denali! By the time I found him he was alone and though I could read that he had been with Sadie by his thoughts I also knew he had no idea where she was now.
"Sorry Edward but I don't hold with frightening or trying to control women and Sadie was scared witless."
"You mean you decided you wanted her instead."
He laughed in my face,
"Oh, I reckon you can tell by my thoughts that's not true Edward. You need to calm down, go home and think about how to treat other people. Humans are not your private puppets, they are people."
"You rang Carlisle? Telling tales on me Garrett?"
He shook his head,
"Nope, I'll leave it to you to decide what to tell him but if I hear you've treated another woman that way you'll find me there to stop you. Now go home before I decide to wipe that self-righteous look off your face."
There wasn't much I could do, I had no idea where Sadie was and I was no match for Garrett even with my gift, he was almost as good a fighter as Jasper and I'd never been able to take him even in fun. Next time I found a girl I liked, one who liked me, I would make sure Garrett was nowhere around. I was a great catch for any girl, I just needed to find one who would really appreciate that.
I guess I should have expected the fourth degree from Esme, she could never keep her nose out of anyone's business, she really thought I was her flesh and blood son. Carlisle wasn't much better, he knew something had happened but he would never ask me outright and there was no way I was going to tell him anything, I could just imagine the hurt look on his face if he ever found out. He would feel he had let me down and that I had betrayed his creed just as he did when I came back after hunting humans, making me feel like a loser. Well, I wasn't a loser and no one would ever think so, not again!
I was in luck though because Garrett hadn't run to Carlisle to tell tales about me as I had thought he might and the whole family were so wrapped up in the novelty of Jasper having a human girlfriend that they soon forgot about my prolonged absence. Usually, this would have annoyed me, I was after all the center of attention most of the time but just now I was grateful for it. I was, however, curious to see the girl who had fallen for Jasper, she must be blind or stupid or both or probably just very ugly if she couldn't recognize the monster that lurked just below the surface.
So, I watched from my window as she drove up to the house and stepped out Jasper running down the steps to greet her like a "normal" boyfriend might do. Was he really in love with her? Or were his thoughts as dark as always, was he seeing her as a girlfriend or possible prey? When she turned so I could see her face clearly I stopped dead, she was indeed beautiful and I felt an instant attraction. Could it be that this girl was the one? The attraction I felt to her was far more powerful than that I had felt for Sadie and I had thought that was the real thing until she began to disappoint me. All I knew was that I needed to meet Bella Swan so urgently it was almost painful. I also knew that I must hide my true feelings about her from the others, they just wouldn't understand.