Seven Days – Friday

Edward

She was barely visible in the moonlight, but I knew she was there even before I saw her: my ears took in the barely audible snap of the twigs under her feet, and her scent, warmth and cinnamon, teased my nose, got into my head, made me want to forget what was coming and lose myself in her. Suddenly I couldn't be close enough to her. I went to her quickly, pulling her against me, framing her pretty face in my hands and kissing her hard.

"Whoa there, slugger." Leah laughed lightly and pushed me away, looking a little taken aback. "That's quite a welcome, Edward."

"I wasn't sure you'd actually show," I confessed as I took her hand and led her back to the house.

Cocking her head, "Don't trust me?" Leah said with a little smile.

"I do." More than I should probably. I closed the door behind me and kissed her again, getting lost in the feel of my fingers in her cool silky hair and her body molding to mine. She let out a breathy gasp when my hand slipped under the hem of her shirt and I smiled against her lips. I had thoroughly enjoyed her reactions the day before, and now all I wanted to do was spend hours figuring out how to get more of those incredibly hot little whimpers out of her.

I pulled away with a resigned sigh. There was no time to give in to my baser urges, and I was pretty sure that after I told her the truth she wouldn't want me to.

"What's wrong?" she asked as she reached up and brushed my hair off my forehead.

"I needed to talk to you."

Leah slipped out of my arms and headed into the living room. She curled up on the end of the couch and patted the seat next to her. "So talk."

I eyed her for a moment before going upstairs. I returned quickly and she gave me an appraising look, which I shook off.

"What's that?" Leah pointed to the box in my hand. I sat next to her and rested my hand on top of the box.

"It's what's left of my life. My human life."

"Oh."

The lid creaked as I opened it and Leah cringed at the sound. Inside were the remnants of the boy I'd been: small trinkets from my childhood, keys that once fit the front door to my home, earrings that belonged to my mother, and old photographs.

I held the earrings up and the dangly diamonds sparkled in the light of the room. I watched them, but Leah's focus wasn't on the earrings, it was on the box.

"She's beautiful," she whispered as she picked up the picture.

"She's the reason I do this," I said quietly. I took Katherine's picture from her hand and let my fingers trace the face in the photo.

"What happened?" Leah rested her hand over mine; her warm fingers threaded themselves with my own. I smiled at how well they fit.

"I got the flu," I told her.

The corners of her mouth turned up and she shook her head.

"Edward," she chided.

"Spanish influenza, to be exact. In 1918, during the pandemic you probably read about in your U.S. history class."

Leah's face fell and her eyes widened. "But you're…"

"Carlisle changed me. It was my mother's dying wish. She knew what he was and begged him on her deathbed," I explained.

Leah watched my face for a long moment before her gaze traveled back to the picture in my hand. "Who is she, then?"

"Katherine. I guess you could say she was my girlfriend, though back then we didn't really use those terms." I shrugged and put the picture back in the box.

"Did she have the flu too?" Leah asked with thoughtful eyes.

I tore myself away from her gaze and set the box on the table in front of me. "No. He killed her. James. I watched him drain her and I held her in my arms after she died. I couldn't do anything to stop him. I couldn't move. I was paralyzed by fear or anger...something. I couldn't do anything to stop him. Here I was, this strong superhuman and I just...froze. Like a coward. I let her lose everything that night."

I could feel her watching me as her thoughts flowed freely, her mind open to me for once again. The conversations we'd had, the articles, the night at the club.

Then the roof. And James. The things he'd said whirled in her head until she gasped and gripped my hand tightly.

"You've been looking for him all these years?"

"Yes," I answered. "Finding him has been what's kept me going. It gave me a purpose, let me do something to redeem myself."

"Edward?" She said my name softly and I finally turned to her. "It wasn't your fault."

"Maybe it wasn't. But I owed her that much. I let her die so I found her killer."

"And now he's dead…" She trailed off and stood abruptly, both her mind and her face going closed and hard. "Is this what you wanted to tell me? That you've avenged your lost love, so now you're picking up and leaving?"

I watched her pace the length of the living room. "Leah." I stepped into her path, catching her by the elbow and turning her body to mine.

"Just go, Edward," she said quietly as she turned away, her tone cold enough to even make me shiver.

"I told you, Leah. I haven't been completely honest with you. If you'd just let me-"

"I don't care what you have to say, Edward. You used me!" she yelled.

I recoiled as if she'd slapped me. I wished she would have.

"It's not like that, Leah." I blocked her as she tried to make her way out the back door. I knew how pathetic I sounded, but I didn't care. I needed her to know that what we had was real. Totally unexpected and completely doomed to end unhappily, but real nonetheless. And I really needed her to stop trying to run away from me.

"Just stop, Edward! You think I haven't heard that before?" Leah demanded, putting her hands in front of her. I froze and her dark eyes cut through me like she'd just set me on fire.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"I helped you get your revenge for a girl you loved ninety years ago. And then you… we…you let me believe that we were doing something good!"

"We were!" I cried. "We did."

"I can't even look at you right now. You should have told me the truth." She turned away and sniffled quietly. She was right. I shouldn't have been such a coward. But then again, it wasn't the first time I had been...

"I promise you, Leah. That was about us. Nothing else."

"There is no us, Edward. We're supposed to be mortal enemies, or have you forgotten?" she spat, still refusing to look at me.

"I haven't. But it doesn't matter to me. You matter, Leah," I said as I gently touched her shoulder. She didn't flinch away and I took that as a good sign.

"What else?"

"What?"

"What else do you have to tell me?" She addressed her question to the air just to the left of my shoulder, and I sighed.

"The vampire from earlier, on the beach– he's here for me. You were right with what you said a few days ago. My actions haven't gone unnoticed," I explained and watched her eyes tighten.

"What's going to happen?"

"They gave me seven days."

"Seven days for what?" she asked as she finally turned to me.

"Seven days to turn myself in. To join them." I reached out and gently touched her cheek.

"Or?" She moved away from my touch this time.

I let my hand drop. "Or they find me..."

"Oh," she whispered. "Who are they? Why do they have so much power over you?"

"They're like royalty. Peacekeepers– "

"Peacekeepers? They want to kill you!" she cried.

"If I don't go, they'll kill my family. And you."

"Me? I don't – they wouldn't…"

"Demitri saw you leaving here. That's how he found you in the forest. He's a tracker, and he can find anyone anywhere. If I choose against them…everyone I care about is as good as dead."

Something flashed in her eyes, but it was gone before I could register what it was. "How much longer?"

I took a deep breath, an old habit that didn't really help the situation at all. "Two days."

Leah laughed loudly and turned away from me. She ran her hands through her hair and swore at the sky.

"Two days? Two fucking days? How is that fair?"

Despite the immediate situation, I somehow felt lighter at her words. She thought it wasn't fair. We had two days left and that wasn't fair. My body acted on its own accord as my arms wrapped around her from behind. Leah moved quickly, though. She threw her arms around my neck and buried her face in my skin.

"Like sunshine," she whispered, sounding shaky.

I chuckled softly and kissed her head. "I'm sorry."

Leah sighed as she pulled away. "It's nothing new to me, Edward." I knew all too well what she meant. She'd let me in, after all. I'd seen all her thoughts; I knew how things always seemed to end for her.

"I wish I could change the ending, just this once."

"Me too." She nodded and held her hand out to me.

I took it quite willingly. "I meant what I said before. What's happened between us has only been about us. Nothing else."

Leah nodded but didn't say anything. I took her silence as acceptance and hoped I could prove to her that what I'd told her was true.

"Two days, huh?" She looked at me with those big eyes and I wanted to yell and scream and tell her 'no' and that I'd never in a million years leave her- but I couldn't.

"Yes," I whispered and held out my hand. "Aro, the leader, gave me a week. Demetri's been lurking this whole time. If I don't show up I'm afraid he's going to take me back in pieces," I joked weakly.

Leah didn't laugh. Instead she closed her eyes and sighed deeply before squeezing my hand tightly.

"How is so simple?" She asked. For you to leave, she added silently.

"It isn't," I told her quietly and hoped with every fiber of my being that she knew what I said was true. Leaving was going to be the hardest thing I'd ever done, there was no doubt about that. But it had to be done. I had to keep them safe.

Then she let me lead her back inside, up the stairs, and into my bedroom. I hadn't find it in me to clean up our mess from earlier in the week. The mangled sheets were still pooled on the floor, our clothes still scattered. Her scent still filled the room and I was bombarded with it the moment we stepped inside.

"You're not much for cleanliness, are you?" she asked as she stepped over a pile of books we'd knocked over.

I shrugged. "I've been busy."

Leah laughed. The sound of it was carefree- strange after our recent conversation, but I didn't care.

She sat on the edge of the bed and tugged me down to her. I sat down and rested my arms behind me.

"I haven't felt this…human in a long time," I murmured against her shoulder.

She shivered under my lips. "Me either," Leah admitted. "Can we just…talk?"

"Anything you want," I told her before sliding up and resting against the headboard.

"What were you like? As a human?" she asked, curling herself around me and resting her head on my shoulder like it was something she'd done every day of our lives– like it was something that we could do every day for eternity. I slipped my arm around her, committing every detail of this to memory; if I was going to give myself up to the Volturi, I'd make damned sure I had some good memories to lose myself in.

"I don't really remember much," I said with a shrug. "I grew up in Chicago. Carlisle tells me that my mother and I had green eyes. My father was a lawyer before he died. I remember Katherine…but not much else."

Her nails raked gently through the hair at my nape, and I closed my eyes briefly to enjoy the soothing caress. "I'm sorry."

"My dad and I liked baseball. He took me to see the Cubs play a few times. Mom used to sing while she cooked. She always smelled like sugar." I closed my eyes as I talked and even more memories filled my mind.

Family dinners.

Walks in the park with Katherine.

My mother's smile.

My father's laugh.

I hadn't thought about those things in so many years, but like I'd told Leah…she made me feel human again. She brought the blood rushing to the surface again, in so many ways.

"You loved her, didn't you?" Leah turned her head and I met her eyes, soft and dark as a doe's.

"I think so," I told her, though I really didn't know. After Carlisle had changed me, I'd grown to love my parents, and I cared for my new "siblings", but I couldn't really remember what it felt like to be in love.

I could only imagine it was very close to what I was feeling with Leah, right then and there.

"Tell me what you're thinking," I whispered, nuzzling into the crown of her beautiful, fragile head.

She sighed and closed her eyes before letting me in.

A little girl moved around the kitchen in a too-big apron. She buttered toast and carefully poured juice without spilling a drop, then set it on the table and sat, waiting expectantly.

A moment later a man walked it. He had a kind smile and the same eyes as the little girl. His smile only grew when he saw his daughter waiting for him.

"What's this?"

She grinned toothily."I made you breakfast!"

"You are the sweetest little girl in the world, did you know that?" He pulled his daughter into his arms and kissed her cheek.

"I had no idea you were the domestic type," I teased.

Leah laughed softly. "I figured it was only fair to show you my childhood," she said.

"You miss him," I stated.

"Every day," she whispered and then continued after a quiet moment, "He had a heart attack at work. He was dead before the paramedics showed up."

I listened, unsure of what to say. Apologizing just didn't seem like enough. Truth was, I didn't remember much after my father died and I was so delirious by the time my mother passed away that I had no memory at all. Most of what I remember of the end of my human life Carlisle had told me.

"Some days are worse than others," she said when I didn't respond. Leah was quiet after that and let me see more of her memories. There were bits and pieces of her life that I was sure she held onto for the "worse" days.

Soon her thoughts drited to mundane things like the beach, her favorite books, and then to me. I let my arm tighten around her and watched goosebumps prickle her skin. "Cold?"

"Yes, you are a little," Leah joked lightly.

"Warm me up, then."

"Is that an offer?" She raised an eyebrow and didn't wait for an answer. Her hand was on the back of my neck and her lips were pressed to mine before I could say anything.

I took my time removing her clothes, making sure I locked it all away in my head. I didn't want to forget her, and part of me knew that I never, ever would.

The way she sighed my name.

How her fingers felt on my skin.

Her eyelashes as they spread across her cheeks.

The sweet taste of her lips on mine.

All of it was there already, imprinted on my brain forever.

xXx

The sun had just started to rise when Leah finally drifted off to sleep. I watched her for hours as the sun moved through the room. It fell on her face, highlighting the light bruises on her cheek. I felt my chest tighten at the thought of hurting her, but she never complained if I had. Cautiously, I reached out and trailed the back of my hand across her cheek.

She stirred slightly and covered my hand with her own.

"Hi," she said with a yawn, and then squinted at me. "Is that– are you wearing glitter?"

I frowned and looked down, realizing that the sun was coming through the window and was dancing across my skin. It was then that I realized she'd never seen me in direct sunlight.

"Oh…yeah. It does that." I shrugged.

"It does that?" She sat up and giggled. "Hold still," she said as she reached up and touched my face. "You're very pretty."

"Shut up," I said with a laugh before pressing her into the mattress.

"Do all of you do that?"

"As far as I know." I kissed her neck and smiled as she squirmed under me.

"It's very distracting," Leah replied with her eyes focused on the ceiling and the prisms that my skin had thrown.

"Should I close the curtains or will you be sad that the pretty lights have gone?"

Leah scowled and pushed me away. "I need to go, anyways."

"Will you be back?" I asked.

She slipped out of my bed and pulled her clothes back on. After staring at the floor for a long moment, she nodded.

"I have to work at the diner tonight…" She trailed off and looked away. I don't want to lose any time with you.

"I'll see you tonight then," I told her as I quickly dressed and went to her.

"Tonight," she agreed.

Leah

My house felt so unfamiliar after spending the night with Edward. It was quiet and too dark in contrast to Edward's bright bedroom. It smelled like different foods and antiseptic cleaner and not sunshine.

Edward smelled like sunshine.

A little laugh slipped through my lips at the thought. Before I knew it I was doubled over in the kitchen laughing hysterically. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I didn't even try to stop them.

All I could think about was Edward. How Edward smelled, how Edward tasted…how Edward felt inside of me.

"Oh, I'm so completely fucked," I whispered as I finally wiped my tears away.

I'd only known Edward for six days. Six days, and he'd changed everything. He made me feel brave and beautiful and wanted. Edward made me feel things that I didn't even know existed.

And tomorrow he'd be gone. He'd leave and take all of those things with him- all those things that he made me feel and need. He'd take himself and I'd never see him again. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. I still smelled like him. I wondered briefly what would happen to the house he lived in. Would his family come back? Would they act like nothing had happened to him?

And what would happen to Edward? Would this "royalty" kill him? Or would they just make him do their dirty work?

"Leah?" Seth said my name and I turned quickly. I could only imagine the guilty look on my face.

"Hey, little bro, I didn't see you there." I wrapped my arms around myself, as if that would help me hold in Edward's scent, the smell of sex, or whatever else my body would want to give away.

"You were with him, weren't you?" Seth narrowed his eyes at me and I felt my heart rate increase.

"What do you mean?" I shifted my feet and tried to avoid his gaze.

"You reek of vampire, Leah. You're not the only one in this house with hypersensitive senses, you know."

"Seth, I…"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? What if he bites you? You know venom is deadly to us!"

"He won't! He's not like that!" I cried and immediately regretted it. My emotions were going to get the best of me and Seth would find out things that I really didn't want my little brother to know. "Look, kid– "

"I'm not a kid anymore!" he yelled.

"I know, Seth. God, I know." I went to him and wrapped my arms tightly around his neck. "Please don't say anything."

"I can't, Lee-Lee…" Seth tore himself away from me and I felt tears prick my eyes again.

"He's leaving tomorrow. He'll be gone. Forever," I explained. Seth turned to me and caught the sadness in my voice, the tears that had already fallen and his face fell, too.

"Leah…" He stepped toward me and I held my hand up.

"Please don't," I whispered. "I know it's not a good situation, but you don't have to worry about me, okay? It'll be over tomorrow."

"I'm sorry," Seth said quietly.

I shook my head and turned from him, too upset to talk about it anymore and still not sure why. Seth slipped out the back door and I knew I could trust him.

Still, I couldn't figure out why Edward did these things to me. He was the first person I'd felt so intensely for. I'd loved Sam, but this feeling with Edward was just…strong. There was no other way to put it. It was deep and passionate and so, so wrong.

I knew it was wrong. I knew being with Edward went against everything I'd ever know but I just couldn't find it in me to care.

xXx

Edward

I watched her work, moving around the diner, smiling at the few customers that came and went for the few hours she was there. Leah tried to shoo me away after the first hour, but I stayed put. I just wanted to be around her, to see her a little while longer. It was like rubbing salt in an open wound, because the longer I stayed, the more it would hurt– for both of us.

"I don't know how you managed to kill all those vampires," she teased as she locked the door behind us.

"What do you mean?" I asked. I shoved my hands in my pockets, though I wanted nothing more than to touch her.

"You're just…the worst stalker ever!"

I laughed, and she smiled, and then I really did have to touch her. She shivered when I pulled her into my arms and I hoped it wasn't from the cold.

"If I was stalking you, you'd never know," I whispered.

"You charmer, you." Leah laughed and took my hand in hers before she tugged me across the parking lot.

"Are we going somewhere?"

"Yes," she stated simply. I let her lead me for a few moments until she veered off a little dirt path.

I smiled and let go of her hand as I stepped forward into a little clearing. The metal rings i grabbed were smooth and cool beneath my fingers; I could hear Leah's quiet sigh behind me.

"I haven't been to one of these in… a long time," I said as I tugged the chain of the swing toward me. It creaked as it swung back and forth.

"A park? Really? Seth and I used to come here all the time," Leah replied.

"Not much time for parks when you're ridding the world of murderous vampires," I said as solemnly as I could.

Leah flashed a smirk and shoved me as hard as she could. I landed ass-first in the mulch.

"Good to know you haven't lost your sense of humor," she muttered.

"One day left on Earth, might as well make the most of it." I shrugged.

"Not funny."

"I know," I whispered. I held out my hand and she took it, letting me pull her down with me until she was in my lap with her legs on either side of my body. I kissed her gently.

"You don't have to go," Leah said quietly when she pulled away.

"I do, Leah. You don't understand…"

"Help me to," she begged. Her hands slipped into my hair and I pressed my forehead to hers.

"I lived my entire immortal life running. I can't do that to my family. I won't do that to you," I said softly.

"If they loved you it wouldn't matter! It–"

"It matters to me," I told her. She pressed her warm lips to my forehead and sat back to look at me once more. "A life of running is not something I would choose for them. Or you for that matter."

"Why do you get to make the choice at all?" she narrowed her eyes at me.

"Because it's my fault, and only my fault." I sighed. She glared for a moment before finally relenting.

"Come on then, big, brave vampire. You've got one night left, might as well live it right." Leah slipped out of my lap and stood up. She held out her hand and I let her pretend to help me up.

She took a seat on one of the swings and gestured for me to take the other. I do so, slightly wary that the rickety chain wouldn't hold me. Surprisingly, it did.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" she asked with a small smile.

"It's nice," I replied.

"Not what you want to be doing with your last night?"

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be." I held out my hand and she slipped her palm into mine.

"I was hoping you'd say that."