~Until Your Heart Stops Beating~

~Rosaline's POV~

I stir at the sound of the doorknob jiggling. I lift the edge of the comforter and peer out, seeing the knob twisting and turning. The lock clicks and I quickly cover my head again. The door opens and I try to lay as still as possible. The covers were over my head, but I was sure that anyone who looked would know there was someone in the bed. The door doesn't close and this frightens me. I cannot hear any footsteps, no breathing. I struggle to think of what to do as my heart pounds in my chest.

"Hello? Is someone in here?"

This isn't Edward's voice. It was higher in tone, but darker. I swallow hard and stare blankly at the comforter in the darkness it provides. My breathing starts to become heavier and I swallow hard, my throat dry. I try to slow my breathing, closing my eyes in the desperate hope that it will help.

"Hello?" Frankie asks again. "I know you're in the bed."

My heart stops. I gulp and quickly think of my options. I can try to run, but he will catch me. If I wait too long, he will pull back the covers and catch me. I have no weapon. I have no strength to fight him and win.

Lie… lie… LIE! – I scream at myself as my pulse races.

"Mmm... Eddie?" I moan slightly hoarse, trying to make Edward's little brother believe I had just woken up. I roll over onto my back beneath the covers and try to keep myself as covered as I can, but my hair peeks out. I pray to whatever higher being there was to allow my hair to smell like the covers, like Edward. I also prayed that my skin didn't peek out. I was pale for a human, but not nearly as pale as a vampire and if this little brother of Edward's saw even a fraction of it, I was a goner.

"Is that you? Come back to bed, baby." I give a small giggle, rolling my eyes at the way it sounds once it leaves my lips. I had never been good at acting. I consciously have to tell myself to make my voice higher. "Mmm, last night was amazing… I want a quickie before I have to leave for work."

I fall silent, cursing myself for my words and the way they sound. I couldn't think of anything else to say or do. So, I pretended to be some air-head girl Edward had brought home, hoping that Frankie would believe his older brother would do such a thing as use a girl for sex. Or maybe that we were dating? I didn't care what he thought so long as he didn't think I was human.

"Eddie?" I call again, scrunching my eyes closed so tightly that I see spots beneath my lids. I bite my bottom lip hard and wait. After a long moment, I hear the door close, latching shut. I let out a long, soft, shaky sigh. My breathing was rushed and choppy as I try to calm my heart down.

That was too close. Way too close. The hunter had literally been feet away from me. Thank God I smelled like Edward. Otherwise that never would have worked.

I lay beneath the covers for several minutes, feeling as though I wasn't quite out of the clear yet. I hear a door below open, security system warning of an open door, and then the door closes with a slam. I release the breath I had been holding and relax beneath the covers.

I fall asleep after a little while. My muscles and bones aching. The covers feel so good on top of me and the warmth they provided were like a hug. It did not last long though. Soon I found my eyes struggling to open as I heard a door downstairs close. I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, the door to the bedroom began to open. Like before, I freeze as my heart hammers against my chest.

This time there is no voice greeting me and this makes the hair on my arms stand up. The door closes softly and I hear it being locked. Then I hear the muffled shuffling of feet moving along the carpet towards the bed. I feel the other side sink next to me and hear someone sigh heavily.

"Edward." I let out a sigh of relief and sit up, pushing the covers back. I look over at Edward, who was hunched over like he had been that day in my cell, with his back to me. I move closer and reach out to place a hand on his back. I rub small circles aimlessly and watch as Edward moves to pull out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket. He hands it to me quietly without ever turning to look at me.

It is a little hand drawn map of Gordon Creek off exit 510. On it in red ink, are the words; Wednesday, noon, you AND the girl.

"What is this?" I ask softly and fold it back up into a small square. Edward kicks off his shoes and moves back on the bed, forcing my hand to fall from his back. He leans back against the headboard and crosses his legs at the ankles.

"Do you remember the crash yesterday?" He asks and closes his eyes, obviously tired. I knit my eyebrows together and try to think back.

"Not really." I reply and lay down on my side, watching him. "I don't remember much of anything from yesterday."

"Well, we got into an accident on the way here." Edward explains, "The other car was full of humans."

This surprises me. I have not seen another human in months. Well, at least that I could remember anyway. We are far and few between these days.

"The woman from that car caught me down stairs last night after Frankie left." His words surprise me. I sit up again, leaning on my left hand. I think about what had happened earlier and wonder if I should tell him about his brother. The brother that had obviously snuck back into his house to snoop. He looks to me and nods his head at the map in my hand. "She gave me that. Said she needed my help."

I decide against telling him and lick my lips, searching for something else to say.

"Are you going to go?" I ask softly and he turns his head to stare at the ceiling.

"I don't know." He replies and slowly turns to face me again. He stares at me long and hard. I can tell he was trying to think. "What do you think we should do?"

I give a small smile and fall back onto the bed, back flat against the comforter. I look at the small square in my hand and flick it, looking back up at him.

"I think we should go." I answer honestly. This woman dared to come into a vampire's home and asked him to help her. She was either really good at setting someone up or she really did need the help. I give a small laugh and nudge his leg. "Don't worry. I'll be right there to protect you from those nasty humans."

I can't help but smile at him again, trying to hold back my laughter that was building up deep within me. He gives me an expression of mock disbelief. He places a hand to his chest.

"You protect me?" He asks rhetorically, hand motioning between us and then his face cracks to reveal a smile. "I would love to see that."

He stares down at me for a long while with that smile. His eyes hold playfulness, excitement and I can feel heat rising to my cheeks. I toss the covers over my head and hide in the darkness they create. The air falls silent between us and after a moment of it, I find a question.

"Edward?" I ask after a moment and slowly tug the covers down to reveal my messy hair and eyes.

"Hm?" He asks and looks back at me from the ceiling, rolling his head along the headboard. I can see the tiredness swimming in his eyes, spilling over into his face.

"Do vampires need to sleep?" I ask, honestly wanting an answer to the question. It seems like a strange idea to me; vampires needing sleep. But, there is a lot I didn't know about them. They are like an enigma to me. I know they need human blood to sustain them, need to keep from the sun, stay away from pointy projectiles. Not much else though.

"I don't know if we need to, but we get tired." He replies, staring down at me and all too willing to answer my questions. I look down at the sheet beneath me and stare blankly for a moment. Edward moves, adjusting himself and closes his eyes again. He looks like he was ready to fall asleep in any uncomfortable position that would be provided to him.

"Your brother came into the room." I spoke up carefully, earning Edward's immediate attention. His eyes snap open and he looks to me with attention.

"What happened?" He asks and sits up straighter. "Did he see you?"

"No, well yeah." I struggle with and sigh, wanting to disappear. "He opened the door and called out. So, I pretended to be..."

"Pretended to be... what?" Edward encourages as I roll my eyes and turn my back to him. I feel a blush cross my cheeks as I think about what I had done.

"I pretended to be some girl you had brought home and... yeah." I falter off, unable to bring myself to say the words 'slept with'.

"Huh." Edward gives a small huff and instantly my blush is gone.

"Huh?" I ask incredulously and flip back over, looking up at him. He looks down at me as he runs a hand over his mouth and shakes his head before looking away again.

"My brother was on the bottom steps when I came up." Edward begins, looking towards the bedroom door with eyebrows knitting together. I had been certain that he had left. Was closing the door a test? Had he wanted me to flee? Did he know what I am?

"He was kind of smirking now that I think about it." Edward's voice pull me back. "He told me he didn't know I had it in me, which I thought was a strange thing to say."

"So, you're not the brother that randomly brings home strange women to use at all hours of the night?" I feel a playful smile crossing my lips and slowly I lay my chin in the palm of one of my hands, held up by my elbow. "You're the brother that brings home strange women and lets them use your shower, wear your clothes, and sleep in your bed. Do this often?"

"You're my first rebel act." Edward gives a small laugh and runs a hand over his face. I smile and sit up, legs bent under me, knees nearly touching the side of his thigh.

"So, you've always been the good boy. Frankie was the trouble maker." I assume, though I knew I was completely right. Edward nods his head and leans his back against the wall, "Aw man. So, this means I'm the girl that turned saint into sinner?"

"What?" He laughs and then it falters, slipping away. "No… no. I was a sinner long before I met you."

His voice drifts away, distant as though he was pulled off into his thoughts. I watch him for a long moment and then move closer to him. I sit beside him, hip to hip, and lean my back against the headboard. I pull my knees up to lay sideways so my heels nearly touched my butt.

"Edward," I start, unsure of what I was planning on saying past his name. I lick my lips and narrow my eyes as I stare at the covers, "You're a good man."

Edward looks to me with a broken, defeated expression. My heart sinks into my stomach at the sight. I stare at him a moment longer and then gently pull him to me, laying his head on my shoulder. I wrap my right arm around his back and the other hand lies gently against his head near his right ear. I cradle him like a lost child and I am surprised that he lets me.

Edward is stiff for a moment. He is unsure as to what to do. Soon, though, his left arm wraps around my middle as he gently places his right hand on my left forearm. I feel him tighten his hold on me, not enough to hurt me, but enough to tell me he was hurting.

"Oh Edward..." I whisper and lay my left cheek against the top of his head. I didn't know what else to say to him. I didn't know how exactly to comfort him. He is a vampire, a broken vampire who had not chosen this life within a world of turmoil and destruction and death. He could not fight who he is despite his best efforts to. He is a good man; her friend; her savior.

"Why are you so…?" Edward's voice trails off, but I can hear the confusion in his words. I give a small huffy laugh and pull my cheek away from his head.

"So… what? Human?" I ask as he pulls away from me completely. I smile, knowing that was the word he had wanted to use. My smile falls away and I stare at him firmly, yet gently. "Why are you?"

Edward was quiet for a long time, only staring into my eyes. He was searching for something again. I had no idea what it was, but he seemed determined to find it. Mischief flows into my eyes, making my lips curl in a smirk.

"I'm going to make you so bad by the time this is all over." I joke, his gaze making me squirm. I lean back against the headboard again and close my eyes with a content smile gracing my lips.

"I doubt that." Edward responds softly and I feel the bed move under his weight. "You were in the same boat as me before the outbreak."

"Are you sure about that?" I open one eye and look at him laying down on the bed. He has his arms folded beneath his head, eyes closed.

"Oh, I'm positive. You were a good girl until you were forced to put on a mask. You've changed because of everything that has happened. You had to change; to survive." He answers simply, his voice tired. His words strike a chord within me. He readjusts himself again and gets comfortable. "You may not have fangs like you wanted, but you're one of us, Rosaline."

It kind of hurts like a paper cut almost; his words. I don't know why he said it or if he meant it to be as cold as it sounds, but all the same, I didn't know how to respond. I slowly sink down into the bed and turn my back to him. The room was suddenly chilly and it made me shiver. I pull the comforter up and cover myself, tucking it beneath my arm.

I didn't think I was wearing a mask or that I was anything like the vampires. I didn't really even think I had changed much because of everything, but I had. He was right. I had to change. To survive in this world, I couldn't be that good girl anymore; especially if I wanted Bromley dead by my hand.

Somewhere along the line, I had begun to teeter and lose my balance along the fence I try so hard to walk. Going from old Rosaline that was sweet and happy to the new Rose that was cold and closed up. I didn't know which was worse and that frightened me.