SM created a world where Covid and hatred don't exist. I wanna live in it, but alas, I'm only borrowing it.
Edward handed me the knapsack before I hopped on his back, and then we were soaring through the forest that comprised most of the Cullen estate. A former ski resort, the fresh smell of the pine needles surrounded us. Just as I was getting accustomed to the invigorating sensation of incredible speed, we were jumping into the trees as the grown below us sloped downward. He laughed a carefree sound at my squealing. I could hear the happiness behind it. I wondered how long it had been since he'd run just for the enjoyment of it. Soon we'd reached a valley which seemed slightly cooler on my cheeks than when we were up higher on the hills. It wouldn't last long, because we were running back up another hill, and down a second one. This time with his feet on the ground. We ran until we came to a halt in front of a pond fed by a tiny brook in a small clearing. The spring air was still too cold for insects to inhabit the area around the pond, thankfully. He set me on my feet and took the knapsack, spreading a blanket and pulling out containers.
We were surrounded by trees. While I looked around I noticed the unnatural quiet that came with keeping company with a vampire in the woods. I'd missed that, I realized, that subtle, extra quiet. We were completely alone, not even the animals would come near us. His family was nowhere near us, and not expected to come follow. It was slightly arousing, knowing we had no one here but ourselves. No sooner did my heart skip at the thought that I looked to Edward, who had his darkened eyes on me. He walked over slowly, but he wasn't hesitant. He was looking at me with one of his odd vampiric expressions, considering. I felt like his prey, but fear was the last thing on my mind.
His arms snaked around my waist as he dipped his nose to graze it against the shell of my ear. "You've just realized that I've got you to myself, little human," He said with a chuckle. "Alone in the woods with a vampire, and you smell delicious," he teased, trailing kisses under my ear, along my clavicle, before making his way up my throat to my mouth. His hands grasped my waist and moved up my back to my ribs, caging me against his chest, before moving his thumbs to graze against the sides of my breasts. The kiss was gaining momentum and soon I was gasping at the sensations of his cool hands against my skin. Feeling bold, I slid my own hand down his side past his hip to his thigh, and inched my fingers under the edge of his shirt with one hand. His chest rumbled in response, but he didn't protest. His mouth moved under my jaw and back down my throat, then lower, when in a lightning-fast move the 3 buttons on my peasant top were undone, and his hand was on my back, under my camisole. His lips were on my sternum by the time I realized he'd lain me on the blanket. The second I brought my hand around to his stomach, his shirt was open. He purred as my fingers grazed his ribs, pulling him closer. His chest expanding against my panting, sharing his chilly breath, I felt like I was on fire. His lips came to meet mine again, his hands on my ribcage and back down the sides of my stomach, before pressing his forehead to mine while I caught my breath. His hands, still dragging themselves gently down my skin turned into feather-light touches.
"You're intoxicating," he whispered against my lips and kissed me once more. He seemed hesitant to continue, "I know that it's not contemporary, to wait to have a physical relationship nowadays. My feelings on this have been conservative in the past, but they've been changing rapidly over the last few days in light of..." He moved his weight to his elbow as he spoke. "I feel more comfortable with the idea than before, but... would it be ok with you if-" he let out a puff of air, clearly flustered. It wasn't often that Edward struggled with conveying his thoughts. His hesitancy was endearing.
"Hey," I said as he played with the button of my shirt, "it's ok with me, if you want to, or if you don't want to. It's new to me too." I smiled as I slid my hand through the silken strands of hair falling close to his eyes, the other hand was still at his ribs, rubbing soothing circles against his marble skin. He met my eyes and I felt my face flush, noting the way his eyes darkened slightly as he took that in; not in hunger, as they would have when we first met. I realized, maybe it was lust.
"We're moving at a speed I'm comfortable with," he said solemnly, before his crooked smile reappeared "for now." A mischievous look in his eye.
"For now." I met his look and he snickered.
"Are you hungry?" He gestured to the containers he'd placed on the edge of the blanket. There were 3 different cheeses, dried fruits, berries, nuts, toasts, and what looked like sweet tea. I ate while he explained the smug look on Emmett's face after the family meeting.
"So Rosalie doesn't hate me anymore?"
"I'm not sure she ever did, truthfully. I can only describe her thoughts before Emmett's set down as jealous indifference. However, now it's more of an open inclusion. She considers you a part of our family. She has no thoughts of friendship as of now, but she's open to your presence and respects your position."
"Huh." I paused to let my head wrap around that. "Welp, there's no getting rid of me now." I shrugged.
Edward chuckled, "Because there was a huge chance of that as soon as Esme laid eyes on you at the airport. Definitely can't keep you all to myself, even if I'd planned to."
"Seeing her and Carlisle again was like coming home."
"The feeling was mutual, I assure you. If I hadn't heard it in their thoughts, Jasper's take on it alone would have convinced me. Particularly Carlisle's feelings in the matter, I think our separation from them caused a lot of damage to his emotional well-being. So much so, that it could have only been repaired by our reunion. At least that's the impression I got from Jasper. "
"Did Jasper tell you all this?"
"No, not directly, but when we entered the living room last night I caught Jasper's appreciation of Carlisle's wellbeing; it made him happy to see our leader so content after what seemed to be an intense period of stress." He explained while playing with my hair. "Speaking of Carlisle, he wanted me to speak to you about something. It's a little sensitive, and I gleaned from his thoughts that he didn't want to cause you embarrassment. We all understand, but he wanted me to speak to you away from the family, so he spoke most of it to me silently."
"Ok, what's going on?"
"It's nothing to be nervous or self-conscious over, but we've noticed that you've lost a bit of weight. None of our siblings care what you look like, they love you regardless. But Carlisle and Esme are concerned from a health perspective, which is why he wanted me to speak to you away from them. He thought you might be embarrassed if everyone could hear. His concern is that he wants you to be in good physical condition before your change, and I have to agree." He placed his hand on my cheek, "we want the transition to be as safe for you as possible."
"That was thoughtful, and I know, I do need to get healthy." I swallowed and continued, "It wasn't easy, being alone. I stopped caring. I ate because Charlie expected me to, but when he wasn't around… " I shrugged, "it made me feel sick." Recalling the days of our separation was both painful and embarrassing.
"The blame is on me." He looked down and away from me, clearly frustrated with himself.
"No, it's not. How would you have known my crazy would affect me like this? I'm human, you didn't know I'd react this way." I reached up to graze my thumb against his cheek, "Hey, look at me?" He turned his face into my palm and leaned into it, meeting my eyes. "You're here now, right?" He slowly nodded. "And had you known I wouldn't recover like a normal human, I doubt you'd have left. Besides, it won't be too hard to pack on a few extra calories per meal."
He sighed and closed his eyes before looking at me again, "Carlisle said a time frame of 8 to 12 weeks would be sufficient for healthy weight gain. He wants you to get some moderate exercise too, to make sure your heart is healthy as well."
"Sure, totally doable. Just stick close so that I don't fall down and face-plant, or break a hip or something." I said, hoping to lighten the mood.
His eyes took on an amused twinkle. "There will be no face planting, I swear to you." He smiled crookedly, before he looked me in the eyes more seriously. "There is one other thing I wanted to discuss with you, before we check on Esme's saplings. It's about Charlie. He may come here to investigate your disappearance."
"My dad? Here? How would he know where to find you?"
"Alice planned to call him a little after 1 o'clock today. Perhaps she fills him in."
"Why would he even want to? The trail stops in Iowa with my burned-out truck."
"Alice thinks he's interested in our knowledge of your whereabouts prior to your death, and she thinks it might bring him a measure of closure to speak to me directly."
"I guess that makes sense, he must be upset. I feel sorry for him, and my mom."
"Do you want to contact them? We can always say that you made it here somehow."
The prospect of keeping my parents for a few more weeks was tempting, but it would only end up prolonging the inevitable. "No, they need to grieve, and if this helps they'll heal faster." I shrugged. "I feel sorry for their pain, but I don't feel guilty, is that bad?"
He looked at me, tilting his head to the side, considering. "You've always put others first. You are allowed to see to your own needs." His hand grazed against my cheek as a guilty look washed over his beautiful face. "Is it bad that I'm not fighting harder to keep you human?"
"Absolutely not." I started, and met his eyes. "We can't live without each other." He took in my words for a moment, and then his body relaxed. I supposed that notion was weighing heavily on him. Old habits die hard.
We began walking along the property edge. A treeline filled with cedars and birches just beginning to turn green, and undergrowth that would be dotted with wild flowers come summer, I was told. We were a couple hundred yards from the spot Esme wanted us to check on, so we thought a leisurely stroll might be a good start to integrating exercise into my normal routine. "Alice and I will need to be available to Charlie, should he come to Connecticut. Would you be open to an outing with Rosalie and Emmett if he makes a firm decision?" Edward asked.
"Sure," I answered, "what did they have in mind?"
He grimaced slightly before answering, "Alice says you need a few basics from the shops."
"Oh!" I groaned and rolled my eyes as Edward laughed.
"I knew you'd react that way," he chuckled.
"Ha ha. I'm glad someone finds my discomfort humorous."
"It's not your discomfort I find hilarious, it's your reaction." He chuckled as I made a face at him. As he turned his head toward our destination, I noted a faint sparkle on his skin when dappled light began to peek through the canopy. "Actually, I have a favor to ask while you're about town. I'm ordering a gift for Emmett. Would you mind picking it up when you have a moment? It should be in around the time of your outing. You can give it to him immediately, and it might aid you in returning home faster."
"Sure, I can do that. Do I get to know what it is?"
"There's two pieces to this gift. It's to supplement his gaming system. The added advantage is that as soon as you give it to him, he'll want to bring it home directly. Part of it is a TV, the other part is a video game upgrade which hasn't been released yet."
I saw this as a win-win. If he was busy with his gifts, he couldn't pick on the human. And if I was busy planning a surprise for Emmett, I couldn't focus on what Edward was doing in those moments I'd be away from him. "When did Alice see me going on this outing?"
"In a week? Most likely less. She's not set a clear timeline. I assume after she contacts Charlie, we'll have a better idea. I imagine she'll be doing that while we're gone." Then he pointed to an area at one end of a curved valley, which apparently was our target for the day. "Can you see that?" I gave him a disbelieving look. "I suppose you can't smell it either." He chuckled lightheartedly. "Maybe if the wind wasn't at our backs." he smiled, "Don't worry, when we round this copse of trees, you will."
He took my hand and encouraged me to pick up the pace. I complied and began to see a smattering of white between the branches up ahead. As we rounded a large bush an involuntary gasp left my throat. At least 30 to 40 trees covered in small white flowers were tucked away in this little corner of the Cullen property. The flowers covered the trees' black, gnarly looking branches, softening their wild appearance. I looked back at Edward in disbelief, this type of magic that seemed to follow my vampires was something I should be used to by now, but they always surprised me. As I began to explore the area, the smell caused me to inhale deeply. It was heavenly. "What type of trees are these?"
"Bartlet Pears. They all came from one tree. Esme majored in Botany in the late 80's and learned how to splice," he said, walking over to one tree toward the center of the grove. "They've been growing wild out here since the 90's."
"Let me guess… good for wildlife?"
"The trees encourage deer, the deer encourage predators. Either way, it helps the environment." he smirked, looking up into the branches and plucking a twig. "Esme will be glad to know that her little grove is thriving," he said, looking satisfied.
"Does she do that a lot? Splice trees and plant groves?"
He nodded, "The more shade the better for us, and they need to be replaced periodically. We're not always careful when we spar." He said winking at me, then he chuckled when he heard my heart sputter back.
We explored a bit longer before heading back the way we came. We didn't know it at the time, but someone at the other end of the valley had picked up our scent.
Who on Earth could that be? Anyone have any theories? Please leave me your thoughts!!
I felt it was important to post the first 2 chapters because the first was a bit of an intro, and the second was a bit steamy. Read and review please, or I'll assume no one is reading it at all.