Sweet Little Angel- BB King
Fade Into You- Mazzy Star
Edward moaned loudly, his vocal chords sore and rough before coughing again. I brushed his hair out of his face, collecting sweat from his forehead. He shuddered, shivering at the touch of my cold skin, but pressed his face to my hand. As I had frequently throughout the night, I pressed one palm to his forehead, and the other to the back of his neck. He was absolutely covered in sweat, and I frowned, trying to accurately gauge his temperature with just my touch. It was something Carlisle was excellent at, but I wasn't nearly as practiced. He certainly didn't feel any warmer than one hundred degrees, but with his shaking and groaning, I was terrified.
Carlisle had come by yesterday and assured me it was just a cold. Alice even seemed to be on the rebound, though she was sleeping deeply now and still weak. But I didn't see how this could be normal.
It started with just a sore throat that left him coughing and raw after therapy on Tuesday, and it descended further from there. Neither Alice nor Edward even went back to therapy on Thursday, instead staying in bed for the rest of the week and throughout the weekend. But Alice moved through the stages of a cold quickly, and was now only a bit congested and tired.
"Happy birthday," I whispered, the clock striking midnight and bringing with it the twentieth of June, and Edward and Alice's seventeenth birthday. He slept through it all, though, his slumber deep and long but for the occasional moan and stretch. Over the nights, I had learned what each whimper meant, and dedicated my time to adjusting his blankets to whether he was overheated or chilled, and ensuring he was properly hydrated and well-equipped to fight this illness.
I waited a few minutes, then silently fetched a glass of water to rouse Edward for hydration. I had wanted to insert an IV to push fluids and help him recuperate faster, but Edward and Carlisle agreed that that would be overkill. Apparently, the common cold is essential to boosting immune function, and I should just let it run its course.
He began to stir without me waking him, the beat of his heart thumping as his delicate lavender lids fluttered.
"Here, have some water," I offered when he opened his eyes, placing the glass up to his lips. His green eyes were glassy and heavy as he blinked away the mucus that had built up from a long sleep. He tilted his head back and placed a hand over mine, guiding the glass back so he could gulp down the warm water with honey that I had prepared. Apparently, Edward was not as much of a fan of tea as I was, but he tolerated the warm concoction that Carlisle had advised he drink to help loosen the congestion in his chest.
"Thanks," he murmured, finishing the glass and leaning back on his bed.
"Of course." I kissed his damp forehead, and he shivered at my touch.
"Tell m-me a s-story?" he asked, a request that had become normal. He enjoyed relaxing on the couch and watching television, often closing his eyes and just listening to the background noise, but when that wasn't possible, he asked for stories of my past. And now, with the house silent in the dead of night but Edward awake after a solid seven hours of sleep, I wracked my brain for an appropriate story.
"Once upon a time…" I started as I always did, eliciting a crooked smile from my prostrate mate, "We were living outside of Hibbing, Minnesota in the early eighties. It's a beautiful area up in the northernmost parts of the continental US, and bordering right along plenty of wildlife and parks. It was just after one of Rose and Emmett's extended honeymoons, since they spent a decent part of the seventies together travelling through Europe.
"We were happy to be back together again, so we decided to really settle in the area, which means high school. As usual, I registered as a freshman and Rose and Emmett as sophomores, but the school was so small that we ended up in most of our classes together anyways.
"Well, it was a totally normal high school experience for us. Rose and Emmett mostly kept to themselves, and I had a few friends- though as you know, they never get close enough to actually know me. We pass our years at the school as we always do, taking the summers to range up on extended hunting trips to really let loose and get back to nature.
"So it's my junior year, and Rose and Emmett are seniors. It's mid-May, and we're in our English class debating about where we're going to go for the summer. Emmett wanted to go south to the Amazon since he and Rose would be off on their own the following year anyways, while I completed my senior year. Rose wanted to go north and hunt wolves and bears, out far away from any kind of human civilization, the kinds of places humans don't dare to venture.
"For me, I was interested in checking out somewhere different, somewhere I could also sightsee, so I wanted to go to India. I've never seen the Taj Mahal, and I've always been interested in Indian history and architecture. The country was really experiencing a development boom then, and I wanted to try to get there before any sights were destroyed.
"Well, we're in class, right? This conversation had been enduring, we'd been debating for days, and none of us seemed likely to give up any time soon. First, we had argued logistics- you know, flying to Brazil and then disappearing without a trace could seem suspicious and draw attention. At least if we went to India, we'd rent a home to base ourselves out of and leave a paper trail, and if we went north we could just 'camp'.
"But then we digressed into diet. If we went north, it would be the same as ever, and we try to be more adventurous on our summer trips. At least India and the Amazon provided an exotic array of animals to try. And that's exactly what we were arguing about that day in class, and it was getting heated. Rose wasn't capitulating, and she hates when Emmett and I gang up on her, so she was getting defensive. And loud.
"And right in the middle of the classroom, well above a whisper, she says, 'You two can go off and hunt jaguars and tigers to your hearts' desire. I'm going to down every wolf I set my eye on, and then I'll stuff them with your precious books,' she pointed at me, then addressed Emmett, 'and display them all around your bedroom!'
"The room fell completely silent. Everyone was so surprised, but this was a small town in rural Minnesota, so hunting wasn't anything out of the ordinary. In fact, the kids in town had all assumed we were three stuck-up city kids and considered them all backwoods hicks- though in Rose's case, this was exactly how she felt.
"They were so impressed by our purported hunting prowess that Emmett and Rose became far, far more approachable. We were invited on a half-dozen hunting trips, and even the principal asked if we wanted to participate in a shooting competition the following month. Every day, someone asked us a hunting question- what was the largest thing we had ever shot, most exotic, what types of guns we used. Emmett and I answered graciously, and Emmett was having fun playing with the little humans because this, he could identify with. He grew up in rural Tennessee, hunting and drinking and being raucous, so this was right up his alley.
"Poor Rose, though, was really getting fed up with it. She must have been asked out by every single boy within a hundred miles. And the last straw came just at the end of the school year. Thank goodness they were seniors and set to leave right after graduation, because I think she was going to lose her mind if one more person sidled up to her while she was trying to mind her own business.
"They almost didn't go, but Emmett actually insisted they attend the prom. It was their first school dance in a decade, since Emmett and Rose had been gone, and with them taking a year off before we found somewhere new to settle down, it would have been quite some time before the next senior prom. Rose wore this satin dresses with their signature puffy sleeves, and Emmett wore the tuxedo he got to attend their last prom in nineteen-seventy-two- it was ridiculous even in the seventies, the powder blue one with the ruffles and black trim.
"I was at home with Esme, playing this complicated card game we made up that combines poker, rummy, and gin, but next thing we know, Rose is tearing down the driveway and almost drives right into the house. She tears through, a rip on the sleeve of her dress, her hands in fists and her eyes black as pitch. I'm sorry to say that both Esme and I assumed that Emmett had slipped, and Rose was angry with him for it.
"Well, Rose was angry, and she was angry with Emmett, but she was also angry at everyone else because she had been crowned prom queen. Every girl's dream, right? Not Rose's. It's far too reminiscent of her human years as the belle of the ball, not to mention the attention that draws to us with the fanfare and yearbook photos and such. Apparently, Emmett was far too jovial about it, and I had been too complacent with the humans and was thus complicit.
"Now, when she's particularly upset and Emmett wants to rile her up further, he'll call her his queen, or something alluding to her win at the prom. He even still has the half of the crown she didn't break somewhere, though I'm unsure of exactly where it is."
Edward had coughed loudly several times throughout my story. He remained conscious, but his eyes were closed and he reacted with only a slight quiver of his lips that indicated the attempt at a smile. I darted to the kitchen for another glass of water, and prepared a slice of toast with honey for him to take with an analgesic that Carlisle had okayed.
After Edward had munched through the toast and downed the water and pills, he was thoroughly exhausted and fell back asleep easily at the beginning of my next story, this time about Emmett and I wrestling and accidentally crushing a Mustang Rose had been working on.
She didn't speak to either of us for a month.
He woke himself up by coughing a few hours later, a heavy and wet sound that made him wince with the effort it took to expel the yellowish phlegm. Out the small window of Edward's closet of a bedroom, I could see the day breaking, a dusting of orange and yellow blossoming through the lush greenery of the dense woods behind the house. A few months ago, I would have been captivated by the early morning. It was going to be a rare glorious day, not a stitch of clouds in the lightening sky, but Edward would again be limited to his bed or the couch, and miss out on the only seventeenth birthday he would ever have.
"Uhhhhhh," he groaned, wrapping the duvet tightly around himself.
"How are you feeling?" I asked softly, not wanting to alert the two humans sleeping upstairs through the thin walls.
"Everything hurts," Edward sighed, clenching his eyes shut. I frowned and ran the back of my hand along his forehead again, gauging his temperature. Still well within normal range, but that did nothing to assuage my terror at his frailty.
"I wish there was something I could do."
"You c-can't use that b-big vampire b-brain to c-cure a c-cold?" he teased, eyes still closed but a gentle smile gracing his full lips.
"I'll get right on that," I promised, immediately devoting a train of thought to figuring a way to alter the receptors of the human rhinovirus, or halting the viral growth through RNA splicing.
"I w-wanna t-take a shower."
"Can I help you up the stairs?" I pleaded, more for my sake than his. I needed to feel useful somehow, against this thing I had no power over.
"Please," he sighed, and I understood exactly how exhausted and aching he must be feeling to actually accept my assistance. Before he could give it another thought, I rifled through his doors for clean, dry clothing to change in to, and gathered his toiletries. I tucked both under my arm, then peeled back the dampened duvet to slide my hands under Edward.
I lifted him expertly, careful to not jostle him and so that he would barely feel the movement. He went from the bed to standing in the bathroom in just under three seconds, but they were seconds I relished. His head rested on my clavicle, his warm breath heating the skin at the hollow of my throat, and I could feel his heartbeat reverberate from where my hand held the crooks of his knees.
I switched the water on and left it on the hottest setting so that the room would steam, hopefully loosening more of the congestion in his chest. Once the water was running, I heard Charlie stir with the creaking of the pipes, and left Edward to his bathing.
It was an exceptionally lazy Sunday. Both Edward and Alice spent most of the day on the couch, Edward stretched out with his feet resting in Alice's lap. Charlie sat in his recliner, humoring Alice by watching every movie she selected and continuously apologizing for their birthday not being an event.
"It's fine, Charlie! Bella's coming over tonight, we'll blow out some candles on a cake. It's better than almost every birthday we've ever had." Charlie went quiet with that, and I exhaled angrily from my place in Edward's bedroom, reigning in the impulsive instinct to smash something at the reminder of their past.
The only time Edward's coughing ceased was for the hour he napped in his bedroom, his head resting on my chest and my arms encircling him. His breathing was more shallow than normal, and every time he inhaled deeply, I could hear the rattle of phlegm in his lungs. I had never felt so completely powerless. At least with his mental ailments, I could offer reassurances and remedies, and there was therapy which alleviated his pain. But an incurable illness that I was forced to just wait out while my mate suffered was a faceless enemy I never expected to be so helpless against.
The sky was a dusky orange, clouds like wisps of cotton over the glowing sunset, when I slipped from Edward's bedroom window to meet Esme down the street. If I was being entirely honest, it was nice to get out and run and stretch my legs. I adored Edward with every fiber of my being, but it goes against my nature to stay inside and almost unmoving for days on end, as I had to to make a show of staying away to avoid catching their cold.
"Did you by any chance bring me a clean change of clothes?" I asked by way of greeting, sliding into the buttery leather front seat of Carlisle's Mercedes.
"Hello, Bella. It's nice to see you, too," Esme teased, smiling warmly.
"Sorry! Hi, Esme," I kissed her cheek, and she wrapped her arms around me to pull her to her side. I sunk into the hug, burying my face in her soft caramel hair and returning her embrace without tempering my strength.
"You've been spending too much time with Emmett lately and lost your manners." She kissed my forehead and pulled away, settling back into the driver's seat. "And yes, I brought you a change of clothes."
"Emmett would disagree!" I laughed, slipping my worn jeans and shirt off quickly as Esme handed me the soft, casual dress she had selected.
"Oh, please. You two went on that hunting trip together and Rose told me all about your misadventures."
"Did she tell you that she stole my bear?"
"She told me that you two behaved like children and she put you in your place."
"Emmett tackled me!"
"You were the one who agreed to a bet with him," she pointed out, and I had no response but to pout. "You're not worried about what he won, are you? You know he has his heart in the right place."
"No, I'm not actually worried. I'd imagine Carlisle will go with them and keep Emmett on his best behavior."
Once I was dressed and ran my fingers through my hair, resettling the waves and untangling the soft curls, Esme pulled away from the shoulder she had parked on. "I know how difficult it is for you to be away from Edward, especially for an extended period of time, but I must admit that it would be nice to have some time with you again."
"I'm sorry," I said honestly, reaching over to touch my hand to Esme's arm.
She smiled softly at me and patted my hand reassuringly. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I know this is probably an exceptionally difficult time for you right now, isn't it?"
I sighed again, an ever-present sound in my existence. "You have no idea."
Esme pulled into the driveway behind the police cruiser, and I felt a tension I didn't know I had been holding dissipate as I located the gentle thump of Edward's heartbeat.
"He's going to be fine, you know that right? Carlisle said it was just a cold, and that he'll be back to normal but for a light cough within a few days."
"I know," I said, getting out of the car at a human pace in case someone was watching. The neighbors were rarely present, but watchful eyes are omnipresent in small towns, especially at the home of the police chief. "But seeing him like this, so vulnerable… It's instinctual to protect him, and I'm completely powerless."
"You've said that you value his human experiences. Well, this is one of them."
Esme balanced the food she had brought with one hand, and the gift she had gotten Edward with the other. I gathered the two gifts I had wrapped days before and followed her up the front steps to knock on the door.
Charlie opened it and welcomed us in, whispering that both Alice and Edward were napping on the couch while Pretty in Pink played on the massive television. Esme whisked in, her motherly magic blanketing the house like a fresh layer of snow. Only fifteen minutes after we had walked through the door, Esme had a pot on the stove with her homemade chicken noodle soup reheating, and another pan cooking with a chicken dish for Charlie.
"You need something more substantial than a bowl of soup," Esme insisted when Charlie tried to object to her going out of her way, and Charlie blushed deeply. Alice wandered in at the smell of cooking food, and Esme fussed over her for a minute, smoothing her unruly hair and pushing a yeast roll and a glass of water on her. Alice settled in at the small kitchen table, her color returning and looking far healthier than the last time I had seen her the night before.
"You get that from your mom, huh?" Charlie asked me, nodding his head at Esme cooking the two meals simultaneously. I shrugged in response, smiling at Charlie's subtle compliment. Taking care of those we love is a trait Esme and I share, and a defining one at that.
Once the stove was under control, Esme covered the soup to let it simmer and lowered the heat on the chicken. She was masterful in the kitchen, moving so smoothly she looked like a Michelin star chef- and from the way Edward reacted to the food she cooked, she probably could have been. But, as much as we enjoy integrating with human society and holding jobs in human industries, I don't think even Esme could tolerate being immersed in the odor of human food day in and day out.
"Bella, can you grab me the orange juice?" Alice asked, her normally lilting voice rough and scratchy. I fetched her a glass and began setting the table as Esme glided into the living room to wake Edward. I nodded politely as Alice mumbled her commentary on John Hughes movies, but I devoted half of my attention to Esme.
She was brushing Edward's face with her fingertips, combing his hair back the same as she did for Alice. She prompted him awake gently with whispers of his name.
"Happy birthday, dear," she said, helping him sit up. I could hear the cracking of joints in his back from my place on the far side of the kitchen as I settled into my normal seat across from Alice at the small table. "How are you feeling?"
"'m okay," he groaned, punctuating with a wracking cough.
"A bit tired?" Esme asked kindly, and I could hear her wipe Edward's face with a tissue.
"Actually, I f-feel b-better now th-than earlier."
"Well, that's good to hear. I've made some soup. Do you want to eat here, or in the kitchen?"
"Bella's here?" His heart picked up its beat by a fraction when he said my name, and I couldn't hold back my grin.
"Wait, you can't agree with that!" Alice accused, misinterpreting my smile as agreement with a ranking of eighties movies she had read in a magazine.
"Actually, I've always been partial to Princess Bride," I corrected. Alice cooed over my chosen film, but began detailing certain sexist moments as Esme cleaned up the discarded tissues around the living room while Edward used the bathroom.
"I mean, the Rodent of Unusual Size is basically eating Westley, and Buttercup is just standing there!"
"I know, she could've grabbed a rock or something," I offered, absentmindedly rubbing my hand along my heated mug of tea.
"Or pass Westley his sword as he's reaching for it with this giant rat right on top of him. I mean, c'mon. That was ridiculous."
"B-But he always s-saves her," Edward added, shuffling into the kitchen and sliding his chair over to sit next to me while making room for a fifth seat for Esme. I reached over to cup his cheek in my hand and gave him a gentle kiss.
"And she always loved him," I said, looking only at Edward's eyes, as deep as the ocean and complex as a gemstone.
"As did he," Edward confirmed, but my incoming kiss was interrupted by a cough, and Edward turned from me to bury his face in the crook of his elbow. I rubbed his back gently in comfort and redirected my attention to Alice's soliloquy about double standards in classic films.
The soup was bitter and burned down my throat, sitting in an uncomfortable puddle in my stomach that I knew would be painful to excise. Esme returned my grimace in a subtle nod, knowing that liquids were impossible to pretend to eat, and we would be consuming the whole bowl.
Once the dishes were cleared, we settled in the living room for cake and gifts. Edward's eyes drooped heavily, and he curled up on the loveseat with me, resting his head on my shoulder so I could run my fingers through his hair, my blunt nails gently scratching his scalp in the manner I knew he loved.
"Well, I guess we'll do these first," Charlie said, pulling two plainly wrapped blue and pink boxes out from the hall closet. Alice pursed her lips at them, but graciously accepted the one addressed to her.
"It's a state program to make sure foster kids always get a present on their birthday and for Christmas," Alice explained, ripping the paper along the seam.
"They're v-very impersonal," Edward said, taking his gift with a cough.
"This actually isn't terrible." Alice showed us the small box with a cheap nail polish kit. "Bella, you'll have to let me do your nails now. I am the birthday girl, after all."
"As long as I can return the favor," I laughed, peeling back the wrapping paper on Edward's gift so he could open it for himself. He snorted when he saw what it was- a small, cheap skateboard that I knew he would never use.
"They always give such stereotypically gendered presents," Alice said, sliding off the couch to take the skateboard from Edward. "And you're not exactly a stereotypical boy."
"Hey!" Edward objected, though his outrage was interrupted by another cough.
"I'm just saying that it's not like you're ever going to use the baseball glove or the amateur grill kit."
"I l-like baseball," Edward said weakly, leaning back into me so I could hold his weight up. I again threaded my fingers through his silky hair, melting as his warmth was absorbed into my cold skin. "B-But I don't know where th-they th-thought I was g-going to find a g-grill l-living in a g-group home."
"Didn't you also get some tools once, too?"
"Yeah!" Edward laughed, then coughed, "B-But th-they t-took it away immediately. N-No weapons in a g-group home."
"Yeah, right," Alice snorted, "Edward Masen and his mighty plastic wrench. How terrifying."
I looked around, wishing I could freeze this very moment and live within it forever. Charlie was in his recliner on the other side of the coffee table, looking at Alice was a soft smile I knew was reserved only for his foster daughter. Esme was perched next to Alice on the couch, the gifts we had brought stacked on her lap with her hands folded over them. Alice sat on the couch closest to us, beaming and with a tint of pink returned to her cheeks. And Edward, my love and my mate, was exactly where he was meant to be- at my side as we tangled together on the cozy loveseat.
"Well, guess I'll go next," Charlie said, rubbing the back of his neck before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small box. "It's, ah, for both of you. To share."
Alice accepted the box and popped it open, her eyes widening at the contents. Edward tilted his chin up, leaning forward and off of me to try to see what was in it.
"It's not much. We can pick it up next weekend from Jake and Billy if you two are feeling up for it," Charlie explained, a faint blush coloring his cheeks at Alice's obvious pleasure.
"What is it?" Edward asked finally.
"Car keys," Alice whispered, handing the box to Edward.
"It's a truck. Big, solid type. Real safe. Jake restores cars and he's been finished with this one for a while, but I thought I would wait for your birthday."
Alice launched herself off the couch and at Charlie, wrapping her arms around his neck and squeezing him so tightly to her that I could hear Charlie's wheeze for breath before she released him. "Thank you so much," she cried, wiping tears from her eyes.
"Th-thank you, Charlie," Edward whispered, and I looked down to see him crying as well. Charlie shrugged again, his face bright red in embarrassment now as he folded into himself on the recliner.
"Well, how do we follow that!" Esme broke the silence, patting Alice's arm over her shirt as she fell back into her spot on the couch.
"Give them mine first," I instructed, and Esme handed Edward and Alice the thin boxes perfectly wrapped in silver paper. I had bought Alice an expensive sketchbook with thick, buttery pages. Emmett and Rose had gotten her an expensive set of sketching pencils of all thicknesses and densities of graphite as well as charcoal and pastels. From Esme and Carlisle, she received a voucher for art classes in Port Angeles, which she could attend while Edward was in therapy on Thursday afternoons. She cried as she opened each one, and clutched the sketchbook to her chest as if it were a lifejacket and the only thing keeping her afloat.
To Edward, I gave a leather-bound book of sheet music for him to put pen to page and record his compositions, though this was only part of my gift to him. In conjunction with my present, Rose had offered to give Edward piano lessons. While she didn't have quite the deftness of touch that Edward had, she was of course well-versed in reading music and of the technical execution of the instrument, and I surmised she also wanted a chance to spend time with him outside of his role as my mate. For the same reason, Emmett wanted to take him on a camping trip, and Edward reacted surprisingly excited when Esme told him that this was how Emmett wished to celebrate his birthday with him.
"This is for both of you, from Carlisle and me," Esme said, handing them each a slim envelope, "They're tickets for a jazz festival in Seattle next month. Emmett and Rose will come too, of course, and we'll have a little weekend away."
Alice grinned wildly at the ticket and twirled a short strand of her dark hair around her index finger, likely thinking of the finger waves I promised to give her for such an occasion. It was actually the reason I urged Esme to get the tickets, though I was sure Edward would also appreciate not only the music, but time alone. Together. In a hotel room. Just the two of us. I felt unnaturally flushed at the mere thought of it, and was entirely grateful that Charlie had given his permission for Edward and Alice to come.
We sang happy birthday over the small cake Charlie bought at the grocery store, and both Edward and Alice had one candle to blow out, though Alice made everyone stop and be quiet so she could deeply think about her wish.
Her face was scrunched up, nose wrinkled as she tightly closed her eyes. "Okay," she sighed, clearing her throat from the latent congestion, "Edward, you have your wish?"
"Yeah," he said roughly, looking at Alice as she stared into the tiny flame of her candle, the fire licking upwards as the wax dripped down to the white frosting. On Esme's count, they blew their respective candles out, and Esme took the cake from the coffee table into the kitchen to slice.
"How are you feeling?" I asked softly, brushing Edward's hair back with my fingers. He ate the entire slice of cake Esme had given him, as well as half of mine, which seemed to indicate the return of his appetite.
"Just tired."
I checked the clock in the hall to confirm it was a few minutes past nine, and Esme and I would have to make a show of leaving soon anyways. "Do you want to go to bed?"
Edward nodded, so I helped him up and Esme and I bid goodnight to the humans. Esme had completely cleaned the kitchen, and left several servings of soup in the refrigerator with homemade rolls and leftover chicken for Charlie. I was grateful for her efforts because, since I was supposedly keeping my distance so as to not catch their cold, Charlie had been forced to get either takeout, or heat food from cans or the freezer. And though it all smelled disgusting, that stuff was particularly objectionable.
"I don't suppose we'll be seeing you at home any time soon?" Esme asked as she pulled over a few blocks away to let me out.
"Would you mind dropping off fresh clothes for me? Just until Edward is better?"
"Nothing would make me happier." She leaned over to kiss my forehead briefly, and I slipped out of the car and ran back to Edward, the pull in my chest leading me back to him like a moth to a flame.
Edward was already curled up on his tiny bed, duvet tucked up to his chin and eyes closed. I knew he was aware I had come in, the cool night air breezing in the ever-lingering smell of rain and pines as his heart beat just a bit faster.
"I know it wasn't the perfect birthday, but I hope it was okay," I said, lightly laying down on the very edge of the bed so as to not disturb him. For the first time since he had taken sick, he reached out to pull me closer to him, like he usually did at nights.
"This has b-been the b-best b-birthday ever," he sighed, eyes still closed as he kicked off part of the cover to drape himself over me. I slid closer to the middle of the small twin mattress, flat on my back so Edward could lay on his side facing me, his leg over mine and his arm across my chest, holding me to him. I could already feel myself warming, and I basked in his radiating heat.
Edward coughed into my shoulder, then apologized, pulling his hand away to try to wipe at my shirt. "Don't bother. It's not like I can get sick, right?" I joked, and he was too tired to object further. He crawled further onto me so half his body covered my own, and I rubbed my fingers through his hair and hummed a soft tune until he was deep asleep.
tune in for the next chapter soon! sorry this is short, and the next two or three will likely also be shorter, it just doesn't work when condensed.