Chapter Twenty Six

When Edward and I finally broke apart, I winced as I dropped my arm, and avoided his gaze. I was fully aware he had caught my blunder, but didn't want him to be angry at Sam for what was only an accident. My mind began playing the plot of Supernatural as I walked back over to my bed to sit cross legged. "Ara…" Edward cautioned, knowing I was hiding something from him. "Show me."

DRAT! I've been caught.

Heaving a sigh, I took my hoodie off to reveal the black tank top I had on beneath. I was shocked to see my arm as well after Sam's grip. There was a perfect hand shaped bruise forming, already purple and sore, directly on my bicep. I didn't have to look at Edward to know he was insanely tense. I waited for the ranting about how he wanted to kill Sam, about how I could never go near him or anyone else from La Push. Instead, his arms reached forward and pulled me to his chest. He settled onto my bed next to me. His breath was soft, even, and cold against my skin, and he just held me. "Ara…" Edward spoke hesitantly, "never feel like you have to hide things from me." His voice sounded almost regretful, and he was nearly mournful.

"I just… I know how you react." I sighed and kept my gaze fixed on the hardwood floors of my bedroom, which always seemed to have a faint sheen of glitter from an unfortunate crafting accident when I was nine. "Sam didn't mean to grab my arm so hard, honestly he was defending me. He's still not aware of his strength… and I didn't want you to try to keep me from my friends." I looked up from the spot on the floor I had been looking at. My eyes found him, and were met with remorse.

"Ara, I never wanted to make you feel like you wouldn't be able to be open with me."

"I just know how protective you are… and honestly it scares me sometimes." I decided I didn't want to dwell on everything, and moved myself to the other side of the bed, propping myself up against the opposite poster. "BUT! I don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we talk about something else… anything else?"

Edward gave a small chuckle and ran his hand through his hair. "Understood." He remained in the lounged position, his eyes studying me. I never paid much attention to the color of his eyes, seeing as he was so much taller than me I tended to be at a disadvantage from that perspective. Today, sitting directly across from me, I saw how deep brown, nearly black, they were. I studied his face for a moment, turning over the facets in my mind. The first time I saw the Cullens I had believed they were so perfect they lacked any of the micro-flaws that we as society perceived. Now studying Edward's face I discovered he was in fact, flawed. His nose was slightly crooked, suggesting as a human he snored, and perhaps got in a few fist fights that he may have been on the losing end of. Above his left eyebrow I saw the faint sign of a scar, one that had long healed before he met Carlisle. It dawned on me then that what made each of the Cullen's, as well as basically everyone else on the planet, so beautiful and perfect was the imperfections we perceived. "What's going on inside that head of your's?" Edward asked with a crooked smile, barely thirty seconds had passed. I knew my mind was a jumbled mess as I sifted through life altering realizations of my perspective on humanity, and the intrusive thought of randomly rolling off the bed and laying on the floor like a token floor person.

"Oh not much," I joked, shrugging my shoulders. "Just the complexities of the societal view on beauty and the expression of it."

"So nothing too detrimental then." Edward laughed, shaking his head and turning his attention to the head of my bed. "Did you even sleep after I left?"

"No." I smiled sheepishly, reaching up to pull my hair back in a jaw clip that I happened to have sitting on the floor next to my bed. "I was too awake, you had me out in the cold, that was like being attacked with ice cubes." I raised my brow accusingly.

"Well I am so sorry about that." He furrowed his brow back at me in a teasing manner.

"You should be." I flopped myself sideways on my bed, earning a laugh from Edward as I stared at the various tapestries and scarves that shimmered in the light of the sun and laid overtop of the white twinkling Christmas lights. It dawned on me that the reason Edward wasn't in school was because the sun had decided to show itself in full force today, and the longing I had to soak in the rays filled every fiber of my being. "Let's go on an adventure today." My eyes brightened as I shifted my gaze to Edward, who looked like a disco ball or a shattered Silver Surfer at the end of my bed.

"What would you like to do?" He asked as he had closed his eyes and tipped his head back, allowing the sun to hit his neck and face as well.

"I don't know. I feel like everything has been too serious and intense the last few days… I feel like it's going to get serious and scary again, and I just want to cherish the moments between." My voice felt somber as it fell from my lips. I trained my eyes on the twinkle lights above me again, but I knew Edward was studying me from the corner of his eye. What would he find in my mind? Would he find the constant overall replay of the last forty eight hours? Maybe the dreading of what would be happening in only a couple of weeks. Hell, it could even be the pondering of what Eleazar's visit would ultimately uncover. The idea of someone else trying to decipher my thoughts and being met with the same dizzying mass I was met with brought some kind of comfort, though not a lot.

"I promise to do everything in my power to make the next two weeks the least scary I can, Ara." Edward seemed to not be focusing on my mind so much as he did my words. "You say the word and I will take you to see Eleazar early. Whatever you want. Whatever you need." I felt slight movement on the bed, and when I moved my gaze from the ceiling I found Edward moving to stand. "But how about right now we just go on a run of the mill adventure?"

"Oh how grand." I countered sarcastically.

"It'll be fun," Edward held out his hand expectantly, "I promise."

•••

It appeared the "run of the mill" adventure was a trip to Seattle. As we drove the clouds rolled back in and blotted the sun, though Edward assured me it wouldn't rain or snow on us while we were out and about. The drive was probably my favorite part of the trip. Edward had put on some music to lightly play in the background, and I had caught him humming along at a few points, a look of pure content on his face. Our day in Seattle consisted of various shops and bakeries. We stopped at a swanky office building for a moment where Edward disappeared up into the upper floors. When he returned he assured me it was just an errand and he placed a Manila envelope into the glove compartment. My curiosity was strong, but quickly distracted and when we stopped at a bookstore I completely forgot about the mystery of the glove compartment.

While perusing the shelves, Edward asked me random questions. "How do you decide what books you're going to read next?" He asked curiously as he saw me flip back and forth between shelves with books that had caught my fancy and were now competing for my purchase.

"I guess there isn't much of a thought process behind it," I shrugged. "I go almost purely off the vibes. Just whatever I feel an extreme pull towards."

"That explains it," Edward laughed lightly and sat down on the floor beside me, which I had plopped myself to proceed in the gauntlet of books that fought for my attention. I had an iced coffee next to me that I had been absentmindedly sipping, and it dawned on me that this is what I had always wanted. The bookstore, the coffee, the guy who looked like a supermodel who also liked books. I felt as if my heart would explode- and it was still only Wednesday.

I continued looking over the books, torn entirely and deciding to read the first page of each to determine which was best. Another tie, another reason to hate my devotion. Eventually I settled on eenie meenie miney mo, knowing I'd be sad to let the other go either way. Once the tie was settled I accepted my 800 page fate I sighed and slid the other book back to its respective slot, and then turned to look at Edward. I had half expected to find a bored look on his face, but was pleasantly surprised to find a content look full of wonder and interest. I gave him a small smile, grabbing my iced coffee and pushing myself up from the floor. "Are you ready to go back to Forks?" Edward asked as he effortlessly rose from the floor as well.

"I'm ready if you are." I smiled at him sweetly, it was only 3pm after all. We had left my house at around 11am, Edward then shaving the three and a half hour drive down to two, had left us in Seattle for a good chunk of time.

"Then your chariot awaits." He hooked my arm around his, and I couldn't help but laugh, earning a puzzled gaze from him.

"This is second nature to you isn't it?" I gestured to my arm, which was trapped around his, clutching my ice coffee. "I don't mind!" I added quickly, "I just find it funny and kinda cute."

"Well." Edward said almost sheepishly, if he could blush I was sure that he would. "I guess it is second nature. A bit like breathing." I shot him a knowing gaze as we walked to the checkout counter. Once it was all said and done we settled back into his car, the cold air already making me shiver. I got a few texts from Gaia, she was worried about me not being in school two days in a row, however I was debating not showing up the remainder of the week. Every time I thought about the day of the week I thought about how I only had one more week of the strange new normal I had become accustomed to. With the tension in my shoulders building, and my stomach churning in response, I responded quickly to Gaia and then shoved my phone into the cup holder. The distraction Edward offered faded as we left the parking garage and reality began to sink in again. I was itching for answers as to why I had this strange ability, and worrying about the safety of my loved ones. My breathing or heart rate must have changed because Edward gave me an odd look at first before his face softened. "Ara… we can go to Alaska this weekend if that would help you pass this time. You just have so much on your plate…"

"I don't want to take away your time spent planning." I pinned my gaze on my hands, which were absentmindedly picking at my phone case.

"Ara we have all the time in the world."

"Not a second of it should be wasted on trying to coddle me."

"Ara, you're too hard on yourself. Nobody is trying to coddle you, we are trying to help. You're a mystery to us as well as to yourself." He began the drive at the blinding speed down the roads of Seattle towards the highway. "A trip to Alaska is really nothing in the grand scheme of plans."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"What will I tell my father?" I felt like an impromptu trip to the farthest reaches of the country with my freshman boyfriend was going to be a hard thing to pitch.

"Leave that to Alice. She is extremely persuasive if left to it." Edward laughed lightly, then turned onto the highway and began the dizzying drive home. Edward often drove like a native floridian- cops don't exist and the blinker is just for fun.

The ride back was relatively quiet, Edward telling me little details he remembered from his human life in the meantime. After we finally pulled up to my home and Edward and I parted ways until our regularly scheduled time, I received a text from Gaia that would change it all.

"Do you want to go to Sally Beauty?"

With a quick and sure reply, my fate was sealed and I would have a new hair color by the end of the night.