The Fourth Of July
The mystery of Blessing went on. I had brainstormed with Edward, who had told me his version of events, as well as Alice, and Gaia. None of us could conjure up a story that made any sense. Alice spent days searching the future for any hint as to what the "soon" could be, but there were too many holes where decisions hadn't been made. Gaia took a sketch I had made and scoured public records to find who Blessing could have been in her life as a human, and Edward helped me pick through the details that always got bunched up. In the month since the dream that wasn't really a dream I had yet to see her again. Blessing was MIA and I was left standing in the smoking crater she had left behind.
It was so early in the morning now that even the birds were having a hard time finding something to sing about. The air was a cool fifty as it billowed in through my window, the sheer fabrics that I had draped over my bed dancing about in the playful breeze. At some point last night I had fallen asleep alone curled with a book, but now Edward crawled through my window. Edward had left after dropping me off and staying with me for a bit, he had begged me to put my book down and sleep as the hours ticked down, but my refusal was final. Now, he froze as his shadow in the pale morning light darkened my window seat, his eyes studying me as I met his gaze. I held my arms up and opened them wide, beckoning him forward. "When all this is over… let's go camping." I mumbled as he closed the distance and swept me into his arms.
"Camping?" I couldn't see his face, but his voice sounded like it was smiling. "That's your request?"
"Yeah." I smiled as I thought about it. "Me, you, Paul, and Gaia. A couples trip."
"Sounds like a plan." Edward laughed, his fingers braiding and unbraiding my hair absentmindedly and playful.
"What time do the Denali's get in?" I mumbled as I fought off the sleep that seemed to be gripping me now that he was here and playing with my hair.
"They got in last night, that's why I had to leave, I was hoping you would have fallen asleep before I had to depart." Edward murmured playfully, a smile clear on his lips as he spoke close to my ear. "Did you read all night?" He asked in a more serious tone, I could practically feel the muscles in his neck get ready to give me a disapproving head shake.
"Yeah, I don't exactly know where my book fell though." I mumbled as I glanced around from where I was curled on the bed, my glorified nap still pulling me sleepily into the pillow.
"I'll find it and have Alice tell me where to put the bookmark." He sighed, and half a second later his phone dinged with what I suspected to be a text from Alice with the page number that I would have ended on. "You should try to get a few more hours of sleep."
"But what about the Denali's? I've gotta make sure to swing by before I meet Gaia at the school." I sighed, knowing I had to get up despite the barely breaking dawn's light that creeped over the trees. "Is it supposed to be sunny all day?" I furrowed my brow and turned my shoulders to try to free myself from the grip of sleep.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to meet up with you until after the parade time." He sounded genuinely sad about missing it.
"My creature of the night." I said in a sing-songy voice as I pushed myself up officially, my feet hitting the cold wood floor and making me jump slightly. The memory of watching Edward leave and actively deciding to not close the window after him struck me again. Well that was dumb of me. I rolled my eyes at myself and searched for my slippers that I always kicked under my bed while Edward spoke.
"You're not watching rocky horror before bed anymore." Edward laughed lightly as he let my hair fall from between his fingers. We had a mini date night last night and watched the movie with Rosalie and Emmett. Of course, Emmett got far too involved in the audience participation parts of the movie and my hair still smelled of buttered popcorn and Pepsi. I found it amazing he had made popcorn until I realized his enthusiasm regarding the authentic watching experience. According to Rose, he had enjoyed the original release a bit too thoroughly as well.
"Party pooper," I stuck my tongue out as I successfully found my slippers, put them on, and walked over to my dresser, tripping over a stray amethyst tower along the way. "It was supposed to be hot today wasn't it?" I asked as I popped open the drawer that held my shorts and tank tops.
Edward pulled out his phone and after a second reached under the bed and procured my book as well as the discarded bookmark, marking my page and depositing the book on my pillow before smiling at me. "Scorching, according to Alice. She said to bring your sunscreen." He rose from the bed to pick up the crystal I had tripped on and put it on my bedside table by the new himalayan salt lamp I had gotten.
I screwed my face into a sour pout as I plucked my favorite shorts and a billowy tank top from the drawer. "Maybe I want to burn." I raised my brow as I kicked the drawer shut with playful sass.
"Then Emmett is going to probably have more fun poking your sunburn than he will playing baseball tomorrow." He smirked like he could imagine the encounter already.
I smiled excitedly, never having seen them play before. Edward and I had broken up last year before the storms that were good for baseball started rolling in, and over the spring they didn't get the chance to play because the rain kept rolling right over the clearing they used. "Oh the game is still on!"
Edward walked over to me and swept my hair behind my shoulders, gazing down at me with the look in his eyes that always obliterated my train of thought. I could have gotten lost in the deep gold thread that his irises were spun with if he let me, wrapping me up and tangling me in the fine soft silk. I would willingly waste away hours of my life finding the exact right combination of oil pastels to capture the color. His proximity was intoxicating, his fingers traced along my jaw towards my earlobe, tangling in my hair and tugging gently at the root with the natural weight of the action. I felt myself tip up onto my toes as my chin tilted closer to him, my whole body responding slowly to his proximity. He dipped towards me, clearly wrapped in the trance as thoroughly as I was, his lips just grazing mine as our breaths mingled. Just as I began to close the distance for the kiss that was supercharged by the build up of tension between us, Maddie scratched at my door. Edward pulled backwards suddenly, his face seeming almost pained by the action as he pulled his hand away from me. "As of now, yes." His words broke the spell and pulled me back down to earth.
"Huh?" Confusion rippled through me like a pebble was dropped to adjust the current of my mind.
"The game… baseball…" He cleared his throat. "It's still on." He took another small step back, I was sure that if he had the ability his face would be red right now.
"Oh." I shook my head, adjusting to the change in the current. I blinked a couple times and took deep steadying breaths as I listened to him continue his explanation.
"The storm should start rolling in around midnight and be past the clearing by noon." He scratched at the back of his neck and looked out the front window that looked down onto the driveway.
"Awesome!" I spoke tersely as spun and made my way over to my closet and started looking through the bottom for my shoes.
"Down by the front door." Edward reminded me, we had gotten in late last night and I had kicked my flip flops off and never carried them back upstairs.
"Well why did I do that!?" I groaned as I shook my head as I straightened back up and looked back to him, effectively shaking a bit more of the tension from my body.
"I think your exact words were, 'that sounds like future Arabella's problem, not mine.'" He mimicked my voice playfully from the opposite side of the room, a smile working its way crookedly onto his mouth.
"Past me was a bitch." I rolled my eyes and looked at the time. "Hair or clothes first?"
"Hair, you always say to sweat more when you're doing your hair." He said decidedly.
"You make a solid point." I shook my finger at him and set my clothes down on the bed. "Is dad still asleep?" I strained my ears trying to hear his soft snoring that sometimes carried down the hall.
"No, he is down in the kitchen." Edward listened for a moment before continuing, slowly walking over towards me and the door with a focused look set in his brow. "He's making breakfast."
"Okay, I'll run down there first and grab my coffee." I leaned up and pecked a quick and safe kiss on Edward's cheek. "I have to shower, I'll meet you at the house at nine?"
"That works." Edward smiled and hooked his finger under my jaw, drawing me in for a brief but sweet kiss. Once he pulled back from the kiss I smiled and resisted just climbing back in bed and dragging him with me. I could lay in his arms from sunup till sundown, breathing in his scent and watching movies or reading books.
After a few seconds I painfully ripped myself away and sighed. "I'll see you in a few hours, make sure Target Practice isn't playing in the driveway again."
"It would be my greatest pleasure to make sure my brother doesn't throw himself at your vehicle again." With a laugh, Edward disappeared through the window, rustling the curtains on his way out.
I smiled and then quickly pursed my lips and began readying myself for the day, running downstairs and throwing an arm around the shoulders of my slightly boozy smelling father as I wished him a good morning. "What's the plan for the parade today?" Dad asked with a smile, his breath carrying the lingering scent of fresh alcohol.
"I'm going to meet Gaia at the school, get ready there, and then after that Edward and I are going to watch the fireworks and have dinner." I grinned as I thought about spending my first Fourth of July with Edward. "Are you working the parade today?" My nervousness was barely hidden behind the question, but I hoped desperately he was still too groggy to catch it.
"Yeah, Charlie put me on parade duty so I could be home for the fireworks." He smiled at me, raising his coffee cup to his lips and taking a long sip.
"Well I am parade float number 1618 so keep an eye out for me, yeah?" I knocked on the table twice as I looked at him with a smile.
"Always." Dad reached out and grasped my hand, a deep sincerity filling his eyes. "Your mother would be so proud of you." Just like that my heart shattered and all I could do was smile and take a sip from my own coffee mug. After I left the kitchen I did what was essentially a speedrun of my entire morning routine, leaving more than ample time to sit and read before climbing into my car.
When I pulled up to the Cullen house I saw the car that I had been escorted around in Alaska in sitting in the driveway, excitement radiated through me as I leapt from my car and took the porch steps two at a time. When I threw open the front door I was wrapped in an embrace barely a second later, Carmen's smiling face filling my vision as she sang words of love in various languages in her melodic voice. "Oh how I missed you Ara!" Carmen said cheerfully as she released me, backing up a step as I looked up to the stairs and saw all three of the beautiful blonde sisters standing with large wonderful smiles.
"We should have known you would be family." Tanya tsked as she hopped down the steps and pulled me into a hug, Kate and Irina close to follow.
"Honestly, you did remind me so much of Alice I don't know why I was so surprised." Kate rolled her eyes and flipped her perfectly straight hair over her shoulder.
"We certainly won't make any mistakes about lineage again." Irina smirked, pulling me into a hug of her own.
Kate scrunched her nose for a second and looked over her shoulder as Edward came around the corner of the hall at the top of the stairs. "Though I still question your getting together with that walking tombstone."
"Kate, you're literally older than me." Edward rolled his eyes as he wandered down the stairs and traded spots with Irina, placing his arm over my shoulder. I felt like I was physically thrumming again, the energy of our exchange this morning still not having worn off.
Kate smirked as she stared down Edward, her eyebrows cocking in a way that suggested a challenge. "Age is but a number, physically you lived longer."
"Physically you existed sooner." He countered back so fast you would have thought they were actually cousins bickering at a family reunion.
"Oh hush, both of you," Carmen swat at them playfully as she focused on me again. "Let me see you! Oh you're so beautiful! You've grown so much! Wait until Eleazar gets in here."
"I'm coming darling." His voice carried through from where Carlisle's office was tucked away. When the stunning man rounded into the foyer I was struck with a sense of familiarity. I could tell he was assessing me again, perhaps unintentionally, searching for something he might have missed the first time.
Part of me wondered if he really would see a new gift. I wasn't sure how before he hadn't seen this slight power of future sight, perhaps because it was so limited, but still he never mentioned it. Eleazar walked down the stairs and pulled me into a hug, Edward never mentioned the spark of a third previously hidden gift, and I still had never mentioned it to anyone. How was I supposed to bring it up now in a room full of powerful individuals? "Oh yeah by the way I think you might have made a mistake last time, Eleazar, you never mentioned I could see the future. Why do you think that is?" I pushed the thought from my mind, taking comfort in knowing that Edward had so many people around him he wasn't likely to listen to my usually chaotic and sporadic mind. The day continued on, and not once did Edward or any of the others mention the possibility of a third gift.
Maybe they weren't future visions. Maybe they were just an anxious mind recognizing the pattern of bad luck.