He found her sitting on a small clearing. She had her legs drawn up and hugged her knees. The light drizzling caught in her white hair and made it shine like small diamonds were woven in the strands.
He didn't say a thing, just sat next to her, waiting for her to talk.
Half an hour went by with neither of them talking. After a while then, she stirred, then moved until she was at his side. She snuggled close and sighed when he put an arm around her shoulders. It felt good to hold her like that.
Another hour went by. The drizzle had become a full rain but still she didn't move or talk.
I love living with you. And I will be eternally grateful for what you did for me
He nodded, keeping quiet.
I just miss them so much. I miss everything. My friends, my school, even my old room. I miss being normal. When I thought I was dying it was alright. I wouldn't miss anything because I wouldn't be there to miss it. But now, knowing that everything is still there but I cannot be a part of it… It's killing me
He sighed and put a small, reassuring kiss on her wet head. „Do you want to see it?", he asked. She looked up and frowned.
„Your old school. Your room," he explained. She shrugged but there was a glimpse of interest in her eyes. „Can I?"
„Well, we'll have to go at night and make sure nobody sees us, but other than that there's no reason why we couldn't go." He got up and offered her his hand. „Lead the way, Mylady"
„And that was Mr. Clark's room. He was alright as a teacher except he always got a little too close to the boys." She laughed at his incredulous face. „It's true. You'd expect that we would go after the girls, but his taste seemed to go in a different direction."
„And what was your favourite class?" he asked, and she motioned to a door on her right. „History with Ms Mandelson. It was her who inspired my interest in history. In our first class together, she had this really old skull with her and she sat it on her table. Then she assigned us a chapter to read quietly. This went on for nearly two weeks until someone finally asked what the skull was about. She simply smiled and said: "That's history". And then she began telling us about the beginning of humans, about cavemen and their evolving to actual civilisations. We never had to read a book again or even do a test. It was all about talking and discussing. At the end of the semester, she made us write a paper about our favourite topic and explain why this particular topic. I always signed up for her classes, but she retired two years later."
He smiled. It had been a good idea to bring her here, distract her from the present by visiting the past. They stopped at the lockers. „This one was mine", she said and touched one. „I wonder who they gave it to after I left…" Her voice trailed off. She was sad again; he could see, and he quickly began to speak. „Do you want to visit your room next?" She shook her head. „No, I'm good. Maybe next time. Come, there is still one place I haven't shown you."
It had stopped raining when they stepped outside again. The moon was shining, making everything look mysterious and enchanted.
She took his arm and pulled him towards a small hill. „There. That was our favourite spot. We would be here every day during lunch and study period. Once a month we would have a picknick. Everyone brought something and them we would put this blanket on the ground and sit and pretend to be on a real picknick in the woods somewhere." She sat down, her eyes looking in the distance, lost in memories. „I miss food"
He nodded. „I did, too. Still do, actually. Blood is good and all but sometimes it gets boring, eating the same thing every day."
She made a face. „So, it doesn't get easier?"
He shook his head. „Unfortunately, not." He smiled when she once again snuggled up close and put her head on his shoulder. „Being a vampire sucks sometimes."
„But there are a lot of advantages, too. You are super strong and incredibly fast and irresistibly beautiful, and you glitter in the sun."
She laughed. „Yeah, I'm still not used to that." Then she cocked her head. „So, you think I'm beautiful, then?"
He shot her a glance. If only you knew… Her white hair in the moonlight, her purple-and-gold eyes, her small and slender figure… Everything appealed to him in a way that it never had before, even with Bella. „Only stating a fact", he answered nonchalantly.
„I think you're beautiful." Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but he was still able to understand every word. „You do?", he whispered back. Bella had called him beautiful, but he had thought it was due to her human nature that made her feel attracted to a predator like him. But Sara was not human, therefore there was no natural attraction.
She smiled. „Yes"
It was then that he leaned forward and kissed her. He didn't know why he did it. It just felt right. And good, so good. So many years he had watched his family grow, each finding their partner. Only he was left behind, unable to bind himself to another person. He would never use a human like that, and he hadn't met a vampire yet that he liked like this.
Then came Bella and all this mess it had created.
And now there was Sara, beautiful Sara, who, in this moment, put her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. It had begun to rain again but neither of them noticed. She lay back on her back, pulling him with her until he was directly above her, keeping himself upright with his elbows.
So many emotions swept through him but only one prevailed: Mine
