Ch 25 - Bling

Higher and higher,
We're gonna take it,
Down to the wire,
We're gonna make it,
Out of the fire,
Higher and higher.

“Bling” – The Killers

I signed my name to the bottom of the paper quickly. It was completely illegible but I didn’t care, I was ready to get the hell out of there. I handed the papers back to the lady behind the desk and she handed me a clear plastic bag full of my belongings. I smiled lightly while taking the bag and exited her office.

Once again, I was a free woman. As I walked out the front door of the hospital, I vowed never again to find myself in that position.

I opened the bag and pulled my car keys out, heading out to the parking lot to where I left my car. I got a few looks from skeptical people walking by. They obviously wondered if I were crazy, considering I was wearing an oversized pair of hospital issued scrubs. I only had the clothes I was wearing when I was admitted and they were in the bag with the rest of my belongings.

I rolled my eyes when I noticed the dent on the roof of my car, obviously caused my Edward when I nearly hit him. I’d have to get that repaired. I slipped into my car quickly, slightly embarrassed at how I looked. I pulled my phone out of the bag and turned it on. I scrolled through my missed calls and groaned. There were a few from the library—in my rush to get to Forks, I’d completely forgotten to notify them of my absence. I’d missed a few days of work and frantically was trying to come up with a good excuse to give them. I wasn’t so sure confessing that I was locked away in a mental institute for 3 days would bode well for me.

There were a few calls from Denise also. I realized I was supposed to call her when I made it to Forks and never did. She must’ve been worried. My mysterious caller also called twice.

I dropped the phone on my lap and started up the car, pulling out of the parking lot. I didn’t have far to go, only a few blocks. It was an ugly day, cloudy and foggy and drizzling.

I pulled up in front of my building and shut the car off. I grabbed my belongings and headed inside, stopping in the lobby to grab my mail.

I started up the stairs, holding my bag of belongings and attempting to sort through my large stack of mail at the same time. Most of it was junk, with the exception of two envelopes from Renee.

I got to my apartment door and tried to pull the key out to unlock it, but the mail slipped from my grip and fell to the floor. I groaned and reached down to get it, but gasped when an arm reached around and grabbed it before I could.

I jumped back, startled, dropping everything in my arms and clutching my chest. Edward stood in front of me, holding my mail, with an apologetic look on his face.

“I’m so sorry Bella, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said quickly.

“Where the hell did you come from?” I nearly yelled. My heart was racing wildly, partially from the shock of his sudden appearance and partially simply because he ignited that reaction in me.

“I was waiting for you. I knew you were coming home today.” His eyes roamed my body and I blushed involuntarily. I knew how I looked and I hated the idea of Edward seeing me this way, seeing me essentially in my ‘prison uniform’.

I reached down to pick up the things I’d dropped but he beat me to it once again. I grabbed the keys from him and unlocked the door, moving past him to walk inside. Edward stood in the doorway holding my stuff, not making a move to enter. I turned and looked at him, rolling my eyes.

“What, vampires can’t enter without being invited in?” I said sarcastically. He furrowed his brow, looking confused. I groaned. “Something tells me you’ve been in here before, so no need to be shy now.”

He smiled sheepishly, which gave me my answer. He’d definitely been in my apartment before. I wasn’t surprised; when I realized it was Edward following me I sort of suspected it.

He came inside and closed the door behind him. He hesitated for a moment, obviously thinking about something, before swiftly turning the lock. I eyed him suspiciously, wondering what would warrant him locking the door behind him. Immortals can easily get through locks and mortals weren’t really a danger with Edward there.

He must’ve been able to interpret my look because he shrugged. “You never know,” he said.

We stood around awkwardly for a moment, neither of us speaking. The tension was thick, so much unspoken between us. I tried to maintain my composure and appear relaxed, but the fact of the matter was I was freaking out. Edward had told me he loved me and I returned the sentiment, but that didn’t completely wipe out everything. There was still so much between us, so much heartache and turmoil that had to be acknowledged and dealt with before we could ever really be comfortable together. I’d done too much, made too many mistakes since he left for me to just be able to go back to how things were. I couldn’t pretend and we couldn’t turn back the hands of time.

My heart was racing wildly, thumping loudly, and I knew he could hear it. He knew me well, even after all this time, so even though I kept up my tough façade and my snarky attitude it would be evident to him that it was just a mask. Edward knew how I was feeling—my heart gave me away.

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, I had to get away. I turned and went into the kitchen, walking right by Edward. His form went rigid as I approached him but he relaxed a bit when I walked past. I had no idea what that was about, what his problem was. He seemed on edge, like he was expecting something.

I grabbed a slice of bread and pulled out the jar of peanut butter from the cabinet. I spread some on the bread and folded it over, making half of a sandwich. Edward took a few steps toward the kitchen and was watching me warily. I grabbed a glass from the cabinet and pored some water into it before walking past Edward again and sitting down at the table.

He sighed loudly, obviously exaggerated to make some sort of point. I looked up at him questioningly and he was frowning.

“You should eat more than that Bella. You need to take care of yourself.”

I gaped at him, my mind briefly questioning if he was for real. I shook my head and chuckled, taking another bite of my sandwich.

“Even in my imagination you say that shit all the time,” I said.

Edward cringed at my mention of my hallucinations. I was well aware that he knew about them… there would be no hiding anything from him. He’d obviously frequented outside of the hospital, considering Dr. Nelson recognized seeing him a few times, so there was no telling what he overheard or picked out of the staffs head. He likely knew it all and the idea that he’d heard all of my confessions made me slightly uncomfortable.

I shifted in my seat, feeling a bit uneasy. Edward was staring at me, the look on his face unreadable. I couldn’t tell if he was upset and that was putting me on edge.

“So why are you here Edward?” I said, unable to take the awkward silence anymore. He didn’t answer right away, continued to look at me for a moment before turning and walking to my window. He pulled the curtains aside and looked out.

It was raining heavily now, the fog growing as dusk neared. It was slightly eerie; you could barely see the street below. It reminded me of a scene in a horror movie. All we needed was a man in a mask with a hatchet.

My heart started racing with my last thought and Edward turned his head around to look at me. I don’t know how I drew the conclusion, but suddenly it all just seemed to make sense.

“There’s someone after me, isn’t there?” I asked softly. Edward didn’t say anything but sighed, his expression solemn. That was all the answer I needed.

I dropped my sandwich on the table and stood up quickly, turning to head to the bathroom. I sudden felt sick, my nerves frazzled to the point where my stomach was queasy. I made it in just enough time to collapse on the floor in front of the toilet and lose every bit of sustenance I had in my system.

I lay back on the floor and closed my eyes, trying to calm myself down. I couldn’t fall apart now, not already. I fought too hard to just let every ounce of strength and fight I had in me leave at the drop of a dime.

I heard the toilet flush and opened my eyes just in enough time to see Edward lean down to scoop me up. I thought about fighting him, telling him to put me down, but it was useless. I felt my entire body tingle as his body came into contact with mine, the electricity obviously still there between us. Edward must’ve felt it also because he closed his eyes for a brief second, a look of pure peace overcoming his face. It was breathtaking, how serene and tranquil it was, and I wanted to get lost in that moment—in that feeling. But it was gone just as quick as it came.

“This isn’t the first time you’ve done that, is it?” I asked as he took me in my bedroom and laid me down on my bed. He sighed and smiled lightly.

“No.” I smiled back and nodded, figuring as much.

Edward hesitated for a moment, lingering beside my bed, before turning to walk out. I yelled for him to stop and he froze mid-step.

“Don’t go,” I said, barely above a whisper. I was conflicted, part of me not sure I was ready to have Edward back in my life, the other part of me not being able to bare seeing him walk away. I didn’t know why he was here exactly, what he expected or wanted from me. He said he loved me and I desperately wanted to believe that, but just because he loved me didn’t mean he wanted me. I’d done so much—I was no longer the innocent naïve Bella he had met and sat beside in biology class at Forks High School. That girl was gone, never to fully return. Could he accept me as I was, accept my mistakes and flaws?

Edward turned and slowly walked back toward the bed. He paused for a moment before carefully laying himself down beside me. He was close—so close I could smell him and it was intoxicating, invading my senses and clouding my mind. I wanted to reach out and touch him, feel him because it seemed so surreal that my mind had a hard time accepting his presence as authentic, but I didn’t because I didn’t want to scare him off. I didn’t know his limits anymore, what he was okay with.

We stared in each other’s eyes for a while, neither of us speaking. Edward didn’t move at all, not even to blink. I fidgeted a bit under the intensity of his stare.

“Who’s after me?” I asked after a few minutes. He sighed, finally breaking his stance and shifting in the bed.

“I don’t know, I’m not sure,” he said, sounding resigned.

“But someone is?”

He nodded hesitantly, eyeing me with concern. My heartbeat raced some, but besides that I showed no signs of panic. I was worried, knowing that someone had it out for me, but I oddly felt safe at the moment with Edward beside me.

“Get some sleep, I’ll be right here,” he whispered after a moment. I nodded and allowed my eyes to close. I was exhausted, unable to get any decent rest in the institution.

I felt Edward’s breath on my face and froze as his cold lips connected with my forehead. He lingered there for a moment, inhaling my scent. I felt myself melt into him, despite the coldness of him warmth spread through my body.

Sleep came quickly. I woke up abruptly hours later to a completely dark apartment. It was unusually dark, the streetlights not even filtering through the window. I looked around, confused, unable to sense Edward’s presence.

My phone rang out and I sat up, but before I could make a move to get out of bed the ringing stopped.

“I know you know who I am,” Edward’s voice rang out. He was speaking low but his voice was laced with rage and nearly echoed through the unusually quiet apartment. “If you know what’s good for you, you’ll back off. I’m not going to warn you again.”

My eyes widened in surprise when I realized he had answered my phone. It must’ve been the unknown caller. The pieces started coming together, Edward must’ve found out about that and it somehow must be related to whoever was after me. I gasped and brought my hands up quickly to cover my mouth, but it was too late. Edward had heard me.

“Bella? Are you okay?” he asked, suddenly beside my bed again. I was taken off guard by his quick appearance, no longer used to the Cullen’s agility and speed. He apologized for startling me.

I looked to where he stood and squinted my eyes. I could barely make him out in the dark. He came even closer and sat down beside me, the bed sinking a bit under his weight.

“The electricity went out. I got up to look for some candles or something for you.” I nodded, realizing why it was so dark now.

“You answered my phone,” I said quietly. He ran his hand through his hair nervously.

“Yeah. I’m going to get you a new phone tomorrow, I don’t want you using that one anymore.”

I furrowed my brow in confusion, opening my mouth to object but he cut me off.

“So do you have any candles?”

“Uh, yeah. A drawer in the kitchen.”

He left the room and was back within a matter of seconds, holding two candles and a lighter. He sat the candles on the stand beside the bed and lit them. I watched him, oddly fascinated.

“Fire doesn’t scare you?” I asked. He chuckled, shaking his head.

“Why would it?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. It’s like, the only thing that can really hurt you.”

He smiled, his face illuminated by the candlelight. I inhaled sharply, nearly loosing my breath at how gorgeous he was. He looked concerned for a moment before his smile brightened again and he shook his head.

“No, it’s doesn’t frighten me.” He crawled into the bed beside me carefully. He reached over and brushed some of my hair back, tucking it behind my ear. I closed my eyes at the sensation of his fingers on me. “Does it frighten you?”

“What?” I asked, opening up my eyes. His expression was serious.

“Fire. Are you afraid of it now?”

I was confused for a moment, looking at him questioningly while he simply stared at me. It struck eventually what he was talking about—the accident. I was supposed to burn to death in it. The fire scarred me. I’d never forget the way it felt, the smell of flesh being charred. Lauren’s body had been completely overtaken by it--she hadn’t had a chance.

I winced at the memory and Edward’s hands shot out, pulling me to him and wrapping me in a hug. Tears formed in my eyes and flowed down my cheeks as a sob escaped me.

Edward shushed me, holding me tightly. “I’m so sorry Bella, I shouldn’t have said anything.” I tried to tell him it was okay, that I was okay, but I couldn’t get the words to form. I just sobbed loudly in his arms, while he stroked my hair and hummed in my ear.

Blackness overtook me eventually as I drifted back into a deep sleep.