The Dead of Night

Chapter Five

Chapter 5

Reminders

I broke down. The internal dam collapsed, and my tears flowed. I had been so confident that Ary and her family were vampires. My subconscious knew Ary couldn't be a vampire, and yet I ignored the signs. Her eyes were blue—not red or gold—and her skin did not glitter in the sunlight. Why did I force myself to ignore the obvious? Had the Cullens' departure forced me to look for hope in all the wrong places?

"Bella," Ary's voice was now soft as she caressed my shoulder. "Please look at me."

I was terrified to look at her. Just minutes earlier, she had become someone else entirely. Her blue eyes had contorted to a bright yellow, and she had snarled at me. I warily lifted my head.

Ary's eyes were wide, and her arms were trembling. There was a cautiousness that had overtaken her. The confident Aryana McRae no longer sat before me. This new girl was afraid.

"I'm sorry I shouted at you, Bella. I shouldn't have let myself get so angry." Her brow was indented, and her lips pulled up in a disgusted grimace.

"No, it's my fault." My chest heaved as I spoke through my sobs. "I shouldn't have continued to press you." I sighed. "What did I say, Ary? I mean, what was it that angered you?"

Ary let her gaze fall to the ground, and her jaw tightened. "Bella, my family is my life," she said between clenched teeth. "I do not share information about them with anyone. I've also never been partial to people demanding things of me." She leaned back against the sofa and exhaled slowly. "I don't expect you to understand that kind of loyalty." She shook her head and closed her eyes again.

"I think I understand more than you give me credit for," I said, sighing loudly. I knew perfectly well what it meant to keep secrets. The Cullens were vampires, and I couldn't tell anyone.

Ary opened her eyes. "Oh?"

I shrugged and turned away from her. We fell into a silence that screamed louder than Ary had a few minutes ago. The memory of her eyes, yellow and penetrating, caused me to shiver. I glanced from one side of the room to the other, anything to avoid her eyes. I knew she was curious about what I had just said, but I didn't want to explain why she should give me more credit. I still hadn't made up my mind about whether I should tell Ary about the Cullens.

"So, Bella," Ary spoke, finally. "Are you going to give me some answers, or is this conversation going nowhere?" Ary's eyes narrowed as they poured over my face, searching for knowledge.

Another exasperated sigh escaped my lips. "I don't know exactly where to start, Ary," I said reluctantly. I refused to talk to any of my friends at school—Jessica, Angela, Mike—and they had known me longer than Ary.

"Try from the beginning," Ary said gently. "Tell me everything that made you…the way you are."

She slipped up off the floor and onto the sofa.

I sighed loudly. This secret is not just mine, it is shared. Telling Ary about everything would be breaking the confidence of those that I still care about, of the rest of the Cullens. I shook my head. "I'm sorry, Ary, I don't think I can."