Apogee - Earthshine Sequel (Twilight Fan Fiction)

Chapter Thirteen - This Needs To End Now

I knelt down beside a rock, curling my legs up to my chest and leaning my head against the stone. Never again would I feel the rough hands of Gale as he cradled me in his arms, trying to calm me down.

I remembered - despite the images being faint - being a child, and cutting my leg on a rock. I cried and cried, cradling my injured leg to me chest. Gale came outside, followed by my mother Emma, and Gale lifted me carefully into his arms. “It’s okay,” he cooed, brushing my hair out of my face. “It’s just a scratch.” He carried me inside, sitting down on a chair with me still in his arms. Emma found a plaster and a cold flannel, and cleaned up my leg. I turned to bury my face in his warm chest as my leg stung from the cold water. He laughed softly, saying something to Emma I couldn’t hear. When I opened my eyes, there was a plaster on my cut leg, and my mother was smiling softly at me. “See? It will be fine in a few days,” she said, rising from her chair. Gale also stood from his chair, wrapping his arms around me. I wrapped my skinny arms around his neck, and his stubble tickled my cheek. My mother also wrapped her arms around the both of us, and we all hugged.

That was before it all went downhill.

I also remembered when I had lost Seth. Hearing Gale’s voice made me happier slightly, so much so that I went downstairs to him. He wrapped his arms around me, kissing my forehead. “I’m so sorry I got you into all this mess,” he told me. “We will both find someone, El. No matter how long it takes, or how far we travel. We will both find someone to spend the rest of our existence with.” He embraced me, helping me overcome the death of Seth.

He was there for me.

* * * *

A pair of soft hands wrapped themselves around my arm, snapping me out of my daydream. I focused my eyes on the trees in the distance ahead. Soon voices began to speak around me. There were only two.

“What happened?” One soft voice asked, fringed with worry.

“Ricardo killed Gale,” the other voice answered. I flinched as the images of it filled my mind, and I turned my head towards the rock. I leant my forehead against it, not feeling any chill from it. My eyes drifted closed, trying to block to world out.

“Did she see?”

“Yes. Tom stopped her from intervening.”

“And he has escaped with Ricardo.”

“Yes.”

The soft hands left my arm and rested on my shoulders. Soft lips brushed across my ear. “El,” the person with the soft voice said. “It’s okay. We are here for you.”

I found the words tumbling out of my mouth before I could stop them. “Please, get away from me,” I whispered. The soft hands left me immediately. I opened my eyes and stumbled to my feet, not looking at the people talking. I didn’t want to know who they were. I didn’t want to see their faces. Before they could stop me, I took off into the forest, running as fast as I could.

As I ran, I could hear light footsteps on the branches above me as someone followed me in the trees. I turned my head to look behind me, seeing that no one was following me on the ground. I suddenly crashed into something hard, not seeing where I was running. It was a person, and their woollen jumper brushed across my cheek. Their arms wrapped themselves around me, and I felt one of the person’s soft hands cradle my head against their chest. I tried to pull away, but their grip was hard. I closed my eyes, trying to block the world out again.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” I whispered, shaking my head. “I don’t want you to be killed.”

“Elora, please calm down. What do you mean?” the soft voice asked me.