Twilight: But it's a Thriller and I Never Read Twilight

Chapter 40: Choking

I counted the boards that ran across the ceiling as I laid in bed, trying to regain my senses. Light streamed in through the windows, the colors of sunrise painting themselves against the ceiling and on the yellow wallpaper of the room. It took me a long time to wake up and to put together the details of the previous night. I pieced everything back together slowly, reliving the aches of that night.

As I caught up with myself, I found the strength to pull myself up to a sitting position. A few feathers flitted about me, escaping the pillows that had been strown and ripped apart. My back ached at my attempt to get up, and I found the first bruise around my wrist as I leaned over, placing my hands on my knees to steady myself.

The skin was purple and yellow around the edges like a blooming flower where Edward had held me. Every one of his touches seemed to leave a mark on my skin now. He hadn't been like that before, I told myself, but maybe that was wishful thinking. I remembered a few times he'd held onto me that felt like he was going to crush through my skin to the bones underneath.

I dragged myself from the bed carefully, wrapping myself in a robe hanging in the closet and stepped into the bathroom where there were no windows. In the light of the buzzing fluorescent lightbulbs, I counted the marks Edward had left along my body. The ones that trailed up my neck toward the edge of my jaw looked like indents of his kisses, although black and blue now from the sheer force of him. He trailed along my sides to my hips and down my arms. I recounted the moments of the evening and it seemed as though every place he had touched me had left a mark.

I rubbed my eyes of the exhaustion and ran a shower as I kept looking over the marks left on my skin. He'd asked for me and I hadn't thought twice about it. I would need to think again. It was time for me to become a vampire. No matter how long he would have to wait to touch me again, I needed to become like him.

An image came to mind as I stared at myself in the mirror, my reflection becoming blurry from condensation. I could see myself from Edward's eyes, his body over me, firm and riled tight. His hands wrapped around my throat as he held me down, whispering his sweet words into my ear. I gripped the edge of the sink, my hands going as white as the porcelain the longer I looked at myself. My breath grew shallow and quick as I watched some version of me go purple with the lack of air. The whispers of Edward telling me he loved me echoed in my head. I was here, in this bathroom safe and sound, but my mirror laid dying in my head. I couldn't do a thing to stop it.

When I finally tore my gaze away from the mirror, the breath came back to me. I dropped my hands, letting my fists unwind as I stared at the floor. Somewhere deep, I could still hear Edward's whispers. I could still feel him killing me.

After the water heated up, I stepped into the shower, letting it curve down along my body and warm me up. The longer I spent in there, the more numb I felt and the less I thought of Edward's hands around my throat. I hummed to myself instead, an inconsequential tune as the water dripped through my hair.

As I stepped out of the shower, fresh and clean, I avoided looking at the mirror and left the mist covering my reflection as I ducked out into the bedroom to find a change of clothes. I was only in a towel when Edward stepped into the room, his face looking bright as he smiled at me. I tried to ignore him as I looked for a change of clothes. We'd have to have a conversation about last night, but for now, I wanted nothing more than to get dressed and go enjoy the beach.

"You look beautiful this morning," he said, still leaning against the door. He was blocking my way out, but I was too preoccupied looking for clothes to make note of it.

"Where are my bags?" I asked, having turned through the room and found nothing.

"In the entry room," Edward said. I started to make my way out the door to find them, but he held out his hands to stop me, forcing me to look him in the eye. "Wait, a minute. Let me look at you."