—
WELL, at least he's not some decrepit looking dude with long fangs and a bald head.
Have I been picturing him as Dracula this whole time? Wow.
"Have you heard of me?" Demetri asks, his eyebrows lift incredulously.
"Hm? Oh, no! No, I just knew somebody named Demetri... your name rung a bell." I lift my shoulders into a pathetic shrug. Hopefully my lie will slide, because this dude can't know that I know about him, or the existence of vampires, or else I'll be turned into one of them and... ew, no thanks! "So, what can I help you with, Demetri?"
I stare up at him as I wait for an answer to slip through his lips, and I can't help but admire him. Normally, if I saw someone as pale as he is, I'd worry for their health—but with him, he looks the opposite of sickly. The orange hues from the street lamps bore into the side of his face, only making his strikingly sharp features stick out more and making them even more defined.
Shit, guess I lucked out, huh?
"Your friends will be out shortly, they must retrieve their vehicle first." Well, that's quite underwhelming, given his grand entrance and the fact that he's my soulmate.
My lip threatens to quiver into a sneer at the title 'friends'. "Friends? I wouldn't call them that." I look down at my coffee cup with a slight head shake. "Anyways, thanks for letting me know, Demetri."
From behind him, I can see the glint of headlights approaching very quickly.
"Well," I rise from the chair and toss my purse over my shoulder. "it was nice to meet you, Demetri."
I down the rest of the coffee, ignoring the scalding pain it leaves behind, and I throw it in the trash bin that sits next to me.
"You, as well, miss." He holds his hand out for me. I smile crookedly and accept it.
His hand is cold, but I don't recoil away like I did with Alice, his feels nice in mine. Ew. Since when did I become so cliche?
After we shake hands and he retracts his away, I notice a tiny piece of paper has been left in mine. I raise and eyebrow and look at him quizzically. "Whats this?" I ask, glancing from my palm and up to him.
He just shrugs with a sly smile, and my eyebrow only raises higher.
A dark car slows to a stop, it's not the same bright yellow car we raced towards the city in earlier.
He pulls the door open for me.
I slip past him and send him one last look before the door slams shut and he slowly steps away from the car.
"Better buckle up, since you don't like my driving and all." Alice chides from the drivers seat.
"Right." I mumble and click the seatbelt into place, and the second I do, the car is off, barreling through the hilly city.
I turn my head to look into the backseat, I want to throw up at the sight my eyes stumble upon; Bella rests her head on a boys, who I assume is the infamous Edward, lap, her eyes are barely opened and he gazes down at her with a light smile.
How can Bella forgive him, just like that? He left her a mess, a catatonic girl who barely ate or sleep, and yet here she is, cuddled up next to him.
Edward now looks at me, his bushy eyebrows lower slightly and he frowns.
"You must be Edwin." I speak with a fake smile. "Pleasure to meet you."
"You, as well." He doesn't bother to correct me. "Bella speaks fondly of you."
"Does she?" I ask, looking down at my barely-awake sister. "She never told me about you."
Edward shrugs his shoulders. "I'm not that important, why would she?"
I scoff and turn my head forward. "Apparently you are, considering the mess she was when you left."
"I..." Edward starts to speak but stops to sigh deeply. "I didn't have a choice, and I deeply regret what happened to Bella when I was gone, but I cannot change what happened."
I hum. "Sure."
I look down at my hands and the paper that I hold between my fingers.
"Whats that?" Alice asks, not even bothering to look at the dark, empty road that goes on for miles before us.
I don't feel as horrified to ride with her as I did previously, maybe it's because we have yet to crash into a tree.
"That guy back there gave it to me." I answer. My heart feels heavy, almost like a piece of it was left behind in Volterra. "I don't know why, though."
"Open it." She suggests with a light shrug.
I hesitate; what if it's a nude drawing of the dude? I mean, it's probably not, but what if?
Edward suddenly laughs in the backseat, startling me. I turn to him with a confused expression. "Whats so funny, Edwin?"
"Hm? Nothing..."
I roll my eyes and turn back around. "Do you just laugh for no reason or something?"
"Sometimes." He answers simply.
"Uh-huh." I sigh quietly as I decide to fold the paper open, to my surprise, it's a letter in such wonderful calligraphy it almost doesn't look real.
Dear Elizabeth,
Shit, my full first name?
you are likely wondering why you were given this letter, and as I cannot say much right now, just know you will be informed in due time.
Little does he know...
As for now, it would be a joy to get to know you, although that is entirely up to you.
Yours truly,
Demetri.
And at the bottom of the paper is a phone number, his I presume.
Wow.
I stare at the number, my cheeks flush scarlet.
I clear my throat and fold the paper back up, I stuff it into my pocket and turn towards the window like nothing just happened.
"Well?" Alice pushes. "What does it say?"
"Use your imagination." I mumble. Fields and dense thicket breeze by the window, moonlight basks over the vast land. "Where are going now?" I ask, my eyes still stuck on the window.
"The airport." Alice answers simply. "Should be there in three hours."
"Three hours?" I echo with a harsh sigh. "Sounds fun."
While the country may be gorgeous, and I would not mind gazing at it, this car is cramped and my phone is teetering on a whopping 10%. Not to mention I have a weird pain tugging at my heart and my eyes are dry.
"You should get some rest, too, Ellie. I'm sure you're tired." Alice speaks.
I shrug. "I napped back at that hotel, I don't think I'm even tired—" Yawn. "Okay, maybe I am." I admit.
Alice lightly laughs. "I figured. I'll wake you when we arrive."
I nod and rest my head near the window, my eyes slip shut and I let the rumble of the engine lull me to sleep.
BRIGHT yellow lights flash behind my eyelids, it disturbs my slumber and I open my eyes, only to wince once the lights shine into them.
I fully sit up, loose strands of hair fall into my face. My neck feels stiff. I groan and fully sit up.
"Oh, good morning! I was just about to wake you." Alice joyfully chatters.
I rub my eyes and yawn. "Yeah, good morning." My voice is dry and cracky. "I need some water."
"We'll get you some." Edward speaks from the backseat.
I scowl to myself. "Thanks." My voice is anything but thankful.
He doesn't respond to me, but he begins to croon to Bella.
Alice parks the car and we all exit, Bella stumbles on the pavement of the parking lot and catches herself on Edward.
I look at her and cross my arms. Her eyes have large bags under them and they droop with exhaustion. "You didn't get any sleep during the drive?" I ask while pulling my purse from the front seat.
"Um, no, not really." She answers slowly, her voice drags and cracks in random spots.
"And why not?" I ask.
"I didn't want to." Bella answers matter of factly.
I look at her and shake my head with disapproval and disappointment. "Bells, why not?" I repeat. "You must be exhausted."
She shrugs. "I'm fine. I just want to change out of these clothes and wash up."
"I bought you two some things—new clothes, toothbrushes..." Alice steps into the conversation, she holds out a duffel bag towards me, I take it and nod.
"Thanks."
"Of course!" She responds with a bright smile. "Let's go, the flight leaves in an hour."
We follow behind Alice and shortly enter into the airport, which isn't as busy as I expected it to be. The bright lights help me wake up even more, and I even feel somewhat energized.
Bella and I eventually find the bathroom, we enter with our fresh clothes and toothbrushes. I brush my teeth and change my clothes, which are just a pair of sweats and T-shirt, Bellas is almost identical.
"You look more awake now." I tell Bella as I shove my old clothes back into the duffel bag.
"Yeah, cleaning myself up a bit seemed to help." Bella nods and turns to leave the bathroom, but I grab her arm and yank her back.
She stares up at me with utter confusion. I release her arm and take a deep breath before speaking. "This may be a horrible time to ask you this but—are you really forgiving Edward this easily?"
Bella looks down at her shoes, her hair falls over her face, shielding whatever expression it may be making away from me. "Yes."
"Why?"
"Because, hes—hes different, the love I have for him is so..." She stammers. "I don't even know how to explain it, but if you knew how I feel when I'm around him, you'd understand."
This shuts me up for a second. Is Edward Bellas soulmate? Is this she is so unconditionally willing to do crazy shit like this for him?
"You couldn't have even put up a little fight? Make him beg a bit?" I ask with a smirk.
She looks up at me and lightly laughs. "That would've been fun, but I guess I missed my chance."
I shrug. "I'm sure you could still pull it off."
I make my way out of the bathroom and she follows. "Maybe."
Edward and Alice are waiting for us, Alice with an amused smile, and Edward with a slight furrow to his eyebrows—he looks a tad distraught. Good.
"Kay, all done." I announce.
After going through security and baggage claim, we still had 30 minutes left until we had to board our flight, and one of the airport restaurants smells delightful.
I still have most of the money Alice gave me, and my stomach is starting to grumble. The pastry I ate earlier only had a few bites taken from it, and it's probably all digested by now.
"I'm getting some food." I stand up and look down at Bella, who is just peering up at Edward adoringly. "You want anything?" I ask.
Her head slightly shifts towards me, though her eyes stay fixated on her beau. "No thanks, Els,"
I don't say anything and just walk towards the restaurant. Theres no line, so I'm able to order right away.
I don't even know what I ordered, I just say a random number and sit down at a rickety table. I rest my head in my palms and stare towards the other end of the airport that looks out into Rome.
It's gorgeous, the bright lights cast up into the dark sky, shading it yellow.
I wish I had more time to admire the city, but at the same time, I long to be home, in my old bed, staring up at the glowing stars stuck to my ceiling.
Plus, my charger is at home—I can't believe I remembered to bring my purse, passport and headphones to Italy but I forgot the most important of them all.
My food is placed down in front of me, I glance down at it and shrug to myself—it looks good. I pick it up and nibble on it cautiously, after deciding that it tastes better than it looks, I gradually take larger bites.
And by the time I walk back over towards my sister and her two vampires, we still have 15 minutes until we board.
"How was your food?" Alice asks after I sit down next to her.
"It was okay." I answer and pull my phone out of my pocket, I check the percentage and sigh exasperatedly.
"What's the matter?" Alice asks.
"My phone, I forgot my charger, of course, and it's almost dead, and lucky for me, all of the shops are closed..." I shake my head. "I guess I'll just sleep for the 11 hour flight."
"Ah, don't worry," Alice reaches into her bag, "I brought mine." She places the white charger in my lap and smiles at me.
Okay, this woman is actually quite nice—despite her being a bloodsucking creature. "Thanks, Alice." I grasp the charger and smile back at her. "Really—I appreciate it."
She waves her pale, manicured hand dismissively. "It was no hassle."
For the next 15 minutes, I scroll through social media, not caring if the battery on my phone drains anymore or not, for Alice has saved the day.
As we walk through the jetway, I find myself reveling in the warm air, because I know back home, it'll be cold and damp for at least three more months, and even then, warmth isn't guaranteed.
On the plane, I sit near the window, with Bella on my right, Edward next to her, and Alice next to him. Thankfully, there's a charging outlet so I plug my phone in and settle into the seat.
ELLIES head presses against the wall of the airplane next to the window, orange light flushes against her face, barely missing her eyes.
Deep breaths leave her parted lips, indicating her slumber that she fell into four hours into the flight.
Edward eyes her and nods to himself. "We have to speak about something." He whispers to Alice and Bella.
Bella stops sipping on her coke, and Alice tilts her head towards him. "About what?" Bella asks.
"I think Ellie knows." He murmurs, keeping a watchful eye on the brunette.
"What?" Bella whispers loudly.
Alice shushes her and Bella flushes with chagrin.
"What do you mean?" Alice asks so quietly that Bella has to strain to even make out what she is saying.
"I... Her thoughts fade in and out, sometimes I can hear them perfectly, and then other times nothing at all." He slowly explains. "Back at the airport, she said—in her head, of course, something about you being a bloodsucking creature, Alice."
Alices eyes slightly widen, but she composes herself. "Is that all you've heard?"
"She also mentioned something about soulmates while she was reprimanding Bella about forgiving me." He sighs. "That was all, though."
"What does this mean? The Volturi—will they force her to be turned?" Bella questions, her hands grip her coke tightly.
"No, they've given us a few years at least, and by that time, Demetri may have already told her everything." Edward tries to soothe Bellas worries. "It'll all turn out fine, Bella, okay?"
Bella nods and sips her carbonated drink. "Yeah, okay."
She stares at her sister, and hopes that everything will turn out okay.