Edward's point of view
[2 days ago]
Twenty-six.
It was now the twenty-sixth time that my phone vibrated in my pocket in the past hours.
I was tempted the flip the phone to see who was trying to reach me repeatedly but my body never moved from its position.
Why would it ? Everything was meaningless.
I didn't know how long it has been since I fled from Aiyanna's life and my family. If someone should know that I'd never answer a phone call in my state, it'd be my family. However, they were one of the few people who had my number and would dare to call me this many times in less than 24 hours.
I found refuge in a basement from some sort of building where I could hear different families speaking either in English, Creole or Spanish. They were the only source of distraction that I had, alongside the activities of the rats and spiders crawling around me.
With time, they stopped paying attention to me. I was just another wall to crawl on to them.
With my arms around my knees and my forehead pressed against them, I wondered how long it'd take for me to stay in this position. How long I'd stay recluded from any sort of civilisation. How long the pain would persist. How long I'd miss her...
As I closed my eyes, I could see her face again. It was the only way for me to see her.
I knew deep down that I couldn't keep on doing this if I ever wanted to get better, but like an addict, I didn't find a way to stop going back to my addiction.
Maybe I should go back. Just to see her. She wouldn't even know that I came to check on her.
"But you know what ? If you go, you better never come back. Do as you said. I'm not going to stop you, because I know I can't. Do not ever check on me. Do not try to see my future through Alice. Do as if I had never existed as well. It'd be selfish of you to know about my whereabouts when I'd have no way to know about yours." I repeated the last words she had said to me like a mantra each time I thought of going back.
She was right. It would be selfish. If there was one thing I could do for her, it would be to respect her last wish. I made that promise to her, to never haunt her life again, and free her from the fear and danger my existence constantly brought into her life, whether I liked it or not.
She deserved that kind of life and so much more.
The phone vibrated again for the twenty-seventh time.
"Damn it." I growled while flipping the phone open to see who was going to distract me for the first time in who knew how long.
Alice.
Out of all the people who could've called, Alice would have been the less likely to do so, as she would see in advance if I would answer or not.
Seeing how she insisted, it meant that in one of her multiple visions she might've had to keep an eye on me, she saw me answer to one of her attempts.
I pressed send, and waited for her to speak.
"Oh, wow. You answered, finally. I feel so honored. You know I wouldn't bother calling you if it wasn't important." Alice started.
I sighed. What message did she have to pass along for her to insist that much ?
"What is it, Alice ?" I asked in a flat, emotionless voice.
"I'm taking the next plane to Forks. I saw Victoria. She's going back there, her mind set on revenge. We need to finish what we started and I was expecting you to come too."
Just when I thought I made the right choice to step away from Aiyanna's life, I realized that we had gone too far for her to be safe even with us away. Instead of fleeing to make her life better, I realized that we actually left her unprotected.
"You were expecting ? Why are you not sure ?" I asked.
"Because I can't see Aiyanna anymore. I did my best and didn't watch after her, but when I saw Victoria's plans I realized that I actually can't see anything related to Aiyanna. I've been checking with the people around her, and everything seems to be normal, but I still can't see her. Something's blocking me, and when I try to see further in Victoria's plans I can't see anything either and I wouldn't be able to tell you why."
My once void body started to be shaken with emotions for the first time in so long. Anxiety.
Was there anything left to protect ? Did Victoria already make her move ? What if we were too late ? What if, like last time, it already happened ? Alice's uncertainty was making me uneasy.
I prohibited every member of my family, myself included, from going back to Forks because I believed that Aiyanna deserved to be happy. She deserved to live.
And yet, Victoria wanted to take that right away from her, because of me again.
"This is our responsibility. We left Aiyanna unprotected and I refuse to let Victoria put her hand on her again. And before you say anything about your rules, we won't break them. All we have to do is get to Victoria before she gets to Aiyanna without being seen."
I had made a promise to Aiyanna. If I went back to Forks even just to hunt, would I be strong enough not to go to her house to catch just a whiff of her scent, or climb up the tree behind her house and see her face one last time ?
It had been the hardest thing for me to leave one time, how much strength would I need for me to go away a second time ?
"I just called to let you know that I was going back to Forks. I will not warn the others. It will slow me down. But I was hoping you'd come, Edward."
[Present time]
I came...
...and it didn't go as expected.
I strongly believed that we could hunt Victoria while keeping Aiyanna oblivious to our coming, but never would I have imagined that we would actually hunt with her.
When I went outside and went to the nearest airport, I realized that I had spent seven months crawled into a rat hole without any notion of time.
Seven months had been enough for Aiyanna to completely change her appearance and turn into creatures I never thought I would meet again.
Victoria was already too far for me to catch even a glimpse of her thoughts inside the cold and dark water. As for Alice, the fact that she couldn't have a vision of where Victoria was headed next, had been disturbing her ever since we started to hunt.
It was because of one external factor that we failed to anticipate.
The shapeshifters.
We had met their last pack eighty years ago, with which we agreed to respect the treaty that we violated today.
"I thought they couldn't turn anymore." Alice thought as she swam back to the surface.
So did I.
What I never would have even thought of, was for Aiyanna to be a part of them.
She was there. At least, her body was because her mind had gone blank. I couldn't catch any of her thoughts.
Something happened in our fall. I felt it, but I believed she felt it twice as much as I did.
There was this invisible pull that was linking her to me, or was it actually the contrary ? Was it actually pulling me to her ? Why ?
Her body had gone rigid as soon as we looked at each other.
Despite the darkness of the water we were in, I could clearly distinguish the wolf that was sinking, making no effort to come back to the surface.
Was it possible that she may have passed out ?
There was no time for me to wonder. Her heart was beating slower at each second.
My body swam instinctively in her direction.
How was it possible for my own existence to bring only danger to a life that mattered the most to me ?
She had all the reasons to be who I was waiting for. Meeting her made me once believe in destiny, and yet, all I could bring her were nothing but fear and danger.
Once at a close distance, I was unable to touch as someone else had gotten to her before I did. It was another Quileute I didn't recognize who I believed was also a part from her pack, or else how would he have found the strength to bring a wolf her size to the surface ?
His thoughts showed no signs of discontentment towards me. It was as if, he didn't even acknowledge my presence. His train of thoughts was only focused on Aiyanna.
I watched him swim back to the surface effortlessly.
I had no choice but to follow behind. I didn't find the strength to leave her, certainly not in this situation where she was in between life and death.
Once our heads were outside the water, the wolves howled from the beach, some from the cliff.
Their thoughts were all mixed. While some were worried about Aiyanna as she wasn't responding to them calling her through telepathy, others were fuming because of the fact that we trespassed their land.
Alice was quick to appear beside me.
"Do we have to go ?" she thought, fearing they'd hear her.
Our plan had only been to hunt Victoria. We were not meant to stay, which was why we allowed ourselves to cross their territory. However, whatever would happen to us, I would have to go. I was being pulled to where she was being taken as if I was her marionette.
I nodded, and without a word, we followed the young guy carrying Aiyanna's wolf on his back.
The boy laid the wolf on the side, and started knocking the water out of its lungs. There was so much of it.
The moment my foot met the sand I never thought I'd step on in my existence, I was hit with the realization of what we have done.
I was getting burried under the insults and the threats of the wolves who were already on the beach and from those who were coming down from the cliff through the forest.
However all of this was nothing compared to the fear of not hearing Aiyanna's heart beat faster than it already was at the moment. I stayed there, frozen, unable to move and be of any help and even if I could be, I doubted they'd let me do it.
My body which used to be frozen in its position fell on its knees when Aiyanna's heartbeat and breathing accelerated. Whimping sounds came from within her as she slowly regained consciousness.
I never believed I would be grateful for the fast movement of a wolf's underbelly as it took small breaths.
The wolf's eyes blinked slowly before it looked directly at me. Tears fell from them and ran down its fur.
I was submerged by her emotions, as if they were my own.
It was the first time that I was able to feel her feelings so directly. Contrarily to Jasper, I wasn't dotted with that gift, but with Aiyanna, it felt as if a new gift had been given to me.
I could feel the depth of what I believed was love, and deep down, the most selfish part of myself, was delighted that she hadn't forgotten me. These feelings had taken the form of a kind of warmth that was powerful enough to warm up this frozen body of mine.
I didn't want to be deprived of it. I never wanted to deprive myself from its source.
"Impossible..."
"But he's a blood-sucking leech !"
"SILENCE !"
It was incredible how powerful their telepathy was, but also how powerful the voice of the leader was on them.
The bigger one of them, the one whose fur were almost as black as his eyes, nudged Aiyanna who hadn't move from her position, with his nose, which caused her to whimp louder and more frequently as if she was crying.
"You imprinted on him, didn't you ?"
Behind the confusion around what they were refering to, I hated myself for being the cause of Aiyanna's tears.
She imprinted on me. What was that ?
As if she only realized what happened once the word was finally said, Aiyanna suddenly stood on her four legs, and ran away to regain the woods.
The one who had turned human to rescue her, stood up as well and was ready to turn and run after her, but the leader stopped him from doing so.
"Leave her be. All of you. Turn back to human." he instructed them.
"What ? But there are leeches on our territory." one of them contested, but I couldn't decipher which one of them it was.
"I said, turn back to human." he ordered.
As if his voice was indisputable, they started to turn naked one by one in front of Alice and I, and quickly put on the pair of shorts they had wrapped around their ankle.
"What the..." Alice thought, as she didn't see that coming.
Once all of them, except the black one, were all turned, the leader that I could now recognize by his voice, sent one last message to Aiyanna before he turned as well :
"Take the time you need. Whoever and whatever form our imprint takes, the rest of us will have to respect the rules. You can leave without worry." he told her.
Through his thoughts, I could see the images of the trees Aiyanna was running by. Her thoughts and emotions were hitting her like a wave that she couldn't handle all at once.
The faster she ran away from me, and the harder it was for me to handle the distance. Something was happening inside of me, something much deeper than the pain I felt during those seven months away from her. It was as if, an unknown member of my body was departing from myself.
"I'm sorry, Sam." was the only answer Aiyanna gave him before he sighed and turned back to human as well.
From then, I wasn't able to access her thoughts anymore. We were disconnected.
Like the rest of his pack, Sam put on his piece of clothes, and stared at us with authority contrarily to the rest of them who were trying their best to refrain their murder impulses.
But why ?
"You violated the treaty made by our kind and yours by stepping on our land." Sam reminded us.
"We are aware of it, but we couldn't allow ourselves to lose Victoria and let her be a threat to Aiyanna again. I will take the entire responsibility for our actions." I answered, trying to make my voice sound clearer than the monotone one I have been speaking with for the past two days.
"We will look over your actions this once, since we've been trespassing on your land as well during your absence. But this will be the last time."
"Thank you."
"You can leave..." Sam told us.
I was eyeing the direction in which Aiyanna disappeared. I found myself wanting to follow the scent that she left behind.
Now that she was gone, I was started to get hit by the wet dog scent emanating from the members of her pack. Hers, had been completely different. It was a stronger version of her human scent that was able to cover all scents around me.
"...but, I would advise you not to go after Aiyanna. I am in no position to tell you what to do, and I shouldn't, but she has been through a lot lately. Your presence will not help. At least, not yet."
I could only nod.
Although he had been the one to tell Aiyanna not to worry, he was the one who worried about her the most now that he had his thoughts to himself.
Instead of going in the direction Aiyanna had taken, I let Alice follow me in the other direction until we reached the town I never thought I would come back to after taking my decision last September.
"What just happened ?" Alice finally asked me when we stopped running.
"It was Aiyanna. She became a shapeshifter too."
"I think I got that, but what really happened ?"
"They said she imprinted on me, but I don't know what it means." I answered, before I sighed. "Give me the phone."
Alice had put our phones in a waterproof bag, as she anticipated the fact that Victoria would lead us to water.
I flipped my phone open once Alice gave it to me and dialed Carlisle's number for the first time in seven months.
I remembered the messages sent by Rosalie who, out of all the members of our family, had been the one who kept reaching out to me or in other words, harassing me during my absence. As if she knew I would read them.
And I did, in the beginning, until I started feeling the pain I inflicted to the rest of my family.
The messages had been about Carlisle who never smiled, how sad and empty Esme felt since I left or how she wasn't pleased by the fact that Emmett who was usually the most lively of us all, started to look too much like me.
She made sure to make me feel guilty in each of her messages, hoping it would trigger me to come back to them, but I never did. I never found the strength to face them.
Carlisle answered at the first tone, his voice filled with surprise and worry.
"Edward ? Where are you ? Did something happen to you ?"
"It's Edward ?" I heard Esme's voice behind him.
"Carlisle. I am back in Forks." I told him. "Something happened that I am yet to understand but I have made my decision. I am not leaving again."
A/N : This is it for New Moon. I hope you liked this version of New Moon that was very focused on Aiyanna due to Edward's absence. For now, I would say it is probably my favorite since I was able to work on her character and talk more about the wolves that we don't really see/read in the original version.
Thank you for reading, for being patient with my inconsistent updates and for sharing your thoughts on this story that never fail to make me happy.
What were your thoughts about this story ? Were you disappointed or on the contrary, liked certain points ?
PS : If there were any vocabulary or grammar mistakes in the chapters so far, I'd like to apologize in advance. I might not see them as English isn't my first language.