POV: EDWARD CULLEN
Monday, October 30 2017
My siblings and I were sitting at our usual lunch table. Emmett and Rosalie were gazing into each other's eyes, having a silent conversation. Jasper was keeping to himself, staring at his untouched food tray. With his arm around Alice, she was chatting with me.
"She's about to walk in," she said. After Carlisle warned us about the new resident in Forks that he ran into at the hospital, Alice wanted to keep tabs. According to her, looking out for the girl's decisions was surprisingly easy.
I assumed it was because it affected our futures. I didn't know how, though.
'Not sure if it's permanent,' was what she said to Carlisle. I didn't expect her to apply to the school.
"We don't even know her name. How do you know you're searching for the right person, Alice?" Emmett asked.
"Her name is Isabella," I told him. They all looked to me now, puzzled. "She told Carlisle when he introduced himself. I caught it in his mind."
"Oh, right." Em went back to staring at his wife.
"I'm not really certain I know why I was able to see her so easily, but I know it's her."
I tilted my head in Alice's direction. "It's strange. Usually, you aren't able to see humans."
"Exactly. There's a reason I can see this one..." she mused. "I've gotta know what it is."
I grimaced. I hoped she was wrong. She rarely is, so the possibility that this girl might be at all involved in our lives was simply frustrating.
"It's impossible, really. We can't get close to huma—" Jazz's voice got cut off. On either side of him, Alice and Emmett suddenly clamped both of their hands down on his arms. We all froze in place.
We looked up, and our eyes locked on dark brown hair. The girl under it was facing opposite of us, but she was directly under an air vent. We were downwind of her, so her scent blew toward us.
It was mouthwatering. I thought I had known what to expect when I saw it in our father's mind, but I now realized that he would react differently to it since he is much more impervious to human blood than the rest of us. Having centuries of practice in the medical field, that is.
I immediately knew what he meant when he said it seemed like power was scorched in her veins. It, along with the pure wet sound of her heart, made my throat burn immensely. My siblings and I were having trouble staying glued to our seats. Especially Jasper.
Barely a second had passed since we sensed it, and the girl was about to sit down with a group of people I knew from my advanced biology class.
They spoke to her for a minute before she froze, then slowly but directly turned to face us. It was as if she felt our eyes on her.
She narrowed her eyes when she confirmed it, then turned away again, leaning toward the tall boy next to her that I knew to be named Ben.
"Who are they?" she whispered to him.
"The Cullens," he informed her, smiling to himself. Of course, she would notice them on her first day, he thought.
His 'tone' of mind was not sneering or annoyed at all, unlike Jessica Stanley, who sat across from him. It was just entertained.
Don't waste your time, new girl. If I'm not his type, no one is. Jealousy was singed in Jessica's shallow mind.
She and Rosalie would get along, I said to myself, rolling my eyes internally. And here I thought she was over her little fascination with me since she committed herself to Mike Newton.
"Their adoptive father is an amazing doctor at the hospital, and everyone there says they're grateful his wife wanted to move to a small town. They kind of keep to themselves, but they're really polite. And they're all together."
He wiggled his eyebrows to make it clear he meant romantically. Then he slightly turned to us—scarcely nervous that we were looking in his direction—to make sure what he was about to say was correct.
"On the left is Rosalie Hale, then Emmett Cullen. They're together. Then there's Jasper Hale, who's with Alice Cullen. He and Rose are twins. Then next to Alice is Edward Cullen, who isn't with anybody." He paused before saying, "They're staring at you."
"Still?"
"Probably just because you're new. We don't get many new people in this town." None since my family arrived two years ago, as far as I recall. "Oh, hey, what are your last two classes?"
She hesitated, trying to remember. "Biology with Mr. Banner, then gym with my brother."
Biology. I have the following class with this girl. And since the only space open is at my table, I have to sit next to her. For a whole hour.
Should I ditch? Do I really want to test myself today?
"Her brother is Coach Vincent," I told my family.
"I thought she told Carlisle she was alone?" Emmett asked.
"She did." I narrowed my eyes in annoyance.
Ben widened his eyes. "We have that bio, too! Well, except for Austin. And there's one last open seat on the table next to me, so I'll be close if you need anything."
What she'll need is protection from me.
"You're so nice. It's rare for me to come across. Thank you. You're really making me feel welcome in a place I never thought I would."
She was really kind. When I saw the memory of her meeting my father, it seemed like she was in a hurry. Not necessarily rude, but she sounded especially genuine now.
He grinned. "It's my honor."
My family was relaxed again. They resumed their previous state. Still caught off guard with her scent, but holding their breath helped with that.
I couldn't keep my eyes off her. She continued to nonchalantly join into their conversations, and from what I saw in their minds, they liked her.
I froze once again when I realized something that should not have taken me so long to notice.
I couldn't hear her mind.
I heard the others around her. I caught her name in their mind once in a while, but I didn't hear her.
"Guys," I whispered to my siblings.
They were shocked at my voice. It sounded strangled.
Alice was the most concerned. "Edward? What is it?"
"I can't hear her."
Emmett raised one eyebrow.
"Her mind," I clarified, irritated. "I can't hear her thoughts."
That fact made me even more uncomfortable than I was before.
"What?" Rose demanded. "How is that possible?"
I hesitated, staring at Isabella. I was trying desperately to focus my gift on her. My mind was zoomed enough that I could hear her voice above anyone else's, but I didn't hear a peep coming from her head. Nothing. Not a single word.
"I... don't... know." I shut my eyes tightly. It hurt to try. I could hear nothing but silence from the place she was sitting.
When the first bell rang, I was in a rush to get to my seat before Isabella could.
I held my breath before I sat down, awaiting her arrival—ready for her intense aroma to fill the small space. Preparing.
I heard her voice through the walls. She was humming, but I don't think anyone heard her. No one's mind registered it.
I wasn't sure whether or not I would speak to her today. It would be an easier decision to make if I was able to hear her mind.
Ben Cheney and his friends entered the room, but Isabella was nowhere in sight.
Without being able to track her mind, I couldn't find her. Her new friends were no help. They had other things on their minds.
Ben waited near the door for her, and I kept my eyes on him. His thoughts had no indication as to where she went. He was solely focused on Angela Weber.
What a pure mind, I noticed.
Suddenly, someone in the hallway spotted her. She was close.
Isabella paused in the threshold when she saw me. Her breathing stopped, and Ben happily showed her to her seat—next to me.
I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable under my gaze, so I stared ahead of me again, to the front of the room where Mr. Banner was soon to be.
I looked over to my left every once in a while, where her dark brown locks were pulled between us. I could barely see her face on the other side of them.
Our teacher finally came in, rushing to the television. He slipped a DVD in its slot, then fumbled around in his satchel for the remote.
Suddenly, Isabella took a quiet deep breath. I realized she had been without oxygen since she walked inside the classroom, and wondered how she could've held it for that long. It's been at least four minutes, but she didn't seem like she was gasping for air. It sounded normal.
Odd. Is she a swimmer?
"Okay, guys. I need to get caught up on grading papers, so I hope you're okay with watching a movie today. And probably tomorrow." Mr. Banner didn't look up while he spoke. He was fast-forwarding through the previews, impatiently tapping his fingers on his crossed arms.
I hadn't taken my eyes off the girl; I saw his actions in his mind and in the minds of others around me.
I heard when Isabella's lungs froze again, and suddenly the same power I felt in her presence earlier was back. And stronger.
It made her scent hit me harder. My fingers almost crushed through the entire table, and not just part of it, as I tried to block it from my mind.
The power was getting stronger, her blood enticing me to steal it.
Her body started to shake. Not enough for the other students to notice, but just enough for me to. Was she cold? Was being this close to my freezing body making her shiver? I didn't think it would. My chair was positioned the furthest it could be from her.
Jasper's mind was shouting. Not at me, but at himself. I usually can't hear him at this time. He's far enough away where I don't have to try to stay out of his head. He was all the way on the other side of the school.
Danger! Danger! Eliminate the threat!
His mood-sensing ability caused him to freak out. I wanted to run to him, to assure him everything was fine, but I couldn't around so many people.
The very back of my mind wondered if it was the girl next to me. The power I felt from her reminded me of rage. Self-preservation. Manipulation.
Mostly control. Or lack thereof.
The front of my mind was focused solely on my brother. My newest, out-of-mind, suffering brother.
I silently begged him to relax. If there were a genuine danger, I'd know. I'd hear it. He should know that and realize his panic was unnecessary. I could tell that he couldn't pinpoint exactly where he thought the threat was. Just that it was apparently close enough for him to want to attack. Somewhere in the school.
Mr. Banner was finally at the main menu. He pressed play, set down the remote, and walked over to turn off the lights.
Before he could reach the switch, Isabella had grabbed her bag and was now heading out the second classroom door behind me. Ben Cheney and Angela Weber looked after her, confusion clouding their thoughts. They glanced at each other, and both nonverbally wondered if she was okay. Ben shrugged.
The lights were off now, and so was the powerful energy. I heard Jasper as he started to relax.
What just happened?