The house somehow looked bigger the second time Leigh visited.
The dimming, evening light enlarged its shadows and blurred its angles, turning into one large hunk of timber and glass. It somehow looked inviting, though - buttery light pouring from the windows and pooling on the driveway.
Leigh hopped out of the car, shutting Tammy's door with gentle affection as the Cullens exited their respective cars. Driving behind them had been an absolute nightmare; she hadn't known the way, as Rosalie had driven her last time and gone far too fast for her to register the route. They all had some kind of adrenaline craving, as they drove through the tiny, winding lanes at a blinding speed, having to pull over when they got too far ahead for Leigh to catch up. She wasn't going to break any laws, even if they did.
"You need a new car," Emmett said, popping up on Leigh's left.
She startled. "Would you stop that? I go into cardiac arrest every time and my little heart can't take it."
He frowned. "Stop what?"
"Just appearing from nowhere, with no warning," she huffed, stuffing her phone and keys in her pocket.
"Oh, sorry," he said, waving his hand in dismissal. "Sometimes I forget to act human around you."
She scoffed, before frowning. "And why are you still hating on my car?"
"Because it's shit."
"You take that back!"
"I'm surprised it's still running, honestly."
She lifted her hand to smack his arm, but then remembered he was literally made of marble, dropping it again with a glower. He sent her a grin, before moving toward the house.
Alice's arm slid through Leigh's, once again making her jump, and the brunette began to lead her in the direction the rest of her siblings were moving. They were taking the real front door, this time, as opposed to going through the garage.
"I'm glad you and Rose made up," Alice said, quietly but still with a spark of excitement.
Leigh cleared her throat, a little uneasy. "Uh, yeah, me too."
"Esme has been missing you," she said.
Leigh's face faltered on its way to a frown, lingering in a half-smile. "That's sweet of her."
Alice opened the door for her, ushering her through into another blindingly white hallway. There were pictures and paintings on the walls, though, as well as antiquities on the surfaces and a few more bits and bobs that made it seem a little more homely. The whole place smelt strongly of honey and jasmine, but Leigh soon realised that wasn't the house, it was the inhabitants.
"Leigh!" Esme sang as they entered the living room, clapping her hands. "Oh, it's so good to see you again!"
Leigh couldn't help but smile at the beaming woman, accepting the hug she offered. "You too, Esme."
"How have you been?" she asked.
Leigh blinked a few times, nodding. "Uh, yeah, fine. You?"
"Very well, thank you."
Jasper and Edward disappeared almost immediately, apparently not finding Leigh very interesting, but the others settled themselves in various positions around the room. Leigh didn't pay them very much attention, apart from one. Rosalie removed her jacket, before slipping her hands into her pockets and standing by the window. Leigh felt as if she'd been punched in the gut just looking at her - she was truly devastating.
She felt her phone buzz in her pocket. It was probably Lorrie - she had agreed to let Leigh go and see the Cullens again, but she would most likely text every half-hour until she was home.
"Uh, Rosalie said Carlisle wanted to talk to me?"
"He's not home, yet, dear," Esme said. "He'll be back soon, though. Would you like me to make you some food, or something?"
"Oh, no, thank you," Leigh said, shaking her head. "I'm not hungry."
"I could show you the rest of the house."
Leigh still wasn't quite used to Rosalie speaking to her in a casual, soft tone.
The blonde arched an eyebrow. "If you want."
It took Leigh a few moments to remember how to speak. "Yeah. Okay."
She refused to look at Emmett or Alice, as she knew the expression they'd be wearing, and she was already embarrassed enough. Rosalie motioned for her to follow as she headed back out into the corridor, Leigh flashing Esme one last smile.
It was suddenly a little easier to breathe when it was just her and Rosalie. She made her a lethal mixture of both more calm, and more anxious. Her heart coughed and spluttered, taken unawares by their aloneness, but her muscles were relaxed.
"Where were you this afternoon?"
Rosalie frowned, glancing at Leigh over her shoulder and pausing on the stairs. "What?"
"You weren't in the library," Leigh said with a shrug.
"Oh," Rosalie said, continuing to walk. "They were doing blood typing in the bio labs, so I walked in the woods last period."
Leigh nodded. The library was right next to the bio labs, but there was still a fair amount of distance and brick between them. She wondered how far their sense of smell actually extended, before dismissing the thought. It didn't really matter.
As they climbed the stairs, they passed a large, framed canvas of graduation caps layered over one another in an array of colours. Leigh paused, pointing to it in questioning when Rosalie turned around.
"We matriculate a lot," she said simply, before carrying on.
Leigh laughed lightly.
By the time they reached the top of the stairs, she was out of breath. Activity had become a little harder for her over the last couple of weeks, even the bare minimum such as climbing a staircase. She just had no energy.
"You okay?" Rosalie asked, eyebrows pulling together in mild concern when Leigh paused, bracing herself against the banister.
"Yeah," she breathed, nodding. "Sorry."
"Don't apologise," Rosalie said. "Whenever you're ready."
Leigh caught her breath, smiling apologetically at Rosalie who stood waiting, but she didn't seem phased. When Leigh straightened up, she simply began walking again, though her pace slowed significantly.
"That's Alice and Jasper's room," Rosalie said, voice drained of volume.
She led Leigh past that door quite quickly, probably because Jasper was behind it.
"This is Emmett's," she continued, gesturing to the next door. "We used to share it, but..."
They both knew what the was going to say.
"That's Edward's," she added, pointing to the door on the opposite wall. "And that's Carlisle and Esme's."
Leigh nodded, unsure as to how she was supposed to react to a series of doors. They passed them to the end of the corridor, finding another staircase.
"Wait," Leigh said. "Do you not have one?"
Rosalie shrugged. "I don't really need one. I don't sleep."
"But, like, do you have your own space?"
The blonde frowned for a moment. "I guess not."
They climbed the next staircase more slowly, giving Leigh time to recuperate. She began to get frustrated with herself - she used to surf for five hours a day before she got sick, and now she couldn't even walk up a simple flight of stairs without panting for breath. Rosalie appeared to sense this frustration, but didn't comment.
"This is our, sort of, library area," Rosalie said as she opened the door at the top of the stairs.
Leigh stepped out into the large room, eyebrows flying up.
The two side walls were cased in bookshelves stuffed full with various volumes, the scent of paper and fabric covers washing over her. The floor was shined wood, gleaming in the golden lamplight, various armchairs and couches dotted around along the stretch of the whole room.
"Wow," Leigh breathed, impressed.
Rosalie walked a little further into the room, arms folded across her chest as she looked around. "Yeah, it's pretty cool."
"You guys are, like, rich rich."
Rosalie's lips twitched toward a smile, but didn't quite make it.
Leigh began to walk along one of the bookshelf walls, looking over the books. They were all hardback, with faded covers and elegantly written titles, though there was not a speck of dust on any of them. She was about to ask if they had a painfully meticulous cleaner, but then she remembered - dust was mostly shedded human skin, and vampires probably didn't do that. That was why their house was so freakishly clean.
"Can I ask you a question?"
Leigh looked up, surprised to find that Rosalie was standing quite close, watching her face.
"Sure."
"How do you..." She searched for the right words. "...deal with it? Your leukaemia."
Leigh blinked. "Wow, okay, wasn't expecting that."
"I'm sorry, I've overstepped-
"No, it's fine," Leigh said. "I just wasn't expecting it, but I don't mind."
Rosalie's eyes settled on Leigh's face, genuine interest there. Leigh took a breath.
"How do you mean? Like, how do I deal with the implications, or the symptoms?"
"The, uh, implications."
"Ah," Leigh said, nodding. "How do I deal with my aggressively apparent mortality?"
Rosalie's face scrunched into a grimace.
"Well, statistically, seven out of ten people aged from fifteen to twenty four will survive for five years or longer," Leigh said, shrugging. "But, sometimes I wonder if it's worth it."
The silence that followed was dense and claggy.
"Do I really want to keep 'living' if it means I have to go to hospital every day?" Leigh murmured, looking down at her hands. "If I can't do anything for fear of getting sick? Is that worth it?"
Rosalie didn't speak.
"Of course, I would want to keep living for my family," she said, voice quietening. "Daniel needs me, even though he wouldn't admit it. And my parents..." She chuckled. "Well, they'd probably end up moving into the church if I died, despite their God not being able to save me." She shook her head, smile dissolving. "But a part of me thinks, wouldn't it be better not to draw it out? They don't want to see me in pain, and I don't want to see them suffering because of it. They need to mourn."
The silence returned.
"It's complicated," Leigh said, letting out a quiet, awkward laugh. "I don't think I deal with it at all, honestly."
Without a word, Rosalie reached out and took Leigh's hand.
Her skin was cool and hard, Leigh's warm and soft. Her grip wasn't crushing, but it was tight enough to make Leigh feel contained. Safe.
"I'm so sorry," Rosalie whispered.
Leigh pressed her lips together, squeezing her hand. "I'm sorry about what happened to you, too."
They met one another's eyes, caramel clashing with gold, and neither dared breath.
Leigh felt herself falling, again. Tumbling down into that same bottomless pit she had dug herself. There was no getting out of it, now. She was lost in Rosalie Hale.
That time, it was Rosalie that moved first.
She stepped forward, a little cautious, her face showing a twinge of pain at their closeness. Leigh hadn't even thought about it, before - that it must be hurting her for them to be so near. She stayed still, not wanting to make anything worse, but Rosalie continued to move, if slowly.
She hesitated a few centimetres from Leigh's face, swallowing. She was holding her breath.
Leigh's entire body was alight with tingles, her skin practically vibrating. She wanted to push forward, to meet Rosalie in the middle, but she didn't. She stayed still, and waited.
Rosalie was gentle at first, careful. She touched her lips to Leigh's, testing herself, before relaxing. Leigh melted into her.
They were a clash of fire and ice. A blistering chill. A burning frost.