Twilight Fan Fiction ❯ The Fragrance of the Perfect Lie ❯ Oddly Satisfying ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

To Bella's relief, Gym class and the humiliating memories it held on to ended pretty quickly. She had observed four volleyball matches with a shudder; she knew that she wouldn’t manage to survive through a single volleyball match without battle scars. These everyday troubles distanced themselves as a more serious question loomed overhead; what would her next move be? The delicacy of her situation became clearer and clearer to her now; she has complete control of her fate again.

Her “first” encounter with Edward had made it very apparent that monsters and magic never existed in the first place. Her hand on the door of the Chevy froze in surprise as this thought sunk in. It meant that all of the vampire and werewolf myths she had accepted what seemed like ages ago had been a figment of her subconscious. Her mind went numb with shock, and before she knew it, her Chevy was riding down a very familiar, woodsy road.

An unconscious stream of tears slid down her cheek, when she finally realized where she was going. The two walls of trees and plants that surrounded her faded away into an elaborate drive way. Through her squinty eyes, she recognized a bright white mansion – the Cullens’ house. Before she could even think about turning around, Alice Cullen appeared next to her speckled window. She hesitated before cranking the window handle down - what possible excuse could she give Alice to explain why she was at her house?

“Hello Bella,” Alice peered through the window with a furrowed brow.

“Hi Alice,” Bella murmured shyly, not meeting her curious gaze.

"What are you doing here?" Alice's tone implied, "How you know where I live?"

“I-I…” Bella stuttered, wracking through her brain for a good excuse. “I heard that you guys are having a party, and I wanted to know when it was. I don’t know your number, so...” She silently prayed that Alice wouldn’t see through her half-lie. At lunch, Jessica had gushed over the details of her boyfriend’s party that would occur in his house. Although she desperately wanted to build a real relationship with the Cullens, her opinions on parties hadn’t wavered at all.

“Oh yeah, that party! It’s tomorrow at 6:00, after school. Everybody’s invited, so you can come if you want to. It’s just a get-together thing since it’s the beginning of the year, and all.” Alice’s suspicious expression immediately faded.

“That sounds fun, of course I’ll come,” she replied cheerfully. “See you tomorrow, Alice.” She said as she gave a little wave. Alice nodded and curiously peered into the back of Bella’s truck until it became a tiny, red beetle on the road. Alice felt a light hand press onto her shoulder and turned around.

“Who was that?” Rosalie asked with an ‘I-couldn’t-care-less’ expression on her face. Only a faint glitter of scattered emotions – curiosity and amusement – in her eyes gave her intentions away.

“Bella Swan, the girl that Edward saved in the cafeteria today. I could be wrong, but…I think she has a crush on Edward,” Alice explained, her brow furrowed in concentration. Yes, her intuition had hinted that Bella Swan would visit, but not exactly because of the party they were throwing.

“Of course she does – and it’s not only because your “predictions” have never been wrong yet – every girl in Forks High has a crush on him,” Rosalie rolled her eyes.

"She could be a better girlfriend for Edward," Alice's tone was thoughtful. "She doesn't stare at him with empty heads and drooling mouths the way the other girls do." Edward - being naturally handsome - commonly received a variety of stares from girls. Bella's stare was very puzzling and strange indeed; it was as if she were staring at a long-lost lover that she hadn't seen in years.

Alice didn’t worry about this stare too much; she could tell from the gentleness in her stare that she didn’t mean any harm. She shrugged off her suspicions and in a graceful pose, followed Rosalie back to their front door.

Bella arrived at her house in irritation - a downpour of rain caught her by surprise - and greeted Charlie on the way to her room. I can't imagine the Cullens throwing a party. Seeing as Alice is still Alice, it must've been her idea. She absolutely loathed parties, but she grudgingly accepted that this was one party that she had to crash. She needed to know how different the real Cullens were from her “dream” Cullens.

She took a quick shower and swiftly dressed into her pajamas. She knew that it was too early to go to bed, but she had to sleep again and discover what the next events in her dreams would be. She snapped the lights off and crawled into her snug bed impatiently. After a few silent minutes, she thought about her dream Edward and suddenly ached for his cold, comforting touch.

She felt a hollow ache in her chest that was similar to the ache she felt when her dream- Edward left. At that moment, she had no idea what she would do to fix her relationship with Edward; it hurt her deeply to know that he was dating at all, nonetheless Jessica Stanley! Sharp pains of jealousy stabbed at her heart, greedily chewing at the edges of her chest.

Jealousy eventually changed into anger, sadness, and back into an exhaustion that sent Bella into deep, unwelcoming sleep. She first dreamt about the empty maze that had haunted her endlessly for months, and it flashed back into her subconscious as quickly as it came. Finally, her dreams settled into a warm scene that had ended last night.

Bella had to rub her eyes twice before she could believe what she was seeing. She was standing at the edge of her meadow, and there was Edward, bare-chested and beckoning his pale finger over to the spot next to him. She unthinkingly skipped over to the middle of the sunny meadow and curled her arms around his chest. She inhaled his wonderful scent and her heart thumped unevenly at his welcoming touch.

Edward put a finger under her chin and lifted it so they could meet each other’s gazes. His warm, butterscotch eyes met her own brown eyes in amusement.

“I’ve missed you,” His velvety voice was saturated with happiness.

“I missed you too,” Bella replied, lightly tracing the contours of his flawless face. Their lips softly met, and as always, the kiss became rough as she entwined her fingers into his bronze hair. Surprisingly, Edward didn’t protest and their caresses became much more urgent than they were both used to.

Bella became utterly hypnotized in their unusual kiss and didn’t stop to notice the sky darken. A loud noise that sounded like an enormous heart beat replaced the usual chirping of birds and insects. A chilly heaviness in the air seemed to sigh its deadly breath and the flowers that surrounded the meadow turned into dust. The consistent heartbeat continued to thump, but Bella mistook it for her own.

Bella broke the spell of the kiss and felt an undeniable fear that someone was behind her. She jerked around and saw only the blackened trees and the dust that had once been colorful flowers. An ominous fog seeped into the meadow and finally caught her attention; there was something terribly wrong here. Her muscles protested against her stillness and warned her run as fast as possible.

She unwillingly turned back around and a piercing scream escaped her throat. Edward was glaring at her hungrily, and his eyes were completely black, filled with an ancient evil that had been around since the dawn of man. This wasn’t the Edward she knew; deep down, she knew it was the monster that Edward had repeatedly warned her about. She unsuccessfully tried to struggle against him, and his steely grip caught her left arm.

“Why did you leave me Bella?” An unfamiliar voice came out of Edward’s mouth. He grinned a smile that would only belong to a hunter, and grabbed her other arm.

“You’re not Edward!” Bella repeated over and over again until the three words became meaningless. ‘This is only a nightmare! Wake up right now!’ she screamed at her subconscious. She gave one last scream of terror before she woke up to find Charlie right in front of her, gripping her shoulders in fear.

“Bella, you were screaming in your sleep. What happened?” Charlie pulled her into a comforting embrace. She felt a few tears fall from her eyes and buried her face into his shoulder.

“I-it was n-n-nothing. Just a-a bad n-nightmare,” Bella replied groggily.

“It’s 5:30 am right now. You look really tired, try to go back to sleep,” he put a hand to Bella’s forehead. “You have a fever. I’ll call the school to let them know that you’re not going to school.” His words were already fading as she fell back into a dreamless sleep.

Bella woke up with a start and squinted against the bright light that filtered through her window. She twisted her neck towards her alarm clock that glowed 2:30 pm. A note underneath it caught her attention and she held it in her hands carefully.

I’ll be back by 6:30 tonight, call me if you need anything.
Love, Dad

Below the clumsy scrawl was the number to the local police department. She suppressed a sigh and stretched out her arms, feeling her elbows creak in protest. She was disheartened as she stared at the note.; she remembered in clarity every single detail of her terrible nightmare last night. A big yawn filled the silence and she rushed into the bathroom, eager to take a hot shower.

Her nightmare only seemed to make her more nervous and eager for Edward’s upcoming party. Of course she was still planning to go; despite her dream, she still craved Edward’s company. She raced through her shower much more quickly than she anticipated, and dressed into a pair of worn out jeans and an old sweater.

As she brushed through her tangled locks; she searched through her wardrobe for the right outfit that she would wear for the party. She finally decided to wear a new pair of jeans and a blue sweater. She stubbornly fought against the images of her nightmare Edward; nothing would get in her way as she met the Cullens tonight.