✧

"Another missing hiker brings the total to three presumed dead. Rangers are searching for the killer animal..."

Mia turns off the radio and glances to the passenger seat, where a gift box wrapped in green and a golden bow is resting. It's Bella's birthday today and even though Bella's not a fan of birthdays, it doesn't mean Mia won't try to celebrate her in discretion.

It took a while to find the perfect gift seeing as there's not many things her best friend likes, but she managed to obtain a first edition of Emily Bronte's, Wuthering Heights. She's absolutely certain Bella will love it. Mainly since she had asked Alice to check her visions just in case she needed to find another gift. Turns out, Bella will love it and will take it everywhere to show it off.

Upon arriving at Forks High, Mia notices the familiar truck arriving just in time. She makes a turn into her parking spot and already knowing Bella won't enjoy being handed her gift in front of the others, she leaves the gift box to give later in private.

Jessica sighs in relief when seeing her, "About time you got here. Can you tell these guys the R and J essay is due today? They think it's due tomorrow despite Angela and I telling them they're wrong."

Mike rolls his eyes and frowns ever so slightly, "It's due tomorrow, Jess. I'm one hundred percent certain."

Mia hums in thought for a moment, "Well, you're one hundred percent wrong. The essay is due today, guys."

Eric freezes, his eyes widening in a full blown panic, "Please say you're joking. I cannot afford to fail if I want to be valedictorian."

Angela softly chuckles, "That is if Jess doesn't beat you."

"She's the number one in our class," Mia wraps an arm around her, both of them staring at Eric with a satisfied smirk.

"And Mia is on track on being salutatorian," the Stanley girl adds, which makes Eric roll his eyes at the competitive pair.

"Unless she beats you," Mike teases with a smile before being forced to lose it once Jessica glares at him with a heavy stare. "Or maybe not. I could be wrong."

Bella finally arrives with her backpack slouched against her back. She greets them with an awkward smile and practically feels her heart drop once Mia turns to her with a wide smile and eyes beholding birthday congratulations.

"Today's the day, Bella," Jessica excitedly says, but loosens her delight when receiving an unimpressed stare. "Uh, R and J essay due."

Bella tucks a strand of her hair behind her ear, "Oh, yeah."

Mike extends his arm in a dramatic way and begins speaking in an accent, "Wherefore art thou, Bella?"

Mia narrows her eyes into slits and shakes her head in disapproval, "Okay, that's a terrible English accent."

He scoffs in offense and reaches over to ruffle her hair knowing how much she hates it, "I pretty much nailed it, little Grey. You're just too judgy."

"I'm not judgy," she points her finger at him in an authoritative way, making him take cover behind Jessica to avoid her imminent wrath. "Oh, really? Now you're just going to hide?"

"You have my man traumatized, M," Eric attempts pushing him out of his hiding spot, but Mike remains resilient in remaining protected by his human shield.

"Let me take a picture of you guys," Bella suddenly blurts out and pulls out a camera from her bag. "My mom wants me to put together, like, a scrapbook full of memories."

Mia doesn't think twice in getting ready for the picture. She fixes her hair and stands next to Jess as she tries coming up with a pose that isn't awkward.

"I take them. I'm not in them," Angela tries stepping out of the frame, but Eric shakes his head in refusal and pulls her closer by the waist.

"You'll photoshop this if my nose looks big, right?" Jessica questions while fixing her hair and posing for the picture.

"Don't worry, I'm in the picture," Eric reassures her in a teasing way. "No one will be looking at you guys."

"In your dreams, Eric," Mia reaches over to ruffle his hair and laughs when he tries getting her back by doing the same.

Bella smiles and focuses the lens on her friends, the clicking sound alerting them of the picture having finally been taken, "That's good."

The sound of the familiar Volvo catches their attention and Mia smiles widely when seeing Edward parking his car. Her heart starts leaping in ecstasy as her face starts displaying a rosy tint. Despite months of dating, he still manages to make her nervous as if they were still in the crush stage. God, she will never get tired of these heartfelt jitters.

"Oh, good. Cullen's here," Mike says in a low voice, his tone lacing with irritation and bitterness. Clearly after months, he's still not used to Mia and Edward dating as he's uncertain of what she saw in him in the first place.

"We'll talk to you later, M," Jessica hugs her one last time before the group parts away, leaving only her and Bella standing.

Edward starts heading in her direction, a smile appearing just as quick as he sees her. Warmth envelopes him like a blanket as his pupils begin to dilate the closer he gets. Being with her has truly been the greatest of gifts that he can't fathom anything better than this.

"You're early," he comments and rests his hands on her waist, their bodies now pressing against the other.

"Or maybe you're too late," Mia curls her fingers around the buttons of his plaid shirt and begins pulling him to land a kiss, but that's when she remembers the gift she needs to give Bella. She leans away and gasps when seeing her discreetly start heading to the entrance. "Hold on, Isabella Marie Swan."

"Not the government name," Bella leans her head back, groaning at the sound of her full name that only happens whenever she's trying to get her attention or is about to get reprimanded.

Mia softly laughs and hastily grabs the neatly wrapped gift box from her car. She gallops gracefully toward her and hands her the gift with a bright smile, "Happy birthday, Bells!"

"Happy birthday, Bella," Edward says before parting away to give them some privacy.

"I thought we agreed on no presents," she complains, but still takes the box from her hands.

Mia shakes her head, "No. You agreed, I did no such thing."

Bella playfully rolls her eyes and begins unwrapping it, feeling appreciative for her friend having gone through the trouble of getting her something. Halfway into raising the lid, she already recognizes the cover of her favorite book and is left completely stunned.

"You did not," she gasps, quickly unveiling it and becoming even more surprised when seeing a first edition of Bronte's classic. "Are you kidding? Oh, my God! I love it!"

Proudly, Mia flips her hair back and places her hands on her hips, "I would take the full credit, but Alice helped me with it."

"First edition? That must have cost you a fortune," Bella holds the book carefully, gently caressing the edges and flipping through the pages. "Thank you so much!"

Mia's unable to prevent her smile from becoming wider as Bella pulls her in for an embrace. She's glad her friend liked the gift, especially after how much she tried avoiding getting celebrated on her special day.

"So, what's the plan for tonight?" she questions, playfully nudging her on the arm. "Any awkward dinners of any sort?"

"Jake and I are going to the city. He says he has a surprise planned and I'm actually excited," Bella's eyes light up at the sound of her boyfriend's name, her face now displaying a bright crimson.

"You should be excited. You only turn 18 once," Mia can't wait until she officially becomes an "adult." It's hard being a year younger than the rest of her friends, but hey, it's not like she can complain. Surprisingly, it helps her get her way since they see her as their baby sister.

Frowning, Bella reaches for the top of her head as if worried about something, "Don't even mention it. Charlie gave me the greatest scare when saying I already had gray hair."

Mia inspects her hair closely, knitting her brows together and reaching over for a strand of her locks. She knows it's awful teasing someone about their age on their birthday, but it's barely Bella's 18th, so it's not like she'd be mocking an actual old age. "I mean, he wasn't lying. There's a small one coming in."

"Wait, what? No, it can't be possible," Bella grips onto her hair as she tries maintaining her fear of aging on the minimum, but when seeing her best friend's devious smile, she realizes she's been tricked for the second time. "Wow. Very funny, Mia Katherine Grey."

"Hey, don't bring my full name into this," she tries keeping her laughter on the low, but seeing her fall for her trick definitely makes it harder to do so.

"You brought mine into it first," Bella argues, nudging her on the shoulder before placing her book carefully inside her bag. "Anyway, I'll be heading inside now. Edward is practically shooting daggers at me so I leave you two alone."

"Call me later today to tell me all the details," Mia departs from her side and heads to Edward, who is quick to place his arms around her. She smiles and leans her head back for a better view, "You seem eager to see me."

"Can't wait for your birthday to come around," he says, his golden eyes filling with excitement and longing. "I have so many ideas on how to celebrate you."

"My birthday was two months ago," she points out, leaning closer to him. "How can you be planning already?"

"Well, like you said, you only turn 18 once," Edward's low voice sends shivers down her spine and it sure doesn't help the way he keeps staring at her with such a lustful and passionate look.

"And what would we do to celebrate?" Mia places an arm around his neck while the other rests at the base of his waist. Her warm fingertips make their way to the inside of his shirt, causing him to form a low whimper and smile nervously.

"Are you trying to seduce me, little witch?" Edward tilts his head slightly as he caresses the apples of her cheeks.

She nonchalantly shrugs, "I don't have to try. You know I already did."

Coming closer, their faces are nearly grazing the other, but before their lips are able to crash unceremoniously, the damned bell rings.

Closing their eyes in frustration, they reluctantly start heading toward class despite wanting to ditch for the rest of the day, but they know better. Besides, it's not like they won't spend time together later today since they're having dinner at the Cullen house.

So for now, all they can do is wait.

__________________

Sitting in the back of the English classroom with their desks pushed together, Mia and Edward are quietly watching Romeo and Juliet. Well, attempting to since Eric's sniffles and Mike's snores are making it harder to remain focused on the tragic film.

Mia rests her chin on her hand and rolls her eyes at Romeo's quick decision on joining his beloved in the afterlife without making sure if she's actually alive or not. This tragedy could have been avoided if he waited just a little longer, but no. He just had to take drastic measures within the blink of an eye. If both of them had communicated beforehand, none of their deaths would have happened. Yet another example on how important it is to communicate with your partner.

"I can't believe Eric's crying," she whispers, noticing how nearly everyone is and there's rarely anyone becoming angered at Romeo's impulsivity. "Am I the only one that's annoyed with this?"

"No, you're not the only one," Edward sighs heavily as his gaze hardens within a second. "I understand. I mean, there are worse tragedies. Just look at Romeo. He killed his true love out of sheer stupidity."

"Couldn't agree more," she concurs and leans back against her chair. "I just hope in DiCaprio's version, they show Juliet waking up before Romeo dies."

"Another Romeo and Juliet adaptation?" Edward can't believe how many versions of the same story have been made. The 1968 version had been extremely accurate, so he's unable to comprehend why filmmakers insist on using the same storyline instead of creating a new one.

"It's coming out in November, which we're definitely seeing," Mia presses her lips in a tight line to avoid laughing at his vexed expression. Even though she's not a fan of romance movies, let alone tragedies (since she already has lots of tragedy in her life), she still wants to see this new adaptation just to see the modernized version that was chosen.

"If we're seeing that, we're seeing Scream in December then," Edward declares and she stares at him like he has grown two heads.

"I would have agreed either way. You know I love a good horror film," she turns back to the screen and loses her last thread of patience when seeing Juliet awaken seconds after Romeo passed. "Okay, I can't keep watching this."

He softly chuckles, but his humor vanishes as if a flip has been switched, "I do envy him in one thing."

"Juliet's extremely beautiful, so I don't blame you," Mia nonchalantly says and he laughs in disbelief that she would ever think he would lay eyes on anyone that's not her.

"Not the girl, the suicide," Edward admits and she turns to him with knitted brows, wondering why he would say such a thing. "It's nearly impossible for... for some people. For humans, a little poison, a dagger to the heart. There's so many different options."

Mia's quiet for a moment as fear and consternation rummages through her body like a poltergeist. A piercing pain gnaws at her heart at the thought of Edward killing himself. She already lost him once, so she can't imagine losing him again.

"Why are you saying this?" she questions, her voice low and barely a whisper.

"Because I had to consider it once," Edward remembers the sheer terror of seeing her lifeless body in his arms. He did everything he could to bring her back and had been fortunate that her heart started beating again, but during those torturous minutes of believing she was gone, all he could think of was ways on how to join her. "When I took you out of the lake, I was afraid I didn't reach you on time. I had to come up with some kind of... plan."

She's afraid of asking, but she needs to know, "What plan?"

"I'd go to Italy and provoke the Volturi," he calmly explains as if it isn't the craziest thing.

"The Volturi?" Mia recalls having read about them in a textbook once during her 1st year, but for some reason, she's having trouble remembering.

"The Volturi are-"

"Now, who'd like to repeat the last few lines of iambic pentameter just to show they were paying attention?" Mr. Berty interrupts and glances at them. "Mr. Cullen?"

"Yes, Mr. Berty," Edward takes a deep breath just when the entire class turns in his direction. "O here will I set up my everlasting rest and shake the yoke of inauspicious stars from this world-wearied flesh. Eyes, look your last. Arms, take your last embrace. And, lips, O you, the doors of breath seal with a righteous kiss a dateless bargain to engrossing death."

Mia turns to Mr. Berty with satisfaction that her boyfriend had successfully quoted the lines. Seems their teacher attempting to embarrass him didn't work.

"Eyes on the screen, people," Mr. Berty sternly says, his gaze embarrassed and annoyed.

"Look at you knowing your Shakespeare," Mia nudges him on the ribs, sending a gentle smile before readjusting her focus to their previous conversation. "What are the Volturi then?"

"Like you have the Ministry of Magic making sure wizards and witches follow the rules, the Volturi are a very old, powerful family," he explains in a lower voice when sensing Mr. Berty glancing their way. "I guess they're the closest thing to royalty my world has. Carlisle lived with them for a few decades and described them as very refined. No respect for human life, of course, but a respect for the arts and the sciences, at least. They also view your kind as extremely valuable and the greatest assets. To them, magic is a weapon, so whenever they have an encounter with a witch, they try to recruit them."

Mia's unable to prevent thinking of the Dark Lord's beliefs since like the Volturi, he holds no respect for human life. She can't even imagine what would happen if both groups chose to become allies, but of course, that's something only comprehensible in her worst nightmares.

"They respect the law. Above all, the law," Edward continues explaining. "Vampires only have one that is regularly enforced, which is that we keep the existence of our kind a secret. We don't make spectacles of ourselves and we don't kill conspicuously. Unless, of course, you want to die."

She breathes uncontrollably, her hands trembling at the thought of anyone laying a finger on him. There's no doubt in her mind that she would go to extreme lengths to protect him. Even if it means diving into her darkness.

"I can't imagine anyone hurting you," Mia tries shaking those plaguing thoughts from her head, but his words continue haunting her like a restless spirit. "I would literally set the world on fire if anyone did. That's a promise I will always maintain."

Edward gazes at her with adoration and rests his hand on top of hers, "Mia, the only thing that can hurt me is you and I don't have anything else to be afraid of."

"That's not making me feel any better," she grumbles in retaliation. "I don't ever want to be the cause of your pain. I love you too much to do that."

He smiles, "And I love you."

Inexplicably, the sudden thought of Victoria coming after him comes to mind. After James' death, she had vanished from the face of the earth. There hasn't been any sign of her regardless of the tracking spell being casted. It's almost like she's stopped existing and that enough makes her unsettled that she could attack at any moment.

Already knowing what she's thinking with just one look, he squeezes her hand reassuringly, "You don't have to worry about Victoria. Alice will see when she decides and we'll be ready."

"She better think twice about appearing," Mia grits her teeth, refusing to ever let the fiery vampire attempt to get near him or any of her loved ones. If she had been able to give James a fight, then she would have no trouble doing so with her. "I'll do everything to protect you. Never doubt it."

"Mia, you're already protecting me," Edward assures her, staring intently into her eyes that fill him with a deep serenity. "You're my only reason to stay alive, but it's my job to protect you."

"We both will protect each other," she corrects him, but her words bring an unfamiliar emotion to his face. The softness behind his gaze vanishes within a second that she can't help worrying there's something going on. "Are you okay?"

Edward's serious expression falters into a serene one in a quick second. He turns to her and smiles that charming smile of his that she loves, "I always will be if I'm by your side."

She rolls her eyes and turns away, "You're the cheesiest person I've ever met."

He lightly laughs, "Yeah, but you love that."

"Of course I do. Always," Mia glances back to the front of the classroom, completely unaware of Edward's smile disappearing and gaze filling with dread.

__________________

The Cullen house is full of various candles, soft music, and the delicious aromas of Mia's favorite foods. It's a weekly thing to spend an evening with the Cullens, so now they're gathered around the table sharing stories about anything that comes to mind.

"Hold on!" Alice springs from her seat, her loud voice making everyone turn to her in startlement. She gallops to the living room and comes back in a quick second with a camera in hand that she directs to Mia and Edward. "Show me the love!"

Mia glances toward him, expression soft and eyes full of love. Just looking at him makes her heart skip a beat and face start turning a rosy tint.

He turns to her and softly smiles, but it's not the kind of smile that matches his eyes. If anything, it's a forced one that's usually given when being imprisoned into a compromising event.

Just as the camera flashes, Edward loosens his insincere smile and glances the other way. Ever since English class, she's noticed that he's been more pensive. His mind appears to be somewhere else and whenever she asks him about it, he dismisses it as nothing but everyone's thoughts being extremely loud, which makes it harder for him to focus on anything.

But she knows better.

Something is wrong and it's bothering her not knowing if she can do anything to help.

"Can't believe you've been tolerating this guy for nearly a year now," Emmett voices in a playful manner, completely oblivious to the downcast mood. "I've been dealing with him much longer and can barely handle him."

Maybe it's all in her head. Maybe she has it wrong somehow. Maybe she's overthinking everything like she always does. He could just be having one of those days and who is she to blame him for it? She's been a culprit for that countless times and he always understands, so the least she can do is offer the same understanding.

"I think it's the opposite," she chooses to move past it, refusing to waste time thinking of non-existent issues. "I mean, have you met me? I can be a nightmare sometimes."

"That's not true, Mia," Esme argues and shakes her head in denial.

"No, no. She's right," Rosalie teases with a smirk. "It's not sometimes. It's all the time. It's a miracle he's remained sane."

"Oh, come on," she retorts and pretends to be offended by placing a hand against her heart. "He couldn't be luckier to have me. Isn't that right, ghosty?"

Like expected, Edward remains in his silent bubble. His expression is blank as he stares ahead, almost as if trapped in some kind of trance. Now she knows something is definitely wrong since he's always attentive. The world could be on fire and he would still answer her no matter what.

"Edward?" Mia worriedly asks and intertwines her hand with his.

As if her touch was nothing but poisonous, he drops her hand like it's the most normal thing. A crack forms in her heart and she feels absurd that such a simple action had hurt. She swallows hard and turns away, hoping that by some miracle, the others didn't notice.

"Yes, that's right," Edward simply says, not sparing her a glance.

Mia can't prevent herself from wondering if maybe she had said or done something to upset him. He's never been this dismissive with her and considering things were great between them in the morning, she tries retracing her steps back to English class. Maybe she pried too much into his matters, maybe she spoke too much, or maybe he's just getting tired of spending so much time with her.

God, she feels like a crazy person for overthinking too much. It's always been the reason for her downfalls. She always listens to the anxious part of her and it always leads to trouble, but deep in her heart, she knows this isn't the case this time. He's been avoiding looking at her, has barely exchanged a word since school, and is now refusing to hold her hand.

The smallest things matter and it worries her that her everlasting dream is transforming into a nightmare right before her eyes.

"Edward, I heard you have a present for Mia," Esme tries diffusing the tension, hoping that by mentioning the gift, the ambience surrounding them changes.

Carlisle tries helping as well, "That's right. You wouldn't shut up about it."

"And it was getting annoying," Jasper adds, earning a grateful smile from Alice.

Mia turns to him, a hopeful smile rising from the corners of her lips. She considers that maybe because he's nervous, it's the reason as to why he's been acting strange. Maybe acting distant is his way of expressing his nerves.

However, her hope disappears when noticing reluctance in him. The blank look in his eyes still remains and he doesn't bother to force a smile this time. If anything, he's now refusing to put up appearances.

Despite the gift being in his pocket, Edward can't bring himself to give it. "Sorry, I don't have it with me yet."

"Umm, that's okay," she assures him, not wanting him to believe she's upset. If he's going through something, she doesn't want to add more to his plate. "Don't worry about it."

He faintly nods and turns to her for a split second, but then looks away as if afraid her gaze would turn him into stone. "I think I should take you home now. It's getting late."

It's still a reasonable hour – 8:30. He's taken her home much later, which has earned her scolds from her mother that led to a curfew being implemented. He's never wanted to cut the night short. In fact, he insists on elongating their evenings to where they agree that they'll sneak out. Their nights always end at the meadow since it's the one place they can have complete privacy and can gaze at the stars without the intrusion from the ambient light.

Edward's already waiting for her in the car, preventing her from bidding a proper farewell. She simply offers a weak smile and puts on her jacket, her feet nearly toppling as she dashes out the door with haste. It sure doesn't help noticing how he's tapping his steering wheel impatiently and has a disgruntled frown. His forehead is creased in irritation, which makes her much more reluctant in getting in, but she still does either way.

Just as she puts on her seatbelt, he starts the engine and drives off into the darkened road. She wants to talk to him, to ask what has him so upset, to confide in her if anything is wrong, but the words become trapped in her throat.

Through every torturing minute, this anxiety keeps festering as if it had been a dormant plague awaiting for the right moment to awaken. Her skin crawls at the perturbing silence, its sensation resembling blazing knives cutting her flesh and a blade perforating into her scars.

He's acting as if she's not even here, as if she simply vanished into thin air, and as if he couldn't care less whether she's with him or not. She hates this feeling. She hates having these worries and uncertainties clouding her mind, but how can she not have then? Her person is being oblivious to her existence and acting as if looking at her will cause his demise. Such a feeling is inevitable and it kills her not knowing if she's at fault for any of this.

"Can you please say something?" Mia finally breaks the silence and detests how pleading she sounds, but she's desperate to receive some answers to care.

He sighs heavily, "What do you want me to say?"

She furrows her brows, not understanding why he sounds so irritated, "I don't know. Anything. You've been acting strange all afternoon and you even dropped my hand for no apparent reason. I'm worried."

He scoffs in disbelief, "You're worried because I dropped your hand?"

"Partly because of that," Mia tries explaining herself, but becomes frustrated when noticing anger written on his face. "I'm worried that you were acting strange. I mean, you wouldn't even look at me."

"I don't have to look at you all the damn time, Mia," Edward retorts with a grating tone as he rolls his eyes. "You don't always have to be the center of attention."

She raises her brows at him in surprise. He's never spoken to her in this tone before and what makes matters worse is that he's not even bothering to turn to her just once. Not even when reaching a stop light. He keeps avoiding looking at her as if she were some kind of monster or plague.

"I'm not saying you have to look at me all the time," she flails her hands in frustration and can feel herself start to lose her patience that he's still avoiding looking at her. "I'm trying to explain that your behavior is making me worry. You were quiet during dinner and when I tried talking to you, you seemed to be somewhere else. I just want to know what's bothering you and let you know that you can trust me with anything. No matter how crazy it might be."

Stones replace the once softened gaze his tranquil and adoring eyes beheld. His hands clench into tight fists as the smallest frown carves his face, "I don't have to tell you everything! Can't you understand that?!"

Mia's expression deflates at his loud voice. She flinches at how sudden it came. Not because it's a yell, but because it's coming from him. He's never raised his voice at her. Not even when she hid the ultimatum from him or when he found out the truth about his past. He's always been the epitome of a gentleman. He takes care of her, ensures her safety, her happiness, her wellbeing, and above all, he makes sure she feels like she can trust someone.

"And now you're yelling at me. That's just great," Mia sarcastically says as she runs her hands through her hair. "First you act strange in front of your family and now this. Wow, I just- I can't believe it."

His golden eyes have now transformed into a pitch black color as if the void has become trapped in them, "Oh, please. You don't give a damn for what anyone thinks!"

"I care about what your family thinks!" Mia matches the loudness of his voice despite knowing it would worsen everything, but she detests getting yelled at. "They saw the way you were acting and if we're having problems, I don't want them to know. I want our issues to remain between us, but you kept acting strange and avoiding me as if I were some kind of monster!"

"Well, sorry for dropping your hand and not looking at you," Edward scowls, his tone dripping with sarcasm and anger. "It's ridiculous how you're making a big deal out of nothing. Most people don't care about these kinds of things and here you are picking a fight over it."

Her eyes widen in disbelief as her hands start trembling with anger. The person speaking to her is not the same man she loves and it terrifies her not knowing what's happening between them. This morning, everything had been perfect. They were happy and being their usual selves, but now he's acting like an entirely different person, as if someone had come and replaced her Edward with another.

"Yeah, well, I'm not most people," she bitterly says. "I care about the littlest of things and you know that, so throwing that in my face is completely unfair."

"What do you want from me then?!" Edward's blaring voice reverberates throughout his vehicle, making her ears and temples pound immensely. "You're never happy with anything that I do, so tell me, what do you want?"

"I want an explanation!" Mia's face turns a bright red and her ears feel as if smoke is about to come out from them. She glares with intensity at him, becoming much more enraged when he still insists on not looking at her. "You dropped my fucking hand and are making me feel stupid for worrying about it when I have every right to be! You were acting distant and didn't even look at me for the entire dinner! How do you expect me to feel about that?!"

He turns silent and it only makes her feel worse. She's trying to confide in him like they agreed they would do whenever a thorn would get stuck between them. It's their promise of standing by the other through the darkness, so the fact that he's starting to break it now, makes her afraid of what more could be wrecked.

"And now you're not saying anything," she looks out the window and waits for him to say something, anything, but he's adamant on shutting her out.

Edward makes a sharp brake when reaching a stop sign and after what seems an eternity, he finally turns to her. Her hazel eyes that were always beholding adoration and light were now drowning with disappointment and sorrow, and he loathes himself for having been the cause of their affliction.

The urge to explain what's happening is burning him from the inside out. He wants to take back his words, to apologize, but in unveiling the truth, more deception and tragedy will strike like a storm. The rain will come pouring down all while she's drowning with her past. How can he burden her with more?

"How can you expect me to confide in you when you didn't even tell me about the cure?" Edward chooses to say instead, already regretting having brought up the past. "You took advantage that I couldn't read your mind to keep a big secret from me. Don't come demanding for honesty when you're not capable of doing that."

Capable.

Such a meaningless word shouldn't affect her as much, but it does. The disdain, the resentment, the fury contained in it submerges her like an avalanche. Its iciness and numbing feeling courses through her veins like the first fall of snow, becoming a frigid fire festering in her being and waiting for the moment until the ice melts with hell's blaze.

She never expected the ultimatum to get brought up. Maybe it's a foolish way of thinking, but he seemed perfectly understanding of her reasoning back then. He understood her, but maybe she's wrong now.

"I did it to keep you safe," she defends her actions, refusing to apologize for something she isn't regretful for. "And don't try to guilt trip me into taking it back when you would have done the same."

"You didn't tell me," Edward slowly says as if to make sure she understands him. "And you have the nerve to demand me to be honest with you. It's ridiculous."

"I had a valid reason," she shifts her body toward him as he glares at her as if she had said something absurd. "I did it to protect you, which is completely different from what you're doing right now."

"Oh, come on," he complains. "You're just using that as an excuse to defend what you did. You know it was wrong and you can't even admit it."

"I'm not apologizing for saving your life," she hears him muttering something under his breath, but she doesn't bother paying attention to it. "I did what I had to do and I would gladly do it all over again without a second thought."

"Why couldn't you just let things run its course?" Edward curtly says, but it's not a question he wants an answer to. It's obvious he's talking to himself and if this were any other time, Mia would brush past it, but now she can't.

"Dimitri would have killed you," she can't believe what he's insinuating and the fact that he doesn't seem to care how she would have felt if she had lost him. "I couldn't let him hurt you or anyone I love."

"And whose fault was it that he came here?"

The resentment in his voice cuts her like a blade. Her world is tilted on its axis and becomes placed upon her shoulders like Atlas, its massive weight submerging her and leaving her trapped like the lake's waters once did. It's been hard, to say the least, dealing with the aftermath of nearly dying and Edward more than anyone knows that. He's been there to help her through her nightmares, to help her fall back asleep, and whenever she's with him, her haunting memories ease.

Him blaming her for Dimitri coming here despite knowing the trauma he caused, makes her appalled that he would go to extreme lengths in mentioning this in an argument. She longs for this to be some kind of twisted dream, but his piercing words ricochet like a blaring drum against her temples, concluding the circumstances are nothing but an authentic reality.

Edward's blaming her for everything. For having put his family, his home, himself in danger. This grudge has been a dormant virus, waiting for the right moment to awaken, and a part of her is starting to understand why he's becoming distant.

"I never asked for this to happen," Mia tries defending herself against the person she loves most and never expected to hear this cruelty from. She searches for any hint of remorse in his eyes, knowing it's the window to his truth and the premise he could never hide in. She expects to find any guilt, shame, anything, but there's nothing but a cold, detached look. "I never wanted you or your family to get involved."

"Yeah, well, it's too late now," Edward's indifference hurts her deeper than the blade her father had used on her. It swallows her whole and buries her into a dark hole, leaving her abandoned and lost. His words take her only source of oxygen away and the ironic part is that he's her oxygen, and he's the one taking the air she breathes.

Her heart clenches in pain as hot and angry tears prick at her eyes. His poisonous words are injecting themselves into her system, slowly becoming a part of her and haunting her like the memory of her near death. All these months, he's always been understanding, but maybe she was wrong in believing he could be her comfort. Maybe all of this was just fueling his resentment and turning him away.

And maybe, she deserves it.

By the time Edward parks in front of her house, she's quiet, almost as if she's worried one wrong move could lead to more casual cruelty in the name of honesty. She stares ahead, unshed tears hardening and hands clenching in both frustration and anguish. He's admitted to his truth and has now been liberated from perdition, but instead has given her a sentence of purgatory and shattered dreams.

She tries mustering the strength to look at him, but comes to the conclusion that she doesn't want to. She can't find it in herself to force an indifferent look like his, so instead, she opens the door and closes it in a hard slam.

"Mia," Edward's regret consumes him as she starts heading to her driveway. Using his vampire speed, he manages to hold her forearm and prevent her from leaving just yet. "I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"You shouldn't have, but you did," she shakes his hand off her and doesn't spare him a glance. "You meant everything you said, so don't bother apologizing for it."

"I didn't mean it," he desperately declares, his brows furrowing pleadingly and voice breaking. "I would never blame you for that. Ever. I want you to believe me when I say that."

The aching in her heart still haunts her body like a tormented spirit. It pierces her in an incessant pattern, reminding her of the blame he's granted her, and even though she wants to believe he didn't mean them, her mind is yelling at her not to fall for his duplicity.

"I should head inside," Mia turns around and tries ignoring the string pulling them together, but it's rendered useless seeing as they're each other's magnets and denying the obvious would be like denying oxygen.

Edward lays his hand against her cheek and redirects her gaze to his. Any remaining anger fades once feeling the comfort behind his touch and diving into those mesmerizing golden eyes that have always been her weakness.

"I'm so sorry," he says in a broken whisper as his once detached demeanor fades into a shattered disturbance.

Moving past their previous argument, Mia comes closer and leans her forehead against his. He tenses at her warmth, but refuses in drawing away from his light. She rubs his arms in a soothing stroke before entangling them around him in an embrace. He breathes tremulously and she can feel his tension in her hold. There's reluctance in him, almost as if he's afraid of hurting her under their proximity.

"Let's just forget tonight happened," she calmly says in a low voice.

Edward remains quiet, but softly nods his head. He's staring at her as if she's a glass he's afraid of breaking, as if she's a delicate rose and he's the pliers being forced in cutting her, and as if she's the earth's gravity and he's the moon drifting away. He's looking at her like he's dreading something and she's terrified that everything is unraveling for the worst before her.

His voice is barely a whisper as he pulls away, "You should go inside."

Mia doesn't want to end the night like this. Not when there's an unresolved issue surrounding them. Ending their day this way feels like the first drop of an imminent storm, like a boulder running down a mountain that she's not able to prevent from crushing them.

None of this feels right, but she can't do anything other than watch as if she's on the sidelines.

"I love you," she reminds him just in case he needs to hear it.

A pained look crosses his face and it breaks her heart that she's been the cause for it. All she wants is to make him happy and she believed that assuring him of her love would have eased the storm in his mind.

"I love you," Edward tells her after the longest seconds and before she can even say or do anything, he turns around and heads back into his car.

Mia stands by the edge of her driveaway, simply watching as he drives off into the night and wonders if he'd be coming by later like he always does. Even if they argue, he always shows up and helps put her nightmares to ease. She only ever gets to sleep soundlessly when he's by her side as she knows whenever she's with him, nothing will ever go wrong.

Her love and trust for him are the two elements that will always remain. Her faith in him is undeniable that imagining a time where she doesn't, feels like the most absurd possibilities of all. Although, she has to admit that even though she values love immensely, she values trust much more.

Without it, there's nothing. Once trust is destroyed, that person might as well be dead to her, and Edward hasn't done anything to break her trust. He's her person, her partner in crime, her best friend, and the stars in an empty night.

Despite their differences, she knows her soul and his are the same. They're linked in perfect harmony, each dwelling into their stories and filling the missing chapter. Nothing will wreck the puzzle they've completed, so she trusts that everything will move forward in their favor.

And yet, as she watches his car disappear from sight, the feeling that everything is unraveling for the worst is unable to leave her mind.

Author's Note

Hey, y'all! Hope you're doing good!
Sorry for the wait, but I've just been really busy since I'm graduating soon! AHHH! 🥳

It's a long chapter so I hope it makes up for it.
Won't spoil much, but the next chapter will definitely be something 👀

Hope you guys liked the chapter!
Don't be a ghost reader! Comment & vote