“I’m not sure if I can.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
“No!” I said a little too loudly.
She laughed, then began to hum that same unfamiliar lullaby—her voice was like an angel’s, soft in my ear.
More tired than I realized, exhausted from a day of mental and emotional stress like I’d never felt before, I drifted to sleep with her cold body in my arms.
15. THE CULLENS
THE MUTED LIGHT OF ANOTHER CLOUDY DAY EVENTUALLY WOKE ME. I lay with my arm across my eyes, groggy and dazed. Something, a dream trying to be remembered, struggled to break into my consciousness. I moaned and rolled on my side, hoping more sleep would come. And then yesterday came flooding back into my memory.
“Oh!” I sat up so fast it made my head spin.
“Your hair also has the ability to defy gravity.” Her amused voice came from the rocking chair in the corner. “It’s like your own superpower.”
Automatically, I reached up to pat my hair down.
She sat crossed-legged in the chair, a perfect smile on her perfect face.
“You stayed.” It was like I hadn’t woken up after all.
“Of course. That’s what you wanted, correct?”
I nodded.
She smiled wider. “It’s what I wanted, too.”
I staggered out of the bed, not sure where I was going, only that I needed to be closer to her. She waited for me, and there was no surprise in her face when I sank to my knees in front of her. I reached up slowly and laid my palm against the side of her face. She leaned into my hand, her eyes slipping closed.
“Charlie?” I asked. We’d both been speaking at normal volume.
“He left an hour ago, with an amazing amount of gear.”
He’d be gone all day. So it was just me and Edythe, in an empty house, with no need to go anywhere. So much time. I felt like some crazy old miser, gloating over his piles of gold coins, only instead of coins, it was seconds that I hoarded.
It was only then that I realized she’d changed her clothes. Instead of the thin-strapped tank top, she wore a peach-colored sweater.
“You left?” I asked.
She opened her eyes and smiled, putting one of her hands up to keep mine against her face. “I could hardly leave in the clothes I came in—what would the neighbors think? In any case, I was only gone for a few minutes and you were very deeply asleep at that point, so I know I didn’t miss anything.”
I groaned. “What did I say?”
Her eyes got a little wider, her face more vulnerable. “You said you loved me,” she whispered.
“You already knew that.”
“It was different, hearing the words.”
I stared into her eyes. “I love you,” I said.
She leaned down and rested her forehead carefully against mine. “You are my life now.”
We sat like that for a long time, until finally my stomach grumbled. She sat up, laughing.
“Humanity is so overrated,” I complained.
“Should we begin with breakfast?”
I threw my free hand over my jugular, my eyes wild.
She flinched; then her eyes narrowed and she scowled at me.
I laughed. “Come on, you know that was funny.”
She was still frowning. “I disagree. Shall I rephrase? Breakfast time for the human?”
“Okay. I need another human minute first, if you don’t mind.”
“Of course.”
“Stay.”
She smiled.
I brushed my teeth twice again, then rushed through my shower. I ripped through my wet hair with a comb, trying to make it lie flat. It ignored me pretty thoroughly. And then I hit a wall. I’d forgotten to bring clothes with me.
I hesitated for a minute, but I was too impatient to panic long. There was no help for it. I tucked the towel securely around my waist and then marched into the hall with my face blazing red. Even better—the patch of red on my chest was exposed, too. I stuck my head around the edge of the doorframe.
“Um…”
She was still in the rocking chair. She laughed at my expression.
“Shall we meet in the kitchen, then?”
“Yes, please.”
She was past me in a rush of cool air, down the stairs before a second had passed. I was barely able to follow the motion—she was just a streak of pale color, then nothing.
“Thanks,” I called after her, then hurried to my dresser.
I knew I should probably put some thought into what I wore, but I was in a hurry to get downstairs. I did think to grab a pullover, so she wouldn’t worry about me getting cold.
I raked my fingers through my hair to calm it again, then ran down the stairs.
She was leaning against the counter, looking very at home.
“What’s for breakfast?” I asked.
That threw her for a minute. Her brows pulled together. “I’m not sure.… What would you like?”
I laughed. “That’s all right, I fend for myself pretty well. You’re allowed to watch me hunt.”
I got a bowl and a box of cereal. She returned to the chair she’d sat in last night, watching as I poured the milk and grabbed a spoon. I set my food on the table, then paused. The empty space in front of her on the table made me feel rude.
“Um, can I… get you anything?”
She rolled her eyes. “Just eat, Beau.”
I sat at the table, watching her as I took a bite. She was gazing at me, studying my every movement. It made me self-conscious. I swallowed so I could speak, wanting to distract her.