24Chapter 2
Tense Idiocy
The next day after my encounter with Edward went fairly well. I did all my chores that needed to be done, went to visit Streamer again, and made sure I was careful not to spill the secret. But I didn't see Edward at all.
The following days carried on in the same manner and after a week, I was starting to wonder where he could be. Even Ms. Cope could tell that I was thinking about something rather than talking shyly like I usually did.
"Bella?" She asked. "Bella, dear, are you alright?"
"Yes, I'm fine." I smiled. "Just thinking about something is all."
She nodded her head, but I knew that she was still concerned about me.
I just couldn't get him out of my head. What he had told me that night continued to circulate throughout my mind, strangling it, forcing it to think. How had he known about the assassin? Had he been trying to tell me that he was dangerous? Of course he's the assassin! The better part of my conscience screamed at me. He only arrived after you learned about the imposter and he basically just told you not to trust him! But the kinder side of my mind begged to differ. He could have just been in town when your father heard about it, too. He didn't kill you. He hadn't hurt you. He had told you to get inside where it was safe.
I buried my head in my hands. I didn't want to look stupid if I accused him, and he wasn't the guy. I didn't even know enough about him to accuse him of anything! But I also didn't want people to get hurt or worse, killed because of my stupidity not to act.
Ms. Cope had stood up from the floor where we were peeling potatoes and went to the kitchen sink to begin slicing them for dinner.
"Ms. Cope?" I asked. "I'm sorry if I'm acting strange or anything, I just have something on my mind." I paused. "Do you want me to help you with that?" I eyed the potatoes she was cutting. The knife she used reminded me of the knife I was now carrying. She smiled up at me warmly.
"No, dear, it's quite alright. Although you could go and get a few more vegetables from the garden that we could put in the salad?" She looked at me suggestively. She reminded me so much of my mother. I grinned.
"Sure, Ms. Cope." She winked at me as I walked out the kitchen door.
The garden was the farthest thing away from the house. It was a small little arrangement of vegetables, but it was very lively and pretty with all the surrounded flowers. I ducked to begin collecting some onions when something caught at the corner of my eye. I looked up to see the surrounding pine trees that bordered the farm. Nothing.
I continued to work, but I was very aware of the surrounding trees. I couldn't get rid of the creepy feeling that someone was watching me.
It took me awhile to fall asleep that night. When I had finally drifted off into unconsciousness, I dreamed of the time I was at the garden. But instead of looking up to see nothing in the pine trees, I saw a pair of piercing green orbs staring back at me.
"Bella! Oh, Bella!" I turned to see my best friend, Alice, running up to me. "You have to come see this! Quick!" She tugged on my hand, and I allowed her short stature to drag me toward the barn.
"Alice," I groaned. "What are you…?" I stopped short. Right next to my pretty mare was this huge, huge stallion. His black coat was sleek and glossy and his muscles were clearly defined beneath it. He stood tall and strong, completely and utterly magnificent. I gaped.
"I bet he's super fast!" Alice piped in. I continued to stare. "I wonder who he belongs to," she wondered aloud. I didn't want to say my guess.
"That would be me."
I turned to the musical voice, knowing all too well who it could be.
"That's yours?" I squeaked, embarrassing me. My face burned.
He seemed amused. "Yes?" He said it like a question. I figured this was the first time Alice had seen him, for she was staring at him open mouthed, eyes wide. I mentally cringed. I had probably looked not too different from that a week ago.
"Alice?" I asked. She blinked.
"Wh…what?" I stifled a laugh. I had done that, too.
"Alice, this is er… Edward." I ignored the way it felt to say his name.
"Hello, Alice," he said musically. I wanted to sigh at the sound of it.
"Hi," she squawked.
We heard a knock and all looked to see Jasper, one of Alice's friends, peek his head through the barn door.
"Can you come out here, Ali? I need you for a minute." He glanced between us, his eyes resting on Edward the longest. She nodded and hurried out after him waving to me, leaving me with Edward. Alone. "Sorry," she mouthed, evidently reading the panic in my eyes.
"So, umm…" I began. He lifted an eyebrow. "This horse is yours?" Why was I always repeating the obvious to him? The first time I had asked if he was new, when he obviously was, and now I was asking if the stallion was his, when he had just confirmed it not too long ago. Jeez…
He was perfectly at ease. "Yes," he said again. I was about to ask its name, when he continued. "I call him Lion…" he trailed off. Probably wondering what I was thinking from this trivial fact, no doubt.
"That's a… interesting name." I could have slapped myself in the face. I had said that about his name, too, when we had first met. He chuckled, seeming to remember.
"Why, yes, I guess it is." He appeared strained. Was I annoying him? The thought made me more self conscious than I already was. Like I was an intruder of his personal life. He seemed to notice my sudden change in anxiety and tried to lighten the atmosphere by continuing.
"I named him that because he once saved me from a mountain lion when I was about fourteen. I had gotten lost, and my father had just got him…" He looked down, shaking his head for a reason I couldn't imagine. "He had somehow found me and defended me." He looked up and trapped my gaze. "I have never doubted him since." His face almost made me melt.
"He's fierce," I said, half laughing to cheer the drastic mood change. He smiled a crooked, lopsided smile, illustrating his perfect teeth. It took my breath away. Was there anything not perfect about this man?
"He truly is," he said, smiling warmly at me. I blushed, of course. While we had been talking, he had been moving closer to me so that we were now only about two feet apart. The proximity sent my heart racing.
"What about yours?" He gestured toward my mare that now looked insignificant next to his mighty beast. A mirror image of Edward and me, no doubt.
"Oh, that's my mare, Streamer." He looked at me, confusion written in his face. "The streaks on her nose," I stated, feeling more idiotic by the second. "They reminded me of little white streams, and so I decided to name her Streamer." He just nodded. Oh no, I thought. He doesn't only suspect I'm an idiot now, he knows I am!
I looked down, my face feeling even hotter. He didn't say anything for a minute, but then stepped closer and reached his hand out to tilt my face up to his. I stared at him in shock, ignoring the feeling of him touching me.
"Are you embarrassed?" He teased. His eyes were warm, but his jaw was too tight. I swallowed.
"No," I said shakily. Was he going to kill me now? I didn't want to die yet…
Without taking his hand away, he laughed. I frowned. I stepped back, causing his hand to fall back at his side.
"Why are you laughing at me?" I sounded hurt, though I tried desperately to hide it. He stopped laughing at once, worry taking its place.
"I'm sorry," he said, looking ashamed. I couldn't help but smile. He was apologizing again, just like last time.
"It's okay," I murmured, taking another step away from him so that he couldn't touch me again. He had bowed his head, and I felt an urge to go and comfort him, to put my hand on his shoulder. I was so close to convincing myself to do so, but I resisted.
"Hey," I said softly. He looked up at me then, his green eyes piercing. "You don't have to feel bad for laughing at me. People do it all the time." I wondered if I said too much. Should he know that I was a part time klutz?
He looked taken aback. "Why would people always be laughing at you?" His eyes scrutinized me, and I wanted to squirm under his gaze. "I didn't think you were that funny." I wasn't sure if that was supposed to be a compliment or an insult.
"Uhh… I fall down a lot?" My tone made it a question.
"You fall… down a lot?" His voice was mocking.
"And trip, slide, stumble… anything that involves losing balance on my own two feet." I said it almost proudly, and I began to wonder what he truly thought of my imbecile rambling. I tugged on my long brown hair nervously.
"Uh huh…" He smiled. "Would you like an award? Surely no one can live throughout that every day."
I grimaced. "Well, you're looking at the one and only sole survivor, then."
He smiled his crooked grin again, and this time his whole face was warm, especially his eyes.
"Well, I guess I should sorta be going right now… Alice had kind of interrupted me." As if to punctuate what I had said only moments ago, I tripped. And fell. Right into him.
He caught me instantly, pulling me back onto my two feet. He kept his arms around me, as if he were afraid I would fall again without moving. I blushed. And by the feeling of it, it probably wasn't attractive, either.
"Are you okay?" There was an edge to his voice, as if he were holding back laughter. I awkwardly stepped out of his arms. His face was immediately somber, and I again felt the urge to comfort him. Weird, I thought.
"Thanks," I said hastily.
"No problem." He smiled.
"How old are you?" I asked. He seemed surprised by my question, but answered it anyway.
"I'm seventeen. May I ask your age?" He looked amused, but his eyes still retained their warmth.
"Seventeen."
He smiled. "Well, then, Bella..."
He had remembered my name! I tried to ignore how wonderful it sounded when he said it. Wow, you're ignoring a lot of stuff lately, I told myself.
"I guess I'll see you around?" he asked suggestively.
"Sure," I squeaked. "Yeah, of course." This news seemed to make him happy. He smiled that wonderful grin of his. But then I thought over what he had just said. Was I going to be seeing him around? It had already been a week since I had last seen him.
"Where were you the past week?" I asked. "I didn't see you anywhere."
He was tense in an instant. "I was here the whole time, Bella."
"No… I never saw you."
"Well, I guess you're just not that observant." His face was still tense, and it annoyed me how he said I wasn't observant. I was very observant, thank you very much.
"I was observant enough to know that you weren't here," I said through my teeth.
His jaw clenched.
"Well I was," he shot back.
I sneered. "Fine, then." I brushed past him, heading back toward the house. When I got outside, I could see Alice standing near Jasper as he fixed something, staring at me with worry plain in her face. I forced a smile to mine, waved, and continued walking. If there was one thing I knew for sure, Edward was a nice guy, but he was hiding something from me.
Please review! And thanks a bunch for reading!
-Natasha