Saturday, July 11, 2009
Chapter 10. Justice
I forced myself to think of other trivial things for the rest of the evening. I had nothing to do after making dinner; the house was spotless, and no house chores were needed to be done. I picked up a fashion magazine that Alice had left lying around and began to read.
But it was not working; I gave up trying after five minutes. Sighing, I went up to Carlisle’s study and grabbed a book randomly from the shelves. I did not even notice what book I had chosen till I came downstairs and plodded down on the nearest armchair and flipped open Chapter One. It was filled with a lot of medical terminology; far more advanced than what I had studied back in Phoenix.
I looked at the gold fancy script on the black leather cover of the book. The pages were yellow from age, but it was still in good condition. It was a book on the history of western medicine.
Oh great. I groaned internally. I did not want to go upstairs to get another book. Edward might get suspicious again. Rubbing my nose bridge for the nth time today, I struggled to understand the contents of the book. I never made it past the first chapter.
You had no idea how glad I was when Edward came over, cradling a sleeping Nessie in his arms. Dashing upstairs to return the book, I was back within seconds and bidding the rest goodbye. We sprinted our way back to the cottage, hand in hand, through the warm night.
I took a fond look at her after we tucked Nessie in bed. Our little angel was sleeping so peacefully; there was even a smile on her beautiful face. Wondering about what dreams could make her smile; I tiptoed out of the room and closed the door gently. Edward took my hand and we raced out once more into the dark forest.
“Where are we going, Edward? What about Nessie?” I asked as we slowed to a stop outside the main house’s garage. Edward opened the passenger door and I climbed in. He reversed the Volvo out and in minutes, we were speeding along the dark highway.
“Where are we going?” I repeated my question.
“Off to do some justice. I know what had been going on your mind the entire day; even though you have been trying very hard to keep that out of your mind.” He replied; his eyes still kept on the road. So he did know.
“But...”
“Nessie will be fine. I’ve asked Alice to keep an eye on her.” Edward interrupted before I could finish my question. Silence fell again as we sped in the dark night.
“Bella,” Edward broke the silence minutes later, “I wished you wouldn’t keep everything to yourself. You know I wouldn’t judge you.“ Edward said softly as he reached for my hand. I kept my head down as I felt the guilt and shame overwhelming me again.
“Love, there’s nothing wrong with feeling the way you did.” Edward tipped my head up, so I was glancing directly into his golden eyes. I wanted to look away; but I was glued helplessly to them.
“I felt the same too; which is why I’ve asked Alice for some tips on their whereabouts.” A small smile was playing at the corner of his lips. I stared in disbelief. Not only did he know what was going on in my head the entire day, he was actually one step ahead of me, planning exactly what I was afraid to do.
I turned and stared at the dark road ahead. I knew Edward was my soul mate; we were a perfect match in heaven. But this was so much more. Being able to read my every movement and decode my complex mind was not a simple feat that anyone could achieve. I removed my shield and show him my thoughts. He chuckled and gave my hand a squeeze.
“I love you too, Bella. I’m getting better at understanding you as the days passed. Sure, the shield made me go crazy at times, but I loved finding out things about you the normal way. Every new discovery only made me more in love with you.” He gave me a wink which would make me blush like crazy if I was still my human self. Now, I could only turn paler than my usual ice white skin.
We pulled up at the curb half an hour later. Getting out of the car, I surveyed my surroundings. We were at a stretch of what seemed like deserted shop houses. The lampposts nearby were flickering; it seemed like a ghost town here. Glancing at the nearest street sign, I realised that we were at Port Angeles.
So the police was wrong. Luckily Edward has thought of asking Alice, I thought, slipping my hand into Edward’s as I followed quietly beside him. Turning around at the next corner, we stopped outside the second shop house.
From the looks of the faded signboard that was now half hanging by the rusty hinges, this place used to be a bar. I wiped the thick layer of dust off a tiny corner of the window and peeped in. I could see the empty interior, with the few exceptions of broken chairs and an overturned table lying around in the deserted bar.
It looked empty to the normal human eye; but we knew better. I could see faint traces of light seeping under a door at the back of the room; something the naked human eyes would miss. Such details could not escape our vampire eyesight. Besides, the place reeked of alcohol and human, evident that someone had been here recently.
Edward pushed open the door quietly and we stepped into the abandoned bar. It was darker than the street outside, but the dim lighting was sufficient enough for us to see the broken glass lying around the floor. One wrong move and our presence would be given away. It must be their idea of intruder alarm.
I made my way to the back of the room with Edward following behind me. Once again, I was grateful to Alice as I made it across without making a single sound. The lessons that I dreaded so much had actually come in useful.
“Great thinking, Boss. Leaving a false trail to Seattle, but actually doubling back here to this ghost town for our hideout. Genius! They’ll never find us here!” Out came a rough voice, boasting gleefully.
Peeping through the cracks of the door, I saw two men in the room. One was short and stocky with black wavy hair covered by a baseball cap; the other was tall and muscular, with his shaggy hair pulled back into a messy ponytail.
The tall one was watching BCC news on a small portable TV in the middle of the room; he was no doubt the one who had boasted just now. The other man just leaned against the wall and drank his heart out. The faint light of TV reflected off his face and I spotted a faint scar at the end of his right eye. He then tossed the empty can across the room, where the bag of loot and bags of food supplies could be seen.
“Ern, when you use some brains, anything could be done.” The leader smirked as he opened another can of beer.
Automatically, I clenched my fists into tight balls and they shook with anger. These despicable cads were here enjoying while Charlie laid in the hospital in pain. Unable to suppress my anger any longer, I kicked opened the door. The door broke off from its hinges and fell flat on the ground.
“What the..?” both men jumped out of the way and turned to face Edward and me.
“Who the hell are you guys?” The leader demanded, once he saw that it was only two teenagers standing at the doorway. I saw a hint of relief in his eyes; he was glad that it was not the cops who had busted through the door. I laughed internally. He had no idea.
With a twitch of my lips, I gave them my evil grin. My perfect white teeth gleamed in the dark; reflecting light from the small TV.
“Your worst nightmare.” And I lunged forward.
***
12:08 PM
