Till Death (Volturi / Twilight Fanfiction)

35: Preperations

Waking up still being held by Marcus, after a new dream that was not her own, was the safest Taylor had ever felt in her entire life.

Her eyes opened fairly naturally, like one of those rare moments when your mind and body agree that you're fully rested. There was no fluttering eyelids or thought to turn back over to sleep. Slowly, her lids made way for her foggy morning view. Causing her to lazily rub her eyes in an attempt to sharpen her vision. When she had she noticed she was, in fact, not laying on a pillow. Rather, her head was burrowed into a dress shirt upon a strikingly cold chest. Not at all uncomfortable, more like a breath of cool fresh cedar to greet her. She could almost convince herself it was morning.

The only panic she felt was those few seconds she took to find the analog clock next to her bed. The thing read 4:24 pm. It was not morning, and Taylor still had time. While she breathed a sigh of relief slim fingers traced patterns on her forearm. Straightening her back she pulled herself from his chest to lay on the pillow next to him, a content smile gracing her features. Marcus felt his chest puff in pride, knowing he was the reason for that expression.

"Sorry." She mumbled, covering her mouth at the sudden mortifying thought of morning breath. Beneath her palm she chuckled. "I can be a bit clingy, I guess." Marcus took the hand that covered her face, wanting to see her fully then. She let it happen despite that nagging at the back of her mind about his enhanced vampiric senses.

"I did not mind your clinging in the least." He spoke smoothly, no trace of grogginess. "Do you feel better?"

"Much better, thank you." She really did. Taylor wasn't yet over the whole vampire thing, but she felt well enough to process it properly after the slug was dealt with. "Did you sleep well too?" Did you sleep at all? She held the actual thought close to her chest and braced for another lie.

"I feel more rested than I have in a very long time." She searched his eyes for deception but found none. Granted he had not actually answered the question, but what he did say was truthful.

"Good." She smiled a bit wider. "I was worried that I'd kept you up, using you as a pillow and all."

"You do not need to worry about that." He assured. Again, no lie present. Yet, he changed the subject swiftly after that. "Have you eaten yet today?"

Of course not. All Taylor had was a cold cup of coffee she never finished. She was sleeping all day. At this point, she was past her stomach growling, and at the mention of food her temples throbbed at a sudden splitting migraine. Her hand shook just a bit as she brought it to her forehead.

"No, I didn't. God, guess people aren't meant to hibernate 24 hours. Damn." She turned on her back holding her head, sure that her blood sugar was fairly low. That's what happens when you don't eat all day...she wasn't sure if she had dinner the night before either...

"Come now, get dressed." Marcus helped Taylor to sit up on the edge of the bed as he fully stood. "I will find you something to eat. Something to settle your stomach, on the way to a restaurant. You must eat a full meal. I would simply prepare something in your kitchen but I am a horrid cook."

"That's surprising, I thought you'd be good at everything." Marcus laughed though Taylor was fairly serious. Marcus seemed perfect in every aspect. Suppose she didn't think he particularly enjoyed cooking, but the thought of Marcus not being good at anything he put his mind to just didn't seem right to Taylor. A restaurant would be fine. Even though she still did not want to get dressed. "Uhg. Making me get dressed. Ripping me away from my warm bed. You're so mean sometimes Marcus."

"I'm mean?" He asked, in a challenging tone that hovered over a thick layer of amusement. Taylor nodded.

"Oh, for sure." She yawned, sarcasm oozing lazily through her groggy tone. "Incredibly cruel. I don't even know what to wear...what's the weather supposed to be like tonight? Is it still raining?" She turned around to look out the window. The rain had stopped but the glass panes were still wet, drops of water slid down into one another once in a while. It had only just stopped raining and looked a bit cool. Perhaps a sweater.