CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
may
The gentle, morning sun of summer trickled through the canopy of leaves, pricking the soil with threads of cool, golden light. It was warm- or as warm as the cold town of Forks could get- and life seemed to be flourishing. Down by the river, the bed grass rustled against the smooth current of the water, singing with the same whispering of the dense bushes. It was serene, delicate, quiet...
Rosalie dove through the undergrowth, a face of thunder on her face, dark enough to make the exceptionally warm day seem overcast. Edward let out a sigh as he retracted himself from the water's edge, letting his attention fall on his sister. Her anger could have been about many things. Although they seemed to be getting on better as the summer began to grow, they would never escape the petty arguments they always shared. It didn't help that her thoughts had become so much more open since meeting Violet Green.
Violet Green. The very person Rose was now angry about if the loudness of her thoughts could be deciphered properly. Well, not exactly. Rosalie was never angry with Violet, but always with him. Edward rolled his eyes and welcomed the flood of words that would soon come with her jumble of thoughts.
"You know exactly why I'm here," Rosalie said, her eyes narrowing as a glare, hands on her hips and chin in the air.
But he didn't know exactly why she was there. He could suspect, with the words that seemed to pique from behind her inaudible shouts, and he almost said as much but refrained in hopes of calming her slightly.
"This is my spot, Edward," she said, venom lacing her tone. Edward only shrugged her spite off, knowing he held the antidote to her bite. "You're not bringing Bella here."
"I wasn't planning on bringing Bella here," Edward said, letting out another haggard sigh. He hoped she heard it. This was becoming exhausting.
Her attitude toward Bella had dampened, becoming less harsh after the ordeal in the dance studio and after her breakthrough with her own human. But still, she was uneasy, even with Violet, and especially with the knowledge that one day they would have to give their happiness up. Somewhere amongst it all, he'd finally found common ground with Rosalie. But somewhere also, she'd found competition.
"Alice saw it," Rosalie said, bringing her arms to cross her chest with an accusing look on her face.
Alice and Rose were back to being as thick as thieves again, which meant all of the boys had to watch their backs now. Alice's foresight and Rosalie's impulsiveness were no small force but rather a large and intimidating one.
Edward knew, of course, why Rosalie was so worked up over this little part of the river. It was beautiful, with the overhanging branches of ancient trees and the smell of pine needles not too far off was thick and comforting. Even the river water was crystal clear, warmed by the intermittent and brief summer sun. Bella would have loved it- he had even thought as much.
But this was Rosalie's place, the spot she would come to when she was overwhelmed or angry. It had been here, that he'd spoken to her so softly about Bella, willing her to calm and understand. That time seemed far off now, though, in reality, it was merely two months ago, yet so much had changed. But this place had not. It was Rosalie's.
"This is yours, Rose," he said, hoping the expression on his features expressed truly how earnest he was. "I'll not interrupt that."
Rosalie's fuse seemed to fizzle out then and as the anger died down, so too did her thoughts. They became clearer then, but even still, one thought occupied her wholly. Violet. Edward wondered if she would one day bring Violet to her little piece of earth that seemed as close to heaven as they could get. Perhaps that was getting ahead of them.
