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𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐍𝐀 𝐅𝐄𝐋𝐓 𝐀𝐁𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐔𝐓𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐇𝐈𝐃𝐄𝐎𝐔𝐒 𝐈𝐍 the morning. She hadn't slept well; her arm burned and her head ached. It didn't help her outlook that Edward's face was smooth and remote as he kissed her forehead quickly and ducked out her window.
Athena was afraid of the time she'd spent unconscious, afraid that he might have been figuring out right and wrong again. The anxiety seemed to ratchet up the intensity of the pounding in her head.
Breakfast passed agonizingly slow, she had to pretend how great and fun last night was at the Cullen's.
Edward was waiting for her at school, like yesterday but his face was still wrong. There was something buried in his eyes that the girl couldn't be sure of-and it scared her. She didn't want to bring it up last night, but she wasn't sure if avoiding the subject would be worse.
He opened the door for her "How do you feel?"
"Perfect," Athena lied, cringing as the sound of the slamming door echoed in her head.
They walked in silence, he shortening his stride to match hers. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, but most of those questions would have to wait because they were for Alice:
How was Jasper this morning? What had they said when she was gone? What had Rosalie said? And most importantly, what could she see happening now in her strange, imperfect visions of the future?
Could she guess what Edward was thinking, why he was so gloomy?
Was there a foundation for the tenuous, instinctive fears that she couldn't seem to shake?
The morning passed slowly-time seemed to torture the girl today. Athena was impatient to see Alice, though she wouldn't be able to really talk to her with Edward there. He remained aloof. Occasionally he would ask about her arm, and she would lie, definitely not wanting to make him feel more guilty, even if that meant she had to suffer a little.
Alice usually beat to lunch; she didn't have to keep pace with a sloth like her. But she wasn't at the table, waiting with a tray of food she wouldn't eat. Edward didn't say anything about her absence. Athena wondered to herself if her class was running late-until she saw Conner and Ben, who were in her fourth-hour French class.
"Where's Alice?" she asked Edward anxiously.
He looked at the granola bar he was slowly pulverizing between his fingertips while he answered. "She's with Jasper."
"Is he okay?"
"He's gone away for a while."
"What? Where?"
Edward shrugged. "Nowhere in particular."
And Alice, too. She thought in desperation. Of course, if Jasper needed her, she would go.
