Emerging Swan

Chapter 2 - Jar of Hearts

I know I can't take one more step towards you
'Cause all that's waiting is regret
Don't you know I'm not your ghost anymore
You lost the love I loved the most
I learned to live half alive
And now you want me one more time

And who do you think you are?
Runnin' 'round leaving scars
Collecting your jar of hearts
And tearing love apart
You're gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
So don't come back for me
Who do you think you are?

I hear you're asking all around
If I am anywhere to be found
But I have grown too strong
To ever fall back in your arms

Jar of Hearts ~ Christina Perri

***

Edward Cullen, 2020

Events: 2014

I was, officially, the world's biggest idiot.

For a guy that was supposed to be vaguely intelligent, I made some stupid moves with regards to girls as a young adult. In my sophomore year of university, I found myself, suddenly, being continually harassed by Lauren Mallory, whom I'd never particularly liked. Within a month, I was dating her, and we were the 'it' couple. You know, the pair that everyone else wants to be? I've no idea why they'd want to be us. There was never anything healthy about my relationship with Lauren.

But after a few months, Lauren became an annoying, demanding bitch. At first, she just dropped a few hints about what I bought her not being expensive enough, or the restaurant I took her to being too casual, or whatever. But eventually, she became an outright bitch. For whatever reason, I convinced myself that she was just insecure, and would calm down if I gave her a while. Snort. As though Lauren Mallory, with her fake, ruby nails, dyed blond hair and fuck me stilettos, was ever insecure.

But I dealt with Lauren's bitchiness for over two and a half years. After we both graduated from university, we moved into the same house - why, I never worked out. When she began to drop hints, growing in how obvious they were day by day, about marriage, I lost my shit, and kicked her out of the house I owned and I'd paid for, and ended my relationship with her. Good fucking riddance.

Hindsight is twenty-twenty. Both myself and her agree that I should never have gotten myself into that relationship. Then, I could say the same about that bastard she was with. But I don't. Because I'm not a bastard.

Six months after I made the best decision of my adult life, she was still somehow getting my ever-changing mobile number and ringing me ten times a day. She'd appear at my front door, tears swimming in her eyes, as she begged me to take her back. Like fuck I was going to take that woman back. I'd never been more glad to see the back of someone's head, and finally, I was free from her devilish clutches.

So when the doorbell to my house rang as I attempted to cook myself dinner, I let out a snarl as I threw the spatula I was holding down and stalked over to the door. Once, I'd decided to ignore it, but Lauren had only taken to leaning on the bell for half an hour straight, after which time I had lost every ounce of my sanity. I'd never ignored her again.

Phone in hand in case she refused to go and I was forced to call the police to get her off my frickin' property, I flung the door open angrily, and barked out a sharp 'what?' before even taking in that it wasn't Lauren at my front door. After a second, I realised that it was my sister standing on the other side, and it took me another second to realise that that was nearly as bad.

She still is.

"Hello, Edward," Alice sang, waltzing past me and into my house, inviting herself in. Clenching my jaw, I slammed the door shut, making the glass at the top rattle in its frame, and turned to face my sister. I was in a bad mood anyway, as I usually was, and I certainly wasn't in the right mood to deal with Alice.