Shooting the moon - Edward Cullen

chapter 12

"Jasper! Holly needs a pick me up," Alice called as she shut the car door. I was exhausted. I would have been quite happy to just sleep in the car.

"Alice, what did you do?" Edward had come into the garage closely followed by Jasper. He seemed a little worried by my state.

"Shopping... sooo many bags. Sleep now. Mmmmm," I gurgled my way through the sentence and felt someone pick me up out the car. I assumed it was Edward. His quiet laugh shook through his chest and his breath tickled my skin. He smelt heavenly as always.

"I don't think there's anything I can do that will pick her up from this state, Alice. She's shopped out." Jasper chuckled at his wife.

The voices faded as I either fell into a deeper sleep or Edward travelled upstairs. I felt my body being laid out on the bed and my shoes removed. Rustling of covers were followed by complete comfort. I could feel reality slipping away and I gave a small sigh as I drifted off.

The last thing I was aware of was the faint touch of Edward's hand as he stroked through my hair as he hummed a comforting tune. I couldn't figure out where I'd heard it before, but it was angelic coming from his voice.
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My last week in the Cullen residence was spent stressed out. The snow had come and gone and no accident had happened. Had I altered the story that much for Bella to never be involved in the car crash? I didn't think it was possible but the conditions were completely different. For some reason even though it was only a week to Christmas the weather had warmed a little. Instead of slushy snow there was just the usual rain and cloudy sky.

It was my last day at Forks High School, and although I had only been there a few weeks, it felt strange to leave it. People had given me phone numbers and email addresses saying to keep in touch. I was pretty sure emails couldn't be sent through universes, but I took the contact details anyway.

Bella had warmed to me a little. We'd make small talk in class but she never really opened up. I could see her look at me out the corner of my eye sometimes, as if trying to find something that wasn't there. At the end of our last lesson together I felt that although we might not be close, we both shared one thing in common. We both loved Edward. Not in the same way but we loved him nonetheless. It was with this thought that I turned to Bella as she gathered her things

"Bella, I just wanted to say it's been nice getting to know you. Edward is one of my close friends, and it's nice to see someone notice him for who he is. I know a lot of people here don't like the Cullen's, so thanks for taking the time, I know he appreciates it." I smiled warmly as I remembered Edward's smiling face. She made him happy and he deserved it, no matter that he thought otherwise.

Bella seemed a little stunned at the strong emotion that ran through my comment, but she nodded anyway.

Me, Alice, and Edward were waiting for the other's to join us at the Volvo. The plan tonight was to have a bonfire out in the woods, celebrate my time with them. It would also be a chance for me to give them the Christmas presents I had bought for them since I wasn't sure if we would meet near Christmas.

Bella waited for the rest of her group by her car, I noticed her glance up and smile at Edward. He looked towards me and I smiled nudging him towards her. It made sense for Edward to be closer to Bella, I was still uneasy about the fact that the car accident was yet to happen. If Edward was next to Bella at least she would be safe.

As I watched Edward walk toward Bella I saw Jessica waving me over on the other side of the lot.

"I'll be right back, I think Jessica wants something."

"Well as long as it's not Edward's phone number then its OK," Alice snickered as I turned and walked towards Jess.

It all happened too fast. I glanced towards Edward who was watching me over Bella's shoulder a slight smile on his face, and then a loud bang filled my eardrums followed by screeching tyres. My head turned in what seemed like slow motion towards the sound. Headlights hit my face. I tried to get my feet to move, but they were frozen solid to the spot. I wanted to close my eyes and wait for the impact, that moment when pain wipes out every conscious thought, but I couldn't. I took one last look at Edward. Our eyes locked, and in that moment his eyes showed so much pain. There was nothing he could do without Bella noticing and he knew it.