the fire under the ice | j.hale

8 | confrontation

Friday began quietly. Edward kept his thoughts to himself, Emmett and Rosalie were inseparable, and Alice was her usual bubbly self. Yet, I felt unsettled. The night before, I'd followed Tess home. My earlier calm, inspired by her good mood and carefree demeanor, evaporated when I saw her walking alone to her house. Though she didn't live far, it was late. I fought the urge to scoop her into my arms and whisk her home at vampire speed—or even by car. But that was clearly out of the question. All I could do was lurk in the shadows, watching over her. Some might call it stalking.

She lived at the end of a secluded path, away from other houses. I smiled, realizing she wasn't in close proximity to Mike Newton. I lingered in front of her house for a few minutes, conscious that I was already pushing boundaries. I didn't want to violate her privacy further. Emmett's voice broke through my reverie.

"Planning another nocturnal visit?"

I remained silent, but no response was necessary. Everyone knew I had overstepped last night. I'd returned home troubled, unwilling to engage with anyone. My feelings for Tess had crystallized—a potent mix of desire and need to have her near. The hours and distance separating us felt unbearable. I longed for her presence, finding solace only in the knowledge that I'd see her today.

Though I wanted to wait for Tess, Alice urged me to follow them inside. I sensed her unease and acquiesced to avoid exacerbating her concern.

"What's troubling you, Alice?"

"It's nothing, don't worry about it."

I was disappointed not to have seen Tess all morning, but my heart lightened when she entered the cafeteria. Yet, as quickly as it had lifted, it tightened again. She appeared paler than usual, and her gait seemed slightly stiff. I smiled at her whenever our eyes met, but her repeated yawning troubled me.

When she left the room, I rose to follow. Alice grasped my arm.

"You'd better wait a bit," she whispered.

I doubted Alice's reaction and was even more suspicious of Edward's smirk, but I decided to go out anyway. It took me only a moment to find Tess sitting on a bench. I positioned myself behind her and announced my presence with a gentle cough.

What followed was one of the worst moments of my life. My concern for her overwhelmed me, causing me to express my displeasure poorly. My words came across as skepticism about her abilities, and I realized with horror that I had hurt and humiliated her. She stood up straight, facing me, and declared that she didn't want my help and relied only on herself. With those words, she left me standing there.

Truthfully, if I were capable of tears, they would have fallen. My desire to help her was overwhelming. Financial struggles, work challenges, rent—these were trivial concerns for me, a perk of vampirism. But for humans, they were daily burdens. Tess, however, wasn't just any human—not in my eyes. I longed to shield her from such troubles. If she were one of us, these worries would vanish. More importantly, she'd be by my side. Eternally.

She had declared her self-reliance, her history of independence. But she wasn't alone anymore, even if she didn't realize it. She had me. The thought of her never speaking to me again filled me with dread. This couldn't be the end—not in such an abrupt, foolish manner. Suddenly, Alice's warning came rushing back. She had foreseen this. That's why she'd tried to stop me. I should have heeded her advice.

I also recalled Edward's smirk. He had seen Alice's vision. He knew I was going to hurt Tess and had let it happen. He had even seemed to relish it. For the first time in almost a century, I felt disgust and deep disappointment towards my brother.

Tess consumed my thoughts for the rest of the day. Her wounded expression and rapidly beating heart under the weight of humiliation haunted me. My devastation was so profound that even Emmett remained silent during classes.