In The Right Key

Chapter 17: All of Me

Chapter 17: All of Me

Death is hard; death is exhausting. Which is really ironic since dying is easy. It's only difficult for those still alive. And I was living proof of that. As I got ready for school, I tried to make myself look presentable, but my skin was white and lifeless. Much like the Cullen's', but they pulled it off. I, for one, looked like a diseased anorexic. And yes, it really was that bad.

I pulled on a blue sweater, and after looking at myself in the mirror for five minutes, decided it looked good enough. Then I remembered it was the sweater Edward liked on me, in a time when all I had to worry about was his hunger. Now I had the whole town to protect from a psychotic vampire.

I should've stayed in Arizona.

But it was too late for that. I started something here, and I needed to finish it. Somehow, I became James' obsession, and he'd become mine. He wanted to kill me, and I wanted to kill him. Question is: who's faster?

I went to school hoping that I would be. Because my only other option was to die. Doesn't really sound like much fun.

The students of Forks High looked more morose than usual under the gray sky. They all made their way into the school in groups, paying no attention to order. They were kids, and deserved to be. I couldn't let James ruin that. Even though he was ruining it for me.

I walked into school with my head down. Everyone thought I was weird anyway. The new girl who befriended the odd family and rarely came to school, yes. I didn't really have any friends, nor did I want any. Relationships never last.

And then I saw a long line of students, all different shapes, sizes and backgrounds, lined up at the principal. He was handing out bracelets of some sort. I never really cared for school sponsored things like selling jewelry for a 'worthy cause', but I wanted to see what it was for. Maybe if I lent money to something, I'd feel better about life in general. The line was too long to see what the bracelets said, so I stopped a kid, Lee, from my class to ask.

"Hey. Lee."

He seemed shocked, like I'd never talked to him before. Hadn't I? Hm. "Hi, Bella."

I smiled slightly to not seem so frightening, but I feared my appearance already did the trick. "What are the bracelets for?"

"They're for Mike," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. It probably was, but with the whole not going to school/paying attention thing, I hadn't noticed. I saw Lee's now, on his wrist.

"Can I see yours?" I asked as politely as I could.

"Sure." He removed it and handed it to me. In red letters, it read, "Michael Newton - Forks is a family." I didn't understand; had the students and faculty become closer after Mike's death without me noticing? And how had I never heard of the bracelets? Had I become that disconnected with everyone else in the world?

"Here. Thanks," I said, handing him back the rubber circle of deceit. Then I went to the bathroom and stayed there until after first period began. I contemplated just leaving but realized that if I lived after the James ordeal, school would still be an issue. So I walked to English and stopped beside the door.

I looked in. Mr. Mason was at his desk, taking attendance. Too lazy to do the job himself, he looked out to the students and asked, "Who's not here?"

One kid said 'Ross' and another said 'Bella'. I mentally cursed whoever said my name. Lee chose that moment to speak up. "She was here earlier. I just saw her." Damn him.

"Skipping again, I see," said the one and only nasal voice of Lauren Mallory. She laughed and so did nearly everyone else. Well, then.

I turned back around and went back to the bathroom. My stupid eyes were leaking again and I had to go dry them. I would probably go to school more if there were promising qualities in the future graduating class of Forks High School. Teenagers are really what's wrong with the world.

Before I entered the restroom, I realized it was the same one I'd told Edward I knew that he was a vampire in. Such a short time ago, yet so much had happened. And then I felt his presence (don't ask me how). Edward was behind me and all it took was for me to turn around and let him see my tear-soaked face and I was in his arms.

And I never felt better, or more safe. It didn't matter what brought us together, just that we were. I didn't care that he was a vampire and that I should be afraid of him. He was Edward, and I was Bella, and everything was okay. We'd never broken up and life was perfect.

He'd come to me because I was hurting, no matter how petty or how he knew. He cared. I kissed him, softly at first, then stronger. I couldn't care less that we were in a school hallway or that a relationship between us was doomed. It was all him, all Edward. And we stayed together until a shrill ring cut our moments apart and students rushed away in a swirl of reality.

Edward reassured me with one last kiss before disappearing, leaving me content and ready to face my monsters head on.

---

In the wild turn of events my day had been, I stayed at school. I ate lunch in the library, but I went to biology. Edward held my hand under the desk the whole hour and never said a word; he didn't need to.

I went home feeling less of a jumbled mess. I called Jacob to finalize our plans for Friday: skip school, ride to Seattle, deal with James, have a nice dinner, sleep. He was very nonchalant about it all, but I knew he had to be just a little bit scared. I wasn't, because I knew Edward would be there and he would protect me.

We hung up knowing that the next time we saw each other, James would be going down.

About time.