Runaway Girl {A Twilight Love Story}

Teeth in the Grass

And when there's nothing to want
when we're all brilliant and fast
when all tomorrows are gone
there will be teeth in the grass

Riley

What the hell did I just do? I didn't mean it...I was just trying to scare her....I wasn't going to hurt her.

I watched as she went down— slowly arcing through the air, connecting with such a resonating crack against the tree trunk. Her chestnut hair covered her face, covered the deep wound I knew was there. On her side, blood was soaking through her white sweater—Snow White and the ruby red apple....

I turned around to face Jane, the gun shaking in her hand. "Riley...I...I...."

"What the fuck, Jane! How could you do that?" I screamed.

"She was getting away, you told her to stop and she didn't stop and she was getting away and..." Jane dropped the gun into the hard earth, landing with a muted thud.

"You didn't have to shoot her!" I hollered as I glared at her.

Ryland was crying, clinging to his mother's neck. I stood there for a long time— minutes, hours, I don't know—watching them. The blood kept seeping out, saturating the moss and brush, until I couldn't tell where the blood stopped and the undergrowth began. It was so dark, so red, so green and I knew that she was so dead. Slowly I approached, my footsteps muted by the soft ground. I gently laid two fingers against her neck. Her skin was warm and slippery from the blood. Her breath was quieted and her body was still. There were no remnants of life in her anymore.

"Is she..." Jane whispered.

I nodded at her slowly. "Yeah."

Jane walked behind me and bent down to touch her body. "I've never seen a dead body before," she mused, her fingers almost brushing against Bella's cheek.

"Don't fucking touch her," I snapped. I slapped her hand away. "You've fucked up enough already. Don't you dare fucking touch her right now."

"What was I supposed to do, Riley? She would have gone to the police. Did you think about that? You would have gone to prison. What choice did I have?"

"You didn't have to kill her," I muttered, starring down at Bella's still form, twisted against the tree.

"I didn't mean to kill her, or I didn't plan on it, at least. Of course, that's the only way to solve these problems," Jane snapped as she stood up to glare at me.

"She would have come back to me," I whispered.

"Are you kidding me? Give me a break, Riley. I did you a favor. That bitch was done with you. She was running away from you for years. Get over that bitch!"

"Don't call her that!" I roared.

"Bitch! She was a bitch who took your only child! You know what— I'd shoot her again if I had the chance." She leaned down next to Bella's ear. "He told you, and you didn't listen. I didn't want to hurt you and now you have to die."

"Just quit it, Jane."

I gently grabbed Ryland and pulled him off his mother's corpse. He struggled for a moment then sunk against my chest.

"We have to go. We can't be here," I explained quietly.

Jane grabbed the guns and followed me through the woods to the house. Ryland shook the entire way back to the cabin, his eyes looking out into nothing. I rubbed his back in little circles, trying to reassure him. He was stiff in my embrace as I loaded him into the middle of the truck.

I knew that we couldn't stay in La Push—the cops would come for us as soon as they found Bella's body. Her father would stop at nothing to hunt me down. They'd never trust the word of a guy like me. I was trouble; I had enough run-ins with the Chief to know how he felt about me. They'd never believe a punk like me. They'd never get that I never meant to hurt her, that I loved her. All I ever did was love Bella; they'd never understand....

I buckled Ryland into the middle of the bench seat. He sat there, staring out at the windshield; his gaze frozen on the wipers, swishing back and forth. Jane was banging around inside the house, yelling about things we had to bring with us.

I ordered her to shut the fuck up, to get in the goddamn car.

I jammed the truck into gear and peeled out of the gravel driveway; the little log cabin fading behind us. I may not have pulled the trigger but I knew the truth—I had killed the only girl I had ever loved. I was a murderer. I gave the cabin one more glance before we rounded the corner...I couldn't bear to see it any longer.