Pinned but Fluttering

Chapter 27

Chapter 27

As always, all things Twilight belong to Stephenie Meyer; I am merely having a blast torturing her human and immortal characters alike.

When I realized that Edward was sitting on my bed and holding me in his arms, I panicked. Shutting my eyes, I fought weakly against him; all I could see in my mind was Edward's dark glare from that day in school so long ago, with his stark, black eyes narrowed in hatred as they bore into my very soul.

The panic of waking in Edward's arms combined with the dregs of fear remaining from my nightmare threw me into a painful frenzy, and my only goal was to get away from anyone who could hurt me as the remembered images of the Jacob's violence and near-rape pounded into my mind with a stunning ferocity. As I feebly struggled against his cool embrace to gain my freedom, I don't remember screaming, but the rawness of my throat afterward painfully proved that I had called out in fright and panic.

As I thrashed wildly against him, Edward abruptly released me although he remained seated on the edge of my bed. With both of us watching the other with wary intensity, I gingerly pulled myself into a sitting position in bed, my surprised eyes fixed suspiciously on his face. His expression was also one of shock, as if something had happened that he had not expected to occur.

His brow furrowed with concern and confusion, Edward reached his hand toward me, opening his mouth as if to speak. Not yet over my panic, I cringed away from his proffered hand, still afraid of both Edward and of the nightmare. As I curled in upon myself, Edward closed his mouth abruptly and withdrew his hand; it was as if something shuttered his eyes, his face, his entire expression...which now appeared removed and coldly distant as he got to his feet with an odd, otherworldly grace.

Despite the illogical fear that made me tremble, for one moment I wondered if Edward were an alien. You know, a being from another planet kind of alien? For a split-second he moved in a way that seemed positively inhuman, at least to me.

Great. Now I was imagining things, I thought as I shook my head gently to clear it.

While Edward releasing me had calmed my panic somewhat, I also felt oddly bereft...as if I had been where I should be but was there no longer. It was a strangely unsettling sensation...quite unpleasant, in fact, and I lowered my face to stare at my hands in my lap as I recalled his mixed reaction.

I probably disgusted him somehow.

Yes, that had to be it.

Edward had always seemed disgusted by me at school....

For the briefest of moments, I felt something icy cold graze my cheekbone had which remained extremely sensitive long after the bruises, courtesy of Jacob, had disappeared. As if I felt a sudden chill, I shivered, and for some reason beyond my ken, my heart fluttered wildly, frightened again, a bird trapped within the cage of my chest.

And it wasn't because of Jacob, even though I was proud that I could think his name without wincing inwardly. Much....

Taking in deep breaths to regain my composure, ignoring the searing pain that those same deep breaths caused, I looked up at Edward.

Although I had never seen nor heard him move away from me, Edward now stood in the doorway to the hall, all the way across the large bedroom. His eyes bore into mine for another brief moment, his face set in a sort of inexpressible emotion...the contradictory term “exultant grimace” came to my mind, but although it was close to describing his expression, it still wasn't quite right.

Edward gave me a sort of bemused glare that fortunately held no hint of the dark, dangerous malice I so clearly remembered from our wordless interactions at Forks High, yet his face contained no warmth, either. I'm not sure what emotion was revealed to me in the brief moment before he resumed his customary glare. However, his careful mask had slipped for a mere second, and I had glimpsed the tortured soul hidden so carefully from prying eyes. But that glimpse brought a strangely satisfied smile to my lips as he disappeared silently down the hall.