Golden Wings

Chapter 16~ Present Day, The Blue

Knock, knock.

I bolted upright. What time was it?

Knock, knock.

My eyes flew to the door. Who-

My eyes widened.

My heart began beating fast as it quickly made its way down to my knees.

My hands grew clammy and I found it hard to breathe.

Edward.

I scrambled out of bed, almost tripping over the tangled sheets, and went to open the door. My hand was on the doorknob when I realized I was still in my nightgown.

Knock, knock.

I jumped back from the door as if burned, and began thinking, What could I do? He's right outside the door, and I'm not even ready-

Wait.

I quickly ran to the changing screen and cleared my throat as I heard another knock.

"Clarisa?" Edwards' voice drifted through the door to me, and I started throwing on clothing. "Are you alright?"

I froze. It was such a common phrase, but...

And with my recent thoughts...

He couldn't know...

Could he?

No...

"Clarisa?" Edward called again, knocking softly. I swallowed quickly, trying to dampen my now dry mouth.

"Oh-!" I called, trying to sound surprised. "Edward! I- uh, I was-" I stutter, but Edward doesn't comment, just saying smoothly,

"Getting dressed? Don't worry. There's still plenty of time till dusk." He says, and I whip my head around to see that the sun is indeed still high above the horizon. My face grows red with embarrassment, and I begin to try to cover up my tracks.

"Oh, no- I was- I just..." I give up, knowing that it'll only result in more discomfort.

"Don't worry," Edward says slowly. "May I come in?" He asks, and I nod, before realizing that he couldn't see me and called,

"Uh... Yeah."

Edward came in, closing the door behind him. I heard him walk over to the bed, hearing its hinges squeak as he sat.

"How's Samantha?" He asks casually.

I furrow my brow as I respond with, "Uh, fine? What do you mean?"

I can imagine him shrugging, relaxing on my bed as if it were his. "Curiosity. Raf arrived recently, I was wondering how she was doing."

I blink, unable to properly articulate my thoughts. "Well..." I say eventually. "Clearly you know Raf well enough to call him as such, why don't you ask Sam yourself?"

"We don't exactly see eye to eye, Samantha and I." He continued with a baffling smoothness. How does he do that?

"Why's that?" I was finished changing but was hiding behind the changing screen, worried about the consequences of coming out. Besides, I was enjoying the conversation.

"Haven't a clue. Perhaps someone said something."

"Like what?" I ask, one part curious as to what someone could have said and the other part guilty knowing that it was me who altered Samantha's opinion on him.

"How would I know?" I jump and shriek as Edward rounds the changing screen. His colourless eyes are staring at me cooly, and his mouth is curled up in a deadly smirk. His dark hair was perfectly still, almost as if he styled it. The thought causes me to break out into nervous giggles. His smirk deepens, and as he reaches out to brush a strand of hair away from my face, I slowly fall silent.