The Human Cullen || E.Cullen

12. the truth comes out

Holly plays with Arthurs hair as she stares at the ceiling; the room is lit bright by the moon meaning she should be fast asleep like Arthur is, snoring ever so loudly beside her. But she can't sleep, his cries echoing inside her and his pain now hers.

She carefully sits up and goes to the window, her arms wrapped around herself. She looks at the sky for a moment before she catches something out of the corner of her eye; startled, she quickly looks down, relieved to see Edward's pale face in the treeline. He nods towards the livingroom and Holly nods, quietly heading down there with one of Arthurs hoodie over her tank top.

Edward sits on the arm of the couch and fiddles with his thumbs as she comes in quietly, doing the same on the opposite couch. "It's late." She says softly. "This must be important."

"Yes..." Edward says softly. He looks at Holly, his eyes hungry. That's the only way he can pull off looking just about old enough to be Arthurs legal guardian; hunger causes the dark eyes and purple bags, making him looks slightly older. "Bella said something - about when your brother was here."

"If it was about Paul being a jerk, I set him in his place. I won't have him or Jacob or anyone speaking to Arthur in such a way." Holly says.

Edward smiles small. "Thank you. No, this is about something to do with him. That he-he covered for her. Josie. He covered for her about how she died."

Hollys heart leaps. Oh god no, she can't tell Edward, Arthur will be mad. "I-I..."

"Holly, please. I just want to help him, he is my son. He is my everything and I can't take much more of him hurting, of us all hurting. He's the only person who has ever been able to shut me out so well on this things, it's frustrating." Edward begs.

Holly sighs deeply and shakes her head. "I won't tell you. But I can get him to, I think. He's exhausted, physically and emotionally. He cannot carry the weight of this much longer. Arthur is that fragile boy we all love, he's in there, he's just hiding his hurt. He's truly hurt."

Edward rubs his face sighing. "I know... Thank you for being there for him. A few weeks and you're more than a part of the family." He smiles.

Holly blushes and smiles. "Yeah, it's a good job coz my mom's mad at me for upsetting Paul. And I love Arthur. He's a unique soul."

"That he is. Sorry I disturbed you, I hope you get back to sleep soon." Edward says as he stands.

"It's fine." Holly waves him off. "Goodnight." She smiles before heading upstairs. She carefully climbs beside Arthur, tucking the covers over them both carefully before laying her head against his. "I truly love you." She whispers before dozing off to sleep again.

-

The next day they make breakfast together, Arthur failing miserably at flipping the pancakes again. Holly just laughs and takes over as he chops the fruit. "You, mister, have made a mess."

"It's okay, ma will clean it." He grins.

"No, you will clean it." She raises an eyebrow. "I'm pretty certain a big boy like you, Arthur Cullen, can clean up a little breakfast mess."

He raises an eyebrow in mimic of her. "And you, Holly Mathers, can help me if that's your battle. You made the mess too, look at this fruit juice everywhere."

"Hey I can't stop a fruit from being juice, you can stop yourself from making a mess." She points the spatula at him.

He winks at her and eats a strawberry as he waits for his plate. He then piles the fruit onto his pancake and drizzles some cream over it, kissing his fingers. "Magnifico."