Tainted

Chapter 9: Between Heartbeats

“Call me Alaska one more time and I’ll-”

“And you’ll do what, bite me?” Edward comments with his evil smirk growing wider.

I can’t help but to instantly roll my eyes because of his comment. “Oh, very funny. It’s not like I heard that one before. Anyways, where are we going?”

“In here.” Edward explained, holding a glass door open and gesturing me to walk through it.

Beauty.

That’s all that overwhelmed we when I walked into the room. It wasn’t just a room, it was a greenhouse. The ceilings were high and see through. Looking up, I’m almost blinded by the sun. It’s been a while since I haven’t seen sunlight. It is easy to say that I missed it.

I slowly walk through the flowerbeds that invade all the space in the room. Long green vines are outstretched and some even hang from the clear walls. Foreign smells quickly fill my nostrils. Red, yellow, orange, any color you could name was found here! It was way better then staring at the dead weeds that lay on the dried grass back home.

“I need you to help me pick some flowers for her.” Edward pauses to clear his throat. “I didn’t want to just get her roses because a rose is a common flower and she’s, she’s just something else.”

“Why couldn’t you just pick?” I question.

“Because I don’t have the mind and desires of a female.” He quickly explains.

“You sure about that?” I mutter before turning around.

My eyes and nose wonder from flower to flower. Each time I would carefully note their different characteristics that made them unique. I could tell that time was passing quite quickly by the way that Edward tapped his foot on the ground impatiently.

“Get her daisies.” I finally order.

“Daisies? Why daisies?” Edward asks.

Thinking back to the day of the showcase, I quickly answer. “She likes them because she has them in the dressing room. She had plenty of choices in flowers but she chose to have a Daisy around her. That’s why.”

While Edward takes the time to process my words my eyes wonder about the room. The sky begins to paint itself an orange color as the sun falls farther and farther below the horizon.

Edward slightly nods his head. “Alright then, I guess we’re done here.”

“Wait! Can we stay here a little longer? I want to see the sunset.” I plead childishly.

Edward smiles as he takes the time to turn around to grab a better view of the scene. “You know it’s even better from outside.” He gently grabs my hand and leads me beyond two more doors.

The wind freely blows the hair in my face as we step outside. He was right, without the wild vines of the plants, the sun is easier to spot. I instantly walk over to the end of the metal ledge and look down.

“Careful.” Edward grabs me by my waist and pulls me away from the edge. “We’re a couple stories above ground level. I wouldn’t want you slipping.”

As soon as he releases his grip on me, I couldn’t help but taking a step forward. I couldn’t help it. The sight was beautiful.

“How long has it been since you’ve been outside?” Edward casually asks.

My eyes stay focused on the setting sun. “It’s been a year since I’ve seen the sun set. I’ve been outside before though to rush to the store and quickly get supplies before daylight faded.”