In The Right Key

Chapter 9: Detention (Part 2)

Chapter 9: Detention (Part 2)

"You know, I usually don't do things like this, but your rebellion is rubbing off on me."

"Edward." I barely had time to stand up before he was standing in front of me. "What are you doing here? Not that I object." Because I certainly did not.

"I didn't like leaving you here. I had to be with you," he admitted. I reached my arms around his neck and hugged him as hard as I could. He hugged me back with as much force, both of us knowing that if he hugged any tighter, he would crush me. But all I could think about was how good it felt to be in his arms.

We held each other for days, weeks, months, (who knew?) the whole time Edward resisting what he needed to survive. The amount of love we had was strange for how long we'd known each other, barely a month, but it only made it that more real.

Time came back to me. I realized that Vanessa hadn't come back in almost ten minutes. And that Edward shouldn't be here when she came back.

"You have to go." I whispered. I didn't loosen my hold on him at all, though.

"Actually, I don't." I looked up to his face and raised an eyebrow. "Let's just say a certain blond brother of mine is a very good actor." Jasper? "Vanessa likes southern accents." (I later found out that Jasper had pulled on a thick accent from his human years and offered to buy Vanessa's car. Which he ended up doing.) I would have to thank him later.

"What did Alice think about that?" I doubted she would like her mate practically, technically flirting with another woman.

"She had a lot of fun dressing him up in cowboy paraphernalia. She didn't mind at all. 60 years together and you really gather trust." No matter how weird the situation was, I couldn't help but become more intrigued with the Cullen family.

"You're acting different today," I observed. I noticed he was more free and acting kind of human.

"It's like I said, you're rubbing off on me." His expression turned serious, all joking gone. "The human in me is slowly coming out every day that I'm with you. Love, jealousy, freedom . . ." Edward looked right into my eyes. "After being like this for over ninety years, you can't imagine how that feels." I smiled. I was just so happy. I never knew love could feel this good.

And we continued on like that for the rest of the week. Vanessa didn't come back, and the new volunteer didn't even care and was never in the room. I could have just left, but it didn't feel right. Plus, the guy supposed to be watching me (since no one else seemed to be getting detention this week) did check in from time to time. Edward heard his approach and was gone in a flash.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, Edward taught me to tune my hearing and recognize pitch. He would hum a note, and I really did try, but his voice mesmerized me. Just the sound of him humming made me crazy, in a way. But I got through it and learned a lot. The vibrations of his humming traveled straight through me, the lethargy making me feel at peace.

I was running late on Thursday morning so I didn't recognize the date until second period. February 14. Weird, I felt like I'd been in Forks a lot longer than a month; I felt like I'd known Edward for a year already. Then it clicked: Edward . . . February 14 . . . Valentine's Day. Hmm. I'd never really celebrated Valentine's Day (except for when they made you give everyone in class a card in elementary school), much less with a boyfriend. I wondered if Edward had celebrated it before. I also wondered who, what, where, when, why, how, etc.

Was I jealous? My insecurities from Monday came back to me as I sat in Government. I had to get my issues straightened out with Edward in detention since lunch and Biology were too crowded. I also couldn't wait until I got to my bedroom at night. Edward came to my room every night to say goodnight, but always ended up staying to watch me sleep. But no matter how many nights he was there by me, there was only one guy in my dreams. Jim, my vampire creeper who came into my room probably more than once, was always in the corners of my dreams, laughing silently.