INNER DEMONS (edward cullen)

𝓽𝓮𝓷

"Alice," Carlisle asked, "will they take the bait?" Everyone watched Alice as she closed her eyes and became incredibly still. Nobody moved a muscle as they waited for the pixie to respond. Finally her eyes opened. "He'll track you. The woman will follow the first car out. We should be able to leave after that." Her voice was certain, but Charlotte still felt uneasy about the situation.

"Let's go." Carlisle began to walk toward the kitchen. Edward was at Charlotte's side at once, dragging her towards the car that she, Alice and Jasper would be taking. He seemed unaware of his watching family as he pulled her face to his, lifting her feet off the floor. For the shortest second, his lips were icy and hard against her own hot, soft ones; their touch left Charlotte gasping into his mouth. Then it was over. He set her down gently, still holding her face, his topaz eyes burning into her light brown ones. And then they were gone, replaced with a blank expression as he turned away.

Charlotte stood there, confused, and the others continued to look away as she stood staring at the retreating figure of Edward Cullen.
The silent moment dragged on, and then Esme's phone vibrated in her hand. It flashed to her ear and she quickly turned to everyone, "Now," she said. Rosalie stalked out the front door with a soft smile in Charlotte's direction, and Esme touched her cheek as she passed.
"Be safe." Her whisper lingered behind them as they slipped out the door. Charlotte tuned in and heard the first car start, and then fade away into the distance. Jasper and Alice waited. Alice's phone was at her ear before it buzzed, and Charlotte listened intently to the conversation.

"Edward says the woman is on Esme's trail. I'll get the car." She vanished into the shadows the way Edward had gone. Jasper and Charlotte looked at each other. He slowly closed the distance between them and reached for her hand, sending a multitude of calming waves towards her. "What got into Eddie?," Charlotte asked, a hint of confusion still lingered in her voice. Jasper smirked, "You're his mate, he just doesn't know how to act around you, and so he chose to just blatantly ignore your existence by playing with his blood singer." Charlotte stood with her mouth open, staring at Jasper as if she believed he would suddenly turn around and shout 'SIKE!'
"I can feel what you're feeling now — and I'm not lying." Charlotte smiled, "He kind of chose a bad time to realise his feelings for me." Jasper laughed, the sound of wind chimes in a gentle breeze, "You're wrong," he repeated, smiling kindly at me, "He's always known."

Then Alice stepped through the front door and came toward Charlotte with her arms held
out. "It will work out" she told them confidently. "Never thought I'd trust a pixie vampire," Charlotte replied, smirking as Alice smacked her arm playfully. She took Charlotte's hand in her own small, cold one and then they ran out the door, leaving the lights bright behind them.

Phoenix — the palm trees, the scrubby creosote, the haphazard lines of the intersecting freeways, the green swaths of golf courses and turquoise splotches of swimming pools, all submerged in a thin smog and embraced by the short, rocky ridges that weren't really big enough to be called mountains. The shadows of the palm trees slanted across the freeway — defined, sharper, paler than they should be. Nothing could hide in these shadows. The bright, open freeway seemed benign enough. But Charlotte still held that uneasy feeling.

"Which way to the airport, Alice?" Jasper had asked, and Charlotte flinched, though his voice was quite soft and not alarming, it was the first sound, besides the purr of the car, to break the long night's silence. Charlotte's senses had been on overdrive since she left the Cullens', the lack of sleep had heightened everything and left her on high alert.

"Stay on the I-ten, we'll pass right by it." Alice answered automatically. "Are we flying somewhere?" Charlotte asked Alice. The pixie shook her head, turning to the demon in the backseat, "No, but it's better to be close, just in case."