Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
CHAPTER EIGHT ᴇᴍᴘᴛɪɴᴇss
I couldn't shake the feeling that something was watching me. Everywhere I turned it felt like there was something invisible blocking my path, wordlessly telling me not to leave so soon. Perhaps it was because there should have been another lifeforce between these glass walls, coming to greet me as they sensed my presence before I'd even stepped into the driveway.
Though it had been months since the Cullens had left their home, it still felt as if they were rooted within the very floors, their ghosts simultaneously haunting each room I moved through. That was another wrong thing that I was doing: stalking through their house as if my trespassing would alert them into suddenly coming back.
The last time I'd actually been in the house was Bella's birthday. The living room had been sterilised since them, the lingering scent of blood scrubbed away, replaced by the sting of bleach. The crimson stain on the wood floors was nowhere in sight. Everything looked normal, human, down to the utensils in the kitchen and the unused beds in the upstairs rooms, looking as if they were simply away fro a vacation. But, I supposed that was all it was to the family; they were taking a long holiday, and when they returned Bella would have passed and I would have moved along.
When I slipped into Carlise's study, I stood still by the doorway. It felt illegal to go any further without him being there to show me what each item meant. The walls were covered with shelves upon shelves of books, broken up by the pale mark of something big that had once sat there. His paintings. It was weird that they were precious enough to take.
I went to Alice's room last, taking my time to let my hands trail across the embossed titles of the old books on her nightstand. The golden tarot cards still sat on her desk- I laughed when I saw those. But then my hand stopped, snagging on the yellowed pages of a book I gave her not to long ago. Picking it up, I flicked through the pages, stilling swiftly as something dropped to the floor, the sound echoing against the deserted walls.
It was a piece of paper, folded many times into a tiny box, but it felt too heavy to just be that. I unravelled it, letting the enclosed item drop into my hand. It was a gold necklace, shaped into a heart locket, detailed with delicate swirls and flowers. Behind it, on the back of the paper, a note was written in Alice's swirling, decadent hand. The words were enough for my legs to send me bouncing to sit against her bed, crumpling the untouched blankets, my heart feeling heavy in my chest, weighing me down. I traced the words, reading them aloud, imagining her saying them in her twinkling voice.
𝑇𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑒 - 𝐴 𝑥𝑥
When I returned home, half in a daze, my hand clutched to the necklace, Mrs Rochester was waiting for me with the phone. I picked it up and was met with Bella's voice.
"Hey, I know this is last minute, but want to come to the movies?"
"When?"
She laughed, a sound I hadn't heard in a long while. "Um, like now?"
