Author’s Note: Okay, so it’s 10:30pm right now on a school night but I have to get a little bit of my thoughts down on paper. Well, I just read the incredible Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (which I suggest all of you to read) and I’ve been getting a lot of inspiration for artwork and fan-fictions (and since I’m a terrible artist, I decided to let my creative spirits flow through writing). Anyway, I was a bit disappointed that we did not hear much about Bella’s problem with talking in her sleep in New Moon. I couldn’t help but ask myself – “What kind of things does Edward hear when Bella’s asleep?” And of course, I started to get some feed-back. This little piece of work is written from Edward’s perspective on a typical night after spending the day with Bella. If you really want to get the specifics, it is at the end of New Moon and they are back together. It is a weekend night. Please note that there are spoilers – read the first two books first!
Another note – because I’ve been getting so many ideas, I’ve been working on several sequels to this little-short clip. I thought this was just going to be a one-shot initially – ah, see what happens when your imagination gets out of hand?!
Disclaimer: All the characters in this short-story are the property of Stephenie Meyer as well as the titles Twilight and New Moon – I do not own them to any degree whatsoever.The Typical Night
Everything felt right. I couldn’t believe how natural it was all coming back to me. I felt –
whole. The pain was easing away – did I even feel pain in the first place? It was wonderful to be home, with the one I loved.
Night had already fallen outside the window behind us. Not that we could see it however – the window was bricked over. The only source of light in the room was the green glow of the alarm clock on the dresser beside us. It read “11:34”, but Bella was as stubborn as ever.
“You really should be getting to bed,” I said softly.
“Look, I’m not tried already,” but then she yawned and her eyelids slid partway closed.
I pulled the quilt out from under her body and wrapped it around her. Then I pulled her close to me – I was never letting go again. She was so fantastically warm.
“Please, I won’t leave,” I promised.
She inhaled deeply and smiled slightly. “I know you won’t… I just don’t want to wake up to Charlie tomorrow.”
I sighed. I understood the motives behind Charlie’s actions (mind reading abilities give you that advantage) – but it was getting more and more difficult to break them. The bricked-up windows certainly appeared daunting at first, but I found it much easier to unlock the front door and smoothly sneak into Bella’s room more to my liking. I knew I shouldn’t. In fact, I was a little unhappy with Bella myself. Motorcycles – fast, dangerous, and what she used to provoke her hallucinations of me. Perhaps she needed some sort of punishment. But I couldn’t stand being away from her for more than an hour, let alone for the months of retribution she was going to have to make up to her father. I winced when I thought of those long, interminable months in South America…
“Don’t worry. Charlie will ease up sooner or later,” I tried to sooth her.
“Liar – you already know what he has planned for me. Probably 3 more months of absolute servitude,” she said in an annoyed tone.
I narrowed my eyes, but I didn’t reply to that. I already knew that Charlie was most likely going to keep her in this state for a little over graduation, but she looked so tired…
“Fine. I’ll sing you a lullaby,” I whispered into her ear.
“No – I’m not tired!”
Too late – I was already humming her lullaby into her ear. In no time at all her eyelids drooped closed. She snuggled in closer to my body and said very quietly, “I love you,” before drifting to sleep. I put my lips behind her ears and murmured “I love you too,” and kissed her neck. Her breathing got very heavy and I knew she was unconscious.
Now all I had to do was wait patiently – the entertaining part of my day was coming up very soon.
“Edward…” Bella moaned softly.
I could feel myself grin in the darkness. It was all too good.
“Yes Bella?” I said in a sweet tone.
I knew it was horrible of me to start replying to her but I couldn’t help myself. Honestly, I have the most interesting conversations with her when she is asleep.
“I love you,” she said.
“I know – I love you too,” I kissed her forehead and she smiled – then she started to giggle slightly. Here it comes.
“Do you think vampires can trip?” she said, the words a mush.
“I suppose anything is possible – I bet you would,” I grinned to myself.
“It would be so funny if
you did though,” she continued to laugh to herself.
I have to admit, I was a bit frustrated that I couldn’t see her thoughts. Could she possibly be dreaming of me tripping?
She grew silent for awhile then and squirmed a little in my arms. Suddenly, a jumbled mesh poured out of her mouth.
“I’m going to have to make Charlie a cheesecake.”
You don’t know
half of the restraint it took to keep myself from bursting out laughing.
“And why is that?” I said, surprised that my voice cracked somewhat.
She ignored the question and continued, “Do you think they put real cheese in a cheesecake? Oh – that’s going to mean another trip to the store.”
“I’m sure you’ll make that
trip just fine,” I snickered to myself.
“Do you think they sell those big circular cheddar cheese pieces at the store? They would be perfect…” she mumbled.
“What about the other ingredients?” I encouraged.
“It’s a cheesecake – do you think I need whipped cream?”
“Yes – that’s part of the cake,” I said – and then I couldn’t help myself and added, “You know what, I don’t think you should make Charlie a cheesecake.”
Her eyebrows furrowed slightly and she fell silent for a second before she yelled, “Why?!”
“Uh-oh,” I breathed and tensed. I could hear Charlie shuffle in his bedroom across the hall. I quickly entered his thoughts to see if he was awake, but I relaxed when I saw a picture of him zooming across the water in a red cigarette boat – very classy, a Yamaha – I even saw a fishing pole lying across the back of the boat. Suddenly, I had an idea. I tuned Charlie’s thoughts out of my head and turned back to Bella.
“You really should be quieter, Bella. You almost woke up Charlie,” I said.
“Edward! Charlie’s right here! I need to make him a cheesecake or he’ll make me do more laundry!” she hissed, her voice cracking.
I covered my mouth to muffle my laughs. “No - ,” I managed out and my voice broke as I tried to calm myself. “You don’t need to make him a cheesecake. You need to make him a
fishcake. He has plenty of fish in the freezer already – that way you won’t have to risk a
trip to the store.”
Her face grew very serious as she contemplated the thought of making a fishcake. “You don’t think it’ll be too bony for him?”
“No, I think he’ll love it,” I mumbled, still grinning.
She turned around so that her face was buried in my chest.
“Strawberries,” she said.
“What was that?”
“You smell so sweet,” she changed the subject.
“What about the strawberries?” I asked, curious.
“Strawberries would be great with the fishcake.”
“Why strawberries?”
Her facial expression changed into a mix of anger and puzzlement. “You don’t like strawberries do you?”
That took me aback.
“Uh – I suppose I did once,” was all I could come up with. “I like you much better,” and I buried my nose in her hair. The floral scent that came off her was intoxicating.
“Everyone loves strawberries though!” she nearly yelled. “I want a strawberry
right now.”
Great. This is what happens when your entertainment gets out of hand.
“You can have one when you’re awake,” I said after I heard Charlie’s loud snoring in the other room that assured me he was still asleep.
“
Now,” she demanded.
I thought for a second, and felt my lips curl upward. “I can give you something much better than a strawberry if you promise to calm down,” I said.
Her breathing evened out and she loosened up in my arms. A long pause followed before she breathed very quietly, “What?”
“This,” and I pulled her chin up very gently and kissed her lips. It was surprising that her heart rate sped up even though she was asleep.
“Thank you,” she whispered so silently that no human would have been able to hear it.
“Anytime,” I grinned.
It got very quiet after that and the hours ticked on by. At about three in the morning, she started to wiggle violently in my arms. I tensed hoping she wasn’t having a nightmare. I was sure there would have been talking involved though…
“No,” she cooed.
Yeah, it was a nightmare.
“Stop it!” she yelled.
“Bella – shh! You’ll wake up Charlie!” I cautioned.
“Edward! No!” her face was contorted into that of pain.
“Bella! Its fine, I’m right here!” I held her closer to me.
She started to shake and I was hoping that it was from my skin and not her dream. I pulled the quilt around her and rubbed her back. She continued to squirm until she was able to shrug the quilt off. Her forehead was on fire and beads of sweat were dripping down her neck. Panic started to wash through me.
“No, no, no, stop, stop, stop…” she murmured. “No, take me instead, anything but him. Spare him.”
My eyes grew wide. What the hell was she dreaming about? I could feel my jaw tighten and I was even more aggravated that I couldn’t see what was going through her head. I wanted to kill whoever was making her say those awful words.
The squirming started to die down when she pressed herself against my cool skin. Finally, she grew quite still. I was far from settled however. I felt like striking something. Esme was still “disappointed” in me that I broke that plasma television from Korea in our living room (Emmett a little more than “disappointed”) – not as if we can’t get another that looks exactly like it. If that television was still there however, I wouldn’t mind rushing home and destroying it again…
“I’ll make a deal,” Bella said suddenly, breaking my reverie.
“Excuse me?” I questioned.
“Can we please do it at another time? I can’t do it now,” she said, her tone cutting.
“Do what?” I prodded.
“No, I don’t want to do it now!” she complained. “I’ll make you a deal, I want to stay here.”
Once again she started to squirm around. Her breathing wasn’t so deep any more either. I glanced over at the alarm and it read “4:47”.
I heard her exhale heavily, and her eyelids started to flutter open.
“Bella, are you okay?” I put my face in front of her.
She looked up at me, her eyes still a bit glazed. She rubbed the sleep out of them.
“What time is it?” she grumbled.
“Almost 4:50. You should go back to bed; Charlie’s not even up yet.”
She let out a puff of air and seemed exasperated. She rolled out of my arms and climbed out of bed. She was wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a loose-fitting navy blue tank top. Her straight dark-brown hair was a wild mess. But I liked it – a little more than I probably should of.
“What’s wrong Bella?” I asked anxiously.
She turned to me, her chocolate eyes intense. “It was a no deal.”
“What?”
“I have to pee,” she left the room in a hurry.
I froze and I could feel the urge to laugh again increasing to a level beyond my control. I pulled the pillow she was sleeping on and let it out in a few cracked gasps. When I was able to compose myself I lingered a bit too long on the pillow, smelling her scent.
I straightened out when I heard Bella approaching.
“I was thinking,” she said when she returned into my open, waiting arms.
“I do that too,” I said.
She rolled her eyes. “I think I want to go cliff diving again.”
I froze. This was something I did not expect in the very least.
“Let me explain,” she said in a hurry.
“No – don’t even start. I don’t know what it is with you! Why is it that you are so into life threatening idiocy?!” I asked angrily.
“You sound like your sister,” she whispered in an exasperated tone.
I gritted my teeth. “You almost killed yourself last time.”
“Jake saved me,” she said quietly.
“I don’t care. No cliff diving,” I said through clenched teeth.
“Look – this will be different. I want you to come will me. We can go together – it’ll be such a rush. Last time, it was so…
exhilarating. At least it was before I hit the water. Anyway, it will be ten times better with you there,” she said, and then added, “You’ll get to see me in a bathing suit too.”
I pursed my lips. There was more than just cliff diving that attracted her to the beach – it was the Jacob kid. But the thought of seeing her in a bathing suit was very tempting.
“Charlie isn’t going to let you go – I think he nearly had an aneurysm when you confessed the truth last time,” I sighed futilely.
“Oh, c’mon – Charlie hasn’t been out fishing for
weeks. If it’s sunny next weekend, he’s going to have to seize the opportunity. I’ll just have to promise that I’m going to stay here.”
“You’re terrible liar.”
I could feel the heat coming off her cheeks.
“I’m pretty good at double dipping – you know, not telling the whole truth,” she offered.
“That’s still lying though,” I said triumphant.
“I’ll just say that I’m finishing up some homework or crap, maybe throw in a few college applications…”
“You really think he’s going to believe you?”
“He has to,” she said. “But, forget that for a minute! If all of that is aside, would you go with me?”
“What choice do I have? You’ll kill yourself if you go alone,” I cringed at the thought of her lifeless body – her almost dead form in the dance studio…
“Great! Do you know what Alice’s forecast is for next weekend?”
“No, but I’ll ask.”
“I’m pretty sure it’s going to be sunny – at least that’s what it said on the news. Some high is coming over us. Finally, something related to springtime,” she breathed happily.
I furrowed my eyebrows and I could feel my head droop slightly. She could be living in Florida if I wasn’t here, where the sun is shining nearly every day. I was the only one keeping her in the shadows.
Sensing my distress, she turned towards me and kissed my neck. “Can you handle a day of sunshine? I’m sure there won’t be too much of a crowd on the beach. The water is still a bit cold – I don’t care. It sort of adds to the high of jumping off the cliff.”
I grinned. “Of course I can. Sunshine sounds really nice too…”
She nodded. “It’ll all work out, you’ll see.”
There was a long pause. Suddenly I thought of her episode in the middle of the night.
“Do you remember any of your dreams last night?” I questioned.
Her cheeks turned bright red. “Oh no…”
I chuckled softly. “It wasn’t that bad, really… It was just one thing you said that sort of caught my attention.”
“And what was that?” she insisted.
“You said, ‘No, take me instead, anything but him…’” I quoted in an anxious tone.
Another long pause. I started to count her heartbeats…
“I really don’t remember,” she confessed, slightly pink in the cheeks.
“If you’re lying, I swear I’ll find out,” I stated defiantly.
“Well – I remember… glimpses. It’s very hard to make out. What I recall most from the dream was you – on the floor – cringing…” she shuddered.
That day in Volterra floated, without wanting to, back into my memory. I remembered being reunited with Bella again, and at the same time the pain I endured from a member of the Volturri, Jane. It left me on the floor twisting and turning. I hope Bella will never experience that kind of pain.
“Don’t think about that,” I said sternly through gritted teeth. “That will never happen again. It was foolish of me to think I could, possibly, take down, someone with her abilities…” I choked.
Her eyes had an overcast glare to them that frightened me. I switched the topic.
“There was something else that interested me,” I said, hoping to lighten the mood.
The alarm went off in Charlie’s room suddenly, making the two of us freeze at the sound. I could hear Charlie’s thoughts drifting back into the conscious mind…
I leaned down and whispered into her ear, “Let me know when you get that fishcake done for Charlie. I’m sure he’ll bring an assortment of fish home next Saturday – I can help you make it if you like.” Once again I could feel her cheeks flush as I kissed her forehead and leaped silently off her bed. When I reached the bedroom door, I opened it and walked swiftly to the entrance. I exited just as I heard Charlie open Bella’s bedroom door…