He could taste the fear coming from her. It was exquisite. Edward drank it in, luxuriating in its tingling warmth. There was a pounding at the back door only about six feet away. “Hey, Mandy, it's me, babe.” Hope flooded Mandy. Her gaze fell on the door. She screamed loud and piercing. Edward let her go. Mandy fell back, slamming into the sink. She stared up at him, barely able to catch a breath.
Edward flashed her a happy grin. “Well,” he said. “Go.”
Mandy couldn’t move. Fear rooted her to the spot. Her boyfriend banged against the door frantically. The knob jiggled. “Mandy! Mandy, are you okay?” His voice sounded frightened. That broke the spell. Mandy took off running. She didn't dare look back. She fumbled with the door, yanking on it. Then she remembered to flip the deadbolt.
Edward took in a deep breath. His Beast slithered to the surface. It didn't have to shove him back. Edward sank willingly. Edward’s bones shattered, as his body remade itself in the Monster’s image. Mandy swung the door open wide. She ran out into her boyfriend’s arms. Mandy grabbed him, pulling him down the alley behind the restaurant.
“What is it?” he cried, his eyes wide. Pulling against her, he took two steps toward the door, with Mandy yanking on his arms.
“Mark,” she cried frantically. “We have to go!” Mandy blubbered, nearly tripping over her own feet.
Something large and dark exploded through the doorway. It slammed into Mark. His flannel shirt tore as the thing shredded him with a flurry of knife-like claws, too fast for her even to see. Mark was dead before he hit the ground. Edward sank his teeth into his shoulder, tearing away a chunk of delicious flesh.
His hot blood splattered Edward’s chest. Thick and syrupy it dripped down the front of his chin. Mark was dead. What Edward wanted was the fear running that way. He took a few extra moments to chew on the flesh beneath him. Mandy screamed. Her cries echoed out across the damp streets. Edward let her get a good head start. That way he could make it last longer.
Mandy slammed into the side of a car, ricocheting into a lamppost. She twisted her ankle on the curb. Mandy crashed to the earth, hard. Her elbows scraped against the asphalt. The street was dead. At six in the afternoon, it was dead. At near midnight there wasn't a soul out for twenty miles. She cried out again. Her scream turned to a sob on its tail end. “Please!” she keened, loud and heartfelt. “Please, somebody help me!”
Edward chewed on a piece of tender flesh, swallowing it down. Her begging was sweet music. Edward decided he had given her enough of a head start. It was time for the chase to begin. He took off. Edward had been crouched atop her dead lover's chest like something out of a nightmare. Then he appeared at the end of the alleyway.
He didn't bother looking. Edward could smell her, and it was a delicious, soft scent. It made his stomach growl. The Monster begged for it. Edward followed it out into the chilly night air. It wasn't long before he found Mandy crawling across the wide center street of this tiny town. Edward stalked toward her. She saw him. Her fear dropped into utter terror. Mandy fought to get up. The pain from her ankle sent sharp spikes into her knee. Mandy fell back to the ground, slamming the side of her head against the street.
The blow nearly knocked her unconscious. As it was, starbursts exploded across her vision. Pain ate its way up her leg. She could barely take a breath. Mandy gulped and gulped, but there just wasn't enough air. Her lungs burned with the work of it. She tried again to scream. Her voice was barely audible over her crashing heartbeat, and the blood rushing between her ears.
Edward stood there watching her feebly trying to crawl away from him. The smile on the Monster's face was cruel, full of malice. Its skin shimmered under the streetlamp. His wasn't the mottled gray that Vincent's and Reese's were. Edward’s skin was black. All light absent. All the colors swirling together to create the darkness that he had become. His eyes were different too. His tri-colored irises grew larger to encompass the entire almond shape.
Edward ran just the tip of each claw down her back. Mandy screamed. The fiery pain made her skin a throbbing thing. She tried to roll over. It only caused more agony. Something Edward adored. He bent low. His hand closed around her throat. Edward lifted her so she was eye to eye with him.
She wailed and begged. Edward’s hand closed tightly enough to make it difficult. She would have to work for it. Her feet kicked, dangling in the air high above the road. She clawed at this hand ineffectually. His thoughts of Ellie had his mind working. It made the Monster angry. Not in the mood to play tonight, Edward drew his claws across, slicing the flesh of her throat.
Blood spilled out of her, staining her white button-down shirt. Edward took her back to the alley. Gorged himself on both the blood and the flesh of her. Her boyfriend's too. Edward didn't get to enjoy it. His little sister and her lover took up too much of his thoughts. Edward could ask her to stay. At least until the baby was born. That wouldn't be too long now, a month or two.
That way she would have both the Hale brothers to keep her safe in case he lost control. Edward didn't want to lose her again. He missed the days of it just being him and his baby sister. He hated that stupid factory. He despised that pathetic little town. The only reason he stayed, was for her.
Then Vincent found them. Edward wanted to go to the house. He wanted to rip Vincent limb from limb. Edward made that mistake before. Vincent had proven much scrappier than he ever gave him credit for. Edward might be able to get him alone, off hunting with him. He’d turned on Ellie last time. He did not want that to happen again.
Thinking about Ellie this whole time made him ache to see her. He mounted the steps, taking them two at a time. Edward stopped in the doorway. Ellie was curled up on her side, her arm draped over Vincent's legs. He had his back against the wall, a sketchpad in his hands drawing her of course. Reese was curled up beside her, running his hands through her hair. Both of them glared at Edward. Ellie was asleep.
Vincent was neutral. His eyes swiveled up to look at him, his hand coming to a stop. Edward forced a smile. “Just checking on her,” he said.
“I see the hunt was good tonight?” Reese said. There was something in his tone.
“Yeah,” Edward said, padding into the bedroom.
One of the floorboards creaked. Ellie's eyes blinked open. Reaching for her gun, she leaned back and yawned. Ellie flashed him a dreamy smile. “Hey, there you are,” she said. Ellie looked at the clock with a frown. “It's a little late for Monopoly,” she said chuckling. “You want to watch a movie with us instead?”
“No, Squirt. I was just thinking about you. Wanted to make sure you were okay,” Edward said with a smile. He honestly meant those words. His emotions were a pendulum swinging this way and that. One moment he loved her, the next. He couldn't even bare to think about the wicked things that flooded his mind. He looked at Vincent, at the way he hovered over her protectively. Edward was glad Vincent was there in that moment. Vincent would never let him do anything to Ellie.
Reese glared at him as Ellie crawled off the bed. She crossed the distance between them in nothing but her angel wing t-shirt and a pair of hipster panties with bright red polka dots. Neither of the Hale brothers took their eyes off Edward as she threw her arms around him. Both coiled, ready to attack him at the first hint of lost control.
“You sir, are in dire need of a shower,” Ellie told him with a smile.
“You got me,” Edward admitted, hugging her once more. “Maybe we can do the Monopoly thing tomorrow. Or I could scrounge up the football.”
Ellie's eyes lit up at that. “I would love that. I love playing catch.” Her green eyes danced in the light.
Edward touched the tip of her nose with his bloodstained finger. “It's a date then,” he said laughing.
“You know I love you, Edward. Right?” Ellie asked.
That made him smile, made his heart flutter to hear those words. “Yeah,” Edward said. “And I love you, little Lottey.” He leaned in and laid a kiss on the top of her head. Edward mussed her hair once
more before heading toward the door. “Night,” he said to the three of them.
As he headed toward the bathroom, Edward heard her say. “I told you, my brother is just fine.”
Chapter 45
The kick on full auto killed her aim. There wasn't even a small chance that with practice she would be able to use it one-handed. Reese pressed himself to her back, mirroring her stance exactly. He held his arms out pressed against hers. “Next clip,” he commanded. Reese rested his hands on her hips, while she dropped the empty clip, replaced it with the full one. Ellie gave the bottom a hard slap. In one fluid motion, she pulled back on the slide, chambering a bullet. It made Reese smile. To him that just never got old.
“It's all right to let your target drift a little,” he told her. “With the full auto, ya won't be able to stop it. The burst, on the other hand, try to keep it as tight as ya can,” Reese said, raising his hands up to help steady hers.
“You're taller than him,” Ellie said, letting loose a three round burst. Her teeth chattered inside her skull. They continued to reverberate even after the vibrations stopped. Her left arm tingled. The last three fingers on that side were numb.
“Who?” Reese asked, his forehead wrinkling.
“My Reese,” Ellie answered, sighting down her arm again.
“Well, yeah, I'm taller than Vince,” he said, giving her an odd look.
“Vincent never did this with me.” Ellie pulled down on the trigger. Her aim was improving with the three round burst.
“Only the personality ever taught ya to shoot?” Reese asked. Pressing in closer, he kicked at her foot, widening her stance by half an inch. His hand rested comfortably on the curve of her hip.
“He hates guns the way you hate the explosives,” Ellie said, laughing at him.
“He can use ‘em. Vince was just a shitty shot.” Reese flashed her a smile that made her skin tighten. “Why is it ya still talk about the personality like he was a real person?”
“He was real to me.” Ellie pulled the trigger again. It was a matter of timing. A rhythm she figured out halfway through the second clip. Ellie was beginning to prefer the three round burst. The only thing full auto was good for would be to press the barrel to the back of someone’s skull and turn it into so much red meat. That was all well and good, but she would need to be able to get that close. Not something Ellie figured was going to come in too handy for her.
She hit the button, dropping the second clip into her hand. Reese was beginning to think he should have taken the time to liberate a few more clips. Having to refill them was getting tedious. “So who plays me better? Me or Vince,” he asked stepping over to the open box of bullets.
“If I say, Vincent, will I get in trouble?” she asked. Reese smirked. “You're much happier than my Reese ever was,” she told him. “I’m still a much better shot with the Heckler.” Ellie squinted at the ruined trunk of the tree they used as their target.
“So if he’s your Reese, what does that make me?” Reese looked up at her slipping the bullets into the empty clips. His face scrunched up.
“I don't know. I guess you're my Reese too,” Ellie said smirking. “It doesn't matter, really. He's gone, and you're here.”
Reese squinted at her. He pushed for Vince to tell her what happened. Vince still hadn't done it. Reese didn't like lying. But it wasn't exactly his lie. However, he felt she needed to be warned. Reese understood now why Vince spoke so angrily when he talked about his alternate personality. Sometimes Reese got the impression that Vince didn't exactly separate him from the one in Vince’s head. It was the way Vince spoke. The pronouns he used.
Vince never called it a personality. He called it a ghost. Whenever he bitched about the way Ellie felt about the personality he accused her of loving Reese. The strange thing was Ellie. She did the same thing. Ellie treated him the way she treated the personality. All the trust, the love, the comfort she had with it. That's what Reese considered the personality, an it. Ellie felt all of that for him. Reese wondered why.
“I don't think it's gone. I think, Vince has just gotten better at hiding it,” Reese admitted.
Ellie took in a lungful of air, frowning just a touch. “I think Vincent is really good at hiding a lot of things from me,” she grumbled, taking the now full clip from him, slapping it home, and pulling back on the slide to chamber the first bullet.
“Finally picking up on that, are ya?” Reese chuckled at her. The cool autumn breeze tore at his hair.
Ellie shrugged. “I'm used to it. People have been lying to me and hiding things from me since I was a baby.”
“Ya still are a baby,” Reese said, making a face.
Ellie ignored him. “Everyone is out to protect little Ellie,” she said with a sigh. Ellie hefted the gun, squeezing off a burst.
“Ya aim better when you're pissed,” Reese said with a smirk.
“I'm not pissed.”
Reese stood up, coming around behind her. He ran his fingertips across her back. Reese laid a kiss on the top of her head. “Look who you're talking to, my dear. I know rage when I see it,” Reese said, giving her a look.
“All right, I admit it. I hate it when he keeps things from me. I hate being lied to,” Ellie complained, settling into her most comfortable stance.
“Well, if it makes ya feel any better, I never lie to ya.” Reese pressed in behind her again. He moved his hips against her. It drew a pleasant sigh from Ellie. She didn't even bother trying to hide it. “Arms up,” Reese commanded. Ellie hefted the gun. Reese slid his arms down the length of hers. “Full auto,” he said, next to her ear.
The sound of the gun going off, bullets tearing into the tree made Edward blink. He stood at the back door watching them intently. Ellie was getting the hang of the new gun. Edward didn’t like them. Didn't like the way they made his arm vibrate. Or the way they made his hands itch. Anna tapped her way across the floor. Anna and the baby’s hearts beat together. Edward loved that sound.
Edward was torn. One minute he couldn't take his eyes off her. He loved running his hands over her skin. That is when she would let him. The next he wanted to snap her neck like a bird. Anna was drawing further into herself, pulling away from him slowly. He remembered Ellie's words. “She was afraid of Vincent,” Edward said.
Anna stopped, turning vaguely in his direction. She blinked those dead eyes. “What made her stop?” Anna asked, blinking at the sound of gunfire outside.
“Ellie said, because if he hadn't killed her by now. He probably wasn't going to,” Edward repeated his little sister’s words.
Anna frowned. “That's supposed to be a comfort?” she asked. “You hurt me, Edward. There are bruises all over my arms.”
Edward stepped away from the sliding glass door. He crossed the distance between them. “I'm sorry,” he said. Anna gasped. His voice was suddenly so much closer. She hated not being able to hear his footsteps. “Sometimes it's hard to control. I'm not making excuses. I don't want you to be afraid of me, Anna.” It was a lie. Her being afraid of him rang Edward’s bell. He loved the thrill of it. Edward did love her, though. He laid his hand gently against her bulging belly. He loved that more. “I don't want Lucky to be afraid of me.”
“You have to be gentle. I'm not as resilient as she is, Edward.” Anna told him. She just wasn’t as strong as Ellie. She couldn’t deal with this the way Ellie could.
“I love you, Anna,” Edward whispered. “I love our son.”
Those words brought tears to her eyes. Anna let a shuddering breath free and turned toward the warmth radiating off him. Anna blinked those doll-like eyes of hers at him. She reached up feeling for his arms. The back of her hand brushed against him, then she laid her palm against his forearm. “It's not just you, Edward. I'm afraid of all of it. I'm scared to death that something could be wrong-” She couldn't bear to finish that thought. Edward’s face melted. She wasn't the only one who had that fear.
“Charlie said the baby is fine,” he assured her. Edward brushed the
hair out of those glassy orbs. “Just don't give up on me, please. This is new to me. It’s scary as hell for me too. I won't let you down.” Those words sent a memory rocketing through him.
Ellie was crying. The funeral, the day they were given the news she hadn't cried, not one tear. Them taking her away from him was what finally brought on the waterworks. They wanted to put her in foster care. Ellie begged him not to let them. She told him it could just be the two of them. It always had been. The look in Ellie’s eyes when she said those words made his decision for him.
He couldn't let them take her away. Edward had dropped to his knees in front of her. Brushed the short, buttery-colored hair out of her bright green eyes, he smiled at her. “Just us, Squirt,” he told her. “I promise, little Lottey. I won't let you down.” From that moment, his life had become about her. Up until the day Vincent stole her away from him. The day Vincent changed her from the wide-eyed innocent girl he knew, that he loved into this hard stone. He loved her. But she wasn't his Ellie anymore. She was Vincent's Ellie now.
A mix of anger and sorrow threatened to drown him. It didn't matter. Vincent could have Ellie because Edward had this. His hand danced over Anna’s bulging belly. Edward had something he could guide, that he could protect. Edward had something to take care of. Ellie wouldn't let him anymore. This thing, this tiny thing, would always be his. This baby would be his purpose. His reason.
Anna nodded. The beginnings of a shy smile crossed her lips. Edward fought to keep his touch gentle. It felt as though he was touching glass. He felt like Anna was made of it. Some crystalline creature, she was more than fragile. He pulled her into his embrace.
Shed some Light Page 38
