I didn't notice when Alice disappeared from beside me. I looked over to ask her a question, and she was gone.
'Where's Alice?' I whispered in a panic.
'She went to retrieve your bags from where she stashed them this morning.'
I'd forgotten that I had access to a toothbrush. It brightened my outlook considerably.
'She's stealing a car, too, isn't she?' I guessed.
He grinned. 'Not till we're outside.'
It seemed like a very long way to the entryway. Edward could see that I was spent; he wound his arm around my waist and supported most of my weight as we walked.
I shuddered as he pulled me through the dark stone archway. The huge, ancient portcullis above was like a cage door, threatening to drop on us, to lock us in.
He led me toward a dark car, waiting in a pool of shadow to the right of the gate with the engine running. To my surprise, he slid into the backseat with me, instead of insisting on driving.
Alice was apologetic. 'I'm sorry.' She gestured vaguely toward the dashboard. 'There wasn't much to choose from.'
'It's fine, Alice.' He grinned. 'They can't all be 911 Turbos.'
She sighed. 'I may have to acquire one of those legally. It was fabulous.'
'I'll get you one for Christmas,' Edward promised.
Alice turned to beam at him, which worried me, as she was already speeding down the dark and curvy hillside at the same time.
'Yellow,' she told him.
Edward kept me tight in his arms. Inside the gray cloak, I was warm and comfortable. More than comfortable.
'You can sleep now, Bella,' he murmured. 'It's over.'
I knew he meant the danger, the nightmare in the ancient city, but I still had to swallow hard before I could answer.
'I don't want to sleep. I'm not tired.' Just the second part was a lie. I wasn't about to close my eyes. The car was only dimly lit by the dashboard controls, but it was enough that I could see his face.
He pressed his lips to the hollow under my ear. 'Try,' he encouraged.
I shook my head.
He sighed. 'You're still just as stubborn.'
I
The dark road was the hardest part; the bright lights at the airport in Florence made it easier, as did the chance to brush my teeth and change into clean clothes; Alice bought Edward new clothes, too, and he left the dark cloak on a pile of trash in an alley. The plane trip to Rome was so short that there wasn't really a chance for the fatigue to drag me under. I knew the flight from Rome to Atlanta would be another matter entirely, so I asked the flight attendant if she could bring me a Coke.
'Bella,' Edward said disapprovingly. He knew my low tolerance for caffeine.
Alice was behind us. I could hear her murmuring to Jasper on the phone.
'I don't want to sleep,' I reminded him. I gave him an excuse that was believable because it was true. 'If I close my eyes now, I'll see things I don't want to see. I'll have nightmares.'
He didn't argue with me after that.
It would have been a very good time to talk, to get the answers I needed—needed but not really wanted; I was already despairing at the thought of what I might hear. We had an uninterrupted block of tirre ahead of us, and he couldn't escape me on an airplane—well, not easily, at least. No one would hear us except Alice; it was late, and most of the passengers were turning off lights and asking for pillows in muted voices. Talk would help me fight off the exhaustion.
But, perversely, I bit my tongue against the flood of questions. My reasoning was probably flawed by exhaustion, but I hoped that by postponing the discussion, I could buy a few more hours with him at some later time—spin this out for another night, Scheherazade-style.
So I kept drinking soda, and resisting even the urge to blink. Edward seemed perfectly content to hold me in his arms, his fingers tracing my face again and again. I touched his face, too. I couldn't stop myself, though I was afraid it would hurt me later, when I was alone again. He continued to kiss my hair, my forehead, my wrists… but never my lips, and that was good. After all, how many ways can one heart be mangled and still be expected to keep beating? I'd lived through a lot that should have finished me in the last few days, but it didn't make me feel strong. Instead, I felt horribly fragile, like one word could shatter me.
Edward didn't speak. Maybe he was hoping I would sleep. Maybe he had nothing to say.
I won the fight against my heavy lids. I was awake when we reached the airport in Atlanta, and I even watched the sun beginning to rise over Seattle's cloud cover before Edward slid the window shut. I was proud of myself. I hadn't missed one minute.
Neither Alice nor Edward was surprised by the reception that waited for us at Sea-Tac airport, but it caught me off guard. Jasper was the first one I saw—he didn't seem to see me at all. His eyes were only for Alice. She went quickly to his side; they didn't embrace like other couples meeting there. They only stared into each other's faces, yet, somehow, the moment was so private that I still felt the need to look away.
Carlisle and Esme waited in a quiet corner far from the line for the metal detectors, in the shadow of a wide pillar. Esme reached for me, hugging me fiercely, yet awkwardly, because Edward kept his arms around me, too.
'Thank you so much,' she said in my ear.
Then she threw her arms around Edward, and she looked like she would be crying if that were possible.
'You will
Edward grinned, repentant. 'Sorry, Mom.'
'Thank you, Bella,' Carlisle said. 'We owe you.'
'Hardly,' I mumbled. The sleepless night was suddenly overpowering. My head felt disconnected from my body.
'She's dead on her feet,' Esme scolded Edward. 'Let's get her home.'
Not sure if home was what I wanted at this point, I stumbled, half-blind, through the airport, Edward dragging me on one side and Esme on the other. I didn't know if Alice and Jasper were behind us or not, and I was too exhausted to look.
I think I was mostly asleep, though I was still walking, when we reached their car. The surprise of seeing Emmett and Rosalie leaning against the black sedan under the dim lights of the parking garage revived me some. Edward stiffened.
'Don't,' Esme whispered. 'She feels awful.'
'She should,' Edward said, making no attempt to keep his voice down.
'It's not her fault,' I said, my words garbled with exhaustion.
'Let her make amends,' Esme pleaded. 'We'll ride with Alice and Jasper.'
Edward glowered at the absurdly lovely blond vampire waiting for us.
'Please, Edward,' I said. I didn't want to ride with Rosalie any more than he seemed to, but I'd caused more than enough discord in his family.
He sighed, and towed me toward the car.
Emmett and Rosalie got in the front seat without speaking, while Edward pulled me in the back again. I knew I wasn't going to be able to fight my eyelids anymore, and I laid my head against his chest in defeat, letting them close. I felt the car purr to life.
'Edward,' Rosalie began.
'I know.' Edward's brusque tone was not generous.
'Bella?' Rosalie asked softly.
My eyelids fluttered open in shock. It was the first time she'd ever spoken directly to me.
'Yes, Rosalie?' I asked, hesitant.
'I'm so very sorry, Bella. I feel wretched about every part of this, and so grateful that you were brave enough to go save my brother after what I did. Please say you'll forgive me.'
