E D W A R D

Malcolm needn’t rest just blood. In a weird sense Lisa was right; I’d never seen Mal act out in a way as furious as he did with Lisa. He wasn’t completely himself, it was his demon that was on loose and he sought to take what he wanted since day one. He craved for Lisa’s blood as much as any vampire and I didn’t know how I felt about that.

When I saw her compelled in his arms, a flame grew inside me that was not viable to leave unnoticed. And just like a madman I threw myself in between him and Lisa but that shock was nothing as compared to the one when she so stiffly put herself between Mal and me. It ought to scare her but her heartbeat was as stilled as a dead one instead of being an uneven beat.

I was all worked-up when she pulled that stunt expecting some more fight from Malcolm’s side rather than a quick and sincere cooperation.

He was now sucking at his last victim who’d seemed to lose his way. He sucked him dry until there was nothing remained of him. He let the body fell down on the grass and wiped his mouth off of blood with his sleeves.

He looked better as he turned around to see me watching him intently. He had gained the perfect shade of red on his face as his paleness declined. He looked more lively and his demon was finally in check but it’d growl loudly again after seeing her. That was his problem with her, her blood attracted him more than it should have.

“I don’t like your thoughts.” He scolded taking place beside me.

“You could just shut them off.” I reminded gazing towards the clouds.

We’re on the crest of one of the highest mountains embracing the cold gales that break through us. It was peaceful up here, no scream and nothing―not anymore. It gave me the ability to think over everything, every good thing.

The sky in front of me spread wide and sheer to an infinite line and right there just behind the valley, the sky was reddening. Every cloud was recovering from the darkness of the recent dawn as the sun little by little started to arise in the horizon. It was slightly blue from where the first ray came and it mixed with the rest of the floating shadows in the sky. The darkness was now beginning to fade into a bright blue light as the reddening of the clouds turned to orange, pink and even violet.

This phenomenon made me smile and question everything bad in life. The night had finally faded away and the sun was bit by bit beaming more brightly in the sky. It was going to be a beautiful day.

The day had finally flickered the darkness away, when was there going to be a day in my life that would take my misery away? The only bright thing to ever exist in me was stolen long ago and every sparkle that influenced me from the outside someday, somehow died too. My father, Stacy and now my mother—why couldn’t I hold them close like a piece of hope?

“Probably because we are doomed with an everlasting misery of truth.” Malcolm murmured drawing me from my sorrow.

“And what that might be?” I asked.

He seemed to be thinking for a while before he spoke up quite wretchedly. “It’s the truth we know most certainly but we do not take it into consideration.” He smiled a little before it quickly vanished without a warning. “No matter how long we get to live Ed, consider an eternity with an eternal beauty whose price we pay every day, we know well enough in ourselves, not today, neither tomorrow will be a bed of roses.”

“We are damned to fantasize about something that only exists in pages—a blessed ending.” He ended and his eyes held the ground. He looked in such low-spirits and in a sort of guilt I couldn’t comprehend.

“You’re marrying a girl like Rory, what do you have to mourn about?” I stated slightly laughing hoping for the same sarcasm in repay as well but nothing came.

I waited for many seconds and minutes but he didn’t answer.

This made me look into his downcast eyes and his face that held no great colors of joy and slight silliness of nervousness. He was cheerless and guilty for some reason.

“She wants a child.” He started out of nowhere grasping my whole attention, “She says she doesn’t but I know her better. That’s way she’s always in a bad mood.”

He giggled in the midst of his thoughts and I looked at him questioningly. “If I told you how she feels about Lisa, you’d react the same way.”

“She envies her?” I asked almost gaping. He nodded in answer and I shook my head in disbelief.

“I wish . . .” He paused feeling disappointed, “I wish I could give her what she wants.”

I felt his pain more deeply than my own at the moment. He was disappointed with himself and there was nothing as bad as that. He must feel like he had no value but he was wrong. I didn’t know Rory more than I knew Lisa but I could tell she wanted nothing more than Malcolm’s presence beside her and I needed my big brother and best friend to scold me when I’d get in trouble.

He was far more prominent than he knew or could feel but I didn’t tell him any of that. He deserved better than to just hear a few piles of sugar-coated words. He deserved more praise than that, more than just what could come from me.

And I decided to give him what he deserved, not by words but by the means of action. I wouldn’t tell him anything, I’d show him just how much he meant to all of us.

* * *

Lisa was the last person I sought to see after I was done with everything. The plan was all ready and everything was taken care of. I told Jacob and Christophe to tell everyone the plan and divide the tasks equally among themselves. Now the only thing that was left was Rory and her assistance in all of this.

Though I didn’t have sufficient amount of time to take care of Rory so I’d put exactly someone who might pique her interest easily and without much efforts. Someone who might be deviously persuasive and convincing and could leave an imprint on anyone she talked to. When I looked over at these qualities the name that popped up in my head was Elizabeth.

She would fill the slot just perfectly.

Another reason for choosing her was that Rory envied her in a way I couldn’t comprehend but I could use as an advantage for my plan. I knew well enough she wouldn’t dare turn down a challenge proposed by Lisa and considering Lisa was so good at draining us out of all our self-will, she’d know just how to provoke Rory—and even if she didn’t, she’d do it naively and unwittingly.

I reached closer to her door and knocked twice before leaning further back.

She opened after a while and even then almost reluctantly. Her dreary eyes met mine and dissatisfaction crept up onto her lips, demonstrating just how annoyed she was. “What do you want?” She barked.

“A minute.” Was all I said before she rolled her eyes and opened the door wider for me to enter in her room. She slammed it shut again when I was on halfway inside her threshold. Someone’s in a bad mood. I wanted to state.

She didn’t bother to pay heed to me and sat on the edge of her bed with her questioning brows adorning her face. I dawdled near her and perched on one of the sofas in front of the bed, looking her right in the eyes.

I didn’t know how and where I should start from so I decided to cut to the chase and tell her everything she needed to know and remember in order for my plan to succeed. I would just go out there and tell her. Right I would just tell her in a single breath, no need of being jumpy.

So I began and it didn’t take me more than a few minutes to explain the plan and her a few more to understand it. I looked at her searching for something after completing my speech. No doubt she liked it just as much as all of them though I couldn't help but notice a bit of hesitance in her eyes.

I understood her fear about all of this. She might’ve been planning to stay in this room for all the time she was going to spend here before I came along and asked her to persuade the person she’d rather not see at any time today or tomorrow.

“It’s a good plan.” Was all she said without so much as praise licking from her tone of speaking.

“But . . . ?” I asked having a guess where we’re going with this.

“Why me? You can ask anyone to do that!” She whined.

“If I sent someone other than you, she’ll be too suspicious.” I clarified.

“What makes you think she’ll listen to me?” She growled silently.

I stood up on my feet and made my way towards her bed. With my height I stood and towered over her as my shadow claimed every bit of her body.

She lifted her face to pay attention to mine and wriggled lightly to avoid any touch from my cold skin. I put my index finger under her chin and leaned closer into her face so she could be more focused.

I wanted her to look at me and only me as I spoke.

“She won’t listen to you Lisa but I trust you enough to know you can persuade anyone you want.” I whispered softly against her skin, brushing her cheek with my thumb. I didn’t want to do this but intimidating her was the quickest way I could think of and the first one that came into my mind.

Her breathing reached a suitable level for me to know she was nervous. She coughed awkwardly after I leaned away from her face and left her there hanging in her thoughts, busy to think over what just happened.

“Can I count on you?” I asked.

She seemed to be troubling with an answer. She wanted to say yes but she wasn’t sure how to say it and what was the possibility that she wouldn’t fail. She realized just how important the plan was and the effects and imprint it’d leave on many lives. She knew there couldn’t be any slip-ups and she wasn’t ready for such a pressure

“I’ll try my best but don’t get your hopes up.” She complained pointing her finger at me.

I almost jumped in silliness as she agreed to my plan and hugged her tightly, taking both her and myself in surprise. I had her hands both pinned down as I hugged her but I didn’t care if she couldn’t hug me back, I was far too happy to care.

“So much for not getting your hopes up.” She squealed. I drew back from her body and watched her with a proud expression. She didn’t grudge against my touch on her arms and as I let her go and pecked on her cheek. She didn’t quiver under my touch like she usually did but looked more like disappointed when I twisted back to leave.

I didn’t see her face or what she was thinking or what expression she had but I knew if she did this work for me, I’d be obliged to her for all my life.

I might’ve been wrong but for some anonymous reason I felt quite energetic and good this morning, like every pain had left me and I was away from misery for a few moments and I wanted to cherish these moments more than anything and I wanted everyone to be in such high spirits like myself—maybe that sunrise at last had a great deal of influence on me, the rays of a glowing beautiful day had made me forget everything for a while.

Stop smiling like an idiot and get to work mister! The festivity isn’t going to get arranged by itself! My subconscious yelled.