H A U N T E D

t w e n t y - f i v e

t w e n t y - f i v e

I'm running through the poorly lit streets of a city with ancient architecture, feeling the wind of my hunter's chase biting at my heels. My heart beats a hundred miles a minute, and the adrenaline bursts and splinters my veins, like a glass chandelier falling and crashing into my body. My head spins from the earlier impact of when the hunter picked me up and slammed me against the marble cobblestone, causing my skin to open and bleed. With every breath I take, I lose some of my inhibitions, and I feel nauseous. I know it's a severe head injury and left untreated... I don't even want to think about it.

I know I'm falling to the ground when my movements turn sluggish and my eyes can't seem to focus on one thing. However, I don't realize that I'm falling because someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to them. I am held up against the large body, and the sweet smell of perfume fills my senses, begging me to look up at them, to expose my darkest secrets. The person, whose face is shielded by the shadows of the night, gives out a low airy chuckle as their hand travels up to the delicate skin of my throat.

"Oh", they announce with marvel, before they move forward for me to see the blinding white of their teeth and the bloodiness of their eyes.

I wake up early the next morning, just as the sun starts to raise its early morning glory through the slated blinds. It is still the Alaskan cold fall, but the mornings are filled with rose-gold rays with white mist in the air, and winter dew sticking to the bare pine trees.

Pulling the comforter up to my chin, I stare at the white wall in front of me, last night's findings playing out like a silent movie, behind my eyelids. Esmé smiling brightly while World War 2 takes place, Renesmeé being a part of an art project, the wedding photo...

I open my palm, staring at the lines on my skin as I try to make sense of my life here in Homer, Alaska. The day I stepped off of that plane, it was as if I was slowly starting to shed off the hardened skin that grew over my body like moss, and losing all of my inhibitions with it. With my other hand's index finger, I slowly start to trace the lines on my hand, while connecting everything that I know of the Cullens, and more specifically, Jack.

Right in the beginning, when I first saw the Cullens entering the cafeteria, I remember the rumors and stories that Nicole seemed eager to inform me of. The way that she spoke of them with clear contempt and jealously, it was almost as if she was admiring them, in some sickening way. I remember Steve standing there, smirking at me while they entered the room. He excitedly waited for Jack to enter, and when he did, I remember the absolute fear that came along with it. The many spirits that surrounded the boy, spirits who sought vengeance of some sort. I wonder now where those spirits are, and why I only saw them the one time.

Wait, no, I didn't. At the twins' party, the broken figure of a man followed Rosalie, snarling at her with hate in his eyes. That man...what did she do to him?

The second most significant thing that one can't help but take note of, is their eyes. Every single one of them has golden eyes that seem to grow darker after a few days, before they are once again, glittering. Although, all that glitters is not gold, and I doubt their eyes are, too. Neo once told me that they heard a rumor that the Cullens were a part of a medical experiment Doctor Cullen was running, and that they were wearing colored contacts per request, to help the doctor. I reminisce back to wondering out loud why Renesmeé was the only one with chocolate brown irises, but Neo merely lifted their shoulders into a shrug.

The third and the most terrifying event that happened, was that day in the garage when Emmett nearly attacked me once he took note of my wound. Jack raced forward, appearing out of nowhere, and hissed at his brother-in-law. He hissed at him, like a snake. Speaking of snakes, Rosalie's eyes were as black as coal, as the enthralling eyes of a cobra, while I play the flute.