↳ LIKE REAL PEOPLE DO

🗒 ❛ chapter three ༉‧₊˚✧

"you're crying," the beautiful stranger stated.

"no shit," i snorted sarcastically, before i quickly realized how rude i was being.

guilt pooled in the pit of my stomach. god, why did i have to be such a bitch? i was a terrible person. more tears started to come at the realization.

"i'm sorry," i said in hiccup-y breath, trying to stop crying.

i looked away from him, ashamed of myself. i pulled my bag onto my lap and started rummaging through its pockets.

"it's cold and wet out here, you're sitting in a puddle with no pants on. let's go inside where it's warm, surely you don't want to catch hypothermia?" he said inquisitively.

"i can't," i confessed, "i thought i could handle today but i can't. i'm just going to walk home."

my words came out in a mumble. i was embarrassed. i found the pill bottle i was looking for in my bag and popped it open, pouring one of the pills into my hand. sometimes i thought about taking all of them. i tilted my head up and opened my mouth to catch some of the rain, which was getting heavier with every passing moment. when i'd collected enough, i swallowed the pill.

i took some deep breaths to settle myself, reminding myself that i would feel the medications calming effects soon.

"well, let my drive you at least," he offered.

"i don't even know you."

"i'm edward cullen," he told me.

edward cullen.

hesitantly, i went into his mind to see if his intentions were pure— i suppose my gift could be useful in times like this. i didn't know what i was expecting his thoughts to sound like. a detailed plan on my abduction? my murder, maybe? i'm not sure, but i certainly wasn't expecting to hear everyone else's thoughts buzzing in the background.

the thoughts of everyone inside of the school invaded his own like white noise or television static humming chaotically throughout his skull. however boldly, loudly, i could hear his own— which i suppose should have been the first thing to shock me, because he was thinking:

surely alice can't be right. how can this beautiful, broken, girl ever end up with me? she swears she sees it— i've seen it— but there must be a mistake. she'll hate me when she finds out, regardless of our bond. she'll run for the hills.

"okay," i told him, "you can give me a ride, edward cullen. but you're not taking me to my house."

"where am i taking you?" he asked.

i shrugged, pulling myself to my feet. i was officially soaking wet. and cold. i felt like a drenched cat.

"yours," i said.

he looked taken aback by this, flabbergasted if you will.

"why would i take you to my house?" he asked in confusion.

"because you're going to tell me what alice saw, explain what bond we share, and then you're going to tell me what i'm supposed to be running from."

"you can read minds?" he furrowed his eyebrows in both surprise and absolute horror.

"so can you apparently," i said, using the sleeve of my sweater to wipe the rain out of my face and the rest of the snot away as i sniffled. i'm sure that my mascara was completely ruined by now.

without another word, edward grabbed my backpack from my hands and used his free hand to guide me to his car— a sleek silver volvo. he opened the car door for me and had me get in, before he was suddenly at the drivers side door and then in the seat. i was frozen; partially from the rain, partially from the shock that i was surely going into. this was all so crazy and didn't make any sense.

edward turned the car on and leaned over to grab something from his backseat. it was a thick plush blanket. he handed it to me before making sure that the heater vents were all blasting hot air at me.

"put your seatbelt on," he demanded gently.

i did as i was told, and suddenly we were speeding down the winding roads of forks, washington. i was tempted to look at his thoughts again, but as i found myself warming up, i began to feel the effects of my prn— drowsiness.

with the lulling motion of driving mixed with the effects of my medication, i quickly lost a fight with consciousness, and succumbed easily to the peaceful darkness of slumber.