𝐒𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐒 ― 𝐞.𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧¹

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐗𝐈𝐈𝐈 ; 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐏.

CHAPTER XIII ―

CREEP!

"𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀 𝐖𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄," 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐌𝐈𝐋𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐄𝐃𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐃 𝐆𝐀𝐕𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐂𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋 𝐒𝐖𝐎𝐎𝐍, Nora observed. The obvious blush and flirty smile on her lips told Nora everything she needed to know and the fact that Edward ignored it told her that it happened often. She was sure the waitress was going to leave her number on the back of the bill when she handed it to Edward.

Tearing a piece of bread off one of the rolls she had taken from the breadbasket that the waitress had brought over right away, Nora popped it in her mouth and slowly chewed as she narrowed her eyes at Edward and tried to think. How did he find her? Did he follow her? Was he some kinda creep?

"I'm not a creep," there was amusement in Edward's eyes when he spoke, a slight smile on his lips. Nora pursed her lips. She didn't say that aloud. "No, you didn't say it aloud, if that's what you're thinking... but when you think about something very hard, it's like I can hear just that thought, or word."

Nora set her bread down, she didn't really need the carbs at this moment. "So, you can like, read minds?" 

Edward nodded, "I guess that's how I'd explain it." He gestured towards the older woman sitting at a booth across the room with a young boy. "She's thinking about how she's going to afford next months rent being recently divorced." Nora's frown deepened. Edward's gaze then turned to another table. A man with a long beard and cat-like features. Edward chuckled, "He's thinking about his... cats." Nora's lips couldn't help but twitch, it was obvious seeing how he was wearing a cat shirt and had cat pins on them.

"If you can read minds," Edward's golden eyes met hers and it sent a shiver down her spine, she swallowed, "then what am I thinking?"

Edward leaned forward, "I can't." She frowned. "Well, I can, but it's like what you want me to hear. It's like television static when I try to read your mind, I don't hear anything but maybe a buzz, like static. It's nice to not hear everyone's singular thoughts for once. It's refreshing."

"And here's your drinks," the waitress set Edward's water down with a charming smile and gave Nora her hot chocolate with a side glare. "What can I get you two to eat then?" Once again, the waitresses attention was on Edward.

"Uh, I'm alright, but my date here," Nora sat forward in her seat, about to stop any idea Edward had of making her "his date" but she stopped when he placed his hand on her's. It was cold. "She'll have the minestra d'orzo soup with an extra roll on the side." When his cold hand finally left Nora's, the shock wore off and she realized the waitress had walked away with the order Edward had given her.

Begrudgingly grabbing her roll again, Nora angrily took a bite of it and Edward couldn't help but smile. He was lucky she liked Italian food.

...

"You need to slow down," Nora swallowed once she saw Edward's speed going 100 on the side roads to her house. "Please." Edward looked over to Nora to see her tense in her seat and nodded, slowing down to 80. "Thank you."

Clair De Lune played in his car as Edward drove Nora back to her house. "So, when I went to La Push, I heard some rumors about you and your family." She could see Edward tensing in his seat. He knew she knew. "They call you Cold Ones, is it true?"

Edward took his eyes off the road to meet Nora's. "What do you think?" Nora swallowed.

"I don't know what to think, Edward. Until the other day, I didn't think any of this was real. I just thought you had serious issues... but I didn't think that this... this was real." Her heart was beating faster and Edward gripped the steering wheel harder as he turned down the road to her house.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Nora... I won't and neither will my family, I promise you that." There was a sincerity in his tone that comforted Nora to a point, but she still could feel her anxiety rising. "I would never hurt you, Nora."

It was quiet up until they pulled up to her house.

"How exactly did you find me?" Nora questioned him as he pulled into her driveway. "You got there fast, did you follow me?"

Edward put the car into park behind, what he assumed, to be her father's vehicle. "Uh, well," he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "I followed you and Bella to Port Angeles and when I heard you were going to walk on your own, I didn't exactly feel comfortable with you going on your own, so I followed your scent. Then I heard those guy's thoughts and I lost it."

Nora frowned. "So you followed me?"

"God that makes me seem like a creep," Edward muttered. Nora laughed aloud at the pure horrified look on Edward's face,  nodding her head as she laughed.

"Yeah!" She laughed, "That makes you seem like a total creep."

Edward couldn't help but admire the angelic laugh Nora had, he hoped he could hear it a lot more in the future. Calming down from her laughing fit, Nora turned back to Edward. 

The porch light turned on and Nora sighed. "That's my cue." Pulling her hand from his, Nora smiled at him. "Thank you, Edward... but don't be a creep. Just text me, like a normal person."

With that, Nora exited his car, leaving Edward the scent of vanilla and cinnamon burning in his nose and without her number.