Haunted Scars | Edward Cullen ²

4 | monster

My car slows to a stop in front of my house. I shut it off before grabbing my backpack out of the passenger's seat. I'm in no rush to get inside the house. I've been waiting impatiently all day to get home and find out why the Cullens missed school today, but now that it's actually time, I'm not in much of a rush to find out anymore. More or less, I'm afraid to find out why they didn't come. It's like my gut knows the reason can't be anything good.

Who am I kidding?

Of course the reason the Cullens missed school today can't be good. Why else would they have decided not to tell me anything?

So instead of rushing inside to call the Cullens' house, I take my sweet time getting out of the car and forget about calling them altogether. I'll just let them tell me what's going on when they're ready.

I close the car door behind me and begin ambling towards the house. A dark figure to my right catches my attention, causing me to stop in my tracks and inhale sharply.

Upon further registration, I realize that it's just Edward. I frown after looking him over. He hasn't changed out of his clothes from yesterday. He's still wearing a black tuxedo and black shoes. The same downcast look is on his face, but from a distance, any passerbyer could easily mistaken him for a statue.

As much as I don't want to ask about it, I force myself to walk up to him anyway. I try to act as normal as possible while doing so. I want us to talk like we usually do, but for some reason, in the back of my mind, I can tell that this conversation isn't going to be completely normal.

For comfort, I shove my hands into my jacket pockets and look at his chest instead of his eyes. His gaze weighs heavy on me. "Hey," I greet as nonchalantly as I can, "where were you today?"

"Just . . . come take a walk with me," he answers.

His dodging of my question sparks a bit of frustration in me. I snap my head up.

Edward presses his lips together before turning towards the woods.

I keep my feet planted, wanting an answer to my question first. "Wait," I call after him. "But where were you today?"

He looks back over his shoulder, no emotion on his face. "I'll tell you when we get there."

"Get where? Where are we going?" I sound somewhat desperate now. I really have no idea what is going on. Edward never takes me on walks directly after school cause he knows I have homework. If he wants to take me on a walk now, it must be serious. This is what I was afraid of.

Still looking over his shoulder, his lips press into a hard line. "Just follow me. I promise I'll answer all your questions when we get there."

His answer relaxes me a little bit. At least he's letting me know that I won't be in the dark for much longer. Soon, I'll understand what this is all about.

"Okay," I say before following him into the woods. No matter the circumstances, I will always trust Edward. If he wants to take a walk now, it must be for a good reason. I have to keep reminding myself of that.

We walk for a ways in silence. The tension from yesterday's events is still weighing heavy on the both of us. It irks me the entire walk, and I'm sure Edward feels the same way. He slows to a stop in front of a large tree. We're a good distance away from my neighborhood now to where I'm sure no one can hear us, which may have been Edward's intent.