The Right Swan: Edward LS

Chapter 19

Toni's P.O.V.

Edward and I relaxed on the couch for a little as we enjoyed each other's company. No words were needed as we sat in silence. After a while, Cecilia and Rosalie popped into the room.

"Hey, Toni," Cecilia greeted me with a wave. I waved back and smiled at her. I felt at ease around her; like my body was in a sleep-like trance.

"It's her gift," I heard Edward say.

"When you say gift, do you mean like how you're able to read minds?" I asked him.

"Yes. Some vampires carry a potent trait from their human life. I was able to 'read' people very well, Jasper was already very empathetic as a human, Rosalie was already naturally beautiful, Emmett was strong, Esme was motherly, and Carlisle was very compassionate."

"So, what is your gift, CeCe?" I asked her.

"I have an affinity for spirit," she answered. "When I was young, my mother used to practice black magic, voodoo stuff. My sister wasn't very interested in it, but I loved it; I would sit and watch her all day. When I got old enough, my mother started teaching me all about it. I was so good at it, that she called me a natural."

I nodded my head as I committed her story to memory. It was cool to hear about someone having an affinity for spirit. When people talk about elementals, they usually mention air, water, earth, or fire; the ones you could see. Spirit, though, was an affinity that was overlooked by many.

"Toni," I heard Rosalie call my name. "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Yeah," I replied to her, then I looked at Edward. "We'll talk later, okay?"

He smiled crookedly. Then he hopped off the couch and left the room. Cecilia followed him after giving me a quick goodbye and yelled something about racing. I turned to Rosalie and waited for her to start our conversation. She came over to me and sat down on the couch.

"How are you feeling?" she asked me.

"I'm okay Rosalie. And yourself?"

"Toni. How. Do. You. Feel?"

I sighed.

"I don't know Rosalie. I'm upset it almost happened again, but being around Esme and Edward helped calm me down," I told her. She looked livid but hid it well.

"What do you mean, Toni? This has happened before?" she asked me. I grew nervous. I hadn't told any of them yet about Dean. He was such an awful mistake and I didn't want them to view me any differently than they did now.

Rosalie seemed to sense my hesitancy and said, "It's okay to tell me, Toni. I'll understand."

"Okay," I said. I rubbed my hands on my jeans, then rubbed them together as I got ready to tell her a story.

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THREE YEARS AGO - Third P.O.V.

The room smelled like smoke and alcohol. Some underaged teenagers sat around on couches and a dirty, hardwood floor drinking and smoking pot. Others stood in corners making out or talking with friends. A 14-year-old girl walked into the room, followed by an 18-year-old teen. The dark-haired girl's eyes were a bit red and her breath reeked of alcohol. She stopped and sat down on an available couch cushion. The teen that was following her picked her up and sat her on his lap. She giggled as he put his face in the crook of her shoulder and started kissing her skin.

Across the room, a few teenagers sat watching the girl as her neck was bruised by her boyfriend's mouth. They had been eyeing her since she had arrived at the party and they were hoping that since Dean was their friend, he would let them get in on the action. Soon enough, they got fed up watching them and walked towards the pair.

"Yo, Dean," one of them said. Dean stopped his activities on Toni's neck and looked up at his friend.

"Sup, man," Dean answered.

"We were wondering if we could have a little piece. You know we haven't gotten any action in the past month," the other said while grinning at Toni.

"Hmm. What do you say, Toni? You up for it?" Dean asked his girlfriend. Toni, who was still slightly alert, shook her head. Even if she was drugged up and a little high, she knew how bad it sounded. She wasn't into that kind of stuff. When she agreed to be Dean's girlfriend, she never agreed to share.

"C'mon, Toni. It'll be fun."

"I said no, Dean," Toni said. She made a move to get up, but Dean pulled her back down. He stood up and threw her over his shoulders. Toni screamed at him to put her down, but he didn't listen. She tried to gain the attention of the teenagers around her, but they were too far gone to realize what was about to happen.

Dean carried her into a separate room and flung her on the empty bed. A couple of seconds later, two of Dean's friends emerged. As they shut the door, Toni closed her eyes and prayed it would be over soon.

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Toni's P.O.V.

"It was my first time with Dean; I had wanted to wait, so I held off on sex. I should have known what a bad person he was, but I just- I just wanted love. Though my mom would never admit it, Bella was her favorite and she had just started seeing Phil at the time, so I felt so alone. I just wanted love," I said as tears rolled down my face.

"Sh, sh," Rosalie hushed me, "everything is okay. Everybody makes mistakes; it's natural human behavior. We just have to learn from those mistakes."

"I know, I know, but I didn't. It happened a few times after that and I let it happen. I was crushed that I had lost it like that and it broke me. I was scared every single time they did it, but the difference between the first and the others was that I learned to just get through it."

"No one should have to do that."

"I did, though. I wanted help, but I didn't want to tell my mom or Bella or the authorities. It was too personal and I didn't want to be labeled as something I wasn't," I told her.

"Toni-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but we have a problem," Emmett interrupted Rosalie. Rosalie looked up at him in irritation, while I hid my face in embarrassment. I didn't want all of them finding out about Dean at once and I feared Emmett had heard everything.

"Bella's outside. She knows."