doll parts, edward cullen.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀v. understanding.

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━━━

She moved like a ghost. Edward saw it when he spent too long staring at her, watching as she climbed the steps to the school's entrance. He saw how she moved like she had no importance, no goal, no life to live. Such a contrast to her brother, who walked few paces in front of her, full of pep and life--- with a literal bounce in each step he took.

She had sleepless eyes and used her own body like her bones were weather-worn, careful not to break, careful not to let hurt flare up in them again.

She was sticks and stone and everything in between, like a falling leave swimming in the wind. Edward wanted to catch her and hold her for an eternity--- make sure she never fell on that bloody ground again.

What really caught Edward's own mind first, though, was that thing he could travel between. Like a bridge between souls, he was able to coax her open and see inside. See every thought and anything else that might be going on inside her soul.

And sure, he could read minds, that was his talent, but this was different. Her mind was different. Broken into pieces stuck back together in all the wrong ways, slowly crumbling.

He spent all night last night, while she lay there in the grass, searching for the reason why she'd become like this, but had only found a door impossible to open.

He had a good idea of what might have happened, with the few fleeting thoughts of how she'd been killed and then thrown down a cliff into water, but that was all Edward knew as of now.

His mate. His beautiful, ghostly mate--- an equal to him. He figured it made sense.

He'd once read on Persephone and Hades, and found it pertinent now.

The legend always got it wrong. Persephone was not happy with her mother. She was happy to take the seeds and was happy to let herself be held and healed by Hades, who in turn also used her to become greater, better. To rise above.

The only thing that stopped Edward from taking Dolly away was that while Persephone wanted to be whisked away from her nest, Dolly was content to let herself die slowly in the hole she'd been stuck in for a year now.

He watched her as she disappeared behind a row of student, and Edward sighed, clutching his chest that had begun hurting since he'd met her.

It was weird. No, it was fucking mind-blowing, actually. Because since their souls had linked, since their bond had fallen into place, Edward had been feeling every bit of her pain through it.

He'd even passed out from her trying to sever it--- which the bond had really hated, so in turn had knocked out both her and Edward to protect itself.

And after that--- after that, his father had told Edward exactly what he feared most.

Edward was at a loss, here, and there was no escaping this at all. Not that he'd do it if he could--- but this was so.. different. Different then what he'd expected for his surprisingly mundane life.