The Twilight Twenty-Five

thetwilight25 dot com

Prompt: #1

Pen Name: SparrowNotes24

Pairing/Character(s): Edward / Bella

Rating: R

Word Count: 374

Photo prompts can be found here:
thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts

The only sound inside the car is the thrum of her heart, the rise and fall of her chest. I'm not sure if I can hear it or if I'm feeling the beat as if it was my own.

I'd watched her shy away from the teacher's over enthusiastic introduction of the new girl. I saw how she folded in on herself like an origami swan, crushed under the expectations of high school.

I had to unwrap her. Every crease held a treasure. A wicked glint in her eyes when she sassed me, a penchant for cheesy romance novels, and a husky laugh that poured over me, thick like honey. I was stuck on her.

The tightest folds, smoothed flat as I searched deeper, revealed marks that wrapped around her arm in a bracelet of purple, violet and pain. A present from her father.

He gifted her many more. Darker. Larger. Their design more extravagant, permanent.

The memories tighten my arms around my girl. She won't break. She's not as fragile as I'd thought.

"Run away with me, Edward."

I feel my smile dying, jokes from minutes ago fly out the window, replaced by a fraught tension.

"Where would we go?"

"I've saved money, and I can get a job somewhere ... anywhere."

She pleads with her fingertips, pressing deep into my skin. Glittering desperation brims in her eyes, waiting for me to turn her down before she'll let it fall.

I would step off the edge of the world for her.

"When will we go?"

"Tonight."

As the snow settles, preventing our escape over the state line, we huddle together in the backseat of my rusted Mustang. Two small bags, a meagre reminder of our life. Our body heat dwindles, despite my best efforts, as winter seeps through the cracks.

She clutches me tighter, hazy in her half sleep. "We'll be okay?"

I want to promise her the stars.

"Yes, don't worry. I promise."

Perhaps it's a lie as white as the snow blanketing our hiding place.

Perhaps it's a hope we'll hold onto when opportunities disappear and everything is harder than the frozen ground beneath us.

Whispered words crystallize as soon as they leave my lips. "I love you."

Perhaps that's enough.