Sexy Shell's blog: "Stories"

Complications

Everyone watched as we walked together to our lab table.  I no longer needed to angle my chair away from Bella.  I sat close beside her, our arms almost touching.

Mr. Banner came into the room, pulling a tall metal frame with wheels and an outdated T.V and VCR on it.  Great movie day in biology I thought.  He shoved the tape into the reluctant VCR and walked to the lights and turned them off.  I felt some unexpected electricity that suddenly flowed through my body.  Bella crossed her arms tightly across her chest, balling her hands into fists.

The opening credits began, lighting up the room by a token amount.  I sat with my hands across my chest, in the exact same position as Bella, she noticed this and smiled.  I grinned back at her.  She looked away from me and back to the T.V.

The hour seemed really long.  Bella couldn’t seem to concentrate on the movie.  Occasionally she would quickly look in my direction.

She breathed a sigh of relief when Mr. Banner turned on the lights.  She stretched her arms out in front of herself, flexing her fingers.  I chuckled, “Well that was interesting”  “Umm,” was all she seemed to get out. “Shall we?” I said quickly rising from my seat.

She stood carefully, probably worrying about her balance.  We walked to her next class in silence and then paused at the door.  I raised my hand hesitant and swiftly brushed the length of her cheekbone with my finger tips.  I turned without a word and strode away quickly.

During class I was only half listening to the teacher.  I was curious about what Bella meant when she said I hadn’t seen her in gym.  I listened carefully trying to hear Mike’s thoughts.  I listened during the whole class and chuckled at what I heard.  Class ended and I rushed towards the gym to meet Bella.  I leaned casually against the side of the entrance to the gym, waiting for Bella.  She walked out slowly “Hi” she said when she saw me standing there.  “Hello” I replied smiling brilliantly.  “How was gym?”  “Fine” she replied frowning.  “Really” I was unconvinced. 

My eyes shifted focus, as I looked over Bella’s shoulder.  She glanced behind her to see Mike walk away.  “What?” she demanded.  I looked back to her, my eyes tight.  “Newton’s getting on my nerves”  “You were listening again?” she said horror struck.  “How’s your head?” I asked innocently.  “You’re unbelievable!” she said turning and stomping away in the general direction of the parking lot.

I kept up with her easily.  “You were the one who mentioned that I hadn’t seen you in gym…it made me curious.”  We walked in silence, but stopped when we were a few feet away from my car.  A crowd of people, all guys, were surrounding it.  I realized it wasn’t my car that they were interested in.  Right next to my car was Rosalie’s red convertible, they had unmistakable lust in their eyes.  None of them looked up as I slide between them to open my door.  Bella quickly jumped into the passenger’s side.

“Ostentatious,” I muttered.  “What kind of car is that?” Bella asked.  “An M3.” I replied.  “I don’t speak car and driver.” Bella said.  “It’s a BMW.” I said.  I rolled my eyes as I tried to back out without running over anyone.  She nodded.

“Are you still angry?” I asked while I carefully maneuvered my way out.  “Definitely” she said quickly.  I sighed.  “Will you forgive me if I apologize?”  I asked her.  “Maybe…if you mean it.  And if you promise not to do it again.” She insisted. 

There was a pause in our conversation.  “How about if I mean it, and I agree to let you drive on Saturday?” I asked her.  She deliberated for a min.  “Okay deal” she finally replied.

“Then I’m very sorry I upset you” I said to her sincerely.  I could hear the rhythm of her heart speed up.  “And I will be on your doorstep bright and early Saturday morning.” I told her.  “Umm, it doesn’t help with the Charlie situation if an unexplained Volvo is left in the driveway” she said quickly.  I smiled “I wasn’t planning on bringing a car.”  “How…” I cut her off right then.  “Don’t worry about it.  I’ll be there, no car.”  She let it go.

“Is it later yet?” she asked significantly.  I frowned “I suppose it is later.”  She kept her expression polite as she waited.  I stopped the car.  She looked up surprised that we were already at her house, parked behind her truck.  She looked at me, and I was staring at her, measuring her with my eyes.

“You still want to know why you can’t see me hunt.” I was solemn, but had a trace of humor in my eyes.

“Well,” she clarified, “I was mostly wondering about your reaction.”  “Did I frighten you?” I said with a note of humor in my voice.  “No,” she lied, and I didn’t buy it.  “I apologize for scaring you,” I persisted with a slight smile, but all the hint of teasing disappeared.  “It was just the very thought of you being there…while we hunted.” I said tightening my jaw.  “That would be bad?” she asked.  “Extremely,” I said speaking through clenched teeth.  “Because…?” she asked.

I took a deep breath and stared out the windshield at the thick, rolling clouds.  “When we hunt,” I spoke slowly, unwillingly, “we give ourselves over to our senses…govern less with our minds.  Especially our sense of smell.  If you were anywhere near me when I lost control that way…” I shook my head, still gazing at the heavy clouds.

She kept her expression firmly under control, expecting a quick flash of my eyes to judge her reaction.  Her face gave away nothing.  Our eyes held, and the silence deepened…and changed.  I felt the electricity that I had felt in biology this afternoon, and I gazed intently into her eyes.  She had stopped breathing and finally drew a jagged breath, breaking the silence, I closed my eyes.

“Bella I think you should go inside now.” My voice was low and rough, my eyes were on the clouds again.

She opened the door, and a draft burst into the car.  She stepped carefully out of the car, holding on to the roof to support herself, and shut the door behind her.  She walked away without looking back.  I rolled the window down, and it made her turn around to look at me.

“Oh, Bella?” I called after her, my voice more even.  I leaned towards the open window with a faint smile on my lips.  “Yes?” she said staring at me.  “Tomorrow it’s my turn.” I said.  “Your turn to what?”

I smiled wider, flashing my gleaming white teeth.  “To ask the questions.” I said and sped away from her house.

The next day I waited for Charlie’s cruiser to leave and parked in his spot in the driveway.  She walked to the car, pausing shyly before opening it and stepping in.  I was smiling, and relaxed.

“Good morning.” I said in a silky voice.  “How are you today?” I said and glanced her up and down.  “Good, Thank you.” She replied. 

My gaze lingered at the circles under her eyes. “You look tired.” I said at once.  “I couldn’t sleep,” she confessed, swinging her hair over her shoulder to provide herself with some cover.

“Neither could I,” I teased as I started the engine.  She laughed “I guess that’s right.  I suppose I slept just a bit more then you did.”  “I’d wager you did.” I replied with a smile on my face.

“So what did you do last night” she asked.  I chuckled “Not a chance.  It’s my day to ask the questions.”

“Oh, that’s right.  What do you want to know?”  Her forehead creased.  “What’s your favorite color?” I asked my face grave.  She rolled her eyes “It changes from day to day.”  “Well then what is your favorite color today?” I reworded.  “Probably brown.” She seemed to dress according to her mood.  I snorted, dropping my serious expression.  “Brown?” I asked skeptically.  “Sure, brown is warm.  I miss brown.  Everything that’s supposed to be brown here is all covered up with moss.” She complained.

I was fascinated with her little rant, and considered it for a moment, while staring into her eyes.  “You’re right” I decided, serious again.  “Brown is warm.”  I reached over, swiftly, but still hesitantly, to sweep her hair back behind her shoulder.

We were at school now.  I turned back to her as I pulled into a parking space.  “What kind of music do you have in your CD player right now?”  I asked, my face somber as if I had asked for a murder confession.  She said the name of the band, and I smiled crookedly, a peculiar expression in my eyes.  I flipped open the compartment under my CD player, pulled out a CD and handed it to her.

“Debussy to this?” I raised an eyebrow.  She realized it was the same CD, and examined the familiar cover, looking down.  It continued this way all day.  I questioned her relentlessly about every insignificant detail of her very existence.  Movies she liked and hated, places she had been, places she wanted to go, and books, endless books.

I absorbed everything she told me.  My questions were mostly easy, and a few made her blush.  When she blushed I asked a whole new round of questions.  I asked her what her favorite gemstone was, and she quickly blurted out topaz.  I’d been flinging questions at her with such speed.  “Why are you blushing?” I asked her, grinning at how red her face had become.  She didn’t reply.  “Tell me,”  I commanded after persuasion failed.

“It’s the color of your eyes today,” she sighed, surrendering, still staring down at her hands as she fiddled with a piece of her hair.  “I suppose if you asked me in two weeks I’d say onyx.”

I paused briefly.  “What kind of flowers do you prefer?” I fired at her.  She sighed in relief that the embarrassing question was gone.

I continued questioning her up until Mr. Banner entered the room, dragging the audiovisual again.  As the teacher approached the light switch, I slide my chair slightly further away from Bella.  There was the same electric spark, the same restless craving to reach out and touch her across the short space, as yesterday she leaned forward on the table resting her chin on her folded arms.  She didn’t look at me, and I watched her every move.

The hour went by quickly, and she sighed when Mr. Banner turned the lights back on, finally glancing at me.  I rose in silence and then stood still, waiting for her.  She got up and we walked towards the gym in silence.  I touched her face wordlessly, this time with the back of my hand, stroking from her temple to her jaw, before I turned and walked away.

Class ended quickly and I rushed to the gym to wait for Bella.  I smiled at her before I began more cross-examination.  My questions were different now, she did not answer them easily.  I wanted to know what she missed about Phoenix, insisting on descriptions of anything I wasn’t familiar with.  We sat in front of her house for hours, as the sky darkened and rain plummeted around us in a sudden deluge.

She tried to describe impossible things like the scent of creosote… bitter, silently, resinous, but still pleasant... the high, keening sound of the cicadas in July, the feathery barrenness of the trees, the very size of the sky, extending from white-blue from horizon to horizon, barely interrupted by the low mountains covered with purple volcanic rock.  I listened intently to everything she was describing to me.  She struggled to explain why it was so beautiful to her, to justify a beauty that didn’t depend on the sparse, spiny vegetation that often looked half dead.

My quiet, probing questions kept her talking freely.  She finally finished detailing her room at home; I paused instead of responding with another question.

“Are you finished?” she asked with relief.  “Not even close…but your father will be home soon.” I replied.  “Charlie!” she said suddenly recalling his existence, and sighed. 

She looked out at the rain-darkened sky, but she gave nothing away.  “How late is it?” she wondered aloud, as she glanced at the clock.  “It’s twilight” I said softly, looking at the western horizon, obscured as it was with clouds.  My voice was thoughtful, as if I were somewhere far away.    I gazed unseeingly out the windshield.  Suddenly I shifted my eyes back to hers.

“It’s the safest time of the day for us,” I said, answering the unspoken question in her eyes.  “The easiest time.  But also the saddest, in a way…the end of another day and the return of the night.  Darkness is so predictable, don’t you think?”  I smiled wistfully.

“I like the night.  Without the dark, we’d never see the stars.” She frowned.  “Not that you see them much here”   I laughed, and the mood abruptly lightened.

“Charlie will be here in a few minutes.  So unless you want to tell him that you’ll be with me Saturday…” I raised one eyebrow.

“Thanks, but no thanks.” She replied gathering her books.  “So is it my turn tomorrow, then?”

“Certainly not!” I said with teasing outrage.  “I told you I wasn’t done, didn’t I.?”  “What more is there?” she replied solemnly.

“You’ll find out tomorrow.” I said reaching across to open her door.  Her heart went into frenzied palpitations.  I froze with my hand on the handle.  “Not good,” I muttered.

“What is it?” she said surprised to see that my jaw was clenched, my eyes disturbed.  I glanced at her for a brief second.  “Another complication,” I said glumly.