LOVE AND DEATH, edward cullen

fourteen

━━ love and death. (2024)
edward cullen x fem!oc
chapter fourteen

I felt like I was on the moon — or on a different planet where I no longer had to force myself to pretend to be somebody I'm not. Edward saw right through me and as much as I wasn't ready for it, I was absolutely sure he was going to be the one to break my walls down.

I might've enjoyed the way he irritated me. How much our relationship was like gravity and kept pushing us together every time we pulled apart. My feelings were still unclear — I would have to practice allowing myself to let someone like me — let alone love me.

I had a crush on him, to put it straight – maybe I didn't realize it until now. I constantly expressed my hatred every time he would push me away and be rude to me but deep down it was the thrill that I knew he would come back.

There were about three things I was absolutely positive about. One, Edward was a vampire. Two, there was a part of him that thirsted for my blood — maybe the largest part. I got up from my bed mid-thought and stationed myself in front of my standing mirror, eyeing my frizzy hair and my facial features that seemed to glow more than before.

And three, he wanted me more than he wanted anybody in the world and maybe I was gravitating towards that feeling as well.

"Aspen, want to ride with me to school?" My brother appeared at my door in the reflection of my mirror. His bag was hanging over his shoulder and his hair was covered by a baseball cap put on backwards.

Right before I could answer I heard a car honk from outside the house. I furrowed my eyebrows curiously and walked towards my window, catching Edward leaning back against his car with his hands shoved into his pocket and a pair of dark shades covering his eyes.

My heart fluttered pathetically. There was no way I was going to let him know how I felt any time soon — I enjoyed watching a man grovel.

"You know now, don't you?"

I slowly turned to my brother as the energy between us shifted uncomfortably. "What?"

"It's why Edythe and I stopped talking for a while. I couldn't — I didn't handle it as well as you did."

I pursed my lips at my brother's confession then nodded my head. "Yes, I know now. I'm assuming Edythe knows too?"

Beau laughed under his breath. "Of course she knows, they're twins — soulmates. And the Cullens are probably the closest family I ever met in my life."

Suddenly my eyes widened and I stalked towards my brother, yanking him further into my room so our father couldn't hear our conversation. "You met their family? You didn't tell me? Are you crazy?"

"Pen, I couldn't." He responded calmly while placing a hand on my shoulder. "It wasn't my place to say anything. Edythe said you would eventually find out on your own — only you and Edward were allowed to speak about it."

"So, we're both involved?"

He nodded. "Edythe and I — it sounds weird when you say it out loud but we were meant to be." I furrowed my eyebrows and watched as he briefly looked away with a shy smile forming on his lips. "She told me you only get one and I was it."

A memory flashed from yesterday when Edward said the same thing to me but never explained what he meant. I shifted on my feet silently, nervous to ask the question but I was already so far down in this abyss that contained Edwards life — what more could there be?

"A vampire gets their mate once a lifetime. They don't know when or how it'll happen. But that's why Edythe and I just connected so quickly — I'm sure it was the same for you and Edward."