LOVE AND DEATH, edward cullen

forty

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

My bedroom door swung open by my sudden strength and I rushed to grab my backpack, filling it with clothes that were scattered messily within my dresser. Kai was pacing behind me, no doubt burning a hole in my carpet and straight through the floorboards.

"Why do you have to go?"

"He's not going to believe Alice and he especially won't believe Rosalie. He has to see I'm alive." I swung my backpack over my shoulder and quickly exited my room, jogging down the steps and racing out the front door with Kai hot on my trail.

"He left you, Aspen. He didn't want you anymore, remember?"

I spun around to face him — Beau was now standing in the doorway of our home, watching as Kai and I went back and forth like a ping pong match. Rosalie was already in her car and starting the engine.

Beau agreed that there was no other way and I couldn't wait for our dad to get home so I could try to make up another excuse for leaving. I wrote Charlie a note and Beau promised he would tell him that I took his advice and wanted to spend a few days alone.

I should've been more careful with my choice of words but I couldn't stop myself from spitting them out at Kai. "But I still care about him and I'm not going to let him kill himself out of guilt."

This visibly wounded him but I couldn't stop to soothe him or try to make the situation better for him.

I threw my backpack into the back seat of Rosalie's car then swung open the door before Kai gripped it with his fist and kept me from climbing in. "What about Charlie? Beau? Embry?"

I turned to him now with a more calm expression, even if I was more frazzled than the next old lady, possibly losing a game of bingo. "Don't try to guilt trip me out of this," I raised my eyebrows in a warning. "It's not fair."

Kai anxiously licked his lips and forced his gaze towards Rosalie, squaring his shoulders at the same time. "You Cullens might hunt animals but those things in Italy don't."

Rosalie shot him a look with burning hatred. "I'm fully aware what the Volturi are."

"They'll kill her," Kai pressed on.

Rosalie gripped the steering wheel tightly. "Right and she's better off here with Victoria stalking her? The one you dogs can't seem to catch?"

Kai growled at her, a shudder ripping through him but I quickly interceded by standing between them. "I'm leaving Kai, I'm sorry but you can't stop me. My decision has been made." I cautiously placed my hand over his while he continued to grip the car door. "Don't do this," he finally turned his gaze on me, his voice dropping down to a whisper. "Please, for Charlie — for me."

I could see it in his eyes — the love he held for me and how thick it runs through his veins. But I couldn't deny that part of me that disagreed with his feelings. It had absolutely nothing to do with me as a person and who I was — it was only about the imprint, it blinded him.

Unlike what I would do in most situations, I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him in for a tight reassuring hug. His touch still felt warm but foreign to me as he wrapped his arms around me in return, his face pressing into my neck.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to him once more before I swiftly pulled away and climbed into the passenger seat by shutting the door right after.

He slowly stumbled back — my brother still waiting by the front door, obviously aware of everything that just happened but kept his distance to respect my boundaries. Rosalie didn't wait another minute as she whipped out of the driveway and sped down the street already going ninety.