Pinned but Fluttering

Chapter 47

Chapter 47

     As we seated ourselves to begin what would probably be a long and probably difficult conversation, Edward led me to an armchair, seated himself, then pulled me onto his lap. Normally I would have been embarrassed-as- all-get-out to be placed in such an intimate position in front of his family, but I was too happy to care right now.

     Just as we all settled in, the backdoor opened again, and we were joined by Alice and Jasper.

     “Good timing,” Emmett stated playfully. But I was watching Jasper’s expression which morphed from incredibly tense, to tentatively pleased, to outright grinning.

     I was glad to see Jasper sigh and visibly relax as a result of the emotional climate of the room. It had not taken me long to watch my empathic brother carefully to gain insight into the family’s overall mood. Alice’s quick smiles attested to the fact that all was well with them…now.  

     “I’m sorry that we had to run,” Alice stated calmly. “But Edward’s emotions were just too much for Jasper to handle. It seems that all is back to normal,” she enthused, skipping forward to kiss my cheek and hug Edward.

     “We’re just settling in to hear the details,” Carlisle assured her with a smile as Esme reached across the coffee table to pat Jasper’s arm reassuringly.

     “Who wants to go first?” asked Emmett, rubbing his hands together in anticipation, but Edward and I exchanged rather nervous glances.

     I doubted that either one of us wanted to fully share what we had just experienced. I noticed, too, that Jasper’s grin had faded, and he seemed tense again. Either our emotions were robbing him of his recent calm, or he was remembering being responsible for similar suffering he had caused his mate in the past.

     “I’ll start,” I volunteered. “But I have to ask you all for a favor.” They all looked at me expectantly as I continued, my voice soft. “Please let me get through this without interruptions, and then I’ll answer questions.” Nods from our family responded, and I took in a deep breath as Edward squeezed my hand reassuringly.

     In a somber tone, I explained why I had run away, stopping Edward from interrupting me twice with a quick kiss and significant glance. I tried not to look at him, knowing that the likely stress on his beautiful face would upset me enough that I would never be able to explain my thoughts and actions fully.

     Then I related how the pain had started and then worsened the further I ran away, and why I had returned, the pain diminishing the closer I came to the Cullens’ home. After I finished, I turned to Edward.

     “So you lost your gift after I left? And what else happened?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

     “What do you mean, ‘and what else’?” queried Eleazar while Edward stared at me, nonplussed.

     I told them about the part of my mind that had been shut off from all stimuli and how I had gathered that Edward had been in that state.