Fire's Angel

The Secret's in the Telling

The Secret's in the Telling

Time flew by quickly after that. Alice didn't let go of me until I cried everything out, and for that I was grateful. Eventually I did pull away to wipe my tearstained cheeks.

"Sorry about that, Alice. I didn't mean to break down on you." I chuckled at my own actions, embarrassed that I had cried so much.

She wiped away a stray tear, letting her hand linger on my cheek before she spoke. "It takes a really strong person to cry in front of someone else, especially someone they don't know well. You really don't need to apologize for trusting me." She smiled sweetly at me, letting me know that she was being completely honest. Her hand was still on my cheek, and I leaned into it, closing my eyes.

"Why is your hand so cold?" I asked before I knew what I was saying. I slowly opened my eyes, hoping that she hadn't taken offense. She looked a bit startled, but quickly composed herself while pulling her hand away.

"Poor blood circulation," she responded before laughing shortly. "But it is getting late. We had better start heading back if you're ready to go." She waited for me to agree before standing up and offering me her hand. Once I stood, I turned to face her more properly. She hadn't let go of my hand, and didn't seem to have any intention of doing so. She actually seemed to be deep in thought, as if she was thinking about whether or not to say something. I didn't know whether or not to say anything, so I just stood there, watching her eyes. They really were beautiful, although they seemed a bit darker today than they were yesterday. They were looking just over my eyes, not directly at them. It was kind of unnerving.

After a few more moments, I decided that I should say something. "Alice, are you alright?" That seemed to snap her out of her trance, and she looked away quickly.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something." She smiled at me, but it didn't reach her eyes. It was startling that I could already tell when her smile was real or not, but she was just so readable in her own way. Her eyes were incredibly expressive.

"Care to share?" I asked hopefully. I didn't like seeing her so out of sorts, and to be honest, it was a little worrisome.

She shook her head before looking at me very seriously and answering. "I'd love to, Bella, but I'm not sure if I can right now. I'm sure that I'll tell you eventually, but if you don't mind waiting, that would be great." Her eyes never left mine as if she had to get this across to me. I felt like my answer now could and would change everything if I answered incorrectly. So I went with a nonchalant answer that I hoped would let her know I was willing to wait.

"Alright. It's not like I can really force you to tell me, and I'm sure you'll tell me when the time's right." She smiled at me again before turning and walking toward the car. Her hand was still in mine as she walked a little ahead of me. She only let go when she had the passenger side open for me to get in. I climbed in and waited somewhat patiently for her to get in and start the car. She got in quickly enough and began to drive back toward Forks.

On the drive home, I couldn't stop thinking about all that had happened today. My dream had been weird enough, but spending the whole day out with Alice and skipping was totally crazy. Not strangely, though, one part kept sticking out to me. It was when Alice had said exactly what my rescuer did. I had to admit that it was a common phrase. It's not like it was rare for someone to say that. But it was just so odd that Alice would say it right then, right as I was getting to that specific part. I finally caved and asked her about it. "Do you mind if I ask you something?" I looked over at her to see her nod at me to continue. "Earlier, while I was telling you about what happened, you said something to me. 'It's going to be alright'. I was just wondering... well, I don't really know what I was wondering actually..." I trailed off as I looked over to see Alice's grip on the steering wheel tightening. Her jaw was set, and if I hadn't known better, I would have thought she was angry at me.