The First Drop Of Rain

Chapter Twenty Six

When Edward and I finally broke apart, I winced as I dropped my arm, and avoided his gaze. I was fully aware he had caught my blunder, but didn't want him to be angry at Sam for what was only an accident. My mind began playing the plot of Supernatural as I walked back over to my bed to sit cross legged. "Ara..." Edward cautioned, knowing I was hiding something from him. "Show me."

DRAT! I've been caught.

Heaving a sigh, I took my hoodie off to reveal the black tank top I had on beneath. I was shocked to see my arm as well after Sam's grip. There was a perfect hand shaped bruise forming, already purple and sore, directly on my bicep. I didn't have to look at Edward to know he was insanely tense. I waited for the ranting about how he wanted to kill Sam, about how I could never go near him or anyone else from La Push. Instead, his arms reached forward and pulled me to his chest. He settled onto my bed next to me. His breath was soft, even, and cold against my skin, and he just held me. "Ara..." Edward spoke hesitantly, "never feel like you have to hide things from me." His voice sounded almost regretful, and he was nearly mournful.

"I just... I know how you react." I sighed and kept my gaze fixed on the hardwood floors of my bedroom, which always seemed to have a faint sheen of glitter from an unfortunate crafting accident when I was nine. "Sam didn't mean to grab my arm so hard, honestly he was defending me. He's still not aware of his strength... and I didn't want you to try to keep me from my friends." I looked up from the spot on the floor I had been looking at. My eyes found him, and were met with remorse.

"Ara, I never wanted to make you feel like you wouldn't be able to be open with me."

"I just know how protective you are... and honestly it scares me sometimes." I decided I didn't want to dwell on everything, and moved myself to the other side of the bed, propping myself up against the opposite poster. "BUT! I don't want to talk about this anymore. Can we talk about something else... anything else?"

Edward gave a small chuckle and ran his hand through his hair. "Understood." He remained in the lounged position, his eyes studying me. I never paid much attention to the color of his eyes, seeing as he was so much taller than me I tended to be at a disadvantage from that perspective. Today, sitting directly across from me, I saw how deep brown, nearly black, they were. I studied his face for a moment, turning over the facets in my mind. The first time I saw the Cullens I had believed they were so perfect they lacked any of the micro-flaws that we as society perceived. Now studying Edward's face I discovered he was in fact, flawed. His nose was slightly crooked, suggesting as a human he snored, and perhaps got in a few fist fights that he may have been on the losing end of. Above his left eyebrow I saw the faint sign of a scar, one that had long healed before he met Carlisle. It dawned on me then that what made each of the Cullen's, as well as basically everyone else on the planet, so beautiful and perfect was the imperfections we perceived. "What's going on inside that head of your's?" Edward asked with a crooked smile, barely thirty seconds had passed. I knew my mind was a jumbled mess as I sifted through life altering realizations of my perspective on humanity, and the intrusive thought of randomly rolling off the bed and laying on the floor like a token floor person.

"Oh not much," I joked, shrugging my shoulders. "Just the complexities of the societal view on beauty and the expression of it."

"So nothing too detrimental then." Edward laughed, shaking his head and turning his attention to the head of my bed. "Did you even sleep after I left?"

"No." I smiled sheepishly, reaching up to pull my hair back in a jaw clip that I happened to have sitting on the floor next to my bed. "I was too awake, you had me out in the cold, that was like being attacked with ice cubes." I raised my brow accusingly.

"Well I am so sorry about that." He furrowed his brow back at me in a teasing manner.

"You should be." I flopped myself sideways on my bed, earning a laugh from Edward as I stared at the various tapestries and scarves that shimmered in the light of the sun and laid overtop of the white twinkling Christmas lights. It dawned on me that the reason Edward wasn't in school was because the sun had decided to show itself in full force today, and the longing I had to soak in the rays filled every fiber of my being. "Let's go on an adventure today." My eyes brightened as I shifted my gaze to Edward, who looked like a disco ball or a shattered Silver Surfer at the end of my bed.