The First Drop Of Rain

Chapter Thirty One

I was so grateful that Tanya, Kate, and Irina wanted to go shopping with me. I grabbed some amazing pieces of clothing while we were out, having traveled to Anchorage 5th Avenue Mall for this particular shopping excursion. While we were out, I received a phone call from Alice, she told me a specific aisle of a store to go to, that three racks in and four items back I would find a dress, she already had shoes that matched it, and the dress was my size exactly. I did as she told me, and found the dress. It was a navy blue dress that fell just at my mid thigh, made of a soft satin, with a cowl neck and spaghetti straps. I was completely captivated and immediately made the mental note to hug Alice when I returned home. I was also instructed not to try it on, so that Edward may be surprised by the final look. I made the quick discovery, however, that the dress wasn't just a normal navy blue, but in certain lighting it was a deep purple tint as well.

Tanya and Kate perused the makeup for a moment while Irina and I sat in the food court. I had a pretzel and a lemonade in front of me, and Irina held a cup of water, which she had gotten as intended for me. "Edward seems to really love you." Irina said, her eyes bright with enthusiasm.

"Oh, yeah I guess so." I smiled sheepishly as I dipped the soft pretzel in some "spicy" cheese.

"You guess so!? Ara, I don't think you seem to understand how much you've changed his life." She shook her head apprehensively. "All of our lives."

"I've put you in danger, that's for sure." With a scoff I set my pretzel down, losing my appetite while almost halfway through.

"Arabella. Look at me." She waited until my gaze moved to meet hers. "Not a single one of us fears retribution for knowing you. For loving you." Her words seemed so loving, but without Jasper's power I had trouble believing her.

"I just can't help but worry that I'm going to become more trouble than I'm worth one day." I washed the taste of that reality from my mouth with a swig of lemonade, keeping the straw trapped between my teeth for a moment longer. "I know that Edward is willing to protect me from becoming... one of you... but I worry that because of my reluctance I will end up being a liability sooner rather than later."

"You're mortal, not an infant. You take care of yourself well enough from what I gather." She raised her brow, seeming to insinuate something I wasn't picking up. "Oh for pete's sake, I mean the wolves."

"You know about that!" I nearly dropped the cup in my hand from the sheer shock I felt.
"Of course I know about that! Edward was ready to destroy the whole tribe for you."
"Oh how comforting. Genocide." My tone held a heavy note of sarcasm as I regained my composure.

"You know what I mean. You handled yourself quite well, and with your specific abilities, you seem to be able to sway even the most stone of hearts." Irina then reached across the table, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. "Now eat the rest of your pretzel, you may be willing to give up immortality, but I'm not. Edward will have my head if I don't make you finish that." She smiled, but I knew she was being a tad more serious than I cared for. Luckily for me, pretzels and cheese were a safe food, so having to scarf it down quickly didn't mean much for my annoyingly sensitive stomach. And quickly it was, when Tanya and Kate returned they whispered that we had to exit the mall quickly, that the sun was threatening an appearance behind the clouds and Alice had just called to confirm.

We left the mall with haste, and I did my best to scurry along and not make the girls slow any. I was sure that with time my slow pace wouldn't make me self conscious, but that time was not now. Once we were finally in the shelter of the car, the mood lightened and the rush was gone, allowing the joking manner we had previously to return. I did however find out the hard way (on the way to the car) what Kate's gift was exactly. She had apologized profusely when it happened, informing me that the phenomenon that was her loss in control only happened in times of stress. The shock had been small, barely enough to count above static electricity, but even the small ow I had admitted was enough to create a worry line between Kate's platinum brows. No matter how much I insisted I was okay, that line did not disappear.

Driving back, we filled the car with the sound of laughter, Tanya having decided to detail to me some of her more illicit escapades. She also included some anecdotal stories that Edward would surely roll his eyes at me learning. The stories included ones that would embarrass Edward but amuse Emmett to no end. The arrival back at the Denali house meant the race home was encroaching quickly. Alice assured me via text that my father wasn't going to ask too many questions, and she provided me with the answers to the ones he would ask, but that didn't settle the anxiety bubbling below the surface. Everything was about to happen at a lightning pace. My tower moment was coming, and I could feel it.
When Edward came across me again, his eyes widened in surprise. "How much iced coffee did you consume!? You're practically vibrating!"

"None..." I spoke sheepishly, watching the shock cross his face as he realized I was telling the truth. "I'm nervous." I admitted, throwing the bags from the excursion onto the bed and spinning to stare at him in the doorway. It's all about to happen Edward... it's going to happen so fast. And I know it may not seem fast for you, it might seem agonizingly slow for you... but me? I closed my eyes and shook my head, hearing him slowly cross the room to pull me into a hug. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, I know we've had this conversation before.

"Ara, please stop apologizing for feeling emotions." His words came out as a sigh, though they somehow still seemed to have that loving tone. We stood there for nearly ten minutes, just holding each other, breathing in the closeness. "Come on," he whispered finally, pulling me to the bed, procuring a laptop from seemingly thin air. I raised my eyebrows at him as I climbed onto the bed, watching him join me while opening the laptop. "Arabella." He mumbled without looking up. "Remove your mind from the gutter, please." He then glanced up at me, a playful and teasing smile on his lips. When I turned my attention to the laptop screen, I saw the title screen of Gilmore Girls on Netflix. "They added it not too long ago. All seven seasons." He smiled at me, and I felt my heart crack open as he did. He had remembered me talking about watching the show in early mornings with my mom throughout the summer, how I wished so desperately to get my hands on the completed seasons but that it was nearly impossible to do so.

I gasped and looked at him with pure joy in my eyes. And then the new episode of Doctor Who will be on my DVR when we get back! My ecstatic thought brought him to laughter as I attempted to shake his arm.

"You're never calming down enough to go to sleep are you?" An exasperated smile breaking onto his face as he spoke.

"Nope!"

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I hope you enjoyed that 😌👀

-Ash