Corinna II (twilight saga)

2 ᴥ Pity Party

No matter how long you go without it, or how hard you work against it - you can never escape your true self. Blood was inevitable.
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Alice was trying her hardest to convince Rosalie and I to dress nice. At this point none of us were enjoying ourselves, even Alice who was desperately trying to hold on to any sense of peace keeping she had left.

Rose was sat in the corner chair with her arms crossed and frown unwavering while I was flicking through every dress in the closet pretending to be interested. Alice had already been ready since we got home from school.

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Rose groaned as Alice pulled the blondes hair up neatly.

"It's green."

I smiled to myself as I pulled out the first dress that genuinely caught my eye: A short blue one, ruffled sleeves. It was soft beneath my fingers, and as casual as it could be on a creature lacking imperfection. Alice approved immediately and I left the room to the sound of the bickering sisters.

I found myself wandering down the stairs to the dimly lit living room, the dark walls adding a traditional "spooky" feeling to a home full of vampires. Edward was halfway out the door when I came down the stairs.

Leaving?

He whipped around as if he'd been caught doing something wrong, and I watched him praise over my outfit.

"Blue is such a nice color on you," he murmured. "I'm going to pick Bella up. I'll be back soon."

He left me standing in the dark room without another word.

"Seriously?" I said out loud, to no one except myself.

"Can she not drive without injuring herself?" Emmett's laugh rocked me out of my confusion.

"He's treating her like a broken doll," I sighed as I twisted one of the glass cups on the table. No one would be using them, it was all for show.

"He's been spending a lot of time with her again," Emmett pointed out, eyeing the grapes with a curiosity that would only get him in trouble.

I hummed in response as Jasper plopped himself onto the arm of the couch.

"It bothers you."

"Immensely."

"Drop him," Jasper continued.

I smiled at his attempt to remain "up to date" with the world. Despite my want to stay and release all my angry thoughts with the boys, I decided it was better to find Esme. She was better at decision making than I was. She was sat on the back porch, poking at a dent in the wood.

"Does he even like me?" I blurted out.

She patted the empty spot next to her and I took the seat immediately, craving the motherly affection.

"I think he cares about you a lot, Corinna," she started. "Edward has strong values, and he is very...angry, with himself, about what happened to Bella."

I didn't answer as she smoothed my hair down softly. It was painful to accept that he cared about her too, and I knew Esme avoided mentioning that in order to spare my feeling. After a few minutes I heard the purr of Edwards Volvo pull up the driveway, and we made our way to the front room where everyone was gathering. It was gloomy. 

"Best behavior," Carlisle said, almost inaudibly.

I scrunched my nose as I heard Edward laugh outside at something she had said that I didn't catch. My heart dropped at his words.

"Blue looks beautiful on you, Bella."

I could feel the other Cullen members staring at me. An emotion flooded through me that I wasn't familiar with - sadness. I held my breath as I turned away from the door and ran into the kitchen, not able to force myself to watch him hold the door for her. I heard footsteps try to follow me, but Jasper's soft voice made them stop. I was thankful for his gift.

I heard the chorus of happy birthdays and welcome. My eyes drifted to the bottles of wine set out for display. Oh to be human again. Edward's voice was hushed and sullen as he asked where I was, only to be answered with silence and - hopefully - a glare from Alice. My mind was shut off, with no chance of allowing him or anyone in tonight.

"Presents? No...no, I couldn't-" Bella stuttered over her words and I tried to find the appeal in her clumsiness.

I walked in to find her shaking an empty box, her eyes drifted to mine for a moment. She offered a weak smile. I narrowed my eyes at her blue blouse. I suddenly felt suffocated in my dress as Edward tried to catch my stare from the opposite side of the room.

"Already installed in your truck...needed a new sound system," Emmett beamed proudly.

When I looked at Rosalie - who almost certainly had to have been the one to install it - she shrugged and rolled her eyes. I almost smiled.

"Don't hate the truck," Bella chuckled quietly.

"Open Carlisle and Esme's next," Alice beamed as she dropped the small box in the pale girls hands.

It all happened so quickly after that. Bella pulled under the tape and in a split second blood pooled to the delicate surface of her skin. One drop was all it took to set off the chaos that ensued.

"Shoot," Bella whispered, "Paper cut."

As quickly as the words left her mouth, my throat clamped shut in pain. How long had it been since I fed? I felt the control slip loose and I watched as Jasper let out an inhuman growl. Part of me wondered if it was because he had been watching my emotions.

In one foul sweep, Edward shoved Bella into the table full of glass cups and bowls. The smell of her blood filled the air as the shattered pieces of the party stuck to her skin like glue. Emmett was dragging Jasper out of the house as I let out an involuntary whimper.

I didn't lunge at her, I had more control than that, but I took too many steps too quickly towards the injured girl. I felt arms wrap around me as I screamed in agony at the pain in my throat. Bella's wide eyes stared at me in horror as Edward slid between the two of us. He was protecting her.

I wrapped a hand around the arm around me, Rosalie, I realized. She had so much more self-control than anyone gave her credit. Edward was glaring at me.

For him, it wasn't a matter of calming me like it had been in the alley.

It was all for her.

"You're going to get her killed!" I screamed as Rosalie pulled me outside.

He stared after me, his eyes blank.

Empty.

"You have feelings for her and they're going to get both of you killed!"