CF Chapter 14 TEASER

I could feel the attachment to Edward building for some time, and admittedly, it was scary as hell. As stubborn and arrogant as he could be at times, it was the positive parts of him that had really shown through. He had such a good heart, even with as guarded as he kept it.

 But not telling him how I truly felt about him? That terrified me more. Not saying what you should could have serious repercussions… like losing what you value most. Sometimes though, words aren’t enough to express what someone means to you. So what do you do? You show them the best way you can. With Edward, I gave him my heart. The glass heart and key represented what he owned of mine. He had to see more than just hear.

And since that moment, he had obviously changed. We both had. I could tell through Government and lunch that he was different, and I knew it was because of what I’d done. He never said a word to me, just stared. Honestly, I feared what that silence meant. It wasn’t until biology that I realized how altered he really was, because it wasn’t until then that he said anything about the glass heart.

“Why, Bella?” he whispered.

I turned to look at him. “Why what?” Though I asked, I knew exactly what he was referring to. But I was tired of the silence, the way it tensed me. I needed him to speak.

He peered at his hands that were resting palm down on the desk we shared. They shook even though he tried to steady them. “Why me?”

How could he ask that? How could he not see the answer? “Because Edward, it was meant for you. I think deep down I’ve known for awhile it was always you.”

“How?” he asked, still whispering. “How do you know it’s me?”  This Edward was not the one I was used to seeing. This Edward’s shield was down, visually unguarded, and he’d managed to communicate a few sentences without cursing.

I exhaled audibly, the emotion tumbling through my body evident in my breathing. “I feel it. I trust you with my heart.”

He finally looked at me, and I swear I could see right inside him, see that he was cracking open. “That’s a lot of faith to have in one fucking person, Bella.”

“You’re not just any person, Edward. Besides, you’re worth it.”

He watched me for the longest time, quiet as he’d been previously. I hoped he’d say something more, say how he felt, but he kept silent through the rest of Biology. And I let him, because I’d learned when not to push.

Seconds before the bell rang, he slid a piece of paper over to me, one I never even saw him writing. I glanced down, and as I read the words, tears I didn’t realize I was shedding coated the paper.

In messy handwriting, it read:

No one has ever touched my heart and soul but you.