Edward didn't follow me.
I wasn't surprised. He was too busy reeling, too caught up in the weight of his own self-control slipping through his fingers.
'He's already breaking.'
It was only a matter of time.
I moved through the forest like a shadow, my presence unsettling the animals hidden in the underbrush. They sensed me, felt the corruption that wrapped around my very existence. Unlike Edward, I didn't hide what I was. I had no reason to.
By the time I reached Forks High, the sun had barely risen. The school was quiet, empty except for the janitor finishing his early morning rounds. I could hear his thoughts—mundane, slow, uninteresting. The kind of human mind that I barely registered.
I leaned against a cold brick wall, waiting.
It wasn't long before I heard her.
Bella.
Her truck pulled into the lot, the old engine coughing in protest before dying completely. I watched as she climbed out, shivering slightly against the crisp morning air.
She was alone.
No Edward.
'Interesting.'
She sensed me before she saw me.
Her head snapped in my direction, brown eyes scanning the lot. She looked right at me but hesitated, as if her brain hadn't caught up to what her instincts were screaming.
"Morning," I said smoothly.
She startled, blinking rapidly as if shaking off some lingering dream. "Oh. Hey."
I smiled. "You seem surprised."
She hesitated. "I… just didn't see you there."
A lie.
She had seen me. She just didn't understand how.
I stepped closer, just enough to watch her pulse quicken. "You should get used to that," I murmured.
Her brows furrowed. "Used to what?"
I grinned. "Me."
Something flickered in her expression—uncertainty, curiosity, something she didn't want to name. She shifted her bag on her shoulder, glancing around as if expecting someone.
'She's looking for him.'
"He's not here," I said, amused.
Her gaze snapped back to me. "What?"
"Edward," I clarified, letting his name roll off my tongue like a joke only I understood. "He's not here."
She frowned. "How do you—" She stopped, shaking her head. "Never mind."
I chuckled. "That's the second time you've dismissed a question you wanted to ask. That's a habit, isn't it?"
Her lips parted slightly, caught off guard.
Before she could respond, a sleek silver Volvo pulled into the lot.
Edward.
I could see the tension in his shoulders even from a distance. He got out of the car with practiced smoothness, his golden eyes immediately locking onto us.
Ah.
He hated this.
Bella didn't notice. She turned toward him, her expression shifting into something softer. Relief.
'Interesting.'
I leaned in slightly, just enough to make her shiver. "See you soon, Isabella."
And then, I walked away, leaving her standing there, caught between two forces she didn't yet understand.
Edward's stare burned into my back as I passed him.
He wanted to say something.
To warn me. To threaten me.
But he didn't.
Because for the first time in his existence, he didn't know if he was strong enough.
And that?
That was delicious.