Twilight: But it's a Thriller and I Never Read Twilight

Chapter 39: Isle Esme

As soon as I sat up, I found myself naked and shivering a bit in the cold of the house. My dress was in a heap on the floor along with my undergarments and the pins from my hair. I stepped around them with a wide berth as I headed for the closet to find a pair of shorts and a tee shirt to wear for the day. When I sat down at the vanity, dressed in fresh clothes, I caught the feeling of the ring on my finger as I clasped my hand down on the table. It made a soft sound as it scraped against the wood, and I found myself looking at that little yellow diamond once again.

I twisted it a little on my finger as I watched the way it sparkled, reassessing the wedding and all the festivities of the day before. I was surprised to find I looked back on it with warmth and happiness even with all the chaos I'd endured. Walking down the aisle with my Dad, seeing Jessica, and dancing with Jacob fell to the back of my mind and Edward took up his place front and center. I smiled at myself and my new life.

After I had finished getting ready, brushing my hair and waking myself up, I wandered downstairs to the kitchen where I expected to see Esme in the kitchen. Instead, it was empty as I stepped inside, and the lights were turned off. I stood still for a second, as if I had missed something. It wasn't like Esme to sleep in or to be anywhere besides the kitchen. In fact, I hadn't actually seen anyone since I'd left my room.

A sudden worry crossed my mind as I imagined all the places Esme and the rest of the family could be at this time. I didn't have the time to ponder it much however, because someone grabbed my shoulder, eliciting a gasp from me as I turned to see Edward standing behind me. He stood simply, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, as if he hadn't given me a mini panic attack.

"Are you ready?" he asked. "It's a long flight."

With my mouth still open and the gears in my head grinding to a stop, I glanced to the empty kitchen behind me and then back to Edward. He stood expectantly as I struggled to process what was going on so early in the morning.

"Yeah," I said after a moment. "My bags are still upstairs."

"Go get them," Edward said. "The car is here."

The car he was referring to was a taxi sitting in the driveway. I dragged my bags along with me outside as Edward waited for me, having already packed his things in the trunk. After I shoved them in and slammed the trunk shut, it was time to leave the Cullen house behind. Some part of me wondered how long it would be before I saw this house again and if I would see it the same way when I got back.

After hopping into the back seat next to Edward, the driver backed out of the long driveway and drove us off toward our destination. I watched the woods speed by next to us as we left Forks and the area of Washington which I had called home for almost two years.

"Where are we going?" I asked Edward after some time in silence with him.

"It's a surprise," he said. "You'll see when we get there."

With that, I shut up and kept watching out the window as we moved. The longer we spent in the car, the more I put together about this trip. We appeared to be heading toward Seattle, but I couldn't be sure that was our final destination. I turned out to be right when the taxi pulled into the first terminal of Seattle's airport. I wracked my brain for where we would be going, but I supposed I would have to find out when we boarded the plane.

That assumption turned out to be wrong however, as Edward led us passed the check in, passed security and to a small, private terminal away from all the bustling businessmen and vacationers. We were on our plane in the time it would have taken anyone else to get through security, and there was still no sign of where we were going.