4. Broken glass , hidden hands

“I don’t break things, I just… bend them too hard.”

— Aster Swan (to Alice)

---

Forks High returned to normal the way a heart resets after skipping a beat—shaky and unsure.

Everyone kept talking about Tyler’s van crash. Everyone except the Cullens.

And me.

---

In Biology

Edward hadn’t spoken to me since the courtyard.

But he stared.

Not constantly—just enough to be noticed. Enough to be a warning.

I’d gotten used to being watched. People stared at Bella because she was quiet and pretty. They stared at me because I was... something else.

The boy who’d survived a speeding van without a bruise.

The boy Edward Cullen couldn’t stop looking at.

---

At Lunch

Today, Alice waved me over.

I blinked. “Wait. Are you...?”

“C’mon,” she said brightly, like it wasn’t the most socially insane thing someone could do. “I don’t bite. Much.”

Edward looked like he might object, but said nothing.

Rosalie narrowed her eyes but didn’t stop me. Jasper looked uncomfortable. Emmett grinned and shifted to make room.

I sat at the end. As far from Edward as I could get.

“You’re an anomaly,” Alice said cheerfully, twirling her juice box straw. “I usually see things. Future flashes. But you? You come through like static.”

I raised a brow. “Gee, thanks.”

“No, it’s interesting.” Her grin turned sly. “You confuse time itself.”

“Maybe I’m just boring.”

“Impossible,” Emmett chimed in, eyes gleaming. “You’re like... mystery-flavored Skittles. I don’t know what you are, but I want to find out.”

Rosalie rolled her eyes. Jasper’s lip quirked like he wanted to laugh but didn’t.

Edward finally spoke.

“You’re hiding something,” he said softly.

It wasn’t a question.

“I could say the same to you.”

His jaw twitched.

“We’re dangerous, Aster.”

“I’m not afraid of danger,” I replied, voice cool. “I live with it.”

That quieted the table.

---

After School

I found myself alone in the music room.

The piano was untouched, clean, keys yellowing at the edges. I let my fingers drift across it—not to play. Just to feel.

When I closed my eyes, my chest ached.

A humming began in my bones. Not a melody. A vibration.

Power.

Something inside me stirred. Wanting out.

A vision flickered behind my eyelids—a dark forest, the Cullens in a circle around me, golden eyes glowing, teeth bared... and I wasn’t afraid. I was burning. Floating.

I gasped and opened my eyes—

The windows cracked.

Crack. Crack. Crack.

Long spiderweb splits across the glass.

My heart pounded.

I hadn’t moved.

Just thought. Felt.

I stepped back.

Someone had seen.

Alice.

She stood at the door, her eyes wide—not afraid. Awed.

“Whatever you’re hiding,” she said softly, “it’s beautiful.”

---

That Night

The rain fell harder than usual. I sat in bed, wrapped in my hoodie, staring at the wall. My phone buzzed.

Unknown number:

> “I heard what happened in the music room. You're not alone.”

— J

Jasper.

I didn’t reply.

I didn’t know how.

---

Across town, seven vampires sat in a living room that hadn’t changed in a decade.

“He’s not just human,” Rosalie said flatly.

“He’s not vampire,” Carlisle countered.

“Witch?” Alice suggested.

“Mutant,” Emmett joked.

Edward didn’t speak. He just stared out the window.

Esme touched his arm gently. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

Edward nodded. “It’s not just attraction. It’s... gravity. Pull.”

“A bond?” Jasper asked.

“No,” Edward whispered. “Worse.”

“Worse?” Alice echoed.

“Deeper.”

---

To Be Continued...

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