The Man in the Long Black Coat Chapter Five

The stranger settled into a corner, notebook in hand, camera strapped around his neck. No one paid him much attention as he jotted down his thoughts, snapped a few photos.

Except Edward.

The last thing he needed nearby was a newspaper reporter, but that’s exactly who the stranger was. The big daily down in Seattle had sent him to Forks to tell the human interest story surrounding the disappearance of Mike Newton.

Edward eyed the reporter carefully. He didn't want the man to notice him, but he didn’t want to lose track of him, either. So far, the reporter hadn’t noticed Edward. He hoped it would stay that way.

Reporters had shown up after Edward’s killings before. He’d always left town immediately when attention began to brew. Not this time.

The reason walked in just then, silhouetted by the moonlight.

She let the door close behind her as her eyes adjusted to the light. She looked left, right, ducked her head and let her hair fall over her eyes. A few heads turned her way to see who’d just arrived, but they all turned away quickly, as if they didn’t want others to see that they’d noticed Bella Swan enter the room.

Half the town was gathered at the old dance hall on the outskirts of town for what was supposed to be a candlelight vigil for Mike Newton, but what had become a defacto after-graduation party. Music played over the room’s lone speaker and teenagers gathered around the punch bowl at a table set up near the stage. If Newton had any friends in town, it wasn’t evident on this night.

Edward watched it all from the dark side of the room. He’d debated with himself about showing up at all, but he suspected that Bella might be there. He couldn't resist seeing her again. He hadn’t been near her since the confrontation outside the church five days earlier.

Someone nudged his elbow. “Some party, eh?”

Edward looked at the young man next to him. He was a chess-club type. Tall, with a poor complexion and hair as black as an oil slick. Edward said nothing.

“I’m Eric. Nice to meet you.” He reached out his hand.

Edward said nothing. He did not offer his hand in return. Eric fidgeted. He looked around. He tried to fill the uncomfortable silence with a cluck of his tongue, by humming the song playing over the speaker, some old crooner.

“Yeah, well, it was good talking, I guess,” Eric said. “I’ll, uh, see you around.”

Edward saw Bella staring at him from across the room, a smirk twisting her lips. He was about to head toward her when thoughts from nearby interrupted him.

“There’s that hot guy again,” the driver from the other night was thinking. “I wonder what his story is. He’s definitely not from around here.”

Edward looked her way. Her name was Jessica Stanley, and Edward hoped she would not be trouble. She was a nosy type who’d had a crush on Mike Newton.

He looked back to where Bella had been, but she was gone. Instead, Charlie was there. He was staring at Edward with a confused look on his face. Edward zeroed in on his thoughts. “I need to look into this guy,” Charlie was thinking. “I could swear he was outside the church the other day, too.”

Edward was not a man who lost his cool easily, but he was coming close. He felt like his world had been twisted inside out. Only days ago, he had been minding his own business, intent on doing whatever he had to do to get by, whatever he had to do to satiate the monster inside him. But now he found himself infatuated with a strange girl, stuck in a town where people were starting to notice him, and trying to figure out a way to dodge a small-town police chief.

“Fuck,” he muttered as he hurried toward the exit. He was putting himself in danger for no good reason and he knew he had to stop it as soon as possible.

A hand grabbed his as he neared the door. He snarled and prepared to strike, fed up. This was it. He was going to slaughter whoever it was and skip town, never to be seen again.

“Stop. Don’t go.”

He saw her, but he did not believe it. Bella Swan held onto his hand. He wanted to wrench his hand away. He wanted to hold her hand more tighy. He wanted to forget he had ever come to this place and he wanted to stay there forever.

“Uh,” he said.

She looked over at her father, who was sipping watered-down punch and huddled in a corner with the mayor. Edward turned up the collar on his coat and ran his hand through his hair.

“I can keep him busy,” she said, “if you promise to wait for me outside.”

She looked into his eyes with the kind of confidence he hadn’t seen in her before. She lifted her eyebrows and waited for a response, the smirk returning.

“OK,” he said. “I’ll be around back.”

He walked outside, certain that he would not stop. He would walk until he was far enough away to run, and then he would run to the next town, and the next, and the next. He wouldn’t rest until he was halfway across the country.

He sat down at a picnic table that fronted a pond behind the dance hall. He waited, despite himself. He breathed in the air, taking in the smells of northwest Washington. He thought that he didn't do that often enough, appreciating the good things his existence had to offer.

What am I doing? he thought. He got up to leave. Bella approached him.

“We need to talk,” she said.

Edward didn't trust himself to reply, so he said nothing.

“I’m. I didn’t mean. Uh, I guess I’m sorry about the other day,” she said. She looked at her feet, back up at him. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

Music drifted out an open window. The Doors. Someone was on an old-school kick.

Bella broke first. She looked up at him, her eyes glistening, her pale skin almost blue under the full moon.

“Dance with me,” she said. She looked away. She bit her lip and turned back toward him. She took his hand in hers and squeezed.

Edward did not reply, his face like a mask.

She pulled him to her, and began to dance as a Van Morrison song played.

We were born before the wind

also younger than the sun

Bella laid her head on his chest, and he breathed her in. He placed his hands on her hips and closed his eyes, consuming her in his thoughts. He felt her heart pounding, her blood coursing through her veins, an oncoming tsunami.

He opened his eyes to see her bare neck inches from his mouth. His salivary glands reacted; his mouth watered.

“Bella,” he said.

She held him tighter. “Shh,” she whispered. “Just hold me.”

He held her tighter. He put his head against hers, his mouth tantalizingly close to her neck. He nuzzled his cheek to hers, his nose behind her ear. He breathed in again and felt his inner demon coming out to play. He opened his mouth and bared his teeth, running them slowly over her carotid artery. He stopped and ran his tongue over it, savored the warmth as his teeth ran over it again, less gently this time.

Bella moaned softly. “Yes,” she whispered. "Do it."

Edward opened his eyes so he could take it all in. He wanted to remember this moment for as long as he existed. He looked up and Charlie Swan was staring at him through the open back door. He stood with the reporter from Seattle, who was staring too.

Edward broke their embrace.

“I have to go.”

He turned and prepared to run.

“Wait! I don’t even know your name.”

He turned back to her and reached into his pocket.

“This is for you,” he said. He handed her an iPhone, his fingers lingering on hers as she took it from him. “My name and number are in the contacts.”

And he ran.

-30-

You guys. No, seriously, you guys. I love all of you. Thanks so much for the response to the first few chapters. I’m feeling really good about where this is going. Mucho thanks to the incomparable @MazzyStarla, the best beta/wife I ever had. (Buttcrack Santa = her idea). Look her up. Give her some love, too. :) Until next time ...