Diamond Legacies: Part 23

Um little bit of an explanation going into this chapter, its very deja vu/reminiscent of New Moon, but i didn't want several chapters of depression and writing the struggles Eden went through so i chose to skip the three months between the chapters. I didn't want to focus on the sadness too much so there is a time jump here. Plus i kind of like the mirroring of New Moon. 

As a reminder 'anti-age' is a treatment i imagined/made up that by this point in the future dermatologists would have bottled a way for people to stay looking young for longer. Its mentioned very briefly in this chapter so I wanted to remind you all. Its what Carlisle 'claims' to use to remain younger longer too as its now a widely accepted form of medicine humans use. 

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3 Months Later

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New York, December 2226

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Eden Balev

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It had been way too long since I had seen him.

My heart and my soul ached every day and I wondered when the pain would end.

I felt like I was drowning in my life. The joys I had in my dance quickly became chores, I hated going to the studio, I hated dancing. Any time anyone mentioned the word swan my heart would stammer in my chest at the thought of Nicholas and the memories of him calling me ‘little swan’. The studio was in full swing performing The Nutcracker and every night I performed methodically, with perfect technique and little to no emotion. It was too late in the season to quit or to step down, so I carried on for my friends and for those around me to think I was somewhat okay.

I wasn’t.

I was waiting for the day I would wake up and feel better, but it never came. And I don’t think it ever would as long as i was being smothered by my sister.

After Nova broke up with Nicholas without my permission, I was furious.

Beyond furious actually but seeing her memory, seeing how easily he was scared into believing her, seeing his aura from her mind, seeing what I missed inside him managed to calm my rage enough for me to listen to Nova.

I knew she had been right about setting him free and yet it didn’t dull any heartbreak I had over the situation. I loved him, more than anything, so keeping him out of the supernatural, keeping him human and letting him live his life was what was best for him. I knew that, and Nova played on that part of me well. Well, enough to get me to agree to the ‘break up’ she had so gracefully performed for me.

Part of me didn’t believe Nicholas was going to fall for it. Even after seeing his reaction in her mind for a good week after, I was continuously checking my phone, waiting for the phone call from him telling me he had just given her what she wanted, and we would still be together. Every day I checked until I just stopped checking. My phone has stayed in the top drawer by my bed ever since. Well, that phone at least. I took Lara’s advice and bought a new one that didn’t have his number programmed into it and a number he didn’t have access to.

Not only did I have Lara following my every move to make sure I didn’t contact Nicholas, but I also had Nova. She was here every weekend. She had even started renting an apartment in the same building as me and Lara. She was my personal shadow on all of my days off.

I didn’t mind my sister being around as much as I thought I would. We were actually becoming closer now we weren’t joined at the hip and id be lying if I said I didn’t miss her when we were separate for the few years she was in Chicago and I was here. I had asked her the day I moved to New York to come with me, she had said no, and we’d had a small argument over our mother’s wellbeing. But I guess finally she thought mine was more important, or more at risk I suppose.

My sister was the caretaker, always the shadow of the person who needed her most. It was our mother for the longest time, but now I guess she figured I was more in need.

Only thing is, my sister also came with her own baggage. Lucan. I had seen his anger before but the anger when Nova told him she was partly moving to New York was a new kind of anger. She stayed at Chicago in the week, one request to papa and she was given only weekday shifts so that her weekends were always free. She also somehow managed to persuade Lucan’s alpha that he needed weekends off too, so they were both free to come to New York and be my babysitters. It amused me that Lucan was just as angry as me at first. He clearly did not approve of this plan and uprooting his entire life for 2 days a week wasn’t something he wanted but he was wrapped around my sister’s finger and anything she wanted, he had to do. Freewill be damned. The imprint ruled my sister and her boyfriend and whilst it seemed to be rather annoying for them, I couldn’t help but be jealous of the loyalty and love they both shared. No matter what, they had to work through it because they knew they had forever together.

Needless to say, with Lara being my babysitter in the week and Nova taking over at the weekend, I had little freedom to actually contact Nicholas. With the pressure of the show and work I was too exhausted to even try and think of a plan to see him. As time passed, I wanted it less and less and yet the heartache never stopped. I felt betrayed he had taken my sisters word for it and not tried to face me himself. We had gone from being each other’s everything to nothing in a day and I had to believe this was hurting him as much as it was hurting me. So why the hell hadn’t he tried to see me?

The Nutcracker ran for a month and the last showing was Christmas Eve. It had consumed my life for three months and suddenly the thought of not having it, of having to go back home to Chicago and be surrounded by my family and their loved ones, to be surrounded by soulmates and people in love turned my stomach. I felt sick and that nausea was with me the whole night that night. As I danced, I put every single part of myself into the motion and I let it consume me. Just for a moment, for a few hours I let myself forget my pain and channel my emotions into my dancing and it was freeing.

“You were amazing” Noah said mid pant as we walked off the stage. The audience was still applauding our performance as we disappeared from their view. I leant back against the stage wall, ignoring the prodding of the tutu as it pushed up my back, and I threw my head back against it. Absorbing every feeling I got when leaving the stage was euphoric.

“How you holding up?” Noah asked and I looked to him to see a concerned expression on his face. He had been my only friend that gave me distance the past few months. Lara had told him what happened, and I was so grateful for him not pestering me about it every second of the day like Lara and Nova did.

“Barely” I said and my voice broke. I kept the tears from falling though. I had gotten good at that.

“He mustn’t have been able to hold off any longer” Noah said with a sad smile.

“What do you mean?” I asked him with a frown. Was he talking about Nicholas?

“Nicholas Disney.” He said returning my frown. He clearly thought I knew something when I didn’t.

“What about him?” I asked my voice breaking on the word ‘him’ again.

“He was in the audience tonight. He was watching you. Is that not why you’re so emotional tonight?” he asked, and my heart slammed in my chest in response. My breathing came quickly, and I leant forward onto my knees to catch myself from falling.

He was here? He had watched me?

“You didn’t know?” he asked coming over to put his arm around me so I didn’t fall over. I swallowed the emotions and just shook my head in response.

“I checked every night thinking he would turn up to watch you. But he didn’t. Not until tonight” Noah said.

The words felt like a dagger in my heart.

“I guess he just wanted to see you on the last night” he added but I couldn’t hear his words after that as he continued to reason as to why or why not Nicholas had come.

All my head could focus on was that he was out there right now.

Dancers started to rush around backstage preparing for the finale formation where we all went back onto stage to curtsy after the performance was over, but I couldn’t move.

“Eden, we have to do the reverence.” He said trying to get me to straighten up. I nodded and tried to swallow the emotion I was feeling but I was physically shaking. Noah leant forward and kissed my temple. “You got this babes” he whispered, and I gripped his hand in support as we made our way to our positions in the queue of dancers ready to enter the stage and curtsy for the last time in front of the audience.

I was about to ask Noah where he was in the audience, but it wasn’t likely id be able to see him anyway. You could only see the first few rows because of all the lights on the stage. He was smart enough not to sit in the front. He’d be lurking just to catch a glimpse and then he’d run away, leave without even telling me he was here.

I stepped into the light with a large fake smile as Noah led me by the hand to the front of the stage. He bowed and I curtsied as the audience increased their volume. We turned and took our positions on the stage ready for the stars of the show to take their bows.

Even though it was against the choreography and staging Noah took my hand in his as we stayed in the lights of the stage. We were off to the side so not many eyes would be on us when the principal dancers were on the stage, but I knew one set that would be, and it sent butterflies through my body. My nausea returned in waves, and I wanted nothing more than to run from the stage.

When it was over and the curtain dropped, Noah pivoted and pulled me into a hug immediately.

“You did it, you’re okay” he whispered, and I wanted nothing more than to cling onto my friend and cry, but I knew I couldn’t. Not with so many eyes on us. Not with Lara frowning across the stage at our display of comfort. She was already coming towards us when we pulled away.

‘Lara’ I mouthed to Noah as she reached us.

“Everything okay?” she asked as she walked with us off the stage.

“I was just congratulating Eden on a brilliant season that’s all. We did it together.” Noah beamed happily. He was so good at lying. I needed to take notes.

“Oh, it was, wasn’t it?!” Lara beamed back. She believed him. Good.

“I wish the last night wasn’t on Christmas eve. I miss the after parties.” Lara said and we went our separate ways from Noah to the female dressing rooms.

“there’s the new year party” I reminded her as we reached our joined dressing room.

“I forgot my headpiece!” Lara said before we entered, and the sound of her pointe shoes echoed in the hall as she ran back towards the stage. I turned and opened the dressing room to find a large bunch of red roses placed in the centre.

My heart slammed in my chest as I walked over to read the note.

My little swan,

You were captivating and as beautiful as always.

I miss you.

Your Prince Charming.

The words brought up both tears and the contents of my stomach as I turned to the bathroom to bring back my hunt from this morning. Tears mixed with the blood as I flushed the toilet removing any trace of the red liquid.

The vomiting stopped but the tears didn’t. I hadn’t cried. Not for three months. I had felt numb, almost emotionless for so long. I had held it in, trying to be strong for both Nova and Lara but this broke me. I was broken. More than broken.

A piece of me was missing and I wasn’t sure I could live the rest of forever under this torture.

“Eden?” it was Noah’s voice and I sighed in relief as he found me on the floor of the bathroom.

“Eden!” he gasped and came to hug me. “Are you okay? Were those from him? I just came to tell you that Lara is talking to the director, and she told me to let you know she’d be a while. What happened?” he asked, and his eyes fell on the note in my hand.

“I can’t do this anymore Noah. I can’t” my voice shook.

“Do you want me to go find him? See if he’s still here?” he asked, and I couldn’t stop the nod even if I tried.

He moved faster than I thought possible for a human but then he was an athlete after all. I stayed there, still fully dressed in my tutu and tights as I tried to breathe in and out. Every breath was like glass in my lungs as I waited.

He missed me?

Then why the hell hadn’t he tried to see me?

He knew where I was, every single night I was here on that stage. Every single night he knew exactly where I would be. I had accepted he didn’t want me anymore. I had accepted he had moved on. So why was he doing this to me now?

My parents were out there. They were expecting me to walk out of here with a smile on my face and ready to go home with them to Chicago. Expected me to go back to our family and be the smiling doting daughter. To be Eden Cullen.

I heard the door swing open and I felt my heart stop at the sight of him.

“I’ll stand watch” Noah said, and my heart swelled with love for my friend that he was going to protect me from Lara’s interference.

Nicholas looked at least five years older than I had last seen him. It had only been three months and yet he had aged. He was paler than normal; he clearly wasn’t going outside much. His hair was longer and his beard thicker. He still looked presentable though in his five-thousand-dollar suit.

I could hear his heart from across the room. He stood at the doorway to the small bathroom as I leant back on the wall, I was hugging my knees to my chest. I was well aware that the underside of my tutu was on full show for him, but his eyes were only on my face. His expression wasn’t hard to read but I was too distracted by the way his aura was pulsing. It had so many emotions running through it, it was different than before, and I couldn’t quite work out what it was that had changed in the height of the emotion I was feeling.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice sent shivers through my body, and I had to swallow the urge to cry again.

“no.” I managed to speak, and he took a very slow and hesitant step towards me. His hand raised just for a moment as if to reach for me. “Why are you here?” I asked wanting to know why he was being cruel.

“I tried to not come. Every night I told myself I wouldn’t. every night at seven thirty I thought of you on that stage. I would sit at my piano, not touching the keys and think of how you were dancing, every night I wanted to come but I resisted. I was strong for so long.” He said and his voice broke with emotion now too. I swallowed my feelings, trying to be strong.

“Why tonight?” I asked after a moment of silence. He had taken another step towards me, but he wasn’t in touching distance yet.

“Because I’m weak and I can’t do this anymore.” He said and with another step he fell to his knees in front of me. I saw his aura covered in grief and sadness and above all love and longing, for me. This had been as hard for him as it had for me. So why did he wait this long? I couldn’t help the anger flood my body.

“Why did believe her?” I asked with an icy tone.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“My sister. Why did you not come straight to me? Tell me you loved me, and we’d get through it together. Why did you stay away? Why did you think I wouldn’t be with you, even in secret?” I asked and the new emotion flashed his aura, the one I hadn’t quite pinpointed yet.

“I don’t know why. Something about her. It… scared me. I can’t explain it… well I couldn’t then. I can now” he said, and his voice shook again.

“What was it?” I asked curiously.

“It was fear” he said knowingly.

“you’re scared of a twenty-one-year-old woman half your size?" I asked him sceptically.

“I was scared because of what she is.” He said and the words shook me to my core.

“What do you mean?” I asked carefully.

“I know Eden. I know.” He said and this time his hand reached to touch my knee. I shivered at the contact. I stood immediately so that he was no longer touching me, and I moved to create distance between us.

“What are you talking about?” I asked and my voice shook. Not because I was scared of him knowing, not because I was scared he’d worked it out himself, that he’d put together all the pieces and realised the fear he had for my sister was because she was his superior, but because of what it meant.

If he knew.

If he knew what I was…

My every nerve screamed in my body at the thought.

One thing worse than losing him, would be him forgetting me. Him not knowing I even exist.

And that’s exactly what would happen if he knew.

“What the hell is going on?” I heard Lara’s voice bounce off the door.

“Meet me in an hour. At central park. I’ll explain everything” he said urgently.

“I’m going back with my parents to Chicago tonight.” I answered although it wasn’t much of an excuse. The flight wasn’t for another few hours.

“You can’t get away?” he asked as he made his way back to the door.

“I can try” I said with a mumble.

“Noah let me in, what are you doing?” Lara was asking on the other side of the door.

“Eden” Nicholas said turning to look at me again. My heart pounded in my chest being this close to him. If I reached out, I would touch him.  I didn’t respond to my name, so he took a step towards me, and his lips crashed into mine for a way too quick kiss before he turned and left.

Lara bombarded me with a line of irritating questions until she was satisfied with my responses.

She raved about how selfish and arrogant Nicholas was for doing this to me and luckily, we had to go our separate ways as she was heading to her brother’s house for Christmas, and I was going back with my parents to Chicago.

I sent a message to my mother telling her id be another half hour because something Lara needed me to do, and I got a quick and easy ‘no problem’ back.

As I walked in the dark to Central Park my heart pounded in my chest. I made sure my mind was tightly shut from any possible intrusion from Nova and took a deep breath as I waited at the gate to the park.

It was late, nearly eleven pm late and even though I was perfectly capable of protecting myself from any humans, my heart pounded with a small amount of fear being here so late and alone.

It wasn’t long though before Nicholas arrived. I could see him clearly as he climbed out of his favourite Aston martin and made his way over to me with the flashlight on his phone beaming the pathway.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you chose here to murder me in the dark.” I joked. It was something that came naturally between us, and I mentally kicked myself for being so relaxed with him so soon.

“You and I both know that you’re perfectly safe out here alone. You can take care of yourself” he remarked and his hand entwinned with mine as we walked to the bench we sat on during our first date. “I wouldn’t have asked you here if I didn’t know you were perfectly safe alone” he repeated, and I saw his facial expression in the dark as he let out a small smirk.

What the hell was he talking about?

How did he know things like this?

I couldn’t say any words. I didn’t know what to say. He noticed and moved from the bench, so he was kneeling in front of me. I couldn’t believe his thousand-dollar suit was touching the ground honestly.

“Eden…” he said but I couldn’t look at his face. I was scared if I did, I would break down. That I would fall into his arms and tell him everything. But I couldn’t.

“Eden Balev, please look at me” he said, and he made the motion to reach out for me, but he stopped himself. “Eden” he said, and he moved his head so that my eye line met his. “I have something to tell you” he said and his aura was coated in anxiety, worry, love, acceptance and understanding. I was momentarily stunned.

“You can’t ask me to marry you” I said, it was a joke but seeing him on his knees it was the first thing that came to my mind. I shouldn’t be joking around him right now.

“I’m not asking you to marry me” he said with a smirk, but it dropped after a few seconds. “I’m trying to get you to look at me when I tell you that I know Eden. I know.” He said emphasising the words he had said in the dressing room earlier.

“Know what?” I asked. I took a deep breath to stop my body shaking in fear.

“What you are.” He said and stood up now he was sure I had seen him say it.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about” I mumbled. How could he possibly possibly know what I was?

“I understand, I get it. Why you couldn’t tell me. I do and I don’t blame you. but I know, so it’s okay now. There aren’t secrets, you’re not putting me in danger. You can tell your family I worked it out myself” he said and moved back to sit next to me on the bench.

“What is it you know?” I asked sceptically. “explain” I said carefully. This was murky water we were swimming in. I wasn’t giving him a thing.

“That you’re immortal” he said, and I saw a flicker of anticipation as he waited for me to confirm or deny his theory.

“What on earth makes you think that?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“There have been rumours for decades that Carlisle Cullen found the cure to death. There is little evidence that supports it but if you dig deep enough and have as much money as me you can make the connection. It took me over a month and then after that It took me a while to adjust and to understand. The last month or so I’ve been pulling my hair out debating with myself whether to just leave you alone or try and explain it all to you. Try and get some answers from you about it all, ask why you didn’t think I could handle it.”

“Handle what?” I asked carefully.

“I wouldn’t have thought it was possible until I met you, but the way you are. Your beauty, the way you act. Your strength, your aversion to food. And your mother…” he trailed off. “she’s extraordinary and beautiful and alluring, just like you. She’s special, she completely reconstructed Gabby’s hip, she’s performed miracles in the medicine world that no one can explain. The way you two spoke to each other in Bulgarian, I knew there was something else. Something more between you both you hadn’t explained to me. I knew she looked young, but I just thought she used anti-age. But I realised very quickly that it was more than that. Your grandfather made you all like him, but there’s a cost. You look human, you feel human, you can pass as human, but you can’t eat like a human. You’re something else entirely. You’re stronger, you’re faster, you’re smarter.” he said, and I could see his aura get more confident as he spoke. I knew there had been a few occasions when my act as a human may have stretched the boundaries of believability, but he never showed any signs of stress or confusion over our time together. I never once thought he was putting the pieces together in his mind that I was different. But clearly, I had been blinded by a lot of things about him. He was resourceful and clever. He had to be one of just a few humans that had worked out the Cullen family secret with tact and resources alone.

“What do you think we eat?” I asked, I almost wanted to scare him. Maybe if he was scared of me, he’d leave. He’d protect himself, something I wanted to do more than anything.

“This is where my research dries up, but I’m guessing from a mixture of my high school English literature and biology. You feed on the life source of humans so that you can pass as them…” he said and trailed off to stare at me.

“can’t you say it?” I challenged him. I needed to see his reaction when he said it. To see if he feared me when he said out loud that he thought I was a vampire.

“blood” he answered but nothing in his aura changed. He wasn’t scared, he was accepting. He was relieved he finally had said it to me.

“That doesn’t scare you?” I asked.

“no. if you wanted me dead, you would have done it already” he said and moved closer to me.

“So, if you think I’m immortal and drink blood to survive, why didn’t you just start with vampire?” I asked.

“Because I don’t think that’s what you are.” He answered and he was moving closer after every sentence. He was close enough to me now I could hear his fast heartbeat and feel his warmth. I had underestimated him this whole time.

“I can hear your heart beating in your chest. I can see the blood in your veins on your neck. I can smell it.” I said trying to scare him, but it wasn’t working.

“You don’t scare me, your family don’t scare me, the last few months have been the worst of my life. I don’t want to be without you anymore. It’s not worth it to me.” he said his voice breaking with emotion and he reached out to place his hand on my jaw. I closed my eyes leaning into his touch for a moment.

“nick” I almost whimpered. He accepted me, he still wanted me, and yet I still had to let him go. When would I ever find someone like him again? Would I? would I live the rest of my very long life wondering how things would have turned out if I had chosen differently?

But I knew the thought was fruitless. The Volturi would never let this stand.

“Eden, I love you. please don’t push me away.” He said his head was resting against mine now and all I could feel was him. His heat, his body, his scent. I moved my head to reach up and press my lips against his. He remained motionless for a moment before he moved, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me closer to his body. The kiss became needy and quicker, and I tried to hold onto him, thinking any moment he would disappear. Because he would. After this, he will vanish from my life.

“Eden, Eden I can’t breathe” he laughed, and I realised I’d been holding him against me a little tighter than necessary.

“sorry” I gasped as I dropped my grip. He smirked against my lips but didn’t loosen his own grip on me. He kissed my jaw and my neck, and I closed my eyes to try and memorise every single touch.

“you’re so beautiful” he muttered against my skin.

“it’s the lure” I said to him moving back slightly so he would see me as I said this. I was grateful for the streetlamps lighting up the park.

“The lure?” he asked looking back at me.

“What I am, lures you in. my scent, my beauty. It makes easier prey” I said with a warning. I saw him swallow slowly as he stared at me.

“Then why do I not feel the same for your sister? Surely if it was all animalistic, I’d be just as attracted to her” he said, and I didn’t have an answer for that.

“touché” I mumbled and leant forward to rest my forehead against his. “I love you” I whispered the words. He’d said them to me just moments ago, but I hadn’t said them back in the moment.

“it’s going to be okay now.” He said as he closed his eyes in contempt, but I couldn’t help the tear that fell from my eyes at seeing him so happy. He thought he had me back.

“Nicholas,” I whispered but he ignored me, his arms wound tighter to hold me against him as he sat in the moment. “Nick” I said again my voice breaking. “It doesn’t change anything” I added when I knew he wasn’t going to open his eyes again.

“of course, it does. There are no secrets, I know every part of you. I love every part of you” he said with an anger to his voice as he opened his eyes.

“My family won’t accept it” I said with a sigh.

“Because I’m human? Because I’m not like you? then how does your family ever find love if they’re not accepting of humans?” he asked with a frown.

“it’s more complicated than that. My family are not the only vampires in the world. My grandfather didn’t invent immortality. He was gifted with it. A gift he passed onto his family. There are others like us, a world of the supernatural. We’ve mixed with humans for centuries but its more than just the fact you’re human. If you were an ordinary man with an ordinary family, we’d be able to be together. My family would support us and help us, they would offer you immortality yourself so we could be together forever. But you are my forbidden fruit. They won’t take that risk with you.” I told him and the tears were fresh on my cheeks again. Forbidden fruit. That’s what Nova had called Nicholas. After the breakup she had ranted and raved about how we couldn’t work, how it would bring our family down, bring the supernatural world down if I kept seeing him. Eventually I had agreed with her, but I didn’t expect the pain. The constant numbness for three months straight.

“it’s because of my name. my influence” he said in realisation.

“Your power over the human world could tear the supernatural one down in a moment.” I said with a nod.

“But I wouldn’t. why would I do that when it would hurt you? it would hurt people you cared about. I would never do something like that.” He said and I believed every word, but others wouldn’t. it was too big of a risk. What if we didn’t work out? What if we weren’t mates and this was just a wistful romance and even if it wasn’t. Pancrazio had one rule when it came to humans, no one of influence. No one important to the human world.

“I had a relative once that married the king of the United Kingdom. They loved each other and he was turned for her, but their family, the things they had to go through, it was… it was bad.” I said after a moment. “And you’re more powerful than a ceremonial king Nicholas. You have power over the world’s media. You have respect and people trust in you. one word from you and my family wouldn’t be able to contain it. I am putting my family at extreme risk telling you all this right now. I should be dragging you to the Volturi right now so they can fix it” I explained.

“The Volturi?” he asked curiously.

“I don’t have time to explain everything to you right now. I have to go home, or my parents are going to know I’ve lied to them about where I am. I have to go back to Chicago, and you have to promise not to say a single thing or try to contact me in the next week. I promise Ill come back to you. I’ll explain everything” I said to him, my forehead resting on his.

“okay” he said with a nod as we pulled away.

“Are you really okay with this? With me?” I asked sceptically.

“yes” he said, and I knew he wasn’t lying.

“I’ll tell you everything in a week” I said and leant forward to kiss him quickly with a peck.

“I love you” he answered, and something changed in my resolve.

I would fight.

I wanted him by my side, and he wanted to be there.

He loved me and I loved him. More than anything, more than my own life, more than my secret. I didn’t just want him, I needed him, like air to breathe. The past few months had taught me that much.

I had wanted to wait until my grandmother Esther was returned to us, when I had someone as powerful as her on my side, but it wasn’t going to work like that.

I would have to do this myself because there was no way we could keep this a secret; it was going to come out eventually.

I just hoped we had some time together before it did. Maybe if I could prove he had known for a while and not said anything, the Volturi would see how trustworthy he could be. They would see his love for me. They had to.

I had to believe we had time.

Of course, I was stupid to believe that.

The week with my family was refreshing and Christmas was always my favourite time of year, even with the elephant in the room being the absence of my grandmother, my family always tried their best to be happy during this time and I was so grateful for that.

I went back to New York for New Year’s Eve and partied until midnight with Lara and our other dancer friends. Nicholas snuck in at midnight to give me a kiss and I went home with him that night for the first time in three months.

The next morning was the first day of the new year. With him sleeping at my side I felt invincible, in our own little bubble where nothing could hurt us. Like we would be able to live a life together with transparency and trust.

Oh, how wrong I was.

“Eden” Nicholas mumbled and grabbed my phone that was buzzing on the bedside table.

It had been going off for nearly an hour but we both ignored it. Mostly exhausted from the past twelve hours. From the party and then other nightly activities we had both only fallen asleep as the sun rose in the sky.

It was barely nine am.

I sighed as I took the phone to silence it when I saw the ten missed calls from my mother. It was probably just her telling me happy new year.

I wish I hadn’t scrolled down but the missed call from ‘Volturi’ sent a cold chill down my spine. Why would they be calling me?

I immediately dialled my voicemail service to hear my very panicked and emotional mother on the other end.

It was the words I had been dreading this whole time.

“Eden, answer your damn phone. You have to come back home. Now Eden, right away." she said then took a deep breath.

"Eden, you’re being summoned to the Volturi.”