FIC: Rosalie/Edward: To Run from Regret
Title: To Run from Regret
Pairing: Rosalie/Edward with hints of Rosalie/Emmett
Rating: PG
Warning: Kissing. Angst. Woot!
Summary: Edward ponders his relationship with Rosalie as she finds her true mate. Angst ensues. Written for mission_insane fic challenge (Theme- Angst-Regret)
To Run from Regret
Screams pierced the air, grotesque and violent, as they droned on in a ceaseless alarm. Catching and gurgling like the final breath of a dying grizzle, the horrendous noise had pervaded the home for three days. It seemed to reverberated off of antiques, catching Edward at random moments as he sought to collect his jumbled thoughts. The noise would corner him cunningly, an insomnolent, cacophonous predator that forced him to shudder. He was desperate to avoid the noise. More specifically, he was desperate to ignore its implications.
Turning his back from the piano, Edward gently touched the two minds isolated in the upstairs study. One mind was encased in searing, unknowing pain. Words like “Hell” and “Death” ran in a scrolling loop through the marquee of his mind. Edward almost immediately pulled away. The thoughts were still present, as though he had merely turned down the volume, but it was bearable.
The other mind was less easy to ignore. It cooed soft reassurances and declarations of affection. The face that flooded her mind was mutable, flickering between two alternate identities. One face belonged to the man on the table…Emmett. The other was the face of a sweet, dimpled child. It was the same face that he had often found lingering in her mind as she stared vacantly at her reflection or plucked despondently at the keys of the piano. It was the face he had seen when they had timidly kissed, longing for some sense of companionship. The face had shone as passion filled him and revolted terror filled her. Moments later, she had flung herself away, topaz eyes wild in confusion. Edward had watched her go, not sure whether to regret or rejoice in her departure.
From above, the racing heart had suddenly faltered, sputtering to an abrupt end. The screaming too had died away, leaving a faint ringing in its absence. Edward turned the metal volume back up as Emmett awoke into his new life, peering in the eyes of a venerable angel.
Edward was swiftly on his feet, running, running away from the tender thoughts of love and devotion. He ran from the memories and his own fear that he truly was alone. He ran away from false love and true lust. He ran away from regret.