Darkness, an unfathomable abyss of it.
The shrill, sharp screams of a woman amplified infinitely, inescapable, unshakable.
"Ah!" Taylor Swift sat up abruptly from the bed with a scream, her heart pounding.
At the age of seven, she had witnessed her mothers fatal fall from a building, an incident that left her with a blank slate of memories before that age and a nightmare that haunted her every night for thirteen years.
Regaining her composure, Taylor wiped the sweat from her brow and shivered as she realized something was amiss. She wasnt at the Swift residence but in a hotel room. The events of the previous night came back to her in fragments. Edward Cullen had brought her to the Lister Hotel, but the details after that were a blur.
Aching and sore, she felt the sting of reality as she saw the bloodstains on the bedsheet, a cruel reminder of what had transpired. Her mind went blank, and she didnt even realize she was crying until her tears fell.
Her nightmare was interrupted by the sound of a man and a woman drawing closer to the door. Robert Pattinsons usually gentle voice was laced with urgency, "Are you sure its this room?"
Taylors heart lurched. She wanted to hide, to avoid the humiliation of being seen in such a state by him.
He entered the room before she could react, his face drained of color at the sight before him. Lily Collins followed closely, her expression shifting from confusion to concern as she approached Taylor.
"What happened?" Lily asked, her voice filled with worry.
Taylor didnt know what to say, she could only look down, trying to hold back her tears.
Lily glanced at Robert, who was still standing frozen at the door, then back at Taylor, "Robert and I waited for you last night, but you never showed up. When we couldnt reach you, we searched for you and found out you left with a man. It wasnt easy to track you down."
Taylor clutched the bedsheet tightly, her voice hoarse, "What should I say?"
By now, it was too late to say anything. The early morning chill of autumn was biting, and the family driver, James, was waiting outside the hotel. As Taylor and Lily left the hotel, she couldnt help but glance at Roberts retreating figure, feeling a lump in her throat.
The wind blew, and she wrapped her arms around herself, feeling the cold seep through her thin clothes. Robert paused, looking back at her. His usually warm eyes held a trace of pain as he removed his beige coat and draped it over her shoulders, gently fastening each button.
"Rest well," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "Ill visit you another day."
Watching him walk away, Taylor felt as if the warmth she once knew from him had turned prickly and distant.
Once inside the car, silence prevailed. After a long while, Lily finally spoke, "I believe you, Taylor."
Taylor looked at her sister, her heart clenching, "Whats there to say?"
After their mothers tragic death, Taylor had returned to the Swift household as a illegitimate daughter. Within three months of her return, her father passed away as well. She was grateful that Helen Cullen, her stepmother, had never treated her poorly, but she often felt like an outsider in her own home.
Now, faced with this predicament, she knew she couldnt expect Helen to jeopardize the familys standing by confronting the Cullens.
Meanwhile, a ghost-like Koenigsegg moved smoothly down the road. At a traffic light, Edward Cullen stopped the car and gazed ahead with an air of nonchalance, his fingers tapping the steering wheel with an elegant ease.
His assistant, Jason, had been staring at the band-aid on Edwards wrist for a while.
"Is that woman really someone from your uncles side?" Jason asked, referring to the events of the previous night.
Edwards response was indifferent, "She might be, she might not be."
Jason, well aware of the strained relationship between Edward and his uncle, couldnt help but ask, "Then why did you help her last night?"
Edwards gaze turned cold, "She may bear the Cullen name, and if so, shes not to be touched by others."
Jasons curiosity was piqued, "So, did you... you know... with her last night?"
Edwards eyes turned to ice, and he shot Jason a look that silenced him immediately, "Is that any of your concern?"
Jason promptly covered his mouth with both hands, his eyes pleading, "My apologies, Mr. Cullen. Shall we proceed?"
Edward drove off, but his mind was elsewhere, recalling the previous night. That woman had been quite a handful, causing a scene, getting injured multiple times, and even attempting to bite him when he was merely trying to help.
The memory was interrupted by Jasons voice, "But why did you let her retrieve the watch from the lake?"
Edwards foot paused on the accelerator, his expression unreadable, "I never expected her to actually jump in."