Chapter 14 - Mind Over Matter
Edward drives Bella back home. On the car, we discover several things about Edward. He likes music in the 50’s, but complains that music has degraded since then. He’s born in 1901 in Chicago. Both of his parents had died, and he was about to follow them, sick with the Spanish influenza. He believed Carlisle had turned him out of loneliness. Carlisle turned Esme, when he found her heart still beating, after she’d fallen from a cliff and was taken to the hospital morgue. Rosalie was next. She found Emmet, who had been about to be killed by a bear, but carried him a hundred miles to be turned by Carlisle. Alice and Jasper are the newest members of the family. Edward tells Bella that despite having no memory of her previous life, Alice had seen all this–to look forward to. Jasper became depressed with his previous family, which Edward refers to vaguely as “very different. ” Edward notes that Alice and Jasper are the only ones who seem to have developed a conscience on their own.
They arrive back at Bella’s house. Bella invites Edward in. Edward reaches the door ahead of her and opens it–apparently he knows where the spare key was due to his spying of Bella. Bella is flattered that he spied on her, and Edward replies, “‘What else is there to do at night?’” Edward also reveals that Bella talks in her sleep. Bella is concerned with what he’s heard. Edward replies, “You miss your mother… You worry about her. And when it rains, the sound makes you restless. You used to talk about home a lot, but it’s less often now. Once you said, ‘It’s too green.’” Bella is still concerned. Edward admits Bella did say his name. Bella is nearly mortified, but Edward whispers, “‘If I could dream at all, it would be about you. And I’m not ashamed of it.’”
Charlie’s cruiser arrives outside. Edward asks Bella if he should be present; Bella isn’t sure. Edward leaves quickly. Charlie asks briefly about Bella’s day, finishes her lasagna and heats some up for Charlie. She then prepares for bed early, but Charlie notes that she seems “kinda keyed up,” and asks if she has plans for tonight. Bella denies. Charlie mentions Mike Newton. Bella emphasizes that he’s just a friend.
Bella rushes upstairs–and it’s almost like the Romeo and Juliet balcony scene, where Juliet calls out to Romeo from above. Instead, Romeo is a vampire, in this case, and he’s already in Bella’s room. Bella is startled, but she manages to part from Edward to brush her teeth and shower. She makes quite a bit of noise doing that. Bella returns to Edward, explaining that Charlie thinks she’s sneaking out. Edward asks why–and it appears as if Edward can’t read Charlie’s thoughts either.
Edward talks about how difficult it is to resist–and how he’s certain he’s strong enough now after he’d made the decision to resist. He’s gotten used to her scent, so it’s easier, actually. They make a brief play on the shackles joke. Edward tells Bella that he’d felt jealousy for the first time, when the other boys had asked Bella out. He explains that he knew that he should try avoiding her, and then she’d forget him, but the first night he spied on her, he heard her say his name–and he “knew [he] couldn’t ignore [her] any longer.” Bella mentions Rosalie–especially since Carlisle had turned her for Edward. Charlie then comes in to check on Bella.
When Charlie leaves, Bella asks Edward why he works so hard to resist what he is. Edward explains that he believes their way is ‘above–to conquer the boundaries of a destiny that none of us wanted. To try to retain whatever essential humanity we can.” Bella then asks questions like the origins of vampires.
The last thing Bella asks before she falls asleep is whether vampires marry in the human sense–basically if they have sex–and if they might do it one day, and if Edward is attracted to her in that way. Edward explains that vampires do have sex, but they can’t since Bella is too fragile, and a part of him is male so he is attracted to her in that way. Bella asks this as a teenager who’s never been involved in a romantic relationship would ask it; and Edward responds similarly innocently (despite his extra century in veneration)–without mentioning the word sex.
Discussion transcript here.
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