(Edythe POV)
Normally, I hate sunny days, they kept me away from Thomas during school. However, I have to admit that this block of sunny days was a little welcome. Thinking of Thomas brought to my mind the last painting he turned in for his art project. Paint your favorite tree, that was the assignment. After the buzz his last painting caused, I wasn't sure what to expect with this one. Yet he still managed to surprise me.
The struggle to not look at his paintings as he worked on them was a true test of my willpower. I even promised to not give him any feedback, I just wanted to see the painting as it grew. But Nooo... He is stubborn about the strangest things. He had turned in not just one tree, but a grove of blooming Sakura trees. They surrounded a pond that had a small rowboat in the middle. The faces of the couple on the boat were vague enough to human eyes to be unrecognizable, but to vampire eyes, it was unmistakable that the couple in the boat was me and Thomas. Not even Alice could explain to me how he did it.
I already had a place on the wall figured out for it in his house. Well, if he let me hang it there anyway. He was weird about hanging his own art in his house. He said it made him feel self-conscious and a little stuck-up. Esme finally finished the house, and to say Thomas was happy would be an understatement. He was a bit overwhelmed, if I was honest about it. Watching him and Esme butt heads over his desire to pay for the work was better than any movie that came out this year. What did we need with money anyway.
But again, he actually won the argument. Well, kind of anyway. Esme stood her ground on any reward he tried to give her, but he used that stupid male pride thing to force her to accept the cost of the materials. I had a feeling that it wasn't going to end there, he has been studying Esme and Carlisle very closely lately. It didn't hurt that he had a habit of talking in his sleep occasionally and rambled something about a painting for an anniversary. He had asked me when theirs was, and I provided the date.
I was bounced around in my seat a little by some air turbulence. Since I was going to be out of the public eye for a couple days, I decided to check on my work in Denver. I had a promise to keep, after all. I would easily be back in time for the Prom dance we were all going to. Me and Edward convinced Alice and Rosalie to allow us to wear outfits from the same timeframe. I really wanted my first (True) Prom picture to be with me wearing clothes from my time, and Edward had the same thought. I wonder if he had the thought first or if he is copycatting me? They would have to make a dress that would cover Bella's cast, but at least she was in a walking cast now, no need for crutches.
Thomas will look so good in the black pants and white tux jacket look, well he looks good in anything. Damn, I miss him already. My lips curled up into a slight smile, good thing I have a readymade excuse to work out my frustrations. Changing my focus, I thought again about Thomas's worry he could imprint on someone. After witnessing Sam's mind from the inside, I will never be able to let that worry go either. I kept it in the back of my mind, but vampires have a very active memory.
Could I accept not being the most important person in Thomas's mind? The fury this thought brought to my mind was a bit maddening the first time I really asked myself the question. But then a thought turned my mind cold and banished all the rage, well turned it to worry, not banishing it. What if he had no room for me in his mind anymore at all. I decided after days of soul searching that if I had a place in his heart still, I could accept just about anything.
My mood worsened, so I went back to thinking about the upcoming Prom and how happy the whole family was. The only thing slightly out of place, like a long hair tickling your back, was Victoria. We got word that she visited Laurent and the Denali Coven. It was surprising to find out that Irina had fallen in love with Laurent, and apparently the feeling was mutual. He turned down Victoria's offer to join him, and when she realized that they would not help her in her revenge against us, she left a few days later.
Ugh, why am I worrying about that bug now. Thomas is a little too fixated on her, so I guess that makes me think about her also. But seriously, what can that little thing do to us? Our coven is nearly a rival for the Volturi, she matters very little. Still, it would be nice to kill her off, so we don't have to worry about her coming after Bella. I know that would make Edward happy.
My thoughts continued to jump from subject to subject until Rosalie's voice came across the intercom.
"We are about 5 minutes from starting our landing at Rocky Mountain Metro, Edythe. I could use you in the co-pilot's seat for the radio."
I stood up and entered the cockpit and took my seat. Less than 20 minutes from that point, I was stepping out of the plane and into a cloudy Colorado sky. Rosalie went to see the progress on her new line of skincare products that Thomas had given her the idea for, and I took a cab to the seedier side of town. I checked into a hotel that was trying to lead the charge in rehabilitating the area and waited for nightfall.
Within the hour, I knew that this hotel was doomed for failure. To change an area and revitalize it, the area first would have wanted it to happen. The denizens that lived in the area wanted it to stay dark and poor, a safe haven from the police. This was a side of town where only the mailman was safe to walk the streets. Anyone hampering his ability to bring the monthly government checks found themselves in the crosshairs of every power in the area. No one wanted that much heat.
A couple of hours after nightfall, I left my room and made my way to my target. He was living in the area in an apartment building, he had borrowed the money to afford the rent. I found a good spot to watch his apartment that was only accessible to someone with my abilities and waited. If my timing was correct, he should be on his way home after being fired from his latest job. Downsizing after being taken over by a larger company was a common thing.
There was no doubt in my mind that what I was doing to Johnny was illegal, immoral, and all around reprehensible. But that didn't matter one bit to me, he hurt Thomas. Right on time, I thought to myself as I watched a disheveled figure walk down the sidewalk. He was only safe because the local thugs knew he had nothing worth taking. Nothing worth fighting him for anyway. After all, despite how far he had fallen, he could still fight fairly well for a human.
I left my hiding spot and followed him from a distance and tensed up as he opened the door. When he turned to close it, I acted. Running as fast as I could, I slammed into the door before he closed it all the way. The impact sent him stumbling back into the wall of his apartment, and I walked through the door, turning to close the door myself.
When he recovered enough to stand, he looked around dazed. "What do you want? I aint got nothing worth the time to take it."
"Ohh, but you do, Johnny boy. But don't worry, you have years to pay it back. 4 years to be exact."
He focused on my voice and stared at me, as if trying to remember. "You... You were with that shitty kid. You also resemble one of the bitches who was important at my old job. The little girl with a do not impede notice. What the fuck do you want here?"
"It is so nice to be remembered Mr. Track... Nahh, calling you Mr. Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Well. Time for your first instalment of pain you caused others. Well, that's what I'm calling it anyway."
"What the fuck are you talking about, you stupid bitch? Get out of my house before you get hurt." He walked towards me and grabbed my left arm with his right hand. He tried to push me toward the door, but all his strength couldn't move me an inch.
He looked at me in confusion, and I gave him a full-mouth smile. "So, it's the arm first, huh?" As I said that, I reached over to his right arm and gave it a slight twist. The loud crack that came from his arm seemed to surprise him. Seconds later, his body sent the signal of just what happened to his brain, and he screamed in pain.
It wasn't a loud scream, not for this area. Which was good because we had a lot more to do before I would be satisfied.
He held his arm up to look at the damage but as the bone didn't break the skin, he couldn't see anything. While he was doing that, I reached out and ran my finger along his bottom rib on his right side. Finding the spot I wanted, I gave it a quick push with my index finger and felt it snap. The sound was quickly followed by more screaming, this time in a higher pitch.
"Good thing none of your neighbors are home. Well, one is, but he is passed out from a heroin high. You know, I just realized. I know Thomas had 3 broken ribs, but were they all on one side, or were they spread out? Hmm, I will have to just wing it this year. I will be better prepared next year." I jabbed out with my index finger at his top right rib and hit it a little too hard. When it broke, it punctured the lung.
"Oops, pushed a little hard that time. Well, Lets call that interest. Please take short breaths so you stay conscious for the rest of this... Okay." This was a bit harder than I thought it would be. I wanted it to be precise, but this is just messy. Well, live and learn, I smiled to myself. One more rib to go. Just for variety, let's get one on the left side.
His next scream had a gurgle in it, there must be some blood in his right lung. I will have to do that one last next year. Johnny fell to his butt, and I was happy he cooperated by doing that himself, it would have been a pain to break his leg while he stood up. I reached down and rapped my knuckle on his shin, breaking the tibia.
He was crying at this point and begging me to stop. "Look at you, Thomas had it right, you are pathetic. He suffered all these wounds because of you in that mall shooting, and he was 14. Now you know a small amount of his pain from that day, well his physical pain anyway, I could never cause you to feel his mental pain. You are lucky for that. But as I have been pounding into your brain, you will feel this pain every year for the next 3 years before I think of stopping."
As the horror of my words broke through the pain he was feeling, he panted, "I will tell everyone it was you that did it. I will even say Thomas was here helping you."
I laughed a genuine laugh, and then stared into his eyes. "You will only remember it was me that did this in your dreams, you will forget it was me while you are awake. But you will remember that it was because of the mall shooting that it happened, I will leave you that memory."
I continued to use my compulsion power, "Now call 911 and ask for an ambulance, and tell them you fell down some stares. you will forget everything I told you to forget in one minute."
As he called the ambulance, I waited until he hung up and reached for his arm, "This isn't quite the break Thomas had, his bone broke through the skin." I made the break worse and watched as he passed out from the pain. I opened the door and calmly walked out, my gloves making sure there was no way I would be identified for being in the area. Hmm, I wonder if my prints are even in the system? I should look into that one day. After I got to a better part of town, I hailed a taxi and had it drive me to the Oxford hotel, where Rosalie would be waiting for me. See you again next year, Johnny.