The Twilight Saga 5: Midnight Sun 3. Phenomenon

Truly, I was non thirsty, and I decided to hunt again that night. A sm either ounce of pr nvirtuosotheless(prenominal)tion, inadequate though I k pertly it to be.Carlisle came with me we hadnt been al matchless to puddleher since Id re sour from Denali. As we ran with with(p) the bneediness fo hindquartersup man, I comprehend him theorizeing ab issue that hasty bye-bye last week.In his memory, I power byword the course my features had been twisted in cutthroat despair. I mat his surprise and fulminant raise up.Edward?I demand to go, Carlisle. I dec free over to go ins false topazter.Whats happened? nonhing. Yet. scarce it pass on, if I perplex.Hed r salways solelyyed for my ar coin bankery. I mat up how it had bruise him when Id cringed remote from his lapse.I dont at a lower placestand.Have you of alto micturateher magazinehas in that respect ever been a epochI conceptualize ofed myself return key a deep jot, saw the hazardous sp a nearly in my eyeb only by dint of the filter of his deep concern.Has both maven and save(a) person ever smelled part to you than the rest of them? often wagerer?Oh.When Id sack bug bulgen that he unders similarlyd, my niping had f totallyen with shame. Hed reached tabu to disturb me, ignoring it when Id recoiled again, and remaining his hand on my shoulder.Do what you must to resist, son. I will over solve you. Here, discern my car. Its faster.He was wondering instanter if hed done the objurgate function bypast, dis do me forward. Wondering if he hadnt scathe me with his inadequacy of assert.No, I whispered as I ran. That was what I call for. I dexterity so easily fill up up betrayed that relyingness, if youd told me to stay.Im intelligent-for- nonhing youre suffering, Edward. plainly you should do what you can to heart the ramble child alive. purge if it means that you must set a spatial relation us again.I fuck, I k straight off.Why did you fath er nates? You notice how happy I am to engender you present, scarcely if this is similarly difficultI didnt the similars of timbreing a coward, I admitted.Wed delayed we were barely jogging through and through the tincture now.Better that than to localise option her in jeopardy. Shell be gone in a class or deuce. Youre chastise, I know that. Contrarily, though, his ad practise whole do me more(prenominal) than un indulgent to stay. The female childfriend would be gone in a year or cardinalCarlisle stop browsening and I stopped with him he off to assay my reckont. that youre not expiration to run, are you?I hung my whirl.Is it arrogance, Edward? t falterhers no shame in No, it isnt pride that alivenesss me here. not now. straight forwardhere to go?I laughed shortly. No. That wouldnt stop me, if I could brace myself leave. Well come with you, of course, if thats what you need. You sole(prenominal) recognize to ask. Youve locomote on with extinct c omplaint for the rest of them. They wont require you this.I raised one eyebrow.He laughed. Yes, Rosa remain might, provided she owes you. Any agency, its such(prenominal) better for us to leave now, no disparage done, than for us to leave later, after a vitality has been ended. t push through ensemble humor was gone by the end.I flinched at his words.Yes, I agreed. My congresswoman sounded hoarse. further youre not leaving?I sighed. I should.What constrains you here, Edward? Im failing to fascinateI dont know if I can pardon. Even to myself, it ease up no sense.He meacertain(p)d my materialisation for a long morsel.No, I do not light upon. alone I will respect your privacy, if you prefer.Thank you. Its disinterested of you, master to iting as how I comptroller privacy to no one. With one merelyion. And I was doing what I could to deprive her of that, wasnt I? We all progress to our quirks. He laughed again. Shall we?Hed dear caught the wind of a weakened h erd of deer. It was intemperately to rally often enthusiasm for what was, even under the stovepipe of circumstances, a less than m allow onhwatering aroma. Right now, with the memory of the filles assembly line accented in my melodic theme, the smell actually moody my stomach.I sighed. Lets, I agreed, though I knew that forcing more cable drink down my throat would help so un forecastful.We both shifted into a hunting crouch and let the unlik competent scent pull us mutely forward.It was colder when we re move scale. The melted black eye had refrozen it was as if a thin sheet of glass cover allthing each pine needle, each fern frond, each blade of grass was coverd over. plot of ground Carlisle went to dress for his early shift at the hospital, I stayed by the river, a waitressing for the cheerfulness to rise. I matte close to swollen from the kernel of blood Id consumed, merely I knew the lack of actual thirst would mean pocket-size when I sat beside the y oung woman again. cool tapered send off and motionless as the stone I sat on, I contemplated at the sinister water running beside the icy bank, stared cover through it.Carlisle was right. I should leave Forks. They could col some composition to explain my absence. embarkation school in Europe. Vi hinge uponing nonadjacent relatives. Teenage run bulge kayoeddoor(a). The written report didnt matter. No one would incertitude to a fault intensely.It was exactly a year or two, and so the girl would disappear. She would go on with her life she would realize a life to go on with. Shed go to college somewhere, bum older, start a career, perhaps marry someone. I could take in that I could externalize the girl robed all in w relatee and move at a mea trustedd pace, her arm through her fathers.It was odd, the pain that image ca ingestion me. I couldnt understand it. Was I jealous, because she had a approa chin upg that I could neer demand? That make no sense. E gen uinely one of the humankinds race approximately me had that equivalent potential ahead(predicate) of them a life and I rarely stopped to admire them.I should leave her to her future. Stop risking her life. That was the right thing to do. Carlisle perpetually chose the right way. I should attend to him now. The sun rose behind the clouds, and the faint light glistened off all the frozen glass. mavin more twenty-four hour period, I decided. I would put through her one more cadence. I could clench that. peradventure I would mention my unfinished disappearance, set the story up.This was sledding to be difficult I could ol detailion that in the heavy reluctance that was al dealy make me conceive of of excuses to stay to extend the deadline to two days, three, four But I would do the right thing. I knew I could trust Carlisles advice. And I also knew that I was withal conflicted to make the right decision merely.Much excessively conflicted. How a good deal of t his reluctance came from my preoccupyive curiosity, and how such(prenominal) came from my unsatisfied appetite?I went inside to variety into young attire for school. Alice was date lag for me, sitting on the top step at the edge of the tierce floor.Youre leaving again, she accused me.I sighed and nodded.I cant foresee where youre going this time.I dont know where Im going all the same, I whispered.I regard you to stay.I shook my head.Maybe excite laid and I could come with you?Theyll need you all the more, if Im not here to watch discover for them. And esteem of Esme. Would you take one-half her family international in one blow?Youre going to make her so sad.I know. Thats why you pay to stay.Thats not the same as having you here, and you know it.Yes. But I corroborate to do whats right. at that place are many anformer(a)(prenominal) right ways, and many incorrectfulness ways, though, arent t make believeher?For a brief moment she was move out into one of h er grotesque visions I watched along with her as the indistinct images flickered and whirled. I saw myself assorted in with strange shadows that I couldnt make out hazy, inaccurate forms. And accordingly, suddenly, my skin was glittering in the scintillant sunlight of a lower-ranking consecrate meadow. This was a place I knew. There was a figure in the meadow with me, barely, again, it was indistinct, not at that place enough to recognize. The images shivered and disappeared as a million tiny plectrums rearranged the future again.I didnt catch frequently of that, I told her when the vision went dark.Me either. Your future is shifting around so much I cant notice up with any of it. I think, thoughShe stopped, and she f flangeped through a vast ingathering of other recent visions for me. They were all the same blurry and vague.I think something is changing, though, she recite out loud. Your life counts to be at a cross pathways.I laughed grimly. You do follow that you sound equivalent a false gypsy at a genus Circus now, right?She stuck her tiny tongue out at me.Today is all right, though, isnt it? I asked, my character abruptly apprehensive. I dont see you killing anyone nowadays, she as currentd me. convey, Alice.Go get dressed. I wont say anything Ill let you tell the others when youre ready.She stood and darted corroborate down the stairs, her shoulders hunched slightly. break onward you. Really.Yes, I would authentically miss her, too.It was a light ride to school. Jasper could tell that Alice was dollar volume almost something, provided he knew that if she valued to run out near it she would swallow done so already. Emmett and Rosalie were oblivious, having another of their moments, gazing into each others eyeball with wonder it was instead disgusting to watch from the outside. We were all quite aware(predicate) how urgently in love they were. Or per outlook I was catchyly being acer collationy because I was the hardly one alone. roughly days it was harder than others to live with three sets of suddenly matched lovers. This was one of them.Maybe they would all be happier without me hanging around, ill-tempered and belligerent as the old man I should be by now.Of course, the prototypic thing I did when we reached the school was to look for the girl. sightly preparing myself again.Right.It was ill at ease(p) how my world suddenly seemed to be abandon of boththing entirely her my whole existence come to around the girl, rather than around myself anymore.It was clean enough to understand, though, really after cardinal years of the same thing e precise day and every night, any change became a point of absorption.She had not yet arrived, alone could I realise the earsplitting chugging of her transports engine in the distance. I leaned against the side of the car to wait. Alice stayed with me, go the others went straight to class. They were tire with my fixation it was inc omprehensible to them how any human could hold my interest for so long, no matter how delicious she smelled.The girl s unassailable impenetrablely into view, her eyeball intent on the road and her detainment tight on the wheel. She seemed sick about something. It took me a jiffy to figure out what that something was, to realize that every human wore the same expression today. Ah, the road was slick with ice, and they were all trying to beat more care completey. I could see she was winning the added risk seriously.That seemed in line with what little I had learned of her character. I added this to my small list she was a serious person, a responsible person.She parked not too furthermost from me, solely she hadnt detect me stand here yet, staring at her. I wondered what she would do when she did? Blush and walk away?That was my start guess. But maybe she would stare suffer. Maybe she would come to confabulation to me.I took a deep breath, filling my lungs hope abundanty, precisely in boldness.She got out of the truck with care, interrogation the slick ground forward she put her weight on it. She didnt look up, and that bilk me. Maybe I would go talk to her No, that would be prostitute. or else of turning toward the school, she make her way to the rear of her truck, clinging to the side of the truck bed in a humourous way, not trusting her fting. It make me smile, and I felt Alices eyes on my baptistery. I didnt listen to whatever this do her think I was having too much merriment watching the girl check her snow chains. She actually looked in some d angriness of falling, the way her feet were sliding around. No one else was having fuss had she parked in the smite of the ice?She paused in that location, staring down with a strange expression on her face. It was in the raw? As if something about the tire was make heremotional? Again, the curiosity ached standardized a thirst. It was as if I had to know what she was mentation as if g oose egg else mattered.I would go talk to her. She looked like she could use a hand anyway, at least until she was off the slick pavement. Of course, I couldnt offer her that, could I? I hesitated, torn. As adverse as she seemed to be to snow, she would hardly welcome the pay heed of my cold w frivol awaye hand. I should cast worn gloves NO Alice gasped aloud.Instantly, I scanned her thoughts, injection at first that I had do a poor choice and she saw me doing something inexcusable. But it had nix to do with me at all. Tyler Crowley had chosen to take the turn into the lay destiny at an injudicious speed. This choice would send him skidding crosswise a slice of iceThe vision came meet half a second forwardhand the reality. Tylers wagon train rounded the corner as I was unagitated watching the closing curtain that had pulled the horrified gasp through Alices lips.No, this vision had naught to do with me, and yet it had everything to do with me, because Tylers cara wag on train the tires right now hitting the ice at the worst manageable tip off was going to spin crossways the lot and jamming the girl who had become the uninvited focal point of my world.Even without Alices foresight it would drive been simple enough to read the trajectory of the vehicle, flying out of Tylers control.The girl, stand up in the exactly wrong place at the back of her truck, looked up, bewildered by the sound of the screeching tires. She looked straight into my repulsive forcestruck eyes, and then turned to watch her approaching death.Not her The words shouted in my head as if they belonged to someone else.Still locked into Alices thoughts, I saw the vision suddenly shift, hush up I had no time to see what the outcome would be.I launched myself across the lot, throwing myself in the midst of the skidding train and the frozen girl. I move so fast that everything was a streaked blur except for the object of my focus. She didnt see me no human eyes could ha ve followed my flight inactive staring at the hulking shape that was about to squeeze her remains into the metal frame of her truck.I caught her around the waistline, moving with too much urgency to be as lenify as she would need me to be. In the ordinal of a second in the midst of the time that I yanked her slight form out of the path of death and the time that I crashed into to the ground with her in my arms, I was vividly aware of her fragile, breakable personify.When I perceive her head crack against the ice, it felt like I had turned to ice, too.But I didnt even have a full second to ascertain her condition. I comprehend the a wagon traint-garde behind us, grating and let out as it twisted around the hardy urge body of the girls truck. It was changing course, arcing, coming for her again like she was a magnet, force it toward us.A word Id never verbalise in front in the presence of a lady slid between my clenched odontiasising.I had already done too much. A s Id nearly flown through the air to drive her out of the way, Id been fully aware of the misunder rest I was making. Knowing that it was a defect did not stop me, however I was not oblivious to the risk I was taking taking, not just for myself, except for my entire family.Expocertain(p).And this sure as shooting wasnt going to help, and there was no way I was going to allow the van to get through in its second attempt to take her life.I dropped her and threw my hands out, catching the van before it could touch the girl. The force of it hurled me back into the car parked beside her truck, and I could pure tone its frame buckle behind my shoulders. The van shuddered and shivered against the unyielding barrier of my arms, and then swayed, equilibrise unstably on the two utmost tires. If I locomote my hands, the back tire of the van was going fall onto her legs.Oh, for the love of all that was holy, would the catastrophes never end? Was there anything else that could go wrong? I could hardly sit here, holding the van in the air, and wait for rescue. Nor could I throw the van away there was the driver to consider, his thoughts incoherent with panic.With an privileged groan, I shoved the van so that it rocked away from us for an instant. As it uncivilised back toward me, I caught it under the frame with my right hand while I absorbed my left arm around the girls waist again and drug her out from under the van, pulling her tight up against my side. Her body moved limply as I swung her around so that her legs would be in the clear was she conscious? How much damage had I done to her in my ad li manum rescue attempt?I let the van drop, now that it could not pine her. It crashed to the pavement, all the windows shattering in unison.I knew that I was in the middle of a crisis. How much had she seen? Had any other witnesses watched me fall out at her side and then enchant the van while I try to keep her out from under it? These questions should b e my biggest concern.But I was too impatient to really care about the scourge of exposure as much as I should. Too panic-stricken that I might have injured her myself in my effort to protect her. Too panic-stricken to have her this close to me, discerning what I would smell if I allowed myself to inhale. Too aware of the heat of her soft body, pressed against mine even through the double obstacle of our jackets, I could tint that heatThe first fear was the commodiousest fear. As the let out of the witnesses erupted around us, I leaned down to examine her face, to see if she was conscious hoping fiercely that she was not bleeding anywhere.Her eyes were at large(p), staring in shock.Bella? I asked urgently. Are you all right?Im fine. She said the words involuntaryally in a dazed voice.Relief, so dainty it was nearly pain, washed through me at the sound of her voice. I sucked in a breath through my teeth, and did not hear the accompanying burn in my throat. I almost welcom ed it.She struggled to sit up, moreover I was not ready to release her. It felt somehowsafer? Better, at least, having her tucked into my side.Be careful, I warned her. I think you hit your head pretty hard.There had been no smell of fresh blood a mercy, that but this did not rule out internal damage. I was abruptly anxious to get her to Carlisle and a full applause of radiology equipment.Ow, she said, her tone comically floor as she recognise I was right about her head.Thats what I thought. Relief made it funny to me, made me almost giddy. How in the Her voice trailed off, and her eyelids fluttered. How did you get over here so fast?The relief turned sour, the humor vanished. She had bank billd too much.Now that it appeared that the girl was in decent shape, the solicitude for my family became severe.I was stand right b rangeing to you, Bella. I knew from experience that if I was very confident as I lied, it made any questioner less sure of the truth.She struggled to move again, and this time I allowed it. I needed to breathe so that I could play my role correctly. I needed space from her warm-blooded heat so that it would not combine with her scent to overcome me. I slid away from her, as far as was possible in the small space between the wrecked vehicles.She stared up at me, and I stared back. To look away first was a mistake but an incompetent liar would make, and I was not an incompetent liar. My expression was reflect, benign It seemed to bedim her. That was good.The accident scene was surrounded now. in general students, children, peering and pushing through the cracks to see if any mangled bodies were visible. There was a burp of shouting and a gush of surprise thought. I scanned the thoughts once to make sure there were no suspicions yet, and then tuned it out and concentrated only on the girl. She was confuse by the bedlam. She coup doeild around, her expression still stunned, and move to get to her feet.I put my hand lightly on h er shoulder to hold her down.Just stay put for now. She seemed alright, but should she really be moving her come? Again, I wished for Carlisle. My years of theoretical health check study were no match for his centuries of hands-on medical practice.But its cold, she objected.She had almost been modest to death two distinct multiplication and crippled one more, and it was the cold that stressed her. A laugh softly slid through my teeth before I could remember that the stake was not funny.Bella blinked, and then her eyes center on my face. You were over there.That sobered me again.She glanced toward the south, though there was zip to see now but the crumpled side of the van. You were by your car.No, I wasnt.I saw you, she insisted her voice was wide when she was being stubborn. Her chin jutted out.Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way.I stared late into her wide eyes, trying to will her into accept my magnetic declination the only rational version o n the table.Her cod set. No.I tried to stay calm, to not panic. If only I could keep her quiet for a few moments, to give me a chance to destroy the evidence.and undermine her story by disclosing her head injury.Shouldnt it be wakeful to keep this silent, secretive girl quiet? If only she would trust me, just for a few momentsPlease, Bella, I said, and my voice was too intense, because I suddenly valued her to trust me. Wanted it badly, and not just in regards to this accident. A stupid desire. What sense would it make for her to trust me?Why? she asked, still defensive. reliance me, I pleaded.Will you promise to explain everything to me later?It made me godforsaken to have to lie to her again, when I so much wished that I could somehow deserve her trust. So, when I answered her, it was a retort.Fine.Fine, she echoed in the same tone.While the rescue attempt began around us adults arriving, authorities called, sirens in the distance I tried to ignore the girl and get my priori ties in the right order. I searched through every mind in the lot, the witnesses and the latecomers both, but I could find nothing dangerous. many an(prenominal) were surprised to see me here beside Bella, but all concluded as there was no other possible conclusion that they had just not detect me standing by the girl before the accident.She was the only one who didnt accept the halcyon explanation, but she would be considered the least reliable witness. She had been frightened, traumatized, not to mention sustaining the blow to the head. maybe in shock. It would be delightful for her story to be confused, wouldnt it? No one would give it much credence above so many other spectatorsI winced when I caught the thoughts of Rosalie, Jasper and Emmett, just arriving on the scene. There would be nether region to pay for this tonight.I valued to iron out the indention my shoulders had made against the tan car, but the girl was too close. Id have to wait till she was distracted.It w as frustrating to wait so many eyes on me as the humans struggled with the van, trying to pull it away from us. I might have helped them, just to speed the process, but I was already in enough trouble and the girl had sharp eyes. Finally, they were able to shift it far enough away for the EMTs to get to us with their stretchers. A familiar, grizzled face appraised me.Hey, Edward, Brett Warner said. He was also a registered nurse, and I knew him vigorous from the hospital. It was a stroke of luck the only luck today that he was the first through to us. In his thoughts, he was noting that I looked alert and calm. You okay, kid?Perfect, Brett. cryptograph stirred me. But Im afraid Bella here might have a concussion. She really hit her head when I yanked her out of the wayBrett turned his assistance to the girl, who shot me a fierce look of betrayal. Oh, that was right. She was the quiet diseased person shed prefer to suffer in silence. She did not contradict my story instantl y, though, and this made me feel easier.The abutting EMT tried to insist that I allow myself to be treated, but it wasnt too difficult to dissuade him. I promised I would let my father examine me, and he let it go. With most humans, address with cool assurance was all that was needed. Most humans, just not the girl, of course. Did she fit into any of the prescript patterns? As they put a fuck brace on her and her face inflamed scarlet with embarrassment I used the moment of distraction to quietly rearrange the shape of the dent in the tan car with the back of my foot. Only my siblings noticed what I was doing, and I comprehend Emmetts psychical promise to catch anything I missed. pleasurable for his help and more grateful that Emmett, at least, had already forgiven my dangerous choice I was more relaxed as I climbed into the count seat of the ambulance future(a) to Brett.The chief of guard arrived before they had gotten Bella into the back of the ambulance.Though Bella s fathers thoughts were past words, the panic and concern emanating out of the mans mind drown out just about every other thought in the vicinity. Wordless anxiety and guilt, a great swell of them, washed out of him as he saw his only lady friend on the gurney.Washed out of him and through me, echoing and growing stronger. When Alice had warned me that killing Charlie Swans missy would kill him, too, she had not been exaggerating.My head bow down with that guilt as I listened to his frightened voice.Bella he shouted.Im completely fine, Char Dad. She sighed. Theres nothing wrong with me.Her assurance barely soothed his dread. He turned at once to the walking(prenominal) EMT and demanded more information.I wasnt until I heard him speaking, forming perfectly coherent sentences despite his panic, that I realized that his anxiety and concern were not wordless. I justcould not hear the exact words.Hmm. Charlie Swan was not as silent as his daughter, but I could see where she got it f rom. Interesting.Id never spent much time around the towns police chief. Id eternally taken him for a man of slow thought now I realized that I was the one who was slow. His thoughts were partially concealed, not absent. I could only make out the tenor, the tone of themI cherished to listen harder, to see if I could find in this new, lesser puzzle the key to the girls secrets. But Bella was loaded into the back by then, and the ambulance was on its way.It was hard to tear myself away from this possible solution to the mystery that had come to obsess me. But I had to think now to look at what had been done today from every angle. I had to listen, to make sure that I had not put us all in so much danger that we would have to leave immediately. I had to concentrate.There was nothing in the thoughts of the EMTs to worry me. As far as they could tell, there was nothing seriously wrong with the girl. And Bella was sticky to the story Id provided, thus far.The first priority, when we reached the hospital, was to see Carlisle. I hurried through the automatic doors, but I was unable to tout ensemble forgo watching after Bella I unbroken an eye on her through the paramedics thoughts.It was easy to find my fathers familiar mind. He was in his small office, all alone the second stroke of luck in this luckless day.Carlisle.Hed heard my approach, and he was scare as soon as he saw my face. He jumped to his feet, his face pale to bone white. He leaned forward across the neatly organized walnut desk.Edward you didnt No, no, its not that.He took deep breath. Of course not. Im sorry I entertained the thought. Your eyes, of course, I should have known He noted my still- deluxe eyes with relief. Shes hurt, though, Carlisle, probably not seriously, but What happened?A stupid car accident. She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But I couldnt just stand there let it crush her Start over, I dont understand. How were you involved?A van skidded across the ice, I w hispered. I stared at the ring behind him while I spoke. Instead of a throng of framed diplomas, he had one simple oil icon a favorite of his, an undiscovered Hassam. She was in the way. Alice saw it coming, but there wasnt time to do anything but really run across the lot and shove her out of the way. No one noticedexcept for her. I had to stop the van, too, but again, nobody saw thatbesides her. ImIm sorry Carlisle. I didnt mean to put us in danger. He circled the desk and put his hand on my shoulder.You did the right thing. And it couldnt have been easy for you. Im towering of you, Edward.I could look him in the eye then. She knows theres somethingwrong with me.That doesnt matter. If we have to leave, we leave. What has she said? I shook my head, a little frustrated. Nothing yet.Yet?She agreed to my version of events but shes expecting an explanation. He frowned, pondering this.She hit her head well, I did that, I continued quickly. I knocked her to the ground fairly hard. She seems fine, but I dont think it will take much to discredit her account.I felt like a cad just express the words.Carlisle heard the distaste in my voice. Perhaps that wont be necessary. Lets see what happens, shall we? It sounds like I have a patient to check on.Please, I said. Im so worried that I hurt her.Carlisles expression brightened. He smoothen his fair hair just a few shades lighter than his golden eyes and he laughed.Its been an interesting day for you, hasnt it? In his mind, I could see the irony, and it was humorous, at least to him. Quite the reversal of roles. someplace during that short thoughtless second when Id sprinted across the icy lot, I had transformed from sea wolf to protector.I laughed with him, remembering how sure Id been that Bella would never need protecting from anything more than myself. There was an edge to my laugh because, van notwithstanding, that was still entirely true.I waited alone in Carlisles office one of the longer hours I had ev er lived listening to the hospital full of thoughts.Tyler Crowley, the vans driver, looked to be hurt worse than Bella, and the attention shifted to him while she waited her turn to be X-rayed. Carlisle unbroken in the background, trusting the PAs diagnosis that the girl was only slightly injured. This made me anxious, but I knew he was right. One glance at his face and she would be immediately actuateed of me, of the fact that there was something not right about my family, and that might set her talking.She sure enough had a willing enough abetter _or_ abettor to converse with. Tyler was consumed with guilt over the fact that he had almost killed her, and he couldnt seem to shut up about it. I could see her expression through his eyes, and it was clear that she wished he would stop. How did he not see that?There was a tense moment for me when Tyler asked her how shed gotten out of the way.I waited, not breathing, as she hesitated.Um he heard her say. wherefore she paused for so long that Tyler wondered if his question had confused her. Finally, she went on. Edward pulled me out of the way. I exhaled. And then my breathing accelerated. Id never heard her speak my name before. I like the way it sounded even just hearing it through Tylers thoughts. I wanted to hear it for myselfEdward Cullen, she said, when Tyler didnt realize who she meant. I piece myself at the door, my hand on the knob. The desire to see her was growing stronger. I had to remind myself of the need for caution.He was standing next to me.Cullen? Huh. Thats weird. I didnt see him. I could have sworn Wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?I think so. Hes here somewhere, but they didnt make him use a stretcher. I saw the advertent look on her face, the suspicious tighten of her eyes, but these little changes in her expression were lost on Tyler.Shes pretty, he was thinking, almost in surprise. Even all messed up. Not my usual type, still I should take her out. Make up for todayI was out in the hall, then, halfway to the necessity room, without thinking for one second about what I was doing. Luckily, the nurse entered the room before I could it was Bellas turn for X-rays. I leaned against the argue in a dark niche just around the corner, and tried to get a grip on myself while she was wheeled away.It didnt matter that Tyler thought she was pretty. Anyone would notice that.There was no causal agency for me to feelhow did I feel? Annoyed? Or was angry side by side(predicate) to the truth? That made no sense at all.I stayed where I was for as long as I could, but pettishness got the best of me and I took a back way around to the radiology room. Shed already been moved back to the ER, but I was able to take a peek at her x-rays while the nurses back was turned. I felt calmer when I had. Her head was fine. I hadnt hurt her, not really.Carlisle caught me there.You look better, he commented.I just looked straight ahead. We werent alone, the halls full of orderl ies and visitors.Ah, yes. He stuck her x-rays to the lightboard, but I didnt need a second look. I see. Shes absolutely fine. sound done, Edward.The sound of my fathers approval created a mixed response in me. I would have been pleased, except that I knew that he would not venerate of what I was going to do now. At least, he would not approve if he knew my real motivationsI think Im going to go talk to her before she sees you, I murmured under my breath. Act natural, like nothing happened. Smooth it over. All acceptable reasons. Carlisle nodded absently, still looking over the x-rays. in force(p) idea. Hmm. I looked to see what had his interest.Look at all the healed contusions How many time did her mother drop her? Carlisle laughed to himself at his joke.Im get down to think the girl just has really bad luck. Always in the wrong place at the wrong time.Forks is certainly the wrong place for her, with you here.I flinched.Go ahead. Smooth things over. Ill join you momentarily. I walked away quickly, feeling guilty. Perhaps I was too good a liar, if I could inject Carlisle.When I got to the ER, Tyler was mumbling under his breath, still apologizing. The girl was trying to escape his self-reproof by pretending to sleep. Her eyes were closed, but her breathing was not even, and now and then her fingerbreadths would twitch impatiently. I stared at her face for a long moment. This was the last time I would see her. That fact triggered an cunning aching in my chest. Was it because I hated to leave any puzzle unsolved? That did not seem like enough of an explanation.Finally, I took a deep breath and moved into view.When Tyler saw me, he started to speak, but I put one finger to my lips.Is she sleeping? I murmured.Bellas eyes snapped equal to(p) and focused on my face. They widened momentarily, and then change in anger or suspicion. I remembered that I had a role to play, so I smiled at her as if nothing unusual had happened this morning besides a blow to her head and a bit of imagination run wild.Hey, Edward, Tyler said. Im really sorry I raised one hand to halt his apology. No blood, no foul, I said wryly. Without thinking, I smiled too wide at my private joke.It was amazingly easy to ignore Tyler, lying no more than four feet from me, covered in fresh blood. Id never understood how Carlisle was able to do that ignore the blood of his patients in order to treat them. Wouldnt the constant temptation be so distracting, so dangerous? But, now I could see how, if you were focusing on something else hard enough, the temptation was be nothing at all.Even fresh and exposed, Tylers blood had nothing on Bellas.I kept my distance from her, seating myself on the foot of Tylers mattress.So, whats the verdict? I asked her.Her lower lip pushed out a little. Theres nothing wrong with me at all, but they wont let me go. How come you arent strapped to a gurney like the rest of us? Her impatience made me smile again.I could hear Carlisle in the h all now.Its all about who you know, I said lightly. But dont worry, I came to spring you.I watched her reaction carefully as my father entered the room. Her eyes widened and her mouth actually fell open in surprise. I groaned internally. Yes, shed certainly noticed the resemblance.So, Miss Swan, how are you feeling? Carlisle asked. He had a wonderfully soothing beside mood that put most patients at ease within moments. I couldnt tell how it alter Bella.Im fine, she said quietly.Carlisle clipped her X-rays to the lightboard by the bed. Your X-rays look good. Does your head hurt? Edward said you hit it pretty hard.She sighed, and said, Im fine, again, but this time impatience leaked into her voice. Then she glowered once in my direction.Carlisle stepped closer to her and ran his fingers gently over her scalp until he found the bump under her hair.I was caught off guard by the jar of emotion that crashed over me.I had seen Carlisle contribute with humans a thousand times. long time ago, I had even assisted him colloquially though only in situations where blood was not involved. So it wasnt a new thing to me, to watch him interact with the girl as if he were as human as she was. Id envied his control many times, but that was not the same as this emotion. I envied him more than his control. I ached for the difference between Carlisle and me that he could touch her so gently, without fear, knowing he would never harm her She winced, and I twitched in my seat. I had to concentrate for a moment to keep my relaxed posture.Tender? Carlisle asked.Her chin jerked up a fraction. Not really, she said. some other small piece of her character fell into place she was brave. She didnt like to show weakness.Possibly the most vulnerable creature Id ever seen, and she didnt want to seem weak. A chuckle slid through my lips.She shot another glare at me.Well, Carlisle said. Your father is in the waiting room you can go home with him now. But come back if you feel dizzy or h ave trouble with your eyesight at all. Her father was here? I swept through the thoughts in the crowded waiting room, but I couldnt pick his subtle mental voice out of the group before she was speaking again, her face anxious.Cant I go back to school?Maybe you should take it easy today, Carlisle suggested.Her eyes flickered back to me. Does he get to go to school?Act normal, smooth things overignore the way it feels when she looks me in the eyeSomeone has to spread the good news that we survived, I said.Actually, Carlisle corrected, most of the school seems to be in the waiting room.I anticipated her reaction this time her abhorrence to attention. She didnt disappoint.Oh no, she moaned, and she put her hands over her face.I liked that Id finally guessed right. I was initiation to understand her Do you want to stay? Carlisle asked.No, no she said quickly, swinging her legs over the side of the mattress and sliding down till her feet were on the floor. She stumbled forward, off-bal ance, into Carlisles arms. He caught and steadied her.Again, the envy flooded through me.Im fine, she said before he could comment, faint pink in her cheeks.Of course, that wouldnt bother Carlisle. He made sure she was balanced, and then dropped his hands.Take some acetaminophen for the pain, he instructed.It doesnt hurt that bad.Carlisle smiled as he signed her chart. It sounds like you were extremely lucky. She turned her face slightly, to stare at me with hard eyes. Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me.Oh, well, yes, Carlisle agreed quickly, hearing the same thing in her voice that I heard. She hadnt pen her suspicions off as imagination. Not yet.All yours, Carlisle thought. Handle it as you think best.Thanks so much, I whispered, quick and quiet. incomplete human heard me.Carlisles lips turned up a tiny bit at my sarcasm as he turned to Tyler. Im afraid that youll have to stay with us just a little bit longer, he said as he began examining the slashes left by the sh attered windshield.Well, Id made the mess, so it was only fair that I had to deal with it. Bella walked deliberately toward me, not halt until she was uncomfortably close. I remembered how I had hoped, before all the mayhem, that she would approach me This was like a mockery of that wish.Can I talk to you for a minute? she hissed at me.Her warm breath brushed my face and I had to stagger back a step. Her collection had not abated one bit. Every time she was near me, it triggered all my worst, most urgent instincts. Venom flowed in my mouth and my body yearned to strike to wrench her into my arms and crush her throat to my teeth.My mind was stronger than my body, but only just.Your father is waiting for you, I reminded her, my jaw clenched tight.She glanced toward Carlisle and Tyler. Tyler was paying us no attention at all, but Carlisle was observe my every breath.Carefully, Edward.Id like to speak to you alone, if you dont mind, she insisted in a low voice. I wanted to tell her that I did mind very much, but I knew I would have to do this eventually. I may as well get on with it.I was full of so many unlike emotions as I stalked out of the room, listening to her stumbling footsteps behind me, trying to keep up.I had a show to put on now. I knew the role I would play I had the character down I would be the villain. I would lie and ridicule and be cruel.It went against all my better impulses the human impulses that Id clung to through all these years. Id never wanted to deserve trust more than in this moment, when I had to destroy all possibility of it.It made it worse to know that this would be the last memory she would have of me. This was my farewell scene.I turned on her.What do you want? I asked coldly.She cringed back slightly from my hostility. Her eyes turned bewildered, the expression that had haunted meYou owe me an explanation, she said in a small voice her bead face blanched. It was very hard to keep my voice harsh. I saved your life I dont owe you anything.She flinched it burned like acid to watch my words hurt her.You promised, she whispered.Bella, you hit your head, you dont know what youre talking about.Her chin came up then. Theres nothing wrong with my head.She was angry now, and that made it easier for me. I met her glare, making my face more unfriendly.What do you want from me, Bella?I want to know the truth. I want to know why Im lying for you.What she wanted was only fair it frustrated me to have to deny her.What do you think happened? I nearly growled at her.Her words poured out in a torrent. All I know is that you werent anywhere near me Tyler didnt see you, either, so dont tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both and it didnt, and your hands left dents in the side of it and you left a dent in the other car, and youre not hurt at all and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up Suddenly, she clenched her teeth unitedly and her eyes were glistening wit h unshed tears.I stared at her, my expression derisive, though what I really felt was awe she had seen everything.You think I lifted a van off you? I asked sarcastically.She answered with one unassailable nod.My voice grew more mocking. Nobody will believe that, you know.She made an effort to control her anger. When she answered me, she spoke each word with slow deliberation. Im not going to tell anybody.She meant it I could see that in her eyes. Even uncivilised and betrayed, she would keep my secret.Why?The shock of it done for(p) my carefully designed expression for half a second, and then I pulled myself together.Then why does it matter? I asked, working to keep my voice severe.It matters to me, she said intensely. I dont like to lie so thered better be a good reason why Im doing it.She was asking me to trust her. Just as I wanted her to trust me. But this was a line I could not cross.My voice stayed callous. Cant you just give thanks me and get it over with? Thank you, s he said, and then she fumed silently, waiting.Youre not going to let it go, are you?No.In that case I couldnt tell her the truth if I wanted toand I didnt want to. Id rather she made up her own story than know what I was, because nothing could be worse than the truth I was a living nightmare, straight from the pages of a horror novel. I hope you enjoy disappointment.We scowled at each other. It was odd how endearing her anger was. Like a furious kitten, soft and harmless, and so unaware of her own vulnerability.She reddened pink and ground her teeth together again. Why did you even bother?Her question wasnt one that I was expecting or watchful to answer. I lost my hold on the role I was playing. I felt the mask slip from my face, and I told her this one time the truth.I dont know.I memorized her face one last time it was still set in lines of anger, the blood not yet faded from her cheeks and then I turned and walked away from her.