I'm terribly sorry that this chapter took forever to write. I kept rediting it, and even now I'm not sure if I like it. It is also significantly longer than Bella's version of Chapter 3.

Once again, thank you for your reviews, if you reviewed.

Also, I don't know if I am supposed to be retyping the disclaimer every single time, so if somebody could tell me, that would be great. Thank you in advance!

And now, Chapter 3: Phenomenon (now edited)

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"What were you laughing about?" Rosalie questioned, her eyes scrutinizing my expression. I turned out of the school parking lot, frowning for the first time since my talk with Bella. I shrugged. Rosalie turned in the front seat, intending to question Alice in the back. She did not believe my answer.

"It's really nothing." I snapped, my bad mood returning. "I thought Emmett had the front seat today?"

Rosalie shook her head. Emmett had given her the seat so that she wouldn't be upset at him for getting her wet. He really did not have to. Despite what he thought, Rosalie was not talented in staying mad at him for long. She loved him too much. But her stubborn anger gave her some much-needed control over Emmett, so I said nothing about it.

"What happened in Biology?" Alice suddenly asked. "With Bella? Less than a week ago you were ready to…harm her. But today it seemed like you were enjoying yourself?" Her thoughts were full of curiosity. I growled, annoyed. Of course she would have been watching me. But I wish she hadn't said anything out loud.

"You were enjoying yourself with a human?" Emmett said smirking. I grimaced. I could always count on Emmett to take everything the wrong way. My snarl was more prominent than it should have been, which did nothing but make Emmett's grin grow wider. His teeth were gleaming.

"I did what I had to do," I replied defensively. "She was obviously suspicious of me since her first day at Forks. Now I've given her no reason to think of me in any way but as another student at Forks High School. It was a necessary conversation," I added, emphasizing the necessity. Emmett did not need to know the extent of my…need to listen to Bella's voice.

"If you say so," Emmett said, thankfully not lingering on that topic. He returned to his conversation with Jasper.

"I believe I won our bet, Jasper."

Jasper snorted.

"Hardly. It was an unfair situation. How was I supposed to block a snowball the weight of a minivan, when I was forced to move at human speed?"

"I am quite sure that Edward blocked most of my snowballs easily, at human speed," Emmett gloated, triumphant.

"He can also read your mind, in case you had forgotten."

Emmett was stumped. His head turned the other way, mind churning for a rebuttal. I knew that Alice had seen Jasper losing anyways, regardless of the "unfair" situation, but she said nothing. And if Alice wasn't going to say anything, neither was I. They could sort it out at home.

--

I was waiting in my room, listening to music, when I heard Carlisle come home. I was glad to hear that his day in the hospital had not been very tiring. He only had to check up on a few patients, and work with two emergency cases, neither involving blood. Not that it made any difference to Carlisle. He was immune to the scent now, a feat that never failed to amaze me.

I waited in my room for Carlisle to finish talking to Esme, enter his office, and clean up a little bit. He disliked breaking his routine so I politely waited for him to finish. After a minute, I left my room and found myself outside of his door. As a common courtesy, I knocked.

"Come in Edward." Carlisle's voice seemed more subdued than usual.

I walked in at gazed at his face. His face seemed much paler against his now darkened eyes. He would need to hunt soon. Even when Carlisle's eyes darkened, never once did he consider humans as a food source.

"You seem more tired than usual. I thought it was a slow day at the hospital." I murmured. I always spoke to him quietly. His presence commanded a certain respect. His thoughts were more secretive than usual.

It was a slow day at the hospital, but he had been occupied with other matters. Matters that he didn't want to discuss right now, and therefore, kept out of his mind with meticulous care. He wanted to know about my day.

"I wanted to talk to you about…Bella Swan," I began. Questions that I had wanted answered in Biology class came up again. Would Carlisle know the answers?

What about Bella exactly?

"Why is her scent so strong to me? Why can't I read her mind? Is it possible that those two ideas related? Why do I find her scent so…" I searched for the right word," …attractive?"

Attractive was the best word I could come up. There were other words I could use to describe her, none of which I would say in front of Carlisle. Luscious. Overwhelming. Mouthwatering. Mine. Somehow, I couldn't help feeling that she was made for me, both her scent and her mysterious personality.

Carlisle's thoughts became incoherent as he tried to answer all my questions at once. I suddenly felt guilty; he did not need my problems added to his already stressed mind. I was about to offer to come back at another time, when Carlisle decided to voice his answer. Carlisle sighed.

"This is a very unusual situation, Edward. And something that you have never come across before. Actually, I believe that Emmett has come across a similar situation this during his time as a vampire, but you would have to ask him for more details. I'm afraid that I will need more time to discover why it happened. You are able to handle it for now, correct?"

I nodded, but my heart sank. Of course Carlisle would need time, I reasoned. I could not just leave one day, return a week later, and expect him to have answers to a situation that I had not even fully informed him about. Moreover, his mind was focused on another matter altogether.

"Dad?" I said softly.

Carlisle looked up in surprise.

I rarely used this name, since neither of us was actually related. When I did, it was in concern for Carlisle. It made us seem more like family. Carlisle and Esme were certainly the only parents I could remember. I always called Esme, 'mom'. As if having us as children would make up for the loss of her child in her human life. I wished that calling her mom would alleviate her pain. But there are some pains that just don't fade.

"What is bothering you? You seem tensed?" I questioned. Carlisle sighed and began massaging his forehead with his fingertips. I grew worried. Carlisle was always poised and composed. Something was greatly troubling him.

He stared into my eyes for a long period of time before breaking down the wall in his mind and showing me what was bothering him. It was taking him more effort to keep up the barrier in his mind, anyways. I felt guilty again. If it weren't for my power, he would not have had to use that extra effort in the first place.

Carlisle seemed to see where my thoughts were heading, because he smiled gently. It's about time you knew anyways, Edward.

I read his thoughts, and frowned. This was not good.

There were more vampires coming. Alice had not seen when they were coming, only that they were going to come. I had not seen Alice's vision because I had been away at the time. Carlisle was attempting to identify the new vampires, using one of Alice's drawings as a visual base. More vampires were not a serious issue if they left after sometime, but these vampires were going to pose a problem.

There were three of them. They drank human blood.

"Carlisle…does everyone know about them coming?" I inquired. By everyone, I meant my family. Carlisle looked up guiltily.

Oh.

I had been the only one still out of the loop.

But even then I could not be angry at Carlisle. He did not tell me what was happening because he wanted to make sure I was okay with my problems first. He was more concerned about my well being that our family's well being. My issue with Bella fell to the back of my mind. I had other things to deal with. My family's troubles came before my own.

"Really though, it should be okay. We are seven and they are three," I spoke, more to myself than anyone else, "we would be stronger against all odds. And we have Emmett and Jasper. They could handle all three of them easily alone. There's no need to worry right now," Carlisle gave me a half smile.

Enough, Edward. You have enough on your mind right now. And there are many other things you could be doing right now other than worrying about something that might not even happen.

I raised my eyebrows. Since when did I have "many other things" to do? "Such as…?" I joked.

Carlisle pretended to think for a second, before giving a satisfied smile.

Homework, Edward. You could be doing homework. Have you finished your homework yet?

I raised my eyebrows. Carlisle shrugged. Homework? I nodded and then smirked. Yes, I had finished that. Even if I had not, I could have easily finished it seconds before the teacher decided to collect it. Carlisle knew that. His attempt to calm the atmosphere worked. I left smiling.

Late at night, despite my promise to focus on my family instead, I found myself thinking about Bella. Her smile, her frustration, her clumsiness, and lastly, her eyes. I could clearly remember her mysterious chocolate brown eyes. I found myself gazing at her eyes in my mind like I was in a trance. Hypnotized.

Alice's thoughts broke through my trance. Edward? Do you want to come hunting with Rosalie and me? I know you just went, but if it helped your situation with Bella… I thought about it for a moment, and then spoke 'no' softly, knowing Alice would hear me. Last time I hunted, it had made no difference in my thirsty emotions around Bella. The same amount of venom flowed. The monster still wanted her as badly as it had wanted her that first day, though I liked to believe that I had a bit more control over the situation. Hunting would make little difference for that strong of a scent.

I went down to play the piano, hoping it would distract me from my thoughts about Bella. She was the last person I wanted to think about right now. I planned on playing Esme's favorite. That always pushed out unwanted thoughts. But when I played, it was something new, more melodious and lighthearted, yet still deep and meaningful. I let my mind float away with the music.

--

I drove to school the next day in a silent car. Even my family's thoughts were subdued. It had snowed that night and a layer of snow and ice covered the ground. My car could easily handle the ice, and I drove at the same speed that I always drove at. I was worried about Bella's car. It was old and probably would skid easily on the ice. More than my concern for Bella's car was Bella herself. I could imagine her falling several times during the day. I hoped that no blood would be spilled. I was sure I didn't have that level of control yet.

I parked in our usual spot. No matter how late we came, not that we ever came late, our spot was never taken. Though we were comparatively new to the school, people already understood that it was not smart to cross us. They thought that giving us our own spot would make a difference. They only thing that would make a difference was if they all suddenly stopped smelling edible, human like. And that would just be abnormal.

As I got out of the car, I saw Bella park her truck four cars down from mine. It seemed safe enough. I looked carefully at the tires from where I was standing and noticed that there were snow chains on the tires. I found myself grateful that someone felt the need to put those on Bella's car. The instant I thought that, I was questioning my feelings. Bella's question in Biology came back. Why did it matter to me?

Alice's head instantly jerked towards the front of the parking lot, and my eyes instantly followed hers.

Tyler Crowley's van hit the ice the wrong way and began to skid. There was going to be an accident today. Jasper stiffened beside me and slowly backed away into the background before sprinting off. He did not want to be here incase blood was spilled somewhere along the way. I looked more closely at what was happening and suddenly I was horrified. The van was heading towards Bella's truck. Right where Bella was standing.

Bella was going to be crushed.

She looked and up and gazed at my horrified face, but didn't move. Any hope her saving herself was gone. She was now staring ahead at Tyler's van, in shock.

Bella would be gone forever, the weight of the car killing her. Her face would be white. Her lips cold. Her deep brown eyes, dead, flat. No intelligence behind those eyes, no kindness left. Her scent would no longer be there to make a mess of my life and yet…I could not let her go.

No, not her.

"Edward!" Alice hissed, but it was too late. I had already made my decision.

Seconds before the accident, I acted. I ran to her and pulled her away from the truck, ramming her into the ground, and pinning her there. The van was still moving towards Bella, still out of control. Bella was still in danger.

"Nothing is going to happen to you. I will keep you safe," I muttered, knowing she wouldn't be able to hear me, but still hoping she was comforted by my words. I held her to my body, turned my back to the van and braced its force as it rammed into me instead. The van stopped moving, but one end of it was still in the air, ready to land on Bella's legs.

Working quickly, I swung her legs around until they were out of harm's way and watched the van fall right where Bella's legs had been a moment ago. Still holding her to me, I turned to look at her. Her eyes were wide open, and her face had not moved since she had seen the van coming towards her. I was terrified again. Had she gone into shock? Was she…

"Bella? Are you all right?" I asked frantically. Why wasn't she speaking? Did she get a concussion? I couldn't even look into her mind to see what she was thinking. She should be at the hospital right now. Yet I did not want move her until I heard her speak. Until I confirmed that she was…

"I'm fine," she said, coming out of her shocked daze. She tried to sit up. I realized that I was still holding her to me. Her warmth touched my skin and sent a jolt up my spine. I was not ready to let go of her yet. The monster growled appreciatively at her scent. I gritted my teeth and kept myself in check.

"Be careful, " I warned as she struggled to get up again, "I think you hit your head pretty hard." She was still gazing at me, confused. She tried to move again.

"Ow," she murmured, surprised. She pressed her hand to the side of her head. I sighed in relief. She was alive. She was going to be okay.

"That's what I thought," I said trying to make the situation more serious without my excessive happiness leaking into it. She finally had a normal reaction to the entire situation, even if it came a little late. I grinned.

"How in the…" she trailed off, still in thought. I leaned in closer, listening. "How did you get over here so fast?" My happiness ebbed away. I realized how tightly I was holding her and I let her go, slowly edging away from her. As I moved away, the monster became angry, but I ignored it. I cursed her under my breath for being so perceptive.

"I was standing right next to you, Bella," I said seriously, sounding innocent. I looked straight into her eyes, hoping to convey the message that she was clearly the confused one.

Right then, a crowd of people walked over to us. The entire school was in commotion, assessing the accident

"Don't move."

"Get Tyler out of the van!"

Oh God! I hope the school doesn't get sued!

Bella made a motion to move and I pulled her back down. It was best that she left the school to do whatever it normally did in times like this.

"Just stay put for now," I told her.

"But it's cold," she complained. I chuckled. Of course it was cold. It had been snowing outside, and my body temperature wasn't helping either. Knowing her, she would probably make a comment about how my skin was much colder than the snow itself. That put me on edge.

"You were over there," she said suddenly, stopping my chuckle. "You were by your car." My face hardened. I had to be more convincing about my story, but I couldn't get my eyes to soften enough to look unsuspicious.

"No, I wasn't."

"I saw you," she said stubbornly. She was not going to give up on her argument. I was becoming frustrated.

"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way." I fixed my eyes on her, hoping that she would forget what she was thinking about. Hoping that she knew that this was not something I was going to tell her. Hoping that she would understand.

"No," she said firmly.

"Please, Bella," I pleaded, my voice softening with urgency. I needed her to believe me. If she didn't believe me and thought that I had run at inhuman speed towards her, then the effect of that would be disastrous. We would have to leave. But I knew that if we left right after the rumor was spread, it would only confirm what she speculated.

This time if we left, we would never be able to come back.

"Why?" she demanded. I couldn't even give her a good reason why. Why should she keep it a secret? On her first day of school, I hadn't exactly made a good impression. She probably still remembered that.

Probably. I hated that word. I did not want to guess what was going through her head; I wanted to know what was going through her head. If I knew what exactly was running through her head, I would be able to counterattack it. I fought to keep the frustration out of my voice.

"Trust me," I implored again, making one last effort. Please please please understand, I thought. It was all suddenly hitting me, the great consequence of saving Bella's life. I heard sirens in the distance. The police were coming. Bella's father was going to be here any moment.

"Will you promise to explain everything to me later?" Bella spoke, wanting to compromise.

I couldn't believe it. She wanted me to explain to her why I could do what I could do. She wanted me to explain to her how I had saved her life. Why couldn't she just accept that I had saved her life and take it for how I said it was? She was so stubborn and I had no idea how to deal with it. At least with Rosalie's stubbornness I could look into her mind and see how to work with it, but I couldn't even do that with Bella. I couldn't believe what kind of situation I had put my family and myself into. I was appalled.

"Fine," I snapped, exasperated, not meaning it at all.

"Fine," she snapped back at me and turned away. I did not even bother to ask her if she was feeling any better.

Two teachers and six EMTs had moved the van away and now we were in open view. The ambulance had brought stretchers to us, and I stood up and took a step away from Bella.

"Son," the doctor spoke to me as I was getting up, "I think you should be in a stretcher. As a part of this car accident, you could have been hurt." He was the authority figure here, and I turned to speak with him.

"No, I don't believe that will be necessary," I snapped abruptly, my anger coming out on him. He took an instant step back, his unconscious side recognizing danger. He didn't tell me to go on the stretcher again. I tried to sound concerned instead.

"I only pulled the girl out of the way, I didn't actually get hurt. But Bella on the other hand…" I looked back at her, and as I did, she slipped on the ice and fell over again. I sighed. "She might have gotten a concussion. I think she should go to the hospital." The doctor continued to stare. I tried again.

"I believe Bella could possibly have a concussion, and that she should be at the hospital right now," I enunciated slowly for him. He finally nodded. I suppressed the urge to roll my eyes at him. Bella was put on a stretcher with a neck brace and carried into the ambulance. She glared at me from the stretcher. I looked away from her.

I was certain that I had a better medical education than the doctor in the ambulance, so I had taken it into my own hands to examine Bella. It looked like she was okay, but I still wanted Carlisle to look at her. Either ways, it was better to have Bella carried to a hospital than have her attempt to walk on the ice again. And if I went to the hospital with Bella, I would get a chance to talk to Carlisle.

The doctor turned to me. "Son," he said nervously, "what is your name?"

"Edward Cullen," I replied, preoccupied. Alice, Rosalie, and Emmett had moved from their spot for the first time since I had ran to save Bella. Rosalie was furious, close to snarling. What were you thinking?? Were you even thinking?? Her thoughts snapped at me. A few students backed away from her, having never seen this side of Rosalie Hale before.

Restraining her was Emmett, looking thoroughly disappointed at my actions, and at the same time not breathing in the scent of Tyler's blood. Alice, in contrast to her previous mood, was oddly exuberant, She did not want to tell me about what she saw until I got home. They would all want an explanation later.

"Dr. Carlisle Cullen's son?" the doctor asked. No wonder he was so calm about everything. His father must have told him how to deal with emergency situations

"Yes," I said, returning my full attention to the doctor, "I was wondering if I could ride with you to the hospital. I know I wasn't hurt, but I'm sure that my father will want to see me anyways…" I released the full intensity of my eyes on him, and he nodded. My family did not look happy at all.

I would need to come up with a better explanation than what had been going through my mind at that time: Not her.

--

We reached the hospital with police escort. Charlie Swan was so worried about Bella that he could barely breathe. I remembered what Alice had told me on Bella's first day of school. Bella was Chief Swan's daughter. His only family. I could use that as reasoning to support my actions. Alice would know though, I thought, that my saving Bella had nothing to do with Charlie.

I walked into the hospital with the other doctor following behind me. The EMTs took Bella and Tyler into the emergency room. Tyler was covered in minor cuts, and I disregarded the excess venom that was flowing into my mouth. The scent of Tyler's blood from his open wounds was still nowhere nearly as strong as the smell of Bella's blood.

I glanced at Bella and she glared back at me. She still looked angry. Was she angry because I still hadn't given her an explanation? I couldn't be sure, but it looked like she was angrier at the fact that she was in a hospital in a neck brace. She even glared at the EMT that took her into the emergency room.

I continued further into the hospital to find Carlisle, but the doctor from the scene of the accident insisted on taking me to see my father himself. He thought that I would get easily lost in the hospital. I scoffed and rolled my eyes, but said nothing. As he walked ahead of me, I realized that his real reason for taking me to Carlisle himself was to provide an explanation as to why I wasn't in a stretcher like Bella and Tyler.

The doctor walked past the room that Carlisle was in twice, thinking he was somewhere else. I followed him for sometime, pretending ignorance, until I finally lost my patience. By the third time we walked past the room that Carlisle was actually in, I politely, but firmly asked the doctor to check if he was in there. The doctor didn't think he was, but checked anyways because of my insistence. And what a surprise, I thought sarcastically, Carlisle was actually in there.

The doctor told me to wait in the entrance of the room while he went to talk to Carlisle. Carlisle had already turned around, sensing my presence in the room. Carlisle looked from me to the other doctor, confused.

The doctor pulled Carlisle aside, and spoke in a low whisper that was perfectly clear to me.

"Dr. Cullen, there was a car accident at Forks High School. A van skidded across the ice and nearly ran into a student in the parking lot. The student in the van, Tyler Crowley, was injured, and the other student, Isabella Swan, probably would have been killed in the crash if it were not for your son pulling her away from the van in time. Both Mr. Crowley and Ms. Swan are currently in the emergency room." Hearing the name Isabella Swan, Carlisle looked up at me, comprehension lighting his eyes.

"I tried to get your son to sit in a stretcher so we could do a quick check up of him in the ambulance, but he insisted that he was okay. I didn't see any injuries on him, otherwise I would have forced him onto a stretcher. If you still want, I can do a more formal check up…" Carlisle interrupted his explanation.

"Thank you very much for your concern for my son, " Carlisle's voice filled with sincerity, "but I will look at him personally in just a moment. Did you arrive in time to see my son pull Ms. Swan out of the way?" He sounded very casual when asking this, but I understood the underlying meaning behind the question. The doctor clearly didn't, but he answered anyways.

"No. We were not called until after the van had actually stopped moving. In fact, I don't believe anyone saw your son pull her out of the way. But that of course is very reasonable, seeing as the van was blocking everyone's view of the accident, except for Ms. Swan's. He was right next to her when we found them, and he says that he pulled her out of the way."

"Hmm," Carlisle said, deep in though. The other doctor looked at Carlisle in earnest. After a moment, Carlisle spoke.

"Can you finish checking up this patient? I would like to examine my son, if that is okay with you?" The other doctor nodded. He was relieved that Fork's top doctor was not reprimanding him for not putting his son in a stretcher. Carlisle motioned me to follow him, and he led me to an empty room. I recognized it as the same room where I had told Carlisle that I was leaving because of Bella.

Now I was going to tell him why I saved her.

I had planned to tell Carlisle the truth. I was going to tell him that I had saved Bella because I could not bear to see her dead, that she intrigued me to the point where I would risk everything to keep her safe. Yet when the time came to give Carlisle an explanation, I could not meet his eyes. I was ashamed at myself. How could I tell him that I had selfishly acted to save what I wanted instead considering how that would affect our family's appearance? Carlisle spoke to me instead.

"No one seemed to have found anything unusual about you pulling Bella away from the car. We could still be safe." I shook my head. I knew the truth.

"She knows," I choked out, unable to control the shame that I felt, "Bella knows that I was too far away to save her in time, but I somehow did anyways. She saw me lift a van off of her. She even knows that my eyes change color! She suspects me, and she's right. Carlisle…I don't know what I was thinking…" I couldn't believe what I had done. Esme loved this quaint little town of Forks, and now we would have to leave. How could I have been so selfish?

"Hush," Carlisle murmured, slightly shocked that I was breaking down this way, "Edward, son, I'm glad that you saved her life. I'm glad that you wanted to protect her. It shows your kindness. You didn't succumb to the life that was…forced upon you," Carlisle looked away guiltily, but continued talking. "You rose above it. You showed that you could be just as human as all the humans around you." Carlisle stopped talking all of sudden. He faced the front of the hospital, where the emergency room was, listening. I turned to listen too.

"How did you get out of the way so fast? You were there, and then you were gone…" I heard Tyler question Bella. I held my breath, listening intently to Bella's answer.

"Umm…Edward pulled me out of the way," Bella replied. My mouth nearly fell open in astonishment. She decided to keep our secret? She was willing to lie without knowing why? She was more understanding than I gave her credit for.

"Who?" Tyler asked confused, although his thoughts instantly made a connection to my sister, Rosalie. Outwardly, he was trying to pretend he didn't remember my family at all. Pretending that we were not good enough to be remembered by him. That was fine with me. It didn't matter whether Tyler liked me or not.

"Edward Cullen – he was standing next to me," Bella answered, with effort. It sounded very much like she didn't believe a single word she was saying. But she was still saying it. My lips turned up slightly.

"Cullen? I didn't see him…wow, it was all so fast, I guess. Is he okay?" I smirked. Tyler wasn't actually concerned about me, that much I could tell from his thoughts. He wanted to see Bella's reaction.

"I think so. He's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use a stretcher," she said, the irritation evident in her voice. I now even understood why she was so upset. She was upset because I got to saunter in the hospital without notice and she was on the stretcher, not because she wanted an explanation. I was now grinning widely. Maybe we wouldn't have to leave after all. Carlisle turned to me and with raised eyebrows.

"It looks like someone guessed their fate too early."

"I don't understand why she is keeping this a secret."

"I'm sure there are many things you don't understand about Bella. But right now she's awake, and alive. Go talk to her." Carlisle broke out into a grin. "And I will finally get to meet the girl who has completely entranced my son."

I rolled my eyes, but did not bother to deny it. Bella was entrancing. I was attracted to her scent, her eyes, and…her. Carlisle had known this even before I had. I could freely admit this to myself, now knowing that she wouldn't reveal my secret. I truly did like her for who she was.

I could now talk about the accident without the shame overwhelming me. I told Carlisle that Bella had hit her head fairly hard, but other than that, she was okay. I also told him that Bella was desperate to leave the hospital. He said he would come as soon as possible. As I left to go see Bella, I heard Carlisle chuckle quietly.

When I walked the emergency room, Bella had her eyes closed, but her heartbeat suggested that she wasn't sleeping. I wondered what she was thinking. Finally giving into the idea that I was never going to see her mind, I focused on Tyler's thoughts instead. He had thrown nonstop apologies at Bella hoping that she would forgive him and begin to like him. As I walked in, he decide that, to better his impression in Bella's eyes, he was going to begin another session of apologies, focused on me. Before a word left his mouth, I spoke.

"Is she sleeping?" I questioned Tyler, knowing the answer. Bella's eyes instantly flew open. She looked at me and glared. Even then, her eyes had depth. I gazed into them, in wonder.

In the moment that I did not speak, Tyler began to apologize.

"Hey, Edward, I'm really sorry – "

"No blood, no foul," I smiled at him. No blood coming from Bella at least. I sat on the edge of Tyler's bed facing Bella. She had torn off her neck brace in frustration and there was evidence of several medical tests lying around her. Clearly she had wanted to be examined by a doctor as much as I had wanted to be. I smiled.

"So, what's the verdict?" I asked.

"There's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," she complained. "How come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest of us?"

"It's all about who you know," I replied. Or how convincing you can be. I heard Carlisle's footsteps down the hallway. I got up from Bella's bed. "But don't worry, I came to spring you." A moment later, Carlisle came in, scrutinizing Bella.

"So, Miss Swan, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," she said, somewhat frustrated by the question.

Carlisle looked at her x-rays, which appeared to be okay. Remembering what I had told him about Bella's injuries, he examined her head. He pulled away when she winced.

"Tender?"

"Not really." I chuckled at that. She had probably hit her head so many times in her life that it was completely numb towards pain.

"Well, your father is in the waiting room – you can go home with him now. But come back if you fell dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight at all."

"Can't I go back to school?" Bella asked. Carlisle's eyes turned infinitesimally towards mine and I shook my head slightly. Bella would fall on the ice again and break a bone.

"Maybe you should take it easy today."

"Does he get to go to school?" She glanced at me again. She was constantly trying to compare her physical health to mine. Little did she know that she was so much more breakable than me, I thought smugly.

"Someone has to spread the good news that we survived," I replied.

"Actually," Carlisle said, "most of the school seems to be in the waiting room." She moaned and her head fell in her hands. I laughed at the irony. The person who wanted the least amount of attention in this school ended up getting the most.

"Do you want to stay?" Carlisle said, raising his eyebrows, humor in his eyes.

"No, no!" she insisted, throwing her legs over the edge of the bed. Carlisle caught her before she fell over again. He wasn't sure if she should leave anymore. I smirked. I would have to tell Carlisle that this was normal for Bella.

"Take some Tylenol for the pain, " Carlisle said, still concerned.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," Bella continued to insist.

"It sounds like you were extremely lucky today," Carlisle said, without thinking.

"Lucky Edward happened to be standing next to me," Bella said, with heavy implications. My smirk disappeared and I quickly turned to leave. I heard Carlisle reply something hastily in the background.

"Oh, well, yes," and he turned to look at Tyler instead. I turned to find Bella right next to me.

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" she hissed, under her breath. Carlisle froze for a moment, and then continued to work like he heard nothing. My jaw clenched. I would do anything to avoid this conversation.

"Your father is waiting for you," I said, barely controlling my temper. Bella turned to look at Carlisle and Tyler. Neither acted like they heard us.

"I'd like to speak to you alone, if you don't mind," she pressed. I glared and turned away, walking down the corridor. I could not avoid this conversation.

She could never have understood my situation, and I mentally slapped myself for believing that she would. I suddenly realized that she was only lying to Tyler for me because she thought she was going to get a better explanation later. My hopes that she would keep our secret without knowing the truth were shot down. She was just like any other curious human, I thought severely, wanting the answers to everything. I was infuriated.

Not at her, but at myself. How could I have been such a fool?

"What do you want?" I snapped coldly. She paused for a second, before continuing

"You owe me an explanation," she reminded me.

As if I needed reminding of what I had said before!

"I saved your life – I don't owe you anything." I said, suddenly resenting the way her eyes and scent were alluring me against my will.

No. It would be senseless to lie to myself.

I resented that, despite her unique mind and scent, she was just the same as them. The pain of that idea stung me deeply.

My pain was easily channeled into anger.

She flinched at my anger, but was undeterred.

"You promised."

"Bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about," I snapped. I was forced to go back to my old tactics. I was no longer trying to convince her to not tell my secret.

I was telling her that there was no secret.

"There's nothing wrong with my head," Bella said, furious.

"What do you want from me, Bella?" Wasn't it enough that I saved her life? Did I have to give up my way of life in return?

"I want to know the truth. I want to know why I'm lying for you."

"What do you think happened?" I snapped. Because whatever she thought happened, I was going to prove wrong.

"All I know is that you weren't anywhere near me – Tyler didn't see you, either, so don't tell me I hit my head too hard. That van was going to crush us both – and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side of it – and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all – and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…" she spoke, her words jumbling together.

She had noticed a lot more than I had expected. Still, that was fine. I would work part by part, invalidating everything she said. She looked ready to cry. Good, I thought angrily, it will be easier to break her down and convince her that I'm right. I ignored torrent of sympathetic emotions running through me. I told myself that Bella was no longer worth my sympathy.

"You think I lifted a van off you?" I was sure that my voice sounded like it was questioning her sanity. It was not hard to act the part.

She nodded. She still believed exactly what she saw. It was hopeless.

"Nobody will believe that, you know," I said scornfully. If I could at least convince her to not tell anyone, my family could leave without trouble…

"I'm not going to tell anybody," she said gritting her teeth.

My angry schemes stopped in my mind. What? She was going to keep our secret to herself? I was sure that I hadn't actually convinced her to keep the secret. It was like this was her plan all along, and she was tormenting me for no apparent reason.

"Then why does it matter?" I asked, still shocked.

"It matters to me," she insisted. "I don't like to lie – so there'd better be a good reason why I'm doing it."

"Can't you just thank me and get over it?" I snapped. Most people I knew were actually happy when their lives were saved.

"Thank you," she said, still waiting. So she still thought she was going to get an answer, did she? She was in for a rude awakening.

"You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"No." I knew it.

"In that case…I hope you enjoy disappointment."

We continued to gaze at each other, scowling. I wanted to penetrate her mind to see if she was telling the truth. I wasn't so certain that she would keep my secret; she might have just said that to get an explanation out of me.

And yet, I couldn't find it in me to lie to her. I should have done that, I thought aggravated, ignoring the fact that I would never have been able to think of a plausible story. Not only did this human girl have the power to ruin my existence, but also my family's existence. Then why couldn't I do it?

"Why did you even bother?" she asked frigidly.

"I don't know," I whispered, still deep in thought. I turned away from her and walked away. I didn't know anymore. It scared me not to know why I did the things I did. Never had I felt less in control of a situation. I remembered the exact words I was thinking at the time, but I could not make any sense of what they meant. I sat down in the middle of the hallway and pressed my fingers to the bridge of my nose. I needed to think.

It did not take long to figure out the truth behind this mess.

I was appalled at what situation I had put my family in, but I did not regret what I did. If I were put in the same situation, with all the same conditions, I would have done the same thing all over again. She was just as important to me as she had been before. The same emotions that I had uncovered earlier in the day still rang true.

But I now understood the difference.

The difference was that I was not as important to her as she was to me. It was why I was willing to save her life and risk everything, but she could not trust me. It was why I was so hurt and angry.

And this made all the difference in the world.

I got up and walked out of the door without anyone noticing. They were all waiting for Bella, not for me. I had to go home and tell my family the outcome.

I would now do what was best for my family, not for her.

--

They were all waiting in dining room, in the one room we never used.

Until now.

They all sat in together in pairs. Alice and Jasper on one end. Rosalie and Emmett on another. Carlisle and Esme on the third end of the table. I had an entire end of the table to myself. I sat down and let out a sigh.

I felt out of place. Like a third wheel.

I had always known that I was the odd man out. I knew that secretly Esme and Carlisle were hoping that I would find someone, so that I would be less lonesome. I knew that every time Emmett joked about me being alone all the time, there was an underlying seriousness to it. And despite this constant knowledge, it hit me harder now more than it ever had.

They all gazed at me, emotions ranging from fury to sympathy. They were waiting. I sighed. I might as well get it over with.

I told them how I had saved Bella, conveniently not mentioning why. I told them what Bella had seen me do, what she had noticed earlier that week. I replayed the entire conversation, word by word, of what she said in the hallway. I caught myself emphasizing Bella's promise to keep my secret and stopped myself.

I would tell the story the way I heard it, not the way I wanted it to sound.

"Bella says that she will not tell anyone, but I do not know if she meant it. Will we stay and hope she keeps her word, or will we leave? We have to make a decision today." I concluded. Jasper spoke immediately after I finished.

"Isn't it blatantly obvious what should be done?" He gazed at me, like it was my job to fix the problem. Realizing what he meant, I snarled.

He wanted me to fix the problem by killing off Bella.

"No!"

"Why not Edward? If she is the problem, then why not eliminate her? If she were removed from the situation, there would be no risk of exposure, no need to leave. You could even do it Edward. You have wanted to taste her blood since the day you met her. Now you have a reason to." Carlisle winced, but said nothing. I glared at Alice for giving Jasper this knowledge, and she shrugged.

Great. Right in front of me was yet another to reason to kill Bella. As if I needed another reason! I had agreed to do what was best for my family, but this was overbearingly extreme. Kill Bella. The mere idea of it sent shivers down my spine. It felt like part of me had died.

"No!" I hissed, furious. I turned to the rest of my family, my fury growing. Why wasn't anybody contradicting Jasper? Why wasn't Carlisle saying that the idea was preposterous, that it was inhumane, that it shouldn't be done? Why wasn't Esme scolding Jasper for not thinking of Bella as a person, not something that could easily be killed? Why wasn't anyone saying anything?

Emmett spoke up quietly, more serious than he had even been.

"Edward, what Jasper is saying makes perfect sense. Why not just take Bella out of the picture? You even said it yourself; she was just a human, just someone to be delt with. Why not deal with her this way? Think of the positives of the situation. You wouldn't be constantly tormented by her scent, and she would have a quick easy death rather than you losing control one day. It is what's best for everyone." I had begun shaking my head before he had even started talking. There were no positives to killing Bella. I would rather be tormented by her scent for the rest of my life than see her cold and dead, knowing I had caused it.

"Emmett," I gritted my teeth, trying to suppress the urge to smash something, "That's not going to work."

Rosalie had had enough of this argument.

"Why Edward? Why isn't it going to work?" she sneered. "You haven't even told us why you saved her, let alone why you think she should still be alive! What is wrong with your reasoning? You used to make sense Edward! But ever since you met Bella, you have ignored the interests of this family completely! What is going on in your head?"

Her words hit home. She had said bluntly what everyone in my family was thinking. Esme had intended to scold Rosalie for her harsh words, but I stopped her. I was finally done thinking of a solution. I finally had a real reason that would make sense to them. I raised my head and looked into their curious eyes.

"Do you know what would have happened if I had let Bella die in that car crash?" I said, my voice low, deadly, daring anyone to interrupt me. All eyes were on me. Rosalie looked at me smugly, waiting to hear what possible explanation I could have come up with.

"If I had let that car hit Bella, do you have any idea how much blood would have spilled out of her? How much stronger the scent of her blood would have become, not just for me but for all of us? Not even you, Rosalie, would have been able to resist that type of temptation, " Rosalie started to interrupt, but I gave her a look that silenced her. She was looking back at me with a different expression. A rare expression on Rosalie. It was fear.

"And I know for a fact that I would have drank her blood if it spilled," I said, now staring down Carlisle, angry that he had not openly sided with me, "no, not drank her blood, devoured it, thirsted off of it, not stopped until I had taken in every last drop. I would have killed anyone who came in my way of having her blood to myself," I snarled, sounding like the vampire I was. Esme and Carlisle were now both horrified. I continued, my tone terrible and harsh.

"And imagine what an entire body of students would do if they saw one of their very own classmates drinking the blood of another. According to Jasper's method, we would have had to kill every single student in Forks High School," I spoke with such resentment and sarcasm to Jasper's idea that he glared at me, offended.

"And after killing every single student at Forks High School, what was going to happen? Did you think that we were going to get away with that without any notice? We would be so publicized that more vampires would be forced to become involved…" I trailed off, watching the muscles in Carlisle's arm clench and unclench slowly.

"But I don't want to be that person," I said more softly this time, "I didn't want to be the person that would ruin this life for our family, not in that way. Do you still think I should have left Bella to die?"

Nobody had the courage to reply to me. Esme looked so anguished that I wanted to take back everything I had said just to take that look off of her face. I knew that this was not the initial reason that I had saved Bella, but this reason was just as true.

"Edward," Alice said weakly, "It might not have happened that way…"

"How can you say that Alice?" I lashed out heatedly, "You saw what I was going to do to Bella. I know that you saw me drinking her blood!"

Alice, who was normally strong in arguments, turned away disheartened. Jasper was furious. He was nearly as angry as I was.

"That's fine. Now we understand why you couldn't kill her then," he snapped, "But why can't you kill her now?" At the prospect of killing Bella, I snarled and rose to my feet, breaking the chair in the process. Jasper snarled in return and crouched. Both of us were ready to fight. It would be a deadly fight. He would fight to any extent for Alice.

Just as I was willing to do the same for Bella.

"Enough!" Carlisle suddenly snapped. His voice had become louder and harsher than we had ever heard it and we were shocked into silence. He looked at each and every one of us carefully before speaking again. Jasper was finally able to calm down enough to calm my emotions too. I was ready to listen to Carlisle rationally.

He first turned to Alice. "Alice, do you see Bella revealing anything about us in the near future?"

"No," she said and then added hurriedly, "And I'm glad. I do not want Bella to die either." Jasper's head jerked in her direction, incredulous. I suddenly felt guilty for lashing out it her like I had. She had only wished that things had not turned out this way. Carlisle nodded and continued.

"Even though I have heard both sides of the argument rationally, in my mind, I agree with Edward. Bella should not be killed for a fault that she could do nothing to prevent." He then turned to Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper. "But I also understand what you are saying. Removing Bella from the picture now would be the easiest option, the one that would fit our situation the best. Though it is the easiest option, I do not believe that it makes it the right option."

"In the end, however, I feel that this is Edward's decision and his alone. He made the decision to save Bella, and now he will decide what to do about it. Edward, you must now decide what would be best for all of us."

I looked around at my family. Jasper was hurt that Alice had chosen to side with me, against him. Carlisle was forced to raise his voice at us for the first time ever since I had met him. Esme was still looking anguished at how close her two sons had come to turning against each other.

What had I done to our family?

I knew what I would do.

"I am not going to kill her," I began, "I am not going to give into that desire, now that I've already decided to overcome it." Rosalie looked furious, but I continued.

"I will, however, ignore her for the remainder of her stay in Forks. Or the remainder of our stay at Forks, if she decides to reveal our secret. I won't let her come between us as a family anymore," I said, looking around at every single one of my family members, not bothering to hide my unhappiness. Rosalie was now troubled. Despite her anger, she had not wanted me to get hurt by my own decision. My eyes rested on Esme. She had only wanted what would make me stay, nothing else. I had put her through pain, again, for nothing. I was certain that my guilt would pull me under.

"And this is what I have decided to do, what I feel is best for everyone. I am sorry that this got out of hand," I looked at Jasper, and he nodded in my direction. "I am sorry that I said what I did, even though it was true. I am truly very sorry. For everything."

Suddenly I felt like I was suffocating, unable to breathe. I got up and left the dining room, running to my room. Why was I suffocating when I didn't need to breathe in the first place? I sat down on the couch in my room, closed my eyes, and took long deep breaths. I needed a distraction. I did not want to think about the decision I had just made.

I abruptly remembered that, earlier that day right after I had saved Bella, Alice had been exuberant about something. I called Alice softly and she came up to my room. Still keeping my eyes closed, I asked Alice what she had been so happy about.

"Oh, it was nothing," she shrugged dismissively; I raised my eyebrows and looked at her thoughts instead. They were suggesting the same general idea.

"Besides," she said unhappily, "that future disappeared right after you had made your decision tonight. It would have been good for you, you know." I stared at her, still confused. Her thoughts refused to reveal anything.

"What would have been good for me?"

"It's nothing, really. Besides," she said, now smiling, "I remember someone smart once saying that it was important to not dwell on the things you couldn't get anyways." I smiled back at her.

"Alice, about tonight…"

"It's alright. You're forgiven," she said, predicting what I was going to say.

We smiled at each other for a moment, two freaks among freaks, before she left my room. I suddenly found that I could breathe again. Not completely normal breathing, but enough to get me by.

I heard Esme knock on my door and ask to come in. She was concerned at my still closed eyes and slightly tensed position. I finally opened my eyes, and saw her sweet motherly eyes look back at me. I was filled with remorse again.

"Mom…" She cut me off almost instantly.

"Edward, I just wanted to ask one thing. If Bella's blood was not as tempting to you as it is now, if Bella's blood had spilled, and you could have remained hidden without drinking it, would you have saved her life anyways?"

In my mind, I saw Bella's eyes, her smile, and heard her sarcastic laugh. I felt a part of my chest clench, knowing that I would not be able to look at her in this way anymore. At least you know that she won't be hurt by your decision, that she doesn't care enough to be hurt. That only made my chest clench tighter. I had known the answer to Esme's question the moment she had asked it.

"Yes," I replied simply.

"That's all I needed to hear," she said. She kissed my forehead before leaving my room. I was left alone to my own thoughts.

I had made my decision.

What would Bella decide to do?