Half an hour later, Bella was sitting on the Cullens' white couch being roughly interrogated by Edward and Carlisle. Edward's icy hand was a vice against her fingers, and he seemed tense, waiting to spring and defend her from some threatening terror. "How did you stop that bullet?" he asked through clenched teeth. Carlisle glanced at him worriedly, but Edward was staring fiercely at Bella.
"I-just…j-just," she blubbered, unable to speak. "It was…so fast…and I just reached out and I…I caught it," she gasped, tears beginning to roll down her cheeks. Edward's expression softened, and he pulled her against his chest.
"Bella," he crooned, but his voice was too full of tension to be reassuring. Carlisle carefully placed a hand on Bella's shoulder and drew her back.
"Isabella," he said firmly, "What do you know about this?" She sighed and stared at his face, then at Edward's. She seemed frightened, but, with a gentle squeeze of the hand from Edward, she began.
"About two years ago, in Phoenix, I was trying to get to sleep one night, and…I couldn't. I was restless. I sat up for a long time, but I couldn't drift off. Finally, I stood up and went to the window. It was a full moon, and it seemed closer than ever that night. It was spooky. And then…I saw a light. It looked like a star just popped into existence. I thought that maybe it was an airplane, but then it started growing. It took me a while to realize that it was coming closer. By that time…" She gulped. "It was so close. It started going faster, and then…" She pointed at her chest, trying to show them what had happened. "It went inside me." She stopped, and appeared frozen. A tear continued its way down her cheek and landed on her leg with a quiet drip.
"Bella?" asked Edward tentatively, leaning in to look at her.
"I got stronger, faster. My eyesight was better," she said in a flat voice. "I tried to hide it by being clumsier than I had been. I didn't try to stop things from hurting me." Bella paused, and relaxed a bit. She looked up at Edward. "I was glad that you were so strong. I could pretend that I depended on you. I could pretend that you were stronger than me." Edward looked surprised.
"You're stronger than me?" he asked quietly. Bella looked puzzled. She bit her lip.
"Look." She held up her hand. "Arm wrestle." Looking horrified, Edward dazedly placed his hand in hers and tried to force it down. It didn't budge. Bella flexed her elbow a bit, and Edward's hand flew to the side. His mouth popped open. Carlisle's eyes were huge.
"Why were you hiding this?" asked Carlisle slowly. For some reason, Bella looked even more terrified than before. She looked back and forth between Edward and Carlisle, deciding. Finally, she sat up straighter and answered in a small voice.
"I killed someone."
