2. Open Book

I raced to Forks Hospital, my foot pressing firmly on the accelerator until I entered the car park. I couldn't afford to waver. Any sliver of doubt would see me racing back to town. Back to her.

It wasn't difficult to find Carlisle. I could hear his conversation with a patient on the third floor. I went to his office to wait for him.

Carlisle's office was generous in size with a large desk to the right, neatly arranged with papers stacked into piles. The left wall was almost completely covered by a bookcase containing a vast collection of medical textbooks and journals. I sat impatiently in Carlisle's sturdy leather chair, dreading what I must tell him. I listened eagerly as he finished his conversation and made his way back to his office.

He caught my scent as he entered the corridor.

Edward, his mind called as he quickened his pace outside.

A moment later, he was closing the door. I lifted my eyes to meet his. His thoughts were concerned as he took in my appearance. His mind showed me what he saw. My eyes were a deep, soulless black. My eyebrows were furrowed in fury and fear. My jaw was clenched tight.

Edward, what's wrong? He thought urgently. Esme …

"Esme is fine. Our family is fine," I reassured him, my voice flat and lifeless.

"Oh good," he relaxed slightly, still apprehensive at my tone.

"I need to leave."

Leave? His thoughts answered, shocked. Why, Edward? What has happened?

"I … I can't stay here," I murmured. He stared at me patiently. This was much harder than I had expected it to be. "There's a human. She …" I trailed off. How could I explain?

"Ah, a human," Carlisle sighed. You did well to resist. We will hunt tonight, don't worry, his thoughts added.

"No, it's not like that," I explained. "Well, it is. But … her smell—it's … it's overwhelming," I stated, unable to capture the irresistible scent in words. "I thought I would lose my mind. I nearly … I nearly did." I looked up into Carlisle's eyes, shame burning through my core. To my surprise, he was smiling.

"Edward, you have no reason to be ashamed. I take it the girl is still alive? You've accomplished something great."

"It was so close," I whispered gravely.

Carlisle smiled at me kindly. His mind raced through multiple scenarios, contemplating our options, thinking of strategies to help me. I shook my head gently. He saw the resolution in my face.

Do what you must.

"I fear when I leave, I won't be able to go. I worry that I will try to find her," I admitted. My throat was raw, my control fading. The beast knew it.

"You will leave. I know you are strong enough, Edward. Take my car, it's faster," Carlisle said, holding out his keys. "Where will you go?"

"Away."

Alaska? Carlisle proposed, thinking of Tanya and our other cousins in Denali.

"Perhaps." I took the keys from his outstretched hand, replacing them with my own. I stared into his eyes for a long moment before turning to the door. "Please will you tell Esme I'm sorry," I added, pain seeped into my voice as I thought of how this would hurt her.

"Of course," Carlisle replied sincerely. I'm proud of you, son.

I left the office without looking back.

I stared blankly at the painting on the wall opposite, my eyes unfocused. This was the first peace I'd had since arriving in Denali. Tanya and the others had gone to hunt. I'd politely declined their invitation to join them.

I knew they were concerned about me. I knew Esme had called Tanya twice. I knew Carlisle had explained the situation to Kate. I knew they all pitied me.

I'd only been in Alaska 4 days, yet it seemed like an eternity compared to the rest of my immortal life. I couldn't stop thinking about the girl. She filled my every thought. Her existence taunted me. The memory of her haunted me. I was infuriated that I had been driven away from my home. Who was this insignificant girl to force me to leave my family? Why had this happened to me?

At least the distance had allowed me to think objectively. Although I could perfectly remember her delicious scent, I did not dwell on it. It did not consume me as it had when she was mere metres from me. I convinced myself I could go home. I could face her again. I had done it once. I could control myself. Clearly, I would need to take precautions, but I could do it. I would do it. I wouldn't be forced out of my family because of a human girl.

Part of me, a part that had nothing to do with the insatiable monster inside me, wanted to see her again. This girl was a mystery. Not just her scent, but her mind. Why is it that I can't hear her? I never had the chance to talk with Carlisle about it. What was it about this girl that made her different? What was special about her?

The decision made, I drove all thought of the girl from my mind and made my plans to go home.

It was midday on Friday when I returned home. The others at school, Carlisle at the hospital, only Esme was home. She heard the car as I entered the long drive and was standing waiting for me as I turned off the engine in the garage.

"Edward," she greeted me, relief and love thick in her voice. I stepped out of the car into her open arms. She held me tightly for several seconds, her mind conveying her happiness at my return. We missed you so much, she thought. How are you? Carlisle explained everything.

"I'm fine," I replied. She stepped back to look at my face. She didn't believe me. "No, really I am," I reassured her. "I just needed space."

"Well, I'm glad you're home now," she smiled warmly. "Let's go inside."

I spent the next few hours talking with Esme. I hadn't realised how much I'd needed to talk with someone. She sat patiently, content to let me talk, simply happy that I had returned so quickly. She had been worried that I would be gone for weeks.

The others returned from school late in the afternoon. Alice walked in and flashed me a wide smile. Of course, she had known I was coming home. Jasper simply clapped my shoulder and grinned at me.

It's good to have you back, brother, he thought as he passed.

"It's been dull without you here," Emmett greeted me, pulling me into a crushing hug as he stepped in from the garage. Rosalie trailed behind him.

You should have stayed away, she thought, concern filling her thoughts.

"I'm fine," I replied, turning to face her. "I would not have come back if I didn't …"

"You're putting us all at risk, Edward," she said curtly. "We will have to move."

"Rose, he just got back," Emmett interjected. "Give the man a break."

"He isn't the only one who stands to lose something here, Emmett," Rosalie snapped back. "I don't want to move again." She glared at me.

"We won't have to move again," I replied calmly. "I can control myself." As I said it, the beast inside me growled, my confidence wavered.

Alice picked up on my moment of weakness as multiple visions flashed across her mind. Bella dead. My eyes bright crimson. Bella alive. Me watching Bella's house. Bella and I talking. Bella dead again. We shared a tense look. I steeled my resolve, controlled the monster inside, and her visions settled. Bella alive.

"Control yourself? You said to Carlisle that you already nearly lost control," Rosalie accused me.

"But he resisted, Rosalie," Alice pointed out.

"So we should just keep tempting fate until he fails?" Rosalie shouted.

"Edward is stronger than you think," Esme spoke up. "It is his decision and, as his family—" she emphasised the words. "—we will support him."

Rosalie opened her mouth, but Alice interrupted, "Carlisle will be home in 15 minutes."

Rosalie snapped her mouth closed and stormed to the dining room, taking a seat at the end of the long table.

Carlisle entered the dining room fifteen minutes later to us sitting around the large table, the seat at the head of the table left empty. He swiftly took it.

"Welcome back, Edward," he turned to smile at me, sat on his left hand side. "Given our location, I assume there is something to discuss," he addressed the rest of our family.

The large oak dining table we were sitting at did not see much use. We did not use it for dining, so it's only purpose was to host meetings or discussions like this one.

"Yes. Edward putting us all in danger," Rosalie replied seriously, looking directly at Carlisle.

How dramatic, Alice thought, rolling her eyes. Rosalie saw and glared at her.

"Edward should not have returned. We will have to move again, and we've only just settled here," she continued.

Although they did not feel as strongly, I could see that my brothers agreed with Rosalie. Jasper had already been researching places we could move to next, weighing up the most reasonable options.

"We won't have to move," I replied. Rosalie wasn't convinced.

"Don't be deluded Edward—of course we will have to move. I know you think you are strong, but you ..."

"Rosalie," Esme warned. "Edward is strong enough, and we will do whatever it takes for him to stay with us."

"He isn't! If her blood really is so tempting, so overwhelming, to you, why risk it? You should stay away."

"So you want to kick me out of the family? Out of my home?" I demanded of her.

"No, I don't want to," she shouted back, defensive. "But it's what must happen. In two years, the girl will go away to college and you can return."

"Rose," Emmett turned to her in shock. He had not realised that Rosalie wanted me to leave for so long.

"We are not breaking up the family," Esme said, a note of finality in her tone. Everyone looked to Carlisle.

"Rosalie, think about what you are asking," he addressed her calmly yet firmly. He turned to me. "Edward, we do not want you to leave."

My family members added their own agreements to his statement. Everyone but Rosalie. Even my brothers, who saw us leaving Forks as an impending inevitability, did not want me to leave.

"But Rosalie does present an argument we should consider," Carlisle continued. He turned back to me. "Edward, I know you are dedicated to this lifestyle and I am proud of the control you have shown. I do not wish to undermine your restraint, but if the temptation of this girl's blood is as powerful as you say, we must consider our course of action as a family". He turned back to address the whole table.

"Edward leaving our family, even temporarily, is not an option, so there are three alternative outcomes. The first is that we leave now and settle elsewhere, leaving the girl unharmed. The second is that we remain in Forks and Edward is unsuccessful in controlling his desire for the girl. In that event, we would, of course, have to leave Forks and the girl's life would be taken. The final outcome is that we remain in Forks and Edward is successful in resisting the girl." He turned to me.

"Only you can make the decision, Edward. Clearly, the third outcome is preferred, but it also presents the greatest difficulty for you. We would not object if you chose for us to move away immediately," he ignored Rosalie's protest and continued. "It is more important that the girl does not lose her life for this."

All eyes around the table were trained on me. Esme gave me a sympathetic yet encouraging smile as I met her gaze. I could see in her mind that she was willing to move away from Forks at a moment's notice if it kept our family together.

Edward, Alice called my name in her thoughts. You are strong enough. She showed me what she had seen: Bella and I walking together. We were side by side making our way through a forest, talking and laughing freely. I could not tell when or where we were.

The vision confirmed the decision I'd already made.

"I want us to stay. I can control myself."

Alice nodded at me once before standing up and walking gracefully away from the table, effectively ending the meeting. Esme followed her swiftly up the stairs to work on their current renovation project. Rosalie stomped away from the table, heading out to the lawn at the back of the house.

"Don't know what she's annoyed about," Emmett muttered as he followed her begrudgingly. "She got what she wanted."

"I did not get what I wanted," I heard Rosalie retort from a distance. "It isn't the point that Edward …" Her voice trailed off as her and Emmett crossed the river into the forest. They would be gone a long while.

I turned back to the table. Jasper had quietly left while I had been focused on Rosalie, leaving me alone with Carlisle.

"Carlisle, there was something else I wanted to discuss with you," I addressed him.

"Of course, Edward. What is it?"

"The girl, Bella," I started hesitantly. "I can't hear her mind."

Carlisle's eyebrows lifted in surprise. He paused a moment, thinking.

"No, this has never happened before," I said, answering the speculations in his mind. "She's a blank space. It's like she simply isn't there."

"How intriguing," Carlisle mused.

"I was hoping you may have a hypothesis as to why I cannot hear her."

"Well, it would be difficult to know for sure, but I suspect this girl, Bella, may have an unusual mind. Of course, the anatomy and biochemistry of her brain must be normal, but she may have an unusual thought process or way of thinking that is not compatible with your gift." Carlisle supposed. "Perhaps she has unique neural connections that prevent you from reading her thoughts."

"You think her brain is wired differently?" I summarised.

"It is possible. However, it is not vitally important," he added, fixing me with a knowing stare. "Whether you can read her thoughts or not is irrelevant since you cannot afford to be near her."

He clapped my shoulder gently, offering me a small smile, before retreating to his office.

"She's coming," Alice warned.

I held my breath, suddenly agitated, anxious. Why was I anxious? I had no need to be. I would not be able to pick out her scent in this crowded cafeteria. Not unless I sought it. Which I wouldn't. I couldn't.

I'd spent all weekend preparing for this, preparing to see her. I'd hunted twice, drinking far more than I needed too as a precaution. Alice had assured me that she saw nothing that I needed to be worried about, but we both knew how quickly the future could change.

Jasper sensed the shift in my emotions and I immediately felt a wave of calm nudge me back to normalcy. I gave him a small appreciative smile.

Refusing to look for Bella Swan, not daring to look for her, I raised my eyebrows at Alice inquisitively.

She's already here. She is sitting to the right of the checkout, Alice replied.

I released the breath I had been holding. She's already here. I couldn't smell her. Relief washed through me.

Alice shot Jasper a meaningful look. The left side of his mouth twitched as Emmett revealed a perfectly round snowball he had been concealing.

Snow had been falling since the early hours of the morning. When Alice promised it would not last until the end of the day, Emmett had waged a snowball war against Jasper on our way to the cafeteria, which I had been dragged into. Clearly, the war was not over.

Quick as a flash, Emmett flung the snowball across the table, aiming directly for Jasper's face. Jasper caught the snowball and threw it back at Emmett, faster than any human could detect. The snowball struck Emmett on the top of his head, showering his dark curls with snow.

Emmett let out a roar of laughter and shook his head, flinging snow in every direction. Rosalie squealed and leaned away from him, although she let out a tiny laugh. Jasper and Alice were both laughing outrageously. I grinned at my brothers.

She's looking, Alice thought.

Without thinking, I turned to seek her out. I found her face immediately and realised I had already known where to look. I was subconsciously aware of her. Our eyes met and I couldn't help wondering what she was thinking. What had she thought of my reaction last week? Had she even noticed? I'd been so absorbed in my own thoughts, in controlling myself, that I had not assessed her reaction. Her deep brown eyes betrayed nothing. How strange it was to not hear the thoughts hidden below the surface. Bella averted her gaze, her hair concealing her face.

"Edward Cullen is staring at you," Jessica Stanley whispered to Bella. Why he's interested in you, I don't know, her thoughts added enviously. It's not like you're anything special.

"He doesn't look angry, does he?" Bella replied.

So she had noticed my reaction last week. She must think I'm insane, or else possessed.

"No. Should he be?" Jessica asked inquisitively.

"I don't think he likes me," Bella sighed. She lay her head down on her arms.

I would have to apologise for my behaviour last week. I endeavoured to be on my best behaviour in biology class. I paused. Why did I care what this human thought of me? She had done nothing but torment me since arriving in Forks. But I did care. I cared what Bella Swan thought of me.

"The Cullens don't like anybody," Jessica replied bitterly. "Well, they don't notice anybody enough to like them." She glanced back over at me. "But he's still staring at you."

"Stop looking at him," Bella hissed. Jessica giggled and looked away.

I guess we can add Edward to the list of people obsessed with Bella. I don't know why everyone is so interested in her anyway. Especially Mike. I'm much prettier than her and she's not that smart …

I quickly tuned out Jessica's mind. She was helpful in gaining an insight into Bella's thoughts, but her jealous comments were starting to grate on my nerves.

I glanced at Bella frequently for the rest of the lunch hour. She did not once look at me. I found myself wishing again that I could hear her mind. What a mystery she was. Perhaps her mind did work differently as Carlisle had suspected, but could it be different enough that even I couldn't hear her?

I followed her with my eyes as she left the cafeteria with Mike Newton, both curious and dreading spending the next hour with her. I let out a long breath and looked up. Four pairs of eyes stared back at me.

Everything will be fine, Edward, Alice reassured me.

Good luck, mate, Emmett thought, raising his eyebrows at me.

Don't mess this up, Rosalie warned with a growl.

I gave my family a grim smile and left the table.

Bella was already seated at our shared desk when I entered the biology classroom, her head bent over her notebook. I held my breath as I walked through the door. She did not look up as I crossed the room or when I took the seat next to her. I purposefully slid my seat across the space, sitting as far from her as the desk would allow.

I opened my mouth to speak and breathed in for the first time. Her scent hit me as it had last week. Strong. Powerful. Enchanting. My throat flared with thirst. I had been expecting this. I had hunted plentifully over the weekend, so I was not thirsty, yet I was thirsty for her. The monster inside yearned for her blood, to taste the sweet scent. I controlled the reaction, pushing down all thoughts of killing her right here and concentrated on fixing my features into what I hoped was a gentle and open expression.

"Hello," I said in a light voice. I needed to prove to her that I could be polite.

She looked up at me, her face expressed shock. Her lips parted as she assessed my face. She did not say anything.

"My name is Edward Cullen. I didn't have the chance to introduce myself last week," I added, glossing over our disastrous first meeting. "You must be Bella Swan."

She stared at me blankly. Why was she not saying anything? Had I scared her so thoroughly last week that she could not talk to me now? It was maddening to not be able to reach into her mind and uncover what she was thinking. I had not realised until now how heavily I relied on what was revealed through thoughts alone.

"H-how do you know my name," Bella stuttered.

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name," I laughed, pleased that she was speaking to me. "The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive." She made a face that I could not decipher.

"No. I meant, why did you call me Bella?"

My brow furrowed as I considered her question. Every mind I'd listened to had referred to her as Bella.

"Do you prefer Isabella?"

"No, I like Bella, but I think Charlie—I mean my dad—must call me Isabella behind my back—that's what everyone here seems to know me as," she trailed off quietly.

"Oh." Of course. She did prefer Bella, but she had never told me that. I had made a mistake. And she had noticed.

At that moment, Mr Banner began the class. Bella turned to listen to him. I kept my eyes trained on her, considering her reaction. She was clever and very observant. It was foolish of me to have made such a mistake.

"Get started," Mr Banner called.

I stared quickly at the table. We had a microscope and several slides of what looked like onion root tip cells. A brief look into Mr Banner's mind confirmed my suspicion that we were identifying the phases of mitosis.

"Ladies first, partner?" I gestured to Bella with a small smile. She stared back unblinking. "Or I could start, if you wish," I offered when she did not reply.

"No," she replied quickly, a blush forming in her cheeks. "I'll go ahead."

I had to control my reaction as I watched the blush spread across her cheeks. I was surprised at how easy it was. Of course, I was battling the beast inside every second I was with her, keeping an iron grip on my desire to give into the temptation of her blood. And yet, I found myself pulled in by this girl, the mystery of her. My intrigue in her reactions distracted me from the overwhelming thirst.

"Prophase," she stated. She had barely looked at the slide.

"Do you mind if I look?" I asked as she began to remove the slide. Absentmindedly, I reached out to stop her.

The second our hands touched, the heat of her skin rushed through me like an electric shock. It had been a long time since I had touched something so warm, so full of life. I choked down the thirst that crept up my throat.

She jerked her hand away. An expression of shock crossing her face.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, continuing to reach for the microscope. "Prophase," I agreed after examining the slide, writing the word on our worksheet. She had been right.

I replaced the slide with the second specimen, trying not to focus on the warmth I had felt, that I could still feel, in my fingers.

"Anaphase." I wrote the answer on the sheet.

"May I?" Bella asked, extending her hand for the microscope.

She wanted to check my answer as I had checked hers. Was she simply wishing to look for herself or to make a point? I smirked, pushing the microscope to her side of the desk. She assessed the slide briefly.

"Slide three?" She extended her hand for the next specimen. She had not found fault in my evaluation.

I placed the next slide carefully in her hand, making an effort to avoid her skin. I was surprised by an intense desire to touch her again, to feel the warmth of her skin against mine. I knew that would be a bad idea.

"Interphase," she announced, having looked at the slide for mere seconds. She pushed the microscope towards me, offering for me to check.

She was right again. I wrote the answer down.

With the lab finished, I sat in silence, staring at Bella, longing to know what she was thinking. Why had she pulled away from me when our hands touched? Was it simply a reaction to the temperature of my skin, or a reaction to me? I grimaced in frustration at not being able to hear her mind. It was quickly becoming a great inconvenience.

Bella looked up at me suddenly, her eyes meeting mine.

"Did you get contacts?" She inquired.

"No," I replied, confused.

"Oh, I thought there was something different about your eyes."

A second mistake that she had noticed. She was very observant indeed. Humans did not notice the color of our eyes changing. They did not look at us long enough to notice. But she had. I shrugged and turned to the window, hoping I appeared nonchalant.

Mr Banner approached our table to see our progress with the lab.

"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" He asked. Showing off to the new girl, his thoughts added.

"Bella," I corrected him, annoyed by the tone of his thoughts. "Actually, she identified three of the five." Mr Banner turned to look at Bella, suspicious.

"Have you done this lab before?"

"Not with onion root," Bella replied, a small smile curving her lips.

"Whitefish blastula?"

"Yeah."

"Were you in an advanced placement program in Phoenix?" He asked.

"Yes." I wasn't surprised to hear that Bella was more intelligent than the average Forks High School student. That much was obvious.

"Well, I guess it's good you two are lab partners," he said flatly. "Great, now I've got two geniuses," he muttered as he walked away.

Once he had left, Bella returned to doodling in her notebook. I watched as her hand swirled an erratic pattern on the page.

"It's too bad about the snow, isn't it?" I asked her, hoping to draw her into conversation with me.

"Not really," she shrugged.

"You don't like the cold," I surmised, remember how quickly she pulled away from my touch.

"Or the wet."

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live."

"You have no idea," she murmured, the tone of her voice dejected and cold.

"Why did you come here, then?" I asked, curious to find out what caused her depressed tone. She had my full attention.

"It's … complicated," she hedged.

"I think I can keep up," I encourage her with a smile, keen to understand this mysterious girl.

She paused, thinking. Infuriating. How badly I wanted to hear her thoughts, to reach into her mind and unravel her. She looked up to meet my eyes.

"My mother got remarried," she replied, stumbling over the words.

"That doesn't sound so complex. When did that happen?"

"Last September," she sighed. Her voice was definitely sad now, regretful. It was not an uncommon situation, but I felt myself sorrowed by her pain.

"And you don't like him," I said kindly.

"No, Phil is fine," she disagreed. "Too young, maybe, but nice enough."

"Why didn't you stay with them?" I found myself getting frustrated by her answers. Why could she not just simply say exactly what she meant. She was so difficult to understand without an insight into her thoughts.

"Phil travels a lot. He plays ball for a living," she smiled.

"Have I heard of him?" I enquired, consulting the list of professional baseball players I knew.

"Probably not. He doesn't play well. Strictly minor league. He moves around a lot."

"And you mother sent you here so that she could travel with him," I stated. That seemed unfair, but I knew first-hand how cruel and selfish humans could be, particularly parents. I felt indignant on Bella's behalf.

"No, she did not send me here," Bella said in a clipped tone, defensive. "I sent myself."

I was confused now. She had come here voluntarily, yet she liked Phil. Why would she come to a place she so plainly did not like? This conversation was infuriating. I had never had to guess so much.

"I don't understand," I admitted, hoping she would explain.

"She stayed with me at first," Bella smiled wistfully. "But she missed him. It made her unhappy," her smile faded. "So I decided it was time to spend some quality time with Charlie."

"But now you're unhappy."

"And?" She asked, as if her happiness was insignificant.

"That doesn't seem fair," I shrugged. I could not understand this girl. She laughed humorlessly.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you? Life isn't fair."

"I believe I have heard that somewhere before," I agreed, amused by her wit.

"So that's all."

I assessed her for a moment, observing her hunched shoulders.

"You put on a good show, but I'd be willing to bet that you're suffering more than you let anyone see."

She turned to me with a grim smile. I almost wanted to laugh at her expression.

"Am I wrong?" I challenged her. She did not answer. "I didn't think so."

"Why does it matter to you?" She rounded on me with an accusatory tone. I was taken aback.

"That's a very good question," I whispered. Why did it matter to me? I'd become fully engrossed in the sadness this human girl had just exposed to me. I had never been remotely interested in the life of any human, so why was Bella so intriguing to me? Was it simply because I couldn't read her thoughts or was there something else?

Bella sighed loudly.

"Am I annoying you?" I asked, smiling at the irony of her annoyance at me not providing answers. She turned to face me again.

"Not exactly. I'm more annoyed at myself. My face is so easy to read—my mother always calls me her open book."

"On the contrary," I objected. "I find you very difficult to read."

"You must be a good reader then."

"Usually," I grinned widely.

At that moment, Mr Banner addressed the class from the front of the room. Bella turned away, her movement stirring the air around her. The overwhelming scent was flung in my face, hitting me like a brick. Every muscle in my body tensed. I could not tell if it was in preparation to attack or to hold myself back. It did not matter. I could not kill Bella. Certainly not now I knew that she was far more interesting than I had predicted.

I leaned away from her, trying to escape the temptation that threatened to engulf me. I did not breathe, but I could feel her scent around me, eager to invade my body. I would not let it in. I could not attack her now. That first day, I'd thought she was a demon sent to torture me. I now knew she was no demon. She was something else. Something special. Unique.

I maintained my tense position for the remainder of the lesson. Without her conversation to distract me, I could not afford to lessen my grip on the monster. It was a relief when the bell rang. I stalked out of the classroom without looking back. I heard Mike descend on her the moment I had left, like a fly that could not be swatted.

The rest of the afternoon passed in a blur. I could not drag my mind away from her, so when the final bell rang, I raced out to the parking lot, hoping to see her again. As I reached my car, she exited the gym and made her way across the lot, hunched over in the rain.

She did not notice me until she got in her truck, three cars away. She met my eyes briefly, looking away quickly as her cheeks reddened. A thrill jolted through my body at her gaze. The red truck jolted backwards, the movement clumsy and uncontrolled. Bella's eyes widened in alarm as she slammed her foot on the brake, halting the truck mere centimetres from another car. Bella sighed and coaxed the truck to move forward, cautious now. Her expression was caught between embarrassment and resignation. I could not help myself as I burst out laughing. So she was clumsy—how amusing. I watched her truck crawling along, the engine roaring thunderously, until she turned out of view.