Author's Note: Apologies for the delay in updates--real life placed a few extra constraints on my time. But here we are now at the beginning of the end. As usual, the dialogue in this chapter was written by Stephenie Meyer, and can be found starting on page 23 of New Moon. The characters are hers as well and no infringement is intended. Expect another update relatively soon, and happy reading!

TWO: Burden

I pushed the worry out of my mind as I opened the door of her truck. Knowing that she was mentally arguing with my insistence on driving made me smile, but she didn't verbalize her complaint, so I was free to get in the driver's side.

God, how I hated this thing. Sure, it was an antique and Bella loved it, but it was an utter piece of crap. If I weren't so worried about her getting into an accident every time she got behind the wheel, I would be more than fine with letting her drive it. There were few things in the world more frustrating to me than being forced to go no faster than fifty-five. The roar of the engine was a cacophony in my head, and I found myself wondering how something could produce so much noise and so little power.

"Take it easy," Bella cautioned, no doubt taking notice of the tightening of my knuckles on the wheel.

Ha. "Easy" was the only way this truck could take it. If she would just let me fiddle around under the hood, supercharge the engine… Or better yet… "You know what you would love? A nice little Audi coupe. Very quiet, lots of power…"

It was very easy to picture my beautiful Bella behind the wheel of a beautiful car. Of course, a car that fast could pose lots of problems, so maybe I'd be better off picturing her in the passenger seat of a beautiful car…

No surprise, she wouldn't hear of it: "There's nothing wrong with my truck. And speaking of expensive nonessentials, if you know what's good for you, you didn't spend any money on birthday presents."

"Not a dime," I said, raising my hand as a sign of honor. It was true: her present had cost me nothing but my time, which was in as great a supply as my money, but so much more thrilling to spend. She would love the CD—of this I was perfectly convinced. And it was a great comfort to me as well, knowing that were we ever to be separated, she could have something to think of me.

The thought of being parted from Bella, no matter how temporarily, brought back the all-too-familiar gnawing feeling in my stomach. How I wished the feeling could be explained by some human dolor, some indigestion… But I knew that was impossible. I knew it was something more. Just… what?

"Good," she stated, shaking me out of my trance.

I knew I had to get my mind off the nagging feeling, and there was something I needed to warn Bella about anyway: "Can you do me a favor?"

"That depends on what it is."

I sighed, frustrated at her answer. She was too smart to blindly comply, of course, but I wasn't sure she was going to like what I had to say. No, I was positive she wasn't going to like it. "Bella, the last real birthday any of us had was Emmett in 1935. Cut us a little slack, and don't be too difficult tonight. They're all very excited." My family was nothing if not dedicated to the pursuit of normality. Birthdays were a very, very big deal, even if they were only nominal, so being able to watch someone actually turn a year older was nothing short of monumental.

"Fine, I'll behave."

"I probably should warn you…" I braced myself again to be the bearer of bad news.

"Please do."

"When I say they're all excited… I do mean all of them." I hazarded a glance sideways to gauge the reaction on her face. It was… not great.

"Everyone?" She sort of sputtered the word, her face starting to lose its color. I knew of whom she was afraid: "I thought Emmett and Rosalie were in Africa?"

"Emmett wanted to be here," I said delicately, thinking that maybe we could sidestep the real issue.

"But… Rosalie?"

Damn. Of course she knew what I was hinting at. Clever girl. Now to diffuse the situation: "I know, Bella. Don't worry, she'll be on her best behavior."

It was sort of true. I had pleaded with Rosalie to lose her ice queen persona for just one night, to make the evening about Bella, not about her, but it was thus far unclear whether she would comply. She had directed some semi-encouraging thoughts my way, but when I caught her off her guard, the resentment was clear.

It wasn't that Rosalie hated Bella as a person. She simply hated the idea of Bella. She hated the fact that someone had finally come along and caught my eye—something she had never been able to do. It wasn't jealousy, at least not in the most traditional sense of the word. Rosalie didn't have feelings for me, and was head-over-heels in love with Emmett. Still, every time she looked at Bella, the most awful things would flow through that perfectly coiffed blonde head of hers. It was all I could do to keep my mouth shut—most of the time.

Burden. That was one of the words most often shouted in Rosalie's thoughts. Bella was a burden on Rosalie's life. Bella was the reason Emmett and Rosalie had packed up and pretended to go away to college after their umpteenth high school graduation. I had to stay with Bella, so Rosalie had to leave. Pushed out of her house by an ordinary mortal girl. Pushed out of her house by a burden.

Is she worth it? Rosalie would scream at me in her weakest moments. Is she worth all the sacrifice?

There was no doubt in my mind, of course, and the rest of my family was firmly on Bella's and my side. They knew I would do anything for my beloved, and they supported me. Only Rosalie raised opposition. Only Rosalie spouted poisonous thoughts like a fountain, constantly reminding me that it was not meant to be, that it would not end well.

Was she right?

I had to change the subject, and fast. "So, if you won't let me get you the Audi, isn't there anything that you'd like for your birthday?"

Bella waited an infinitesimal moment before answering, and when she spoke, it was in a whisper: "You know what I want."

Damn. That was the one thing I didn't want to think about. Not tonight. Not now. How could I stave off the dark thoughts creeping around the edges of my mind when she brought up the one thing that fed them, that caused their very genesis? "Not tonight, Bella. Please."

"Well, maybe Alice will give me what I want."

I growled, the sound emanating from me at almost the same pitch as the truck's engine. As I had done a thousand, a million times before, I cursed myself for getting her into this mess. I cursed myself for letting her fall in love with me and volunteering to give up that most precious, human thing. I cursed myself for cursing her.

"This isn't going to be your last birthday, Bella."

"That's not fair!" she whined, actually banging her fists against the seat, a teenager trapped in a two-year-old's tantrum.

I ground my teeth together, relishing in the diversion of the tension I felt and the way it forced me to keep my mouth shut. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. The childhood mantra repeated itself in my head, and I decided to heed its advice. We would not discuss the matter further. Besides, we were almost home, and soon Bella would be too distracted by Alice's decorations to even think about it.

Alice had really outdone herself this time. The house looked beautiful, which would almost certainly infuriate Bella. Sure enough, we pulled into the driveway, and I heard her moan as she took it all in. It was almost comical. "This is a party. Try to be a good sport," I reminded her.

"Sure."

Her tone let me know that she would cooperate, though I knew the graver issue had not been fully pushed from her mind. Still, her generosity toward my family never ceased to overwhelm me. I knew she would put on a good show for Alice.

"I have a question," she said as I helped her out of the truck. My brow furrowed of its own accord, and the warning bells went off in my head. Was she really going to bring it all up again?

"If I develop this film, will you show up in the picture?"

Wonderful. Simply wonderful. I couldn't even answer the question I was laughing so hard. Dear, sweet, naïve Bella, who would perhaps never be convinced that fully ninety-nine percent of the rumors about vampires were utterly and completely false. I wondered how she had come up with the theory that I would not actually show up in the picture, that I could somehow be immune to the chemical processes of photography. Ludicrous! Emmett would get such a kick out of her question—he always loved hearing the ridiculous theories out there, and knowing this one came straight from the horse's mouth, as it were, would double his pleasure. The thought made me laugh even harder, and my smile did not fade as I saw the embarrassment tinged with frustration on Bella's face. God, she was wonderful.

I pushed open the front door and ushered her into the house, feeling the tension coiled in the muscles of her back. As we entered the living room, my entire family (minus one) burst into a chorus of "Happy birthday, Bella!" This elicited an infamous Swan blush, and Bella looked down at her shoes. I stole a glance around the room, confirming my suspicions that Alice had really gone above and beyond the call of duty on this one. The place was covered in pink, like a giant Barbie playhouse. Pink candles, pink roses, pink cake—I was surprised she hadn't spray-painted my piano.

I slid my arm from the small of Bella's back and moved to cradle her close to me. I kissed her head, the scent of her hair causing me to feel the familiar cocktail of inexplicable ecstasy and insatiable thirst.

I wanted to stay there forever, just taking in her intoxicating scent, but my family would have none of that. Carlisle and Esme started the receiving line, and I used the moment away from Bella to read the thoughts in the room.

Alice was keeping up a running commentary in her head, taking in Bella's reactions to everything in the room, nervous that she wouldn't be happy about it. Jasper was his usual calm self, standing a bit back from the rest of the crowd, but still holding Alice's hand. His thoughts were almost as calm as the emotion on his face, but every now and then I caught a whiff of tension, nervousness. I knew he was still worried about hurting Bella—being the newest recruit to join our lifestyle, he wasn't as practiced as the rest of us. Still, I had every confidence in him, as did we all.

"Sorry about this, Bella. We couldn't rein Alice in," Carlisle said in a mock whisper, surveying the "damage" with his arm around Bella's shoulder. She smiled gamely.

Behind them, Emmett was grinning, and his thoughts matched his smile: This is hysterical! She looks like she would rather burst into flames than be at this party! This girl is a riot…

"You haven't changed at all," he boomed as he looked at Bella. "I expected a perceptible difference, but here you are, red-faced just like always." The fact that Bella was an easy blusher would never cease to be the funniest thing in the world to my brother, and every comment he made about it only caused her more embarrassment. It was a vicious—and slightly hilarious—cycle.

"Thanks a lot, Emmett," Bella said, her face reddening as if on cue.

He laughed, and the mirthful sound set the whole room alight, even managing to turn Rosalie's thoughts for a second. Anything that caused her partner such glee couldn't be that bad…

"I have to step out for a second," Emmett said, shooting Alice an obviously conspiratorial wink. "Don't do anything funny while I'm gone."

"I'll try."

He was going out to install Bella's surprise birthday stereo in the truck. It seemed a total waste to put such a beautiful piece of electronics in such a terrible heap of machinery, but really, her current radio was unforgivable.

Alice moved over to Bella, hoping to distract her from Emmett's mysterious absence. Jasper leaned against the stairs, keeping his distance from our human friend, though he still smiled.

"Time to open presents," Alice said, her thoughts abuzz with delight at her favorite part of the evening.

And Bella's least favorite: "Alice, I know I told you I didn't want anything—" she said as Alice scooted her toward the table with the presents and the ridiculous pink cake, her face twisting into a grimace.

"But I didn't listen," Alice said, picking up one of the silver packages and handing it to Bella, deftly taking the camera from her at the same time. "Open it."

Bella clumsily tore the paper from the box as we watched. I knew this would be the box the stereo came in, sure to confuse her. She blinked quizzically as she examined the box and found that it was indeed empty.

"Um… thanks," she said, feigning gratitude in the midst of confusion.

Like a dog chasing its tail, Rosalie thought, and I wanted so badly to glare at her, but the smile on her face stopped me. As long as she was smiling, Bella would think she was genuinely happy, and not surreptitiously cruel.

Jasper laughed, but his was genuine: "It's a stereo for your truck," he explained. "Emmett's installing it right now so you can't return it."

Realization dawned on Bella as she realized we had outsmarted her on this one: there was no way she would rip the thing out of her dashboard just in protest of the no presents rule.

"Thanks, Jasper, Rosalie," she said, her beautiful smile lighting up her face. "Thanks, Emmett!" she called, though he would have heard her just as well had she whispered. His only response was a laugh, which echoed around the room. It sounded like he was almost done with the installation.

"Open mine and Edward's next!" Alice said, positively giddy that the party was going so well. She held my CD in her hand, but Bella turned to glare at me.

"You promised," she seethed, but I couldn't defend myself before Emmett bust back into the room.

"Just in time!" he called, moving in close behind Jasper to watch the fireworks.

"I didn't spend a dime," I said, referencing the present in question. I reached forward to brush a stray strand of chocolate hair off her ivory face, taken in as I always was by her exquisite features. I desperately wanted to let my fingers linger there, on her face, her neck, her shoulders… But there would be time for that. Later. There would always be time.

My touch seemed to have placated her. "Give it to me," she said, a true martyr.

Emmett laughed and sent some thoughts my way: Never in the history of the world has anyone been so upset about a present. And it's a glorified mixtape!

I grinned at him in return. He was right—the CD was not much of a present. At least not to them. I knew it would mean more to Bella, but I still wished I had been able to truly lavish her. Give her all the presents she so richly deserved.

She seemed to be struggling with Alice's perfect wrapping job, trying in vain to find a gap in the paper. She finally found an edge and slid her finger underneath, about to pry it open. Then, the worst thing imaginable: "Shoot," she muttered, looking at the tiny cut that had opened on her finger.

It all happened so fast. In the most miniscule of moments, my life—our lives—changed forever.

The first thought I heard was the most infuriating: HER BLOOD IS MINE!

Before Jasper could get her, I lunged, instinct taking over. "NO!" I screamed, throwing myself at my beloved with almost all my force, causing her to fall backward against the table and into the stack of glass plates.

Blood was everywhere, and Jasper was manic. I knew that he was coming at me a split second before it happened, but the collision was still shocking. He was snapping and snarling in my face, trying to get at Bella, and I felt the rage overtake me. I wanted to rip him apart, tear him limb from limb! There were only two thoughts repeating themselves in my mind: Stop Jasper. Protect Bella. I would do whatever it took, even if that meant hurting every single member of my family. She would not be harmed!

Emmett stepped in and wrestled Jasper into a hold, but Jasper still struggled against his captor, still scrambled to get at my Bella. His faded gold eyes were unfocused, darting wildly from one thing to the next, but always trained in the area of the utterly defenseless Bella, sitting in a pile of glass and blood—a disaster created by my own hand.

I didn't know when I had stopped breathing, but my thoughts were too panicked to figure it out. Though only a few seconds had passed, it seemed like an eternity, and I felt helpless, powerless to stop what was surely coming. I heard all the thoughts from around the room, and each petrified me. After all, reason and logic were powerless against the unadulterated potency of Bella's blood.

I had to protect her at all costs. I would kill them all. She had to survive!

I was vaguely aware of Carlisle thinking at me, telling me to calm down, that he would handle the situation, but the rage inside of me would not abate. It was all I could think of.

Well, almost all. From somewhere in the deep recesses of my mind, a thought floated up, its message a clear portend of what was to come, a clear read on the situation, and I knew I had to listen. I knew this time, I could not ignore myself:

This is the end.