Bella

I was running so fast my lungs felt like they were on fire. There were brick walls on either side of me; I could hear the ominous footsteps coming from behind. All of a sudden the walls started to close in and as I spared a glance over my shoulder, I tripped over my own feet and went flying forward.

I flew up in bed gasping for air. I hadn't come slowly to; I'd gone from a dead sleep to wide awake. With a sigh, I ran my fingers through my hair and fell back against the plush pillows.

"Bella?" The door flung open and Alice was by my side in what seemed like half a second.

"Did I…did I scream or something?" I asked. I could have; I'd been scared enough in my dream for it to be plausible.

"Uhh…yes!" she told me as she sat down on the bed beside me. "Are you OK?" she asked, her voice softening with the question.

"I'm fine," I assured her, then looked around the room as a thought occurred to me. "Where's Edward?" I asked; I tried for casual but wasn't sure I achieved it.

"Oh, he had an errand to run," she told me with a wave of her hand.

Of course he did. Our unspoken truce—if that's what it had even been—was clearly over. He'd brought me home, made sure I was OK, and then made a run for it as soon as I'd fallen asleep. "What time is it?" I asked.

"Almost eleven," Alice told me.

"In the morning?" I asked in shock. Almost twelve hours, I realized as she nodded. That's how long I'd slept. "Why did you let me sleep so late?"

Alice laughed. "Let you?" she said teasingly, then sobered. "Edward forbade me to wake you. He said you tossed and turned for most of the night and needed the rest."

"Oh," I said. He must've stayed longer than I thought.

"I've never seen him so protective before," Alice admitted.

"You…haven't?" I asked hesitantly.

She shook her head and then grinned. "You know my brother. He's not exactly a people person," she said. I couldn't help but think the grin on her face looked sly, as if there was some private joke I wasn't in on.

"That's true," I agreed as I climbed out of the bed and walked over to the window. This room desperately needed some light. I pulled the curtain back and gazed out the window in confusion. "Hey-how did my truck get here?" I asked.

"Emmett and Rosalie went to Port Angeles last night and got it for you. I thought Edward told you."

"He did, but…I didn't really think that Rosalie could hotwire a truck," I admitted.

Alice's grin widened. "Bella, Rosalie could hotwire a plane," she informed me.

I laughed as I let the curtain swing closed, then walked back to the bed and sat down next to Alice. "How's my face look?" I asked.

She answered with a grimace.

"It's a good thing my best friend is a wizard with makeup," I said with a laugh.

"Bella, I really think you should tell your dad about this," Alice said firmly.

"No," I returned.

"Bella—"

"We've already had this conversation, Alice. I don't want him to know."

"But—"

"Can you go get your makeup?" I interrupted.

An hour later I knelt down next to the driver's side front tire and reached up underneath for the little magnetic compartment that held my spare key. I opened the driver's side door and froze. A brand new coat—identical to the one I'd lost last night—sat neatly folded up in the seat. I looked around, but there was no one there. I couldn't help but smile as I pulled the tags off the jacket. Alice was such a good friend. The sly grin I'd seen on her face earlier suddenly made sense.

As I lifted the coat, a stray piece of paper started to flitter to the ground, but I caught it before it landed.

Bella,

Alice wasn't sure what your bag looked like. I hope you like this one.

Edward

I pulled the coat quickly out of the way and reached for the bag that had been hiding beneath it. My eyes widened when I saw the tag. The price wasn't there, of course, and I wouldn't have looked for it anyway, but the word Fossil caught my attention. I could never have afforded a Fossil bag! And even if I could, I wouldn't have been so frivolous with my money. I would have put it in my college fund.

I couldn't use this bag. I'd probably catch it on something and rip the strap off, or even worse, lose it. That was my luck. I would give it back to Edward the next time I saw him. But I hadn't seen him since this morning, so there was no point in going back inside for now. I could take care of it for one night. I hoped.

I caught my reflection in the rearview mirror as I climbed into the driver's seat. Alice really did know her stuff when it came to makeup. The purple bruise that had taken up half of my left cheek just an hour ago was no longer visible. Whatever she'd used had evened out my skin tone perfectly. Charlie would never even know what had happened. I just wished the makeup could wash it away for me, too.

The drive home wasn't too bad. My glance kept darting to the bag on the passenger's seat, and it struck me how truly thoughtful Edward was. The thought was comforting.

But as soon as I pulled my truck to a stop in the driveway, panic tried to set in. I was about to go inside and pretend that everything was OK when I knew full well it wasn't.

That wasn't as overwhelming as knowing I was going to have to eventually go upstairs. To my bedroom. I was going to have to spend the night alone. The nightmare that had assaulted me this morning flashed through my mind again, and I had to remind myself to breathe.

The thought that I could feel unsafe in my own home was ridiculous, but it was true. That made me angry. The man from last night had taken even that away from me.