4. Shadow

Mike Newton had an uncanny knack of turning up where he wasn't wanted.

I'd left Forks with Angela for the University of Washington only to find that Mike was there too, studying business. Four and a half years later, failing to earn enough from my writing, I left Seattle for a cheaper apartment in Port Angeles and got a job in a used bookstore bang-smack next to the newest branch of Olympic Outfitters, managed by none other than you know who.

Mike had the kind of persistent streak that put Jacob's to shame. We had worked together at his parents' original sporting goods store during high school and away from the crowd, he was a nice guy – funny, sweet-natured and willing to turn a blind eye whenever I knocked something over. Any other boy would have bent over laughing and then spread the joke around school, but Mike kept a straight face and helped me put everything back in place, time and again, without so much as a snicker.

He pushed and prodded and cajoled until I finally agreed to go on a date with him to the movie theatre. More dates followed and then he pushed and prodded his way into my pants. It wasn't momentous. He didn't light up my world but he did leave the soiled condom on the floor of my truck, earning me a grounding and him a gun pointed at his crotch when my dad next laid eyes on him.

We carried on seeing each other and we carried on doing things, with a little more discretion and increasingly promising results. But then he went and spoiled it all.

Since then, and the whole 'supernatural creatures walk among us' thing, I'd pretty much kept myself to myself. Except at work, where Mike would pop in every day when the clock struck twelve to ask me out.

I was stronger than I had been at eighteen. Years of practice turning down dates does wonders for a girl's resolve.

Edward had eventually agreed to stay at my apartment while I went to work. The sun had come out after breakfast so that had probably clinched it for him. Feigning burning to a crisp at that stage of the agreement would have been a trifle inconvenient.

Two customers came into the bookstore within minutes of me unlocking the front door. When I saw the second one out at around eleven o'clock, the clouds had all but covered the sun. I made myself a mug of coffee and sat down to work at the desk toward the back of the store, listening to the old clock on the wall beside me ticking away the hour.

At midday on the dot, the bell above the door clanged. I looked up from the computer screen and watched Mike stride in, intent on performing his daily ritual.

"May I take you out to lunch, Bella?" he asked. It was the same question every day.

"Not today, thank you, Mike." Or any other day.

"Why won't you give me another chance?"

"You know very well why." I picked up a book from the pile on my right and typed its particulars into the search engine to gauge what price we should be selling it for. I marked it up with my pencil and added it to our online catalogue before moving on to the next one.

At seven minutes past twelve, the bell clanged again and a tall, bronze-haired man strolled into the bookstore, holding a brown paper bag in one hand and a small flask in the other. Mike turned to watch him approach my desk.

"I brought you some lunch, Bella," Edward said, holding out the paper bag.

I took it from him, unfolded the top and breathed in the heavenly scent of grilled cheese. "Mmm. Did you make this yourself?"

"I watched how you made it last night."

"What's in the flask?"

"Tomato soup," he said, placing the flask on the desk. "I found a can in your cabinet. I saved the other half for tomorrow."

"You're an angel." I smiled up at him.

He turned his face away. "Hardly," he said, and then he wandered off into the maze of bookcases. Mike stared after him.

I cleared a space on the desk, opened the flask and poured some hot soup into the small cup. I tore open the brown paper bag, picked up one half of the sandwich and, after dipping it into the soup, took a large bite.

Mike was now looking at me with his brows knitted together. "You do realise he's a–"

"Friend," I said, speaking with my mouth full. I chewed and swallowed. "Same time tomorrow?"

He turned reluctantly toward the door and stomped out of the store into the chilly September air.

Edward stayed for the afternoon but did nothing to interrupt my work or get in the way of any customers. At closing time, I found him in the one section I least liked to frequent.

"I can't believe the nonsense printed in some of these books," Edward said, turning to me. "They have no idea what lies and misguided myths they are perpetuating."

"Well, that's something we can agree upon," I said. "Time to go home."

As I switched off the lights, I caught a glimpse of a face moving away from the windowpane into the darkness.

The light from the lamp across the street was barely bright enough for me to see to lock up, but I was used to that. Edward was frowning when I turned to lead the way down the dark side alley to the parking lot. He muttered something under his breath and then groaned when he saw my red truck. He grumbled as I drove the short distance home and then, as he got out of the truck, his face took on an expression of complete and utter revulsion.

"Does the person downstairs own a dog?" he asked.

"My landlady? No, I don't think so."

As we ascended the stairs to the upper floor of the house, the security light came on automatically.

"Finally," he muttered.

"Huh?" I opened the front door, switched on the lights and walked over to the sofa to dump my purse and cloak.

That evening followed a similar pattern to the previous one but without the introductions and the tour of my apartment. I reheated a portion of frozen lasagne while Edward sat at the kitchen table, reading.

When I went to wash and change, Edward made up my bed and lay down on top of the covers, fully dressed under his blanket.

Before I switched off the lamp, I looked up at his face concentrating on the book in his hand. The red of his contact lenses seemed a little darker than it had been the night before.

"You might want to get under the covers now, Edward," I said, "so you don't wake me up in the middle of the night."

He looked at me out of the corner of his eye, put his book down on the arm of the sofabed and fidgeted around until he was lying on his back between the sheets.

He rolled his head to one side and winked at me. "No funny business," he said. I giggled and reached out to turn off the lamp.

I closed my eyes and lay still, trying to even out my breathing so it would appear that I had gone to sleep. After twenty breaths, I opened one eye to peek at Edward. He was holding the book in front of his face again, pretending to read. I had to applaud him for effort.

When Mike came into the store the next day, he was carrying an insulated lunch bag. At first I thought it was for me, but he sat down on the battered leather armchair by my desk, took out half a sandwich and started eating it.

"Oh!" he said. "Don't you have anything to eat, Bella? I brought enough for two."

Edward arrived at exactly that moment with a brown paper bag and my flask.

"Same again?" Mike said, sniffing. "That's a bit boring, isn't it?"

"It's Bella's favourite," Edward said, placing my lunch on my desk. He wasn't wrong.

A customer came in and Edward turned to greet him, asking if he could be of any assistance. They disappeared from view.

"I don't like that guy," Mike muttered under his breath.

"Which guy?" I said, being deliberately obtuse.

"Your new friend. The way he looks at you… He's creepy."

"No more than you are, Mike. I know you were watching us through the window yesterday before closing time and now you're inviting yourself in for lunch."

We sat and ate in an uncomfortable silence until Edward returned with the customer and his book selection. I got up and moved to the cash desk at the front of the store to take the man's payment and then I showed him out.

I held the door wide open and turned around to see Mike staring at me and Edward glaring at Mike.

"Time to go, Mike," I said. "Lunchtime's over."

The instant he'd left, Edward relaxed and perched on the arm of the battered leather chair.

"I don't like that guy," he said.

"The feeling is mutual, apparently."

"You don't know what he was thinking, Bella. It's not…"

I looked at Mike standing outside the storefront with his face pressed up against the glass. "Okay, I'll give it my best shot," I said. "He was imagining me naked."

"How did you know?"

I frowned. How did he know? "Isn't that what all guys do?"

"Not all."

"So, since you arrived at my apartment, you haven't once imagined me naked?"

"Have you imagined me naked?"

"We're not talking about me, Edward. Stop deflecting and answer my question."

"I don't need to imagine it. Mike was just providing me with all the visuals I could want."

"Wonderful. So you're a mind reader now, are you?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"Probably not."

He was taking this being a creepy vampire thing a tad too seriously. I frowned at him before looking back at the window. Mike was walking away, shoulders hunched in defeat. I doubted it would last, though. He'd be back midday Tuesday.

"Would you like me to leave?" Edward asked.

I sighed. "No, you're okay. You can help me with the online orders."

I'd printed off the dispatch notes before lunch, so I split them into two piles and handed one of them to Edward. We crossed paths a few times as we hunted down our prey. Then, with only one more book to find, I left Edward in Ancient History and made my way through the bookcases to the opposite end of the store.

I could see the book I needed on the top shelf. It was a thick book and the typography on the spine was nice and clear. I put my foot on the first shelf from the bottom and propelled myself up to reach for it.

The bookcase shifted with my weight and, in my mind's eye, I realised all too late that the way in which the books were arranged made it top heavy.

Back I fell, crying out Edward's name as I went. A ring of steel wrapped around my waist and I was turned mid-fall as books flew in all directions. I bent forward and put my hands on my thighs, trying to catch my breath, grateful that I was still being supported.

"Are you hurt?" Edward said in my ear. I could feel his hard chest pressed against my back.

"Just winded," I said, panting.

His arm slackened and I turned my head to look at him, just in time to see him straighten up to his full height, thus pushing the bookcase back into position. It banged against the wall and rocked for a moment before it was still.

"Oh no, Edward! Your back!"

I twisted around and ran my hands up and down his back, studying his face for a reaction. He didn't wince but he did close his eyes, smile softly and make that odd purring sound.

After several minutes of massage, he opened his eyes and whispered, "I'm fine, Bella. Really."

I stared up at him. His eyes were darker than they had been that morning. How many sets of contact lenses did he own?

"Thank you," I said, stretching up on my toes to place a quick kiss on his cheek.

"That's it? You're not going to ask me any questions?"

"Should I?"

"You don't want an explanation?"

I frowned. "It doesn't matter to me how you did it, Edward, I'm just grateful that you saved me and neither of us is hurt." I bent down and started picking up the fallen books.

"I'll do that," Edward said. "Go and get yourself a hot drink. And Bella…"

"Yes?"

"Promise me that you will fetch the stepladder next time."

Truth be told, if I had been on my own, I most certainly would have fetched the stepladder, but I'd been having such a nice time in Edward's company, I'd temporarily lost all sense of self-preservation.

By the time I'd placed a steaming mug of tea on my desk, Edward was there with all the ordered books. We packed them up together and put them in the canvas tote bags, ready to go to the post office.

"I can take them," Edward said. "In case a customer comes in."

I looked out at the pouring rain. I hadn't even noticed that the weather had changed. "Unlikely now," I said. "Let's close up early and go together."

"I'll bring your truck around," he said, fetching his coat and snatching my keys off my desk.

On our way back home from the post office, I realised it was the second day in a row he'd ridden with me.

"Where did you leave your car, Edward?

"I don't need one," he said.

"How did you get to the store?"

"I turned into a bat and flew."

I laughed. "Carrying a flask and a sandwich bag?"

"Ah. You've got me there." He grinned at me. "I walked, Bella. You should try it sometime, but perhaps when the weather is better."

"That is the most unbelievable thing I have ever heard," I said, pulling into my driveway. "No one walks. You should have stuck with the bat story. It was far more plausible."


A Big Thank You to both winterhorses and Vagabonda for posting story updates on Facebook; to Rita01tx for featuring Rent-A-Vampire on her blog, Rob Attack; to DataByteDL-FangirlinGranma for using her grandmotherly powers of persuasion, and to Tarbecca for her rec in the Fic Dive over at A Different Forest.