Chapter 4: Explanations

Monday I rushed through getting ready and ran out the door. It was so sunny today and I smiled up at the sky as I pulled into the lot. I wasn't going to talk to Edward anymore even though that hurt me, I was just checking today to see if they were in school. They weren't, Lauren told me that they all went 'hiking' on sunny days and were never in school. I smiled and laughed about it. I was really crushed. I wasn't completely over Edward yet. I wanted to be with him. To make him understand…but that was impossible.

When Lauren invited me to go dress shopping with her and Angela I jumped at the distraction, but the plans were put off until the next afternoon, so I went to a play rehearsal I didn't even need to attend instead. It was fun, but I was distracted, and so I didn't fully enjoy it.

When we were finally out of the city I was ecstatic. No Forks! When we reached the dress shop I had to hide my surprise. It was so tiny! The girls only needed an hour to find dresses. Limited choices could be a good thing. I wanted to find a bookstore and they wanted to walk on the boardwalk. We agreed to meet up later at the restaurant.

I found a bookstore quickly but it was one on spiritual healings and I didn't even stop. I kept going thinking that there had to be one farther down. The buildings I was passing now were mainly warehouses. I turned down the next street to loop back around and see if there was books store that way.

"Hello," a man from a group as they passed called. I tensed and nodded tersely before quickening my pace. When I turned the next corner they were gone. As I walked back up the hill I realized how far I had gone. Wondering how long the street was I looked back and received a shock. There were two men from the group I passed earlier. They were following me. My heart rate picked up along with my pace. A car raced by me far too fast to be any help. I looked back again. They were closer now. I ducked down an alleyway that would take me back to the main road. Instead of relief as I turned onto the main road a minute later I felt fear. There were closed shops on either side of me. The closest tourists were two blocks up the street and between them and me were the other men from the group. They hadn't been following me. They had been herding.

"What took you so long?" One of the men called back to the ones behind me.

"We took a detour." He shouted back. They started to advance on me.

"She is a looker!" The men eyed me hungrily. I took up a stance I had learned when fighting the farm girls and glared at the men in front of me fiercely although I felt anything but fierce at the moment. I was so scared.

"Stay away from me!" I ordered boldly. My voice only shook slightly. They just laughed. One of them made a lung for me and I threw a kick at his back. He fell to the ground. Another came at me. I was aiming for his balls and missed. That was my mistake. One of them grabbed me and shoved me up against the wall. My eyes were wild now. I clawed at him violently, anything to get free, anything. "Let me go!" I pleaded. I hadn't meant to plead, but I was desperate. "Please." I begged. They just laughed again.

A set of headlights flew around the corner. The car screeches to a halt beside us. The second I heard his musical voice I knew who it was. "Let the girl go!" Edward ordered. I could hear the anger in his voice as he tried to control it. Nobody moved away from me. "I said let her go." Edward repeated. His voice was dangerously low.

They ignored him turning back to me. One of them grabbed at my boobs. Before I could even move Edward grabbed the guy and yanks him away from me. The others stared at him wide eyed. "Go, now!" Edward hissed at them. The ones holding me released their grip and took off down the street. I stumbled off the wall.

"Thanks." I muttered getting into the car as he held the door open. He went back around the car and got in. He quickly fishtailed and sped back down the street.

"Put your seat belt on." He commanded. I realized I was safe. I did as he said and leaned back against the seat for a minute. I watched him as he raced through the town. He blew through several stop signs without pause. It didn't matter where we were going. I knew the truth now. I was safe with Edward.

Then his expression hit me. Edward was murderously angry. "Edward, are you okay?" I asked. Surprisingly my voice was steady. Edward needed my attention now.

"No," he said briskly, his town was livid. I watched him quietly. His eyes were wild with anger. His hands were griping the steering wheel as if it could hold him where he was. Then suddenly he pulled over. We were well outside the city limits. I shot a glance out the window. It was too dark to see anything but the outlines of trees. My heart sped up for a second and I had to remind myself who I was with. This wasn't just any guyit was Edward. Edward wouldn't hurt me that way. I thought to myself, confident.

"Lorianna?" he asked his voice tight and controlled.

"Yes?"

"Are you all right?" I thought about it for a second. They had brought up memories I had never wanted to face, so emotionally…

"I'm fine. They didn't get a chance to do anything." I hedged. He let it slide.

"Distract me please?" he ordered.

"Okay…" I searched for a topic. "I'm going to fly back to CT and kill the new farm girl." I told him.

His eyes were closed and I could tell he was concentrating but the corners of his mouth went up. "Why?"

"Because she ruined years of work I did on one of the horses there. He was perfect and from what I heard now he's practically un-catchable. So I figure if she doesn't ride he'll be fine."

"Isn't that a little harsh?"" He questioned.

"No, the girl can't ride. She's been going there for a few months now and she still can't figure it out. She needs to get off the farm." Edward sighed and opened his eyes.

"Better?"

"Not really." I waited for him to talk again. I was worried about Edward. He had his head leaning against the back of the seat, staring at the ceiling of the car. He was rigid.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a whisper.

"Sometimes I have a problem controlling my temper Lorianna." He whispered back. He stared out the window, and his eyes narrowed to slits. "But it wouldn't be helpful for me to hunt down those…" He didn't finish the sentence and looked away from me as he struggled to control his anger once more. "At least, that's what I'm trying to convince myself."

"Oh," The word wasn't sufficient, but I wouldn't think of anything else to say.

Silence reigned once more in the car. I glanced at the dashboard clock. It was past 6:30. "Lauren and Angela are going to be so worried." I muttered. "I was supposed to meet them."

He started the car and drove us back into Port Angeles. He parked in front of the little Italian restaurant I was supposed to have met them at. Lauren and Angela were leaving. They looked anxious.

"How did you know where…?" I began but stopped short. I knew things I shouldn't maybe he did too. I heard the door open and turned to see him getting out.

"What are you doing?" I questioned.

"I'm taking you to dinner." He smiled but his eyes were dark. I jumped out of the car and joined him on the sidewalk. "Go stop your friends. I don't think I could restrain myself if I ran into those other friends of yours." I repressed a shudder at the obvious threat in his voice.

"Lauren! Angela!" I yelled after them waving. They finally turned and ran over to me. Relief lit their eyes. It turned to shock as they noticed Edward.

"You could have told us you were going to meet Edward. We would have understood." Lauren assured me.

"Sorry. I should have called. Honestly I ran into Edward and we got talking. I didn't realize how late it was." I smiled sheepishly at them. Hoping they would fall for it and that Edward would play along.

"Would you mind if I joined you?" Edward asked. I could tell from his tone that his eyes were at their most powerful right then. The girls looked stunned and I realized Edward must have never unleashed the power of his eyes upon them before.

"I would say yes but…" Lauren started.

"We ate while we were waiting, sorry." Angela finished for her.

"It's fine. I'm not that hungry anyway." I shrugged.

"I think you should eat something." His voice was quiet and full of authority. "Do you mind if I drive Lorianna home tonight. That way she could eat something and you wouldn't have to wait for her. Lauren bit her lip studying my reaction.

Edward had saved me it was the least I could do so I winked at her. "Okay Lorianna see you at school tomorrow." Lauren said walking away. I waved as I watched them drive off.

"Really, I'm not hungry." I said once they were gone.

"Humor me." His expression was unreadable as I walked with him into the restaurant. It wasn't too crowded. It was after all the off-season. The host was female and I was hunger and joy in her eyes as she assed Edward and how shabby I looked in comparison. I felt even shabbier after my assessment of her. She was a blue-eyed beach blonde and stood half a foot taller than my 5 foot 5 inches. "Table for two," his voice was alluring. The hostess's eyes burned with even more lust and joy as she saw the careful no contact space Edward was keeping between us. Not wanting to test her luck she led us to a big booth in the most crowded part of the dinner.

"Perhaps something more private," he insisted handing her a tip before I had a chance to sit down. He was so strange, but it was probably appropriate considering where our conversations were likely to lead.

"Sure," she said, surprised. She led us to a small ring of empty booths. "How's this."

"Perfect," He replied flashing her, his gleaming smile, dazing her.

"Umm… your server will be right out…" She walked away unsteadily.

"You shouldn't do that to people. It isn't fair."

"Do what?"

"Dazzle people like that. It isn't fun to be on the receiving end." I replied blushing. He seemed confused. "You have to realize the effect you have on people?" I asked him smiling. He ignored my question and asked his own.

"I dazzle you?" He asked, inquisitive.

"Yes," I admitted.

Our server appeared. Her face was expectant. The hostess had definitely dished behind the scenes. She smiled warmly at Edward. "Hello, my name is Amber and I will be your server tonight. What can I get you to drink?" It was hard to miss that she was speaking for him alone. He looked to me.

"I'll have a sprite."

"Two sprites," he told her without taking his eyes off me.

"I'll be right back with that." She assured him with another unnecessary smile. He didn't even see it, because he was watching me.

"What?" I asked when Amber finally left. His eyes stayed fixed on my face.

"How are you feeling?"

"I feel the same way I always feel." I hedged.

"You don't feel dizzy, sick, cold…?"

"No."

"I'm waiting for you to go into shock." He flashed me his perfect crooked smile.

"I don't think that's going to happen. I've always been good at repressing unpleasant things."

"Regardless, I'll feel better once you have some food in you." As if on cue the waitress appeared with our drinks and a basket of bread sticks. She stood with her back to me as she placed them on the table.

"Are you ready to order?" She asked Edward.

"Lorianna," He asked. Reluctantly Amber turned to face me. She glared hard while Edward wasn't looking.

"I'll have the cheese ravioli." I responded, smiling angelically to piss Amber off further.

"And you?" She asked Edward again beaming.

"Nothing for me," he answered, of course not.

"Let me know if you change your mind." The coy smile wasn't even noticed by Edward. He was still staring straight at me. Amber left for the second time unsatisfied.

"Drink," he ordered. I drank deeply. I was so thirsty! I finished my entire soda and Edward pushed his towards me.

"Thanks." I said, grateful before I downed the entire thing. The sprite was cold. I shivered. My V-neck T wasn't cutting it anymore, even with a cammi underneath.

"Are you cold?"

"It's just the soda." I explained.

"Don't you have a jacket?"

"No, I left it at my house."

Edward shrugged out of his jacket and I realized another big difference between us. Edward was rich so he had top designer clothes on. I was wearing jeans and a shirt from kohl's. My three-patterned-converse shoes were the only thing about me that cost more then 20 dollars. My mom never let me wear what I wanted so even if we looked somewhat alike now we really weren't because I didn't have anything like what Edward had. He was adopted and he had a better life then me. I shouldn't think like that. If he was what Jacob said then I was whining about nothing while he had every reason to complain.

He handed me his jacket. "Thanks," I said putting it on. It smelled like some kind of cologne and when he wasn't looking I'd inhale deeply so as to remember the smell. That color red looks lovely with your skin, but then you look good in all colors." He complimented. I looked down blushing.

He pushed the breadbasket towards me. "I swear. I'm not going to go into shock."

"You should be. A normal person would be. You don't even look shaken." He seemed unsettled. His eyes were so light today, butterscotch. I swear his eyes were a different color each time I saw him.

"A: when have I ever claimed to be normal? B: I feel safe with you." It was true despite what he was I felt safest with him near. That irritated him. I guess he really didn't want me around.

"This is more complicated then I expected," he mumbled to himself. I grabbed a breadstick and took a bite, measuring his expression. I wanted to question him before I told him… if I would tell him. If he knew things without being told then he could already know that I had found out.

"You're normally in a better mood when your eyes are light." I commented knowing it would distract him.

He stared at my astounded. "What?"

"You're crabbier when your eyes are black. I expect the mood swings then. I have a theory on that." I hinted.

His eyes narrowed slightly, "more theories."

"Yes." I said taking another bite of bread.

"I hope you're more creative this time, or are you still thinking super hero?" His smile mocked me but his eyes were wary.

"No, no more comic book stuff." I told him equally wary.

"So what's your theory?"

"I… a friend gave me the idea."

"And…" Edward asked. Just then the waitress came around the corner with my food. Saved by the bitch, how strange, I thought leaning back. I hadn't even realized we had been leaning towards each other until I leaned away. She put my food down in front of me and looked to Edward. It did smell amazing but the flirting was getting really annoying.

"Did you change your mind? Isn't there anything I can get for you?" I bristled at the double meaning in her words.

"Some more soda would be nice." He gestured to the empty glasses on the table.

"Of course," she grabbed the glasses and walked away.

"You were saying." He inquired.

"I'll tell you later, if you answer my questions."

"Conditions," He cocked an eyebrow.

"Yes, because you probably won't talk to me afterwards." I muttered under my breath. It was a test. It was too quiet for him to hear.

"I'll talk to you regardless." Amber placed the sprites on the table and walked away without a word. I smiled. It was about time she gave up and Edward had fallen for it. "Ask your questions." He sighed.

"Why are you in Port Angeles?" He wouldn't meet my eyes and started smirking.

"Next."

"That is by far the easiest to answer." I protested.

"Next." I had to accept that. I wouldn't tell him everything either.

"Let's say hypothetically of course that someone knew things they shouldn't about everyone maybe even read minds with a few exceptions."

"Just one exception, hypothetically," he corrected. I was ecstatic he was playing along.

"How would that work? What are the limitations? How could that someone find someone at exactly the right time? How would he know she was in trouble?" I hoped that stupid sentence made at least a little sense.

"Hypothetically," he checked.

"Sure."

"Well if that… someone…"

"Let's call him Harry." I suggested.

He smiled dryly. "Harry then, if Harry had been paying attention the timing wouldn't have had to be quite to exact." He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "Only you could find trouble in a town this small. You would have ruined their crime rate statistics for a decade you know."

"I already know that, I have a history for terrible luck, and I thought we were talking about a hypothetical case." He laughed at me, his eyes warm.

"Yes, we were. Shall we call you Jane?"

"How did you know?" I asked. We were leaning towards each other again.

I could sort of feel this now. Edward was fighting, something. Himself, I think. His eyes locked with mine. He was trying to decide whether to trust me, if he should tell me the truth or not.

"You can trust me, you know." I murmured. I reached forward and touched his folded hands. He slid them away slightly. I pulled back making sure that the pain of that small rejection didn't show on my face.

"I don't think I have a choice anymore." His voice was almost a whisper. "I was wrong—you're much more observant than I gave you credit for."

"Most people make that mistake, but I thought you claim you're always right?"

"I used to be." He shook his head again. I was wrong about something else as well. You aren't a magnet for accidents. That's not broad enough a category. If there is anything dangerous within a ten-mile radius it will inevitably find you." He didn't realize how true that was.

"And you put yourself into that category?" I guessed.

"Undeniably," I stretched my hand out and placed it on top of his once more. I ignored the slight pull back he made. His skin was hard and cold, like stone. The cold ones…I pushed the thought from my mind.

"Thank you." I said. My voice was filled with gratitude. "That's twice now."

His face softened. "Let's not try for three shall we?" I frowned but nodded. He moved his hands from under mine and instead put them under the table. He leaned towards me all the same.

"I followed you to Port Angeles. I've never tried to keep one specific person alive before, it's much more troublesome then I would have thought. That might just be because it's you. Normal people tend to make it through the day without so many catastrophes." Didn't I know it! Edward was dead on with that. Wait… he followed me?

"Following people is weird no matter what your intentions… Did you ever think my number was up the first time, with the van, and that you're interfering with fate?" I asked.

"That wasn't the first time. You're number was up the first time I met you." He was looking down as the memories of that first day surged through me. His black glare… I felt safe in his presence, so when he looked up to read my eyes there was no trace of fear in them. "You remember?" He asked with a grave face.

"Duh," I said while I rolled my eyes.

"And yet here you sit." There was a trace of disbelief in his voice. If only he knew how hard this actually was for me…

"Yes, here I sit, because you saved me." I reminded him. I didn't care if I was being blunt anymore. I just wanted answers before he got mad at me. He made the choice to trust me right then.

"You eat, I'll talk." He bargained. I put a piece of ravioli in my mouth and started to chew. I really was hungry.

"It's harder then it should be, keeping track of you. Usually I can find someone very easily, once I've heard their mind before." He looked at me anxiously. I was still eating; this was kind of like what I did. I swallowed and worked on my next bite.

"I can hear you, but only occasionally. At other times it's as if you're just gone, so instead I kept tabs on Lauren, not carefully, only you could find trouble in Port Angeles, and at first I didn't notice you took off on your own. When I realized that you weren't with her anymore I went looking for you at the bookstore I had seen in her head. I could tell you hadn't gone in, and that you'd gone south. I knew you would have to turn around soon. I couldn't find your mind either. It was blocked of, untraceable, so instead I was searching people's minds, trying to discover if anyone had seen you. The sun was finally setting and I was about to get out on foot and follow you and then—" He stopped, clenching his teeth together in fury. He made an effort to calm himself.

"Then what," I whispered. He continued to stare at the wall behind me.

"I heard what they were thinking." He growled, his lip curling back over his teeth slightly. "I saw your face in his mind." Then he was leaning forward his hand pinching the bridge of his nose. He moved so fast!

"It was very…hard, you can't imagine how hard, for me to just take you away from there, and leave them… alive." His arm muffled he voice. "I could have let you go with Lauren and Angela, but I was afraid that if you left me alone, I would go looking for them," he admitted in a whisper.

I sat quietly waiting for him to look at me. He would have been frightening but none of his anger was directed towards me. It was all for those men from the road… So what if he had a problem with his temper? With this it was all right. Most guys would have a problem controlling themselves if they drove by that. He sat there still as stone.

"Edward, it's fine." I said in an effort to calm him. He looked at me.

"You aren't scared?" He asked more to himself then to me, but I felt the need to answer regardless.

"No, I'm not."

"Are you ready to go home?" He asked after what seemed like forever.

"I'm ready to leave," I answered grateful we had a long ride back to Forks. The waitress appeared as if she'd been called, or watching.

"How are we doing?" Amber asked Edward.

"We're ready for the check, thank you." His voce was rougher, still reflecting the strain of our conversation.

"Here you go." She said pulling a black leather folder out of her pocket. Edward already had a bill in his hand. He just slipped it in the folder and gave it back to her.

"No change." He smiled and stood up. I scrambled to my feet. She smiled invitingly at him again.

"You have a nice evening." He didn't look away from me as he thanked her. I flashed her gloating smile as we walked away. Not that I have any right to. I scolded myself mentally. He isn't mine. He couldn't possibly want me.

He was walking beside me, but he was careful not to touch me. What was he afraid of? He opened the passenger door for me. I watched him walk around the car. Again I was shocked by how graceful he was. Edward pulled out through traffic, without a glance and went towards the freeway.

"Now, it's your turn."

"Can I ask just one more?" I pleaded as he accelerated. He sighed.

"One," he agreed. His eyes were cautious.

"You said you knew I hadn't gone in the bookstore. That I had gone south… How did you know that?"

He looked away, deciding.

"I thought we were being open," I griped. He almost smiled.

"Fine, I followed your scent." He looked at the road. It wasn't needed. He could have looked at me. That was a perfectly normal response. Vampires have been known, at least in books, to have a far superior sense of smell…

I wasn't ready to stop interrogating him yet, not when he was finally explaining things.

"And you didn't answer one of my first questions…" I stalled.

He looked at me with disapproval, "which one?"

"How does it work, the mind reading thing? Can you read anybody's mind anywhere? How do you do it? Can the rest of your family…"

"That's more then one." I shrugged noncommittally.

"No, it's just me. I can't here anyone anywhere. I have to be fairly close. The more familiar someone's 'voice' the farther away I can hear them from. But still, no more than a few miles. It's like being in the cafeteria during a lunch wave, everyone always talking at once. It's just a buzz. It's not until I focus in on one of them that what I'm hearing becomes clear. Most of the time I ignore it: it's too hard to seem normal if I answer someone's thoughts instead of their words." I nodded. I had had the same problem. If I saw something and told someone straight out what was going to happen they always would flip out and ignored me, and when it came true it was even worse. Ignoring it did work best when it was at all possible…

"Why do you think you can't hear me?" I inquired. He looked at me his eyes enigmatic.

"I don't know. The only guess I have is that maybe your mind doesn't work like the rest of theirs do. Like a radio; your thoughts are on the AM frequency and I'm only getting the FM. Sometimes I can hear you though. It is extremely odd."

"I always knew I was a freak." I grumbled.

"I hear voices in my head and you think you're the freak?" He laughed. "Don't worry it's just a theory…" His face tightened, "which brings us back to you."

I bit my lip. How should I tell him?

"Aren't we past all evasiveness now?" he reminded me quietly. I looked at his face for the first time, trying to find words. I happened to notice the speedometer, we were going 100 mph, and smiled.

"What?" He asked.

"The speed… I like driving fast." I said laughing. He wouldn't crash. His reflexes were far too good.

"No avoiding the topic." He said smiling with me.

"You'll be angry with me."

"Is it that bad?"

"Not to me but by normal people standards… yes, very."

"Go ahead." Hs voice was calm.

"I don't know how to tell you." I admitted looking down.

"Start at the beginning. You said you didn't come up with this on your own."

"No."

"What got you started?" He probed.

"It was Saturday at the beach. I ran into my brother…"

He looked confused.

"We have relatives down there. My grandfather was one of the Quileutte elders." His confused expression was frozen in place.

"I went for a walk with one of my almost cousins Jake and had him tell me a legend I had forgotten. It was about…" I hesitated. He would hate the tribe and me now…

"Go on."

"Vampires," I saw his knuckles tighten convulsively on the wheel. I was right…

"And you immediately thought of me?" He was still calm.

"No, he mentioned your family."

He was silent staring at the road. "Jake doesn't really believe our tribe's legends… He didn't really have a choice. I'm a part of the tribe, so he had to tell me."

"What did you do then?"

"I got home and went through all my own "knowledge" of vampires."

"Did that convince you?"

"Completely, it was the only thing that fit. Then I decided it didn't matter." That was true. I didn't really have a choice. I had already seen it…

My comment broke through his act. "It doesn't matter to you that I'm a monster? That I'm not human."

"Didn't I already make it clear that I think vampires are cool?"

"There is nothing cool about having to kill to survive."

"You're right, but you do it to survive. Humans don't have to eat meat, but we do anyway, and we're always killing each other for no reason. If anyone's a monster it's me and the rest of the human race." I countered darkly. My own logic seemed to shock Edward. "I've argued with my friends about this before." I said blushing. I saw a hint of a smile play across his face, but it was gone a second later.

"Lorianna, I'm dangerous, please grasp that."

"You maybe dangerous but you're not bad or a monster. There is a difference you know?" I reminded him. He shook his head.

"What do you want to know?" He said giving in.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," He answered without delay.

"How long have you been seventeen?" He smirked.

"Awhile," He admitted.

"Is the daytime thing a myth?" I asked curious.

"Yes."

"Burned by the sun?"

"Myth."

"Sleeping in coffins?"

"Myth, I can't sleep."

"Really," I questioned, shocked.

"Yes." His voice was so quiet. He looked at me with a reflective expression. The golden eyes held mine; I lost my train of thought. I stared at him until he looked away.

"You haven't asked me the most important question yet."

"To me they're all important, which one?"

"Aren't you concerned about my diet?"

"Oh, that."

"Yes, that. Don't you want to know if I drink blood?" I didn't even flinch.

"The legend says that you don't hunt people that your family isn't supposed to be dangerous, because you only hunted animals." He looked straight ahead. "Was the legend right?" I asked keeping my voice even.

"The Quileuttes have a long memory." He whispered. I took that as a conformation.

"Don't let that make you complacent. They're right to keep their distance from us. We're still dangerous." I rolled my eyes at his obvious statement.

"I'm serious. Sometimes we make mistakes: me for example, by allowing myself to be alone with you."

"This is a mistake?" I said trying to keep my misery out of my voice.

"A very dangerous one."

We were both silent then. I watched the dark blurs I guessed were trees speed by the window. I was worried this would be the only time that he would talk to me openly. That he would yet again distance himself from me. I wracked my brain for another question. I looked at his knuckles still tight over the steering wheel and his still somewhat rigid posture.

"Is it hard for you to be around me?"

"Yes." He sighed.

"But you're not hungry now." I stated confidently.

"Why do you think that?"

"Your eyes, I've noticed that men in particular are crabbier when they're hungry."

"You are observant aren't you?" I didn't answer at all. I was busy memorizing everything about him.

"Were you hunting this weekend with Emmett?" I interrogated.

"Yes." He paused for a second. "I didn't want to leave, it was necessary. It's a bit easier to be around you when I'm not thirsty."

"Why didn't you want to leave?"

"It makes me anxious to be away from you." His eyes were so intense and yet gentle at the same time. "It was a very long three days."

"Wait three days? Didn't you just get back today? Why weren't you in school?" I was kind of pissed. I had worried over his absence.

"You asked in the sun hurt me and it doesn't, but I can't go out into the sunlight were anyone can see."

"Why?"

"I'll show you sometime." He promised. I thought about that…

"You could have called." I grumbled.

"But I knew you were safe." He sounded so confused.

"But I didn't know you were." I looked down. I shouldn't have said that.

"What?" His velvet voice was compelling.

"It makes me anxious, not seeing you." I looked down feeling my face heat up.

"This is wrong." I didn't understand his response at all.

"What did I say?"

"Don't you see Bella? It's one thing for me to make myself miserable but it's an entirely different thing for you to be so involved. I don't want to hear you feel that way. It's wrong. It's not safe. I'm dangerous, Lorianna please grasp that." The anguish in his voice was easy to hear.

"No, Edward I already told you, I don't care. It's too late." It was true. I had seen it.

"Never say that." His voice was low and harsh. I bit my lip glad he didn't know how much that hurt. I looked out the window. We had to be nearly there. He was driving so fast.

"What are you thinking?" He queried his voice still raw. I shook my head slightly. I could tell he was looking at me but I kept my gaze forward.

"Did I upset you?" He sounded dismayed.

"No," I replied. Stupidly my voice cracked. I saw him reach towards me hesitantly with his right hand, but he put it back on the wheel instead.

"I'm sorry." His voice burned with regret. He was sorry for more then just the words that hurt me.

"What were you thinking tonight just before I came around the corner. You didn't look scared." I smiled at that.

"I was scared, terrified in fact. I was trying to find a way to get away. I was going to fight."

"What about just running away?"

"I would do that after."

"I am definitely fighting fate trying to keep you alive."

Chapter 5: Rosalie's Lie- will be posted soon.