I was unsure how long I lay in the woods. It felt like hours. I just couldn't get up. I could hear my name being called repeatedly but didn't respond. Soon the voice was getting closer. I wondered if anyone would actually be able to find me; it was dark and the rain was coming down harder than ever. All of a sudden I heard underbrush rustling near me. I felt my heart pound and curled into an even smaller ball.

"Jesus Christ Bella," it was Edward. I felt him kneel down next to me and grab my arm, "Hey can you get up? Come on Bella."

I felt myself unconsciously grabbing his hand and allowing him to pull me up. I stumbled slightly and realized I was a lot more drunk than I thought. I looked up into Edward's face and was surprised when it took a minute for it to come into focus. I was definitely more drunk than I thought. He put one hand on each side of my face to force me to look at him, "Look. Are you ok? We can't stay out here. We have to go back to my house ok?"

"But-"

"But nothing. There's no way I'm letting you walk home. That was a bad idea. Besides your dad is going to know that you're drunk."

"Maybe he won't. .." I took a step and stumbled.

Edward chuckled and grabbed my arm, "Yeah you know what? You're right. I bet he won't know. But come on we need to get you back to my house. There's no way you can go home looking like that. And I should clean that up."

I looked down at myself to find my clothes completely soaked and covered in dirt. I realized there was a deep gash in my arm. When did that happen? I finally allowed Edward to steer me and begin walking. I was shocked that he seemed to know where he was going despite the fact that I had felt like we were in the middle of nowhere. Edward laughed and I realized I'd spoken out loud.

"I used to come out into the woods a lot when I first moved here with Carlisle and Esme. It's relaxing you know? Plus, I used to smoke a LOT of pot. It's not something that's easy to do when you're living with two competent parents you know what I mean?"

"Don't you still smoke?"

"Well. . .yeah. But I mean I used to smoke all the time. Now it's more once in a while. The other day at lunch was the first time in a while. And I figured we should tonight because you haven't really done any of this stuff. But it was a pretty bad idea; I'm sorry."

I felt my face turning bright red and quickly began spilling out my drunk thoughts, "No, Edward I'm sorry. I ruined the whole night. You're the first friend I've had since. . .since I can't remember when. I'm not very good at this whole being social thing and I don't always do it right. I feel like an idiot. I shouldn't have gotten so upset-"

Edward stopped me in the middle of the woods and stepped in front of me, "Whoa. Bella. Are you serious? It's completely understandable why you got so upset. I mean Christ that's a serious thing. That's not something you just get over. I'm just sorry that I kept pushing. I shouldn't have asked when we were drinking. THAT was dumb. And look you didn't ruin anything. We're still hanging out ok? I mean. You're the first friend I've ever really had since my mom died. It's not like I don't get where you're coming from."

He studied my face for a moment and I nodded to show him that I understood. He quickly grabbed my hand and continued leading me through the forest. After what seemed like forever we finally stepped into the yard. I was shocked to see that we had gone so far. We walked in and Edward quickly grabbed a nearby cup and took a swig from it, "Ok. I'll grab you some sweats and you can get in the shower ok? There's no way you can stay in those clothes and you're freezing."

I was surprised to realize that I was shivering. Edward led me upstairs and into his room. He grabbed a t-shirt and sweatpants and handed them to me before showing me where the bathroom was, "There's towels in that closet. I'll be downstairs ok?"

I nodded and stepped into the warm, clean bathroom. I turned the water on in the shower and quickly stepped in to let the heat wash over me. Even once I'd stepped into the shower I couldn't stop shivering and stood for a long time. I began to wonder what I had gotten myself into; why had I bothered to explain all this to a complete stranger? I barely knew Edward. It was wrong to put all this on him. I needed to get away from him.