Author's note: Well, this is chapter 6!!! Thank you all SOO much for all the reviews and for stickin around this long!! This is a good chapter, no sudden (major) plot twists though, thought I'd give all you guy's nerves a break!! (laugh), well, I REALLY hope u enjoy this one!! R&R!!!!!

My mind was numb, I couldn't believe…

He was actually right there. Right there, right in front of me.

Edward.

I saw what lay at his feet then, and I gasped softly, a body of another vampire was lying at his feet, and I could see a round shape a little way away from the body…

"Edward," I gasped, and saw his eyes flicker up to meet mine.

I swayed on my feet, and he was suddenly there in front of me.

He stopped just a foot away though, and looked torn.

"What?" I whispered, reaching out towards him, but he leaned away. Hurt, I brought my hand back to my chest.

He looked down at his feet, his face frozen in a mask of horror. "What have I done?" he whispered.

I reached forward again and stroked his hair softly, he looked up, meeting my eyes again, and my hand brushed against his cheek. His soft, cold cheeks.

"What happened? I thought… you had left again…" I whispered.

Edward brought his hand up to mine against his cheek, holding my hand there. Then with a soft sigh he took my hand and drew it away from his face, and dropped it to my side.

"Bella, it's not safe here." He said softly, and my eyes flickered to the body lying on the ground. Carlisle and Esme were already picking up the pieces and piling them into a box to carry outside to a fire I could smell starting.

"What happened?"

"I… I lost it, and… now I've ruined everything…" his voice portrayed openly the raw horror he was feeling.

I dragged my eyes away from the quivering limbs and back to Edward's face. "What does that have to do with me? Who was that?"

He sighed again, "that was Aro, one of the Volturi." I remembered vaguely an afternoon a long time ago… my eighteenth birthday, when Edward had spoken about them. They were like the head family of the vampire world. I nodded in understanding. "And now… they'll be coming after me for killing him." His voice shook slightly at the end. "and… who knows what they'll do to my family? Or…" his eyes widening in terror, "to you?" he whispered.

I scowled, "I want to be with you." I said simply, I honestly didn't care what some vampire mob was planning, I needed to be with Edward.

He looked lovingly down at me, but shook his head, "It's to dangerous…" he said, and lifted his hand to stroke my cheek.

Right then someone came bursting through the door. Edward's head snapped up, and he met Alice's eyes, who was standing in the open doorway.

"No…" he whispered, and she nodded grimly.

"What?!" I asked as Edward started towing me towards the door.

He looked at Alice again, "Only that much?" he groaned, and scooped me up effortlessly in his arms then.

"Alice! What happened?" but we were already out of the house and flying towards the outbuilding that held the cars.

Edward deposited me in the passenger seat of the Volvo and appeared in the drivers seat a moment later.

He brought the engine to life and sped out of the garage, all before the garage opener even had enough time to open completely.

Down the drive we sped, and I had to close my eyes against he dangerously close trees that Edward was speeding around.

"What happened?" I asked, my eyes still closed.

"The Volturi found out somehow. Maybe they had someone watching who we couldn't detect, who maybe had the same immunity to my mind-reading like you," I opened my eyes to see him glance at me, then closed them again. "They must have seen you here and thought that I killed Aro over you, which, in part, I did." I gulped. "Alice saw the other two Volturi planning to kill us." He finished, and fell into a grim silence.

The car sped on in that silence, and his hand slipped over the seat and grasped mine tightly. Once, as the suspense grew and grew, his grip tightened even more, I flinched, and he almost let go, muttering an apology.

After almost an hour of driving, it had grown dark and I didn't know where we were or where we were going, his cell-phone rang. Letting go of my hand he pulled it out and answered it.

"Alice? What's happened?"

He listened to her for a moment, then swore.

"They said that? How do we know it's true?" he listened again, and sighed, "Okay." She said something, and I could hear her raising her voice in warning, Edward shook his head, even though she couldn't see. "Don't worry, I won't." there was something about the way he said that that I thought he was lying, but about what I didn't know yet.

He flipped the phone shut and put it back in his pocket.

"What? What happened?" I asked hysterically when he was silent. He glanced at me.

"The Volturi called and offered a deal, that's all." His tone was one that encouraged me not to press the issue, but I did anyways.

"What was the deal?"

"Stupid really, we're not going to go through with it." He avoided the question, not meeting my eyes.

Sensing I wasn't going to get a better answer than this I shut up and reached over for his hand again. He took my mine, tracing circles in the back of my hand.

"Where are we going?"

He glanced at me, "A place we own out in the middle of no where, we'll hopefully be safe there. It's up over by Mount St. Helen's, great view," he added with a strained smile.

I smiled back, admiring his attempt to lighten the mood.

As we lapsed back into silence I wondered what the real 'deal' was that the Volturi offered, and whether Edward was going to take it, with or without the approval of his family.

Ha HA!! Like I said, a pretty tame chapter, but don't get used to it!! The rest are gonna be prreeeeety upbeat!!!! R&R pllllllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaasssssseeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(wow, I've been typing so much my vision is all blurry… hmm.. I wonder if that's a bad thing… well, good thing I don't gotta see the keyboard to type!!! Lol)