A/N: I had to get a few random things in place with this chp, but now I'll finally be able to be a bit more descriptive now. I feel like I've played it safe long enough. But don't worry, nothing too offensive is in store.

10

A little after 5 in the morning Edward said he was going to go get us some breakfast. Although he had already spent his allotted time, he said that we did not need to worry about the guys coming in any time soon; most of them had jobs or just liked to sleep late. James' so called schedule of two-hour increments was more like a random guideline—nobody really paid attention to it. It reminded me of work: at orientation (most big companies hold orientations for new employees, or at least most of the ones I worked at) the owner would list a thousand rules that are so important. Then you actually start work and learn that half the people don't even know them and the other half just don't care. I guess that would explain why I saw mullet-man twice then. What a line cutter. In elementary school we would have yelled "no cuts, no butts, no alligator guts". It's an awfully catchy phrase, although I have no idea how it originated. Anyway, at the mention of everyone sleeping I immediately asked about the chances of escaping, but Edward just explained that in addition to cameras everywhere, the room is wired with motion detectors. If there's no movement within either the bathroom or actual room for 10 min, the alarms go off. Apparently Lee (I couldn't remember which one he was) was quite the techie and created these to be sensitive enough to catch even the slightest of movements—so usually they wouldn't go off when I slept. Even if I did sleep perfectly still though, Edward said that they recently installed a heat sensor in the bed to stop the alarms from going off too often. Apparently Angela kept accidently setting off the alarms, which really pissed James off (Edward's face showed considerable grief as he said her name). Now it took no heat in the bed plus no movement to set off the alarms. Even with the 10 minute grace period though, we couldn't escape. We were 30min away from the nearest road—this little underground bunker that served as this hell hole was deep in the woods—and even if we could make it out, James would just grab our families. He knew everything about everyone. When Edward told me how James even kept files on my roommates, Alice and Rosalie, I pretty much decided then and there that I was going to have kill James.

* * *

When Edward left I took the chance to try and fix myself up again. My hair was almost dry—it's pretty thick but if I leave it down it dries in a couple hours—and I wished for a curling iron or hair straightner or even just a blow drier. I settled for a messy bun. The bruises on my face and back were getting darker and there really wasn't anything I could do about it. I found some chap stick in a drawer in the bathroom; I prefer Burt's Bees lip balm, but mostly they're all the same. Edward said he would be back in about half an hour. He also said he was going to bring me a small watch. I think after the fourth time I asked for the time he realized how caught up on time I really was. It was so amazing to actually know what time it is—I felt like if I didn't constantly ask him then I would suddenly forget and have to go back to guessing. Really, we take time for granted. How many times do we look at the clock each day? Our lives are ruled by time and you just don't realize how important it is until it's gone.

I spent a little while walking around the room, but eventually made it to the bed. It was so soft; I was suddenly swept with weariness. I knew Edward was going to be right back and I knew that if I lied down I would fall asleep instantly, but when you're tired—really tired—nothing else matters. That was one of the reasons I could never do homework at night; once I decided I was tired, it was over. So I caved in and went to sleep. It was a wonderful feeling; knowing that you can go to sleep and not have to worry about being attacked while you are so completely defenseless. That small part of me was still nervous about trusting him so much, but that's to be expected given the situation. I tried to appease that little part by arguing that if I had met him anywhere else, I would have no doubts of his kindness. Except, I didn't meet him anywhere else; I met him here, in this evil room, said that tense voice in my head. Although I saw its point, I wasn't going to let such a small doubt ruin my hope. Really, hope was all I had. Well, hope and now Edward. With that settled I quickly drifted to sleep. Normally I have nightmares maybe once every few years—it's very rare for me to dream of scary things. I see a lot of scary movies and love haunted houses, but in my sleep I usually don't get scared. Usually. This time was different. I was in one of my classes just listening to lecture when I saw Edward in the door way. He was motioning for me to come, so naturally, I got up to go to him. As I turned though, somebody grabbed my hand and pulled me back. I turned around to see who it was and instantly I was back in the room—complete horror washed over me. It was like I knew everything that was going to happen but I couldn't leave, I couldn't wake up. And that was the whole nightmare: just sitting in the room waiting for the door to open. I was paralyzed with fear and I couldn't understand why I was no longer in class. For such a simple dream, it was amazing how much terror enveloped me. I felt like my lungs were collapsing, like my muscles were all frozen in place and I nothing in the world could move me. My eyes were fixated on the door; soon there was nothing but the door. I wanted more than anything to look away, to get up and move, to do anything but wait. I was struggling against my own body, willing it to move, as the lock started to turn.

The next thing I knew, I was surrounded by blackness. My muscles were tight and my whole body was tense—clutching something. I was shaking, but not from being cold. In fact, I was pressed up against a fantastic heat source as it wrapped around me; it was so comfortable I nudged closer and buried my face into it. And I was no long lying in bed. I was sitting up; I was…hugging someone? With sudden abruptness I opened my eyes and jumped back. It's awfully difficult to jump from a sitting position, so I more or less just kind of scooted over quickly. It took me a minute to focus—I was still in the room which made me think I was still dreaming.

"It's okay—it's just me." Edward said. "I just got back and you were sleeping. But when you started screaming I woke you up. Are you okay?"

Me screaming? I had never in my entire life screamed in my sleep. It was kind of embarrassing. But then I realized I was hugging Edward. Edward! I didn't realize how much I liked him until that moment. He was so strong and his skin was soft but manly at the same time. And he smelled heavenly: slightly salty with a strong (but not overpowering) aroma of trees. Although I was probably only in his hold for mere seconds, I kept replaying the moment over and over. I wished for nothing more than to be back in his arms, surrounded by his wonderfully defined muscles and warm body. I couldn't control my thoughts; I was so transfixed, it was as if he put me in a trance.

"Bella?"

"My God, you smell amazing." The words just kind of slurred out of my mouth.

"Ummm…come again?"

Reality hit me like a fucking brick to the head. All I could think was: oh fuck! Did I really just say he smelled good? Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap…say something! I attempted to find rhyming words so he might think he just misunderstood me. You have no idea how hard it is to rhyme so goddamn quickly!

"By God's view, hell's a-raising."

"What?" Edward looked more confused than ever. I had to control the laughter fighting to get out.

"My dream; I was fighting alongside angels as all hell broke loose. The demons and fire; it was quite terrifying. I guess I've watched one too many apocalypse movies. I'm sorry, I don't usually have nightmares."

"Oh. Are you sure you're okay?" His arms were still slightly stretched out; as if he were worried I was going to pass out at any time.

"I'm fine, really. I'm sorry I grabbed you." I was so not sorry I grabbed him.

"Don't be. You do look tired though; you better get some rest while you still can. I brought some muffins and some orange juice—I hope that's okay." He got up and walked towards the door. "I'm going to go, but I'll be back tonight. It's not yet 6am—oh, here you can take my watch, I'll go get another one today—so you should have at least a few hours of sleep." He looked pained to leave and I felt pain at the thought of him leaving. "I…I wish I could stay, but I need to go take care of a few things. Please be careful and try to…I don't know…try not to get too hurt."

"Ha, I'll do my best. Thank you, for everything." I said.

And with that beautiful smile, he opened the door and left for the day.