Edward was still there when Bella woke up the next day. She groaned internally and went after her morning hygiene. After she made breakfast and Charlie came down, Edward decided to stop by at home to change his clothes and such. Bella wasted no time, hopped in her truck and drove to La Push.
Edward arrived home in the meantime. Rosalie welcomed him with thoughts, "Where have you been the whole night?" The family was discussing some more things about the events of previous day. Edward joined them and Carlisle quickly briefed him through his thoughts about what had he missed.
Then Edward saw in Alice's mind a vision of Bella driving her truck. He was considering going after her when he saw that she was entering La Push. Wondering why was he so worked out, he decided to check on her after her return.
Bella arrived to the reservation and met her friends, who were waiting for news. Bella described everything in detail. The Quileutes were interested in Edward's involvement in the whole thing.
"Maybe he was stalking you and wanted to drain you!" poked Paul.
"And maybe he was stalking me because he is a weird and potentially unstable vampire," retorted Bella.
Bella decided not to hang around much and rather return to Charlie. Before leaving, she used the opportunity to have a short practice shooting session. She had to keep a silencer on because she was close to the village. It wouldn't do if she attracted attention of somebody who wasn't in the inner circle and who could possibly mention it to Charlie.
When Edward returned to Charlie's house, Bella was in the sitting room. She was exercising with weights which Charlie had found in the attic. She wore an old and worn tank-top. Edward couldn't help but notice that she was quite toned.
When Edward wasn't leaving, Bella walked out of the house and wandered to the edge of the woods where he was hidden. She dallied there for a while, as if waiting for something. As he wondered what was she doing there, she suddenly called out, "Edward?"
He was shocked. Did she know that he was there? She continued, "I thought I saw something from the house. Please, if you are here, stop being stupid and come out. After what you did yesterday, the least I can do is to show you some hospitality."
Edward stayed frozen on the tree, not knowing what to do. Bella shook her head, muttered something about a coward and went back inside. Edward dialled Alice's number.
"Couldn't you have warned me?" he asked.
"Warn you about what?" she replied.
Edward sighed, Alice obviously missed yet another thing. Or she saw it and thought that it would be fun to let it happen. For a moment, Edward thought about going home, taking a car, returning to Charlie's and meeting Bella. He would pretend that it was first time he came there that day. Then he dismissed the idea.
He returned home and asked Alice to keep an eye on Bella occasionally. He decided to try to play on his piano to relax. It was first time he played in a long time. Esme and Alice listened to him.
In the meantime, Bella prepared lunch. She convinced Charlie to go on a hike with her that afternoon. He tried to ask about Renee in an attempt for small-talk but Bella was as evasive as usually. Charlie sensed that Bella's mother was a sensitive issue for her so he dropped it. After all, it wasn't a pleasant topic for him either.
When darkness fell, Edward decided to check on Bella once again before leaving her alone for the rest of the weekend. He also wanted to know if she had told anything to Charlie. Charlie's thoughts revealed nothing unusual to Edward though. Bella's mind remained silent. Edward spied on the house until its inhabitants went to bed. Then he moved closer.
Bella was becoming irritated and wondered whether Edward was going to stalk her next day as well. As she thought about what to do, she decided that she would prefer to have him somewhere where she could see him. She also wanted to learn about his intentions, whatever they were. She took a more comfortable position in her bed and calmed her thoughts and breathing. She entered a deep state of meditation gradually.
Edward was perched on a tree next to the house and watched Bella's room through a window. Suddenly, he heard her breathing and heartbeat going down, until he almost couldn't hear either. He panicked a little and couldn't decide what to do for a moment. Then he bolted and was at Bella's window in a second. It was slightly opened.
Edward slid inside the room silently and stepped to Bella's bed. He whispered her name and leaned in to check her status when he realized that she was still breathing and her heart was beating, albeit faintly. Before he had time to process that, both vital signs returned to their normal level like an old jukebox being plugged in after it was plugged out whilst playing. Bella's eyes snapped open and her hand shot forward like a snake and in spite of his vampire reflexes, Edward was unable to evade her. She firmly grabbed him, locked eyes with him and breathed, "Boo!"
Edward was so surprised that he let out a small yelp and recoiled away from her. He would wrench free from her hand but Bella held him so hard that she was dragged with him instead.
"Hush, do you want to wake Charlie?" warned him Bella after she steadied herself.
Edward's eyes flickered to the window. Bella immediately knew what was he thinking about. He moved his other hand to pry Bella's away but she grabbed that one as well.
She threatened him, "Don't even think about disappearing in hope that I'll think I've dreamt it all. Don't move or I'll scream and tell Charlie that you've been here. Our friends at the rez will also hear about it. I don't know what's between them and your family but I'm sure they'll find it interesting."
Edward din't know what to do, think or even feel. He was angry and astonished at the same time. He wanted to use his strength, wrench himself free and maybe even reverse their positions and threaten Bella a bit. At the same time, he cursed himself for even thinking such thing, especially after what Bella had been through. Then again, she seemed quite unfazed by the events of previous night, as her behaviour proved. He also thought about what his screw-up might mean for his family.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Well, that's what I might ask you, if I didn't have a pretty good idea already."
Edward didn't say anything to that. He wanted to know how she managed to trick him but that would be like admitting that he could hear her heartbeat from outside the house. Also, since she was probably expecting him, he realized that she somehow knew that he was outside - just like that morning.
"The proper Edward Cullen, stalking an innocent girl," sneered Bella. "How unexpected."
"That's not... I was just worried about you," hastily explained Edward. As he felt the warmth of Bella's hands around his wrists, he realized that she had to feel his coldness.
"Well, unless I wasn't clear enough this morning, you are free to worry about me from somewhere where I can see you. It gives me creeps when you are hidden somewhere."
"I... I'm not sure..." stuttered Edward and meant that he wasn't sure what she meant by that.
"Don't worry, I'm not expecting you to come to the front door, knock and introduce yourself to Charlie. If you are for some reason enjoying the whole stealth part, then you can hide yourself from others. But please, you really don't need to hide from me since I already know what a weird bird you are."
"What do you want me to do?" asked Edward, who figured that the best way to prevent a disaster would be to play along.
"Well, you want to st... keep an eye on me and I want to figure your motives out. So, we can start by talking about this."
Bella pulled a rocking chair that was in her room next to her bed. Then she got back on her bed, assumed a comfortable half-sitting position and covered herself.
"There's another blanket in the armoire," said Bella and gestured to the rocking chair.
Edward was sure that the whole situation was awfully inappropriate, just like his own recent actions. Nevertheless, he sat in the chair and replied, "That's all right."
Bella studied Edward silently for a while. Then she asked, "You don't do this often, do you?"
"Definitely not. This is first time I've found myself in something like this."
"Are you talking about stalking or getting caught?"
"Both. And you?"
"Nope, this is definitely a novel experience for me as well."
She scratched her chin and gazed at Edward again. He unwittingly fidgeted in the chair, even though he didn't need to. Bella decided to find out more about his blood-lust. She understood that she had to be subtle about it.
"So, let's talk about the thing that probably started this all - my scent. Am I right, Edward?"
Edward nodded and answered, "As I hinted earlier, yes. But more things came up later."
"Like what?"
"I don't think I can tell you."
"Why not?"
Edward said first thing that came up in his mind, "Because you would think I'm crazy."
Bella decided to go on and diffuse some of his suspicions. She told him, "Well, I think I can guess on my own. Do you know how people sometimes talk aloud to themselves to help themselves think?"
"Yes?" replied Edward, not sure where she was going with that.
"Well, I do the same but not aloud. I talk to myself in my mind."
Edward was silent.
Bella continued, "Some time after we met, I started to occasionally project those thoughts to you. It was the first time I ever did such a thing. The point is, you almost always acted on those projected thoughts."
"So you think I could hear those thoughts?"
"Well, it sounds crazy but I'm sure it's true. I'm not sure how I'm doing it though. I've tried the same with Charlie but it didn't work. I don't think he's a good medium."
Edward laughed and decided to give away something. "To be honest, I think there's something to it. Sometimes I did have a feeling like I could hear you. Thank you for telling me, at least I know I'm not going mad." He couldn't believe that the girl thought that it was her doing, such an idea was ridiculous.
Bella looked thoughtful for a moment and then proposed, "Well, maybe it isn't my doing after all. Have you ever heard something from someone else?"
"Well, people don't usually emit their thoughts on me," said Edward. He suddenly didn't like all the lying and thus said something that was actually true. Even though he knew that Bella would understand the "usually" as "never". Then he added, "And I can't hear you any more actually."
"That's probably because I stopped these inner monologues," replied Bella and shifted from her sitting position and laid down on her side. She propped her head on her hand and said, "Well, let's not forget about the original topic. My scent."
"I've already told you. It's..."
"Distracting," filled Bella in.
"Yes."
"Now, is it pleasant?"
"As you could tell from my reaction the first day, not exactly. It depends on the point of view."
"It's not arousing, I hope."
Edward gasped at the question. "No," he replied firmly. When he thought about it though, he realised that there was a possibility that it might have been the case if the situation had been different. Very different.
"That's good, it would be weird otherwise. Not to mention that I'm not interested in boys and relationships much yet."
Edward nodded. It was one of the things they had in common.
Bella continued, "So, are you going to tell me about it?"
"I would rather not," replied Edward carefully.
"Is it potentially dangerous? Does it make you aggressive?"
"If you only knew," thought Edward. Aloud, he answered, "To some extent. But your perfume and the pieces of clothing are helping."
"OK. If it ever gets too much, let me know somehow and I'll remove myself from your company."
Edward stared at her in disbelief. Then he voiced his astonishment, "How can you be so accepting about this all? If it was Jessica in your place, she would freak out. Not to mention that she would discuss it with every living soul around."
Bella chuckled and replied, "Yeah, about that. I knew from the beginning that your family is somehow different. It bugged me until I talked with Billy Black and others. They immediately caught on and told me that they know everything about you and not to worry about it. They also instructed me not to talk to anybody about you, not even to Char... dad. That is, unless you did something truly unusual even for you - then I'm to report directly to them."
Edward chewed on that for a few seconds. He asked, "Well, that's nice of them. And yes, we know things about each other."
"They aren't giving you any trouble, right? Like, using what they know to blackmail you?"
"Excuse me?"
"Well, they aren't bad people but La Push isn't exactly financially..."
"No Bella, nothing of that sort," interrupted her Edward.
"Well, Charlie likes your family so he can help you if you ever needed it."
"Trust me Bella. Our deal with Quileutes is to stay out of each other's way."
Bella nodded in acknowledgement and laid on her back. Edward remembered the reason why he had come to her room in first place.
"There's one more thing," he said.
"Yes?"
"When I was outside earlier, I could tell that your vital signs were going down. It's probably this whole... mind thing, but it really scared me and I had to check on you."
"Oh, that. I'm sorry I startled you but that was just a calming technique to help myself fall asleep."
"A calming technique?" exclaimed Edward internally but didn't say anything and just nodded.
Bella yawned and told Edward, "Now, as much as I enjoy your company, I don't know you well enough to let you 'stalk' me while I sleep. If you would please leave the house. Do you need me to let you out?"
"That's all right, I'll manage," said Edward and opened the window again. He made a show of struggling and then silently dropped down.
Edward ran to his house. As he neared it, he quickly scanned thoughts of its inhabitants. So far, only Alice knew what happened. They quietly stole away.
"Why didn't you warn me?" he whispered, careful not to be overheard.
"It was a split-second decision. By the time I saw it, it was already happening," answered Alice.
Edward nodded and ran his hand through his hair. He sighed, "I can't believe she caught me."
"Is she that fast?"
"For a human, definitely."
Alice thought for a moment and then proposed, "Maybe we shouldn't tell this to the rest of the family, apart from Carlisle maybe. Is she going to tell somebody? I don't see her doing such thing but she might do it in one of the gaps."
"No, she won't. Quileutes told her to stay silent. On the downside, she's reporting to them."
"That might pose a problem if she decides to tell them about this."
Edward nodded and said, "I'll try to talk to her tomorrow."
Alice's sight got unfocussed for a moment and then she informed him, "Very well, Charlie's going fishing."
"Thanks. I'll visit her then."
"And I'll talk to her at school at Monday. I'm becoming quite interested in her myself."
"Alice..." wanted to object Edward.
"No, Edward. You seem to be rather uncertain around her."
Edward did as he had said next day. Shortly after Charlie left, he knocked on the door.
"Through door? How ordinary," said Bella instead of a greeting.
"Well, you can open one of the windows for me if you wish," joked Edward.
Bella smiled and beckoned him to come inside. "I would offer you something but you wouldn't drink or eat anything anyway. Are you on a gluten free diet or something like that?"
"Something like that," repeated Edward.
Bella sat down on a couch, Edward remained standing. She watched him and waited for him to talk.
"Bella, I wanted to ask you something."
"Ask away."
"You said that you were reporting to Quileutes on us."
"I said that they asked me to. That's not the same thing."
"Are you going to tell them about my yesterday visit?"
"Nope. But be assured, they know enough to come after you should something untoward happen to me."
Such an idea was appalling to Edward. He quickly protested, "I wish you no harm."
"Could the same be said about the rest of your family?"
Edward looked down and answered, "More or less."
"Do they know about yesterday?"
"Only Alice."
"OK. She seems all right."
"Until she takes you shopping," corrected Edward dryly.
"Then I guess we won't be friends."
"She's going to be hurt by that."
Bella stood up and asked, "So, what are we going to do today?"
Edward hesitated. "I don't think I should be here. Without Charlie's permission I mean."
"Well, we can go outside and study. You could help me with Spanish."
"You don't like it much, I take it?"
"No, it's just that I've never learned Spanish before."
"What language did you have instead?"
"I know basics of French and Latin."
"I see. That's definitely something they won't offer you at the Forks high. You can practice those with me though, if you want."
Bella said something in broken French and Edward fluently answered. Then they did the same in Latin. Edward was surprised to learn that Bella's Latin was much better than her French.
Bella grabbed her books and notes. She donned a jacket and they went outside. They ventured to an edge of the wood where they sat on a log. Edward proved to be quite a good tutor. Bella told him that the school should hire him instead.
Later, Edward asked, "Bella, there's something I'd like to ask about you and your father if that's all right."
Bella made a face and replied, "If you must."
"I couldn't help but notice that sometimes you tend to call him Charlie. Is something wrong between you two?"
Bella shook her head and answered, "No, we are good. It's just that I'm not used to him very much."
Edward nodded and tried to get some insight about Bella's past. She wasn't very pleased by that.
"With all due respect, I don't stuck my nose in the secrets of your family and you will pay the same courtesy to me," she rebuffed him.
Edward didn't brought it up again. When the noon came, Edward said goodbye and returned home. Bella prepared some light food for herself and packed what she didn't ate for Charlie. Then she collected any suspicious book and notes that she still had at her house and drove to La Push. Before that, she remembered taking a quick shower to wash away Edward's smell.
First, she stored the notes and books in her shed. Then she picked up Seth and asked him to guide her to the place where Charlie and Harry were fishing. Both men were already closing up their trip when Bella and Seth arrived.
"Bella? I thought you weren't interested in fishing," greeted her Charlie.
"Yeah. But since I'm cooking those fish then I might see to their processing right from the beginning as well."
They stayed for while and Charlie and Harry ate the food she brought. Bella cleaned the caught fish in the meantime. When it was time, they returned home and Bella started to prepare the catch for the dinner.
When the sun got low, Alice asked Edward, "Are you going to go to her again tonight?"
Edward considered it while staring at the floor. Then he resolutely said, "No."
He knew that he couldn't keep doing that. It was weird. Alice didn't say anything.
Edward continued, "I'm going to check on things in Port Angeles. See if somebody isn't suspecting something. Keep an eye on things here, please."
"You mean on Bella?"
Edward didn't answer, jumped out of the window and ran to his destination.
That night, Bella waited whether Edward was going to make and appearance. When he didn't, she made sure that the alarms were set and fell fast asleep.
