You Don't Look Twenty-Four

Edward was gone when I woke up the next morning, and I sent him a repentant text message.

Sorry about last night way 2 much 2 drink. Pls forget it happened?

His reply was almost instantaneous.

Nbd, meet me for coffee?

He wanted to see me, which was good, but he wanted it to be a public place, which meant maybe he was afraid I was going to jump him again.

Grinders nxt to my dorm 10?

CU there.

We managed to find a quiet corner with two cushy chairs, contenting ourselves with small talk until we'd settled in with our drinks. He looked like he hadn't slept at all, and there were dark circles under his eyes.

"Bella," he said with a deep breath, "Please don't apologize again for last night, but it did make something clear to me. I can't seem to stay away from you, so I need to tell you why you need to stay away from me." I blinked. Really? Really universe? Is this some kind of Star Trek time loop where I fall into alternate reality after alternate reality but in every one the same damn thing happens?

"Do you know how our band got its name? Identity Supremacy?" Edward continued.

"I don't know, is it some kind of anti-Hitler Youth thing?"

"Ha. No. It's kind of inside joke having to do with a nickname I used to have. The guys used to call me Jason Bourne, like you know, the Bourne Identity, the Bourne Supremacy?"

"Okay, so you're a secret agent slash assassin? That's why I should stay away from you?"

He took another deep breath and stared over my head out the window. "That's just it Bella. I don't know who or what I am. I don't even know what my real name is. A little over two years ago I woke up in a ditch just south of the Mexico border. I was filthy, starving, and covered in cuts and bruises, and I was talking like someone out of an old movie."

Like someone born in the early 1900s? I kept my mouth shut. It was impossible. But two years ago, Edward Cullen, vampire extraordinaire, dropped off the face of the earth, and at exactly the same time, Edward Masen, confused human with no memory, appeared? Way too coincidental.

"Well that's a little unusual, but what makes you think you're a bad person? Just because you lost your memory in Mexico-"

He gave a humorless laugh. "Secret agent slash assassin is actually kind of the best case scenario. I know I was either an agent or a criminal because I was carrying a fake ID. I was wearing a $50,000 Rolex watch, not exactly the sort of thing your average undercover can afford. And I had these dreams or flashbacks or something for the first few months . . . there was a lot of . . . blood."

I stared into his clear green eyes, which usually seemed so much lighter and less shadowed than Edward Cullen's, and they were dark with guilt and pain. "I think, Bella, that I'm a monster."

"You said you didn't know what your real name, how did you come up with Edward Masen?"

"I had two IDs on me when I woke up. Actually, I had two separate wallets. The IDs had different names and birthdates, but they both had pictures of me. I picked the older one, because I figured it would be less complicated to be twenty-two than to be seventeen. I've no idea how old I actually am."

"You don't look twenty-four," I whispered. "What was the name on the other ID?"

"Edward. Edward Cullen."