((Authors note: Thank you for all of your reviews. I feel touched. I hope I am pleasing you with my writing, and don't be afraid to give a shout out if I'm out of order.

To be truthful, though, I've read some stuff on fanfiction where authors depend on their reviews. Let me say that I am not pressuring you to post something, but if you wish to say a word or two, I'd be most happy in reading what you all think. Even if it's constructive criticism. My chapters may be short, but trust me, I will be writing a lot of chapters, I just have minimal patience.))

Disclaimer: I give my respect to Stephenie Meyer. I do not own her characters in any way. I cannot even compare to her great work of fiction.

Chapter 8

Feeling The Beat Of A Heart Unknown

Bella's POV

I felt him, watching me. His gaze always turned me to goose flesh. No matter what, I kept my focus on the wrinkles folded between the covers. It felt like it's been hours. Out of the corner of my eye I can see him sitting in the corner, but it's too dark to make out his features. My palms were sweating, my head was pounding, and my mouth was as dry as sandpaper. It's then when I went deep into thought.

I shouldn't have taken Teerene along. Letting Sarah watch her was safer then putting her in Aro's way as well as Victoria's. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Idiot. Soon she'll find that vampires aren't only out on Halloween with fake fangs. She'll discover that there are creatures that hide under your bed or in your closet whenever your dad decides to come in the room. She'll be traumatized at such a young age! Her whole being will be crushed and flushed down to a world of madness and werewolves that evolve in restless tales. Teerene, the little girl who paints her fingernails in the colors of the rainbow... will not be that same little girl. Her eyes will witness horror of the reality about the scary stories you tell at slumber parties. This cannot happen. I have to propose something to get Teerene out of this mess...

I turned, restless, facing the other half of my heart.

Edwards POV

I watch her, I hear her breathing, I want her, but I can only do so from a distance. I know she's awake. She's been awake. I won't push her. Her hair smells of Tropical Orange shampoo. God, I wish I could go over there and bask in her scent all night.

She turns, making me the object that is in the way of her vision.

Suddenly I felt self-conscious. Why did she leave me? Did she finally understand that I'm a monster? Was it because I had left her before, and now she wanted to get back at me? That was reasonable... But we never had closer. Our relationship was left untied...

All to a surprise, she spontaneously sprang from the sheets and sprinted to the bathroom.

Bella's POV

I violently heaved into the toilet. This was unusual, because I had nothing in me. I knew I had the symptoms of a small, minor virus, but I just chose to blame them on the emotions that were changing rapidly today. I hated feeling vulnerable. My hands clutched the rim of the toilet like a lifeline. Somewhere far away I saw that Teerene was awake and sucking her thumb. I didn't know how Alice could have gotten the news so quickly, but she was right there wrapping her arms around the concerned child and gently calming her down from her furious crying. Edward was next to me, rubbing my back. I didn't want him touching me so intimately. And yet... I wanted him to touch me, but it was so hard... I desired him to the brink. It was already going to be hard to separate from him once again, but the scandalous feelings stocked on top of it all were pushing it. That was why I kept my distance, from bringing the past events back to the present. He needs to understand that he deserves better; that it just wouldn't work out with the conditions that settle between us... or maybe, it's I who needs to understand.

"What happened?" I heard Emmett ask. There was obvious concern in his voice.

"She's sick." Edward answered.

"But she hadn't eaten anything!" A gruff voice called out. It took energy to remember the owner of the voice.

"It doesn't matter that she ate anything, Jacob. She's sick."

Someone groaned.

"Can you wolves have the least bit of patience!" Edward growled.

I wasn't paying attention to this. But what did catch my eye was the liquid I was vomiting: Blood.

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I only can recall bits and pieces, but I was well aware of the ride to the hospital. There was a dead silence to everything. All I could hear was the purr of the car. This made me nervous.

Teerene was clinging to my waist. Crystal tears were riding down her cheeks, but she was also silent. I could feel her trembling. The only thing that seemed real to me was the numbing pain on my cheek. Edward sat next to Teerene. We were all crushed in the back of the small SUV. Carlisle was driving, with Esme holding his hand next to him in the passenger seat. It took me a while to realized that my head was resting on an icy window, making my cheek burn with coolness. I had no energy whatsoever to move.

I remember the car running a red light. It's brightness swirled in my mind, blinding me. And then there was nothing.

Edwards POV

After I had caught the site of blood in the toilet, there was no point in sitting around. All of us knew what to do. It was a blur. We all agreed to meet at Salt Lake City's Memorial hospital and made a decision on who was going in what car, but after that no one said a word. Each of us were wrapped in our own thoughts. I gave the others their privacy of their minds, though it wasn't that hard since mine was booming over everyone else's.

We all sat in a waiting room once Bella was taken into the ER. The scene was awkward, since all ten of us took up half of the chairs in the room. A nurse sat behind the desk, typing busily to her computer. In the distance I could hear her thoughts on an opinion that we were the biggest family she'd ever seen. How could she sit there as if nothing was wrong? Couldn't she see that there was an innocent woman fighting for her life down the hall? It almost disgusted me. My hand clenched. Across the room I saw Teerene sitting like a ghost in Esme's lap. She was shaking, and Esme did her best to calm her down with soft whispers of words.

Edward…

I looked up to see Alice. I knew she had just hunted, for her breath still rang of animal blood.

I saw something.

I lifted an eyebrow and reached over hesitantly to squeeze her hand and urge her to continue. Please don't let it be... Please, oh God, if I have never spoken to you, let this be the first time...Please let Bella be okay...

It's the same vision I had some time ago. She is to change.

I could feel my eyelids lift higher then they have in years. I opened my mouth to say something, but Alice had already turned away. I could feel the image sweep over my like a gentle breeze: Bella, as beautiful as ever, was standing before me--as myself in Alice's vision. Her irises were rimmed with dark gold and for the first time in a long while they told me of a gentle kindness. Her skin was pale, but it wasn't a shock as it was for other newly changed vampires. Slowly, she reached out to touch my cheek. I could swear, even though I wasn't in my own body, I could feel her fingertips caress my cold skin. And that was all.

I grasped the image and promised myself I would never let go.

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OOC:

I know. I should make longer chapters and elaborate a bit more, but the elaboration shall wait until the next chapter! That's all I can salvage for right now. I can't promise that I'll write much more in the next week or so, but keep a look out! I'm always bouncing around what I say I'm going to do.