The price for that trip was fear for Angela and a sharp, relentless stabbing pain in the heart and the left half of my body and the ribs throughout the night, and a headache so horrible I thought dying might be better than another minute of it. So, Tramal to the rescue. Let me sleep, sleep deeply and without dreams.
That part though didn't work out. I fell asleep near the dawning, but what awaited me was not relief, but the images of Bree as she was struggling with her attacker, pleading with him and crying.
In the morning I leant out of the window and the chill in the air confirmed Edward's yesterday's prediction. It was freezing. There were even patches of hoarfrost on the grass, creeping over a dead fox thrown away by a car as it crashed into it in the night, its dead eyes reflecting the world around. A life cut short. I fingered the soft cashmere of the scarf Edward gave me, staring at the dead animal, and wound it around my neck, burying my fingers and chin in it with closed eyes, taking in its smell. I didn't want to watch any more death.

xxx

Before he dropped me off at school, dad told me with an uncomfortable cough and looking away: "Bells, I've... booked that trip for a week, in the end. From this weekend till the next. I..." he took a deep breath and clutched the steering wheel tight, staring ahead. "I need a break. It's kind of too much. Everything. Can you manage it here alone?"
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. "Sure," I glanced away in the end and gripped my bag, staring out. "I can manage."

xxx

"No way, Cullen's dating her?!" one girl gave a muted squeal behind my back. I had noticed her whispering with a bunch of other girls before;
"People. What else would you expect from them?" I heard behind me and turned around with a shy smile.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"Well, I don't know," I told him and grinned. "But sometimes I understand Hannibal Lecter's way of dealing with the rude."
He flashed me a wide smirk, his eyes twinkling. "Do you now?" he asked with unusual merriness.
"Don't you?"
"Yeah, I'm all for massacre, murder and having people for dinner," he smirked a lopsided smirk, brimming with amusement, and reached for my hand and kissed it. I blinked and made a small step back, trying to pull away on instinct – but he didn't let go. Instead he gently gripped my palm a little tighter and started stroking it with his thumb, staring down into my eyes with torn sadness. Like... I don't know, like he needed a hug, but didn't know how to ask for it, or if he can. Then he kissed my hand again, slowly, knuckle by knuckle. I reached for his cheek and gave it a tentative stroke.
"You had..." I cleared my throat, withdrawing my hands quickly, "you had a bad night?"
"Kinda," he admitted, his voice a bit raspy. He frowned and ran his fingers through his tousled hair, turning his face away a bit, looking grim and tired. "Mother's ill again, I was taking care about her."
I squeezed his shoulder. He looked at my hand and covered it with his, his eyebrows knit.
"I'm sorry. You okay?"
"Yeah," he muttered, without taking his eyes off our hands on his shoulder.
"How is your mother? Better?"
He looked at me and I extricated my hand. "Yeah. A lot. You know, the sudden switch. She's pretty well now, as if nothing happened." He took a deep breath and raked his fingers through his hair again, puckering his forehead. Then he looked at me again. "And you? Did you sleep?"
I shook my head, shifting weight from one leg to the other. "Not really," I admitted. "I had nightmares. And I had to keep thinking about mum. The things she still wanted to do in life. The things she won't see. The birthday gift I put in her coffin unopened and - and stuff," I finished, swallowing, not trusting my voice to stay even at the moment.
He nodded. Stared at me for a while with an expression that was hard to decipher. It was... dark maybe, torn between sadness and anger again. He slowly brought his hand to my cheek and touched it with his fingers.
I cleared my throat. "We should get going."
"Sure. Mind if I...?" he glanced at the bag on my shoulder and I blinked and shook my head.
"No, uh... thanks."
He slid it off my shoulder and carried it for me. It was only then, as we walked together down the corridor, that I noticed the other students staring at us and whispering comments to each other.
It seemed we were the town's new reality show of sorts. The larger part of it just watched the brilliant doctor's errant son and the prodigal daughter of the Chief Swan and waited with bated breath for something to go wrong; either Edward snapping and killing me, or my dad killing Edward first, whilst the smaller part was either worried like Angela, the librarian or Mr. Cheney, or absolutely thrilled, like Nurse MacFayden or Nurse Peggy.
Angela passed us by, froze in place, turned back and scanned us in horror; then she shifted the sling of her backpack on her shoulder and gave us a tentative nod.
"Hi, you two."
Edward gave her a surprised frown. "Hi."
"So... see you in class, Bella."
I gave her a quick hug. "Yeah. See you in class, Angie."
She nodded again, cast her eyes down and rushed away.
Edward glanced back at her. "Now, that's weird. What changed?"
I filled him in about our sleuthing trip.
"And I will not drop it, so save your breath if that's what you wanna say," I added when he took a deep breath, frowned at me and crossed his arms on his chest.
"You have a serious death wish. Both of you."
I shrugged. "I know, right?"
"And still?"
"The truth is worth it."
He shook his head, rubbing his forehead with his fingers. "It's not, Bella. Not if you can get hurt so badly you might never get over it, or you might die. Maybe it would be really better if you leave it be."
"I can't," I murmured, staring after Angela as she was vanishing from the corridor. "If for nothing else then for Angie. And that soldier, he might be sitting in jail for nothing. And Bree... if that soldier didn't kill her and the real killer's out there, don't you think she deserves justice? And that it might not be the last time that guy kills?"
He frowned. "True enough," he conceded. Then he glanced at the clock and gently nudged me to set off. "Let's finish this at the lunch break or in Biology?"
"Sure. Just promise me you won't throw Mr. Banner out of the window if he interrupts us."
He laughed and took me around my shoulders. "No. I'll just tear his head off. That should take care of the problem."

xxx

At the cafeteria, we picked a table in a far corner and he brought me my tray, to the stares and whispers of most of the other students there.
He opened his mouth and I gave him a pointed look, raising my eyebrow and crossing my arms on my chest. "How about you help us, get your dad to pull some strings to stir up some top brass in FBI to have a look at it instead of telling me to forget it?"
He shook his head and threw his hands up in defeat. "I see, so you're not gonna drop it no matter what I say. Well, let's talk about something else for now then. How are you gonna spend the weekend?" he asked, sipping from his red thermo mug.
I shrugged and took my juice glass in my both hands. "I dunno. Dad's gonna be away the whole time, so..." I raked my fingers through my hair and sighed, drinking up. "I guess I'll just stay in and try to let all the bones and organs rest and heal. Maybe call Angie over, try to search for clues. You?" I drank up again and glanced at him. "Got any plans?"
He sat down opposite me slowly. "Your dad leaves you alone here over the weekends?" he inquired, tilting his head with a slight, pensive frown. "All the time?"
I gave a defensive shrug and bit my lip. Then I drank up again. "So far." After a moment, I added, hanging my head: "I guess it just wasn't convenient for him. I mean, having me over here all of a sudden. At first I thought, maybe..." I bit my gum and averted my eyes, "but I guess I was wrong. He's got his routine, his sports, the Clearwaters, his fishing. And I just don't fit into it. He'll be gone for a week."
He didn't reply to that. When I peeked at him, he was thoughtful. "In a way, that's maybe good," he murmured. I quirked my eyebrows up. He gave me a slow smile and leant his chin down on his folded arms on the table. "Well, you know, I'm wondering – when the dragon's not there to check if the princess is locked in the tower, would you care to go with me to France for the next nine days?"
"What?" I sputtered the juice out.
He shrugged, his eyes dancing. But suddenly he sobered up and explained in complete seriousness: "You're not well still. I was thinking, since Garrett can't come, if you'd like to meet his father, he's a healer like him. He's in France now and he's too busy to come here, but if we could get there, he would spare the time for you. He's one of the best healers that I know."
I blinked. "Well... that's... that's very nice of you, but... Jesus. Wow," I stared at the floor and rubbed my temple, trying to think quickly. With him. To France. Alone. Without telling dad, or anybody else for that matter. If that didn't sound unsafe and like a mighty bad idea, I didn't know what would. But then so was the search for Bree's killer. In for a penny, in for a pound, right?
"Vladimir is my uncle. He has a house in Normandy, not too far from Giverny," he went on explaining, calm and matter-of-fact. "Well, actually it's an old chateau. With gardens to rival those in Giverny. Some of them have actually been designed by Monet, as a matter of fact, only there are no tourists. We'd have it just to ourselves. Ever been to Normandy?"
I shook my head.
"The castle is beautiful. It's a very quiet place, full of greenery and peace, detached from all that goes on outside," his eyes lit up and his face softened, like his voice. "Old trees line the driveway and fill the parkland, some yews there are over a thousand years old. And nearby is a wonderful cemetery. You'll love it. It's really a work of art more than anything. Atmospheric."
I flashed my teeth at him in a grin, tickled, and arched my eyebrows at him. "So – you're inviting me out for a date at a cemetery?"
"Yeah," he gave me a slowly growing, lopsided smirk. "Yeah, I guess I am."
I laughed and shook my head, drawing my knees close to my chest. "Alright," I grinned at him again. "Go on."
He smiled and leant back on the backrest, bracing his elbow leisurely on it. "The castle is from 13th century. There's a lot to explore there. And the acoustics are incredible, especially in the abbey ruins left in the forest on the grounds. Vladimir sometimes throws musical soirées there, hiring the most talented musicians, just for his selected guests. If you fancy hearing anybody, might be it could be arranged. We could go to Giverny, too, and have a nice picnic, you could take your sketchbook. Just rest and have a nice time. Then maybe to Rouen, to Mont Saint Michel, to Paris, to see the museums and to listen to some music, if you want. It's really up to you."
"Okay – okay, okay. You mean, that we would stay at your uncle Vladimir's there?"
"It's quiet and cosy. And old, as I said. I think you'd like it. There's a bedroom on the ground floor, you could take it," he offered, watching me in that seriousness again. "Mine's upstairs, no worries. The quiet might be good for the headaches you're having."
"And what about school? I just came back today-"
He shrugged and curled his lip up in derision. "No problem. I can get father or any of the doctors at the hospital to sign you're too sick to attend. And we can catch up together as we're there."
"I can't travel abroad without dad's signed consent. And he won't let me go."
"Well, either you can make it so he signs it without noticing what he's signed, or I can just copy his signature no problem."
"A forgery?! Jesus, Edward, that stinks of monumental trouble."
He gave a careless shrug. "Alright. Leave it to me. I'll get it for you, signed by Mr. Swan himself."
"How?"
"As I said," he smirked, eyes twinkling. "Leave it to me."
"And when do you mean to go?"
He checked his Smartphone. "It flies tomorrow at 12:18. It's a long journey, I know, but it will be worth it, I promise. And we'll get back before he does. We'd just have to deal with Angela somehow so she doesn't raise Hell that you're not here."
"Wait, wait, wait, you're serious? You're not just joking?"
"Dead serious."
"I'll think about it," I said at length.

xxx

Dad was already gone. There was just a short note reminding me he'll return on Monday morning, the week after the next. I plopped down on the couch, staring at it.
In the beginning, he had been different. Uncommunicative, sure, but he seemed to care in his own way, the firm, silent way I knew from childhood.
He will be much tougher guardian of my health than mum, I had thought back then. But I was wrong. He was a different person now. No longer the dad who was happy to have some dad-daughter time, even if it was only so long it somehow involved fishing, bowling or the sea life. No longer the strict, reserved dad the six-years-old Bella could always rely on in time of crisis. Where did it go wrong exactly?
I forced myself to accept it was time to move on and to think about my future. In few months I'll be eighteen. I'll be able to move out. I sat down with a pen and paper and counted all the money I had on my account and the money mum left me, adding among the assets the small house great-grandpa passed onto me in Hathersage, currently let out. Put together, it was not much. Do I go back to England and finish high school there? Do I move in to that house in Hathersage and arrange it somehow with the people who are renting it now, so as to not to lose this only stable source of income I have? Do I leave Edward and Angela?
Or do I stay and ask Angela if I can move in with her – or do I ask Edward?
Another deep breath.
Alright.
I needed to have a serious talk with Edward. One for which it was maybe way too early, but I didn't have much time left to waste.
I checked my travel insurance; fortunately, it lasted till the end of the next month. My passport was okay, too. I packed up and called Edward I'll go with him.

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Author's note: Shout-out to Kochabilka, Traceybuie, JustAnotherBaggins and SilverontheRose, you've all made my day(s)!:-) I got motivated and got it together sooner than I thought I'd be able to. So, hope you enjoy. The next chapter is from some 70% done, I'd say... I'm looking forward to working on it.