Thank you all so much for the reviews on the last chapter! I was so happy to see that so many of you enjoyed it. This chapter holds a very upset and confused Edward and Bella. This is a short chapter but extremely important!

Chapter Ten: Warm

Edward's Point of View:

I have lost my mind.

Not that there was much left to lose in the first place. Why does she make me so damn confused? Why does she have that power over me? I fully intended on torturing her in the woods for a good four to five hours straight. I didn't expect that kiss, no matter how brisk it was. I didn't expect to get so emotional over the fucking kiss either.

I can't do this again. Love only causes problems. Not that I am in love with her! I'm not. I can't be. I don't love. That is not how I work. That is not how I operate. She is just an insignificant little human that I kidnapped to use as an anger outlet so I can function properly in public. I brought her here to destroy her soul, extinguish her damn flames. So why is it that I am currently holding her sleeping form in my arms? After about twenty minutes of us sitting on the ground, staring at each other, I gathered her in my arms and rocked her to sleep.

I rocked her to sleep!

I don't know what this girl is doing to me but I need to stop it! Now! With fierce determination, I pulled her away from me and let her fall to the ground. She didn't even stir. She slept soundly. I looked down at her face and a feeling of disgust washed over me. Not at her but myself. I hurt her pretty face. I marred her flawless cream colored skin with large blue and purple bruises, cuts, both long and short. Her eyes were practically swollen shut and one was puffed out in a sickening way. Her normally full pink lips were cut in spaces and unhealthily swollen. Her neck carried both dark and light bruises that disappeared under her shirt. I couldn't look anymore.

Usually I would be rejoicing in my amazing artwork, but now… now I was sickened by it. How could I do this to such an innocent and fearless creature? She didn't deserve this. Most didn't but that never stopped me before. I never even thought twice about cutting someone to pieces. Why is this girl influencing me so much?

I looked back at the sleeping girl. I wished to be able to see in her head. I wanted to know what she thought of me. Why did I want to know? I have no idea, but I wanted it, desperately.

I wanted to know all of her thoughts. I wanted to know why she fought so hard, why she never gave in or gave up. Why is she the way she is? I wanted to know if she thought the same about me. Did she wonder why I am the way I am? Was she curious as to why I hurt people? All of the thoughts going through my mind, all of the questions were driving me even more insane.

Though she was bruised terribly, I couldn't help but smile at the beauty underneath. Not just physically. I admired her spirit, her fire, her spunk. So why was I trying so desperately to destroy it? Lost in my hectic thoughts, I barely noticed Isabella begin to move around. She was making painful noises and moving restlessly but she seemed to still in a deep sleep. Her breathing and heartbeat were clear indicators to that. I caught a few jumbled words leaving her lips.

"No… hate…why?"

The one worded pleas stayed going for a few minutes. She seemed to be mumbling incoherently. I stopped listening after a while and just stared at her. What is it about this girl? She frustrates me to no end. I want so badly to kick her until she cries. I can't. Every time that I have hit her, I have walked away feeling guilty. Fucking guilty! I don't feel anything like that. That is not Edward Anthony Cullen's way of dealing with things. But as I gazed, yes I fucking gazed, down at the battered beauty. Something deep within me stirred.

Something familiar that had disappeared many years ago. An amazing warm feeling spread all throughout my body, bringing my cold heart to the surface, I sighed in frustration at the way I was thinking. Since when do I think about these types of things? I couldn't help but remember the last time I had thought so clearly, so human like. I refused to relive that day. That day ended terribly and changed my very existence.

I closed my eyes, trying desperately to rid myself of the images of that day. A warm hand touched my ankle. I opened my eyes to see two wide and tearful brown ones staring up at me. I looked at her with confusion and something else that not even I could place. I could feel Isabella's hand tightening around my ankle as she lifted herself from where she lay. Taking a few deep breaths, she opened her mouth and spoke for the first time in what seemed like ages.

"Don't cry," her sweet voice whispered. My eyes widened at her words.

Cry? I wasn't crying.

It was then that I noticed the heart wrenching noises. They were painful to hear and broken. They were coming from me. I quickly looked away from her, quieting the sounds immediately. I felt cold as she removed her hand away from me. She scooted herself back against the tree. I looked back up and saw the fear in her eyes. She was afraid of me. Of course she is. That is what I want, isn't it? I don't know what caused her to have that reaction now? She was just comforting me, now she was pretty much cowering to the tree.

This is what I want.

I had to chant the words over and over again as I stared into Isabella's eyes. I seemed to do that a lot. It was an act that I had always avoided. Seeing the eyes is like seeing the soul. That was not something that I wanted. But I felt a magnetic pull to them whenever I was around her. So it angered me for some reason that she should look so scared right now. Why didn't she look like she usually did? I could feel the anger in me rising. I hated not knowing things. I never had this problem. But I can't read her damn mind, so now I always have this problem.

The hatred I felt for her was bubbling to the surface. I stood quickly, towering over her. Her wide eyes watched my every movement. I took a step closer to her, grabbing a fist full of her messy hair and dragged her up until she was standing. She made no sounds. She just stared. I could see confusion, hurt, and many other emotions fly across her eyes in less than three seconds. I don't know what I was planning to do. I never really did. I held onto her hair but otherwise made no move to do anything else.

I felt her warm arms slide across my hips and attach around my waist. I was stunned and frozen in place. My hand soon loosened its grip from her hair. I had no control over my body. I usually didn't, but my body never went in this type of direction.

I wrapped my arms around her neck, holding her close to me. I wanted to stop whatever I was doing and I could tell that she felt the same, but she seemed to be in the same boat as me. Her hands tightened around my waist as she lifted herself up on the toes of her shoes. My arms were loose around her neck, giving her full advantage to attach her lips to mine.

The kiss started out slow and unsure but soon turned into a fierce competition of dominance. Both of us were refusing to relinquish power. I barely noticed as we fell to the ground, her body on top of my own. Our hands switched places, so mine were wound tightly around her waist as hers were pulling roughly at my hair.

My mind was screaming at me that I shouldn't be doing this but I just couldn't stop. Everything faded away except for her. It was just me and it was her. I barely registered the fact that we were rolling, and rolling until my back came into contact with water. In the heat of the moment we had rolled ourselves into the small creek that was just outside of the line of trees. Not even water could extinguish the fire that was blazing between the two of us.

Soon we were drenched and slipping away from each other, only to pull back immediately. I never wanted this kiss to end. It was so unlike anything that I have encountered but somehow felt familiar, too familiar. Images filled my mind: her flowing red hair, her bright blue eyes, her sweet voice screaming in agony.

I couldn't take it. I pushed the soaking girl away from me. She looked at me, seemingly dazed. Water dripped from her hair and face, but it wasn't her face. It wasn't the heart shaped face that belonged to Bella. Brown eyes were replaced with icy blue, mahogany locks were taken over by a fire red color. My eyes took in the appearance. How could I do this?

This wasn't her. She wasn't her. I couldn't.

"I can't. I can't. Why her? I can't."

My voice was foreign to me as I sobbed relentlessly and muttered words that barely made sense. I can't do this. She was gone. This girl was not her. Not her! I looked up again and sure enough, I was met with worried doe brown eyes.

Not her.

Isabella is not her.

So… confused? Are they going too fast? That needed to happen so we can start to uncover the mystery that is Edward. Give me your thoughts on this chapter and who you think Edward was obsessing about. It may surprise you.