The Twilight characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. Thank you for the reviews!!

Chapter 10

Edward's face was wild with anger, I tried to step backwards away from him but a root caught my heel and sent me sprawling backwards. His ice-cold hand caught my arm before I could make contact with the muddy, moss covered ground.

"What the hell were you thinking Bella?" His eyes were darting from tree to tree, seeing things my mortal eyes were blind to,

"I-I.." My voice caught in my throat. He shook me violently and my head snapped back into the tree behind me. Bright lights exploded behind my eyelids.

"Edward! Stop it!" Blood had stopped flowing to my arm below his grip. Anger and fear were boiling just below my pain. I had never seen Edward like this before. He leaned in close to me.

"What are you doing out here?" He snarled through his teeth at me. My mind was trying to process everything at once. How come Edward couldn't smell James? What had Alice shown him? He began to drag me back through the forest towards my house. I dug my heels down into the ground but it was no use.

"What's wrong with you Bella? You can't just go wandering around in the forest!" Edward was yelling at me, his voice echoed through the trees. I was tired of Edward pushing me around.

"I can walk on my own, you don't need to drag me. And you're hurting me!" Edward dropped his hand from my arm instantly. His head dropped and he adopted a sad puppy dog look, his bronze hair fell into his face.

"I'm sorry Bella." I was expecting him to start kicking the grass and stick his hands in his pockets like a little boy who had been scolded. "It's just.. after Alice told me where you guys went and what she saw… I was so worried about you."

"Well you don't have to treat me like a child" I held my head up and puffed out my chest, trying to look more formidable then I was. Of course it was pointless, Edward was a frighteningly strong vampire, and I was a mere mortal.

"Can we just go back to your house and talk?" Edward held his hand out, waiting for me to take it this time.

Resignation propelled me forward and I slipped my hand into his. I knew he had just been worried about me. I wished again for a little independence from Edward. I wanted the freedom to roam where I wanted on my own without being tracked down by a vampire.

"Bella, love, you're not thinking clearly." Edward was trying to sooth me now, like I had just thrown a temper tantrum for not getting my way. I suppose that was exactly what I had done.

"Don't you remember what happened last time you were alone in the forest?" He was pulling me faster now. I kept tripping over the ground trying to keep up.

"He's not going to hurt me Edward." He stopped abruptly and I ran right into his back. I knew I had made a mistake.

"What did you say?" He had heard me perfectly clear, but he didn't want to accept it.

"I just, I don't think he would come back for me." I was back peddling, trying to cover my tracks. Edward hadn't smelled James out in the forest and I didn't want to tell him he was out there. James had said he was weak. He wouldn't be able to survive a fight this time for sure.

"What makes you think he is alive? Alice said she wasn't sure." Edward was watching the trees behind me now. His stance took on a predatory crouch.

"I just have a feeling Edward. Can't we please just move on? Let it go.." I was trying to keep moving now, we were only a few feet from the clearing behind my house. Desperation was making me reckless. I pushed myself into Edward's arms and kissed his neck.

"Maybe we can have a replay of this afternoon?" My voice wasn't as seductive as I had hoped for. It was high and bordering on panic.

Edward relaxed and put his arm around my waist. He looked deep into my eyes and then he kissed my forehead. In one quick movement he swept me up into his arms. I struggled to kept my irritation at once again being denied the right to use my own feet stuffed down in my chest, I wanted to get Edward out of the forest. I knew sooner or later he would realize that I hadn't answered his question as to why I was out there in the first place.

When we reached my house Edward opened the back door silently and carried me upstairs without waking Charlie. Once we were in my room everything stopped feeling real. Edward was like a stranger to me. It wasn't possible for a normal human girl like me to be torn between two vampires. This sort of thing didn't happen in real life. I put my head in my hands, trying to get a grip on my life.

"Bella, I don't think that you are thinking clearly.." Edward was massaging my shoulders, trying to coax me into relaxing.

"Maybe you should let Carlisle give you something to calm you down." He said it in a stern, fatherly voice. The other Bella in me was coming out now. She was upset with Edward for treating her like a baby.

"Like what?" I snapped. The idea of taking medicine because Edward didn't like my attitude was upsetting to me.

"Don't worry about it, just something to make you feel better." He was helping me out of my clothes and into a pair of pajamas. Edward moved my arms for me like I was a doll. I wanted to argue with him and tell him I felt fine, but exhaustion was hitting me hard.

"Now you need to sleep. There's only a few days left until school is out. You should finish out the year." I wanted to yell at him to get out of my house, he couldn't tell me what to do! My brain was too tired to fight back though. The sad truth was that Edward could make me do whatever he wanted. I was just a weak human.

We were lying on bed together, much closer then normal. Edward had decided not to take me up on my offer to go for round two, part of me was extremely thankful. I couldn't get myself to feel as close to Edward as usual. Something was getting in the way. No, not something, someone.

It took hours for me to fall asleep. Images of James kept swimming in and out of my consciousness, and Edward's tight hold on me made it hard for me to calm down. If only he would go away for a while I could think straight, but he didn't move an inch the entire night. Edward wasn't going to let me out of his sight ever again I thought as I finally drifted off into fitful nightmares.