A/N: The real world is sucking up most of my time. I try to get at least two hours of writing a day done, though.

Question I've been asked a lot: Do you have a posting scedule? No, I ship them out as fast as I can write them.

May

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Bella

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"Bella, I… I don't understand," Charlie bumbled over his words.

"I feel like Washington is holding me back, dad. I mean, I've always wanted to travel the world, see all the places there is to see. I just know this is my golden opportunity."

I'd recited these words over and over out loud and in my head. I had them written down on a wrinkled piece of paper that my hands had been nervously twisting. I wanted to save my mother for last because as a fleeting soul herself, she would understand more than Charlie.

Charlie, on the other hand, was more than upset. "Bella, this is ridiculous! You really need to sit down and think about what you're doing. You're in school, you have a job, and you have an apartment. I—I don't know why you feel like now is the pivotal time in your life to go out somewhere that you haven't even determined yet."

My eyes snapped to Edward as he darted around my apartment. There were boxes littering the floor with different possessions of mine packed neatly in bubble wrap and Styrofoam. He had compacted his penthouse into boxes and put them into storage after fixing the wall and disposing of the broken furniture in the guest room.

At the moment he was wrapping up my picture frames and photo albums. He stopped to look at one, my senior portrait. He said I looked like I was staring into the great unknown the first time he'd seen it. His eyelids rolled up and he looked at me, bright gold unwavering as always but wide with his never ending apologies.

"Bella? Bella!" Charlie screamed through the line.

"Um, what?" I mumbled.

"God, Bella, give me something to go on, why are you doing this? Where are you going? When are you coming back?" he sounded desperate.

"Dad… I—I—" I looked over to Edward who was trying to give me my privacy by not watching. His hands were in a waist high box and upon my hesitation his eyes snapped to mine and he was behind me.

"It's okay," he whispered, stroking my hair. "Tell him what you've been practicing."

"I'm going anywhere the wind takes me," I deadpanned. I coughed and tried to put more enthusiasm into it. "I don't really know, dad. I just want to travel, east, south, maybe up north. I don't know when I'll be back or… or…" If I'll come back.

"Jeez kid," he sighed. "Can't you at least say goodbye?"

My shoulders hunched and Edward's hand smoothed up and down my spine. "Dad, I'm leaving really soon and I still have to settle things at work and with the landlord here."

He sighed. "Alright… I guess. It's so abrupt and unplanned. This is really unlike you, Bells."

I bit my lip to stifle the sobs. "Yeah, I know."

"Try and call me when you get the chance, okay?"

"Mmhmm, I love you dad."

"Love you, too, Bells." His voice cracked but he managed to cover it up with a gruff cough.

I punched the red button on my phone and snapped it shut. My knees supported my elbows as I hunched over and tried to breathe through my nose. The usual calm that came to me was slipping through my fingers. Edward was there to catch it as he pulled me into his side.

"Not all is lost," he murmured. "Just because we're on the run doesn't mean you have to lose all contact."

"If they're hunters—if they're determined—any contact with Charlie could put him in danger."

Edward said nothing, but reached his hand out to several books across my coffee table. I had yet to decide which ones I wanted to take and which to leave. I had narrowed it down to ten and could only take five. For such a small decision it felt like it was tearing apart my stomach.

"Personally," Edward said, trying to lighten the mood. "I would go with Sartre."

"Why not Camus?" I asked in defiance.

He gave me a side glance and put Sartre down and Camus into a small canvas bag. I blindly picked out the other four into the bag and ignored his worried stare. I was picky when it came to literature, as he was when it came to music.

Edward sighed and went back to packing, my room and the bathroom had been cleared out and put into storage with his things. He picked an underground place a few miles from the city. After picking up a truck he spent hours hauling things down there and packing. He said our security was top priority and therefore two hours of commuting time was worth it.

The plan was to air out our scent enough to give no clear sign of where we were going. Where we were going, I had no idea.

Even though there had been no determined place, I had a feeling that we were going towards Edward's sire. His search for him over the years had been unsuccessful and he never left me for very long. Now that I was by his side I felt some pride that I would no longer be holding him back.

I flipped open my phone and pressed the speed dial for Renee. Might as well get it over with.

The other line beeped with a busy signal and I groaned. Of course. Of course Charlie would call Renee and tattle on me. I threw the plastic into the couch cushion and stood up frustratedly. Edward was packing up plates and cups, I moved to the silver wear. The right half of the drawer was suddenly gone and Edward had it wrapped up.

"The last thing we need is for you cut yourself on a knife," he gave me a pointed glance.

"A butter knife," I mumbled.

"The point is to smother our scents, your blood would be the worst possible thing to do that."

I turned away from him and went to my room. His protectiveness was irritating me and the tension that had been consuming both of us for last couple of days was settling in the wrong way.

I pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweat shirt before grabbing my keys. Edward's eyes narrowed at me and I glared back.

"I have to go to work," I snapped and waited for him to fight back.

"Everything is settled." His jaw was tight and his eyes darkened. I shrunk back at his intimidating glare and swallowed.

"I want to do it on my own time and my way," I muttered. My voice cracked and I cursed myself for being too weak to stand up for what I wanted.

"One hour," he ordered.

I turned and left, not in the mood to argue or bargain. I took my time walking through the hall of my apartment building, shifting and memorizing every aspect of the crossing patterns. I breathed in the musky scent of the elevator man who looked bored out of his mind. I smiled at him as I left.

The walk to work was slow and I tried to enjoy, but my leg muscles were stiff with pain and unused. I had stopped school, taken off from my job and given up the lease on my home. I wondered how this would affect me when I came back—if I came back. There were two sides of the spectrums to look at and both were scaring me. Live and most likely be supported by Edward because of the stigma this ordeal would leave, or be on the run for the rest of my life.

I reached the book shop and found Leah at the front desk, pissed and typing furiously on the computer. Her head snapped up with a faulty smile as the bell rang. When her eyes met mine her expression went back to pissy.

"Bella," she greeted curtly.

I sucked in a deep breath through my nose. "Leah," I nodded. "I wanted to apologize for the abruptness of my departure."

"Yeah, I know, your boyfriend told me all about it." She blew me off with a twist of her hand and went back to slamming the keyboard.

"My boyfriend?" My brow furrowed and she looked at me like I had three heads.

She guffawed loudly. "Oh come on, don't play stupid."

"I'm not."

"Well then, maybe you're just blind." She shrugged. "Anyway, it's fine, I already hired your replacement, she'll be in next week."

"Oh," I said dumbly.

She gave me a dismissive glare and stacked some papers. Was that it? No, it couldn't be, where was the part where she handed me my papers for future references and job opportunities?

"Um, Leah?" I asked a bit timidly.

"What, Bella," she sighed.

"I was just wondering if you had my transcripts? You know, for my resume?"

"Ha! Yeah, I have 'em in the back, but I wouldn't recommend you as an employee to anyone." I blanched. "Oh come on, Bella! When you got here you replaced a girl with a master's degree. You were just going in to college and held a job only at a sporting goods store."

I opened my mouth to say something, but words failed me. She was right, at the time I was too ecstatic over obtaining my Dream Job to really care about how or why I had gotten it in the first place. Now, with it mapped out in front of me I could finally see.

"No… no, he couldn't have…" I mumbled.

"Hmmm," Leah hummed. "You must have one thick skull if you don't think your boyfriend isn't controlling everything."

"He's not my boyfriend—he's not controlling anything." Even to my own ears my voice sounded desperate. I was trying to escape what I knew was true and it wasn't fooling my old boss or me.

"Bella, take it from someone with experience," Leah's voice dropped. "You're in way over your head, and before you try and argue against it, tell me, why are exactly are you leaving?"

My mouth hung open and I tried to remember some of the things I'd written on that wrinkled piece of paper when I spoke with Charlie. "To travel the world, this is my golden opportunity."

She didn't look convinced.

"Alright, Bella. You remember when you're with that man and you're doing things you don't want to just because he said so, how golden this opportunity is."

I turned on my heel and left the book shop trying not to punch her. Maybe there was half truth or whole truth in what she said but I was shaking too hard to get the proper parts in my brain to function correctly. What did she know? Nothing! That's what she knew, nothing at all.

I turned the corner and smacked into a hard object. I thought it was strange that a new street light had been put in but street lights don't normally have a disapproving aura about them.

"One hour. Five. Minutes," Edward hissed.

"Jesus Christ," I snapped, irate and not thinking twice about my actions. Edward's eyes narrowed into slits and he growled.

My jaw trembled and my mind started racing at what I'd just done. I stepped around him and started to walk back home. Edward was on my heels the entire time I could feel two holes searing through my head at his anger.

Leah's words came back and hit in me in the chest. Something I don't want….

I felt an imminent break down coming on and I tried not to sniffle and alert him. I'd get no sympathy as I'd learned several times in the past. Once we were inside the building he grabbed onto my forearm and pulled me into the elevator, black eyes searing past my watery ones.

"Don't you ever snap at me like that," he hissed. "Especially when all I'm all trying to do is protect you."

"I wouldn't need protection if you hadn't provoked James," I mumbled and the flood gate broke loose. I might as well have been wearing a grin on my face because none of it affected him.

"It was a mistake; you've made grave mistakes before, as well."

His accusation made me gasp and I struggled against his hold and when he didn't let go I screamed. His free hand covered my mouth and I tried to bite him but it was like chewing a rock. The elevator doors opened and he threw me over his shoulder with his hand still on my mouth and the other came down hard on my bottom.

I whimpered behind his hand and kicked my legs, hoping to just fall from his grip and melt into the floor. He smacked me again, this time much more deliberate and closer to my tail bone. I screamed and my struggling became more violent as pain took over my adrenaline rush.

The anger and agitation were gone, instead replaced with desperation to escape from him before he took his wrath out in a much more effective way.

I was thrown onto the bed, face down, and I didn't have time to bounce against the soft mattress before I was back over his lap with my legs forced together by his belt and dangling over his thighs. My breathing was ragged while he began to growl low in his chest.

"No, please—no," I panted and pleaded. "Don't, please don't, Edward! I'm sorry, I didn't mean it! Please—"

His hand came down on my rear and I screamed. The denim of my jeans mashed into my flesh beneath his palm. My hand went down to cover the stinging area but he yanked them back over my head and came down with another hit.

"No!" I screamed. "Stop, Edward, please!"

"Don't you ever,"—his hand came down—"ever,"—once more—"take that tone of voice with me, Isabella."

I wailed into the fabric of the bed, mucus running from my nose, big fat tears falling from my eyes. Edward shifted and pulled down my pants and panties and I started to struggle even more. I could feel the sting as the fabric came down and scratched my skin.

"Please, Edward," I muttered into the bed. "I'll be good—I-I…" I choked on my sobs and started to cough. His hand paused where he'd hit and rubbed my skin almost affectionately. "P-please," I sobbed.

"Who do you belong to?" Edward's voice was hard and cold.

I sucked back the mucus in my nose. "Y-you."

"Who do you take orders from?"

"You."

"Who made you defiant?" he said quieter this time. I paused and his hand lifted. "I'll ask one more time…"

"Leah," I whispered.

He dropped his hand, this time to gently stroke my rear and press his cold forearm to my burning flesh. I sobbed quietly into the bed and tried to forget about the pain. I had to give that up, the look on Edward's face, pure, unadulterated anger just made me cry louder.

Eventually he lifted me up and laid me on my stomach in bed. A cold wet cloth was placed over my enflamed bottom and I fell asleep to try to and forget about the pain.

--

It had been six months….

Six months since this man came into my life and haunted my every waking and dreaming moment. Red eyes soon faded to gold and for some reason the strange change made me unsettled because it brought back the Quileute legends from when I was a child.

Gold eyed monsters were supposed to be good. They were peaceful and just wanted to live happily among everyone else.

Red eyed monsters hurt people. They hunted anything they wanted and showed no mercy whatsoever.

This monster was heartless, he was red eyed, and yet his eyes were a light honey color today. He rocked himself in my mother's old chair and watched me like usual. I had become used to it and could easily finish my homework under his studious glare.

In six months he'd uttered only a few sentences, nothing of consequence, not even a name. In the time that he'd been here it was impossible not to stare at him and think that he wasn't human, there was just too much beauty on that horrendously evil face.

Even if I hated him I could not deny that he was attractive. Old legends reminded me that that was how they often got to their prey. They would trick them with their good looks and charms and then when the assailant had the victim to themselves, they would drink and gorge on their blood before moving onto the next one.

I was lying on my stomach, one arm supporting my head and the other scribbling a rough draft for history. I hadn't been able to accomplish much, but because the deadline was in two days I had to finish something, even if it wasn't amazing. My grades had to stay up, my father judged how I was feeling based on how my grades were, if they dropped he'd usually take me fishing and try to talk some of my worries out to him.

I was afraid that if I had the temptation of Charlie alone I would give in too easily and only end up hurting him. It was worth keeping this pent up frustration and anxiousness if it meant that the people around me were safe.

Since I'd talked to Lauren we hadn't spoken about it. He hadn't heard us in there and relief swelled me every time I thought about one person knowing what I was going through. But I still worried for Lauren, she would often give me looks that would ask me if I was ready. I didn't want tell anyone else, but… I was scared.

"What are you working on?" the man in the corner asked.

I jumped from my spot on the bed and stared at him with wide eyes. He was sitting casually, as per usual, in the old rocking chair. His cheek rested on his fist and one leg was crossed over the other at the knee. He looked… bored.

I blinked for a while, opened and closed my mouth and after a few minutes of silence, looked back at my paper and tried to remember exactly what I was writing.

"Twentieth century illness and advancement in medicine up to the modern age," I mumbled.

His body shifted and I snapped my eyes up to his. The bored look slid off his face, replaced by one of mild intrigue. It was the first time I'd seen the dangerous expression removed and something less intimidating—yet still frighteningly etched into his features.

"Have you heard of the Spanish influenza?" he asked solemnly.

I gaped at him and snapped my mouth closed, looking down at the text book that had a paragraph of information about that very flu. I looked back him, his face was still masked, but I didn't feel the dread that usually slid down my spine.

"I have… there's not much information on it…" I hesitated a bit.

"I have my fair share of knowledge." He slumped back into the chair, looking at ease for once.

His voice melted over me and my tense shoulders fell without my consent. "Would you mind… if I interviewed you?"

Might as well use him for something if he'd be around for awhile.

He smirked. "Of course."

I bit my lip, trying not to imagine myself dressed as Sherlock Holmes. I pulled out a clean piece of paper. "Name?"

His lips twitched and he shifted in an arrogant manor. "Edward Cullen."

A/N: Did you think he was going soft? No way! I don't know what I'd do if I had to pick five books. I think I'd cry and never make the decision.

The Countdown to Halloween hosted by Breath Of Twilight has been going on all month. They're all Halloween related one-shots with authors, such as myself. The link is on my profile if you want to go check it out.

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