AN: Another thank you message… I'm doing this all the time I know, but I got my aim of 150 total reviews and 250 total favourites after the last chapter. So thank you soo much!

Also, some of you guys are ridiculously paranoid! Suspicious, much? Doesn't hurt I guess, in a fic like this - keeps you prepared for the worst and keeps me amused with your great theories. Love you all, I'll shut up now.


**TLoU**

After about ten minutes of waiting, the breakdown people left with my truck in tow: literally. They had told me to call up in a couple of days and see it was repaired. My insurance should cover the cost of the car problems but there were a lot of more pressing issues. Like how on earth I was going to get to work. I had sort of decided that after my brief trip to the hospital I would get a hotel room and stay in Seattle until my truck was ready for pick up. Charlie would freak out if I told him I was in the hospital, but I'm not a great liar especially around my dad so I guess it's unavoidable, especially since I needed to explain my absence. A hotel raises more issues though, I don't have any work clothes but the ones I'm already in. I was probably going to have to go shopping, and I grimaced. The thought of a stressful day at the shops filled me with more dread than the car accident.

I was cold by this point, the harsh winds ripping across the road and open areas with no thought or respect to my coat as it battled in vain to keep me warm. This wasn't going to be a pleasant winter; I could feel the chill setting in and making its home in Seattle for the foreseeable future.

Sitting on the chilly iron railing wasn't helping much, I felt like I was absorbing the cold as I sat there. It didn't warm my insides either that it was Edward Cullen that was coming to pick me up. He would be unlikely to get anything but a frosty reception.

I was more than a little embarrassed to have to call Edward for help. Scratch that, I was mortified. Not only did I hate to be anyone's damsel in distress, I also resented hugely that Edward had to see me in a vulnerable position. I was half-expecting him to turn up and laugh at me.

I heard a roaring sound, the kind that only accompanies an expensive engine. I looked up with a resigned expression to see Edward's Lamborghini approaching down the outside lane with some haste. I noted in the back of my mind that he was definitely breaking some kind of highway code by undertaking people like that. Then I laughed at my own mental note, thinking of the irony of a major criminal like Edward just getting picked up for a speeding ticket.

He pulled into the hard shoulder so quickly that I thought for a second he could never have the time to stop in time. But he did. Screeching to a halt a couple of feet in front of me. I sighed. Boy and their toys.

He opened the door immediately, engine still running and strode over to me. He looked me up and down, focusing on my forehead and my neck as his eyes narrowed. He looked angry, like really angry. I wasn't surprised, I'd just dragged him out from his house to come pick me up. He didn't even like me and now he had to do me a favour just because I didn't have many friends in Seattle. I'd be pissed off too.

I was just about to apologise when he barked out, "Where is he?"

I furrowed my brow in confusion, "Where's who?"

He looked at me like I was stupid, before growling, "The fucker that almost got you killed."

"Oh. Why are you assuming they're a he?" I asked, genuinely curious at the logic.

"Where is she, then?" He questioned immediately.

I shook my head, "It was more hypothetical. I'm not sure who it was you just didn't need to assu-"

Edward dragged his hand through his hair and spoke quietly in a voice filled with frustration, "Please don't be difficult, Isabella."

"I'm not trying to be," I said as I bit my lip. I released it when I watched his near-black eyes focus in on it.

He shook his head, flexed his fingers and knelt on both knees in front of me, looking at my head wound closer.

"Are you alright, Bella?" He asked softly, his fingers moving towards my head. I cupped the wound with my hand, not wanting him to make a fuss over it. I realised though that was the first time he'd actually called me Bella. It felt weird. Too personal coming from him; it was easier being Isabella to him because it was like a mask. I could be 'Isabella Swan - Annoying Pain in the Ass' to him, and Bella to my friends.

"It's fine. It's nothing." I told him, my breath a little funny from the proximity. I hated that he could have any effect on me, but looking into his dark eyes like this; noticing his five o'clock shadow on his jaw and the stress lines on his forehead, made me want to do bad things.

"Isabella, I've seen a lot of injuries in my time," Edward told me, his voice fitting back into the pattern of the serious control-freak I knew and hated.

"And I've been injured a lot," I retorted, my nostrils flaring a little. "I know whether something is bad, and I don't even feel faint. If you touch it and I see the blood, you'll be taking an unconscious Bella to the hospital, which is probably even worse than just me."

Edward sighed, clearly frustrated with my response. "Fine, fine. Please, can you just take your hand away so I can see it? I promise I won't touch."
I studied his expression and he seemed genuine enough. I was a little worried he'd show me it on purpose just to get some revenge on me from earlier, but even I didn't think him quite that petty.

"Since you said please," I replied, and moved my hand.

"See, I can be nice," He said in a distracted voice as he looked at it with a frown.

"Please and thank you isn't nice, it's just common courtesy. I bet you Hitler said please from time to time and he's not exactly a nice person," I retorted.

Edward ignored what I said and looked at me, "You're right, the wound is shallow. It should be fine with a bandage and some time. I'm still taking you to the hospital about that neck though."

I sighed and said with a salute "Yes, Doctor Cullen."

It wasn't like I could disagree, if I didn't go with him I'd have to walk back to town.

He smiled a little, "You don't salute doctors."

I raised an eyebrow at him, "Maybe that's a 'nice person' exclusive."

He shook his head wearily, but I could see a crooked smile still on his face. My stomach fluttered at the sight of it. Sometimes his behaviour made him so unattractive that I forgot that outside of it was a beautiful exterior. If only it fucking matched his attitude though, I thought. No self-respecting woman would put themselves through the pain of having to interact with this guy beyond looking at him.

At that point, his hand touched mine. He looked at me in alarm, "Jesus, Bella, you're frozen. Get in the car, now."

I would have argued with his command but at this point, I didn't really care. He was right; I was absolutely frozen. I nodded and he pulled me up and walked off to the car. That contact alone was really strange to me. I would have to work on avoiding physical contact next time I saw him, it didn't make me feel right.

I followed him to the car, and opened the door to the passenger side. The car was very low to the ground, so it was a bit difficult to get in properly, but I managed it ungracefully. I saw him dart his eyes to the windshield as I looked at him, with a smile on his face. Oh great, now he's laughing at me. Getting into the car had hurt my neck quite a lot, it felt incredibly stiff and moving it at all sent shooting pain up my spine. Edward was right about sending me to the hospital for it, but I tried to keep my face blank as I hid the pain. I didn't want him to know he was right, that was a victory I wouldn't concede.

I watched him press some buttons, turning up heating and putting on my seat heating as I clipped myself in. I was already starting to warm up and my fingers hurt a little at the change in temperature. I rubbed them together to try and even out the warming more.

He then reversed quickly, before stopping abruptly and zooming onto the highway. The changes in direction made my head get pressed back into the seat, hurting my neck way more than anything else so far. I gasped slightly with the pain and my hand shot up to hold it.

Edward's eyes immediately shot to me.

"What is it? What's wrong? Your neck?" He questioned, looking a little pained.

"Yeah, sorry, it's fine." I mumbled, still lightly massaging my neck with my fingers.

"It's not fine. Don't lie to me," Edward said fiercely.

"I've had worse," I told him truthfully.

Edward looked extremely annoyed at that. Was there anything I said which didn't piss him off?

"Just watch the road, Edward," I said in a tired voice. It had been a long day and the warmth was making me a bit drowsy.

Edward just breathed out hard and turned his head back to the road reluctantly. He was tense, his jaw set. I must make him more uncomfortable than I realised.

I looked out the window and watched as Seattle came back into sight. The shapes all seemed to blur together, the blocks of flats and offices just blobs and lines as we drove swiftly past them. It all blended together, the urban canvas could have been any city in North America.

And then: nothing.