Bella was thankful for the warm air inside the restaurant. Although she could feel the coolness of Edward's skin, she still held on as they walked up to the hostess. The woman wore a bright smile, but Bella couldn't help but notice the way her eyes were glued to Edward. She and Edward shared an amused look as the woman began to stumble over her words after he had told her of their reservation.

Dinner was almost normal. The conversations that flowed between the two of them were as easy as they've always been, but there was something holding her back. There was a nagging voice lingering in the back of her mind as they talked. Bella couldn't stop thinking about what Edward had said about his ability to read minds. She found herself curious and terrified at the same time in trying to piece it together. If what he said was true, could he read her mind? Was he doing it right now?

She watched Edward closely. He made no outward reaction to her thoughts. She continued to watch him. She noticed how Edward had ordered a soup, but he hadn't touched it.

"Are you feeling okay?" She asked.

Edward's brow furled. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't eaten anything," Bella said, gesturing towards his untouched plate with her fork.

A tight smile stretched across his face. "Ah."

Edward picked up a spoon and dipped into into his soup. He awkwardly brought it up to his lips. He grimaced as he swallowed, as if it was painful for him to do so. Bella pursed her lips as she watched him. A heavy sigh spilled from between her lips. She wasn't sure what to do.

"Bella? Are you okay?"

"What did you mean about the mind reading?"

There, she had said it. Bella watched as Edward tensed, going completely still. Neither spoke for a few minutes. Edward grinned, however it was more sad than anything else.

"Nothing seems to get past you," he said, his tone had a bitter edge to it.

Bella frowned wrung her hands together in her lap, unsure of how to respond. "I guess not."

"I...are you sure you want to know? There's not going back."

Bella's heart thudded loudly in her ears. "I think it's a little too late for that."

Edward nodded, yet was hesitate to speak. She could tell he was having a hard time voicing his thoughts.

"I can read minds from a certain distance. It's apart of my secret, I suppose. My gift, if you want to call it that. When those men," his lips curled into a snarl as he spoke, "approached you I could hear their thoughts about you."

"So...you can read everyone's mind?"

Could he hear her now?

Edward laughed, the sound somewhat sour. "Everyone but you."

Bella rose an eyebrow. "Everyone but me? That seems kinda convenient."

She didn't think he was lying, yet she couldn't help but question how it seemed she was the only one immune to his gift. They were interrupted by their waitress. Her eyes focus only on Edward as she asked how their meal was going and if she could get them anything else. Instead of turning her away, like Bella thought he would, Edward turned towards the woman and said,

"She's not my sister. We're on a date right now."

The woman reared back, her face coloring as she started to stumble out an apology.

"I-I hadn't realized I said that out loud. I'm sorry. Let me know if there is anything I can get you."

Bella started after the woman, baffled beyond belief. Her tongue swiped across her bottom lip and she glanced back towards Edward. He refused to met her gaze, as if he was afraid of her reaction. She has almost ashamed to admit the thought of running crossed her mind. Things were never simple around him it seemed.

"Jesus Christ," Bella whispered, unable to to truly believe what she just witnessed. "Can you do that all the time or is there a switch?"

Edward frowned and shifted uncomfortably, whether from the question or the situation Bella had no clue.

"I can't turn it off."

"So you can read everyone's mind right now?"

Edward gave a jerky nod. "All except yours."

"Why not mine?"

"I haven't gotten the slightest clue. You're just...different."

Bella glanced around the room. "What does it sound it like?"

"Like a constant buzzing. I get little clips of what people are thinking. If I focus on a person I can hear them clearly."

"It must be terrible."

Edward nodded, his eyes boring into her. "You're taking this a lot better than I originally thought you would."

Bella shook her head. She felt as if she would faint at any moment. "I'm taking this horribly. You're lucky you can't hear my thoughts, I would have left by now."

Edward flinched back. "Really?"

His voice was small. He was obviously hurt by what she said. Bella sighed and rubbed her hand over her mouth.

"That's not what I meant. It's more of a privacy thing. How would we be able to set up boundaries if you could hear everything I was thinking? It wouldn't be fair."

Edward pursed his lips and looked away from her. "I'm in better control of myself now. My family and I have many boundaries with all of our gifts. I protect their secrets."

"What do you mean? Can your family read minds too?"

"With...our secret sometimes we can get different gifts. Not everyone has one. Alice and Jasper have different gifts. Only I can read minds."

Bella leaned forward, both intrigues and terrified. "What are they?"

He hesitated in his answer. "Alice has visions. She can see the future for lack of better words. Jasper is an empath. He can sense and control emotions."

Bella dropped back into her seat completely dumbfounded. "That sounds like a nightmare house."

"Imagine living in it."

Bella could feel her hands starting to shake. This was getting to be too much. She's not sure how much more of this she could handle.

Edward frowned as he watched her.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked, his tone full of concern.

It only made her feel guiltier as she said, "I think we need to go."

He nodded and called the waitress over. The two didn't speak much as they exited the restaurant. Edward lead her to where he had parked his car. There was a tense air between them. Bella couldn't offer any words of reassurance to him as she had reached her boiling point with his whole family secret ordeal. She needed time to process this. She needed time to think. It was becoming somewhat overwhelming. Edward just walked silently beside her, keeping his hand at the small of her back as he opened the passenger door for her.

They were 20 minutes into their drive when he spoke again.

"I'm sorry if I've made you upset, it wasn't my intention. I just...wanted to be honest with you. I wanted you to know what you were facing. I understand if you don't feel comfortable coming to my house anymore."

Bella struggled to answer. "It's not that. It's just a lot to take in."

"I understand."

They didn't talk the rest of the time. Bella didn't know if that was a good thing or not. She was left alone with her thoughts, tangled in different theories. The more she thought about it, the more she thought she deserved to know. Edward wasn't human, that much was obvious. If she and Edward were going to pursue any type of relationship, she needed to know what she was getting into.

It wasn't until they stopped outside her house that Bella gathered to courage to speak. Partly because she knew if she needed to, she could run.

"Edward, you said you wanted me to know what I facing, right?"

His fingers curled tighter around the steering wheel. His jaw locked as he said, "Yes, I do."

Bella took a shaky breath. "What are you?"

His body seemed to sag with defeat as he stared at Bella. His eyes were wide and fearful causing her to tense. She knew he would tell her. He looked too scared by her reaction not to being telling the truth.

"We're vampires."

He whispered it so softly, Bella wasn't sure she had heard him right the first time. Vampires. Jacob had told her her, but she hadn't believed, not completely. She tried to grasp onto something tangible with the Cullens, something human. Her chest tightened and she felt like she couldn't breath.

"Bella? Bella are you alright?"

She jumped back when Edward placed a hand on her shoulder. Bella pressed her body as tightly as she could against the car door to put some distance between her. Her mind screamed at her to run but her body was not responding. Edward held his hands up in surrender as his eyes turned glassy, as if he were going to cry.

"Please, Bella. Please let's just talk about this."

She let out a harsh laugh. "Vampires drink blood, right?"

"I-right."

"Was all of this to get me? Do you want to kill me?"

He hesitated and it was all she needed to know. A sob bubbled from her chest as she frantically reached for the door handle. This time Edward tried to restrain her.

"Wait! Please, Bella," he said as he latched onto her wrist. "It's not like that. Humans are just naturally more enticing with their scents. We don't kill humans! I would never hurt you."

"Get your fucking hands off me!"

"Bella-"

"Now! Let me go."

Bella flew out of the car the moment he released her. She refused to look back as she stepped inside the house. Wiping the tears from her face, Bella trudged up to her room. Charlie tried to ask her questions about her date, but Bella played it off as being too tired to talk. He had uneasily accepted her excuse, telling her she could talk to him about anything. Bella nodded and hid in her room. Once again, she had another sleepless night.

Jessica called the next day and she told her that her date just didn't work out.

"What do you mean 'it didn't work out'?"

"He just...Edward isn't exactly who I thought he was."

"Wh-"

"I just don't think it's going to work out Jess."

"Oh, okay. If you want Angela and I can come by? Have another girls' night?"

Bella laughed but the sound was hollow. "I got a lot of homework to do. Maybe we can another time."

Bella continued to ignore the Cullens, and they her. Not even Rosalie glared at her in the hallways. She said nothing of their secret and they said nothing to her. She figured she was safe as long as she keep her mouth shut. Bella was somewhat grateful for the distance but it didn't stop the nightmares. They were always the same. Her being chased in the woods by shadowy figures. She was never fast enough. They always caught up to her. After they attacked the dream would shift, and she found herself floating through nothingness, still feeling deathly afraid.

Surprisingly, it was Alice who was the first to sought her out. Edward, despite how miserable he appeared, never once tried to reach out to her. They were cordial to each other in biology, but that was about it. She had returned home one day to find a sticky note taped onto her window. At first she had thought it was from him, but the handwriting didn't match.

We have a lot to talk about. Forks Cafe tomorrow at 4 o'clock. Please come.

Alice

Her initial response was to throw the note away. She had nothing to talk to Alice about. What was done, was done. That was it. However, that didn't stop her from eyeing her trash can every few minutes. It was becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. She was trying to focus on homework, but found herself unable to. She was too preoccupied with what ifs. With a angry huff, Bella pulled the crumbled note from the waste bin. Opening it, Bella debated on her next course of action.

On one hand, Edward and his family were vampires. Vampires that no doubt thirsted for human blood. He had all but admitted to having some kind of thoughts of drinking from her. On the other hand, Edward had said that he and his family didn't drink human blood. If they didn't, than what did they drink?

Bella debated with herself the rest of the night. Back and forth she went until she finally decided to go. Alice wanted to meet at the coffee house. It was a public place. She wouldn't be alone with them and they couldn't hurt her in public, could they? God she was dumb. She must have been the biggest idiot in the world to go through with this, she thought as she parked outside the coffee shop.

You big dumb, stupid, idiotic-

"Bella!" Alice called out softly, over here.

Alice sat at a table with a tense, haggard looking Edward. Bella took a deep breath as she walked towards the pair. There was no backing out now.