Bella woke to Edwards arms holding her the next morning. She remained unmoving and silent until he greeted her and confirmed she had slept well.

"Your father has left to work. You are excused from school. I don't think you should go there today."

"Why?" Bella asked, barely above a whisper.

"You need to rest." Edward answered immediately. "And it will be a difficult day for the children there today." Bella was confused. She really didn't like missing school. It was the only normal thing she was left with since she arrived in Forks besides dinners with her father in the place of Renee and Phil.

"Because of the accident" She concluded

"Yes" Edward was unsure how to tell her what he needed to say. He let out a loud sigh and went to stand by the window facing outside. "The boy in the van is dead."

Bella's eyes shot to the back of his head in shock. Her mind tried to come up with reasons how he could die when the accident hadn't been that bad. Edward had stopped the van from colliding fully with her truck. The most he should have had would be an injury of some sort. How could he have died? Her heart beat was suddenly very fast and too loud to Edward's ears.

"I killed him." He confessed. "He endangered your life, my existence and my family's peace. He had to die." Bella's heart beat impossibly faster and louder. Her mind was blank. She was frozen cold under her bed covers.

Edward listened intently to the reaction her body had to his words. Shock! Disbelief! Fear! He concluded she was afraid of him. The room reeked of her fear and it choked him so much he stopped breathing. The spot he fixed his eyes on within the thick forest was where he wished he could be; running free and breathing in clean air. But he was rooted in place. Minutes ticked on in the silence of the room. Bella pushed the covers off her a few long minutes later.

"I need to use the bathroom," She informed when Edward turned his head to look at her. She left quickly without waiting for an answer. She relieved herself appreciating the cooler temperature of the bathroom. Her mind hadn't formed a single coherent sentence yet. The words Edward told her repeated in her head. Just as she pulled her pants up she heaved and hurled some sour spit from her stomach. It had small chewed pieces of her dinner from the night before. She felt oddly at peace with the horrific taste it left in her mouth. The taste of knowing what had happened to the poor boy that drove a little fast on ice and had an accident. 'It could have happened to anyone!' She thought.

"Bella?" Edward's voice called from the door. Concern laced his voice as he saw her head bowed over the toilet seat. She waved him off desperately but Edward only walked into the room towards her. He touched his icy skin to her forehead while he gathered her hair together away from her face. There was nothing more to hurl out. The disappointment left her unsatisfied. She was sure she had eaten enough to at least have a decent go at it. She wanted to rid herself of the feeling that churned her stomach. Edward understood her reaction but refused to leave her on the bathroom floor. He gently brushed his long fingers through her hair, careful not to touch her skin. When Bella finally decided to get off the cold floor he let her walk to the basin by herself to brush her teeth. She didn't look up at the mirror knowing she'd see his reflection there too.

Edward ran her a shower. He disappeared to her room for a second to fetch the new toiletries he'd bought her and placed them on the rack in the shower. "I'll go make you breakfast while you clean up, then we can talk." He left her in the steaming room. Bella's reflection was barely visible on the mirror when she looked. This she also liked. She didn't think she could handle seeing her very alive face after learning the boy in the van would never see his. 'What was his name?' She wondered. Unfeeling, she walked into the shower. The water temperature was just right. She noticed the new toiletries where her old ones used to be. Her strawberry shampoo was left with only two washes at the most before she would have had to replace it. Edward had bought her another brand of strawberry shampoo. It felt luxurious on her hair and hands. She tried not to think about that and not enjoy it. The body washer was the same and smelled lovely. She made quick work of it hurrying to get out of the shower even though she didn't want to face Edward again too soon.

She was relieved to be alone in her room for a moment. She tried to brush her tangled hair and just gave up. She had no desire to get dressed in clothes Edward had bought. She put on a robe and made her way to the kitchen. He breakfast was waiting on the table. Edward was nowhere to be seen. She picked at it unsure she would be able to keep anything down. She ate half of the cereal with fruit and sipped the juice. She was wondering how Carlisle could have allowed Edward to kill the boy and how he did it. She worried for herself even as she knew Edward could never hurt her.

"Bella? Can we talk now?" His soft voice filled the room snapping her up from her thoughts. "You have been thinking about a lot of things the past few days. I wanted to give you time and hoped you would come to me on your own. What happened yesterday must have added much for you to consider. Please talk to me." He asked after taking a seat next to her.

Bella didn't answer. She didn't know where to begin or what she shouldn't say.

"Please Isabella" The use of her full name caused her unease

"Um, I don't know where to begin." She gave

"Ask anything" He encouraged

"Why?" She immediately regretted the word that flew from her lips. To be fair, it was the question at the forefront of her mind.

"Why he had to die?" He clarified. She nodded. "He threatened your safety. Nothing and no one can take you away from me Bella. My kind places the wellbeing of our mate above all else. The same applies for those with children. Before you came into my life I only had my family. Now, you are my first priority. Do you understand that?"

He continued when she nodded. "The other reason will sound cruel but I must tell you. We are a jealous and possessive beings. Our reactions are based on instinct first and logic second. I battled with regaining some rational control yesterday. That is why I had to leave you. I was overcome by fury towards the boy and then…" He paused with his eyes closed.

"You spoke for him Bella. You placed yourself between us, against me! That pushed me farther from any rational thought I could have had not to punish him. I no longer saw him as a threat to your safety but as a threat to our mating. If I hadn't acted to eliminate the threat, the alternative is… unthinkable." He stopped there to give her time to take it all in.

"So it was my fault?" Bella breathed deep trying to not sound accusing. She hadn't expected Edward to play her actions against her. In her opinion his excuse was ridiculous and cowardly.

"No, it's not. Your reaction was completely normal for a human. A vampire female would have known not to do that." He answered quietly.

"S-So you just go around killing everybody?" She asked again in disbelief.

"We are fairly controlled most of the time. Like I said, he became the ultimate threat. It couldn't be helped." He watched Bella's face grow increasingly confused.

"What would have happened if you hadn't-" She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Edward drew in a deep breath before he answered. "The consequences would have been worse. We are not in good command of our emotions like you are. Nothing could calm me or convince me to let it go. My family tried and failed. If I hadn't focused the full weight of my anger on him, other people might have been the ones to suffer instead. Even then, I would find no peace until the threat to my mate was destroyed."

"B-But even animals don't kill Edward. When two males face off for a female the loser is usually only injured and embarrassed. I don't understand your actions and it's not fair to blame this on me." Bella was still unsatisfied with his explanation.

"Bella, some animals do die in a duel as you've said. Bear in mind that I am no human nor animal. I'm above both." He was very patient with her. "I don't blame you."

Bella refused to look at him. She stared at a spot on the table for a long moment. Edward kept quiet and waited. She suddenly stood and walked back up to her room. Edward stayed still and watched her back. He was battling his instinct to put her back in the chair until he dismissed her. The only thing that saved her from his anger is that she had walked slowly. His mind did not see it that she was running from him. After working to regain his calm, he followed her.

"Can you, can you leave me today please?" Bella asked as soon as he walked in the door.

"No, I need to be here to care for you." He stated

"I need sometime by myself Edward" She was more firm.

"And I refuse it." Bella gaped at him. 'Was he serious?' Edward walked casually to his spot by her window facing outside. "You have not told me all that has occupied your thoughts. Tell me about the days before yesterday morning."

Bella refused to talk. He sighed loudly after a few minutes and reminded her he could make her. She still kept mum.

"Tell me your thoughts Bella," He ordered, turning to face her.

Without hesitation she launched into a long monologue about her thoughts from Sunday to Tuesday evening before she fell asleep. Edward listened patiently. He realized Bella still hadn't grasped what it meant that she was mated. She often expected human behaviour from him and his family. She also lacked self-confidence and refused to open herself up to feel anything for him by choice.

"Thank you Bella," He honestly thanked her after she stopped talking. None of her thoughts had offended him including about the unfortunate boy's killing.

"I did not want to tell you," Bella was angry that he made her talk. Angry tears pooled in her eyes.

"I know, but I wanted you to." He replied simply

"Don't I have a say in what goes on here? You have taken over my life and my independence it's not right." She screamed in frustration. He stared at her blankly, wondering how best to handle her emotional outburst.

"By whom?" He asked after a moment of silence

"By me Edward! Why do you do that? Do you want to be with somebody who is an invalid?" She challenged. Edward swallowed a smirk. She was anything but that.

"I don't see you that way. I can hear every thought of every other human, wolf and vampire that walks this earth. I never need to resort to using my abilities to gather information from them, except with you. I cannot hear your thoughts. It is frustrating and unsettling. The reason I ask and even demand of you to tell me." He was relaxed against her desk with his hands in the pockets of his pants. Bella was stunned by what he had said that she momentarily forgot her frustration at not getting a reaction out of him.