Isabella Swan POV

This was proving to be a long walk. Edward may not have seen it that way, but I did. I could have sworn that it had been hours since he walked me into the dense forest. The sun was beginning to set and my knees were giving up on me. Every so often I would find myself tripping over a thick twisted root, but thanks to Edward, he pulled me up by the hand he held in the knick of time. I blushed every so often and when I acted like a bumbling oaf, but he didn't seem to mind. Actually, as we talked I felt as if he enjoyed seeing my embarrassment. There were a few times were I heard him laugh, and instead of laughing myself I just ogled. Once or twice I would make a witty comment, but to spoil my intelligence he came up with one to outmatch mine. My face fell into full pout mode and he would shake his head.

"Are you about ready to stop falling over yourself?" Edward questioned, a smirk noticeable on his face as he turned to see my reaction.

"Do I have any other choice than to walk?" I sighed, and he released his icy hand from my too warm.

"Yes, you do actually. Here, I'll give you a lift." I heard the amusement and excitement in his voice and I rose an eyebrow in skeptism.

"I'm kind of heavy."

"Just get on my back Bella." He commanded, and I could almost hear his eyes roll.

"You asked for it." I threatened, my heart pulsing fresh blood into my veins much too quickly for my liking. Or his, I'd bet. I wrapped my arms around his frigid neck and rested my chin on his shoulder. As soon as I did, I rapidly raised my head to that it was no longer touching him. I was either a) incredibly stupid or b) hopelessly lost. There were feelings for him that I didn't quite understand, I knew I liked him but I was not sure just how much. Never the less, I knew my action was not right, not for someone who was now in a sense a 'friend.' I didn't like that label for him though, from my perspective he seemed like something more…No, no…I was being dim-witted.

"Don't forget your legs. I wouldn't want them broken afterwards." He advised me, and I obliged wrapping my legs around his waist, still a bit cynic on why he said 'broken'. I realized why he said that almost automatically. We were flying, the hollow trees and fallen leaves disappeared from sight and were replaced by pure colors. Just blurs to my 'unadapted' eyes. I couldn't find the courage to close my eyes, because if I shut my eyes now I had a feeling that it would only hurt so much more if he ran into a tree. God, was I going to die? Die from a simple piggyback?! Eventually, I found that the motion sickness was too much to bare and I hammered my eyes to a close.

"Bella, we are here." Edward's exhilarated voice informed me, and I could not move, my arms and legs were permanently glued to his body. "Bella?" He checked, his voice wary now.

"I think I'm stuck. Um…Could I have some help?"

"Oh.." Edward's hands unlocked my arms from his neck first, breaking their grip easily. My legs unwound themselves weakly before he even had the chance to touch them. I was thankful for that, after all I really did not want help controlling my own legs. Holding me up by my wrists, he lowered me so that I was laying on cool grass. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes to see a blameworthy Edward looming to the side of me. Lowering himself to his knees, he crushed his marble lips together. "I'm sorry. Maybe I should have waited…"

"No, no. It was…Nice."

"Nice?" He laughed a 'yeah right' kind of laugh that made me smile weakly.

"Can I lay here for a little while? I am feeling a bit woozy."

"Certainly."

Edward laid down beside me with his arms folded behind his head, roughly two feet away so that we were not touching. I had my head resting on the semi-damp grass and it felt amazing against my skin. The sky was lavender, light salmon, orange, and almost every color as the sun set. Every so often the sun would peek over the trees and a stray ray would hit Edward's skin shooting gem-like sparkles off of it. I reached out my hand, carefully, and touched his hand with my finger tips. I couldn't feel him shy away from my touch so I rested the palm of my hand on his. Edward was extraordinarily freezing, but that was to be expected wasn't it? I did not hate the coldness of his skin at all anyways. I scooted closer to him and for a moment, by his shifting slightly, I thought he was going to move away. Instead he rolled his shoulders, a bit too casually. I had the irking notion that he was thinking about moving. I wanted to be close to him, but at times I felt as if he desired the opposite. By letting me touch his hand was he just being polite as to not hurt my feelings? I could….Kind of see that. The bouquet of flowers that Edward once held was now withered to nothing but a feet roots and half-dead flowers from the run. When I noticed this, he seemed to see that as well.

"I am sorry about the flowers, there goes your motivation."

"I told you I came out here to see what the surprise was."

"Hm…As for the surprise, are you ready to see it or not?"

"Yeah, I'm ready." Sort of…I was hesitant to the idea of moving from where I was beside Edward. I could not even remember my nightmare, I was much too distracted to even think of it at this moment.

Before I stood up, Edward was in front of me in the blink of an eye, literally. I stared at his golden eyes in confusion as well as his hand and then when I gained enough sense that he was trying to be a 'gentleman' I eagerly took his hand and permitted him to help me up. Instead of me even getting up, he practically lifted me from the cool ground as if I weighed nothing. As soon as I was upright, he released my hand in yet another invisibly quick movement.

"Thanks." I murmured, using my hand to hold my arm as we ambled towards noises. Noises that were loud, but increasing in volume each yard. I was curious to what he was leading me towards, yet I managed to keep my mouth glued shut. I didn't want to spoil the silence unless he broke it first. It was one of those idiotic child things that children did. It was just as bad as sticking your tongue out at someone and then turning around before they saw you.

We arrived at a cliff, one with soft grass springing up from the ground as well as dark capped waves rolling at the bottom. I was afraid to look, but I didn't have to. What caught my attention more than the stunning scenery was the large sleek wooden cross with inscriptions written on it. Edward hung behind me, as I slowly, clumsily wandered towards the cross. When I was within spitting distance, I noticed the engraving on it. I felt like crying, but instead I fell to my knees with wide eyes, rimmed with a thin layer of tears that I scarcely restrained. My hands seized my face as I recollected all of my thoughts.

"Edward…Edward." I blubbered his name, wiping away the tears that streaked down my face.

"I thought she deserved a burial, or at least a tombstone. From what I had heard she was an amazing woman. Are you…Upset?" Edward said, and I could tell he was behind me as I knelt on the floor. I stifled the tears long enough to face him without looking like a complete emotional wreck. "No, Edward, not at all. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me….Edward thank you." I shut up so I would not ramble.

I revolved to see the cross again and allowed my weak knees to bend so my hand could glide across it. The surface was smoother than I first assumed and the way it was crafted out of mere wood made me even more touched by what he did.

"I was hoping…That this could be a way of sending her off. That was one of the reasons I brought the flowers." Edward explained, kneeling beside me with a new hand full of vibrantly colored flowers. With his free hand, he wiped a tear from the side of my face gingerly. I nodded, speechless and took the flowers. Being my frame, Edward aided me in rising as we stood in front of the tombstone. "My Mom was an amazing woman…She-She took care of me when I was a child, and even when I was older. Even after all of the wacky things she did, after all of her little mistakes, it only made me love her more. She made life interesting…And…I learned so much from her…She was more than my Mom, she was my best friend. I wish that I could have taken her place." I stopped and leaned into Edward, who put his arm around me. "I love you Mom." I laid half of the flowers in front of the cross and embraced Edward's waist, crying into his chest.

"Although I have never met Renee' Dwyer, from what I have heard she was an extraordinary woman. I could only imagine what it would have been like to raise a child on her own. Let alone how she managed to raise such a wonderful girl. I know she is proud of her daughter and wherever she is, is still watching over her. Thank you, Renee' Dwyer." Edward's words made me clutch myself to him when he finished. "Thank you." I whispered against him, liberating him from my grip as I walked towards the cliff's brink. "I will never forget you." I whispered in a broken voice, throwing the last of the flowers off the cliff where they fell as if suspended on wires for a moment.

I stood there, looking at the waves for a good time. Edward didn't disturb me, and I was grateful for his patience.

When I was ready, I inhaled deeply and rubbed my wrist across my face, clearing all left over tears. "Thank you, thank you so much." I said again, a new strength building inside of me. I felt weak, yet more powerful from this experience. I would think about Renee for the night, but I wouldn't cry. I had done enough of that for the day. "Bella, she deserved it. You and I know that." Edward reassured me, and without even a warning, he wrapped his arm around my shoulder again, letting me use him as a crutch. "I think I will be better now.You don't have to pretend to care for me." I said, not wanting him to feel obligated to comfort me.

" I'm not pretending Bella." He corrected me, and stopped walking so that he could stand in front of me. "I do care for you…I may even love you." His words made my mind double take and freeze. This was a bit too much to take in at the moment, I had just finished sending my Mom officially and now Edward confessed he loved me? As elated as I was…It took more than a few minutes for me to even grasp this absurd idea.

Edward took my blank expression as horror and backed away from me. "I'm sorry. That was out of line." Instead of staying still, I touched his face with the tips of my fingers. "No, it wasn't." I stood up on my tip-toes to kiss him, but he did not advance as I had. "Bella, I can't." His hands restrained me from going forward as he spoke.

I felt unwanted that very second. As if he had taken my heart and stomped on it incessantly, I had never made myself quite so vulnerable. "You just told me you loved me…But you won't kiss me?" I queried, my face taking on the pained, bemused expression that proved my Mother's open book theory.

"Trust me, it is better that way."

"Better what way, Edward?"

"I will walk you back to camp…"

"No, I can walk myself." I retaliated, and shook my arms and body enough so that he would release me. Of course he didn't.

"Let go of me."

"Bella, you don't even know the way back."

"I will find my way."

"No, you won't-"

"Look, it was the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for to have made a place for Renee', but I don't want you to be anywhere near me. Now let me go, Edward." His name left a bitter sweet taste in my mouth, but my words eventually worked as he let me go.

When the tears in my eyes began to sting, I sprinted into the dead forest, not daring to look back.