Chapter 13:

I opened my eyes to a blinding, white light. It was as if I had finally waken up from a dream, that had turned into a nightmare, but I hadn't wanted to wake up anymore, because it had turned back into a dream again.

"Figures." I said rubbing the remainder of sleep from my eyes with the heel of my hand and rolling onto my stomach. Ooh. My ribs were a little tender, but it was probably just phantom pains, nothing more than a memory.

A couple years back a group of my friends had gotten together and decided to do something crazy to surprise me for my birthday. They thought that painting my room would be the most practical thing they could do. They also thought that I would approve of a heinous combination of blue and green that's more commonly referred to as "teal" and a dusty purple. At first I was horrified but soon I grew mildly accustomed to my ugly walls, but the walls I was staring at now were a warm shade of gold. I looked down at the bed I lay in, it certainly wasn't my twin sized bed with pale purple sheets and white comforter, all worn from years of use. These were bright, blood red, and all brand new. I was still in the Glass Mansion. I was awake, that must mean the Cullens were back.

I started looking around frantically. Was I really awake? I saw that the vibrant light that had woken me, was the sun, pouring in from the west wall. That in itself could be cause enough for me to think I was dreaming, its never sunny here, except for rare occasions. But someone had pulled back the heavy, velvet drapes, revealing that the glass was divided up into four equal quarters, making up two very large inward swinging glass windows. It was so beautiful.

The usual swarm of dark grey storm clouds had receded for today, making the sky a dull turquoise. Everything was still wet from the usual rain, it made the forest glisten green in the sunlight. My eyes began to roam through the woods. Everything was teeming with life. The birds were singing, the trees branches swayed in the wind. There was only one noise that was out of place, it was the sound of running water. It wasn't raining, but I could hear it. I strained my eyes to see farther.

About 100 yards from the house there was a small waterfall tripping down a pile of rocks into a lake, it was just big enough for a handful of people to swim in. Wildflowers grew in bunches around the lake, splattering the bare canvas of green grass with brilliant yellows, oranges, and purples. It was the most perfect little meadow.

"I thought you might like it." The sound of his voice startled me, I had forgotten I was still trapped in this house. In my mind I had been in the meadow, floating on my back atop the sparkling, crystal water, light as a feather, the warm sun beating down on my bare skin. No pain, no hurt, just weightless ecstasy. In my mind, I had been free.

Edward sat across the room, leaned back in Alice's chair. He had dragged it back into the corner closest to the wall of windows, totally enveloped in shadow. Had Alice not already revealed to me the truth I might have wondered why he hid himself from the sun. I pulled myself up and leaned my elbows onto my crossed legs for support.

"What?" I asked. He smiled at me kindly.

"It would be cruel of me to continue keeping you enclosed in this darkness. It was such a beautiful day today. Day's like this are so few here, it would be a terrible crime if you had missed it." I gazed back out at the vast forest stretching far out to the horizon where the mountains took over. Edward was right, it was a very beautiful day, unfortunately he was also right about these days being far too rare. Swirling around the mountain tops was the promise of coming rain, but I couldn't let my eyes linger there long, it was too sad. We sat like this until the dense rain clouds moved in and water started spattering the windows, Edward watching me watch the rain come closer and closer, slowly blotting out the sun.

"What would you like to know first?" He asked, breaking through my mild sorrow.

"What!?" I asked, baffled. It couldn't possibly be that easy. Could it? He continued to smile back at me, seeming to wait for a question to answer. "Where's Alice?" He seemed surprised by this question.

"Would you rather Alice answer your questions?" In that instant Alice appeared in the doorway, a triumphant smirk on her face.

"I told you she would." Alice chimed playfully.

"No." I interjected softly. "I want both of you to answer my questions." Edward and Alice locked eyes for a moment and then Edward leaned back into his seat and Alice leaned against the post at the foot of the bed.

"So be it." Edward whispered. "What would you like to know?" I thought about this for a moment, I didn't want to ask the wrong question, but I didn't want to forget anything important either, I needed answers.

"Why me?" Edward and Alice barely glanced at each other. Alice stared at the ground, but I hadn't intended that she would answer this question, she had already told me that she wasn't the one to answer this. My eyes shifted to Edward. He had closed his eyes and laid his head back onto the chair.

"Next." He breathed, lazily.

"What? You asked me what I wanted to know, you can't deny me the answer!" I knew it. Nothing was ever easy with him. He didn't move, his eyes remained closed, he only repeated,

"Next." I huffed and crossed my arms tightly over my chest. In the process I jostled my ribs, it stung a little. When I looked back at Edward he was smirking. I narrowed my eyes in his direction, he was so infuriating. I wanted so much to wipe that smug grin off his silky smooth face. If I hadn't known that it would hurt me more than it would him I might have leaped off the bed, across the room and hit him.

"I suppose we are even now." His taunting smile never wavered.

"How so?" I had to grind my teeth together to keep myself from screaming, I could feel my forehead furrowing in frustration.

"We seem to repel each other completely." He replied smoothly, his calm voice washing through my brain like warm syrup, making it harder for me to hate him as much as I knew I should because of all he's done to me.

"Yet you can't seem to stay away from me. Why is that?" My tone became less angry and more demanding. I wanted these answers, and I was tired of waiting for them.

From the corner of my eye Alice seemed to move, but didn't. Her physical posture didn't change, but there seemed to be a flickering of excitement lurking in her eyes. Excitement that was stifled when Edward cleared his throat

"Why can't I go home when I get better?"

Edward started to answer but was abruptly cut off by Alice who was eager to be of use.

"You simply know too much about us, and that's a risk we just can't afford, I'm afraid." She gushed in her normal fashion, but her tone lacked Alice's usual bubble. It was like being forced to drink a soda that had been left open for a week. Bitter and flat, unpleasant.

"I was never going to tell anyone."

"Not that they'd ever believe me." I muttered as a second thought.

"It wouldn't matter at this point." Edward interjected.

"And why not?"

"Your father has uprooted all of Forks looking for you."

"Charlie!?" My eyes widened. I had completely forgotten about Charlie. As much as I wanted, desperately, to get home, I had forgotten all life outside of this room, beyond the glass walls of this mansion, away from the Cullens. Away from Edward. There was no such life for me. There never would be again.

"Yes, Charlie. He's been going out of his mind since you disappeared. He's not sure what's most likely, that you ran away, got kidnapped, or attacked by animal. But he absolutely refuses to believe that you're dead. He's praying that you just got lost in the woods and that they'll find you soon or you'll just come stumbling up to the house."

"Then why don't we just do that? I won't eat for awhile and I can cover myself in dirt and rip my clothes and… I can just say that I went for a walk in the woods to…I don't know… to clear my head, after the… break up, and I got lost. It wouldn't be unusual for me. While I was trying to find my way back out in the dark I fell off a small cliff. No one will ever have to know that you…"

"Bella, you've been gone nearly 3 months now. Even if you had just gotten lost in the woods, you'd have died of starvation by now, if nothing else. It's too late for us to do anything but keep you."

"Or kill me." I mumbled absently. Both vampires sitting across the room from me tensed, their bodies stiffening so dramatically I could see the involuntary movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked up from my hands into Edward's eyes and instantly regretted even suggesting my death. Edward's butterscotch eyes smoldered furiously, his angel's face contorted with rage.

"Don't you think like that. I can't do that, I promised to keep you safe, remember?"

"There's still another option you've forgotten." Whispered Alice, the excitement rising in her voice. She lifted her head to look at Edward.

"She can still be…"

"No! I won't! I can't! You know I can't. Not to her." They stared into each other for a deep moment, I knew it would be up to me to break this silence.

"How long before I can get out of bed?"

"You could now if you really wanted to, but you should take it slowly, you messed up your ankle pretty bad. It was very nearly shattered. You should probably start with crutches." I nodded in agreement, it sounded reasonable enough.

"Is there anything else you would like to know?" He asked, trying to keep the three of us from lapsing back into the silence of ourselves.

"Yes." I paused. "Why are you so protective of me if you hate me so much?" Edward leaned his head back up against the wall and closed his eyes again.

"Next." His tone was darker, but his attitude just as snarky. I was starting to get frustrated with him again.

"Why don't you tell me the whole story from the beginning. That way I know all that you know and I won't waste anymore time asking the wrong questions." He looked across the room at me, thoughtfully, those amber eyes of his making my pale cheeks flare bright red. But I didn't try to hide my face. I refused to let myself be intimidated by him anymore. He seemed to, involuntarily, pull himself forward in his chair, but then forced himself to sit back again. He took a moment to close his eyes and regain his composure. Leaning forward in his chair, Edward rested his arms on his knees and folded his hands together.

"Okay. I'll tell you."