Chapter 28

I awoke the next morning still wrapped in Edward's arms, not really sure if last night was a dream or if it was a reality. When I opened my eyes and saw that he was actually there, I groggily greeted him in a gravely voice, "Good morning." He chuckled and grabbed my chin and pecked me on the lips. "How did you sleep, my angel?"

I cleared my throat trying to sound more like myself, "Very well thanks and it was all because you were here with me." I pecked him back on the lips and was relishing being with him this early in the morning. It was like a dream come true waking up next to the most beautiful man on the planet.

Realizing where we were and that my parents were not only in the same house, but awake, I whispered, "Edward, I still can't get over that you don't sleep." It was mind boggling to think about having that much time on your hands. To me, getting a decent night's sleep always helps clear out your mind of all of the day's happenings. Knowing that Edward can't do that is just plain crazy. "Well, I got to watch you and listen to your deep breathing, which is very relaxing for me," he said.

I love Edward very much, so having him watch me sleep wasn't horrible at all. If I would have known about that a few months ago I would have definitely not taken the news very well, but after getting my promise ring and spending so much time with Edward, knowing he's watching me sleep, doesn't bother me.

The doorbell chimed loudly throughout the quiet house and Alice and Rosalie's voices could be heard coming from downstairs. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Christensen how are you this morning?" Edward released me from his hold, "That is my cue to go home and get ready for school. I will be back before you know it." He kissed my forehead and then jumped out through the window.

"Don't fall and hurt yourself," I called out. I trilled out a laugh because I knew that he would never fall or hurt himself. I averted my gaze away from the window and settled back into my warm blankets. I heard a light thud on my floor and turned back to the window to see what it was. There was Edward smiling back at me. "I am perfectly coordinated, I never fall...well except for you." He then winked and jumped out of my window again.

Alice and Rosalie entered my room and greeted me kindly. "Good morning Lily, you look chipper this morning," Alice said. They both pulled me out of bed and directed me toward the shower. I stuck out my bottom lip in protest as I was warm under my blankets and really didn't want to get out of bed. I turned my head back toward the window when I heard Alice say, "Lily, looking out the window won't make Edward come back and save you from getting up and showering." Alice had a firm set to her jaw and I knew that my battle had been lost.

As per usual, I had to keep my cast dry and I knew I looked ridiculous with my arm hanging out of the shower. Thank God Edward isn't here to see this, I thought.I let the hot water wash down over my head and shoulders creating a cocoon of warmth around my body. I had closed my eyes while enjoying the water when Alice, who thought she would be funny, hung a big cotton towel from my cast that was sticking out of the shower curtain. "Very funny, Alice!" I opened my eyes in exasperation and sighed. She tried to feign innocence very poorly in my opinion, "What? I am just being efficient, Lily. Now you don't have to reach that far for your towel."

Rosalie started scrubbing my hair with my favorite shampoo. She hit my tender scalp with her icy fingers. "Eeesh." Goodness that hurt, but it also itches like crazy because my hair is starting to grow back. After a few more moans and groans I completed my shower. I grabbed my big fluffy towel dangling from my cast and stepped out onto the bathmat. Alice helped me dry off and took me back into my bedroom to change.

After getting dressed, they both marched me back into my bathroom and turned on the blow drier. They styled my hair, which took forever and was painful at times. Having both of them working on me, I felt like beauty experimentation Barbie. Normally I would love being made up, but today wasn't one of those days. "Alice, I can see that evil gleam in your eyes while you poke and prod me." She just smiled broadly and helped me put on some lip gloss and mascara, but I refused heavy make-up since it was raining outside, it would just run anyways and make funky looking make-up streaks. Having funky looking make-up streaks along with bruising wouldn't be attractive at all.

I then heard my parents inviting Edward into the house so I ran downstairs and hugged him fiercely, searching for refuge. "Edward, you have to help me, Dr. Frankenstein and Igor are on a rampage up there." His eyes sparkled and danced when I said that. "I think they did a wonderful job, you look beautiful." Alice and Rosalie walked downstairs and met us by the door and Alice was holding the hair brush in her hand with a wicked look in her eyes. Edward stood protectively in front of me while smiling his devastatingly handsome, crooked smile. "Alice, no more grooming!" She gave Edward a pouting look, which was funny, but she stopped, thank goodness.

I started to gather my things when Dad came up to me and kissed me goodbye. "Honey, your mom is driving me to the airport. I will email you as soon as I get on the ship. Love you." I hugged him and then kissed my mom and they bid farewell to Edward, Rose and Alice then left the house. A tear started to fall down my cheek knowing that my dad wouldn't be here for me. "I meant what I said to your dad, you know!" I turned my head to face Edward and when our eyes met, he continued, "Your happiness is my main focus in life." He smiled at me. He picked up my hand and pulled it up to his lips, kissed my knuckles and then turned my hand over and kissed the inside of my wrist.

EPOV

Rose insisted on going to school with us. "Edward, I am going with you guys. Lily may need me. I will stay in the car waiting until school lets out." I furrowed my brows thinking about what Rose just said to me, "Rose, you would never just hang out in the car for anyone." She caught my eyes with hers and she was very serious indeed. "You're right Edward, I would never do that for just anyone, but I would do that for Lily."

When we pulled up to parking lot people were already staring in our direction; not a good sign. Alice placed her hand on my shoulder trying to keep me from getting really angry because the voices were already stirring. It was like a surge of too much information hitting me from all sides. They were coming from outside, inside and from cars that hadn't arrived in the parking lot yet. I hope that Jasper and Emmett are up for a wrestling match tonight, I want to rip something to shreds.

We stepped out of the car, took a deep breath and started our walk onto school grounds. The day hadn't really started yet, but it was fast becoming terrible. We hadn't even walked halfway through the parking lot before the voices hit me full-force.

Oh my God, did you see Lily she looks really bad. Carrie said, "I heard she was abused by her mom." Heather answered, "Really, I heard she did that to herself; that she was trying to get Edward's attention. She is just sad." Heather started thinking even more venomous thoughts, "what a bitch. I hope Edward sees the light and dumps her."

I took Lily's hand into my own hoping to offer her support, but it was really me who needed the strength. I was going to go crazy today and needed her touch to keep me sane. We caught sight of a friendly face, so I waved.

Mercedes was waiting for us near her car. Oh there she is. I am so glad to see her. I better ready myself to kick some major ass if anyone says anything bad about my best friend. She came up to us and hugged Lily. "Lily, you made it. How are you doing?"

"I'm okay." Lily saw the disbelieving look in Mercedes' eyes and she reiterated, "No, really I am okay. I feel good and am ready to get my life back to normal."

I felt more at ease knowing that Lily had Mercedes and Jake for support. She just squeezed my hand and said, "Edward, don't listen to what everyone says today. It doesn't bother me." She looked deeply into my eyes and bared her soul; all that mattered was the both of us. This perfect beauty amazed me in ways that I never considered to be possible. I never imagined that a human could be so remarkable.

There were so many voices that were shouting in my head, all of them bleeding into one another and I couldn't pinpoint who was thinking these thoughts. It was getting confusing and extremely annoying. I heard that Lily was raped. I feel sorry for her...

I heard she ran away from home and got mixed up with a pimp and he beat her up...

Heather told me that she is crazy and did that to herself...

I heard she's knocked up and she ran away from home because she couldn't tell her parents...or Edward.

I heard the child isn't even Edward's...

I heard that Edward found out about the other guy and he tried to kill him...

At that point I had to try to stop listening before I did something rash. I could see that Alice was getting frustrated with what she was seeing and hearing, too. It was a horrible feeling to feel helpless at that moment, but it was Lily who needed to set things straight and only when she is ready, so I didn't mind waiting, even if listening to this was pure torture.

Even the teachers who saw her had their own comments; at least theirs were more humane.

Mrs. Boyd was walking into the office and caught sight of us, Oh that poor baby, I hope that mentally she can get over this horrible situation. I am glad that her friends and family are there for her.

Alice, Mercedes and I escorted Lily to her government class. I kissed her on the lips lightly and said, "I will be right here when class is over, okay?" She nodded to me and then said goodbye to Alice and Mercedes by giving them a hug.

I hurried to my class deluding myself into thinking that if I did hurry it would go by faster. Just sitting in class listening to all of the gossip, both verbal and nonverbal was exhausting. The whole class wasn't even listening to the lecture we were getting, myself included. Notes were being passed around like wildfire and everyone in class kept looking at me as if I may just explode and splatter entrails all over them. When I would look them in the eye, they would quickly turn their heads away from me as if nothing were going on. Cowards.

Being so in tune with Lily, I could hear her taking notes in class, the scratching of her pen on her notebook paper was filling my ears. Knowing that she was doing well and taking notes made me relax a little. Then I heard, "Psst...Lily what happened to you?"

My body tensed up while I was waiting for Lily to answer. Nobody better upset her in any way or else. "Sara, I don't think that I want to talk about it right now, but eventually I will and then I'll tell you." I could hear Lily's teacher calling for quiet and handing out a test. She walked toward Lily and she said, "Lily, if you aren't ready for this test I can give it to you later in the week." Lily's sweet voice responded, "No, Mrs. Carver, I'm ready to take the test."

The rest of the class had gone thankfully silent and they all had started their test. All of the infantile minds that I listened for were frantically trying to recall pertinent information, dates, names and places before time was called instead of thinking about Lily. Lily was at ease; although I could not hear her inner voice I could hear her breathing and her heart, both of which were calm. Poor dear, this test must be extremely easy for her.

The bell finally rang out signaling the end of class. I was out the door before anyone had time to stand up. Papers on desks that hadn't been put away fluttered to the floor. I made it to Lily's class with Alice right on my heels and we watched Lily take her test up to the Mrs. Carver's desk, set it down and then turn to leave the room. She had a smile lit upon her beautiful features.

I couldn't wait for Lily to press her lips to mine, to feel the warmth and love radiating through her. Her scent hit me like a flood washing away all that came across its path. Her bright energy was pulsating outward toward Alice and me. Before she knew it, I had scooped her up in my iron grasp and held her tightly. "Edward, I missed you guys, too."

Mercedes came from behind us and we all walked to our second hour classes, Lily being escorted first. I then heard more voices...something must have happened to Lily because she has an entourage...it must be nice...

I wish she would tell us what happened...

I think I might ask Mercedes what happened...

Lily is a stuck up bitch...

I finally tuned out the inane inner workings of the student body at large. I was suddenly glad that Lily couldn't hear what I hear. I hugged Lily and waited this time until I gauged the tension in the classroom. The class was tolerable, but not to my satisfaction. Lily sat down and was greeted by her classmates. They were kind, but some were afraid to ask her what happened, which was good. Her science class went by unceremoniously, as well. I escorted Alice and Lily to their fourth hour class quickly, as I knew they both love that class. If this particular class is around the next time we go to high school, I just may take it myself, I thought.

LPOV

Alice and I sat down in Media English, I felt so much better knowing that she was with me in class. Because of Alice's presence in class, the other kids never asked me what happened, although they kept staring, mostly openmouthed like they were catching flies. Mr. Shields came over to me and greeted me with a warm smile. "Lily, I am so happy to have you back. We are still watching the movie Rear Window. I will give you a copy to watch at home so you can catch up. If you would like you can study or just sit here quietly." Mr. Shields patted me on the shoulder.

The lights were extinguished with a flip of a switch and darkness washed over the room. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust. Of course, Alice was looking right at me and didn't need to adjust her eyes. For a moment her eyes appeared to look weird. "Alice, your eyes look like a cat's does in the dark." Alice only smiled and said, "Cool."

The only light source was the flickering of the large screen television. Alice leaned over to me and whispered, "Lily, at lunch... Sasha is going to cause trouble. I am unsure what she will do because she hasn't decided yet, but she has made the decision to start in with us." I nodded my head in response. There was nothing to fear especially with Edward and Alice around.

Alice and I kept talking throughout class quietly. She had already seen Rear Window, although I am sure that she saw it when it premiered in 1954. That was so weird to think about. There are so many things that happened throughout history that all of them have probably witnessed or experienced. Hopefully, I could remember to ask them questions later on when we were alone.

When class was over, Edward was standing in the doorway waiting for us to be excused. "Lily, make sure you have your coat because it will start to snow soon." Alice winked at me and I knew that if it snowed enough a snowball war would ensue.

EPOV

Lunch finally arrived and the four of us sat at our usual table. The lunchroom was eerily quiet. Most of the students were watching us intently. Jake walked into the room and headed our way and sat beside me, "So, is there anything we have done to be received like this?" He was turning his head this way and that just watching everyone looking in our direction.

I smiled at Jake and shrugged my shoulders. Lily rose from the table and immediately Alice and Mercedes stood, too. "Guys, I am just getting into the line for lunch."

"Me too," Mercedes answered. Everyone stared when the girls got into line.

Poor Lily she looks terrible...

She must be very brave; I don't think I could have gone to school looking like that...

Lily looks like shit...

Wow, I hope Edward didn't do that to her...

I shut out the voices again; it was getting to be too much to deal with. When the girls returned, Lily and Mercedes started to eat their lunch. I tried really hard not to scrunch my nose up in disgust when they were eating cheese pizza, so I placed my hand on top of her cast and rubbed it lovingly.

As I was rubbing her arm, I felt something poke my fingertip. A deep frown creased my face, "Lily, seriously? You stuffed another pen into your cast?" She looked in my direction innocently batting her eyelashes. "Honey, that look may work on me, but Carlisle won't fall for it." It was Lily's turn to frown and then her face brightened considerably, "Edward, I have Carlisle wrapped around my little finger." She held up her pinky finger to represent her firm belief that Carlisle was indeed wrapped around her finger, smiling devilishly.

I was interrupted by Sasha's petty and venomous thoughts...She needs to be taken down a peg ..."Let's go guys." Sasha and her friends rose up to their full height and sauntered over to our table. Sasha's face was mangled into a sneer. Jake's whole body tensed up readying himself for a cat fight.

"So, Lily did you do that to yourself to get attention?" As she said that she placed her hand on Lily. "Don't touch me," Lily said nervously.

"She said don't touch her." My lips slightly lifted over my teeth and my eyes were burning from anger, but I made no movement. At the same moment the cafeteria doors burst violently open with a deafening sound of impending doom and in swept Rosalie. Her hair flowing around her shoulders like a golden halo, her tawny eyes sparking fiercely and her hands clinched into fists. Also, Alice stood with her face turned to a menacing shroud of fury. Her hands were bent into claws readying to strike at this horrible excuse for a human being. My two sisters looked like beautiful avenging angels not to be underestimated or thwarted. All eyes were on my sisters and the humans were enraptured.

We moved at a human's pace to keep up our charade, so when Mercedes rose and struck Sasha across the face the three of us were rendered speechless. Suddenly, the whole cafeteria burst into varying degrees of chatter about the scene that just unfolded in front of their eyes. Alice, Rosalie and I laughed when Sasha gave a look of shock and disbelief.

Lily was shaking, I am not sure if it was from anger or fright. She looked as if her skin was crawling from Sasha touching her. There was nothing else I wanted more than for Lily to feel safe and loved. As if she knew what I had been thinking, she stood and made her way over to me and tucked herself into my side burying her face into my chest.

Mr. Garcia had witnessed the whole spectacle and walked up to all of us. His tension was rolling off of him in waves. "Mercedes, Sasha you both need to stay after school in detention." He walked over to Rosalie and was speaking with her about being on school grounds. Of course Rosalie put on the charm and spoke to him in her most seductive voice and he overlooked her being there without permission.

The voices hit me again from Sasha's group...they both need to be taught a lesson...bitches...

Look at Rosalie Hale...what a whore...

"Mercedes, I am so sorry you got into trouble because of me," Lily said. Lily looked as if she would cry as she said that.

"Lily, don't worry about it that felt great." Mercedes was grinning hugely trying to keep Lily smiling. Eventually, the lunchroom quieted down verbally and some semblance of order had been restored. Rosalie sat down with us after she talked with Mr. Garcia. Her eyes never left Sasha or her friends. Rosalie made it clear where she stood on them getting some sort of revenge on Mercedes or Lily. "I think I need to serve detention after school, too." Rosalie said.

Soon after the excitement at lunch, the bell rang for the next class to start. Jake and I escorted Mercedes and Lily to gym class. Rosalie strode elegantly to the bleachers after entering the gym.

After a few moments, Lily came out of the girls' locker room with her street clothes still on. Her face appeared as if she were sucking on lemons. That was my cue to go dress in my own locker room to avoid Lily's wrath. She caught my eye and said, "Don't even think you are going to escape, Edward. You and I will have words later." I then knew that Carlisle had arrived and taken the doctor's note to Coach Damon to keep Lily from participating in class.

Everyone convened in the gym and Lily was now sitting with Rosalie. We were still on our dodgeball unit for class. We separated into two teams and today Mercedes was on my team. I went out of my way protecting Mercedes because Heather still wanted her revenge and to humiliate her.

The teams were dwindling down and Mercedes and I were both still in play. Josh is so asinine; he was annoying me to no end. He would throw the ball at me as hard as he could throw it thinking he could hurt me, which was quite humorous. I gained possession of the ball and threw it at Nate and the ball bounced off of his thigh. Lily and Rosalie both were cheering for me, which was quite nice to hear. Josh obtained the ball again and threw it straight at Mercedes' face so I ran to her and half shoved her out of the way, half shielded her with my own body and my arms were wrapped around her. I peeled her away from my body and looked into her eyes, "You okay Mercedes?" She looked flustered and just nodded. Dial down the charm there Edward, I told myself.

I had lost all of my patience. Rosalie said, "Kill 'em all Edward." Turning my head in her direction I caught her wicked smile that she gets when she is hunting with the rest of us. I let loose and started picking off the other team one by one. It felt so satisfying to take out Heather and Josh. There were five of us left on my team including Mercedes when the last player had been hit on the opposite team.

Lily stood and cheered exuberantly when we had won our game. After another game had been played and won by our team again, class had ended. I hurried to shower and change into my jeans, sweater and Doc Martens then ran to see Lily who was still with Rosalie. They were talking animatedly about the daycare that Rose donates her time to. Rosalie really missed her kids while we had been searching for Lily. She is anxious to be going back on her regular schedule. "Actually, I am only going to be volunteering my time on Fridays, that way I can spend more time with you, Lily."

I was shocked to hear her say that. The daycare was everything to her. When we walked outside the snow had started to fall in a heavy blanket. Lily started to shiver. She had left her coat in her locker. I shrugged out of the coat I was wearing and placed it gently around her shoulders. She leaned her face down onto the shoulder of the coat and inhaled deeply taking in my scent. It is funny to notice the little things that we both do the same. Whenever she wears my coat and gives it back I smell the coat because it smells like her.

We ushered her to her next class with Mercedes and they both walked in together. The room hushed quickly with prying eyes staring at the both of them. I blew her a kiss and turned to go to my own class.

Mr. Shields had given her a huge stack of papers to grade and she got to work on all of them. I could hear her mark the papers with her pen after her thorough examination. Once in a while, I could hear her sigh or yawn. Hearing these sounds escape her lips endeared me to her all the more. Grading those papers hadn't taken the whole hour because when the bell rang Lily and Mercedes both were already out the door as I arrived.

Jake caught up with us and he walked Mercedes to her last class. We bid them goodbye and turned in the opposite direction. "I don't know if I can tell them what had happened, Edward." I squeezed Lily's hand and offered her some reassurance, "You never have to say anything if you don't feel good about it." Lily sniffled, "You always know the right thing to say." Again, she half-sniffled/half-laughed; which only made her more adorable in my eyes.

Lily walked into her office aide class and set her things down on the table she sat at. She turned to face me and walked me to the door. I held her fragile hand in my own taking in her beauty. She was exquisite. She kissed me. It was very short; although it was filled with immense passion and then I headed to my government class thinking about that kiss.

While I was in there we readied for a test, which was tedious and extremely beneath my intelligence level, but it would pass the time easily enough. Lily sat in the office and opened a book to read. I smiled listening to her thumbing through the pages. About three quarters of the way through the test, Lily was sent to drop off a message on the opposite side of the campus. She walked with purpose through the quiet hallways. Because of the snow drifting down lazily, her footfalls on the cement walkway were made even louder to my ears.

She pulled open the door to Mrs. Sheridan's room. Mrs. Sheridan was helping a student all the way in the back of the room and waved Lily back to where she stood. I could then hear the whispers and sneers from the others in the classroom. Mrs. Sheridan thanked Lily and I heard her turn to leave to head back to the office.

Two things happened simultaneously; I heard Alice scream in my head, "Oh no, Lily" and heard Lily trip and fall onto the floor with loud "ooofff". I handed in my test to Mrs. Carver. It only took about ten minutes to finish. The rest of the time I spent doodling on my notebook paper. I asked if I could use the restroom. Once outside, I flew to Mrs. Sheridan's class. Alice was already there in the doorway rushing to Lily's side and helping her up. The class burst into uproarious laughter, which only fueled my ire. "I'm okay...Alice, I just tripped."

Alice was inspecting Lily for any visible injuries. Lily turned to face Mrs. Sheridan, "I am so sorry for causing a disturbance." Her cheeks turned bright pink from the flood of embarrassment that washed over her entire body. She walked out, but my attention was focused on Sasha who was still laughing and internally celebrating her little joke on Lily.

We escorted Lily to the office and Rosalie was waiting, her eyes pitch black, arms folded across her chest and a terrible frown plastered across her porcelain face. "Edward, I only tripped and fell," Lily said. I raised my eyebrow in utter disbelief. "Lily, Sasha stuck out her foot and tripped you."

Alice was still searching for any sign of injury. Her eyes flashed and she picked up her phone and started dialing. "Jasper, I need you and Emmett." Her voice was a mixture of pain, anger and immense need. She then hung up the phone and waited. "Lily, have the nurse look at you," Rosalie said. Lily went back inside the office and entered the nurse's office at our behest.

Emmett and Jasper drove up to the student parking lot in a matter of minutes. Alice was waiting and threw herself into Jasper's arms. He tilted his head down and gazed into Alice's eyes. Of course unspoken words were exchanged. "I have a mission for you should you accept." Emmett who was standing with Rose said, "I accept your mission. What is your briefing?"

Alice went on to explain what Sasha did to Lily. Emmett said, "Oh, I know exactly what we are going to do to that witch. Alice, come with us." She saluted Emmett and I grinned evilly after hearing what they were going to do. "I wish I could go with you." They nodded their understanding. It was general knowledge that Lily was my focus and I wouldn't leave her. "We will make you proud, little brother," Jasper said.

The three of them sped off with a squeal of the tires out into the white expanse of snow. I just stood there with Rosalie waiting for class to end so I could take Lily safely home. She eventually came out. "Edward, Rosalie, I am fine. The nurse found absolutely nothing wrong with me. Lily kissed my cheek and went back inside for the rest of her class. After about 20 minutes the bell rang. Rosalie headed to detention to stay with Mercedes and Lily came out with her books and my coat draped over her arm. I took my leather jacket and told Lily to stay there. "What books do you need from your locker?" She smiled and told me English, government and my science book. I ran off and came back with her coat and books in my arms. The voices picked up again and I knew it wasn't good, something was up.

I helped her with her down coat, placing it over her delicate shoulders and escorted her to my car. When we got there a mob of students were standing around my Audi waiting. "Lily, we all want to know what happened to you" multiple voices were heard aloud. They were all nodding in agreement waiting with bated breath.

"How could these humans be so ugly on the inside?" I whispered to her. Lily squeezed my hand and said, "You need to see them with your heart open. You are higher beings than we are and you need to see our flaws for what they are and try to overlook them. We all can't be you!" She smiled at me.

Lily put her arm around my waist and dug deep into my side for support. "I guess I need to tell them." I looked deep into her eyes giving her my strength. She nodded and we walked forward together toward the throng of students.

"I demand peace of mind." She looked directly at me when she said that. "I am only telling you this because I don't want any more whispers, finger pointing or talking behind my back. I am going to say this once and then I want to be left alone. I don't want any follow-up questions or talking about it later." They all greedily and hungrily accepted these terms. "I had been abducted from my home, beaten and raped. Edward and his family found me and saved my life." She left it at that. "Edward, let's go." They all had a look of utter shock on their faces, partially from what they heard and partially from the limited statement Lily gave.

I obliged and escorted her to the passenger side of my car and helped her in. All of the kids moved quickly out of our way. I closed the door and strode over to the driver's side and got in. After starting the engine we drove away into the frosty afternoon.

I insisted upon taking Lily to my house to have Carlisle and I look her over, just in case. As we pulled into the long drive to the house Emmett, Jasper and Alice had beaten us there.

I speedily went to Lily and got her out of the car and placed her on my back and ran for the house at vampire speed. I was so happy that I don't have to hide in front of her anymore.

Carlisle had swept out of his office after hanging up his telephone. He came downstairs and said, "How was your first day back, Lily?" He hugged her and then frowned when I had spoken to him in my mind. Carlisle and I have been together for so long it was easier to communicate with him nonverbally than the others. It is almost as easy as communicating with Alice.

"Lily, I am going to take you to the hospital and remove your cast and x-ray your arm, just to make sure you didn't reinjure your arm when you fell."

Lily agreed sheepishly, "Okay. Edward, you will go with us right?" I knew she was reluctant because of the pens and other objects she was using as scratching tools.

"Of course I will, Lily."

Carlisle turned to the rest of us, put his hands on his hips and said, "Do you kids mind telling me what you were up to this afternoon?" He looked livid with rage. I know now that he knows exactly what we did and he wants to know why.