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CHAPTER 31: POST TREATY

BPOV

"I know," he whispered behind me. Even through the thick coat, I could feel the heat of his body behind me, daring me to touch him. "I come here all the time."

"Why is that?" I asked, curious.

"Did you know that I never really wanted to be in a gang?"

That was shocking. "Really? I remember you wanting to be in it ever since we were young."

"I know. When we were in elementary school, it was what I thought I wanted. At that time, my dad was in it. But he got killed being in it. Because we lost the one thing that helped us survive in my bad side of town, I ended up jumping in."

"So you're in the SOB out of protection?"

"Yes. I mean, being in a gang isn't entirely bad, but it was my last resort. I was hoping I could get my mom and I out of there but now it's too late."

"Do most SOB members feel that way?"

"Yes. We just don't talk about it. Let me give you a clue: If you ever want to make an awesome comeback to a gang member, especially to an SOB member, ask them the real reason why they're in a gang and if they enjoy it. Their facial expressions and emotional feelings will swirl around in them."

"I never knew you felt like that."

"Yeah well, you never really got the chance to get to know me."

"That's not fair. I can say the same about you."

"I know. I wasn't using that phrase against you."

He sat down against a tree and I joined in after him. It was just him and me, our backs to the same tree, inches apart, staring at the meadow and moon up above us. It would be romantic if we were actually together and in love. His heartfelt confession did confuse me a bit. "What does being in the SOB have to do with this meadow and you bringing me here?"

"The SOB life is tough, especially with the shit that can happen in school. I come down here to think a lot and to spend some quality time with myself. No one else knows about this place. I come here a lot, so I would see other people here. But no one comes here, so this is like my secret place."

"So why share this secret place with me? If you shared it, then it won't be a secret anymore."

"I'm only sharing it with you. It seemed as if now would the time to share it, and you are the right person to share it with." I swear I felt my heart beat just a bit faster at that confession.

"Tanya, Emmett, and Sawyer don't know about this place?"

"No one else knows besides you and me."

"I'm kind of surprised you didn't show Tanya."

"Tanya isn't the type of girl who would appreciate this. Besides, she and I never worked well together. I sometimes felt like she and I were together out of convenience."

"Oh."

"Was it like that for you and Mike?"

"No. I mean, yes we did fit the stereotype of cheerleader and football player, but we truly did love each other. That's why it was so hard for me to accept his affair. No one would have ever thought." We were silent for awhile until I said, "So is that it? Is the SOB the only tough part about your life?"

"Other than living without my dad, yes, the SOB is pretty tough."

"But you have a loving mother."

"How do you know?"

"When we had to turn in our outline, I called your home when you were in Vegas. Your mom picked up and she and I talked for like 2 minutes. She was really hurt that you were down there."

"I know. I wasn't proud of myself for leaving her, but I had to."

"Everyone has a choice."

"Not if one of the risks is your life."

"Why were you in Vegas anyways?"

"Have you ever heard of the Volturi Vultures?"

"Yes. They're just another gang."

"Yes, they are a gang, but don't say it like it's nothing. They took an SOB member. Usually with gangs, that means war. I had to go down there to get it all straight. Vegas is their headquarters."

He gave me the answer I wanted and confirmed what Kate and Rose informed me. "Why did they take some SOB members?"

"They believe that the SOB killed some Vultures, which is impossible because we haven't done any recent killings."

"So what are you guys going to do now?"

"Most of us don't know. Our leader, Carlisle Cullen, is too much of an idiot to figure it out. So while most of the SOBs are in Vegas to settle this, me, McClintock, and McCarty are staying in Forks to watch our territory."

"Sounds tough. Could you guys be framed?"

"Gee, now why didn't we think about that?" He said sarcastically with a crooked smile. I smiled back and he continued, "We were thinking of the Quilette Wolves or the Hell Riders. But the Hell Riders are close friends of ours, so they wouldn't do so. The Wolves are just maniacs. So for now, we're figuring out how to question the Wolves."

"You won't use guns, would you?" I asked, a bit scared of Eddie getting hurt.

"A gun wound is nothing."

"Not if it is in the heart or brain. Then you'll die instantly."

"Silly Bella, there are worse things in life than dying."

I laughed at his outrageous comment, "I'll try and keep that in mind."

"So we talked about me this whole time, anything you may want to share?"

"There really isn't anything interesting about me."

"Well, I talked about my mother. How about your parents?"

"My parents are just…different."

"You know different is a relative term. You may need to explain some more."

I sighed, debating with myself if I should share or not. "Eddie, you've seen some pretty scary stuff in your life, right?"

"Yes."

"Let's just say that I have too. More than you can imagine."

"Now that's hard for me to imagine."

I looked away, about to tear up and cry because of my horrible past. I didn't want him to see me so vulnerable. I just lost my boyfriend. Sharing my past with someone else isn't going to make me feel better. Or will it? "It's getting late. We should get going."

"Nuh-uh, you got to give me something about yourself. Anything, just tell me one tiny fact about yourself."

"My parents are usually gone, so I always get the house to myself."

"Sounds lonely," his voice softened.

"Not really. It's actually really nice."

"When you took care of me that night, they weren't there. Why weren't they?"

They were locked up in a center, that's why. "They were away, to find themselves I guess," I hide the truth without lying. "They leave a lot."

"Well they shouldn't leave a beautiful girl alone. It's dangerous."

I smiled at his confession, "You don't have to compliment me. And I'm 18 years old, not entirely a baby."

"But you are a young woman."

"Yes, yes I am a young woman. Just like how you're a young gentleman."

"Did you just call me a gentleman?"

"Yes, yes I did."

He laughed and smiled that wonderful crooked smile, "Just wanted to make sure."

I shivered because of the cold and he noticed. So he unzipped his leather jacket and scooted closer to me. He placed me right beside him and put his arm around my shoulders, making sure that I was enveloped in his body heat and his jacket. He then did his best to close the jacket with me in it. I have to say, it felt really nice. I hadn't had Mike hold me like that for awhile or even show that much affection or caring towards me. It felt nice. I felt loved and cared for. "Thanks," I said out of appreciation.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry I made you come all the way out here on a cold day. I should've known better."

"You did know better: you showed me a beautiful place. I hope you don't mind that I come down here in the future."

"I would actually love the company, and I sure as hell wouldn't mind yours." We stared at the sky and the scene a bit longer until he asked, "Bella, if you ever want to talk, you can talk to me. I know we're not best friends or anything, but we obviously have something here. Wouldn't it be best to explore that?"

Ignoring his last comment, I answered his first one instead. "My parents abuse me." I felt his arms around me tighten and it felt…wonderful. As if he was trying to protect me.

EPOV

"My parents abuse me," she said.

With that confession, I tightened my arms around her. Who would want to hurt such a beautiful girl? "Do you want to talk about it?"

"My dad has always hit me or my mom. As I got older, mom got more violent as well. I think it all got worse when my mom found out that my dad was cheating on her. She was heartbroken. She thought they were perfect for each other. She thought they were each other's 'the one.' But she failed to see that if any man mistreated you, you should've left him. When my dad found out that she knew, he denied it. He even tried to beat the denial into her. It was horrible. I was so scared. He even tried to beat me up to make me forget it." I could've sworn I felt a tear drop fall onto my shirt. "I ended up in the hospital for a couple of days and so did mom. From then on, she started to hit him back. It wasn't very successful. Mom found out that dad even paid his mistress to sleep with him. He even bought his mistress a car and a house. Worse part of it all? The mistress had her own family and her husband knew of it all. But her husband let her play around with my dad for money. You can obviously see the love that 2 people have in a marriage."

"You must think that relationships are stupid, looking at how you and Mike ended up," I commented.

"Yes, yes I do. It makes me wonder if love is truly out there."

"It is Bella, it really is." And I'll spend the rest of my life to prove it to you if I have to. I decided to explain her my parents' love. "You know, my parents were high school sweethearts."

"Hmm, that sounds promising," she said with sarcasm. Her immediate change of mood made me smile.

"Anyways, before I was rudely interrupted," and I grunted when she gently elbowed me, "they got married young and had me at a young age. I don't know the specifics, but I know that my dad was cut off from his parent's money when he decided to marry my mom. She always told him that their marriage could wait, that her love was everlasting, but dad wasn't patient. He wanted her, and if he had to live poorly, he'd do it."

"My guess is that he did do it."

"Yes he did. Even though he lived a short life and was killed during his time in a gang, I know he doesn't regret it, nor does my mom. They loved each other so much that everything was worth it. I sometimes asked my mom that if she got a second chance, would she do it differently. Do you know what she said?"

"She said no because she was perfectly happy," Bella said, echoing my thoughts.

"Exactly. They may have been young, but love knows no bounds."

"Haha, I'll have to remember that too." She paused and thought for a moment. Her next comment changed the entire mood, "Did you know that Gandhi once said that 'Everything you do in life is insignificant, but it's important that you do it anyways.'? (A/N: True quote.) I agree with the former. If your actions aren't important, how can marriage and love be important? You're just going to die at the end. No one will remember you."

"That may be true, but if everything you do isn't significant, wouldn't you want to do things that are significant? Like falling in love? That's pretty damn significant if you ask me."

"Yeah, well who's asking you?" She laughed.

I chuckled and slowly started to smooth her hair down and rub her arms. Her skin was so soft but her hair was a bit crunchy, probably because of the hair spray she had to use in order to retain the curls. "Gandhi's quote isn't entirely correct."

"So we disagree. Can we agree to disagree?"

"You mean like an impasse?"

"I mean exactly like an impasse."

"Yes, we have ourselves an impasse."

I heard her yawn. "I'm so tired," she whispered.

"Come on, let me get you home."

"No, let's just stay here for awhile," she snuggled in closer to me. She felt so good in my arms.

20 minutes passed and I knew it was time to get her home. "Bella, come on, let me take you home."

"Carry me, please?" she asked.

I carried her bridal style to my motorcycle. She was such a light little thing. Once I got to my motorcycle, I thought about how to take her home. I decided to put her in my lap during the ride. Her head was resting on me as her legs came off to the side. I leaned back a bit so she wouldn't slide off of me. I was riding with one hand, the other arm wrapped protectively around her. The ride was slow. I was riding slowly to make sure she wouldn't fall. We didn't even need to wear helmets at the rate I went.

The minute I got to her house, I tried shaking her up. "Bella, you're home. You gotta go inside."

"No," she turned closer to me and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck.

"Bella…"

"My key is in my pocket…" she whispered lazily. I had no choice but to take her inside myself. Again, I held her bridal style with her key in my hand. I walked in quietly, making sure I didn't wake her parents up. The first room I recognized was the room I was in when she took care of me that night. I went to the room across from it and I found Bella's room. I placed her gently on her bed but she wouldn't let go of me. "Stay…"

"Bella, I should go."

"No, stay," and she pulled me down with such force that I had no choice but to stay in her arms. I heard her sigh contently, but she couldn't be as happy as I am right now. For the rest of the night, I was in the arms of the girl I love.

"I love you Bella," I whispered softly, hoping she wouldn't hear me.

"Me too Eddie," she whispered.

I would've shaken her up and asked her to repeat those words if I wasn't so tired. It was too late for me to ask because sleep overtook me.

AN: So Bella spilled. Shocked? I say, it's about time.

Anyways, I'm currently also working on another story. It's called THE KILLER. Here's a sneak peek of it and please tell me if you would be interested in reading it. I know I love writing it.

Short Summary: MIA's top agent, Is, AKA The Killer, has to go to Forks to catch the vampire who has been killing humans. Vampires don't stand a chance against The Killer. The Cullens don't even stand a chance against her, not even the one who is captivated by her. BPOV.

BPOV: I can do anything humanely and magically possible. The power of my mind is like none other. Embrace what I can do and fear me. I can do anything with the powers of my brain. When I say anything, I mean anything. I'm lethal, dangerous, and everyone is a suspect. No one can stop me and everyone should fear me. I am THE KILLER. I dare you to challenge me.