The Mating Dance Chapter 6: Slippery, a twilight fanfic

Title: The Mating Dance

Rating: M for sexual situations, lemons, and hot, steamy, angsty vampire lovin', underage drinking, smoking, drug use and overall bad behavior.

Premise: Alternate Universe. Edward Cullen and his adoptive family have moved to Forks to start a new life, but Edward's life suddenly changes when he's drawn into Bella Swan's strange and dangerous world. Vampires mate for life, but what happens when that mate is human?

Alternate Universe: Canon pairings eventually, pretty much OOC, ExB of course.

POV: EPOV (Edward), Edward's turn to continue the story. Alice will be back later on and maybe Bella, too.

– – – –

Author Notes:

Please note that this story is rated M for a reason, if you'd prefer not to deal with mature themes, please do not read this story.

Please review and let me know what you think.

The next chapter may take longer to get out. I'll be out of town on a business trip next week. Enjoy!

Chapter 6 Slippery

Jessica Stanley was such a bitch! I hadn't even done anything wrong, but now there were rumors flying all around school that I had been fooling around with Bella Swan after Katy went home drunk from Jessica's party on Saturday night. I'd wondered how long it would take the rumors to start, and the story to get back to Katy. She knew by Sunday afternoon, and she still wouldn't talk to me on Monday morning. It amazed me that one simple harmless little walk had blown up into such a storm of rumors and gossip.

One story had it that I'd gotten Katy drunk on purpose so I could spend time with Bella, and another story had moved the encounter from the path from the river to the two of us coming out of one of the bedrooms upstairs. Another story claimed that I had told Bella to meet me on the trail behind the house after I made sure Katy was going home with her friends. The only people that knew the real truth were Bella and I. Mike and Jessica had seen us on the path, but they didn't know how long we'd been together or what we'd been doing.

I'd told Katy as much of the truth as I was willing to share. I'd explained that I was looking for Brittany and Dean on the trail because Tanner had said that they went for a walk. Michaela had called and said that Brittany was already at the house, and I ran into Bella on my way back to the party. We just walked back to the house, and I hung out with Alice the rest of the night.

Katy had spent the day all day Sunday with Michaela and Brittany. I assumed she was trying to recover from her hangover for at least part of the day, but I got suspicious when she didn't want to see me Sunday afternoon or that night. We always went for our long run on Sunday afternoon or evening, but she told me she was still sick when I called her to ask if she wanted me to pick her up to go run.

I knew I was in trouble when she called and told me not to come over to run on Monday morning. She rode to school with Michaela, and she wouldn't talk to me in Trig. Lunch on Monday just added fuel to the fire. Katy wouldn't go out to lunch with me, because she still wouldn't talk to me. We'd all sat at our regular table but Katy sat on the other side of the table with Michaela and Brittany. She just glared at me and fumed when Alice and Bella came and sat with me between them.

Lunch on Monday seemed to be the turning point. She realized that she was pushing me away, and the only one she was punishing was herself if she kept shutting me out of her life. I drove Katy home after cross country practice Monday night and we talked. We ate dinner with her mother, and sat up watching movies at her house.

Tuesday morning we went for our run, and things seemed to be getting back to normal. I drove to Katy's house alone at 4am. Alice had her Aerobics class this morning, and was sleeping in until Bella came to pick her up to drive to the health club. I could swear I could feel Bella's presence just inside the trees by Katy's garage as I parked my car and got out to stretch, but I pushed the feeling away and ignored it. I knew I couldn't prove it, and it would just set Katy off again if I said anything.

The run was relax and frustrating at the same time. It was relaxing because I was spending time together with Katy, doing something we both loved. Running was a big part of our lives and it was something that we could share. It was frustrating because I could sense Bella at the edge of my awareness shadowing us as we ran. Feeling Bella nearby made me feel content and whole. It felt like a piece of me was torn away and missing when she was gone and I knew the day was rapidly approaching when I was going to have to make a choice which girl was going to be in my life. I couldn't go on much longer being pulled in so many different directions.

Bella had told me that if I wanted Katy, she'd back off and let me keep her. The constant sense that she was standing close enough to touch or that she was just around the next corner was driving me crazy. If she was that close, then I wanted to see her, but it would drive Katy even crazier. If I was going to be with Katy, then I was going to have to tell Bella to back off and give me some space. I wasn't ready to do that yet. Bella was like a drug and the longer that I was exposed to her personal magic, the more I craved it.

Perhaps it was the coward's way through this dilemma, but I was waiting to see how the relationships played out. Bella drove Katy crazy in a much different way than how she affected me. Katy saw Bella as her rival for my affections now, but Katy had the home field advantage, so to speak. She was my girlfriend, and we'd been together for over a year. She shared my most intimate secrets, and I had given her my heart. Before Bella came on the scene, I had envisioned us being together forever. There was nobody else that I wanted to be with, before Bella Swan moved to Forks.

Now Bella was a part of my life and I was presented with options that I hadn't even realized existed before. I had told Katy not to push me away and I wouldn't go anywhere, but she kept pushing. Every time she saw me notice Bella, she'd turn that cold shoulder to me. Katy would get mad and push me away, and Bella was standing there, like a magnet pulling me in towards her, waiting for Katy to screw up one time too many, and drive me away for good.

We got back to Katy's house, and I kissed her goodbye and went home to shower and get ready for school. Alice was gone when I got home, and I assumed she was at Janet Stanley's aerobics class with Bella and the rest of the cheerleaders. I fixed breakfast for myself and then got ready for school.

Alice was home in time to shower and change as we rushed out to go pick Katy up to go the school. Thankfully it was a normal Tuesday at Forks high school and we fell back into our routine. Katy and I went out to lunch, to get away together. We made plans for tonight, and Katy said ok when I asked if I could take her to dinner. We didn't feel like driving out to Port Angeles, so we decided to eat at the Plaza Jalisco tonight.

I talked to Alice in US History, and she said she'd ask if Bella could drive her to her martial arts class tonight during cheerleading practice. She seemed confident that Bella would take her. We went to the gym after class and went to the locker rooms to change. I met Katy out in front of the school for cross country practice, and Alice and the cheerleaders left to go jog out to the football field for their practice session.

Alice gave me the thumbs up when we got back from our run, and she was already walking out to Bella's red Dodge charger to leave when Katy and I got back to the school. Tuesdays and Thursdays were always a short practice for Alice, and she'd be leaving directly to head out to Port Angeles. Her class started at six o'clock, and ran for two hours. If they got back on the road right after class, and didn't stop to eat, they could be back by nine thirty. Alice and I usually stopped to eat, and got back later.

I drove Katy home, dropped her off, and went home to shower and change to go out to dinner. I told her I'd pick her up at seven. That would give both of us some time to work on our homework assignments, and then we'd have the rest of the night to ourselves.

I would have liked to have just showered at Katy's house, and helped her with her homework, but her dad was back in town. He liked me alright, but he had an old fashioned sense of propriety, and he thought I already spent more than enough time with Katy. I'm sure he probably knew more about our relationship than he let on, but as long as we didn't flaunt it under his nose, and were relatively discrete, he was happy to look the other way as long as Katy was happy.

I got home and had the house to myself. I took my shower to clean up after running at cross country practice, and got started on my homework to get it out of the way so I wouldn't have to worry about it when I was out with Katy later.

Katy was expecting me at seven, so I got dressed and left early to go pick her up. It was a short drive across town to her house and I had to cut through the center of Forks and cross Forks Avenue to get to her neighborhood. I drove past the drive-in, and a lot of our friends were already there hanging out. Maybe we'd stop by for dessert after dinner to say hi, but I was really looking forward to the two of us spending time alone together.

I still didn't know what I really wanted, but if I was going to give our relationship a chance to survive this, then I needed to spend time with Katy. When Bella wasn't around, it was just so easy to be with Katy. All that changed when Bella was around. Bella was like the sun when she stepped into my life, and I was inexorably drawn to her like a planet caught in the pull of gravity. Katy could sense that pull and it pissed her off.

Katy was still getting ready when I rang the doorbell next to the front door. Her dad answered the door and invited me in to wait. We went into the living room where he was watching the ballgame on TV. He seemed excited about the game but I'd never been a big fan of baseball. It was ok if I was playing, but I found it kind of slow paced to just sit and watch. It had to be close to the end of the season or possibly even a playoff game considering it was the middle of September.

I only had to wait for a couple of minutes, and then Katy came down the hall. She was wearing the chocolate brown linen drawstring skirt that swirled around her knees and the open toed pumps with a two and half inch heel that she'd worn to the football game in Sequim, but she had on a different top. It was a bright royal blue fitted button front shirt with short puff sleeves. I got up when she walked into the living room. Her dad made a show of watching the TV as she came into my arms and I gave her a light kiss, then we turned to her dad and said goodbye. Katy's mom came out of the kitchen, and they walked us to the door and told us to have fun as we left.

I carried Katy's coat for her as we walked to the car and helped her into the front seat. I ran around and got in, and we drove to the Plaza Jalisco. The restaurant was kind of quaint and fit the character of Forks. It was obvious from looking at the building that this particular piece of real estate had started life as a gas station. The carport with the islands for the gas pumps was still part of the parking lot on the side of the building facing Forks Avenue. The exterior of the building was painted in gaudy festive Mexican colors with a pinkish orange paint and green, brown, yellow, and red trim and accents. The interior had been remodeled to fit the requirements of a family restaurant, but the lighting was subdued with candles in glass sconces on the tables.

I held the door for Katy as we went into the restaurant. It wasn't crowded being a Tuesday night, and after the dinner rush if they even had one in the middle of the week. The hostess looked a little bored and seated us immediately. At first she took us to a table in the middle of the room, but I hated those tables. I always felt like I was on display for people to stare at even though there were only a couple of other couples. I asked for a more private booth, and the hostess took us to a booth in the corner of the room, away from the front door and the kitchen entrance. We sat together on the side of the booth so we could see the rest of the restaurant. The hostess left us menus and asked us if we'd like anything to drink. I got a Pepsi and Katy asked for water.

Dinner was pleasant and I enjoyed Katy's company and the two of us just being together. I could feel the dull ache in my chest that reminded me I was separated from Bella, but it was easy to ignore as I chatted with Katy over dinner. I wondered if this feeling would ever go away. If Katy was my future would I always feel a connection to Bella? I assumed it wouldn't be an issue if I was with Bella, but I really couldn't say what the future held for me at this point.

Katy had lived in Washington all of her life and hadn't been exposed to a lot of different cultural environments. The area of California where I had grown up was much more culturally diverse and a more cosmopolitan environment with Hispanic, Asian, Indian and a wide variety of other cultural influences melding together, providing a wealth of experience. My choice for dinner may not have been daring, I ordered the spicy pork fajita platter, but I had enough experience to know that it was pretty good for a Mexican franchise restaurant in Washington State. Katy ordered the mild chicken quesadilla, and it seemed a little bland to me when she offered me a taste, but it seemed to suit her.

That seemed to be a metaphor for our relationship. Katy was daring for a small town hidden in the forest in northwest Washington. She surfed and tried new things to a certain extent. She wanted to go to college, but although we hadn't discussed it in any kind of detail yet, she seemed to assume we'd go to Washington State University so she'd be close to home and family. We hadn't talked about it much, but I knew she wanted a nice normal life, probably in a small town like Forks.

Sure, she tried new things and tried to be daring, but under the surface she was like the chicken quesadilla, A little bland for my taste. She would probably reminisce about the summers she spent surfing in La Push and the trip I took her on to Paris as the high points of her life if I didn't drag her along to explore with me.

I hadn't really given the future much thought, but I knew I wanted more than Forks, Washington. I wanted to travel and see the world. I wanted to go to college, but I could pick any school in the country, and someplace Ivy League sounded like a good start. I was seventeen years old, and I had my whole life in front of me. I wanted excitement and adventure, but I had a sneaking suspicion that Katy would be more than happy to settle down right away, before we'd even had a chance to experience the world.

We finished dinner, and I left a tip and paid the bill at the front counter. We didn't order dessert, but I'd asked Katy if she wanted to stop by the drive-in to say hi to our friends and she'd agreed when I'd offered to buy her dessert there. We went out to the Volvo and drove up Forks Avenue to Sully's drive-in. It was only about three blocks north of the Plaza Jalisco, and we were pulling into the parking lot in minutes.

Most of our friends were surprised to see us. I wasn't sure if they were surprised because we were together, or because it was a Tuesday night, and they all knew I usually drove Alice to Port Angeles on Tuesday and Thursday night. Tyler seemed relieved to see us and came over to say hi. Lauren had been on his case all day in school and it didn't look like it was getting any better tonight. Mike was his normal smiling self, but Jessica seemed disappointed to see us together and happy. I knew she'd been spreading rumors about me and Bella at her party, and showing up together with Katy tonight gave the lie to the rumors that were flying around the school.

We ordered dessert and sat together at our usual table as we chatted with friends. I had a chocolate malt, and Katy ordered a vanilla ice cream cone. Katy sat close to me, with her thigh pressed up against mine and I knew she had finally put her hurt feelings and Jessica's rumors behind her as she licked the ice cream cone in the most suggestive manner. There were parts of me that were wishing they were that ice cream cone as she swirled her tongue around her dessert, and she smiled at me suggestively when she saw me watching her.

Katy finished her ice cream, and leaned into my side. I felt her warm breath on my neck, and then her teeth on my ear lobe as she gave it a gentle bite.

"Let's go someplace more private," Katy whispered in my ear, as she rubbed my chest with her hand. She pulled back a little and I turned and looked into here eyes. I could see the desire burning in her, and I took her hand as we stood up to leave.

We said good night to our friends, and turned to leave. I'm sure most of them had a pretty good idea that we weren't going straight home. It wasn't the first time we'd left early, and most of the couples there had too, at one time or another. We walked to the Volvo and got in, and I started the motor to leave.

I pulled out of the parking lot and turned north on Fork's Avenue. I kept heading north across the bridge out of town. I continued north for a while, and then turned right off the highway onto Sitkum-Solduc Road. I drove east for a while, out past the mill and the Industrial Park, and then turned off south onto an abandoned logging road north of the Quillayute River.

I'm sure this road wasn't really abandoned, at least not during the day, and despite the drive I really wasn't far from home. My house was on the other side of the river, less than a half of a mile from where we were parked, but the only way to get there was to circle back through town, to cross the river at the bridge. A lot of fishermen and guides used these roads to get close to the river to go fishing, but tonight I was here just to enjoy the view and be alone with Katy.

I got out and slid my seat forward, and then went around and opened the door for Katy. I helped her out of the car, and slid her seat forward before I shut the door. I opened the backseat door, and we slid into the back seat together. I put my arm around Katy's shoulders, and she leaned her head on my shoulder as I held her. We weren't rushed like we'd been that last night we'd parked together, after the football game in Sequim, and we could take things slow.

Besides, I was comfortable letting Katy set the pace tonight. It looked like she had forgiven me for what happened at the party, although I knew I hadn't done anything wrong. She knew nothing had happened between me and Bella. She just didn't like the idea that I considered the possibility, and that Bella seemed so ready to accommodate that possibility.

"I'm sorry I was mad at you, Edward," Katy said as she traced slow circles around my stomach. "I know nothing happened after Michaela took me to her house. I just overreacted to the stories that I heard everyone telling."

"It's ok Katy, but I don't want to talk about that tonight, ok? I'm here with you, and I love you. We're all alone out her. Just you and me out her alone with the river and the trees…"

It was still warm out for the middle of September and the windows of the car were open. The night air was moist but crisp and clean with the scent of green growing things and I could see the starlight glint off the river flowing rapidly not far from where we were parked. The near constant cloud cover had relented this evening and the sky was clear with a light breeze.

Katy turned her face up to look into my eyes, and I stared back into her bright blue gaze. I leaned into her and our lips met in a kiss. It was sweet and tender and my lips moved on hers. I reached for Katy and pulled her onto my lap, and she snaked her arms around my neck and tangled her fingers in my hair as she pulled me into our kiss. Her lips parted and I felt her tongue run across my lower lip, tasting me, begging for entry, and my lips parted allowing her entry.

It was blissful and sweet and unhurried as we made out in the backseat of my car. Katy pushed her tongue into my mouth and it was slick and sweet and velvety as our kisses deepened. My hands moved on her body caressing, stroking, fondling as we moved together like one creature and gave each other pleasure.

I felt her toe off her shoes as they dropped to the floor of the car, and my fingers found the buttons of her blouse as I worked to open the front of her shirt. It was slow and unhurried as my hands caressed her stomach and moved up her tender young body grazing over her ribcage and circling around her back.

I loosened her shirt but we didn't take it off as my hands caressed her, our lips moved together and our tongues danced back and forth licking, probing, exploring. I found the clasp of her bra and it came open under my touch.

I broke the kiss and trailed kisses down her jaw line to the hollow beneath her ear, down the column of her neck and along her collar bone as she stretched back against the seat, luxuriating under the feel of my touch. She moaned my name as my hands lifted to cups of her bra off her chest, and my hands cupped her breasts.

"Oh god, Edward… That's so good baby…" Katy panted as my thumbs stroked the hard pebbles of her erect nipples.

I trailed kisses across her collarbone to the hollow at the base of her neck and then down her body until my mouth found her pert breast. I moved my hand off her trailing down lower as my mouth took its place and I sucked her hard nipple between my lips and flicked it with my tongue.

"Edward… Oh god… Yess…" She moaned as my tongue and mouth laved at her breast and I caressed her other breast with my strong hand.

I trailed kisses back up her chest, and kissed her neck as I moved back up toward her lips.

"I love you…" I moaned as I grazed along her jaw, and then her hands were back in my hair lightly scraping my scalp as she pulled my face back to her and our lips crashed together.

My free hand was on Katy's knee, and I started to caress up the inside of her thigh under her skirt as she spread her knees to give me better access.

I pushed my tongue into her mouth, deepening our kiss as I stroked her breast and my other hand moved onto the moist triangle of her panties, and I could feel how hot and wet she was.

I stroked my fingers over the damp fabric of her panties as Katy moaned into our kiss. I found the edge and pulled the triangle of wet fabric to the side and my finger dipped into her heat as I felt just how wet she really was.

Katy broke the kiss to catch her breath as she panted against my neck and my hands moved on her, caressing, stroking.

"God, Edward… I love you so much baby…" Katy moaned.

"I love you…" I moaned, and then I felt it. Sudden, strong, startling, the pull of the magnetic attraction that drew me to Bella, I glanced up out the window, and there in the starlight reflected off the river I saw her golden topaz eyes, the pale white skin of her face, framed in her flowing mahogany locks staring back into my eyes.

"Bella," I breathed, and then she was gone, vanishing from sight like a wraith, but I could still feel the pull of the attraction.

"What?" Katy moaned, still caught up in the moment. Then realization flowed through her galvanizing her response.

"What The Fuck did you call me!" she yelled as she roughly shoved me away. "Let me go! Don't touch me! God damn it! Get you hands off me!" She yelled as she pushed me off of her and pulled her shirt closed.

"Katy, I'm sorry… I didn't mean…"

"Shut the fuck up, god damn it! I don't want to hear fucking excuses! You're with ME, Edward, and you're thinking about fucking Bella Swan!"

"No, I…" but what could I say? That I'd seen Bella standing outside the car watching us make out? that I could feel her presence, and I knew it was her because I could sense her?

"Get out of my way! Let me out of here!" She yelled and I backed up and opened the door and got out of the car.

Katy scrambled to get out of the car and stumbled pulling her shoes back on. I reached out to help her, but she batted my hands away.

"Don't touch ME!" she yelled, and then she turned away and started walking down the road, back the way we'd come in, towards the highway, adjusting her bra and buttoning her shirt as she walked away from me. She stumbled once as her heel caught on something in the dark, but she didn't slow down and kept walking away.

"Katy, come back! At least let me drive you home! It's dark out, and it's more than three miles back to your house!"

"I'll walk, you fucking asshole! Why don't you go sit in your fucking car and fantasize about goddamned Bella Swan! That seems to be the only thing on you mind tonight!"

She was crying now and she was angry. It was going to take her some time to cool down. I got back in the car and started it. I turned on the headlights, and easily caught up to her. I drove slowly down the road as she walked next to the car with her arms crossed on her chest and the tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Katy, please be reasonable. Get in the car and let me drive you home, ok?"

She ignored me and kept walking. The progress was slow in the dark as Katy walked down the road next to the car. We ran further than this twice a day, but that was with the proper shoes, and in better light on roads and paths we were more familiar with. Eventually we made it back out onto Sitkum-Solduc Road. Katy continued to ignore me as I pleaded with her to get back into the car, but she adamantly walked slowly down the shoulder of the road.

I felt my cell phone vibrate in my pocket, and I took it out and looked at the caller ID. It was Alice, probably calling to warn me that it was getting late, and I was going to break my curfew if I didn't get home soon. Well, Katy wasn't cooperating, and I couldn't just leave her out here on a dark road alone at night. I let the call go to voicemail and put the phone away. Katy might be pissed off at me, but I was responsible for her safety. I'd been the one to bring her out here in the first place, and I had to make sure she got home safe.

Katy was still walking down the side of the road when we were almost to the mill in the industrial park. It was dark out and I could see the starlight and the dim illumination of crescent moon reflecting off the roofs and walls of the metal buildings of the lumber yard. Suddenly, I heard Katy yelp as she went down. Immediately, I stopped the car and jumped out to see what had happened.

"Katy?" I called as I came around the side of the car. "Are you all right?" I asked anxiously. Then I saw her. She had obviously stepped in the hole I could see now, on the shoulder of the road, and had stumbled. She had fallen, rolled down the slight incline, and was lying curled up in the bottom of the roadside ditch. I could hear her sobbing as she tried to stifle the sounds of her crying.

"Let me help you, Katy, please?" I pleaded with her. "I'm not going to leave you like this! Now c'mon," and I reached down and picked her up. She tried to resist, but she was past fighting now, and I carried her to the car as she feebly tried to push me away. I set her in the passenger seat and fastened her seatbelt for her as she looked away and refused to acknowledge my presence. I got back into the car and started the motor.

We drove to her house in silence, and she refused to speak to me. I looked at the clock on the dashboard, and it was way past our curfew now. I pulled up in front of Katy's house.

"Do you want me to come over in the morning to go for our run?" I asked as I shut off the engine.

She didn't speak, and just stared out the passenger window. I couldn't tell if she was still crying or not, but she refused to look at me and didn't make a move to get out of the car.

"Katy, are you alright?" I asked.

Finally she turned to look at me, and she was crying again, but she was trying to hold it in. She didn't sob, but the tears flowed down her cheeks, leaving trails in the dirt from where she'd fallen.

"No, Edward. Don't come over to run, and don't pick me up for school tomorrow! I'm sick of sharing you with Bella Swan!"

"What are you saying, Katy?" I asked shaken.

"I don't know, Edward. Why can't things be like they were before Bella moved to Forks? When she isn't around, things are so great between us, but every time I turn around, you're staring at her, or talking to her! We can't even be alone together without that bitch coming between us! I need time to think, and you need to make up your mind! If you want to be with me, then be with ME, damn it!"

"Katy, you know I love you."

"I know, Edward, and that's why I keep putting myself through this. But if you love me, then I want all of you! I deserve that. I'm not going to share you with Bella Swan! This is the last time that you think about her while you're with me, damn it!"

The porch light flashed off and back on, and I could see somebody peeking out the curtains. I started to open my door to get out of the car.

"No. Stay here. I'm a big girl. I can find my own way to the door. I need time to think, Edward, and you have a decision to make. If you want to be with me, then I want all of your attention. If that's too much for you to offer, then let me know. Don't drag this out any longer than you have to. Please, Edward?"

Katy got out of the car. She slammed the door shut, and then stalked to the front door and went inside without looking back. The porch light went off and I was left alone sitting in my car in front of Katy's house.

I started the car, but I was too upset to go home now. I had to know. Had I imagined seeing Bella tonight? Was it my subconscious playing tricks on me because I wanted to see her? Or had she really been there tonight, suddenly standing outside the car, watching us? I drove north back out of town and down Sitkum-Solduc Road, out past the mill and onto the deserted logging road where Katy and I had parked earlier this evening.

I reached into the glove compartment under the dashboard on the passenger side of the car and got out a flashlight. I got out of the car, and turned on the flashlight to survey the scene. I could see the tire marks where I had parked here earlier, and our footprints in the soft ground where we'd walked around the car. I looked toward the river, and I could see there was a clearing where I'd seen Bella appear. I walked over to the spot, and shined the flashlight around, searching for whatever signs I could find.

There were footprints in the soft dirt of the clearing, small footprints that looked like a girl's boots. I'd seen these footprints before, under Katy's window. They led in two directions. It looked like she had approached from the river, and then they led off into the trees.

I followed the trail back to the river, to see where she'd come from. I was expecting the trail to lead back to tire tracks, and I wanted to see where she'd parked, but I got to the edge of the river, and the trail stopped. The first set of prints was deeper, as though she'd jumped down from something, and her feet had been driven deeper into the soft dirt of the bank, but there was nothing to jump off of, unless she'd been standing on a boat in the river. This wasn't the kind of river that had boats, unless you counted canoes, kayaks, and inflatable rubber rafts.

It was like she appeared out of nowhere, and was suddenly walking up the bank to the spot where I'd seen her. She couldn't have come across the river, the Quillayute River was a hundred feet wide and deep and swift moving here. There were rapids about a quarter of a mile west of here, and then more downstream at the bend in the river where it turned south.

I backtracked to where I'd first found the footprints, and followed them in the other direction, deeper into the woods. I was able to follow the trail for a while, but then the trail started to fade out as I got deeper into the trees. There was more undergrowth, and the footprints were harder to see. I was about to turn back, when I shined the flashlight around one last time, and something caught my eye. A rainbow flash of light that flickered briefly as the light reflected off of something.

I moved in that direction and the fecal stink of death assaulted my senses. The reflection I'd seen was the flashlight reflecting off of an animal's eye, but it was glazed and still in death. The sphincter had relaxed when death took it, and it had voided it bowels as it lay dying. It was a large deer, but its head lay at an odd angle, and I could see that its neck was broken. There was a terrible wound in its throat, where it looked like some animal had bitten it, but there was no blood on the forest floor.

I could tell it hadn't been moved from where it was attacked and died, but where was the blood? We'd studied this in biology last year. A large animal like that would have close to a gallon and a half of blood, and the wound in its throat would have caused it to bleed out. Apart from the broken neck, and the bite mark in the throat, there were no other apparent wounds. Predatory animals usually killed to feed, but there weren't any other marks where another animal had tried to eat this deer. Had some animal killed it, and then been driven off before it could enjoy its meal?

I shined the flashlight on the scene, and then I saw them. The same footprints I had been following. They were all around the carcass of the deer, as though Bella had been crouched over it, examining it. Why would Bella be so fascinated with the carcass of a dead animal to get so close to examine it or even want to be so close to it? Most girls would be grossed out just standing here checking out the scene, let alone being close enough to touch it.

I looked around, and I couldn't see anymore tracks leading away from the deer carcass. At least I wasn't crazy. I really had seen Bella tonight. What the hell she'd been doing here, and how she got here and how she left were still a mystery to me, but I felt better knowing I hadn't imagined seeing her tonight while I was with Katy. I was certain that the knowledge wouldn't bring Katy any peace of mind, but now I knew I had reacted to something real, and not an unconscious desire to be with Bella instead of Katy. I turned and made my way back to the Volvo.

I got in the car, and headed for home. Carlisle was going to be pissed off at me. I was hours late now, and he was adamant about my curfew. He knew how hard I pushed myself to excel at the sports I chose to participate in. He knew I got up early every morning to run, had practice in the afternoon after school and went for my long run on Sundays. He also was aware of the vices I enjoyed, and the relationship I shared with Katy.

Carlisle was always telling us about how we needed to keep things in balance and to not push ourselves to hard. He didn't try to control our lives, but the one thing he insisted on was that we at least get enough rest and try to keep normal or at least regular hours for sleep. If I was going to be up every morning at four, he expected me in the house before my curfew during the week. He was more lenient on the weekends, but this was a Tuesday night.

I got home and pulled into the garage and parked the Volvo. It had been a long and trying night, and I just wanted to go to bed and sleep now. I knew I was in trouble when I started to walk to the house, and there were still lights on. I went into the house, and Carlisle was waiting up for me.

"Edward, do you realize what time it is?" Carlisle asked when I walked into the house.

"Yes, dad, I'm sorry. I know it's late."

"Well, do you have an explanation? Where have you been?"

"Katy and I had another fight. She was mad at me, and stormed off to walk home. I couldn't leave her. It took me a while to calm her down before she'd let me drive her home."

"I'm sorry you're fighting with Katy, she seems like a very nice girl, but I called her house looking for you! You dropped her off an hour and a half ago! Where have you been since then?"

"I was upset. I drove around to calm down and clear my head," it wasn't a total lie. I was upset, but I wasn't ready to confide what was going on with Bella to Carlisle yet.

"Well, you better go to bed now, it's late, and I don't think you should get up to run in the morning. You need your rest, or you're going to make yourself sick."

"I wasn't planning on going running tomorrow. Katy doesn't want to see me, and it's late."

"Ok, goodnight Edward. We'll talk more in the morning."

That didn't sound good. Carlisle gave in too easy, but I was too tired to fight with him tonight. I went upstairs and went to bed.

I didn't sleep well that night. I was restless and tossed and turned in my bed. When I did finally sleep, I dreamed about Bella Swan. I saw her face again in the starlight, her golden topaz eyes like pools of liquid butterscotch, the pale white skin, and her flowing mahogany hair.

The pieces of the puzzle seemed to tantalize my senses ready to fall into place, but the logic of what I knew seemed to elude me. How had Bella appeared out of nowhere at the rivers edge? Her hair was dry and blowing in the light breeze, so she hadn't swam across the river. She'd disappeared so suddenly when I looked into her eyes, and then there was the deer. Her tracks were all around it. She'd been close enough to touch it. It had obviously been killed by a broken neck and a vicious wound to the throat, but it was drained of blood and there wasn't a drop on the forest floor.

I started awake early, and glanced at the clock. It wasn't even four yet, but my eyes snapped open. I could feel the sense of attraction to Bella, the tug in my stomach that I was so familiar with now, and I could smell the scent freesia and strawberries lingering in the room as I looked around. The rocking chair next to my bed was moving, as though somebody had just gotten up, and I knew the wind hadn't moved it. The window was closed and locked. I got up and checked it again, and then went down the hall to use the bathroom.

I went back to my room and lay down in bed, and the sense of attraction and the lingering scent of freesia and strawberries calmed my nerves, and I was finally able to drift off into a peaceful sleep. It was probably just my imagination, but I had the sense that I wasn't alone, and somebody was watching over me as I slept.

I was up again at six. I just couldn't sleep anymore. My body was programmed to be up even earlier, and sleeping in until six seemed flagrantly decadent to me. I went down the hall to shower and the dull ache in my chest returned when I walked out of my room and went to the bathroom to shower. It stayed like that when I went back to my room to get dressed.

Alice was already downstairs in the kitchen, dressed and ready for school when I came down to the kitchen at six thirty. She was used to going running with Katy and me, at least three days a week, but she didn't seem surprised today. I was shocked to see Carlisle sitting at the table, drinking his coffee. He usually slept much later, considering he didn't need to be to the clinic until the late morning, and his first appointments of the day started during the lunch hour.

"Edward, I want to talk to you about breaking you curfew last night," Carlisle started when I walked into the kitchen. "We don't have a lot of rules in this house, but you know how I feel about this."

"Yes, dad," I replied.

"I've been thinking about an appropriate punishment. I think you should stop riding your motorcycle for the rest of the season, now, and put it in storage until next spring."

"No, I was only a couple of hours late. I ought to be able to ride the Harley for another two and a half months if the weather holds. Besides, the Harley is non-negotiable. Think of something else."

"You know I don't like you riding that motorcycle! You've been lucky so far, but someday your luck is going to run out!"

"That's my problem! Ground me, or cut my curfew short to teach me a lesson, if you must, but the Harley isn't yours to control!"

"Edward, I'm your father, and I'll decide what's appropriate!"

"I don't see the problem, to be honest. I don't flagrantly break my curfew. This is the first time I've been late since school started, and you know what happened last night! I get good grades, and I don't have any problems in school. Choose something more appropriate!"

"Edward, you're seventeen years old, and it's my duty to look out for you! Sometimes I just need to be the parent and do what I think is best!"

"When you were seventeen, you'd already been on your own for a year, because you didn't agree that what your father wanted was right for you! Is that what you want? Do you want me to leave, and make my own way?"

"No, Edward! I want us to be a family! That damn bike just scares me! Someday something's going to happen, and we'll lose you too!"

"Don't worry about it, I ride safe! I'm out of here! Alice, I'll see you at school! When you think up an appropriate punishment that fits what I did, let me know!" and I stormed out of the kitchen.

"Edward! Where are you going! Come back here and let's discuss this!"

"I'm going to school, damn it, or do you have a problem with that too?"

I slammed the kitchen door, and went out to the garage. There was no way I was going to allow Carlisle to dictate whether or not I could ride my motorcycle. He could punish me for breaking curfew, but I wasn't going to give him the power to decide when and where I could ride my Harley.

I already had my leather jacket on. I grabbed my helmet off the gas tank, pulled it on and fastened the strap. I pushed the Harley off the center stand, stepped over the seat, and kicked the engine to life. I roared out of the garage, down the gravel driveway and onto Riviera Drive.

I looked at the sky as I turned onto Merchant Road, but maybe I should have checked the weather before I stormed out of the house and jumped on my motorcycle to prove a point. Storm clouds had rolled in while I had slept last night and the sky was dark and foreboding. A heavy mist was drizzling through the charged moist air, and the clouds looked like they were ready to cut loose any minute with a torrential downpour.

I probably should have turned around and gone back to the house, but I was mad, and seventeen and my temper was controlling my actions now. I rode away from the house, weather be damned. I wasn't going to let Carlisle dictate whether or not I could ride my motorcycle!

I rode down Merchant road, and turned right onto Calawah Way. I kept going past Spartan Avenue, and turned right onto Forks Avenue, heading north. I took the left fork where Sol Duc Way turned northwest, and then turned left onto Klahndike Blvd, before I realized I was riding to Katy's house, but Katy didn't want to see me this morning. I just rode around the loop at Robin hood Circle as I thought about what had gone wrong. Then the clouds finally cut loose, and I was soaked as the rain came down in sheets and made it hard to see the road as the big drops splashed into my face.

I rode back out of Katy's neighborhood, and crossed Forks Avenue to Tilicum Park and pulled under the trees in the parking area to get out of the worst of the rain. I sent Alice a text, and asked her if she could grab my school bag, and bring it to AP English for me. When the rain finally started to let up, I rode out of the park, and headed south down Forks Avenue to C Street SW, and turned left toward the school. I came out onto Spartan Avenue, almost in front of the old front doors into the school, and turned right to go down the block to the parking lot.

The rain wasn't coming down in sheets now, but was a steady light wash against my face as I made my way down Spartan Avenue through the light rain and mist. There were large puddles in the street where the pavement was uneven, and I was careful as I rode through them. The rain had cooled off my temper, and I probably should have turned around and gone home to ride to school with Alice, but I was here now, and she was probably already here now, too.

It was getting close to the start of school, and riding around town had helped to calm me despite the rain. Now I just wanted to get to school and get the day over with, so I could get away and figure out my next move. Katy had finally been starting to come around until I blew it last night. Now she'd told me she didn't want a ride from me again, and she'd probably show up with Michaela today. Then there was still the mystery surrounding Bella, and spending time with her was sounding more and more attractive all the time, as Katy gave me the cold shoulder and pushed me away, even if Bella was the cause of all the troubles with Katy.

What happened next was partly my fault, but I'd never admit that to Carlisle. The first thing they teach you about riding a motorcycle is to pay attention, and don't leave your safety up to other drivers. A lot of people just don't see motorcycles, and some of them assume that the cars should have the right of way. I should have been paying more attention and riding defensively, but my mind was wandering as I turned into the parking lot at the high school.

The parking lot was relatively crowded, considering it was still raining, but this was Washington, and rain was a way of life here. People were getting out of cars, and making their way into the school. Jasper's bike was parked in the first space by the path. I saw my silver Volvo that Alice had driven to school today and Bella's red Dodge Charger. Alice had her back to the parking lot, chatting with Jasper as Bella got out of her car to walk over to them. Katy was walking in with Michaela on the other side of the lot, but she turned her head away when I looked at her.

I was dodging around the larger puddles when I heard the roar of the engine. Tyler Crowley was speeding down Spartan Avenue, probably still fighting with Lauren, and hurrying so they wouldn't be late to school. He always drove like an ass when she was giving him grief first thing in the morning. He took the turn into the parking lot too fast, and then life seemed to move in slow motion as the scene unfolded around me.

I saw the tires break traction as Tyler's blue van hydroplaned across the big puddle at the entrance to the lot. He overcorrected and the van spun out of control. I saw the look of fear in his eyes as he fought for control, but it was too late. Too late for me, I didn't have anywhere to go. If I laid the bike down, he'd skid right over the top of me. I couldn't swerve out of the way, and the van was coming straight at me. There was an old red '53 Chevy pickup behind me, and Tyler's van was going to slam me into the side of it. I was about to be squashed like a bug between the van and the truck, and I couldn't do anything to prevent it as I stared at the side of the van moving towards me like a juggernaut.

Suddenly there was a blur of motion, and Bella Swan was standing next to my bike. How had she got there so fast? She'd been on the other side of the lot, walking to talk to Jasper! Now the van was going to hit her and she was going to die too! Miraculously she pushed Tyler's van out of the way. She didn't die! The van deflected off of her like a ball in a pinball machine!

There was a huge dent in the side of the van where she'd slammed her shoulder into it, but the momentum was too great. It didn't stop, but started to pivot around her, and now the rear end of the van was sweeping towards me! Fate was laughing at me, and my number was up. I guess fate hadn't counted on Bella Swan.

Bella reached out and grabbed the frame of the Harley, next to the motor below the forks, and then the bike was moving out of the way. I almost lost my grip as the bike started to move sideways, but I hung on for dear life. Bella picked up the motorcycle, and swung it out of the way, as the van slammed into the pickup. I finally lost my balance as the Harley came to a sudden stop. I toppled to the wet pavement and felt a sharp pain as my head smacked into the asphalt. The bike came down on top of me, but Bella was still holding the frame and kept it from pinning me down and crushing my leg.

I was in shock as I lay there in the rain staring at Bella. My mind didn't want to accept the facts of the things I knew I'd seen. She had been too far away, but suddenly she was there in a blur of motion too fast to see! Petite seventeen year old girls didn't slam their shoulder into the side of a moving van like a linebacker and stop the van! Let alone leave a shoulder shaped dent. They didn't pick up seven hundred pound motorcycles and yank them out of the way of an accident, but I looked down, and I could see finger marks on the frame where her hand still held it from falling on me.

I could hear screams and shouts, but Tyler's van and the red Chevy pickup blocked the view of the kids that were running to see if I was still alive.

"How did you get here so fast?" I asked Bella. "You were all the way across the lot by your car."

"No, Edward, you're in shock. I was right there by the truck, and I ran over when you swerved out of the way. Are you ok? You hit your head when you fell."

"I saw you! You were getting out of your car. You stopped the van! You pulled my Harley out of the way from getting crushed between the van and the truck!"

"Nobody's going to believe that story, Edward, you hit your head, and you're in shock."

"I'm not going to tell anyone! I didn't hit my head that hard and I'm wearing a helmet. Don't lie to me, Bella."

"Then lie for me, ok?" She looked at me and our eyes met. I could tell how important this was to her.

"Ok, if you'll explain later?"

Bella nodded, and then I heard her swear under her breath. Katy was coming this way and a crowd of people was starting to move towards us. Jasper and Alice got to us first. They had been on the sidewalk closest to us. They had been alone on that side of the accident scene and Alice had her back to me when the van spun out of control. I didn't think she had seen everything that had happened before she turned around. The rest of the people making their way into the school had been on the other side of the lot, and the spinning van had blocked their view of what exactly had happened.

"Jasper, help me," Bella said, and he reached for the bike and grabbed the handle bars to support the weight as she let go of the frame and moved back.

Alice was reaching for me at the same time Jasper was reaching for the bike and her hand brushed against the back of his hand as she reached for me. I saw a tiny flash of light when their hands touched, like a spark of static electricity jumped between them at the contact. Alice had a glazed look in her eyes, and she froze in place like she was in shock. She stared at Jasper with the most profound look, like she was seeing him for the first time.

Jasper stiffened, and I saw his jaw muscles clench, as though he was fighting to keep his composure. The atmosphere around us seemed to be charged with an almost sexual tension that seemed at odds with the accident scene. To his credit, he didn't drop the bike on me, and pushed it upright and moved it out of the way.

I could hear sirens, and Katy finally reached me as she rushed over to me. She was crying, and looked panicked as I lay there in the parking lot. I tried to get up now that Jasper had moved the bike off me.

"No, Edward, Stay down," Bella said. "Wait for the paramedics. You hit your head when you fell."

Katy glared at her, but pushed me back down and wouldn't let me get up. Coach Newhouse was there now, and I could see Principal Rupprecht running to the scene. At least the light rain had slacked off and there was only a heavy mist verging on the edge of rain as the weather started to improve.

"Edward, are you alright?" Samantha Newhouse asked.

"He swerved out of the way at the last second," Bella said. "He hit his head on the pavement when his bike went down," and I saw a slight smirk twist up the corners of her lips.

"Ok, Edward, don't move! We'll have the paramedics check you out when the ambulance gets here," Coach Newhouse told me. "How is Tyler? Was anyone else riding with him?"

There was a crowd of people around the van and I couldn't see from where they were making me lay on the wet pavement. At least I hadn't landed in a puddle. I saw flashing lights, and the first emergency vehicles arrived, a Forks Police cruiser, followed by a fire truck. The firemen went to start working on the van, and then one of the firemen came over to check on me when Coach Newhouse called to them. They filled him in on the accident.

The fireman turned his head and called over his shoulder, "Chief, we got another one over here, possible head trauma," and he turned back to me and shined a small flashlight in my eyes.

"Edward, right? Do you feel any numbness or dizziness?" The fireman asked.

"I'm fine! I just want to get up now."

"Just hang out for a while, bud. A head injury can be serious business. We'll get you looked at, ok? We don't want to take any chances."

"I was wearing a helmet," I replied.

The fireman looked at me a little dubiously, "You should invest in a real helmet, Kid. These shell helmets might look cool, and they might be legal under the vehicle code, but you might as well be wearing a ball cap for all the protection they provide. Now just chill out, and we'll have the paramedics take a look."

An ambulance pulled into the lot now. I had heard the siren cut off when they were still down the street, but the emergency lights were still flashing on top as they pulled up next to the fire truck. The crew got out and opened the back of the truck as they grabbed their gear.

"Bella, why don't you help Alice over to the sidewalk," Coach Newhouse said. "She looks like she's in shock. The paramedics are going to need some room to work."

Bella helped Alice up, and put her arm around her shoulder as they walked to the sidewalk out of the way. Alice wasn't the sort to go to pieces in an emergency, and I knew it had to be something else. She was still staring at Jasper, but she hadn't said a word or taken her eyes off of him since her hand brushed against his.

I heard noise over at the van now, and the policemen had cleared the crowd back from the accident. Coach Clapp, Principal Rupprecht, and several of the firemen were pushing against the van, and they managed to shift it back away from the red Chevy pickup so they could get to the passenger side door of the van. Then my view was blocked again as the paramedics came to check on me.

"It's gonna take them a while to get those other two out of the van, let's see what we can do here while the firemen get them out," the first paramedic said.

They came over and shined the light in my eyes again. Then one of them checked my blood pressure and took my pulse. They talked to coach Newhouse and the fireman, and then fastened a stiff plastic collar around my neck, loaded me onto a stretcher and strapped me down.

I finally got a look at Tyler as they loaded me into the ambulance, and he looked a lot worse off than I did. His face and shirt were bloody as he lay unconscious on a stretcher, and the front windshield of the van was spider-webbed where it looked like his head had hit the inside of the safety glass. Lauren wasn't bleeding, but she was wearing a plastic collar too as the paramedics worked on her. She looked conscious, and she was crying as they bandaged Tyler's head.

Bella was standing on the sidewalk with her arms around Alice's shoulder, holding her head on her shoulder, as she talked to one of the Policemen. He took notes on a small notepad as she told her story, and I'm sure she was giving him the official version of the accident. I saw Carlisle come rushing over to Bella and Alice. He looked upset, and the Policeman pointed at the ambulance. Then I was in the back of the ambulance, and couldn't see anymore.

"I'm Carlisle Cullen. I'm Edward's father, is he ok? Was he hurt?" I heard Carlisle ask outside the ambulance.

"He's a little banged up, but he was very lucky," somebody said outside the ambulance. "He hit his head when his bike went down. We want the doctor to take a look at him, but they'll probably send him home, unless they find something we missed when they get him to the hospital."

A couple of minutes later, they loaded Tyler into the ambulance with me. One of the paramedics got into the back with us and they shut the doors, and we left for the short drive across town to the Forks Community Hospital. Tyler didn't look too good, with the bandages on his face and head, but he was breathing, and I'd seen enough doctor shows on TV to know that his heart looked strong from the monitor that was hooked up to all the wires coming from under the blanket he was covered with.

We arrived at the Forks Community Hospital after about a five minute drive, with the lights and sirens warning traffic out of the way. The doors opened, and the orderlies grabbed Tyler out of the back of the ambulance and rushed him into the emergency room. I could see that their sense of priorities was obvious; the bleeding unconscious kid took precedence over the alert, conscious kid with a bump on his head. This was a small hospital with limited resources, but it still irked me that I was left lying there in the back of the ambulance, waiting until somebody got around to coming out to move me into the emergency room. Wasn't that the whole point of an emergency room, urgency of necessary care?

It was the ambulance crew that finally came back to the truck, and pulled me out of the back of the truck and wheeled me into the hospital. They talked to a nurse and exchanged paperwork, and she directed them to bring me to an examination room. The room was large with at least four beds, separated by curtains hung from the ceiling. They unstrapped me and transferred me onto the bed in a curtained off cubicle, and told me good luck as they left to go back out to their truck.

Lauren Mallory was sitting on a bed down at the end of the row, but she looked like she was upset and just stared at the floor. I could tell she was crying, but I didn't know if she was scared from the accident, worried about Tyler, or something else altogether. I didn't see Tyler, and I had to assume they were examining him someplace else. The two choices that sprang to mind were either x-rays, or emergency surgery, and I was hoping they were taking pictures, for Tyler's sake.

Once I was alone, I pulled that stupid plastic collar off my neck, and tossed it under the bed. I was fairly certain I didn't have a broken neck. I finally took off my helmet, and took a look at it. There was barely a scuff mark on the back where it had hit the pavement. I'd probably done more damage to it moving my head around looking around the accident scene, than I had hitting my head. I took off my jacket and laid it across the chair next to the bed. My clothes were soaking wet from my ride this morning, and then lying in the rain and mist at the school until I got loaded into the Ambulance.

The waiting seemed to stretch on and on as I sat there on the bed, and it was almost a relief when the nurse finally came to check on me. She fastened a plastic wristband onto my left wrist, and then checked my vital signs again and made notes on a form. She asked me if I was injured, and I said that the emergency crew seemed concerned that I'd hit my head when I fell. She gently probed the back of my head with her fingertips, and made more notes. She gave me a hospital gown then, and told me I could change out of my wet clothes. She'd have my family bring me in something dry to change into before I left.

I changed into the gown and stacked my wet clothes in the chair with my jacket. I always hated the way these gowns were open in the back, and left you feeling exposed, but I didn't plan on being here for long. The waiting started again, and I was losing track of how long I sat there. Finally another lady showed up. She had another clip board with forms, but she collected all of my personal information. I fished my wallet out of my pants on the chair, and gave her my driver's license and my medical insurance card, and she left to go make copies.

I was surprised that Alice and Carlisle hadn't showed up by now, but I really wasn't looking forward to talking to dad right now. True, the accident hadn't been my fault, but it looked bad that he was worried about something happening to me because I was riding the motorcycle, and then the very next time we talked, it was in the hospital emergency room after I was in an accident on my bike. It gave his arguments a certain credibility in light of the facts.

I sat pondering what I'd say to Carlisle when we finally talked, when another nurse showed up with a wheel chair. I still hadn't seen a doctor yet, but she said she was there to take me down to x-ray to have my head examined. I laughed, and sat down in the wheel chair. A lot of people would probably agree that it was a good idea.

I was on my way back from getting my head x-rayed, when I finally saw Carlisle. He was holding a bag, and he must have gone home to get me some dry clothes to change into. He was talking to Dr. Gerandy, and they came over to my bed together after the nurse dropped me off back in my cubicle.

"Good morning, Edward," Dr. Gerandy said. "So, you had a little spill, and bumped your head?"

"It's nothing, Doc. I've had worse in wrestling practice. I tried to tell them at the school, but they said I should have it looked at."

Dr. Gerandy looked at my chart, and then stepped over next to the bed, and gently probed the back of my head with his fingers. There really wasn't even much of a goose egg, just a slight swelling, and a tender spot.

"Well, I think you'll live," Dr. Gerandy said. "I'll take a look at the x-rays, but you'll probably be able to leave after I take a look. Take some Tylenol if you experience any discomfort."

"I have a cross country meet in Rainier, tomorrow. Will I be ok to run? I know Coach Newhouse will ask, and they'll probably want a note."

"I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to participate. Let me look at the x-ray, and then I'll let you know. If everything checks out, then I'll give you a note when we release you, ok, Edward?"

"Ok, can I get dressed now? It's getting late, and I'd like to get back to school…"

If I was at school, Carlisle wouldn't be able to talk to me about the accident. This was exactly what he'd been worrying would happen. It would have been just as bad as he had imagined, if it hadn't been for Bella. She'd saved my life today.

"I can give you a note, and you can take the day off, Edward, if you'd like to take it easy."

"No, Doc. If I'm ok, I'd really like to just go back to school. Like I said, I have a meet tomorrow, and I'd prefer not to miss practice today after school. I already skipped my run this morning. I don't want to break my routine so close to a competition. Just give me a note to return to school, and I'm good."

"Ok, go ahead and get dressed. I'll go take a look at your films, but I think everything's fine. The nurse should be around with your notes, and to get you signed out. Good luck in Rainier tomorrow. I guess you can go back to school, if you feel up to it."

"Thanks' Doc," and then I remembered about Tyler and Lauren. "How are Tyler and Lauren doing? They were in the van that almost hit me."

"They're going to be ok. Tyler looked worse than he was, but head wounds always bleed a lot. He has a concussion and he needed some stitches for a pressure cut. We're going to keep him overnight for observation, but he'll be back in school in a couple of days. Lauren was just shaken up, and she's already been released. Now I better get back to work, myself."

Dr. Gerandy walked away, and I turned to Carlisle. I was expecting an 'I told you so' moment, but he seemed kind of distracted.

"Dad, are you alright?" I asked. He seemed to shake himself, as though he was lost in thought about something, but he handed me the bag of clothes.

"Sorry, Edward, I was just worried about Alice. She seemed very upset at the school, but when I tried to take her to the car to go home, she threw a fit, and said she had to stay in school today. I've never seen her act like that. At first I thought she was upset about the accident, but she just kept staring at this tall blond guy at the school. Is there something going on that I should know about, Edward?"

"That was probably Jasper Whitlock that she was staring at. She likes him, and I'm pretty sure he likes her too, but so far neither of them has been willing to make the first move. I think something happened between them, when they came over to help me at the school this morning. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but now maybe they're ready to make that next move."

"Do you know this boy? Is Alice safe with him? I don't want her to get hurt anymore, Edward."

"Jasper's a standup guy. He's a little quiet, but Alice seems to think he's pretty great," and I smiled at the look of discomfort on Carlisle's face.

I knew he hadn't missed the fact that Alice hadn't found any of the boy's in Forks to her liking, and he was ok with that, because it made life easy for him. If Alice started dating, then life would get more complicated for Carlisle, and he'd worry about Alice.

"Ok, get dressed, and I'll drive you back to school if you really want to go, but I think half the school is up here in the waiting room."

"Mr. Cullen?" we both turned to look and the nurse smiled. "Evelyn, up at the front desk has some papers she needs you to sign. I'll bring Edward up when the doctor's done checking his x-rays and signs him out. She has your notes for school."

"Ok," Carlisle said, and then turned to me. "I'll see you out front. I'll go take care of the paperwork, so we can leave when they let you go."

"Thanks' dad, and really, I'm fine."

Carlisle smiled, and then turned and walked away. I closed the curtain, and got the clothes out of the bag and got dressed. I was ready when the nurse came to get me, and said I could leave. She walked me to the door of the emergency room, then pointed down the hall, and gave me directions how to find the business office where Carlisle had gone to take care of the paperwork.

I started down the hall, and then I knew Bella was waiting for me up ahead. I could sense her presence in the doorway off the passage.

"Hey, Bella, are you finally ready to talk to me?" I asked.

"Hi, Edward, are you ok? I was worried about you."

"I told you I was ok at the school. Are you going to tell me how you did all of that now?"

"What? You swerved out of the way at the last second, and Tyler's van missed you. You fell and hit your head. You're confused Edward."

"Hey, I said I'd go along with the official story! I get it, you don't want people prying into your private life, but I know what really happened! You asked me to lie for you, and I did. Now I want the truth! You said you'd explain!"

"I know I promised, but I can't… It would put you in more danger, and I can't do that. Remember what I said about need to know information? There are people that would hurt you if they knew that you even know as much about me as you already do. If I told you anymore, they'd find out, and come and make sure you didn't tell anyone else. They have very permanent solutions, Edward."

"But if I wasn't with Katy, it wouldn't matter, and you could tell me everything? How does that make any sense?"

"I thought that would be obvious by now, Edward. If you weren't with Katy, you'd be with me, and you'd be like me. My secrets would be your secrets, and you'd be bound to protect them the same as I am."

"Oh." Well excuse me for being dense, but that finally made some sense.

"I'm going to have to go away for a while, Edward. Please be safe, and don't do anything reckless or stupid."

"Bella, where are you going?"

"I can't tell you, but think about what you want, ok? I know what Katy told you last night. When I come back, we're both going to be very interested in what you decide."

Bella looked up past my shoulder, and I turned to see where she looked. Katy was standing on the other side of the door at the end of the hallway, glaring at me through the glass. She turned and walked away when she saw me look at her. I turned back to Bella, but she was gone, vanished into thin air, like last night. She had left so silently, without even a stir in the air. I reached out to where she'd been standing, but my hand passed through the air.

I went and found Carlisle, and he gave me my notes for school. We had to go out through the crowd in the waiting room, but Lauren had already filled in most of the story when she was released. The crowd was already starting to thin out. I was surprised to see how many people were truly worried that I might have been injured or killed in the accident.

Katy was still in the waiting room when we came out. She was waiting to talk to me, and she pulled me aside when we got outside. Carlisle went to the car and gave us some space.

"Are you alright, Edward?" Katy asked with concern in her voice.

"I'm fine. I just hit my head when the Harley went down, but my x-ray was ok. I've had worse bumps at a wrestling meet. I'm tough, I can take a hit."

"Ok, I don't want anything to happen to you" She seemed to contemplate what she said next, but she went on, "What did Bella want, what did you talk about in the hallway?"

"She wants the same thing you do, Katy. She wanted to know if I was ok. She said she has to go away for a while, but she knows what you told me last night. She said she'll be waiting to hear what I decide when she comes back too."

"So you haven't made a decision yet? Is it really such a hard choice, Edward?"

"You said you needed time to think, and you told me to think about what I want. I need time too, Katy. I'm not going to make a snap decision in the heat of the moment. You deserve that much. There are things I need to figure out first, before I can make a real commitment. I don't want to make a promise, and then not be able to stand behind it. You'll wait for me to decide, won't you?"

"I didn't think this was going to be so hard for you, Edward," Katy said, and I could hear the fear and uncertainty in her voice. She was wondering if maybe she'd pushed me to far away to come back to her now. Had she? I didn't know yet.

I turned and walked away and got in the car with Carlisle, and Katy stood there staring as we drove away. He dropped me off at the school and I went into the office. I turned in my note and Mrs. Cope checked me into school. It was lunch time already, and I'd missed the first half of the day.

I went to the cafeteria, and it was strangely deserted, but half the school was still up at the hospital, or on their way back. I found Alice. She was sitting silently at our usual table, listlessly picking at a salad, and I could tell she'd been crying. She looked up at me when I sat down, and I put my arms around her and pulled her head onto my shoulder.

"They're gone, Edward," She whispered in my ear. "He wouldn't talk to me, and they just left! How could he do that to me? Why Edward, why would he do that? He had to be feeling everything I was feeling!"

"They'll be back, Alice. I talked to Bella at the hospital. They had to go away, but she said that she'd be back. Alice, we need to know what's going on. There are too many unanswered questions, and I need to know the whole story to decide what to do."

The mystery just seemed to keep growing, but I wasn't getting any answers. I knew what I had to do, and it gave me chills to think about it, but I knew there was one person who could help me figure this out if I asked for her help. I hadn't talked to Alice about any of this before, because she'd been against my relationship with Katy from the beginning, but if I wanted to figure out what the hell was going on, I was going to need to ask Alice for help. The mystery of Bella Swan had to be solved before I could make my decision.