A/N: SM owns all things Twilight. Everything else is mine.

Chapter 6

Bella and I are walking down the road, hand in hand, from her house to mine. The cold air on our faces as we watch Seth trot ahead. "Always the watcher," I say.

"That he is; although, I wouldn't have it any other way. He does more than watch out for me. He watches for you, too." Bella says as she wraps her free, gloved hand around my bicep.

We keep walking and just as we get to my driveway, the caw of a crow sounds. Seth stops in his tracks, ears on alert, hair raised. A single crow swoops down, landing in front of him. A stare down begins and it is over after only a minute. The bird takes off with a final caw and I start to feel like I'm under water. My vision darkens, sound is muffled, and Bella's hand starts to loosen. I try to reach out to stop her and feel her again, but I just grasp air. I try calling her name, but there's no sound.

The only thing that is clear is the blood curdling screams from Bella that abruptly cut off.

"Don't let her go. Fight."

"Edward. Edward!" I feel hands on me, shaking me. "Edward, wake up." I open my eyes to see Bella staring down at me, all signs of concern plastered across her face. "It was just bad dream. I'm right here. Okay?"

I run a hand through my hair, take a deep breath, and swallow. My throat is dry, but I can't find it in me to care. Bella is right next to me and she's safe. I pull her head down and firmly press my lips to hers. She's only surprised for a moment before she melts against me.

She pulls back after a few seconds. "Are you okay?"

I sigh, playing with a lock of her hair and trying to think of how I want to say things. I don't want to tell her exactly what it was, but by the way tonight happened, I don't think I'll be able to keep it from her much longer. "Yeah, I'm good. Just… happy it wasn't real." I give a half smile and look in her eyes. They're full of worry.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," I say softly. "No, I'm okay." I reiterate, hoping I sound more okay than I really am. She studies me for a minute, but then decides not to question me.

Trust.

She looks down to my Adam's apple, then back to my eyes. "If it becomes a problem, will you tell me?"

I think for only a couple seconds. "Yes. If a problem arises, then I'll let you know." She nods once and moves to lay down, snuggling into my side. With her head on my shoulder and my arm wrapped around hers, she goes back to sleep while I try to not feel guilty.

A/N: Hmmm. Thoughts?