Leah:
When I came to I was in the passenger seat of Edward's Volvo and he was closing the door before rounding the car to the other side. He moved impossibly fast, like a blur. When he appeared impossibly seconds later in the driver's seat my eyes were wide and wild.
"What.. are.. you?" I asked slowly. If Sam was a fricken shape shifting wolf man then who knows what else was real.
And that's when it dawned on me. Like another wicked puzzle piece snapping together only this time the picture was of Edward. His inhumanely beautiful face, the impossible gold color of his eyes, his alabaster ice cold skin.
Cold one.
He was staring at me with his face frozen in shock while my mind filled in the blanks and realization crept slowly across my face.
"Vampire." I finally breathed. Fear shivered up my spine at the word but even knowing I was right I struggled to connect that fear to the sweet boy in front of me. He looked unbearably sad now, braced for the stinging blow of my biologically ingrained repulsion. I turned away from him so I could temper my reaction while I thought this through.
"Leah, please-" Edward pleaded. I stuck out a finger, cutting him off.
"Hush. I need a minute." I ordered. His eyes widened in confusion but he complied and turned to stare out of the windshield in front of him.
My mind immediately flashed back to that conversation in the cruiser with Charlie.
"Wait, all of? How many kids does he have?" I asked incredulously.
"I think five. All about the same age. Good kids, never cause any trouble. So don't go letting your Dad and Billy's sour attitudes towards them bother you; they are fine people. Forks is downright lucky to have Dr. Cullen at our hospital, he's saved a lot of lives in his time here."
"Sour attitude? What do they have against the Cullens?" And why hadn't I ever heard anything about it?
Charlie looked at me like he thought I was joking and then quickly realized I wasn't. He cleared his throat, "Uh come to think about it maybe you should just ask your Dad. I don't mean to overstep but I do want you to remember it's important to think for yourself, draw your own conclusions about people instead of just believing the gossip. That's a big part of being a cop in a small town. Everybody's got opinions but it's our job to try to stay above all that."
I immediately understood what my mind was trying to tell me. I needed to listen to Charlie, to follow my own instincts about Edward instead of believing the gossip I had grown up listening to. I thought back over all of my interactions with him so far and it became overwhelmingly clear.
It didn't matter that Edward was a vampire, it didn't matter that legend dictated vampires to be evil blood sucking monsters. The Edward I knew was gentle, funny, understanding, and above all else unbelievably kind.
Edward Cullen was not a monster.
I turned to look at him, sure of my conclusions. Edward's eyes met mine and I heard his breath catch in his throat. I leaned forward slowly, keeping his eyes locked on mine so I could read every emotion that flashed through them carefully and back off if he needed me to. As gently as I could I brushed his gaping lips with mine.
He groaned once as I pulled my face back slightly, his hand moving to tangle itself in my long hair, keeping me there. He leaned his forehead against mine stroking my cheek softly with his thumb.
"Please tell me what you're thinking, it's killing me that I can't understand. Why aren't you afraid of me?" He whispered.
I smiled and shook my head lightly. "I want to be a good cop someday. And the best cop I've ever known told me that in order to be a good police officer you have to draw your own conclusions about people."
"And the conclusions you've drawn about me?" He asked in disbelief.
"I know I can trust you." I leaned forward and kissed him again softly, this time he kissed me back.
Everything caught up to me in a whoosh then and I pulled back abruptly.
"Emily! I need to call my mom back."
Edward's other hand flashed out holding my phone which he must have retrieved from the pavement for me when he blurred around the car before. I took it gratefully and pressed down on speed dial #1 before lifting the phone to my ear, my foot tapping impatiently. Edward grabbed my free hand and held it supportively. Seth answered on the third ring, his pubescent voice cracking even more than usual.
"Leah is that you?"
"Yes, where's mom?"
"She said the call must have dropped and told me to wait by the phone for you to call back. Her and Dad are on their way to the hospital. It's bad Lee, it's so bad." He said, and I could tell he was crying by the end of his sentence. The sound broke my heart and my own tears fell in response.
"Okay buddy thank you. I'm on my way there and I'll call you when I know more. Try not to worry, okay? It's all gonna be okay." I said, even though I had no way of knowing yet if the words were true. "I love you." I added uncomfortably and snapped the phone shut without waiting for his response.
Edward put his car into reverse but hesitated. "Do you want me to come with you?"
"Of course I do." I said without a second thought. He smiled lightly and brought my hand to his lips, kissing it once before reversing quickly out of the parking lot and turning onto the highway in the direction of Forks Hospital.