Chapter 5. Truth. Part 1.

EPOV.

I couldn't get out of my head our conversation about her diet. Bella said she wouldn't lie anymore, but she hadn't planned on telling me the truth either. I decided to try a different tactic. I thought if I could ask the right question, maybe I could find out more about her.

"You're not human, are you?" My question created a tense atmosphere between us.

Bella lowered her eyes and sighed. When her eyes met mine again, I saw that they had changed color again and went back to their usual gold.

"I realize there's no point in hiding it anymore. You're right. Edward. I'm not human." After that, she looked at me, trying to understand my reaction.

But the truth was that I didn't care about her statement. I wasn't scared or shocked. Maybe it was because I suspected something like this a long time ago and just didn't want to think about it, but maybe it was something else entirely. So, I just silently nodded my head.

"You can trust me, I won't tell anyone."

"Trust me, Edward, keeping your mouth shut is in your best interest. I really believe you, but I had to say it." I was a little uncomfortable with that information, but I tried not to show it. I really wasn't planning on telling anyone, but the burden of responsibility was palpable. How dangerous was it for me to just know?

At that moment, Bella directed her gaze at the still body at her feet and it distracted me from my reasoning.

"Is he dead?"

"Not yet, he's just unconscious."

The word "yet " sounded a little scary, but I couldn't find the pity in me for the lying man who was ready to shoot me less than half an hour ago. I just nervously nodded my head and closed my eyes for a few seconds.

"If you'll excuse me, I need to make a quick call."

Bella pulled out her cell phone, and just a second later, she was already talking to someone.

"Carlisle, I need help. I hope you and Jasper can come over here. He was with Alice, so I think he already knows everything, he'll tell you all the details in the car. Thank you!"

It didn't go unnoticed how strange this conversation was, starting with the fact that I had no idea who that Carlisle was, ending with Alice, who should have known everything by now and sent her boyfriend here. Bella didn't even tell him our address!

"Who is Carlisle?" Bella looked at me with surprise. I guess I should have known who it was.

"Carlisle is my father. You may have heard of him as Dr. Cullen."

Ah, the mysterious young doctor. I had heard so much about him since the first day of school. Why did she call her father?

"You want him to wake this guy up?" Bella laughed at my naive question.

"Of course not. Quite the opposite. He just witnessed some bullets bouncing off of me, there's a good chance he could tell other people about this. We can't let that happen."

After those words, I was left with a nasty feeling in my gut. This man wasn't the only witness to what happened.

"What are you planning on doing with him?" I asked with an anxious tone.

"I want to discuss this with Carlisle and Jasper. Dad's probably gonna want to drug him and leave near some police station or hospital. I think with his activities his face or fingerprints are in their database. He'll probably be in jail faster than you think, and the meds won't let him remember tonight." Bella was silent for a moment. " Jasper's probably going to come up with more serious solutions. He's not known for his humanity when it comes to family safety."

I didn't know how to respond to that confession, but for the first time, I was a little afraid of the Cullens.

"Are you gonna drug me with something too or...?" My voice cracked. "Or kill me?" Bella looked at me in shock.

"Of course, no! Edward, I know this man for ten minutes during which he tried to kill me. We've known each other for a month and I'm an excellent judge of character. I know I can trust you." I exhaled with relief. "Especially since everyone knows you're with me. I can't risk my reputation like that." The last words were clearly a joke, but I knew there was a little bit of truth in them.

"Good." That was all I could say at the time. "We'll wait for them right here?"

"Well, it's dark now, so I don't think anyone's gonna see us. But maybe we should go down that alley just to be sure."

Bella turned around and picked up the man's body with ease, at the time, I wasn't even that surprised by her strength. We went to a more secluded place together and continued to wait for help. Could I imagine that my life can change so suddenly for the second time this year? I thought about a dozen different things at once, but I couldn't focus on anything specific. I was extremely concerned about the safety of my family, how was I supposed to tell my parents we have to move again? I knew that as soon as I go back to the Forks and tell my parents about the danger they would be crushed.

Then my thoughts returned to the girl standing across from me. Isabella Cullen wasn't human and I didn't know what to do with that information.I couldn't even imagine who she was. Did I know about someone like her from literature or movies? Even if humanity knew something about her kind, they were still trying to keep information about their existence a secret. I was horrified by the thought that her brother at any point could decide I wasn't reliable enough to stay alive. Who will pass the information on to my parents? I took a deep breath and I covered my face with my hands in an attempt to calm down. I started to shake slowly. When I felt an unexpected touch on my shoulder, I flinched. I took my hands off my face and saw concerned Bella.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you even more, but you were shaking. I think you're going into shock. Is there anything I can do to help?"

She slowly removed her hand from my shoulder and squeezed my hand instead. At any other time, I would have enjoyed her affectionate touch or would have thought about how much my hand was bigger than hers, but then my anxiety overshadowed all my thoughts.

"I really don't think anyone can do anything right now. I just saw a few bullets ricocheted off the girl of my dream, and then I found out my family is in grave danger again. I think it makes sense that I'm in shock right now!" In the end, I raised my voice a little bit, and then I immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell at you. I even forgot to thank you!" I paused for a moment to catch my breath. "Thank you, Bella." I squeezed her hand back. "If it wasn't for you, I'd be here right now with a bullet in my leg, and that's in the best-case scenario. Thank you very much. Your secret is safe with me. I swear."

"I believe you, Edward." She looked me in the eyes. "You said you know who hired this man. Please tell me. My family and I can help you."

"Bella, no! I can't tell you! If they find out, your life will be hell!" I was paralyzed with fear. I couldn't let her get hurt because of me.

"Edward, sh-sh, calm down. I'm not in any danger. As you can see, bullets are nothing against me. But you're in the opposite situation. So please tell me."

She had survived this attack, but what if they had something more dangerous? I couldn't risk her life until I knew the whole truth.

"I don't want to drag you into this. I just need to tell my parents about this as soon as possible, so there's a good chance we won't be even here tomorrow. Don't worry about me." I sadly turned my head for a few seconds. I just couldn't look her in the eyes and imagine that this was the last time I saw her.

"You want to leave Forks?"

Didn't she realize it wasn't about what I wanted? I looked at her with surprise. Bella seemed unusually thoughtful.

"Is that because of the news about me or is it because of what that man said?"

What? She thought I wanted to leave because of her?

"Bella, are you crazy? My parents and I have to leave because people from my father's past are threatening to kill us! You just heard it, and believe me, these people are serious." I sighed. "Of course, I don't want to leave. My life is just starting to get better. But I can't afford it, not that I ever will."

"Then stay. Just don't say anything to your parents." Her simple request made my heart ache. How did she not realize the seriousness of the situation?

"I can't! They're coming for us!"

"You're talking about something like the mob, aren't you?"

"Bella…"

"No, let me finish. Of course, I want to discuss this first with Carlisle or my family. We can protect you, but I can't vouch for all members of my family. Not everyone will be thrilled about it, but we can do it. Just wait a little bit longer. We'll deal with this guy first. I promise I'll explain everything to you in the car."

I couldn't believe how easy she was talking about the mob. Didn't she realize the magnitude of the problem hanging over our family? Or was I missing something? Who are the Cullens? Maybe they're part of the criminal world, too?

"I hear Carlisle's car, try not to worry too much about Jasper. He rarely leaves a pleasant first impression."

I just nodded and looked in the direction of the car. It wasn't the first time I saw Jasper, he like all his siblings had seen me at school, but he had always been quiet, so it wasn't actually the first impression. Two men came out of a black Mercedes. I recognized Jasper right away, but the other man with blonde hair I definitely saw for the first time. He, like all his foster children, had pale skin and bright amber eyes. The interesting thing was that the head of the family didn't look much older than 30, maybe even younger, but surprisingly wise and serious eyes betrayed his age. Dr. Cullen smiled at me and nodded his head. I was surprised by such kind greetings since I was the reason, he had to do something illegal. Jasper didn't look as friendly as his father. I remembered what Bella said about her brother not being known for humanism, whatever that meant.

"Carlisle, he should be awake soon, so we need to do something fast."

Carlisle silently took a medical briefcase from the car and moved towards the man lying on the pavement.

"I still think it's too rash. We don't know what he'll do in a few years." Jasper's anxious voice only confirmed my concerns.

"Jas, what did Alice say?"

Before he answered, he looked at me with his judgmental eyes, obviously not enjoying the idea of speaking in front of me.

"Alice thinks he won't remember anything in the morning, the consequences of the overdose. She saw that he would be identified and taken to prison. But we still don't know what's gonna happen after that. Don't you understand that the chance that he remembers everything is very high!?"

That was the longest I've ever heard from Jasper, apparently, his usual calm at school was deceiving. I was extremely disturbed by his presence.

"Jasper, stop, you're scaring Edward. Your emotions are too much even for me. You know better than any of us that even if Alice can't see that far away, her instincts are still always right. She will never risk the safety of the family, your safety, because of some criminal."

Jasper then started saying something, but I couldn't make out a word. Carlisle decided not to listen to his son, he took out an already prepared syringe and injected something into the man. Then he gently picked up the body and looked at his children.

"Bella, can you help me put him in the back seat? We need to get him to the hospital as soon as possible."

The two of them quickly completed their task, Jasper was just looking at them with a big frown on his face. After standing for a little bit longer, he decided to help and put the medical briefcase in the trunk.

"Carlisle, I have another very important topic. Can we discuss it now? It's urgent." Something told me that Bella wanted to talk to him about our last conversation.

"Don't worry, Alice went ahead of you again. I have to warn you, Rose is not thrilled, but she will come around. We'll do everything we can to keep them safe." Then Dr. Callen said something else, but I couldn't hear it. At some point, his golden eyes found mine. "Edward, it was nice to meet you. I just wish it was under different circumstances."

All I could do was nod. The two men then got back in the car and left at high speed.

"Are you okay? Сan you walk to the car?" Bella's caring voice gave me more strength and confidence, I didn't want to look weak in her eyes.

"I'm fine. It's not like I'm the one who got shot a few minutes ago, thanks to you." I took a deep breath and turned towards the car. "Thank you again for helping me. I know you risked a lot to save me. I hope you won't regret it later." To the end of the sentence, I was almost whispering, but Bella heard it anyway.

"Edward, I won't regret this. Plus, someone here was already too observant, I don't think I could keep it a secret from you much longer."

I couldn't keep my smile down, feeling a little smug. Callens seemed unusual to me from day one, and I knew they were hiding something serious.

"But I still don't know who you are, and I don't think I can figure it out on my own." I had dozens of theories running through my head, but each one seemed sillier than the last one.

"I'll tell you in the car."

I even stopped to look at Bella in surprise. Was she really just going to tell me? I felt my heartbeat accelerate and Bella looked at me with her watchful eyes. The golden orbs held mine for a few seconds, and I lost my train of thought. What if the truth was too much to handle? But then I remembered what effect her simple gaze had on me, and I realized it's unlikely I'd ever change my mind about her.

~*Serenity*~

Once inside the car she started the engine and turned the heater on high. When the car warmed up enough, I smelled this incredible and sweet odor that always came from Bella but that time it was reinforced by the warmth. I hope she didn't notice how I started sniffing around with pleasure like some creep. Bella pulled out through the traffic, flipping around to head toward the freeway.

"I guess it's time for our talk?" She nervously asked me and accelerated much too quickly down the quiet street. It looked like she wasn't even paying attention to the road. I was hoping we wouldn't crash before I heard her story.

"Yeah, if you're ready."

"The question is, are you ready to hear it?" She turned to see my reaction. I could only nod silently, mentally preparing myself.

"It's harder than I thought." I saw as her knuckles tighten convulsively on the wheel. "I can tell you who I am right away, but people imagine us very unrealistically. Most of what you've heard about my kind is a myth."

"If I promise I won't jump to any conclusions and just wait for your explanation, will you tell me?"

"Only if you keep your promise."

"I swear."

"All right." Bella turned her eyes to the road, but she seemed to see something other. "I'm a vampire, Edward."

And then complete silence fell in the car. I couldn't understand my own emotions or focus on at least one coherent thought. Did I believe her? The answer was yes rather than no. I've already witnessed something supernatural coming from her. The way she dealt with our attacker was the tangible evidence.

But a vampire? What I knew about them didn't fit Bella's image at all. Maybe that's why Bella didn't want to tell me who she was. But I promised I wouldn't jump to any conclusions, so I just nodded.

"Not the reaction I was expecting, but that's good." Bella laughed, but her eyes remained blank. "I know there are a lot of movies and books about vampires, but everything I saw was simply ridiculous. Except for one aspect."

"And what's that?"

"Our diet. All vampires crave human blood."

My blood ran cold from her confession. That's what I was hoping would turn out to be a myth. For the first time, I was scared, even though I knew she'd already kill me if she wanted to. But not all books have vampires killing their victims, so maybe she didn't need all the blood. Theoretically, she could have taken some safe amount of it. I even was sure, that in one movie, people voluntarily went to them to donate their blood. Maybe that's what Bella expected me to do? Why else would she tell me the truth about her?

"You want me to be your own donor? I saw this in a movie where people lived with vampires in the same house to feed them, but..." I wanted to end my speech with a polite refusal, hoping that my opinion might have made a difference, but she startled me by laughing. I glared up at her. Apparently, my assumption was wrong.

"I'm glad you're having fun, but can you tell me why exactly you are laughing?"

"You promised not to jump to any conclusions! Although I certainly expected something different." She looked at me with a big smile on her face and stopped laughing. "Vampires' donors are a myth. If a vampire starts drinking from a human, it's almost impossible for him to stop. Thirst clouds our minds." Bela stopped smiling and became tense.

"How often do vampires kill humans?" I was feeling a little weird again. I couldn't imagine Bella as a murderer or anyone in her family.

"It all depends on the vampire. The age, size, and time of last hunting are the main factors."

"How often do you do that?" I finally asked my big question, and she smiled to my surprise.

"My family is the exception. We don't hunt people; we hunt animals, so my answer is not relevant to your vampire statistics. We're like some kind of outliers." After her words, I sighed with relief for the first time in an hour.

"Why didn't you tell me that right away!?"

"So you don't relax around me. You have to understand the danger, Edward. We're not some defective vampire. Our life is a constant struggle against thirst. It's dangerous for you to even be in a car with me where your sweet smell is so strong." Then she frowned and bit her lip. "Sorry if I scared you again, I just don't want to sugarcoat the reality."

"And I appreciate it." At that moment, I realized that I could hear any truth about Isabella Cullen, and nothing would change the fact that I was attracted to her. With a more relaxed mood, I looked at her beautiful side profile. I wanted to memorize every millimeter of her face because I didn't know how long I'd still be here. I wanted to ask a lot of questions, but first I had to figure out the most important thing.

"Bella, why are you telling me this now? How can your family help mine?"

Thank you for all your comments. I would be delighted to hear your opinion on the new chapter.