Hi, I'm sorry that this update was late. I started school. The updates are going to be farther apart, but I promise I'm going to finish this. Thank you to all my reviewers! I love you all! Really, I do. Anyhoo, Stephenie Meyer is the master of all characters. And thank you Fuller/Kim/booklover1090 for being my beta! I love you!

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I walked across my room for what seemed like the millionth time. I'd decided that I was going to ask for the money. For college. That would be my excuse. The only problem would be my over-active tear ducts. I didn't know how I could possibly lie to Edward without breaking into sobs. I paced back and forth, rubbing the back of my neck.

Usually when I had a decision chosen, all my apprehension lifted. This time that was not the case, I was dreading the moment in which I had to put this plan into action- the moment when I had to lie straight to his face. What would he think? I'd never asked for money before. I'd actually vehemently denied any of his attempts to give me money in its raw form. Though he did find ways, inadvertent ways, to give me money- like our trip to C'est Si Bon, for example.

The memory was bitter-sweet now. I rubbed the back of my hand, remembering when he'd kissed it and spoke to me in his flawless French. Then I remembered seeing Corbin again. The memory sent a pang of hatred through me. But then I remembered Edward's warm eyes on me as I realized that he'd reserved the entire restaurant for us. This was also what caused the problem. It was the reason Corbin picked him out of all the other diners. This action alerted him to the massive amount of money Edward and his family possessed.

I wanted Corbin as far away from me and the people in my life as fast as possible, and if that meant getting him 20K without arousing the Cullen's attention, then I'd do it. But this entailed lying. I groaned as I sank to the floor and rubbed my eyes with the heel of my hands. I'd been up all night. Brooding. Deciding. Wallowing. What if Corbin wasn't finished with me after I got him this money? What if he got cocky and asked me to get him more? What if he broke the deal? I shook my head. This was far more complicated than I anticipated, and I'd expected it to be complicated in the first place. I had to get the money though. I'd already made my decision.

I stood up, stretched, and flipped off the lights. I flopped onto my bed and listened to the sound of the rain on the roof. Instead of annoying me like it used to, it lulled me to sleep. I always kept my window unlocked now, just incase Edward decided he wanted to drop in. He didn't tonight though. I felt a shudder crawl through me as I experienced a sudden need for his cold, marble skin. It passed though, and I finally drifted off to sleep.

When I woke Edward was sitting at the foot of my bed, looking at me with prying eyes- like he was trying to read my thoughts. I sat up quickly, almost falling off my bed in the process, but I managed to cling to my sheets and stay on top of the mattress.

I stared at him dazedly, my mouth open slightly. I shook my head slowly, trying to rid myself of the last residue of sleep. He broke his eyes away from me and I could have sworn he mumbled, "Well, she doesn't look stressed." I shook my head again, not completely trusting my drowsy ears.

"What'd you say?" I asked, slurring the words together.

His golden eyes flicked back to me and he smiled. His eyes were filled with such affection that it yanked me out of the rest of my haze.

"You're not going anywhere today." I told him this.

"I'm not," he raised an amused eyebrow and crossed his arms.

"That's good," I stretched. "You've been away too much."

"If it's any consolation," he smiled crookedly at me, "I've missed you." In a flash, he was pressing his cold lips to my forehead.

I sighed happily.

"So, what are the plans for today?" he asked me easily.

"To cling to you desperately," I yawned.

"You'll come to my house then?"

"If that's where you're headed," I waved my hand. "Remember: I'm clinging."

He laughed and pulled me into his chest. I inhaled his scent deeply. Nothing in my entire life was comparable to it.

"I thought of you all night," he whispered into my hair.

"So why didn't you come over? You know I leave the window open for you."

"I had to make a decision," he rested his chin on top of my head. "I thought it would be easy enough, but I don't completely understand why I'm doing it."

"I know what you mean." When he didn't respond, I glanced up at him, "Unless you're being cryptic again."

He pulled me closer and pressed his face into my hair.

"Are you being cryptic?"

I leaned my head back so I was looking at his marble face. This was a bad choice- he simply smiled and my need for answers disappeared.

"Does it really matter?" he asked slyly.

I sighed. He was being cryptic alright. I tried to gather myself together as best as I could so I was able to, at the very least, string together an intelligible sentence. I succeded... somewhat. "Is something?-" I paused, "-Why are you?-"

He smiled crookedly. "It's not of any relevance right now."

Of course it is! I wanted so badly just to shout, but in reality all I did was shrug. It pained me that he was hiding something from me, but then again, I was hiding something from him.

I crawled out of bed and slipped into a pair of jeans and a T-shirt. Edward politely averted his eyes like he usually did. I walked over to him when I was finished and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around slowly and then lifted my hair out of the back of my shirt, cupping the back of my head afterwards.

I closed my eyes as I relished in the coldness of his hand.

"Are you ready to go?"

I nodded mutely and followed him out of the door. I was suddenly numb. I would have to ask him for the money soon. I bit my bottom lip anxiously, though I was careful not to bite too hard. I didn't want to complicate things by bleeding.

The drive with Edward was mostly silence. I had to remind myself that normally I would have been very curious as to what Edward did in his absence. So, I forced myself to ask a question that I was sure I already knew the answer to.

"So, what did you do yesterday?"

Edward visibly flinched and then answered, "We had to look for someone."

"The man from the hunt?"

His eyes flicked over to me quickly. "Yes, the man from the hunt."

"Well?" I raised my eyebrows, "Did you find him?"

He hesitated a moment, "No, he was out of town."

Right, because he was with me.

"We found his house though. We know his name is Corbin Fauset."

The name knocked the breath out of my chest. Luckily, we pulled up to the house at that moment, so I didn't feel obligated to say anything else.

The first thing I noticed when I walked through the front door was Alice's attempt to be inconspicuous in one of the brightly lit corners of the room. She gave me a small, knowing smile when my eyes passed over her. I furrowed my brows and gripped Edward's hand tighter. He glanced down at me and smiled. I exhaled as I returned the smile, and that was when Edward disappeared. My breath caught and I spun around to locate Alice, but she had vanished also.

I didn't have to wait long for their return, they both reappeared as if they never left. Edward slipped his frigid hand back into mine and lead me to the couch. He sat and I followed his lead. Edward rested a hand on my leg and kissed my temple. Through all this, I noticed that Alice was approaching slowly, both hands behind her back.

When she reached Edward, she placed a small, black bag in his hands. Edward nodded at Alice gratefully. I looked at the two of them curiously.

Edward turned to face me, and put the bag in his lap. "Bella," he said in a careful tone.

"Yes?" I didn't lift my eyes off of the mystery bag.

"I want to give you something." He picked up the bag and placed it in my hands. It looked much smaller in his possession. Sitting in my small hands, the bag seemed to triple in size. I couldn't take this and then ask for money, I shoved the bag back into his hands.

He seemed amused, "You're not even going to look at it?"

"No." I deliberated for a moment, "I want to ask you for something else though."

Edward's eyes opened wide and then, suddenly, as if he just remembered something, a brilliant smile spread across his face. "Just take this, Bella," he laughed.

"No, Edwa-" he placed one cold finger across my lips.

"Just take it," he whispered.

I looked into his golden eyes and couldn't refuse. I dropped my gaze and saw that he had placed the bag back into my lap. Hesitantly, I unzipped the bag and then gasped as its contents were revealed. It was money. The bag was filled with money.

I stood quickly. The bag fell off my lap and onto the floor. The money flooded out, and I only now saw how much was packed into it. I looked back at Edward and saw that he was standing also.

"You said you couldn't read my mind!" I screamed at him.

His eyebrows shot up and he took a step towards me, "I can't read your mind, Bella."

"How did you know then?" I could feel the tears slipping down my face. "How did you know what I wanted?"

"Alice saw," he said, and then he placed his hands on my shoulders.

I froze, of course it was Alice. I laughed nervously.

Edward pressed his lips to my flushed cheeks. "Alice saw you ask," he repeated to me.

I nodded, that made more sense. But how much more did she see? But then again, how much had I decided on doing? I was taking this whole situation in steps. First, get the money. Second, get the money to Corbin. Third, well, hopefully there wouldn't be a third. She would see what I was doing the moment I decided that I was going to do it. I was only going to the post office. What could she possibly make of that? I didn't even know if I was going to go to the post office anymore. I sighed, I could already tell I was going to have another sleep-deprived night.

I knelt down suddenly to pick up the money, only to realize that Alice had already done this. I found myself running my hands across the smooth floor before I stood.

"Bella?" Edward brushed a stand of hair out of my face. "Do you want to go home?"

I looked up at him and felt an overwhelming urge to tell him everything. I knew that if I remained with him the entire day that I probably would have. "Yeah," I answered quietly, "I didn't get much sleep last night."

Edward nodded understandingly and lead me outside. Before I walked out the door, Alice pressed the bag to my chest and pecked my cheek. I smiled thankfully and continued to the car.

The bag felt heavy in my lap as Edward drove me home. I could still tell the Cullens. I could still save them myself though, too. I'd never really wanted to be Lois Lane anyways.