Disclaimer: I own nothing.

EPOV

I knew what I had seen. For a human, those tiny needle scars would have been virtually impossible to be seen, but I had much better vision than any human. I knew what I had seen. I tried to stop thinking worst case scenarios, but they just kept flashing in my head. The multiple medical degrees I had, told me that this was an inordinate amount poking and prodding. The rational side of me told me there could have been many reasons for this, but my instinct told me that something wasn't right. Not with her freezing hands, paleness, and the endless scars she had trailing up and down her arms and even on her hand.

Once again the ration side of me questioned why I even cared, she was nothing to me. She was my own personalized torture here on Earth, the monster in me wanted to end her life, she should mean nothing to me, but yet I couldn't help wanting to figure the only silent mind I had encountered in my 100-some years.

It was Emmett in Spanish class who provided me with the disturbance I needed to stop my endless, pessimistic train of thought.

"How did it go?" Emmett wondered.

"No one died," I muttered.

I decided I would not divulge my seemingly irrational observations to my brothers and sisters. Although, I would be curious to know what Alice would see in Bella's future. I would have to ask Alice, right now she was helping Jasper with his control issues. Emmett continued to make his opinion heard in his head, 'Maybe it would be better if you just got it over with?'

"No, it would not be better if it just got over with it." I said slightly too defensive.

Alice and Carlisle had reminded me that on top of the fascination I felt towards Bella, she also had her father, and her sudden, unexplainable death would destroy him.

He inadvertently began thinking about the two times someone appealed to him like Bella did to me. When his thoughts became too explicit, I abruptly got up and with just a quick apology to the teacher, I left the room.

I walked a little too quickly to my silver Volvo, and played my most violent music.

I heard Mike Newton's vitriol aimed towards me, and trying to twist Bella's actions to make it seem like she was interested in him. From his memory, it didn't seem like she was interested in him, but the thought still enraged me. The explicit thoughts he started having about Bella made me turn up my music even more trying to focus on something else. This whole situation was ridiculous, I could not find myself fascinated with Bella, to do so would end badly for the both of us. I saw her climb into her red Chevy truck and start to warm her ice cold hands and dry her hair. I had hoped she would have passed me by while walking to her truck, but I would have to settle for watching her a little too intensely. While drying her hair, she scanned the parking lot like she was looking for something, I wondered who. After a second of scanning, her eyes met mine, just for a second. She seemed a little apprehensive about looking away, but threw her car in reverse, missing another car by mere inches, and drove off looking forward. The thought of Bella being dangerous to anyone was amusing to me.

That night I went hunting with Carlisle, even though I wasn't truly thirsty.

He was replaying the memory of me leaving last week, wondering if he had done the right thing by letting me leave. I was quick to assure him that leaving was what I needed at the time.

He started wondering why I had come back.

"I didn't feel like being a coward." I said, shrugging slightly. This was only partially true, even though I didn't want to admit it, I felt an inexplicable pull toward Bella.

"Better than to put her in danger. She'll be gone in a year or two." His words made me anxious, they made me want to stay. I knew he was talking about college, but my own observations made the words take a darker, morbid meaning. I wasn't sure if I should ask Carlisle for his much more professional, medical opinion or dismiss my crazy thought process and worries.

Apparently I was not going to have the choice because Carlisle had seen the worries in my expression.

"What's troubling you, Edward?" he said, slowing down from our already relatively slow pace.

"I've known you a long time, I know when something is bothering you. Are you going to leave again?" He added in his thoughts.

"Just between the two of us, right?" I decided I would confide, as long as he kept my insanity to himself.

He nodded, looking slightly worried and also hesitant.

So I told him. Vocalizing my worries, made me feel a little insane. There was very little basis for these worries, but I had an instinct that something wasn't right with Bella. This gut feeling that couldn't be ignored.

I told Carlisle about the small injection-like scars trailing her arm and on her hand, her cold hands that almost rivaled ours, and paleness that was unnatural for a human, much less one who came from Arizona.

He took in the information, and started thinking medically. Carlisle was good at that, thinking professionally without judgement.

"I would need more information. All of the things you described could be from any number of things, and most of them harmless." Carlisle concluded.

"Why are you so interested in Isabella Swan?" he added in his thoughts.

"Bella," I corrected instinctively.

He smiled and raised his eyebrows at the reflex.

"Are you becoming attached to Bella?" He thought.

"I don't know. I barely know her. I just feel this pull to her. I should be staying as far away from her as possible, but it is proving more difficult for me."

Carlisle was conflicted, but his instinct for me to find happiness, even with a human, was winning.

"Just be careful." That was all he said, and I wanted to push the worries away for now. So with a quick nod, we went back to hunting.

The next day, after talking to Alice about Bella's future, which wasn't much help. The more familiar the person to Alice, the easier it was to see them. Alice saw Bella and her becoming friends, and me not killing her in the near future, but nothing else.

We went to school like any other day. It was there, I saw Bella clumsily getting out of her truck. She didn't look up at first, which frustrated me. She was looking at her tires, with tenderness, almost making her emotional. The curiosity burned at me.

And then I heard Alice gasp, "NO!"

I looked through her mind and in the next split second saw her vision come to life.

Tyler Crowley had made a horrid error in judgement, and was skidding violently toward Bella.

The next thing I did was completely instinctive. The only thing going through my head was: Save Bella.