Two days passed and Mrs. Cullen's voice was still in the back of my head. I was lucky that I was able to bury my concern so nobody would ask what was wrong with me, but every time that I went out in the town, I subconsciously looked for any sign of either of them. I kept telling myself it was contradictory, considering how I was told to stay away.

My shift ended in the afternoon, thankfully on a Sunday. I was just in time to take Bella to lunch to save her from cooking for once. It was a small corner diner on Main Street, a place I frequented almost every night before she came to live with me.

"I haven't seen the likes of you in a long time!" the owner teased me, and her face lit up once she recognized Bella. "And you! You've grown up so beautifully!"

"Thanks, Cora. She don't remember much from the town, though." I handed back the menu. The staff here already knew what I wanted.

"The people here are...really nice," Bella added, "I'll just have the cod. Thanks." She was getting uncomfortable with the stares from everyone else.

I folded my hands on the table. "Didn't expect you to be such a celebrity. You were big news when they heard you were coming up here from Phoenix."

She let her hair fall from behind her ear, shifting in her seat. "It's not that big of a deal. Really."

"I know." Bella was like me in that regard; she didn't like much attention. I sympathized with her. "They won't bug you, though."

She rubbed the back of her neck. A sign of anxiety, I was sure.

"Is it the same at school?" I asked, "Do a lot of the kids stare at you?"

"At first, they did. I guess the whole 'new girl' fame settled down eventually, though a lot of boys still try to talk to me." She still didn't look up. There wasn't a hint of a smile on her face, either. "And then when the accident happened, it only got worse."

"Are they being mean to you?"

"No, no. Actually, the opposite, for some reason." She rolled her eyes. "Mike is probably the most prolific of them."

I leaned back. "Mike Newton? I know his parents, and he's never gotten in trouble, as far as I'm concerned. Heard he was pretty good at basketball."

"I mean, he's okay. He can just be a lot."

Cora set our plates down in front of us. I immediately grabbed my knife to cut my sirloin steak.

"Have you talked to Edward at all? After the-" It was still difficult to talk about. "-you know."

She poked at her side salad. "Uh, yeah. Sometimes. He and his family don't talk to other people, though, so I try not to bother him."

I didn't know all that much about the family besides their clean records and Dr. Cullen's shining reputation. A flash of Mrs. Cullen shot through my mind, contradicting my previous thought of the good doctor, but I didn't want to bring it up. Even still, I couldn't shake the eyes of either parent out of my thoughts. "We should make something for the family. Just as a thank-you gift." My voice wavered slightly. I hoped Bella hadn't noticed.

"That sounds good." Bella tried to avoid talking more by stuffing her mouth with lettuce.

Not another word was said about it, even after we finished eating. I didn't know whether to be disappointed that Bella would rather be ungrateful to her rescuer, or to be relieved. Then again, this could have been an opportunity to see Dr. Cullen again. I was itching to get another chance to know what the hell his wife was talking about.

It was only after half my steak was gone that the silence had dragged on again. "Your mom wants you to call her." I thought it was best to change the subject.

Bella sighed and stabbed a slice of her cod. "I'm fine. She knows I'm fine."

"You know how she worries." I cleared my throat. "But she's getting better. Betcha Phil's keeping her head straight."

I had no idea why I said that. I could feel the loneliness burn through my veins, if only for a moment. When I made eye contact with Bella again, I'm sure she knew how much I regret my words, but nothing else was said.

Even when we left for home, it was hard to pick the conversation back up. I immediately pulled into the driveway, and she just got out of the car and pulled her cellphone out. I watched her unlock the front door and step inside safely, still not having moved out of the driver's seat.

Instead, I thrust my mind back into memories of Renée. I still saw her smile in Bella, her warm nature in the rare days the sun was out. I didn't know how long I sat in my car, but all I realized was that I couldn't let myself fall too far down this rabbit hole of memories.

And yet I did. The next day was the town's annual blood drive. I was only there for security's sake, as I typically did for every event, but I couldn't have been any less out of focus. I was completely zoned out at the sign-in table beside one of the town council members and a blood drive manager, too immersed in trying not to imagine how Renée used to volunteer at these things before Bella was born.

I really only stayed in the moment enough to respond to people, and in the back of my mind I hoped nobody would ask if I was okay. I moreso hoped that everyone was used to my more grumpy demeanor to mind their own business. I must have been like that for hours, as tables and pop-up beds started to blur with the constant movement of people. Nothing seemed to shake me from my melancholy.

Until I realized who else was here, of course. I should have known. Dr. Cullen was at the farthest station from the entrance, but once I noticed him, his presence just filled the room. I wasn't sure if it was out of excitement or dread. All I knew in that moment was that I was no longer distracted with remorse.

Still, I had to wait until the drive was actually wrapping up in order to approach him. Even then, something in my gut told me it was a bad idea. No- his wife's voice was echoing in the back of my head. And despite her warning, my feet continued forward as he was packing up his station. Yet, as he looked up and met my gaze, I was captivated by a warm and inviting smile.

"I thought it was you over there." His voice almost seemed like it was in a teasing tone.

I glanced away. "Yeah, the town events are sorta important to me. I'm usually there."

"You really are a chief this town can depend on." Carlisle continued to busy himself with his task as he talked. "Before I put everything away for good, do you want to make a donation yourself?"

I couldn't place my finger on it, but something about the way he lowered his voice, softened it as he asked me that specific question, it got me tongue-tied. And that's when I finally noticed his eyes- they weren't the unusual golden-yellow that kept me second guessing. It seemed that all light had been drained from his irises, leaving what must have been the darkest shade of brown. People couldn't have had black eyes, unless my own were deceiving me.

"Chief?" Carlisle gracefully waved his hand over my face. "You there?"

Without thinking, I took a step back, but I nodded at his question. "I want to talk to you, if you got time." Turning back, I double checked to make sure nobody else was in hearing range of us.

Carlisle's smile faded, but he didn't seem upset. "A little bird told me Esme visited you. My apologies if she gave you a fright."

"Listen, Carlisle-" I didn't expect my own voice to be so stiff, and I took a deep breath to calm down. Surely this whole strange debacle wasn't as dramatic as my subconscious was making it out to be. "-Sorry. I don't want to interfere with you or your wife. I know you've done Forks a lot of good, you and your family. But if she says it's better to steer clear of you...I think I deserve to know why."

Carlisle straightened his posture, snapping his bag quietly closed. "Esme has a good heart, she cares about the townspeople as much as I do. You, a little more than most."

I swore I imagined him winking. I wasn't prepared to get flustered in front of other people.

"Our situation is unique. We have a condition, all of us Cullens. It's really the reason why we're really a family, because of this rare situation."

"Does Billy know anything about this?" I don't know why I asked that after the words slipped out of my mouth, but I do remember Esme bringing him up. I wanted to think Billy didn't keep things from me, but he had to have a good reason for having whatever involvement in this.

Carlisle was contemplative. "You've been friends with Billy for a while, if I'm correct. He's probably told you old stories about wolves. Right?"

I sighed. "Yeah. His ancestors had shapeshifting powers. What, is that what you're trying to tell me? You're secretly a wolf or something?"

He shook his head. "No, but-"

It was frustrating to see him hold back, but I could tell he was just as careful speaking about whatever this 'condition' was with other ears in the room. Still, I didn't want his eyes searching the room. I wanted him to look at me.

"Carlisle." I grabbed his wrist to give a light tug, but then I immediately let him go. "Jesus, you're cold as a corpse."

This was probably the first time I've noticed Carlisle looking nervous. He grabbed his coat to toss it on. "It's getting late, and Bella must be waiting for you," he told me, forcing a smile to return. "Give Mr. Black my best regards. We'll talk again, Charlie. Have a good night."

"Carlisle!" I tried to keep my voice hushed, but he was gone quicker than I could register. I blinked a few times, then tried to look around the room for him. I was pissed that I was left with even more questions, and I didn't dare to make any assumptions. Clearly, things were a lot weirder than I expected, but what concerned me most was how much danger was lurking right out of the corner of my vision.