Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight, Stephanie Meyer does. I only own the parts of this story not taken from her works.
Author's note: I really appreciate the reviews but I am nervous about this chapter. The timelines might be a bit confusing since we're jumping forward then back then forward again, hopefully it makes sense. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think when you're done!
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Watching
Edward watched her walk through the parking lot before he moved towards the doors himself. As soon as she was inside, his siblings appeared at his side.
"She was totally squinting."
"I know," Edward growled in response to Emmett's observation, "but maybe it really was just the medicine."
"So she actually took them," Emmett asked.
"Yes, Carlisle said he could smell them on her when he was there."
"Whatever, Edward. She's just totally oblivious." Alice was frustrated because she thought that Bella was not going to walk away from this completely untouched. Otherwise, her future would not still be completely blank.
"Don't be bitter, Alice, just because you got taken off of security detail." Emmett was trying to lighten the mood. It wasn't working.
"I can be more careful today."
They boys rolled their eyes. It was her husband who decided to try and explain it to her this time. "She noticed, Alice. Carlisle said she was talking about it in her sleep. We can't afford to have her keep noticing something is up. Not yet, at least."
"I don't see why we are still pretending that everything's going to be okay. It isn't!" With that she huffed off towards the building, leaving the boys behind her.
"I know she's frustrated that her vision isn't working properly, but this is not helpful."
"Edward, I do have to say that I think she was lying about the shoulder. She got anxious when you asked her." Jasper had felt her emotionally tense up. She was worried about the pain but was trying to hide it.
Edward knew this. He thought she looked uncomfortable, and Jasper's observation at the time from behind a car two spots over had cemented it. But Carlisle had warned them about this. Patients almost always under or over exaggerate their symptoms, and Bella was not an over-exaggerator. It was so frustrating that the two gifts that would normally tell them undeniably if she would be okay for some reason didn't work on this girl... even more frustrating that one used to but doesn't anymore.
He stood there growling for a second until Emmett and Jasper put their hands on his back, trying to reassure him. Nothing could reassure him, but he tried to calm himself because he had a job to do now. He couldn't watch her at night, but it was his job to keep an eye on her all day. He understood why they had Carlisle go last night to be with her, they didn't trust him. Edward knew that this was fair, given what happened, but it killed him that he couldn't be there to see her progress for himself. Of course, if anyone could do it safely, he knew it would be Carlisle.
He also couldn't shake the need to be near her. He hated himself for doing what he did, especially to someone he loved. She didn't know that, though. He had once allowed himself to think that he could tell her one day, how he felt, but that was out of the question now. It was becoming more and more obvious that eventually he would have to tell her what he did and after that she would hate him, probably forever.
He wanted to get the long part of the day over with so he could sit next to her in class and monitor her progress himself. Throughout most of the day, he monitored her through the minds of her classmates, looking for clues and signs in her unconscious actions that would let them know how she was doing. However, two medical degrees had taught him that it was much more reliable to observe a patient oneself rather than to rely on someone else's observations. He watched her as much as he could in lunch without drawing attention to himself, but that was hard to do because people seemed to notice when he stared.
What he saw through the minds of the students and teachers in Forks High School that day confirmed his two greatest fears. Bella was getting worse, and she had no idea.
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Carlisle and his wife were enjoying a quiet moment sitting in his office. They were speaking, as they always seemed to be lately, about Edward. For weeks they have been struggling with trying to make the difficult decision to leave Forks. The problem was that the tiny, overcast town in Washington was perfect for their lifestyle and Carlisle always hated uprooting because it meant he had to leave patients behind. But Edward was miserable, and it killed his parents to keep him here while he was so obviously discontent.
"I still think we can wait a little longer. I'm sure that, if she hasn't spoken yet, she won't but I don't think that's a reason to force everyone to flee. This is a close to normal as we can ever get and I would hate to take that away from everyone. I just wish Edward could appreciate that, and..." Carlisle knew what was coming next and readied himself to have this conversation with his wife yet again. "...and I just don't see why he refuses to even speak to her. According to Alice she seems very nice. Why doesn't he think he's allowed to have a friend?"
Carlisle looked lovingly at his wife. Her concern for their family was one of her most endearing qualities and Edward's behavior lately had her constantly agitated. It only made him adore her more, if that was possible. He loved his family but he also had his work to distract him from what was going on at home. Sometimes he forgot that their coven was Esme's entire life, her whole day was filled with thoughts of their children so, when it came to them, she had a tendency to dwell on their concerns.
"I know, but Edward is doing what he thinks is best and it's not our place to question his motives. He thinks he's protecting her by staying unattached and, ultimately, I cannot disagree with him. A vampire is not a safe friend for a human girl, especially when she smells the way she does to him." They have had this conversation more than once already, but it always seemed to comforted Esme to go through it again.
"I think Edward is capable of being more careful than he is giving himself credit for. Of all the children, he has the most control over his instincts. Just think of what would have happened if it had been Emmett..."
He had, and preferred not to do so again. They certainly would not have been sitting there in that same house nearly two months later.
"Remember, my love, that Alice says he still may give in to her. I know that's what you're hoping for so, you're right, we should stay longer until he makes a final decision on the matter. It pains us both, us all, to see him so distraught, but he will decide his course of action and until he does, all we can do is try to be supportive of him when he needs it. It may be..."
"Edward... NO!"
Alice's scream echoed throughout the house. The doctor and his wife locked eyes, hers wide in horror. At once they heard the boys stop playing chess and run to her. In the next half second, Carlisle and Esme were there, too, followed shortly by Rosalie. Jasper had her hand in his. She was shaking.
"Alice what's wrong."
"What's happening?"
"Oh my god, is Edward okay?"
Everyone was asking though they could tell she was still living the vision. Vampire minds can process many things simultaneously and the minds of the Cullens were currently engaged in envisioning all of the different ways their son, or brother, could have hurt himself. Alice hadn't told them that he decided to go to her house that night, so they had no idea where he was supposed to be. They saw him in Seattle or Portland on one of his runs, running into another vampire who was territorial or even worse a small coven.
"There might be... ugh! It's so hard to see!" She stood up.
"What is it, Alice?" Jasper wanted to calm everyone down but was having trouble because he himself was very upset. He had rarely seen Alice look this disturbed by one of her visions.
"There's no time for questions, we need to get to Bella's house immediately. He's going to lose control."
Everyone looked at each other for a second, stunned that he was there with the girl, before they realized that she was already gone. Without a second thought they followed her, running their fastest across town to the police chief's house. Carlisle dreaded the sight they would reach when they got there. It was possible that all of his wife's concerns about moving were about to become reality. If he had given in and killed her there was no way they could stay. They could probably cover it up, they had done it before, especially if he could work it so that he himself signed the death certificate, but that did not mean they could stay. Edward would never be able to stay in this town if he hurt her. In fact, he probably wouldn't be able to stay with the family either. Esme would be crushed, they all would be crushed.
It was late, after midnight, and Forks was sound asleep. The dark houses flew past them so fast they were practically a blur. They cut through the woods on the far side of town in case someone was out driving, but that was unlikely in any case.
As they approached the house they saw Alice scaling the side before she disappeared into a second floor window. They stopped running when they got to the yard.
"Oh Edward, what have you done?" She was whispering but the rest of her family heard her very clearly from the yard. They looked at each other and hesitated following her, until they heard him sob.
"I... I don't know."
Alice flew out the window and landed next to her family. "Carlisle, he needs you, now."
"Should we go to?" someone asked.
"No," Alice said, "definitely not."
At that moment, her father was already standing in the tiny bedroom staring at horror-stricken Edward who couldn't take his eyes off the still sleeping form of the girl. It didn't take long for him to figure out what his son was looking at.
The unmistakable scent of human blood filled the air and swept over him.
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Bella knew Charlie thought something was up, she could plainly see the subtle ways he reacted when she answered his thinly veiled questions about her day. She deflected as best she could until he decided that it was a typical teenage mood swing and that he would do best to give her space by retreating to the television in the living room as soon as possible. Bella was thankful because she needed time to think.
After a few minutes sitting quiet and alone in the kitchen, Bella left the dishes unwashed in the sink so that she could enjoy the quiet of her own rom. Charlie had the TV even louder than usual and she couldn't concentrate there. Plus, she didn't want Charlie to change his mind about leaving her alone to her thoughts, and a confrontation would be much less likely if stairs were involved.
Something was up, that was sure, and both Edward and his sister were involved. As much as she wanted to try and solve the mystery, she also wanted to get a good night's sleep in hopes of preparing herself for the next day, it was sure to be interesting. She decided to take a couple of sleeping pills and call it an early night. Besides, she thought another day of observation was in order.
He said he wanted to be friends and that he truly cared about how she was feeling. As much as she wanted to think exclusively about their odd behavior, she couldn't help dwelling on this point. He wanted to be her friend. Bella could not deny the excitement that rose within her when that thought crossed her mind. He cared about how she was feeling. According to her friends, he had never shown the slightest interest in anyone else at school and now her cared about her.
She was getting more and more drawn to this strange boy as the days progressed. His concern for her was endearing, even if she didn't fully understand the reasons behind it. Maybe he really did just have a lot to learn about being someone's friend, rather than their brother. She decided to try and give him the benefit of the doubt. Once she gained his trust a little more, she would confront him about his suspicious behavior and ask why his sister was following her.
These thoughts filled her mind as the pain-reliever PM kicked in sending her to dreamland.
...
When Bella got to school the next morning, she didn't have to wait long to see how Edward would treat her today. He ran into her in the parking lot.
"Good Morning, Bella. Did you sleep well last night?"
She just looked at him, confused. Apparently they were parking lot friends, too, not just 6th period Biology friends. She had not anticipated this.
"I remembered you mentioned you hadn't the night before," he added quickly, somehow sensing her disbelief. He looked at her earnestly and she suddenly found it hard to form sentences.
"Yeah," she said. "I took something last night. I thought a good night's sleep would help."
"Did it? Does your shoulder still hurt?" Again, he seemed very anxious.
"Yeah, kind of... a little." She paused, "but it's not that bad. I think it's getting better."
"I'm very glad to hear that, Bella."
She just smiled in return. Bella hoped to take the conversation away from her health and was about to mention an upcoming English essay when he came at her with yet another odd question.
"Why are you squinting?"
"What?"
"You're squinting."
"Um, it's probably just the sleeping pills. They make me groggy in the morning." He's new to making friends, he's new to making friends, she kept reminding herself.
"Oh, I thought that perhaps your eyes were hurting or something."
It was kind of cute, even if it was a little weird. She couldn't help but smile. "Edward, I appreciate your newfound interest in my health, but I promise that I'm okay. No major health problems to repot this morning." She held up her hand as though she were swearing an oath on it.
"I'm very glad to hear it." Again, he seemed relieved, but only slightly.
She always felt her knees give out a little when he looked into her eyes and smiled like that and she didn't want to be late for class, so she decided to end the conversation before he asked for official copies of her hospital records. Actually, she thought, he probably had access to those if he wanted them, since his father worked there.
She winked. "I'll update you later if anything changes between now and Biology." Before she turned to walk away, she saw him smile ever so slightly and nod his head.
"Have a good day, Bella."
Her heart raced as she walked away from him. He asked her about her shoulder again which, given their conversation yesterday, didn't seem out of the ordinary. That's what she reminded herself, at least. But then again she couldn't get over the suspicion that he was reading more meaning in her responses than she meant to communicate.
Days at Forks High were about to become a lot more interesting, she thought. She entered the building to the same buzz she heard the day before in the cafeteria. Everyone was excited about the dance. She could not share their enthusiasm for the event, since a dance seemed like cruel and unusual punishment to someone as clumsy as Bella, but she appreciated their excitement.
Once at her locker, she moved to grab her school books and had to put them back down immediately. She had lied to Edward. The pain in her should was still there and it was not getting better. It was getting worse, stinging, burning...