A/N: Alright guys here is the second chapter. I want to say thank you to all my friends that are helping me and supporting me with this story. I'm already working on chapter three and I already have three pages done (I try to put at least seven pages per chapter).

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight. The Twilight Saga respectively belongs to Stephenie Meyer.

~~~~~~OoO~~~~~~

Learning to Breathe

~~~~~~OoO~~~~~~

Chapter 2

A Shadow

~~~~~~OoO~~~~~~

All of the vampires – plus me – were sitting around the big mahogany dinning room table. Both Edward and Alice had told the story from their perspective. Then Edward had told Carlisle about how Nic had growled directly at him.

"Wait…he growled at you?" Esme asked in her soft voice. She was obviously concerned about our safety, rather than the fact that they might be moving. This information greatly upset Rosalie, and was complaining about how she loved it here and loved going out in the daylight and not exposing their family.

"Yeah," I said chiming in, "Alice said that it was because of something that Katie had told them."

Carlisle looked back to his youngest 'daughter and son', "Did you hear what she told him?"

"No, unfortunately…I should've been paying more attention to them." He admitted sounding disappointed in himself. It truly wasn't his fault – he was too preoccupied trying to keep me out of harm's way.

"Edward, you're gonna have to get Bella home before Charlie finds out she's been over here." Alice warned us.

We both looked at the clock and I realized Charlie would be home in 15 minutes. Charlie had set all of these new rules and guidelines since the Cullens came back, and not to mention he had a strong dislike against Edward, but he still adored Alice. If he found out that I went over to the Cullen's after school today; I would be grounded for a long time. Even though he would never know that Edward secretly sneaks into my room at night and sleeps in bed with me. If he ever found that out…ugh. I didn't even want to think about what type of punishment he would conjure up, personally, for me.

"We'll have to run to make it there in time." He said grabbing my hand and leading us out the door. The others followed but stopped at the front door. They watched me and Edward make our way down the driveway and turn into the woods. Once in the woods Edward pulled me over his back and started running.

I had gotten so used to running with him that it came so natural. I was no longer afraid of getting hit by the trees. I was no longer afraid of getting sick and nauseated by the rush of the wind against my cheek and the breeze twirling through and tangling my hair. It was exhilarating.

The light was just starting to dim and clouds were separating above our heads to reveal a bright, full moon rising over the horizon to take the sun's place in the sky. The forest was still dark -- to me -- but I was pretty sure it was no complication for Edward.

We made it to my house before Charlie arrived. Thank goodness. I didn't now how to explain myself. Not to mention I didn't feel like arguing with him on why Edward was here while he wasn't home.

Edward sprang up in my room instead of taking me to the front door. I looked up at him with confusion written on my face.

"Your father's pulling up as we speak." He informed me.

"Will you come over later tonight?" I had to ask with everything that was going on I didn't know if he would or if he would be too preoccupied with this whole situation.

He looked down at me with those mesmerizing eyes --even though right now they were getting closer to black, they were still mesmerizing -- and smiled that smile that made my heart flutter.

"Of course I will, after I get done discussing with my family about Katie and Nic." I kept staring at his eyes and I knew that he was most-likely going hunting before he came over too.

Edward leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. He smiled through the kiss and I knew that he could hear my heartbeat rapidly pick up. Stupid vampire hearing.

"Bella?" My dad cried up the stairs.

I broke the kiss to turn around to open my door, "Yeah dad?"

"Could you come down here for a sec?" His voice was trailing off as he was headed into another room. There was worry in his voice.

"Yeah, I'll be down in a sec." I answered before shutting my door. I turned around and looked for Edward but he was already gone. I sighed realizing that I need to invest in a collar with a little bell on it. I sat on my bed and allowed my heart to go back to its normal pace before going down to see Charlie.

Charlie was in the living room watching the TV when I came down. "You wanted to see me?" I asked while taking a seat on the couch.

Grabbing for the remote he hit the mute button and sat up in his chair. "Yeah," He paused, "You okay? You look a little flushed. " asking me as he examined my face.

I blushed and could feel the heat rising in my cheeks, "I'm fine." I told him. Obviously I needed more time, than I thought, to steady my heartbeat.

Charlie glanced back at the flat screen and I could tell he was trying to figure out how to say what he wanted to say, "You don't plan on going up to Port Angeles or Seattle anytime soon, do you?"

I was a little confused by his question and then racked my brain for any reason that would send me up there, "No, I don't think so…why?"

He looked back down to the floor…at his feet. That was never a good sign. "There have been killings going on up there. People being murdered in cold blood. And the worst part is that there are no signs of evidence at any of the crime scenes. I was showed a couple of pictures of some of the scenes and…" he pinched his eyes shut, "there was blood everywhere. But what really scares me is that all of the victims were girls." His voice was starting to crack. Then he looked up at me with worried eyes and then what he said next explained his stuttering voice.

"The girls were all around your age." I almost swore that I saw tears forming at the edge of his eyes. He must've been thinking about me when he looked at those photos.

I tried to piece together the things that he was telling me -- girls my age being killed in cold blood, no evidence. Then realization struck. The killer was looking for someone specific. The pieces started to form better and I realized that I was probably that someone. I remembered what Laurent had told me in the meadow, before Jacob had killed him, and shuddered at the thought that Victoria was out for my blood. But what puzzled me was that Charlie said that there was blood everywhere. If it was her -- or other vampires doing her bidding -- wouldn't they've cleaned up the mess? After all Edward had told me that even the smell of human blood can start a frenzy.

"Bella, I don't want you going up there anytime soon. No matter what, alright?" He was looking at me like any father would for the safety of his only daughter. It hurt just knowing that there were other girls out there being killed because they weren't the right girl.

"Yes." I promised him. I could see that it relaxed him a little and in return it relaxed me too.

Dinner was silent as we ate left over enchiladas. I mostly stared at my plate and moved around the beans.

"So how was your day?" Charlie asked, breaking the silence.

I briefly looked up at him before looking down to my plate, "Fine." I cut a small piece off the enchilada and shoved it in my mouth. I continued chewing not wanting to give him anymore details about the day. By the look on his face he obviously wasn't satisfied with just 'fine'. "We got a lot of new kids today. And I have a couple of classes with them."

"Really?" he didn't sound like he was at all interested, just wanted to keep conversation. "What are their names?"

"Well, I have math class with Katie Thorndyke --"

"Thorndyke?" he asked cutting me off mid-sentence.

"Yeah. Do you know that last name?" Maybe he would have more information on them.

"Chuck Thorndyke…I met him the other day. Great guy. He and his grandson, Chris, were at the store. I started a conversation with him and found out that him and his family is here on some kind of business trip. They brought their family friends, the Scotts, with them to have some fun while they were down here." he drank some of his milk to wash down the enchilada.

We sat there the rest of the time eating our dinner in silence. When we were done I washed off the dishes and quickly towel dried them and set them on a towel to dry off completely. Charlie made his way to the TV while I was doing the dishes.

When I was done I put my hands on the edge of the sink and pondered at the new information Charlie provided me with. Katie said that they were down her on a 'business trip'. But what kind of business was there to do in Forks? And if it was a business trip why would they bring family friends? At least I found out the last name of the other siblings. The Scotts. I heavily sighed and made my way into the other room.

"I'm gonna go take a shower." I told Charlie as I grabbed the rail leading up to the second level of the house.

He raised his hand up and I couldn't tell if he was waving me good-bye or motioning at me that he heard me. Sometimes he just got too carried away watching TV. I swear something could be up in my room attacking me and he would be watching his game too hypnotized to notice anything wrong. Luckily, though, I had Edward to watch over me when my dad sometimes didn't.

I went in my room and saw that Edward still hadn't arrived. Must be some discussion him and his family were having to make him this late. Normally he would be here sitting in my rocking chair watching me finish up on my homework. I took advantage of his absence and grabbed my bathroom supplies and headed for the bathroom.

I didn't take a very long shower. I blow dried my hair and brushed my teeth at the same time. I threw on my Pajamas and put my supplies back in my bag and walked down the hallway to my room. I opened my door expecting Edward to be there waiting on my bed, but he still wasn't there.

I threw my bag on my dresser and popped my head out the door, "Night dad." I called down to him.

"Night Bells." He cried up to me still preoccupied with the game.

I pulled my head back through the doorway and slowly shut the door and locked it to keep my nosy dad out if he ever came to check on me.

"So how were the enchiladas?"

I jumped and shoved my back to the door. My hands instinctively flew up to my chest and my heart beat picked up again. Edward was there sitting on my bed legs crossed and smirking. I knew he loved the reaction that he always got when he scared me. I watched as he was still smirking at me when I went to sit in the rocking chair across from my bed. I sighed as I planted myself in the fluffy cushion.

"What?" he chuckled.

I looked up to him, "I'm seriously investing into a cat collar."

He looked at me pulling his eyebrows together and titled his head.

"For you to wear. That way when you decide to come in my room or leave I'll be able to hear you." It wasn't that I didn't like how he snuck into my room so quietly, it's just that I'd like to be able hear him a little bit so I wouldn't have to restart my heart every time.

"I'm sorry. But you make it far too easy for me to scare you." he stated as he got up from the bed and slowly started walking over to me. "It's not my fault your human ears don't hear that well." Edward put both of his hands on the arms of the chair and was looking at me with his molten golden eyes.

I was trying so hard to think clearly but it was always hard to do when he dazzled me like this, "Are you making fun of my hearing?" I glared at him, still trying to keep my mind on the right track.

"What if I am?" He challenged.

I pushed on his chest knowing that it would do no good. And it didn't. He didn't even move an inch. This only made me ignore him more. Then I heard that familiar playful growl echo from his throat. Any normal person would be terrified to hear something like that come from their boyfriend's mouth. But to me, it wasn't at all threatening.

He kept growling at me and pushed his nose to my ear and I got the full effect of the non-threat-like banter. The sound was starting to rumble out of his chest now and it almost sounded like a cat purring. It was a relaxing sound to hear and I knew he was trying to get me to roll over and forgive him. But this was a battle that he was not going to win.

Finally he pulled back from my side. And I instantly thought I won. I was wrong.

In one of his blinding movements, he had me in his arms and he was now the one sitting in the chair. I was now sitting on his lap and holding my arms around his neck for support. He really needs to warn me when he tries to do something like that.

I looked down at him and he still had that cocky grin on his face. I 'hmphed' at him and turned my head away from him. Trying to squirm my way out his arms was impossible. The iron-hold he had on me would not give in. I gave up and just sat there in his lap, but I still didn't look at him, because I knew if I did, I would lose.

"Alright, I give." he caved in.

I looked down at him and saw that his eyes were shut.

"Do you forgive me?" His eyes opened back up and I regretted ever looking down at him. Crap. He had a hold of my gaze and there was no way I could say no with him staring at me like that.

I smiled at him to show him that he was forgiven. I momentarily forgot how to speak, so facial expressions always made up for lack of comprehension.

He chuckled and I rolled my eyes at him. I tried to get up again and he complied and let his grip loosen. I made my way over to the bed or at least I tried to. Edward never let go of my waist and I felt like his hands were permanently stitched there. He turned me around to face him and now I knew how he felt when he tried reading my mind and found no answers. I agreed, it was frustrating not knowing what the other person was thinking at times. I stared up at him and got lost in his irresistible eyes.

"I believe we didn't finish our kiss earlier." He told me putting his full effect of his gaze on me. Did he not comprehend how much vocabulary I lost when he did that to me?

I leaned up to him and he met me half way. His cold lips pressed firmly to mine and we started our kiss where it was left off. And like the last kiss my heart started to soar. Edward always kissed me with such passion that it made me love him that much more even though I didn't know if it was possible. He put both of his hands gently on my hips and pulled my body closer to him. I wrapped my hands around his neck and entwined my fingers in his auburn locks pulling his lips harder onto mine. I could feel that he would break it off soon so why shouldn't I take full advantage while he was letting me?

I felt his lips stiffen under mine and he pulled me away from him. When our lips parted I took in a deep breath that I hadn't realized I needed and Edward exhaled a low growl and gritted his teeth together. I looked up to him to see if he was alright. Slowly his golden eyes reappeared after being shut.

He looked down at me and smiled playfully, "I think I'm getting better at it."

"You have always been perfect at it." I told him. Truthfully, he was perfect at everything but to him, he wasn't.

He just smiled at me. And heat flooded to my cheeks. Like I said…perfect.

"So did you find out anything else?" I asked him while making my way to the bed.

He sighed and sat down across from me on the bed, "No. Carlisle said that until they show something that we see threatening that we shouldn't worry about it. But that doesn't mean that I'm still not keeping a close eye on them." That also meant that he wouldn't let me around them without him present.

"How are you going to do that when you can't read any of their minds?" I asked him. I was kind of proud that I was no longer the only mental mute to him. That there were others that could block him from probing their minds.

He narrowed his eyes at me, only because he knew I was right, "I'll just have to figure something out."

"Charlie did tell me something about them."

He raised his eyebrows at that one. Most likely any information would help him out with this puzzle, so I continued, "Well, Chuck Thorndyke is supposedly the one that's here on a business trip. The other siblings that came with the Thorndykes are called the Scotts. They're family friends of the Thorndyke's and Chuck had told Charlie that bringing them would make the trip more fun. And that's basically it." I didn't know if it would help out much but it was still something, "They say they're here on a business trip, but I honestly don't know any type of 'business' they would have in Forks."

He looked at me with the same confused look that I gave Charlie. "That's...about as much as I know."

This was not going so well. And we all knew it. We didn't know how this was going to go or where this was going to lead us. But the one thing that I knew is that I did not want the Cullens –especially Edward – to leave again. And for some reason, I believed that Katie knew that they weren't leaving. So the question is…can I trust her?

All of these questions were setting off in my head like fireworks. One after another, and the next one always seeming to bigger and scarier than the previous. My feet seemed to have a mind of their own and carried me over to my open window. The breeze was slightly humid with the coming rainfall that is supposed to happen over night. I leaned out the window and exhaled deeply hoping the fresh air would clear my thoughts. To no avail. I was anxious tonight and nothing could really seem to calm my nerves. Looking out the window it was fairly cloudy and the forest behind the house was ebony. Not much could be seen in it. I went to look away and something caught my eye. A bead of light was resting in the dark. But when I looked closer it wasn't just one bead…there were two. They looked like eyes. Then they blinked. Wait they blinked! Now they were moving closer to the house. Maybe it was Jacob or one of the other wolves. I had to guess this with how far the eyes were off the ground. Then out of the dark, it showed its long muzzle and on that muzzle were gigantic fangs and a row of pearl white teeth. It was snarling.

Its bright golden eyes shown vividly against the black background. The same for its razor sharp teeth. I didn't know what it was but it didn't look very friendly. I started to panic thinking that this thing was the very creature that had been killing all those innocent girls up in Seattle and Port Angeles. It sure looked like it could do some damage – and I was just looking at its teeth. It also would explain why there was no evidence at the scenes. Now I knew I was wrong it wasn't vampires that were killing it was this creature.

I turned around sharply to face Edward and his eyebrows shot up, "What? What's wrong?"

I must have stopped breathing because I found a need for oxygen. I took a deep breath, "I think I found the thing that was killing all those girls." I knew that I couldn't see what it really looked like but I knew with his enhanced vision that he should be able to.

He leaped off the bed and was next to me in a second, searching the woods. But…there was nothing there. It had vanished. Edward looked down to me searching my eyes to see what I had saw. This was one of those moments when I wish that he could read my mind.

"I swear there was something right there –" I pointed to the spot, "— it had bright yellow eyes and it was snarling. It also had two big fangs that reminded me of a saber toothed tiger."

He looked back down to where I pointed and then looked back up to me again, "Did you see what color it was?"

I tried to think about that and in the dark it looked like it did have a certain color, "Believe me or not…but it looked like it was…blue." I whispered to him. I know I wasn't imagining anything and I knew what I saw. But would he believe me?

His features seemed to change from a number of emotions – fear, concern, but the one that stuck to him more was confusion. Did he know something I didn't?

I stared back down at the spot. I was no longer worried about Victoria or the other vampires that might be after me. I was now worried about what this being wanted.

~~~~~~OoO~~~~~~

A/N: So how'd I do? Still keeping you in suspense? Well go tell me in the reviews.

I always look forward to reading your reviews.