Chapter One: Guilty Conscience
"Bella!" I could feel someone gently shaking my arm, calling my name softly. I instantly recognized it as Edward's voice. My eyes snapped open quickly; I was trembling uncontrollably and I was sweating. Edward hovered above me, his eyes showing worry and concern for me.
I slowly placed my hands on either side of Edward's face, looking him in the eye, ready to start crying, but I tried my best to keep myself from it. "E-Edward?" I asked, my voice incredibly shaky; I was surprised I could speak at all.
"I'm here, Bella. You had a nightmare...you were calling my name. And then..." He stopped talking and turned his head away from me, his eyes slightly angry looking.
"And then what?" I asked, fearing his answer already.
"Then you called the mutt's name." He spat the sentence out as if it were poison that would kill him. But, of course, that was impossible; Edward couldn't die. Not easily, anyway.
Realization dawned on me. "Edward...you left me. In my dream," I was quick to add. "You disappeared and then Jacob turned up. He...he killed me..."
Edward looked at me quickly, his mouth slightly open. "What?" He asked, as if he didn't hear me. I knew he did.
I stayed silent, not repeating what I'd just said. My lips were trembling, ready to spill every tear that was welled in my eyes.
He shook his head slowly. "No...it was just a dream." He said firmly, knowing that I didn't have the power to foretell the future like Alice. "Just a dream..." Edward paused momentarily. "I left you again?" He looked up at me, his eyes haunted.
I moved to his side and placed my hand lightly on his back. "Edward, it was a dream. You didn't leave me."
"I couldn't stop Black from killing you..." He continued, not looking at me, staring at his hands as if I'd never spoken. "I could have stopped him.." He kept mumbling things that were unintelligible to me and then he looked up at me, his eyes black.
"Edward, calm down...you're scaring me." I said, cringing back slightly. Thought I had no need to; Edward would never think of hurting me.
Edward's eyes slowly turned back to their beautiful brown colour. "Bella...I'm sorry." He said, his voice so sincere and regretful that it made me want to cry.
I put my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, burying my face in his neck. His arms wrapped around my waist and he gently rubbed my back. "I'll never leave you Bella...never. And if Jacob Black ever lays a hand on you..." His voice trailed off, letting the threat hang in the air for a while, menacing as ever. I knew what would happen if Jacob layed a hand on me in front of Edward. Jacob would be dead before I even had the time to blink. I didn't like that idea at all.
I got up from my bed and Edward gave me a questioning look. "I need a human moment." I said as I grabbed my clothes and walked towards the bathroom. Edward smiled, and nodded. I guess he was over my dream by now. Or either he was just hiding the fact that he was thinking about it.
Once inside the bathroom, I shut the door, and looked in the mirror...and nearly shrieked. My hair was everywhere, half out of its ponytail that I had put it in the night before.
I quickly brushed my teeth and brushed my hair so it cascaded around my shoulders like a dark curtain of silk. I dressed in a pair of faded jeans that fit perfectly to my form, and my blue V-neck shirt; Edward's favourite shirt that I wore.
After finishing up in the bathroom, I walked back into my bedroom where Edward sat on my bed with his head in his hands. "Edward?" I asked quietly, tilting my head to the side as I looked at him.
He slowly looked up at me and gave me, what I knew, was a smile, though it was strained. He was across the room at vampire speed and picked me up, bridal style. "Breakfast time for the human." He said in a somewhat cheerful voice.
He carried me downstairs and into the kitchen, setting me down in a chair at the table. "How's an omlet sound?" He asked, looking over at me from where he was at the refridgerator.
"Sounds good to me." I said, smiling at him as he got out eggs, ham, and cheese. Luckily, today was Saturday; Charlie was at a lake in Port Angels with Jacob's father, Billy Black. He said something last night at dinner to me about one of the other sherrifs at the Police Department told him the fishing was much better up there. He said a few other things, but I wasn't listening. I was too anxious to get up to my room where Edward was waiting for me. So basically, Charlie wouldn't be back until tomorrow and that left Edward and I to do as we pleased. Up to a point, anyway.
Edward placed my omlet in front of me on the table with a charming smile. "Bon appetite." He said with a sexy French accent. Yes, I said 'sexy French accent '.
I gave him a smile of thanks and began eating. Edward may not be able to eat, but he is a truely marvelous cook.
I ate half of my omlet and then sat back in my chair, stuffed. It may seem like I hadn't eaten much, but it was quite a bit omlet he cooked.
"Finished already?" Edward asked from the chair across from me.
I nodded. "I couldn't eat another bite if I wanted to." I told him. He smiled my favourite crooked smile and picked up my plate, taking it over to the sink for me.
"So what do you want to do today?" I asked him from where I still sat in my chair, drinking the rest of my orange juice down.
Edward's eyes sparkled. "Well...I sort of had an idea as to where we could go." He said to me mischievously.
"Edward...what are you thinking?" I asked, not sure if I really wanted to know or not. I knew Edward and his surprises well. And he knew I didn't like surprises.
"Trust me, Bella. You'll like it." He said, crouching down in front of me and taking my hands in his as he looked into my eyes. I was about to reject and ask him where we were going and what we were going there for, but he let out one deep breath right in my face, his sweet breath and scent hitting me dead on...and I couldn't refuse.
I sighed, frustrated that he could get me hooked so easily. "Alright. Fine." I said, crossing my arms against my chest.
He smiled, satisfied. "Perfect." He said and gave me a light kiss on the cheek. "Shall we go now then?" He asked, standing up straight and offering me his hand.
I couldn't resist him any longer -- like I actually did at all -- and I put my hand in his and he pulled me to my feet.
"Let's go then." He said and led me outside to the silver Volvo in the driveway. We got in and soon we were speeding towards...well, towards I-Don't-Know-Whereville.
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