Title: You Found Me

Full Summary: Edward Masen has lived the life of a nomadic vampire, travelling with James and Victoria since he awoke as an immortal. His ability to read minds has had the unusual side effect of making him a vampire with a conscience. Despite the ridicule from his coven mates, he's confident he's making the best of his existence and doing what's morally right... until he stumbles upon a brown-eyed girl reading in a meadow in Forks. As he attempts to befriend her and learns more about the sleepy town of Forks, Edward finds there's a lot more to being a vampire than he ever thought possible.

Pairings: Canon

Rating: M, for language and smexin'.

Chapter: Twenty-nine; Suspicion

POV: Edward

AN: And here it is, part two. I think this one has many of the answers and things a lot of you have been waiting for. A lot of it played out differently than I expected, so it took longer to get here than I planned, but we're here now. That's what counts, right?

As always thank you to everyone who takes the time to comment. The continued positivity astounds me. Also thanks to Jana, who has been an amazing sounding board and is half the force that keeps this fic going forward (without her, it would probably be long since abandoned). If you haven't already, you should check out her WIP Harvest Moon. It's another vamp AU, in a similar what-if vein as this fic :)

xx

It didn't take long to find James.

He'd relocated once again while Alice and the others had been hammering out logistics, meticulously planning out who would be where and when. I recognized his surroundings immediately. The grass was turning brown from the nightly frosts but it was unmistakable.

I found him sitting in one of the trees on the outskirts of Bella's meadow, a cigarette hanging from his smirking lips. He was the picture of callous indifference.

Victoria was nowhere in sight, nor could I hear her anywhere nearby. I thanked my lucky stars for that fact. Dealing with James alone promised to be cataclysmic enough.

James' thoughts were, for the first time in my recollection, completely open to me. He made absolutely no effort to hide them, for which I was glad. The more he underestimated the usefulness of my ability, the better.

He nodded to the flattened, browning grass where Bella and I had spent so many afternoons, carelessly flicking ash from his cigarette onto the browned grass. A small part of him hoped the little embers would spark a fire. Like most vampires, raging flames weren't something he liked being near, but he relished destruction (particularly of a place precious to me) more.

It still smelled like us. James thought so, too. To him, the smell was much more potent. "So this is where you entertain your little human slut, huh? It reeks of you." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "And her. She smells like overripe, over-processed strawberries. No wonder you haven't drained her yet."

I fisted my hands at my side, knowing if I showed any outward signs of aggression, I would be rising to the bait. "What do you want James? Why did you ask me to meet you here?"

James rolled his eyes and puffed out a breath of smoke, peering down at me. "Why the bad mood, Edward? Whatever happened to pleasantries? Didn't your mommy teach you better?"

Despite his complaints that I'd kept him waiting too long, he was messing with me, playing the mischievous, coy games he enjoyed so much. He was in a good mood. At least that meant he was probably unaware of Alice and Emmett lurking in the shadows, just beyond the reach of his heightened senses.

"My mother has nothing to do with this."

I swung myself up into the tree adjacent to James. There was no way I was letting him look down at me with smug superiority. We were going to have this conversation on equal footing, whether he wanted to or not.

"My bad. You're right. Let's talk about your girlfriend." He sneered at me. "Or should I say your little whore? This place reeks like pussy."

I fought down the wash of anger and embarrassment, remembering that the last time Bella and I had been here, had been the first time we'd crossed an intimate boundary under a pile of blankets. Of course James would detect that; his sense of smell wasn't thwarted by the nearly daily rain showers.

"Shut up," I hissed. "You don't know what you're talking about."

James chortled gleefully, spewing smoke and hate. "Oh, I think I do. You've gotten sweet on the little human. Isabella Swan." He spat her name venomously. I growled, unable to stop the automatic reaction to hearing Bella's name on his lips. "Maggie was never enough for you. I should have suspected something was wrong with you. Mating with a fucking human. At least you haven't fucked her yet."

I gritted my teeth, refraining from punching him, just. He claimed to be able to distinguish virgins from the sexually experienced by scent alone. I hated that he'd ever been close enough to Bella to make the distinction. My nails dug into the flesh of my palms with the effort of not bashing in his smug face.

"What. Do. You. Want? If all you've got is unnecessary commentary about my life, I'm out of here." I moved as if to leave, knowing that was likely the last thing he wanted.

He shook his head as if I was amusing him greatly. "You think I give a shit what you choose to do with your fucking dick? I was just checking up on you because Victoria asked me to. And I happened to uncover some very interesting things about what you've been up to lately."

I looked away, my fears about the extent of James' knowledge confirmed.

He was relentless when he was on a quest for information about his prey. This was no different. I might not be his next meal but I was most certainly his prey. He was going to dig his claws in, refusing to relent until he got what he came for.

He hadn't been surprised by the new golden hue of my eyes. He'd already collected a mental dossier full of information about the changes in my life. That meant he was likely fully aware of the relationships I'd forged with the Cullens. He'd already confirmed he knew Bella was my mate. He'd been outside the restaurant I'd taken Bella to; it was undoubtedly more than a coincidence. He'd known what he was looking for. There was no telling precisely how deep he had tunneled, or what his motivations were.

One thing was clear, there was no point to trying to deny any of it. Pretending like I didn't know what he was talking about would only infuriate him, so I kept silent.

"You've not even tried to keep hidden," he continued, taking a leisurely drag of his cigarette. "You're flaunting yourself and that little slut all over Forks and beyond like a fucking imbecile. How you expected me not to know is beyond me. What a fucking joke."

"I didn't think you would care enough to look for what was evident to everyone else," I said coolly. "You never have before. Today was an exception to the rule, apparently."

He scoffed. "I wouldn't, usually. I was tracking you at Vicky's request. I would have been more discreet about it, too, but I needed to get your attention away from that little whore you've wrapped yourself up in. You were so involved in finger banging the little slut, you didn't notice me. I don't like being ignored and I needed to talk to you. I had no choice but to get a little… crafty."

"This is your last chance," I snapped, tired of him asserting his dominance by flaunting what he knew over my head. We both knew he knew. Either we were going to move past juvenile taunts or I was leaving. "So far you've said nothing I need to hear. Give me a reason to stay."

He narrowed his eyes at me, stubbing out his cigarette on the tree and flinging it into the meadow below. "I don't like the tone of your voice, Masen. But I'm a nice guy. I'm sure Victoria would be very interested in the things I've found out. Mommy, Daddy and Baby Sister Cullen… and your little pet, for instance. She likes you, you see. I'm willing to keep things quiet."

The branch beneath my clenched fingers cracked, groaning in protest. "What's your price?"

"You gone. Out of my life for the rest of fucking eternity. I've let you leech off of my existence for far too long. Victoria is my fucking mate. I'm sick of her coddling you, letting your needs rule our lives. Her attention should be reserved for me and making me happy."

"Yeah right," I retorted. There was no way that was the extent of what he wanted. "You truly expect me to believe that's all you want? What's the catch?"

He glared at my disbelieving attitude. "No fucking catch. Christ. Victoria brought you into my life; it was all her brilliant fucking idea. Bring the little mind reader into the fold and we'll be able to make a fortune and live like kings for the rest of our existence. He'll be our puppet," he mocked Victoria's high voice cruelly, remembering dragging my lifeless body into an old mill while I was mid-transformation. Even back then, he'd been reluctant, but willing to let Victoria take the reins.

I'd never seen myself as a human through a vampire's eyes. It was a fascinating sight to behold. Even though I was bound and gagged, my hair was instantly recognizable, still the tangled mess of autumn colour.

"I listened because I wanted her to be happy," he continued, snorting derisively. Her happiness wasn't important to him any longer. He was feeling rejected and usurped of his masculinity. I nearly laughed at his pettiness, keeping the thought to myself. "I'm too soft with her, that's the goddamn problem. I've let her make choices that are wrong for us. We're vampires and we're hiding amongst humans, living a pathetic half life. It's demeaning. We should live as we were intended, wild and free predators. Like we did before you."

"Why don't you tell her that?" I asked coldly. "I'm sure she'd be agreeable to whatever you ask of her. You wear the fucking pants, don't you?"

"Of course I wear the fucking pants, ass." James punched a hole in the nearest tree trunk angrily. "Weren't you fucking listening? I said she's gotten attached to your stupid ass. As long as you're in the picture, she's going to be resistant. She doesn't understand it's for her own good."

"Why are you so certain that she cares?" I muttered, obstinate. Of James and Victoria, I'd always been closest to her. That wasn't saying much. Now I knew better. I knew real relationships were founded on more than obligation.

"Because I know, okay!" he barked, displeased I was being so resistant. "She picked you. You were her project. We were in Chicago scouting out the trail of pair of kids she liked the smell of when we stumbled across that fucking doctor. He thought he was doing your dead fucking mommy a favour. His friend told him that you had a gift for mind-reading. That's when Victoria came up with her stupid scheme. I didn't know any better back then, so I allowed it."

"What are you talking about?" I asked, attempting to get a read on his train of thought, hoping to deduce something more helpful than the scrambled nonsensical sentences he was spouting, but it was no use, they were just as jumbled.

"The story we told you about your change was a lie," James explained calmly, as if he hadn't just upset the axis of my world. His smug smile said he knew he had, he just didn't give a shit. "I didn't change you."

The story I'd always been told was that James had found me lying in the hospital dying of the Influenza. I was an easy target for a quick meal. I was lucky (or unfortunate) enough to have the most appealing blood; he claimed to have been doing me a favour, substituting a long drawn out illness with a quick and painless death.

He'd accidentally changed me when he'd been forced to abandon his feeding by an assembly of hospital staff entering the room. There had been too many of them for him to take out without causing a scene. By the time he'd dragged my body from the room to avoid discovery, the damage had been done, my blood was too polluted with venom to be edible.

How could James not have been my creator? It changed my entire perspective on my existence.

James and I might not have seen eye to eye on many things, but over the decades, I had kept in the back of my mind that I had him to thank for my continued existence. It had erased a large portion of the hate. Without it, there was no tempering barrier. Just unadulterated disgust. It was hard to believe I'd spent more years than not standing at his side, calling him my coven mate.

I touched my neck, feeling the scar, the only memory I had of my change. It was hardly visible, even to vampire eyes – the venom flowing through my body at the time had smoothed away all but the faintest of scars – but I could feel every single ridge of it. I knew the pattern it formed like the back of my hand.

"Who then?" I begged, unable to relieve my tone of desperation. "Did you kill them?"

James laughed boisterously. "I can't believe they didn't tell you. Some fucking friends." He looked me squarely in the eye. "Doctor daddy is your maker. Vicky and I roughed him up a bit… but clearly humpty dumpty was able to put himself back together again."

"What? No! There's no way," I stated confidently. "They would have told me. They wouldn't have kept something that significant from me."

James snickered. "Might want to rethink handing out your trust so fucking easily." His thoughts oozed back in time to a small apartment eighty-six years before. It was small but cozy, and eerily familiar, though I was sure I'd never stepped foot in the place.

It felt like excruciatingly slow motion as James' mind panned across the room.

I watched, a sickening stab hitting me somewhere just above the chest as James flung himself at a shocked Carlisle, a vicious, ruthless predator. I knew then that the picture of Carlisle's face – his utter horror and distress – would be something I'd never forget. Despite the betrayal I felt over his selective version of the truth, no one deserved to be treated in such a despicable way.

Carlisle was easily torn to pieces with Victoria's help, my writhing not-quite-human body a background prop in the sickening slideshow. I felt the urge to heave. I knew it would do no good.

It was real, I knew it was. I'd seen enough thoughts to distinguish the real from the fabricated. It was too crisp, too detailed. I could see every strand in the carpet, every minute detail in the wood grain framing the bed I lay on. People creating imaginary scenarios to bolster a lie didn't think of those tiny, insignificant details.

James chuckled, enjoying my pained shock.

"Why are you telling me this now?" I whispered, my mind still reeling with the realization that my entire existence was a lie. "How come you're letting me hear you now?"

James ground his teeth together, unsure if he wanted to tell me the truth. He must have decided there was no harm, because when he spoke, his voice was void of insincerity.

"I'm not letting you do fucking anything. It's Victoria. Her gift is self-preservation… evasion, if you like. She's dodging your gift. She's able to extend it to shield me because we're bonded. When she's not near, her protection is gone. She evades that little psychic of yours, too. Unintentionally, of course. She has no idea she exists. She must be in a protective mood, since we're separated at the moment. She worries about me." He sniffed. "I don't relish the thought of you reading my mind now or ever, but bringing Victoria along was not an option if this meeting was to go as I planned."

If I took the time to think about that, it made sense. I'd never truly been left alone with James. Victoria was always skulking in the shadows, never too far away from her mate. I'd assumed that stemmed from a mutual lack of desire to be around one another without Victoria to buffer.

On the other hand, Victoria and I had been left alone often enough. But she wouldn't need him near to protect herself. I felt stupid and duped for not realizing she was the common thread to the silence.

I'd never thought to make the connection to her gift for evasion, either, as obvious as it should have been. I'd run across people with varying degrees of skill in keeping their thoughts from me. I'd always assumed James and Victoria were extremely skilled at protecting their minds individually.

I'd always known her gift was the embodiment of a selfish desire to save herself first and foremost. It was becoming clear just how selfish she was. She was using her gift to prevent herself and James from unintentionally giving away secrets she didn't want me exposed to and preserving my loyalty to her and her mate in the meantime.

Unfortunately for her, her mate was just as selfish as she was. He was giving away all her carefully guarded secrets with his own self-centered motivations in mind.

I'd once thought James and Victoria were perfectly suited for one another… her mouse to his cat, in a perfectly balanced game of hide and seek. Now it was clear there was no balance. Their relationship had always been a game of tug of war, pushing and pulling vying for power and control of the other. I felt sorry for them both.

I sighed, suddenly exhausted. I wanted to get back to Bella, to pluck her away from reality. To tuck her into my arms and hide away somewhere far away from all the people who had been feeding me lies. No more James. No Victoria. No Cullens. Just me and Bella.

"You still haven't explained why you're telling me this now," I said quietly, just wanting to get to the point and get this over with. He'd held these secrets close to his chest for nearly ninety years. Why give them up so carelessly now?

James growled, all the previous confessional attitude gone. "Yes, I have, you fucking idiot. I want you out of my coven. You've got your pathetic maker and his 'family,'" he air-quoted nastily, "to mooch off of now. Go play house with them, and leave me and Victoria the fuck alone."

"What about Victoria?"

He sniffled. "Victoria is none of your fucking concern. She's my fucking mate, leave me to deal with her. I'll tell her you ran away and that I can't find you. With you removed from the equation, she won't have a fucking choice, we'll do things my way whether she likes it or not."

I didn't tell him that he was being an asshole, bullying and forcing Victoria into what he wanted by lying, cheating and scamming. I really didn't care. Let them have their destructive, cruel relationship. I was being freed, no strings attached.

It was a blessing.

And I had James to thank. I laughed at the irony. All these years, I'd thought his derision for me stemmed from his need to keep me under his thumb and assert his authority. Turns out he was just a jealous, controlling asshole, paranoid that his mate didn't like him best. On second thought, it wasn't really all that surprising at all.

James growled, upset by my laughter. "Do we have an agreement or not? I'm sure Isabella Swan can help us decide if need be," he snapped, imagining breaking her neck and draining her dry, as if I needed any more motivation to agree to banish him from my memory forever.

As far as I was concerned, for the first time in history, James and I had a common goal.

xx

"Edward?" Alice tried to touch my shoulder as I stomped past her and Emmett on my way back to the Cullen house.

They'd been waiting patiently while I dealt with James, unaware of the extent of what he had revealed. There had been no reason for me to contact Alice, so she was unaware of the exact proceedings because of her blind spot. Somehow Victoria's gift for evading Alice worked even when James was away from her.

I brushed past her, not wanting her to touch me right now. In that moment, all I wanted was Bella. I wanted her wrapped up in my arms, her hair in my face, her scent all around me.

I was in no mood to make small talk. I had severed my ties to James and that was a weight off my shoulders. In its place, he'd placed another one: the knowledge that I'd been lied to by people I'd trusted.

"What's wrong?" She seemed alarmed, her eyes scanning me for signs of injury. "James didn't hurt you did he? You said you'd tell me if he did!"

"Hey, Al," Emmett wrapped a beefy paw around her tiny shoulders in a gesture of a protective older brother, despite the fact she was decades older than him. "I don't think Edward's in the mood right now. Give him a break. You know how he gets. He'll tell us when he'd ready."

"I don't care if he's not in the mood!" she screeched, glaring at the back of my head. I continued walking, refusing to look back, I could see her angry expression just fine in Emmett's mind as he glanced between the two of us worriedly. "He can't clam up like this. We've been sitting here, worrying our asses off, wondering if he is okay, and he comes back acting like this? What does he expect?"

"James told me some very interesting things," I explained, refusing to turn to look at her. "I can't believe after everything we've been through, that you'd lie to me about something so important. Again!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up there, buddy." Emmett's hand clamped down on the back of my shirt. He held fast, refusing to let me continue forward. "What did James tell you? Don't tell me you believed anything that asshole had to say."

I tore a line down the front of my shirt, ignoring the neat row of buttons and shrugged out of the sleeves, stubbornly refusing to let Emmett use it to keep me in place. Emmett glanced at the shirt he now held in his hand and chuckled. "You're one stubborn motherfucker, you know that, don't you?"

I bit back my anger, knowing Emmett had done nothing to deserve my wrath. He'd been integrated into the Cullen fold even more recently than I had. The chances that he knew Carlisle had been my creator and had a hand in keeping that information from me were slim to none.

Alice, however, had to know. That kind of information wasn't the kind one kept a secret from their family members for more than fifty years. Unless Carlisle was so ashamed of the choice he'd made that he'd kept it from even those closest to him. I wasn't sure which would be worse.

"Seriously, Edward?" she snapped. "Don't tell me that after nine decades of abuse, all it took was ten minutes for James to regain your trust? That is such bullshit. After everything we've been through, you're taking his word over ours…"

I rounded to face her, blazing with the anger I'd tried futilely to repress. "So you're telling me that it's not true that Carlisle is the reason I'm a vampire?" I tilted my head, pointing to the faint, decades-old scar on my neck. "That this is not his mark on me?"

Emmett looked to Alice, raising his hands defensively, looking more like a fish out of water than a vampire. "Beats me. You know anything about this, Al?"

It was immediately clear she did. The wind sunk from her sails, all fire and gasoline disappearing from her countenance. "I'm sorry," was all she said.

"This is why I don't trust people," I explained coldly. "This kind of shit doesn't happen if you don't let yourself care. I shouldn't care. Time and again, the universe proves to me that it is full of selfish liars. I'm an idiot for continuing to fall for it."

"Edward, please. Give Carlisle a chance to explain. He hasn't kept it from you with dishonorable intentions. If you know Carlisle at all, you know how ludicrous the very thought of that is. He's the most honourable man you'll ever meet."

"I don't care what his intentions were… are. 'The road to hell is paved with good intentions,' isn't that how it goes? He lied, you lied by proxy, and that's all there is to it. I'm sick of being lied to. How hard is it to be honest? I don't think that's asking for very much! You ask me to trust you. I ask for honesty, that's all."

Alice started to speak, but Emmett cut her off, shushing her. I was glad I wouldn't have to be the one to do it. As far as I was concerned, we were done talking. I wasn't in the mood for insincere apologies and a slew of defensive arguments slung at me on Carlisle's behalf.

"Dude, I understand you're upset," Emmett stated calmly, balancing precariously between chastising me and sympathizing with me. He would have made an excellent politician. "They lied about something that's important to you and it sucks. Really. But life isn't so black and white, you know? You're telling me you never lied to Bella, not ever? Not even when you thought it might spare her feelings?"

I shrugged, knowing that in and of itself was a lie by omission. In the early stages of my relationship with Bella I'd strung together countless lies, too ashamed and afraid of what she'd think of me if she knew the truth.

I wasn't about to admit that to him, though we both knew he was right. I wasn't innocent of the crime I was condemning Carlisle for. Bella had graciously given me a chance to explain, to redeem myself. She hadn't ever shut me out without giving me a chance to explain. But then, I'd always known Bella was better than I could ever hope to be.

Still, resentment lingered. There was one crucial difference. I'd come clean. There was no indication Carlisle had ever planned to tell me. He'd had weeks, during which he could have pulled me aside, but he never had. He'd chosen to say nothing. It was the idea that he didn't think I deserved to know that bothered me the most.

"What is there to explain? He kept something from me that he knew I had every right to know."

"Yeah he did," Emmett agreed. "Just saying, you might want to wait and talk to Carlisle before you go spitting nails and blowing smoke. Talk like an adult and people will listen. You get all mad and huffy and no one's going to go out of their way to make it better."

"And what do you think you're doing right now?" Alice snipped, resentment still lingering in her tone. Her thoughts were too relieved, thankful for his intervention, for her words to hold any real fire.

That should have made me feel defensive but it didn't. It made me feel childish and petulant. Emmett was right. I wasn't being fair throwing a tantrum and taking out my frustration on Alice and Emmett. Even if they'd been privy to fact Carlisle had changed me, it wasn't their story to share; that was something Carlisle needed to tell me himself.

If I expected to get the answers I desperately wanted, I was going to have to put my frustration aside and deal with Carlisle directly.

If I was completely honest with myself, meeting up with James had wound me up more than usual. During the ordeal, I'd had no choice but to put up a façade of calm, and keep myself and my emotions in check. The moment I'd been freed of that necessity, they had all come rushing back with a vengeance. I hadn't dealt with them very well and I knew it.

"Emmett makes everything better, Allie," Emmett told her with his biggest dimpled grin. "He makes no judgments and has no limits for his joy-spreading."

"Emmett's right, okay?" I conceded, interrupting their banter before Alice could respond. "I was being an asshole. I mean, if it had been any other day… I might have reacted differently. It's just been an interesting day. I've had a lot thrown at me in a short space of time. I just want to go home and curl up with Bella in my bed and watch her sleep for the next century. But after that… I'm going to want some damn answers."

"Hold up," Emmett beamed. "Did I hear the words 'Emmett's right?' By the way, I did not say asshole. I was very careful about that. But if you think the shoe fits… we can use your word."

"You said home," Alice said, speaking over Emmett's self-congratulatory rambling, her previous anger apparently all but forgotten, a huge smile eclipsing her face. "You think your home is with us."

"It would seem that way," I sighed. "Should I be frightened?"

I might have downplayed how happy I was at the realization that I had finally found a place worthy of the term… even if its other occupants were of often questionable sanity. Never had another place held that allure for me. The fact that Bella was there, too, sweetened the pot. Anywhere she was, I was fairly certain, I could live happily for eternity.

"No, but we might be."

"Shut up, Emmett." Alice elbowed him. He grunted, covering his ribs. "What happened to making things better?"

"Things are better. Everyone is happy, courtesy of Emmett McCarty and his PhD in the art of bringing joy."

Alice snickered. "I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. Let's just go home." She said the word with reverence, shooting me a sideways glance and a secret smile. "The others are probably dying of curiosity. I'm dying of curiosity. Carlisle isn't the only one with some 'splainin' to do."

Yeah, there was definitely plenty of explaining to go around.

The moment we were through the door, we were accosted by half a dozen pairs of curious eyes, all but one set bright gold. It was the only one that mattered to me.

My eyes found Bella's chocolate ones easily. The realization that I had returned and I was fine lifted away something dark and desperate that I never wanted to see in them again.

She flung herself into my arms, wiping stray tears onto my chest. "You're okay!"

She squeezed me, holding on tight for several long moments before looking up at me curiously, seeming to notice I was half-naked for the first time.

"What happened to your shirt? Did James…?" She ran a hand up my bare back, her eyes scanning my body for something she wouldn't find. I shivered, unable to help the automatic reaction to the combined forces of her hands and her gaze.

I shook my head. "It's a long story. But no, James didn't do anything to my shirt. We resolved things peacefully enough. Emmett happened to my shirt."

The question was obvious in her eyes. What the hell would Emmett do with your shirt?

A valid question I didn't really have an answer for.

"We sort of had a little incident on the way back here," was the best I had to offer.

"And he stole your shirt?" Bella looked at me like I was insane. I just hugged her to me, too glad that everything was going to work out and that she was happy and by my side. The situation with Carlisle didn't seem nearly so life-altering when Bella was next to me. We would deal with that in stride, just like we had everything else.

"We had a little tiff. No big deal. My shirt was the only casualty, everything's okay now," I explained carefully, not wanting to detail the extent of my irrational outburst.

Bella turned to Emmett angrily, a kitten staring down an elephant. "I can't believe you got into a fight with Edward, right after everything with James! What's wrong with you? Ripping his shirt off of him, really?"

I snickered at his chastened expression. "Uh, yeah, about that. Sorry, Edward. I'll sew it up for you, good as new," he offered, throwing the offending garment, which he still held, at me. He had no intention of doing any such thing.

I could have sold your ass out. I didn't. You're welcome.

Bella rolled her eyes. "I don't think I'll ever understand how this family operates."

I shrugged. "Me neither. But I don't think it matters. We're stuck with them."

She nodded, grinning. "It could be worse. So, are you going to explain to me what happened with James?"

"I will," I agreed. "I'll tell you anything you want to know. But first, there's something I need to do." Still holding her hand, I led her over to Carlisle. She raised an eyebrow at me questioningly, but offered no resistance.

Carlisle smiled at us expectantly. "Is there something I can do for you, Edward?" His tone was full of genuine concern. I reminded myself of what Alice had said. He was an honourable man. I believed that, I truly did. I was going to do the right thing and give him a chance to explain.

I tried to swallow my nervousness. I wanted to know this story. I needed to know the truth.

"I think there's something that you can explain to me."

xx

I'm quite nervous about writing the next chapter. I'm going to be doing something a little different than usual. Hopefully I'll still be able to get it out in a reasonable time frame.

As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter :)