CHAPTER 16

Angel's words came flooding back to me. I backed up a step.

"Better question. What are you?" Edward looked surprised by my question.

"Where did you hear, what you heard?" He took a step towards me. Uh, Oh. I hoped that he wasn't going to get defensive on me.

"Ang- uh. Someone told me something about you. I didn't believe him.' He relaxed. "But I've been wrong before." He raised his eyes to mine.

"What did they tell you?" He asked, moving closer still.

I stood my ground. "That you're a Vampire." Edward didn't even flinch, only nodded.

"You mean their right?" I stumbled back into the wall. "You're kidding!"

"No."

Ok, It wasn't like I hadn't heard of Vampires before. Hell, I'd seen worse. But why did all the guys I liked have to be undead? What did I do wrong?

"To save some time and your questions, I'll just tell you everything."

"Good, because if you didn't I'd have to beat it out of you." He raised his eyebrows. I didn't move, just crossed my arms.

"In reality I'm about ninety two years old. Or at least I've been seventeen for these past ninety-two years." He waited for my shock, and didn't get any. Only ninety-two? Man he was young for a vampire. Heck, Angel was almost over four hundred. "I have a gift of mind reading. Don't know how I have it, but I do. Alice can see things in the future, and Jasper can make an entire room of angry people calm from his presence. With me so far?"

"Yeah. Keep going, Edward, I haven't got all day you know."

"When I said that you torture me, I wasn't kidding. You have a very strange affect on me. No one has ever made me feel this way." He started to pace. "The first day, your scent was so irresistible. It took every molecule in me to stop myself from revealing what we really are. I had to stay away from you."

My memory went back to the first week of school, when I thought Edward was a big jackass. Now I knew why.

"That why you wanted to switch classes?" He nodded

"I thought I'd die if I saw you crushed by that van. I told you. You affect me in a way no one else has ever had. Then two days ago, you were tackled by some guy." I straightened up.

"You saw that?" He nodded. "Damn." Smiling, he continued.

"My first instinct was to help you, but you fought back." He took a deep breath, and placed a hand on the side of my face to stroke my cheekbone. His scent filled my nostrils. Wow. I had a hard time breathing. " You amaze me Isabella." I lowered my eyes. Angel had once said that to me. "Who is he?" He whispered. There was not way I could answer that. Not now anyway.

"He's just…no one." Edward didn't look convince, but let the matter drop, and continued

"When you didn't come to school the other day. Immediately I knew something was wrong. Scanning the entire Mind's in the school, I found Mike's. He showed me the Warehouse in his mind, and I came and got you. Your father has been worried sick."

"Oh, my god. Charlie! Is he Ok? Does he know where I am?" He put a hand on my shoulder.

"He's fine. I told him I found you and that you were unconscious at my house, and I insisted that you not be mover. He told me that the moment you woke up, that you were to go straight home."

Finished, he looked at his feet, then at me. Waiting for an answer. Yeah, like I knew what to say to that. For some reason I started to tremble at his kindness. So he had a heart after all, even if it was dead. Not only that his heart was for me. I reached up, and pulled his face to mine and kissed him. His arms came around me in an tight embrace.

We broke apart for air, but he didn't let me go.

"Now." He whispered against my hair. "I've told you about me. Tell me who hides behind the mask of Isabella Swan."

Cold dread swept over me. I couldn't tell him. I was just not ready. Reality came back, like the clearing of a thick fog. Angel. Mike. Edward…Jess. I would have loved to stay like this forever, but some dreams don't come true. First I needed to take care of Newton. I stole a quick kiss then scooted around him, he turned to face me.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go. I can't tell you now. Please don't ask me, and please don't follow me. I'll see you at school"