Chapter Three

Edward didn't come that night. When I woke up, I felt a freezing touch on my throat and I knew it could only be one thing. I smiled, opening my eyes to see his face. Edward was bending over me, on his hands and knees. I reached my arms up around his neck and he kissed my throat again. I loved the way he did that. It told me how much he loved me, what he was willing to do for me. It was like he was telling me that he didn't mind being in pain as long as he was with me.

Edward ran his fingers along the blue veins in my arm. The sensation, not the cold touch of his skin, gave me goose bumps. I closed my eyes and Edward moved to my lips. I didn't move because I saw Edward's eyes were darker. He hadn't gone hunting that night. Or maybe he had planned to and something else came up. Edward seemed to be in an even better mood than usual, so I guessed nothing bad happened.

Edward's fingers traced the veins in my neck. Then he twisted his body so he was no longer over me, but beside me. I rolled over to look at his gorgeous face. He pushed my hair out of my face. "Good morning, beautiful," he said with a grin.

Beautiful, I doubted it so soon after I woke up. I knew Edward believed it though. He rubbed my arm softly and I rested my head on his shoulder. "I love how warm your skin is," he told me. "And how bright it is. It's not pale or dead cold."

I laughed, looking up at him. I'd always been pale. Not white like the Cullens, but pale. Edward grinned because he could guess what I was thinking. "I like your skin. It's cool, but at the same time, it's arm. I've always been warm, feverish almost. Your touch kind of cancels that out. I don't know if I got too much sun as a kid in LA or if I'm just... weird."

Edward raised an eyebrow. Then he smiled at me. "You have a reply for everything, don't you?"

"Oh, no, not everything. Most things though. If I had enough time, I'm sure I would be able to think of more replies. I wish I had a reply for everything."

"Such as?" Edward inquired. He somehow found an interesting topic in everything I said.

I breathed in the sweet smelling air around him. "Like once, Michael was six. I was seven. He came home from school one day and asked why one of his friend's dads kept hitting his friend. How do you explain that to anyone, but especially a six year old kid? How can you explain it without making it sound like it's the boy's fault?"

"What did you tell him?"

"I said that he was a bad person, but I was only seven myself. I didn't know the answer even. How could anyone give someone else an answer they don't have?"

Edward studied me, studied what he could see of my face with the angle it was at. "What happened to the kid?"

"He shot his father when he was nine. He's in jail."

Edward frowned. His face was as dark as mine. He knew the horrors I felt somehow. "I don't see how a father could do that to their child," he said finally, hugging me closer. "I couldn't imagine how horrible it would be for the child either. What kind of parent would do that to their own child? Give it life, just to abuse the life? And why? It doesn't make sense to me."

"Me neither. Do you like kids?"

Edward nodded. "Some of them."

I smiled at his tone of voice and looked into his eyes. "Do you want a big family then? If the kids are to your liking?"

"Not a big family, but I always saw myself with two or three," he answered. Somehow, that sounded strange to me. Edward with children was like a foreign country to me, space unexplored. It was one thing I couldn't imagine yet. "Do you want kids?"

I nodded into his chest. "No more than three though. I always wanted them close together, like me and Michael. And I wanted a boy first. I always wanted an older brother, but I saw myself with two boys, one girl. Even if I'm a tomboy and dating a vampire, I know I'd want a little girl to dress up eventually."

Edward smiled. Apparently, dating a vampire and him dating a human put us in a whole new category. I had thought so much about kids, but not so much about marriage. It seemed the other way around for my Edward. He was born in 1901 technically--as a human. Marriage had always been in his future, and he knew it for so long. I always planned to have kids, even if I never truly thought about it. I just always knew I would have a few kids.

"Dream family?" I inquired.

"Few kids, happily married, nice house close my family," he listened. Exactly what I thought it would be.

"Can vampires have children?" I asked, sitting up.

"Female vampires, no. But I could get you pregnant," he replied quietly. He sounded so uncomfortable. The conversation all my other boyfriends considered normal, and Edward sounded extremely embarrassed to talk about it. "But I'm not sure what species the child would be or if it would be closer to a human or a vampire."

I nodded in understanding. I allowed myself a smile. Poor Edward! He was so out of place in the year 2009. I was glad about the fact that he was mature, but I wasn't so glad that he was so awkward now and had to listen to people's thoughts. I let out a small breath, making sure it wasn't directed towards Edward. "So would Carlisle have kids of his own if Esme could?"

"Yeah, I think so, but they can't. Won't you miss out on kids if you become a vampire? Won't you be sad to be unable to have a family?"

"I can adopt," I replied. I was set on having a family of my own, but I wasn't about to give up on the idea of becoming a vampire. "Mom was never supposed to be able to have kids. That's why they adopted me, but she still had Michael. Miracles happen sometimes."

Edward frowned. He looked a little angry. Not the fury I'd seen in him before when I was in danger. Just anger that I wouldn't give in and that I kept hoping. "You're too optimistic. You'll realize some day that it's not so easy as wishing," he told me. He rubbed my back. "I've lived this long and I've met a lot of vampires. Carlisle's met even more, and neither of us have ever found a vampire who can have children. If you want kids, have them before you decide to become one of us."

I laughed, even though I knew it would make him even more angry. "I've already made that decision, Edward," I whispered. "What could I do to convince you to change me now?" I asked thoughtfully, more seriously. "I want to be frozen like this forever." I only added the last part because he was squeezing my waist. Softly, but with strength. His strength bottled inside of him.

"Marry me," he answered after a long pause. But with the pace he said it at, I knew he'd been thinking it all along. Ever since I asked.

"What?" I sat up so I could clearly see his face. "How can I marry you? I'm not even seventeen yet, and not even my mom would sign the papers to make that legal."

"I know, but after you're eighteen, if you marry me, I promise you'll be a vampire."

I was silent. I didn't know how to reply. How could I agree to marry him? But how could I not? I snuggled into Edward's side, thinking about what my wedding would be like. I remembered sitting in a coffee shop with my dear friend Phoebe, looking at magazines. While we were there, we looked at Bride's Magazine, and pointed out all the different dresses we liked. I must have made it to forty before the last page of the magazine. I knew that I didn't want to have a traditional, boring white wedding dress. I never wanted a traditional wedding. There had to be something special about it.

Edward kissed the top of my head. "You hungry?" he asked, but the growl of my stomach answered for me. "I'll go make you some pancakes."

"And coffee," I mumbled, rolling out of bed. I grabbed an old pair of baggy jeans from my dresser and a smile gray t-shirt. My showers seemed to grow shorter and shorter everyday when Edward was waiting for me. I couldn't help hurrying. Edward made my whole life tolerable. He was the reason I enjoyed Forks and the rainy days were the best. He was the reason why I never wanted to leave unless Edward was with me. He would have to leave sometime--he never got any older--and they couldn't really cover it up. So when he left, I hoped he would take me with him. A promise had never been made out loud. And that was one fear I had. How could I live without him?

I couldn't.

Edward handed me my plate of apple pancakes--he knew they were my favorite--when I sat down at the kitchen table. A cup of coffee was also waiting. He was thorough! He obviously knew I hadn't slept much that night because the coffee was black. I smiled. In a lot of ways, him being observant was good, but other times, it got a little frustrating. He knew all the signs of hunger, exhaustion, boredom, and so on, and it often interrupted our conversations. He also knew all the signs to announce when I was trying to hide it.

"So what are we doing today?" I asked.

"The new table's getting here today," Edward reminded me. "But once it is, I think we should go for a bike ride, enjoy the fresh air while it's warm."

"Okay, sounds find. You have a bike or do you have to borrow one?"

Edward grinned at my tone. He was fast enough without a bike and he had a car anyway. What use was a lousy bike? "I could buy one..."

"No. You can ride Michael's since Dad wouldn't be happy if you rode his. I can ride Dad's. It's better anyway." I giggled. "Michael's is a little rusted too. But you can handle it better than I could."

Edward nodded with a grin. He knew about my balance problems as well as coordination issues. He constantly caught me when I tripped. He would have insisted I ride the better bike anyway. So I ate and he helped me with the dishes. The table arrived before we made it to the back door to get the bikes out of the shed in the back yard. It took twenty minutes to get rid of the old table and replace it with my new table. Edward volunteered to get the bikes out while I polished it.

I grabbed my favorite pair of Vans and dashed out the front door to join Edward by the road. He'd adjusted Dad's seat to fit me perfectly. Luckily, Michael's bike was too big for him and it fit Edward perfectly. I mounted mine. Edward gave me a head start down the road and then he caught up to me easily. His athleticism was less than fair.

"So you like the outdoors a lot. You like hiking, riding bikes," Edward observed. He turned towards the center of Forks with so much ease I wanted to ram my bike into his just to see if I could make him fall over, but I followed.

"It's great with you! I'm not terrified I'll fall over and break my neck trying to do the simplest thing," I replied, slightly out of breath.

Edward grinned at me and I laughed joyously. We stopped at a small restaurant to get me some water and continued down the road. I sent a glare at Edward for not preparing me--Dad's cruiser was parked just down the street and he already saw us. We couldn't turn and avoid whatever inquiry he would give us.

I stopped, using my left foot and Edward's right hand to keep my balance. "Hey, Dad," I said, smiling. "Slow day? Come to look for speeders and kidnappers?"

Dad rolled his eyes. He hated my sarcasm. "Something like that. What're you two doing?"

"Just enjoying the nice weather. And I want to get into better shape if the rain will ever let up for a few days," I answered, deciding to have Edward be my personal trainer in that minute. "A new hobby other than reading," I explained quickly when Dad gave Edward a suspicious look. "Forks without paparazzi gives me more time to do things other than dodging photographers on a bad hair day."

"You could mow the lawn or get a job," Dad suggested, glaring at Edward. "Or both."

It was hard not to laugh. After all this time, Charlie was still trying to get me away from Edward. He should have seen it was impossible. I needed Edward to be happy. Without him, life didn't matter. I knew that now. But I bit back my laugh. "Anyone hiring?" I asked. Not because I wanted the money. I just wanted something to do. Edward couldn't be with me every second or Dad would go crazy and Edward had to take care of himself and vampire needs too.

"Mike's dad," Charlie answered, sounding pleased. "You should apply, honey. A good opportunity for work experience."

I nodded. Mike Newton was one of my friends from school. His family owned a sporting goods store outside of town. Not my top choice for a job that pays minimum wage--I had to put up with Mike--but it was something. "Sure. I'll stop by and pick up an application on the way home," I told Edward with a smile. Better to face Mike with Edward there. An evil plan, but a good one. "I'll be home... some time, okay? Not sure what we're doing after our bike ride, but I'll let you know." I glanced at Edward and he released his hand from my bike. His hand hadn't made it an inch away before I almost lost my balance and Dad had to catch me. I decided to pretend it didn't happen. "Bye, Dad."

Once we were far enough down the road, Edward smiled at the annoyed look on my face. "I don't mind him," he told me. Out of breath completely, I dismounted Dad's bike and walked beside it instead. Edward followed the move. "I understand how he feels actually. You're like a little kid still and I'm the first boyfriend he's met, so I might as well be your first. He feels like I'm stealing his little girl, and I guess I am in a lot of ways."

"No, I know. I understand that part. I don't trust him not to think certain things. He doesn't know you can hear him, so it's not his fault. I would just feel more comfortable if I knew what he was thinking, what you hear," I explained quietly, watching Edward's face the whole time--I trusted him to catch me if I tripped or if there was a car coming.

Edward smiled. "Don't worry about it, lamb. Most of his thoughts are more like, 'If he'--he being me--'does anything to hear, I swear I'll kill him.' But it's always 'if', so I think we're okay."

I laughed. Edward had this strange power to erase all my fears. I loved that. He was perfect and he knew exactly what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. That was extremely nice. Better than nice. Amazing! I had never met someone like that before. So my lion was my hero.

"Did you hear?" my friend Jessica asked, running over to join us.

I jumped, looking away from Edward's face. He steadied me with a hand on my arm and I wasn't even sure if I'd tripped or not. "No," I answered, but I couldn't be sure because I didn't even know what she was talking about.

"Remember those really weird animal attacks about a month ago? Nobody could find any evidence at all. They stopped, bot now, everyone keeps talking about these huge wolves. Mike heard a few campers talking about them in the store. You think they were the animals?"

"Uh... I dunno," I replied, but I did. I knew the animals before weren't wolves. They were actually vampires, but the thought of campers in Forks got me stuck, enough to make my lie convincing. Why anyone come to Forks for camping or hiking or anything else for that mater made no sense to me. Forks, Washington, was almost completely sunless. Almost five months of living there, and I could count the sunny days on one hand. I didn't mind though. Clouds meant I could see Edward--vampires couldn't come out in the sunlight because their skin sparkled like a thousand diamonds were embedded in their skin. Neither of my parents knew, but if they did, I knew they would see why I was so attached to Forks.

"It's so weird," Jessica continued. "Kind of scary. One guy said it was as big as a bear. Scary, huh?"

Not really. Not for me anyway. I knew Edward would protect me from anything, whether it was a bear or just an abnormally large wolf. But I nodded--my friendship with Jess was shaky because her boyfriend, Mike Newton, once liked me. And I'd been neglecting all my friends for the past month. All my time was spent with Edward. "Yeah, really scary. Hope they figure it out before anyone is hurt," I said, glancing at Edward, who remained silent. "No one's been hurt yet, right?"

"Two people have disappeared," Jessica answered.

I looked over at Edward, frowning. His look told me that he would explain later. I looked back to Jessica. "Scary," I whispered thoughtfully.

"Yeah, well, I'll see you around, Timberlee." Jessica hurried away.

A few minutes passed and we walked our bikes up another small hill. Then I stopped at a busy intersection, waiting for the road to clear of traffic. "Edward, is there another vampire here?" I whispered, breathless with anxiety. My last run in with vampires who drank human blood was still fresh in my mind, still as terrifying as it was then, even with Edward at my side. It wasn't that I didn't trust him. It was that vampires were monsters when they wanted to be, and so many chose to drink human blood.

"No. Don't worry about it, Ma Vie. We'll know if someone comes here." Edward touched my cheek lightly. "I'll protect you, no matter what I have to do. I promise."

I smiled and mounted Dad's bike again. We rode downhill two blocks to the Newton's Sporting Goods store. Edward stayed outside with the bikes. I only meant to take about five minutes to pick up the application, but it was one of the days Mike worked. He told me first hand about the wolves. He took another fifteen minutes to tell me the theories he'd come up with. He thought it was all for publicity from what I'd gathered between pleading glances towards Edward. Mike went as far as to explain why he believed that. Finally, I announced that I had to go and ran for my life.

Application tucked into my pocket, I hurried out to the bikes and Edward. He looked furious. Yet he didn't come in when I'd sent him the hundredth pleading look. "Not sure why Jessica puts up with him or why I do," he said quietly, his jaw clenched. I'd never seen him that angry before, except for when he was fighting James and one other time maybe. "Think you'll get the job?" he asked to change the subject, breaking into my thoughts.

The second incident I'd thought of when he was more angry--when he saved me from seven drunks in Port Angeles. But I smiled because I knew how much Edward wanted to be distracted from whatever he'd heard in Mike's mind. "Uh... I hope so," I replied. "Dad will be pleased if I do. Even if I only work one shift a week. And the money will head towards crossing out all the money I spent on the table. Not to mention all my other shopping habits," I mumbled, mounting Dad's bike again.

Edward smiled. He knew all about how much I loved shopping. He spent a ton of money on me too. I had come close to running out of room in my closet. But he never mentioned it. We started towards home then, back to my house at an easier pace than before.

With all the commotion about disappearances, I knew Charlie would be swamped at work eventually, whenever things got to him. He always worked overtime anyway. His job was his wife and children, even with me in Forks. It was summer, too, which meant the entire Forks High School was free to make trouble for him if they wanted. I could list twenty kids who probably would too! So before we put the bikes back into the shed, I pulled out the old, rusted, and smelly mower.

The backyard was smaller than most in the neighborhood, but the water flow was better, so it wasn't always swamped with mud and water. Edward mowed the backyard because it was bigger than the front. I mowed the front after insisting on it. He moved too fast. It made me dizzy to watch him gracefully mow the lawn without leaving any footprints or evidence that he was walking at all. It looked like he was floating on some invisible spot. Edward went inside while I finished up the last bit. When I walked inside, he had lemonade and watermelon ready for me, as well as chicken strips. I smiled, sitting on the counter. He flipped through the mail as I ate. As usual, there was several letters from colleges who wanted me to attend. Four this time. But my plan had always been to go to Yale.

"You applied for college yet?" Edward asked. "At all?"

"A few. Not Yale though, not yet. Applied for University of Alaska and Dartmouth though," I replied. But they were both colleges Edward said he was thinking about going to. He obviously noticed that. He looked up at me from the table. "I'll apply for Yale on a sunny day or a slow day at work if I get the job," I told him quickly. My voice sounded too defensive... Not good. "I want to make sure I can give it my full concentration."

Edward nodded, but I could see the sarcasm in how he raised his eyebrows. I did plan to aplly to Yale though! I would. There was only a ten percent acceptance rate though. I could easily deal with the thirty-five thousand a year with my trust fund, but there was never a Plan B after Yale. That was the only college I ever wanted to go to. "Oh, and I applied for Coe College in Iowa," I added. Iowa wasn't exactly the sunniest place in the world, but it wasn't in Alaska or a college Edward said he wanted to go to. "One of my friends goes there."

"Good," Edward said, more pleased. "So do you plan to go straight to college the fall after you graduate? Or are you going to wait?"

"Probably go right to college. I'll be eighteen by the time the semester at any college starts," I replied, and took a gulp of lemonade. Perfect! Not too sweet or too bitter. That was amusing to me because Edward didn't eat. He must have known I wasn't finished replying because he didn't say anything. "Mom wants me to apply for Stephen's College in Missouri too. It's an all girls school though. But she wanted me to look into the equestrian study program. Still, I'm out of practice."

"Have you been riding long?"

"Seven years before I came here," I answered. "By now, it'd kill me to sit on a horse for five minutes."

"Did you ride English or western?"

"English. I used to do three day eventing. I leased a horse for a while too, but as much as I enjoyed it, I don't think it would have lasted much longer. My modeling career would have taken all my time. Sort of glad to get rid of parts of the whole deal though," I mumbled.

Edward grinned. "Such as?"

"I hated some of the things paparazzi would yell out when I was with friends. I always knew a few who were extremely rude. Others were better. On top of that, I didn't realize how little privacy I had until I moved here and got some. In LA, if they saw us together, we'd be plastered on every magazine there is. They'd make up stories about me cheating, you cheating, you being abusive, me being the wrong girl for you, and so on. Edward, it's so weird, but I like my life here now. Modeling takes a lot more than I thought," I told him.

Edward made me pause. "You're the only girl for me," he said, then gestured for me to continue.

"With commercial modeling, you could spend all day on a set for one ad and they'll give you a hundred bucks. I got a lot more than most models. I was happy about that, but the more people knew my face, the more crowded I got. With high fashion, there's a lot more money. I got paid more with that too. It still takes a lot of time. The bigger the model, the later you arrive at the set or the show," I explained. "There's too many ways it takes energy out of you. Lots of stuff."

"Ah. I think I get the general idea now. Unless you wish to continue," Edward said.

I shook my head, trying not to grin because my mouth was full of chicken. It would be a horrible sight if I spit it out all over the floor because he was making me laugh. They were delicious! I swallowed without choking. "No, I'm happy out of that life," I replied with another smile. "Maybe when I do go home, now it won't be so crazy. My visits would be more peaceful."

Edward stood suddenly. He was in front of me with one step. I smiled, confused. He put his hands on my hips. "Will you forgive me if I can't keep my hands off you for a few seconds?" he asked with a grin. His lips were at my level for once, so he didn't have to bend down to reach my lips. I didn't reply. I wrapped my legs around him, ankles crossed. My arms around his neck, I could only wait for him. His grin widened, but his kiss was short. I leaned back against the cabinet, not bothering to hide my annoyance. "Sorry," he said, running his hands over my throat. "You're just really... sexy right now. I didn't think I could stop..."

I nodded, smiling proudly. Edward--modernized. That was the first time he'd ever said I was sexy. It sounded out of place and strange coming from him, but I still liked it. It impressed me that he adjusted so quickly, even if he wouldn't make out with me. He stopped long before I wanted him to. All the time.

We went to the living room. I turned on Mash, my favorite tv show. I grabbed a hard cover book from the floor and used it to rest the application on. I saw Edward's amused look and I was close enough to reading his mind. I could tell what he was thinking. "Nothing like having my agent get me a latte and make the phone calls, huh?" I said with a grin as I wrote down my name as neatly as possible.

Edward and I watched three episodes of Mash. When Dad came home, I was on the couch still. I was using Edward's legs as a pillow, my own legs hung over the arm of the couch. We were watching Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron. Dad hung up his gun belt by the door, like he always did. He looked exhausted, but I couldn't tell if it was from a crazy day or a boring day. "Hey, Dad!" I called, playing with the hair on the side of Edward's head while he grinned, trying not to look down at me.

"Hey, honey. Edward." Wow! I thought. He was even too tired to be mean to Edward. Edward's gentle smile told me there was nothing wrong though. He was just tired from work. "What've you been up to?" Dad asked, entering the living room. "Table looks nice."

"Thanks. Yeah, uh... Nothing. We've just been watching movies since we came back from our bike ride. How was work?"

"Fine. Thanks for mowing. Mind if I watch the game?"

I handed Dad the remote with an intentional stiffness. "Sure, whatever you want," I replied, rolling onto my side, then sitting up. "You can watch the game, Edward. I'm gonna make dinner. Anything specific you want, Dad?"

"Anything's fine." His usual reply.

I groaned in annoyance and hurried off to the kitchen. Edward followed minutes later to help me. I was glad. He was much better in the kitchen than I was. Even if I almost burnt the steaks staring at him. Dad heard us laughing and only glanced over his shoulder to see me bent over, clutching my stomach while Edward saved the steaks, also laughing. This was happiness in one small, situation. I wanted it to last forever.