So I'm sure you guys have been waiting for this chapter. I know I have. R&R! Thank you so much for the reviews. They mean a lot to me.

Diclaimer: I DO NOT OWN TWILIGHT. Thanks!

7. VOTE

EPOV:

I ran out of the school building and out to my Volvo, where Rosalie and Emmett were waiting by the doors. Where were Jasper and Alice?

"You're late,"' Rosalie noted, her arms folded as she stood close to Emmett.

I rolled my eyes and unlocked the doors. "Get in."

Emmett opened the passenger side door but Rosalie stopped him with one hand, scowling a bit. Emmett sighed and offered the seat to her as she accepted it with a nod.

Gotta love her, he thought sarcastically to me. I grinned slightly as Rosalie climbed in beside me, Emmett in the back.

"Where's Alice and Jasper?" I questioned as I put the key in the ignition and quickly sped out of the parking lot. I was going seventy miles an hour just as I was out of the parking lot.

"They left early," Emmett said.

"Jasper again?"

"Yeah. Man, it was bad today. I'm surprised he made it out of the school building. He feels horrible for being so weak. Alice is with him trying to calm him down. They're already home."

Rosalie sat scowling out the window, her arms still folded against her ice hard chest.

I smiled and looked towards her, amused. "Something wrong, Rosalie?"

You're so stupid to think being interested in a human is good for you.

My eyes squinted slightly as Bella's face came into my mind—her wide, chocolate mousse eyes watching me with curiosity, her mind unheard, inaudible to my hearing…the undeniable thirst I felt when near her…

I shook my head in a quick motion, much too fast for human eyes to see. "Maybe I am," I muttered to her. The whispering wouldn't matter; Emmett could still hear what I was saying.

Oh, I know you are. What makes her so interesting to you anyway?

I growled, the sound much too loud for this tiny space. Rosalie didn't jump at my rage nor did Emmett. They just sat there, Rosalie waiting for my answer, Emmett listening curiously, trying to spot our subject topic that was still unknown to him.

"We are not having this discussion," I growled.

Rosalie rolled her eyes. Alice already saw a vision of you guys.

I sighed. "I know."

…She also saw you talking to us for some reason. Any way you can explain that?

I thought for a moment, my eyebrows creasing. "No," I admitted. "I can't. What are you talking about?"

I can't explain it, I didn't have the vision, she thought, slightly annoyed. Why don't you ask Alice? She's the one who sees the future.

I chuckled. "Jealous, Rosalie?"

You wish.

I was already heading up to the door of my home, the trees enveloping around the sides, making the house hidden in certain points of the house. Light cascaded through the windows, making the figures that moved swiftly back and forth inside, visible.

"Edward," Alice greeted me as I opened the door, perfectly comfortable seated by Jasper. They sat hand-in-hand on the couch straight ahead from where I stood—Carlisle and Esme by the windows. This was the only place we didn't have to hide. Where we could be our true selves, our true being.

Rosalie was gone from the room as soon as she entered it, shoving past me in an angry motion.

Alice looked at me, frowning, clearly showing me the images of her last vision from this afternoon in her head. She was just as confused as I was—but one specific image caught my eye as it passed. I could tell Alice sensed my curiosity, and she returned to that fatal picture.

The family was seated in this very room—Emmett, Alice, Jasper, Carlisle, Esme…everyone except Rose.

Everyone was seated—Jasper and Alice on the couch, Alice's head on Jasper's lap, Carlisle in the old brown chair next to the couch, and Esme on the arm of that chair. I stood in the middle of the circle, speaking with persuasion and reason.

All eyes were wary, but had sudden glints of agreement in each pair of golden eyes. I was on a roll.

I blinked my eyes unnecessarily as I came back to reality. I knew what the subject of conversation was, and now was the time for it to be approached, spoken of.

Bella Swan. I had to explain my unruly, off behavior to her sometime, right? There was only one explanation. It made perfect sense…in the strangest way. But the question was, could I trust her? I mean, I hard knew this girl! Could I trust her with this secret—the secret that will forever be a curse upon my long, sleepless life?

Yes. I knew that for a face. Of course I did.

I looked at Carlisle and I could tell he sensed a look in my eyes that meant I had something important to say. He nodded once and held out one hand, signaling for me to proceed. Alice already knew what was going to be spoken of—and for some odd reason I felt at peace. I looked towards Jasper with a sign and a halfhearted smile.

"I have something to say," I volunteered in a quiet manner. All eyes turned curiously to me. I could tell they had all seen my little exchange with Carlisle.

"Go on," Carlisle encouraged me.

I nodded and then took a deep, unnecessary breath. "You all know about the new girl…Bella Swan." This was more painful then I had imagined.

All heads nodded in agreement.

"It kills me to say this…but I think it would be best if this happened."

"I agree," Alice said before I had explained anything. "Sorry, you haven't said it yet, but let me speak, please." She stood up, separating her small head from Jasper's lap, and then looked at me directly. "I understand how you feel about her."

Before I could protest she held up one hand. "I understand how she…appeals to you."

Emmett snorted and rolled his eyes. Jasper whacked the back of his head as I heard a low crack.

"And I think it's smart that we…" She turned to everyone listening intently in the room. "…let her know about our life—about us, in particular. She will know about us. I've seen it." Alice turned back towards me and let out a heady sigh. "I know how this must be difficult for you. Let me tell you though that this isn't going to be easy. But you will tell her, right?"

I looked towards Carlisle and Esme. Carlisle was already running his fingers through his blonde hair as Esme watched him. It was all up to him.

"I don't know, son. That's asking a lot. If it weren't Chief Swan's kid, I probably wouldn't agree to this. But I've met her in the hospital"—he chuckled—"and I know just what kind of girl she is. A lovely woman."

I nodded uneasily as the image of her face returned to my eyes. I blinked it away and then looked around the room.

Emmett slowly raised his hand, as did Jasper. Alice had already been raising her hand and Esme was slowly beginning to do so also.

"So it's decided?" I questioned.

"NO!" Rosalie roared coming into the room. Emmett jumped as she let out a loud screech. I hadn't seen him jump like that before. It was unordinary for a vampire.

"HOW CAN YOU JUST DECIDE TO TELL THAT HUMAN ABOUT US? WE DON'T EVEN KNOW HER! SHE CAN BE NOTHING LIKE SHE SEEMS. HOW CAN YOU TRUST HER WITH A SECRET AS BIG AS THIS? IT'S A CURSE! A CURSE THAT SHE'LL BE WILLING TO TELL EVERY ONE OF HER FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS!" Rosalie turned towards Carlisle, calmer now. "Carlisle, I don't think this is the best choice. You've only met the Swan girl once. How can you be so sure that she is what meets the eye?"

"Cool it, Rose," Emmett said, perfectly at ease and joking as always. "No need to have a hissy-fit. We've got this all sorted out. We'll see the girl at school. This is all up to Edward. And if she doesn't live up to our expectations, then we can just do away with her…"

"You'll never do such a thing!" I roared, Rosalie and I equally fuming. It was odd that I felt such sympathy for the girl…that it bothered me that Emmett would consider death an option.

Well the decision was made now. I was going to tell her one way or another.

Bella would know about vampires. The secret world that no one knew of...

My life.

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