4.

The sound of car doors slamming shut reached my ears when we were still miles from the house. We had gone to a place about two hours away by car, spending a few hours until everyone was full.

Alice glanced at me with a knowing look in her eyes. I ran to catch up to her and tried to grab at her hand to see what she'd seen. She pulled it away from me, laughing.

"No way, Lisa. That wouldn't be fair."

I groaned. Maybe I could –

"And don't try getting to Edward so you can read my thoughts either. I'll just think about everything else."

Again, she had read my mind. Sometimes I wondered if she wasn't only psychic but also a mind reader like Edward. I sped up slightly, falling in just behind Edward and Bella, the power-runners.

Finally we reached the woods around the house.

Where is he, Edward?

He glanced back at me, grinning from ear to ear.

Don't play games with me!

He laughed out loud.

Edward!

His head moved less than a fraction of an inch to the left, and I split off from the group, flying to our cabin. Before I reached the door, I slid to a stop and fixed my hair, trying to look like nothing was bothering me. I pulled open the door to the cabin. With one look around the empty room, I decided John was probably in the bedroom. I tapped lightly on the half-closed door, which swung open when I touched it.

John looked up, surprise on his face. Quickly, he pulled his hands behind his back. "Hey, I didn't hear you come in."

Pretending I hadn't seen him hiding the small box in his hands, I smiled at him. "Sorry, I'm used to being heard before I even make a sound." An awkward pause made me want to slap myself. That probably wasn't the smartest thing that had ever left my mouth. Quickly I moved on. "How was your day with Jacob and Nessie?"

He smiled, glad the pause was over. "Great. Jacob's a cool guy."

I could tell he was stalling. "Yeah, he is, once you get past the cockiness and constant joking."

John laughed softly. "Yeah."

I crossed my arms slowly. "What did you do?"

He shrugged and didn't respond for what seemed like an eternity to me. Finally, he gave in. Standing up, he walked over to me, pushing the little box he had been holding behind his back into one of my hands. Uncrossing my arms, I closed both my hands around the blue velvet square.

"Jacob and Nessie took me to Port Angeles." He paused for a second before continuing, looking into my eyes. "I thought I should get you something, kind of like a thank you gift."

I sat down on the bed, looking down at the box in my hands. The dark blue made my pale skin look almost white. "Thank you for what?"

Another pause, then a sigh. John sat next to me on the bed, clasping his hands together. He seemed slightly uncomfortable. "Lisa, I've been rotten to you ever since you came and got me out of that bar."

I began to object, but he grabbed my hand in both of his, silencing me. "No, don't say it's not true, because I know it is. There has been no excuse for me to act this way towards you."

"Well," I said quietly, "it's not everyday you find out your wife has been transformed into a mythical creature."

He shook his head. "No-"

But I interrupted him again. "John, there's no need to apologize. I really truly understand, and so does everyone else."

"Lisa, please. I don't care if you think I had a good excuse or not. You're my wife, and when I married you I promised to love you no matter what." His eyes landed on the two silver rings on my left hand. I saw a tear leave his eyes and watched as it traveled down, finally finding a landing place on my palm. We didn't move, and the silence stretched on for a long time.

"Lisa, you've been wonderful to me. I don't deserve it all."

I nearly opened my mouth to object before thinking better of it. John's eyes moved up to my face again, and the sadness in his eyes nearly blew me away. "I love you, Allisa. Thank you for saving me, for being strong for both of us." Then in a whisper, "I promise to be a better husband."

I didn't what to make of what was happening. The sudden display of affection, ever since last night, was almost overwhelming. I had grown to accept that John was comfortable with where we were. I knew he had formed a sort of block in his mind so he wouldn't have to think about what I and the Cullens actually were, and thought he would never want to step out of his comfort zone and embrace who I was now. I glanced down slowly at the jewelry box. My hands were shaking now, which I thought was impossible. I was afraid to move for fear that I would wake up and find everything was just a dream.

Carefully, I opened the box. With a soft pop, the lid was up, displaying the satin lining and the glint of a silver chain. A gasp escaped my lips.

"Renesme picked it out and paid for it." But I barely heard him. With a shaking finger, I fingered the design made off silver and sparkling diamonds. A large heart circled around a smaller heart hung from a small chain. John moved to take the necklace out of the box and put it around my neck. Pulling up my thick curly hair, he clasped the chain around my neck. My marble fingers caressed the cold metal and stones. "It's gorgeous, John." I turned to him and he pulled me into an embrace. I closed my eyes and let his skin warm mine. I prayed that this wasn't a dream.

When I opened my eyes, relief flooded over me. The necklace was really around my neck and John was really holding me.

"John," I whispered. But I couldn't find any words.

"I know," is all he said, and it was like we understood each other better in that moment than we had in our entire relationship.