Authors' notes: With the exception of Esme's dialogue, this chapter was authored by Jenna, penname DragonGirl323.

I opened my eyes, the echo of Esme's breathless sighs and her soft voice crying my name in the throes of passion replaying through my mind with crystal perfection, and smiled. I curled my body tighter around hers reflexively when I heard her thinking mirror my own – her name escaping my lips in short, lust filled gasps and my deep groans as I moved within her. My eyes slid shut again, which only intensified the images, and I fought off the tremors that were begging to shoot through me.

She cuddled up to me, burying her face into my shoulder, and exhaled slowly. "I'm very rarely grateful that this house is deserted," she said, laughing slightly. "Sometimes when I'm alone, it's so quiet; I just listen to the faint hum of the electricity or the pops and groans as the temperature changes. It begins to feel like the house has its own personality even though it's lifeless, like us."

I chuckle along with her and bury my nose in her hair, breathing in the scent of it deeply. "I'll have to agree with you there." My next comment flew out of my mouth before I had the chance to think about it properly, and I knew my incomparably giddy attitude was to blame for that. I was never known to be loose lipped, so the statement that fell out of my mouth was shocking and appalling all at the same time. "And we're certainly not lifeless, if what we just did is any testament to that." I couldn't stop the snicker that forced its way up my throat.

The change in her demeanor was instantaneous and the sharp stab of sadness that flashed through her eyes before she turned away left me feeling absolutely wretched. "I don't know. That's not very funny, Edward."

I pressed my lips together, immediately recognizing my mistake, and tentatively curled my hand over her shoulder. She had been trying to be open, even vulnerable, with me and I had unceremoniously shot her attempt out of the sky. "I'm sorry," I muttered, my voice apologetic. "I didn't mean to upset you."

"It's not your fault," she replied, covering her face with her hands and going silent for a short stretch of time. My eyebrows twitched as I stared at the back of her head, sorting through the furious tumult of thoughts and emotions swirling through her mind, and pressed my lips together, the reasoning behind her fragile state of mind obvious. "I just wish I could cry. It doesn't make any sense, why some things still…work and others don't. I need to cry."

I nodded and leaned my head down to kiss her shoulder tenderly. I could certainly understand why she felt that way. As a woman capable of so much compassion, who thrived on emotion, being incapable of the simple human release of crying was frustrating. "I've wondered the same thing a few times."

She brushed her hair away from her face and breathed in deeply before turning back over, her eyes immediately finding mine. "I'm sorry. I'm very emotional. Well, you know that already," she said, wrapping her arm around me loosely.

"I don't mind," I responded, smiling at her and shaking my head. "I don't exactly have it all together myself right now."

She went completely still for a moment, just looking into my eyes, before reaching up and running the pads of her fingers down my cheek. "Are you okay?" she asked, her worry for me increasing.

I blinked slowly as I returned her gaze, nodding. The euphoric high I had experienced during our love making was steadily draining out of me like water through a sieve. Now I just felt strangely conflicted, my commitment Bella and my newfound attraction to Esme at war in my mind. "I will be eventually, I suppose."

Her lips parted as she stared at me, her thoughts a confusing mixture of her own conflicting emotions. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you," she said, sadness laced through her tone. "I thought that…we…well… No, this is all my fault! I'm so sorry, Edward!" She paused and I saw her bottom lip quiver before her hand flew up to cover her mouth. "I don't know what to say."

My eyebrows pinched together, taken aback by this sudden shift in her demeanor, and shook my head while I drew her closer to me. "Esme, no… None of this is your fault. Please don't apologize."

She shook her head, her hand still covering her mouth. "We can't do this. We'll make ourselves insane," she said, sounding as though she was speaking to herself. "It's already done now, so…it doesn't really matter, I suppose."

I fell silent then, the clock hanging on the wall counting down the seconds in a droll, steady rhythm. The muscles in my jaw clenched as I realized something, something that could potentially become a problem. "Well, I guess there's only question left."

She lowered her head onto my chest, thinking frantically about the potential consequences of what we did and feeling a staggering amount of guilt, but not wanting to let me go. My hands unconsciously tightened around her as I worked my jaw back and forth, hearing her question before she made the conscious decision to speak it out loud. A strong mixture of hesitation and concern over what I had to say engulfed her thoughts, but her need to hear what I had to say took precedence.

"What is that?" she asked, her shoulders stiffening as she braced herself for what I was about to say.

"What now?" I asked softly, my own mind already running through the plethora of possible outcomes and not liking the outcome of any of them.