A/N: Okay, you guys officially rock. Lots of reviews for the last chapter. I really appreciate that. So, without further ado…

Ten

Too Much Pain

BELLA

"E-eat?" he coughed, shutting his eyes. "I- Bella… I don't think you want to…"

"Do you eat… blood?" I asked stupidly, reaching out to grab his hand. "I just… I'm just curious… You don't have to tell me if you don't want to."

"Maybe we shouldn't do this anymore, Bells," he said quickly, gulping loudly.

I flinched away from him, staring confusedly into his pained, glowing eyes. "Do what, Edward?" I whispered, already knowing the answer.

"We need to… break this off…" he stammered, tears glistening in the corners of his eyelids. He blinked them away.

"I didn't mean to… offend you, Edward," I replied, unable to hold his grief-stricken gaze.

"No, no, no, Bella," he interrupted, framing my face with his cool, hard hands. "You mustn't blame yourself… please… I need you to be happy."

"How can I be happy without you?" I reminded him. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me!"

"I'm a vegetarian," he mumbled sadly, catching the tears that rolled continually down my cheeks with his thumbs.

"I don't care if you're the purple people eater!" I argued, sliding closer to him.

He laughed somberly. "No, Bella, 'vegetarian' means something different to me than it does to you."

"What?"

"Come here," he ordered gently, motioning for me to sit next to him. I dragged the patchwork quilt that covered my bed to my body, snuggling into his chest.

"What does it mean to be vegetarian to you, then?" I asked finally.

"We don't drink… human blood," he explained, inhaling deeply, unevenly. "Only… only animals."

"Well, then, why didn't you want me to know?" I wondered aloud. It seemed weird that he'd be so hesitant to tell me that he didn't eat… humans.

"Because… I haven't tested my self-control lately. I'm not used to being in this close proximity to humans, Bella, especially not ones that smell as good as you do. And there's no way I could live with myself if I ever… hurt you…"

I smiled halfheartedly. "You won't hurt me," I assured him, pressing my face into his shirt. "You couldn't."

"I'm glad you're so sure," he quipped. I glanced up at his face, so full of worry. It pained me to see his torn expression.

"I am," I said. "I'm not afraid of you, Edward."

"You should be." He looked quickly away.

"But I'm not," I repeated, louder this time. "I can't be scared. How could I, after all that I've been through with human guys?"

He recoiled. "What if I'm not better than him, Bella?" he demanded, his eyes hard and cold as his hands.

"You already are, Edward! You've already saved me from him, from so much more than you can possibly imagine! Can't you see that I owe you my life?"

"I would never ask for your life," he answered softly. "All I ask is that you do whatever makes you happiest."

I nodded. "You are what makes me happy, Edward."

"Then I'll be here. As long as you need me."

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EDWARD

I was so incredibly selfish for agreeing to stay with Bella. She knew nothing of the danger I could present. I could have killed her. I would hate myself for giving in. But I did, for her as well as for myself. One thing I would not do, however, is hurt her. She would be safe as long as I had anything to do with it.

"Well, we've spent the better half of today in bed, Miss Swan," I sighed, smiling halfway. "What say we salvage the rest of the only day off we'll probably ever have and get some pizza?"

"Seriously?" she asked, sitting up leaning away from me as she sat up.

"Why not?" I laughed.

"It's just that… after… that conversation… pizza seems so… casual…" she stuttered, shrugging her shoulders.

"Sushi?" I suggested. She giggled, a sound that brought music to my ears. At that point I knew that I was too weak; I could not leave her. I needed her. Without her trilling laughter, selflessness, and genuine beauty, I would not survive day to day. I couldn't even remember how I'd done it before meeting her.

"That's a bit more appropriate," she grinned. "And Edward?"

"Yes, dear?" I replied.

"Thanks for… letting me in on the secret… I really appreciate it."

"You're so very welcome, my Bella." A look- most likely of pain- flashed across her face, and I reached out for her hand. "What's the matter?"

"It's just that… when you say 'my Bella'… it reminds me of…"

"Mike?" I offered, flinching slightly at the name.

She tilted her head to the side, gazing at me. "Yes. Of Mike. How… possessive… but when you say it it sounds so much… sweeter… more careful…"

"Because it is," I said pointedly, kissing her cheek. "I never… please don't compare me to him, though. I don't see how he can treat you that way…" I felt my nostrils flaring as I spoke, my eyes darkening.

"He doesn't think much of it," she said, leaning her head on my shoulder. "It comes as naturally to him as breathing."

"It's pitiful," I answered, stroking her back. "And sadistic. I could never bear the pained look in your eyes whenever…" I let the sentence trail off as she pulled away, looking up at me once again.

"Better not to relive that," she said, and I nodded in agreement.

"There's no reason to… to worry about it now," I muttered, putting my brave façade back on. "Let's get going."

I stood up almost immediately, pulling her downstairs behind me, and, theoretically, the sorrow. For just a night, it could wait.

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BELLA

Eating with a vampire was not awkward, as I'd expected. Edward watched me eat, and, of course, I dreaded the limelight. But other than the extra attention, everything was at ease.

"If I asked you a few questions… would you answer them for me?" I asked him, taking a small bite of my egg roll.

"Possibly," he agreed coyly. "What kind of questions?"

"Like… What's it like, being a… you know… and all?" I stuttered. He looked amused.

"Being a vampire is scarcely different than being human, Bella," he said calmly, glancing at my hands. "The only major difference is the fact that I could pick you up and throw you at the wall and you'd probably go three buildings over."

"Well that's not threatening at all," I mumbled sarcastically, rolling my eyes. He chuckled lightly.

"It shouldn't be. Think of what I could do to Mike."

"Well," I grinned, dropping my fork noisily onto the tabletop. "When you put it that way, it doesn't sound all that bad."

He nodded his agreement. "It doesn't, does it?"

"But Mike's gone," I said, more for my benefit than his. "He's… he's gone."

"Yes, Bella, you saw him leave," Edward soothed, switching to my side of the booth.

"Yeah. I did." Didn't I? He'd stormed out of the shop, but what was it that he'd said? 'I'm nowhere close to finished with you, Bella Swan!' What was that supposed to mean?

"And you saw the way he looked at Emmett," he pointed out. I laughed subconsciously.

"I… yeah… I saw that, too," I concurred. "But he also said that he wasn't 'done with me'. What could he possibly have meant by that?"

"It doesn't matter," Edward replied bleakly, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. I leaned closer to him. "Whatever he meant by that means nothing now. Because I'll never let him near you, Bella Swan," he said, with a kind of determination in his blackened eyes that made me shiver.

He pulled away, mistaking it for my being too cold. I caught his hand in midair. "Don't."

He almost smiled as his arm found its way around me again. I inhaled deeply, tightening my scarf around my neck. "I hope you're right about Mike, Edward," I said.

He looked distant, his eyes wrenching in pain as he positioned himself in front of me protectively.

"What is it?" I asked him frantically. "What are you doing, Edward?"

"It's him."

I gulped. How ironic.

A/N: Better? Worse? Good? Terrible? I want to know, people! So review, review, review, review, and then after you've done that, REVIEW. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you wonderful readers. Sugar cookies for all reviewers of this chapter. Much love,

C.J.