Don't own Twilight or any of the characters.

Chapter Nine

EPOV

No… please no. There has to be some way... If she died, I wouldn't be far behind her. I hate to say this, but I'd kill thousands of humans if it would put me in hell with her. I still think that I'll end up there, but just to be extra sure.

"But Bella, why wouldn't you want to go home? I mean you've been away for quite some time now haven't you? Don't you miss your parents and your old life at all?" Bella turned her gaze away from Esme towards the window, trying to hide her anger.

Was her life really that bad before coming here?

"I'm not going to lie to you Esme. Do I miss my parents? I miss my father and I miss the arguments we had. He and I were known for our tempers, even though we were both quiet at home. I miss my mother's excitement at the smallest things and her joy at simply existing. But, I can't go back. There was just too much pressure on me and I wasn't, heck I'm still not, ready to handle it. I'm still just a teenager in the demon world, and a teenager can't be expected to do everything that was expected of me."

I took one of her small, warm hands and covered it with my own. She smiled at the gesture, her silver eyes sparkling. As I stared into her eyes, I lost all sense of time. No one else mattered; she was the one I wanted, no matter what the cost was. If there were chances of her killing me, fine I'd take them. I loved her, and I had been waiting for her.

Carlisle cleared his throat, attempting to remind me that Bella and I were not alone. "Bella, would you mind if I took a look at your arm?" Bella laughed, "I should have expected you to ask. Since you are a doctor, you may. But be careful. I have only seen this mark once. I do not know everything about it myself."

She held out her arm to him while he unwrapped it; I still held the other. The mark had grown larger. The star burned into the back of her hand consisted of two triangles, one placed on top of the other and inverted. I tried to hold back a chuckle.

"You can laugh. It is rather ironic," Bella giggled. Carlisle lightly touched the center with a probe, and the area grew red. Bella's muscles tightened and she held her breath as Alice slowly poured water over it. The mark hissed once more as the ice cold water flowed over it. Bella still hadn't taken a breath. I leaned over to her ear, taking in her hypnotizing scent, and whispered, "Breathe Bella." She drew in a ragged breath and relaxed.

After that, Carlisle re-wrapped her arm, covering it better than I had. She and I were the only ones that remained on the couch after Alice and Jasper left. They had all turned in for the night. Bella had pulled her legs underneath her and rested her head on my shoulder. My arm found its ways around her shoulders and pulled her closer to me. I sat there, really just watching her. She closed her eyes and placed her face up against my chest. I chuckled as I heard her breathe in my scent, as if memorizing it. She reopened her eyes and smiled at me.

"You just smell so good. I apologize if I disturbed you." I smiled widely at her speech pattern. I couldn't really speak with anyone naturally. But now that I knew Bella could, I let the words flow out of my mouth.

"No apology is needed, but I accept. Your smell is just as, if not more, divine." She rolled her eyes and smiled. We returned to our peaceful silence again, just enjoying the night (well, she may have been. I enjoyed the opportunity to hold her in my arms). I closed my eyes and rested my head against hers, which had returned to my shoulder.

"Edward?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to play a game?" I opened my eyes and looked at her incredulously. She never stopped surprising me. It was a nice change from knowing what others were thinking.

"That would depend on the game." She smiled and leaned up so her mouth was near my ear. She quietly whispered, "The game that never happened." I rose my eyebrow.

"I'm afraid I do not know that game. How do you play?" She pulled away from me and sat up straight. She laughed at my (seriously) curious face. I really did not know this game. Alice had made us play all kinds of ridiculous and stupid games whenever she was bored.

Bella leaned closer to me. "Edward…" She took my face in her hands. She waited for my reaction. I gave her my lopsided smile to ensure her that I was really curious as to what this game was. Her face came closer to mine, and she rested her forehead against mine, "This never happened," she whispered.

What happened next…. well never happened. Her lips gently touched mine, as if waiting for me to reject them. I wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to me, eagerly kissing her back. She smiled as she moved her hands from my face to my neck, slowly moving up into my hair. The warmth from her lips made my whole body shake. I had not felt this alive in over 100 years. I could have sworn that my heart started beating again.

A sudden knock on the door caused her to pull away from me and return to our previous position, which saddened me. Alice and Jasper came down, followed by Carlisle and Esme. Alice looked at us and smiled. Oh no… please don't tell me she'd seen….

Aww don't you two look cute! When are you going to kiss her?

I stared at her. I searched through her mind, trying to find the vision of Bella and me kissing. I nearly shouted in glee when I realized that she hadn't seen it. I looked towards Bella, who had closed her eyes and pretended to be sleeping…. though it wasn't very convincing with the smile she had on her face.

"Hello, is this the Cullen residence?" I listened as a police officer greeted Carlisle. "I'm Officer Daniel. I have been sent here by the Forks Police Department to collect a Ms. Bella Swan. I was told this is where I could find her." Carlisle was a bit reluctant to let him in, especially because Mrs. Newton came storming in after him.

"Where is that stupid little girl? She'll pay for murdering my son, I swear. I won't rest until she's either behind bars for life or dead…"

I quickly shifted Bella's and my position so we were laying on the couch, my arms wrapped tightly around her, silently promising to never let her go. I felt something wet beginning to gather on my chest and when I looked down, my heart nearly tore at the sight.

My poor, beautiful Bella was crying. Tears glistened in her eyes as she frantically tried to escape. She was still in her natural form. I began humming a tune for her and reached into my pocket, pulling out her necklace. As I continued the lullaby-like melody, she calmed down enough for me to slip her necklace over her head. Almost immediately after it touched her neck, her ears disappeared as did her tail. Her nails shrunk back down and her teeth softened. And, to my despair, her gorgeous silver eyes returned to their deep, never-ending brown. If I had to choose a color, I don't think I could. Both just screamed Bella.

I heard them coming into the living room and faked sleep; Bella did too. Esme gently shook us 'awake'. "Bella, sweetie, there's someone here to see you." Bella turned her gaze towards Esme, her eyes still wet from crying. "Bella?" She shook her head and pulled herself out of my grasp. My heart cried out as it realized that I had already broken my promise.

"Ms. Swan, I am sorry, but I'm placing you under arrest for the murders of both Hector Raven and Michael Newton. Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law…"

Arrested?! Is this man mad? "You can't arrest her? Do you honestly think that she could have killed anyone? Do you not know her?" Mrs. Newton glared at me. "You know, I always wondered why this child was so insistent on working with both my son's and Mrs. Raven's son's case. Then, I figured it out. It was so no one else would be able to find out that she did it! She killed both of those handsome young men." (Mike was anything but handsome…)

Even as the handcuffs were placed around Bella's delicate wrists, her composure never faltered. "Mrs. Newton, I took those cases because Mike was my friend and Hector was my classmate. I did not know Hector as well as I knew Mike, but that gives me no reason to kill him. I want to know as badly as you do what happened that weekend. I have been unable to examine your son's remains and run the normal tests to uncover what happened. If you will allow it I will...." Mrs. Newton shook her head.

"No! You've done enough to this town. You've ruined everything that was once peaceful. We all wish you had stayed in Arizona with your flighty, cheating mother!" Bella gave her the coldest glare I've ever seen.... and Rosalie can give some pretty nasty glares. "Never speak about my mother in that tone ever again. Understood?" Her voice was filled with venom. Mrs. Newton gasped at her voice and shakily nodded.

"Dan! What are you doing? Release my daughter at once!" Charlie pulled into the driveway just in time to see this exchange. Daniel sighed as he removed the handcuffs from Bella's wrists. "Now, Mrs. Newton. I understand that you're upset. I would be too if I were in your position. But taking your anger and grief out on Bella isn't going to help anyone. You and I both know that she is probably the only one who can really find out what happened to Mike. Arresting her will not do anyone any good." Mrs. Newton nodded, tears filling her eyes again. "Come on, let's get you home. Carlisle, is it alright if Bella stays with you all tonight? I have to work at the station for a while and I don't want her at home alone."

Alice smiled at Charlie, "Of course she can! You know we always love it when Bella's over!" She bounded up to Charlie and hugged him around his waist. He blushed a little and waved goodbye. Bella and I returned to our position on the couch as all the excitement died down. She sighed into my chest, "I really should be working right now... but this is too comfortable." I smiled. I couldn't wait for the day when I would tell her that I loved her, and hopefully she felt the same towards me. She leaned up and kissed me once more...

But then again.... That never happened now did it?

Can anyone tell me what the mark on Bella's arm is??? If you can... maybe I'll update faster!! :)