Wow. I never thought I'd get to chapter 31 with this story, and I'm not even finished. Yes, Bella is acting strange…if she didn't then what's going to happen around chapter 32 or 33 wouldn't happen…and things wouldn't be so fangtastic! Haha…fangtastic get it? Oo Sorry, that was a bad pun…just finished watching True Blood. Uh, Eric Northman is a mill times better than Ed..never mind I'm not gonna say it, I don't wanna cause an uproar..lol.

Chapter 31

The next couple of hours flew by pretty quickly. For now we were going to stay with the Denali clan until we found something more permanent. Can't say I was too thrilled with the idea of Tanya being so close to Edward but I knew I could trust Edward to not do anything. We were going to take Carlisle's Mercedes, Emmet's Jeep and Edward's Volvo. Walking over to Edward's car I make it to the passenger side.

"I'm going to ride with Rosalie and Emmett. Go ahead and drive." Edward tossed me the keys. He never let anyone drive his Volvo unless it was absolutely unavoidable. I must have hurt him more than I realized last night.

"Come on Bella, it'll be fun, just us girls. Oh and Jasper!" Alice chuckled.

"Sure, tons of fun Alice, let's go." Opening the driver side, I throw myself in and we all take off.

EPOV

Tossing Bella the keys, I could see the confusion and hurt playing across her face. I know I told her last night that I understood she wasn't ready to be intimate. But that wasn't completely the truth. I mean, she could be close to a stranger, yet she didn't want anything to do with me. I had to have some answers, something to lessen this sense of rejection that was stirring.

Sitting in the backseat of the jeep, I was thinking about how to go about this. If anyone, Rosalie could help me understand the most. Though, it was something I know she rarely talked about, even thought about. Once we had started, I leaned forward to turn the stereo up loud enough to garble our words.

"So, what's the big deal Edward? You and Bella have a fight or something?" Emmett asked.

"Or something. Rosalie, I know it's a sensitive subject, but…Bella's behavior is puzzling me to no end. Do you mind talking with me?" She turned in her seat to look at me.

"Of course, if I can help Bella then I will. She is family after all." Rosalie smiled. Grateful for her willingness, I continue.

"Well last night we were finally going to be intimate but, she had a flashback or something, and pulled back. I understand her still being affected by the attack, but why is it that she can be intimate with a stranger only a few months after the attack and not with her own mate?" I prodded feeling truly downtrodden and unsure.

Rosalie was contemplating what to say, I heard her recalling what her own painful experience held. Wincing at her vivid memory, even after all this time, I wait for her to start.

"Edward, your body is the one thing that you have absolute control over. When that's violated, it shakes up your whole world. You feel extremely vulnerable, helpless and powerless. After, you can't imagine things ever getting better, no matter how much support you have.

Having a mate almost makes it worse. I know it doesn't make sense, but Bella feels like she's damaged goods, less than what you deserve. There's always going to be that fear that you're going to reject her. And with someone she doesn't know it doesn't really matter if he rejected her. But if he doesn't then it makes her feel like there might be a chance. It's much worse to be rejected by a mate almost more than the rape even.

Bella loves you Edward, and I know you're crazy about her. If you really care about her, then you just need to be patient and take small steps." Rosalie finished.

"Thanks Rosalie, I think I can see things more clearly now. At least a little anyway." I smiled before she turned back around. Now all I had to do was show Bella that I would never reject her. We arrive at the airport shortly after and I jump out and walk to Bella. Looking up at me warily, she tests a smile.

"Is everything alright?" she questions worriedly. Wrapping my arms around her securely, I easily reply with what I hope to be the truth.

"I just needed to talk to Rosalie about something. Everything will be just fine love." I assured and leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"So…start of a new beginning." Bella grasped my hand. We were the last of our family to board the plane.

"The start of our eternity."

((AN: I hope Rosalie's explanation helped 'fix' Bella's weirdness of last chapter. Or at least help it be more understandable. Sorry, but I like a broken bella better than a whole one and I'm thinking she's going to need a few more cracks in her shell…MUAHAHAHA!))