Throughout the remainder of the day, I could feel Bella's questioning eyes upon me. I had been able to avoid the discussion that had begun in the classroom earlier for the better part of the day, due to the close proximity of the others around her.

Never before have I been so grateful for the presence of the likes of Mike Newton, Eric Yorkie, and most especially, Jessica Stanley, as I was today.

However, upon reaching my family's residence that evening for her party, I knew that I could no longer prolong the inevitable. I had been given strict instructions by Alice to keep Bella occupied while she finished the final preparations for the party. So, I took the opportunity to bring Bella into Carlisle's office, to the large portrait he had hanging there.

"The Volturi are a very old, very powerful family. I guess they're the closest thing to royalty my world has," I began as she gazed over the elaborate painting in wonder, until my all too observant love's eyes caught one particular detail that had her almost hesitant to voice it.

"Is that Carlisle?" she asked in obvious disbelief that the Carlisle she had come to admire and adore had actually been associated with the Volturi—even with the vague amount of information I'd given her thus far.

"Yeah. He lived with them for a few decades. Described them as very refined. No respect for human life, of course, but a respect for the arts and the sciences, at least. And the law. Above all, the law," I replied, feeling the tension return to my body as the memory of Carlisle's thoughts and descriptions of the horror and malice inflicted by the Volturi over the years, became fresh in my mind.

"Vampires have laws?" she asked with more than a slight hint of skepticism in her voice. It was understandable, considering that her own experiences with vampires were limited to my family, who attempted to blend into human society, and those who lived completely outside of it, such as Laurent, Victoria, and James. I could see how the idea that there was actually any sort of universal laws in place for creatures so drastically different in their lifestyle, could be seen as laughable.

"Not very many. And only one that's regularly enforced."

"What is it?"

"That we keep the existence of our kind a secret. We don't make spectacles of ourselves, and we don't kill conspicuously," I said, the images continuing to bombard me as I spoke, the event that had led to Carlisle's decision to leave Volterra behind—the carefree nature with which Aro approached the terrified vampire as he awaited his punishment for the non-observance of the law. The exact image I had formed in my own mind as I contemplated my own demise only a few short months before. Although, instead of the brief moment of respite on the creature's face as Aro seemingly caressed his face, perhaps thinking he would show mercy, I would have willingly knelt before him. "Unless, of course, you want to die."

"You gotta stop talking about that," she said emphatically, obviously catching the hint of humor in my voice as I so casually added my final statement. "I can't even think about someone hurting you."

Her defensiveness over my safety was quite comical, and despite my best efforts, I could not mask my amusement. After everything we had been through already, she still did not seem to truly understand. "Bella, the only thing that can hurt me is you. And I don't have anything else to be afraid of."

"That's not true," she retorted sharply, her gaze returning to me, and there was no question in my mind as to what she was referring to.

"Victoria?" I said in a calm voice, trying to ease the worry and tension I could see mounting in her features. "She'll come for me one day. Alice will see when she decides, and we'll be ready."

"I could protect you," she said, the stubbornness returning to her voice. "If you change me."

As I stepped toward her and rested my hands on her waist, I could see in her eyes the distaste for constantly being the damsel in distress. Having needed me to save her from elements of both her world and mine, she hated the feeling of inequality between us. She only saw me as the hero, the Superman with her being the Lois Lane—never once seeing that she was the one who, in fact, saved me.

"Bella, you already do protect me. You're my only reason to stay...alive. If that's what I am. But it's my job to protect you," I stated firmly, before the barely restrained excitement of Alice's thoughts filled my head, and I lifted my gaze to glance at the door. "From everyone, except my sister."

"It's time!" Alice sang as she slid the door open, practically bouncing toward Bella and taking her hand. "It's time, it's time, it's time!"

The tension of the previous moment was effectively broken, as Bella gave me one last glance of discomfort before she was pulled from the room by my sister. How easily the moods of humans can be shifted with the simplest of events.

I followed behind them and watched as Bella paused at the top of the stairs momentarily, taking in the sight of the completely transformed room below. Candles and flowers filled the area with a soft glow and heavy fragrance. Apparently, my thoughts were no mystery to Alice, as her mind clearly stated.

Say nothing, Edward. Don't ruin this for Bella or the family.

My steps quickened slightly as Bella tripped on the last stair, but she quickly righted herself, unharmed. I stopped at the bottom, watching as she interacted with my family. For one fleeting moment, my life actually felt somewhat normal, observing the love and adoration in the eyes of my parents for my girlfriend, as if she had always belonged to the family. The sisterly affection and antics of Alice, sneaking Bella's camera out of her bag and capturing the moment between her and Esme.

And even Emmett.

"Dating an older woman. Hot." I turned my gaze to him in disbelief and shook my head, unable to find the words to reply. I gave a short, breathy laugh in response as his features shifted to that of clueless confusion. "What?"

I looked away from him, rolling my eyes and reminding myself, that's just Emmett. Sometimes, though I'd be damned if I admitted it, I envied his ability to be so carefree and childlike. It was my assumption that it was only that trait of his that made his connection with Rosalie possible. Her vile personality seemed to completely clash with everything that Emmett was, but perhaps, that was why they worked. He could always remain calm with her, particularly at times when she could test even Carlisle's infinite patience.

As Rosalie displayed so glaringly at times such as that—being so put out by the prospect of having to give Bella a present that she couldn't even allow her to open it before blurting out its contents. Nor would she allow herself to be suspected of doing anything nice for Bella, the annoyance on her face evident as she held out the small wrapped package and informing her of Alice's involvement as Bella took it into her hand.

Can't get over yourself for even one evening, can you? I thought to myself bitterly, just as Alice pulled me by the arm to stand beside Bella.

Just remember what's important, Edward, Alice reminded me silently as I stood beside Bella, her presence instantly calming me as my sister took our picture. Once again, I allowed myself to become immersed in the moment; the way she so easily blended in with my family. Maybe Carlisle, Esme, and Alice were right; perhaps it could actually work. I didn't have to be alone, and our family could finally be complete—but only as long as she remained human. That was my only stipulation, about which my family did not agree...well, most of them, anyway.

Bella hissed as she began opening Esme and Carlisle's present, holding her finger up in front of her. "Ow, paper cut."

The single drop of blood on the carpet echoed through the room, but nowhere near as loud as the thoughts of the one who had remained silent the entire time—Jasper.

My usually sedate-minded brother instantly had a million thoughts passing through him. The beast he worked so hard to bury was clawing its way to the surface as the scent of Bella's blood filled his senses, turning his mind into a battlefield.

You want it...you need it, the monster cried out as I witnessed his nostrils flaring.

No, it's Bella,
his quickly waning reason reminded him.

Take her! The inner demon screamed, and all rational thought left him as I watched his eyes blacken and he began moving toward Bella. Everything happened so fast, I had no time to plan or to think, I simply reacted—separating Jasper from Bella the only way I could. My head was filled with the frantic thoughts from the others in the room, but it was Esme's concern for Bella that caught my attention first, as Carlisle and Emmett fought to restrain Jasper. And I felt the burning in my throat that I had learned to ignore, yet that time, I could not. It was too powerful.

"Jas. Jas. It's okay. It's just a little..." Alice attempted to calm Jasper, as only she could, but became frozen by the very same thing as everyone else in the room. "...blood."

We all turned to gaze at Bella, her scent all the more powerful by the fresh gash on her arm, caused by the careless way I had thrown her across the room without even taking heed to my actions. With a force that, in my thoughtlessness, could have shattered every bone in her body and killed her, taking her away from me instantly.

Carlisle rushed to her side, urging Emmett to remove Jasper from the room, while regret and sadness filled Esme and Alice. They all quickly departed, unable to remain in the room with the strong scent of Bella's blood filling the air.

How could I have permitted myself to believe that something like that would not happen, that things could ever be normal with Bella? That vampires and humans could co-exist without consequence? It was a pipedream, a fantasy.

Carlisle spoke softly to Bella before turning his eyes hesitantly to me. "Check on Jasper. I'm sure he's very upset with himself, and I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now." His gaze locked intently on me as mine remained on Bella, feeling my whole world crashing around me. "Edward."

I looked to him when he spoke my name, yet still felt as if I were in a trance as I turned to walk away. What could I possibly say to Jasper? I could already hear him berating himself in the yard while Alice attempted to soothe him, but the moment his eyes met mine when I stepped outside, we only just stared at each other.

In his mind, I could hear him begging for my forgiveness, assuring me that he'd hunted only hours before to prevent such a thing. That he would rather leave than to subject me or Bella to something like that. But it was too late; the damage was done, and I had no one to blame but myself.

~oOo~

I unwillingly listened to every word spoken in the upstairs office between Carlisle and Bella, and eventually, had to move further away from the house to calm myself. I knew what she'd say before she could even speak, and I couldn't listen. Unfortunately, I was forced to, anyway. The freeness with which she spoke of our kind and our existence, the faith and compassion she held for us, never ceased to both fascinate and frustrate me. How could she still trust so absolutely after what she had just witnessed, confirmation of everything I had ever warned her about? Why, for once in her nonsensical mind, could she not see reason and do the rational thing of walking away from me?

The drive back to her house was eerily silent, and I could feel the uneasiness in response to my tense demeanor coming off her in waves.

"Say something," she finally spoke, breaking the silence and warily turning her head toward me.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked, knowing there was nothing I could say that would right the situation between us.

"That I'm a total klutz, but it's okay," she replied, trying to make light of her infamous clumsiness, but I never budged. She seemed to shift, reassuring me instead of requesting the reverse. "Things will go back to normal."

However, nothing could soothe me that time, not even Bella. She didn't seem to comprehend the immensity of what had just transpired back at the house. "Normal people get paper cuts. If you had a normal party, it would have come down to a Band-Aid." I felt my body tense and my hand tighten infinitesimally on the steering wheel, voicing a reality that, hours before, I had allowed myself to be blissfully ignorant of…but not anymore. "If I were a normal boyfriend, I wouldn't have to fight the urge to kill you…"

"Stop," she interrupted me sharply, as usual, shutting out the obvious danger between us. Never wanting to face the fact that nothing about me was good for her. "I don't want normal. I want you."

Her stubbornness would be her downfall, of that I was certain. I pulled her truck to a stop in front of her house, still unsure of what I could say to her. I didn't want to hurt her, but it seemed like an inevitability, no matter what I did. And I knew that no warning I could give her would ever scare her away, if what happened in the matter of seconds that night with Jasper hadn't done so. I knew I had to stop being selfish, but I could not be sure that I had the strength to do so.

"You can't protect me...from everything," her voice interrupted my thoughts after I must have been silent for too long. "At some point, something's gonna separate us. It's gonna be an accident or illness or old age, as long as I'm human. And the only solution is to change me."

I shook my head distractedly. "That's not a solution. That's a tragedy."

"You're not gonna want me when I look like a grandmother."

For the first time in as long as I had known her, I felt a genuine flash of anger at her words, and a flood of thoughts entered my mind at once as I rushed around to her side of the truck. She really believed that my love for her was that superficial? That I would only want her when she was young and beautiful? How typically teenage girl.

I opened her door, composing myself enough in an attempt to speak to her calmly. "Bella, do you not understand my feelings for you at all?"

Bella paused to gaze at me, her hesitance in speaking clearly visible. "Carlisle told me...how you feel about your soul. I don't believe that. So, don't worry about mine."

"You should go inside," I said emotionlessly; she could not understand it, and I would never want her to. She would be far better off with none of it in her life.

Her face became despondent in response to my almost cold tone, quickly replaced by determination as she slid out of the truck. She slammed the door closed behind her and moved closer, as I took a step back for every one that she made toward me, until she stopped. Her eyes ran the length of my body as she took in the space I had put between us, and made a final step forward to close it. She nervously licked her lips and looked up at me briefly before she began to speak.

"It's still my birthday. Can I ask one thing?" Her gaze held mine as she awaited my answer, but I never responded. I could practically see it in her eyes what it was that she would ask, and even though I knew I should not comply, I was also aware that I would never be able to deny her, or myself. "Kiss me?"

This is it, I thought as I slowly moved toward her, lowering my lips to hers in a gentle kiss. The last time I would feel her lips against mine, to lose myself in the softness of them. To hear the way her heart would accelerate, causing her blood to pump faster through her veins, making her scent all the more pungent—as did the covered wound mere inches from my face on her arm. I tried to drown it out, fighting against it with agonizing grunts and wishing for just a few more moments before I had to break away forever.

But it was too much, and I had to push her away with a pained grimace. I couldn't do it anymore; I knew that beyond a shadow of a doubt. I couldn't endanger her that way, risking her life for the simple pleasure of a touch. She deserved something far better.

"I love you." I heard her murmur after I successfully composed myself and was able to take a breath.

"I love you," I replied quietly before turning from her and walking away, knowing exactly what I needed to do, and dreading it more with each passing moment.