Safe

He led me back to the house after I had calmed down, putting the blindfold back on.

My room now seemed like a safe-haven, and it made me feel better when I crawled back into the sheets and put my face in the pillow that smelled like me.

More tears came, and I could feel his presence, but it didn't deter me. I just kept crying. Crying for Charlie, for Renee, for Jake and his pack of brothers…

And sleep finally came.

"Jeeze, Jake. What's the matter?" I asked, putting my hand on his arm. I could feel him shaking.

"Vampire." He spat out, sitting down on the log beside me. Our log.

"Where?" I asked as he put his large arm around me. It was so warm. It felt so nice.

"It's in the woods. It's male. It keeps trying to get past us for some reason." He shook his head in frustration. "Just…stay out of the woods, please, Bella. Promise me you won't go in the woods." His eyes bore into mine.

"I promise Jake." I answered, taking his hand. So much for best friend. "I'll go spend the day with Emily or something."

"Thanks Bells." He said, getting up.

"Where are you going?" I asked, miffed. He'd just gotten here.

"I've gotta go." He grinned.

"You….have to go?"

He smiled. "Yeah. I've got a vampire to kill." He smirked at me, leaning down to give me a quick kiss on the cheek. Then he ran down the beach until he disappeared in the line of woods.

I put my hand on the spot where he'd kissed me. It felt warm. It felt like Jacob.

"Bella, wake up."

I squeezed my eyes more tightly shut. This was not the voice I wanted to hear.

"Bella." He said firmly, shaking my shoulder. These fingers were not warm. They were ice cold, freezing.

I didn't respond.

"Bella!" He said loudly, and I pushed back my eyelids.

I was no longer in my dream. No. I was back in the prison with the devil. I felt like I'd start crying again.

He was looking at me wearily, like I was going to break down again.

"I'm fine." I muttered defensively. He shook his head in understanding, standing up.

"I'm going to let you come out of your room now, Bella. You can explore the house if you wish." He said this quietly.

I was confused. I thought I couldn't go…

"There's no way out, so don't even try." He muttered, watching me. "I'm being very generous here, Isabella."

I watched him warily. "You're not kidding…?"

He shook his head sadly. "You must being going mad in this room. You shouldn't have to stay in here. Go ahead." He nodded toward the already open door.

"Is this a trick?"

A trace of anger crossed his expression. "No, Isabella."

I stood up, testing. I walked toward the door stiffly, my legs ached like crazy. I put my hand on the door handle, opening it up further. Edward watched me the whole time, smiling softly.

"You can call me Bella." I said, turning around slightly.

"What?" He sounded like I'd pulled him from another train of thought.

"Call me Bella." I said again, smiling lightly.

A slow grin stretched across his face and he laughed. "Bella."

"What is your last name, Edward?" I asked, realizing I had no idea.

"My full name is Edward Anthony Masen- Cullen." He answered.

"That's a mouthful." I chuckled.

"What's your full name, Bella?"

"My name is Isabella Marie Swan." I said, and he smiled.

He walked closer, putting his hand on my waist. I would have flinched, but I could tell he wouldn't hurt me.

He led me out into the hallway, which was just as elaborately decorated as my room. I had a feeling that the whole house was this way.

"It's beautiful." I muttered.

He smiled. "It's my mother and fathers'." He explained when I looked at him in shock. "My adopted mother and father. He gave this house to her as a gift. One of his many gifts to her."

I wasn't expecting that. "Are they vampires too?" I asked softly.

"Yes. I have four brothers and sisters too."

The shock returned. "Wow." I muttered.

"What?" He asked as we walked down the hallway and came to a flight of stairs. We began walking down them.

"I didn't know that vampires could live with each other… I mean, Jake always said that they had too big of tempers, that they ended up fighting or killing each other."

"Jake?" He asked curiously.

I smiled. "Jake is my best friend. He's...well, he's sort of a werewolf." I'd never told anyone else that, but Edward wasn't a human, and who was my biggest alliance to anyway?

Edward's eyes opened wider. "That would explain the smell…" He trailed off.

"What smell?"

He ignored my question and moved on.

"And Jake was right. Most vampires would kill each other if they had to live together. That's why most vampires are nomads. But my family…" He hesitated. "We're not like most vampires. We don't drink human blood. We drink the blood of animals."

We were at the bottom of the stairs now, and I turned to look at him.

"I saw your eyes. They were red. You killed a person." I called him out on his lie.

He hung his head. "I did not mean to drink the human's blood. I didn't check the trail…I was already in my hunting set of mind… he was too close." Edward winced, his mind far away in thought. He looked back to me. "It was a horrid accident. I hate myself for it. But that's when I heard James' thoughts." His face turned into a furious scowl. "He was so happy he'd found you. So happy he could feed on someone who smelled so mouthwatering…" He was growling now. "That's why I had to stop him. Because a few minutes before that, I had been the monster. I couldn't let him live. A young girl like you…. I had to save you." He shook his head, trying to clear the memory.

I stood staring at him for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"Thank you." I whispered, putting my hand on his cheek. He was the one to flinch this time, but he didn't pull back. "For saving me." I kept my hand on his cold cheek, and after a few moments he put his hand over mine. He smiled lightly.

"Thank you for understanding." He whispered.

We stared at each other for a long moment, and I felt something growing in me. Well, not just in me, but in my heart.

It took me a moment to see, staring into this creature's eyes, that he was more human than I ever could have imagined. He was trapped in this life, this hell, and he probably didn't even choose it for himself. He'd just told me that he drinks animal blood. That doesn't make him a killer-well, apart from the one man- it almost makes him a human that's immortal.

I felt pity for this creature. Definitely that. But more than anything, more than anything at all, I didn't hate him anymore. The realization nearly knocked me to the ground, nearly made me stop breathing. I shouldn't be here. Shouldn't be caring for this monster.

And yet, looking into his eyes, I can't find the sensible girl I'd once been. I can't find the girl who had promised Jacob she wouldn't go in the woods, who had promised Charlie she would stay safe, never ride on motorcycles, and not date any guys until she was 30…

"Bella." Edward whispered, stroking my hair back from my face.

I leaned into his cool touch, not at all apprehensive about him touching me. He would not hurt me. I knew that now.

"Edward." I said quietly, almost a cooing.

He was the one to look away first, sighing and taking his hand off of my cheek. I took mine off when he did, a little annoyed that he had ruined whatever moment we'd been having. He put his hand on my lower back like he did earlier, leading me down into what I assumed was the living room.

It seemed more modern than everything else, and there was a huge flat screen TV on an even bigger entertainment stand. This was definitely not a house I'd expect from vampires.

"The living room." Edward said, gesturing to the room.

"I can see that." I smirked, looking over at him.

There was an odd tension between us now, something I'd never felt around him before. It confused me.

We walked into a room just off of the living room and stepped into the kitchen. It too was more modern than not, and it had stainless steel appliances. These vampires must have been rich.

"Wow." I said, looking around. He smiled.

"Esme is an amazing decorator. My sister Rosalie and her love to do all that designing stuff." He smiled indulgently.

"You love them." I stated, not a question.

"I really do." He said, and his voice had a very adoring edge to it. "They'd forgive me for anything. I can do no wrong in their eyes." He shook his head.

"Isn't that what families do?" I said, thinking about Renee and Charlie. They were always on my side. Even when I was wrong.

"I guess so." He mumbled, averting his eyes. There was a moment of silence before he looked back to me. "Do you want to see the rest of the house?"

He led me through room after room, each one of them as beautiful as the last. It was around noon by the time we finished, and my stomach let out a small growl.

"You're hungry." Edward said, and a few wrinkles came onto his forehead.

"Yeah." I put my hand on my stomach as he led the way toward the kitchen.

"What would you like….?" He asked, rummaging around in the cupboards.

I was at a loss for a moment. "What do you have…?"

He sighed, "We have sandwiches…"

"Sure. Give me a sandwich." I said, trying to appease his frustration.

"Sorry." He murmured. "I'm just not used to having a human around here. I have no idea what you eat…"

"It's fine." I said, sitting down at one of the stools at the island in the middle of the kitchen.

I watched as he assembled the sandwich.

"How old are you, Edward?" I asked.

He tensed, then he sighed. "I'm 17."

I sighed loudly. "And how long have you been seventeen?"

He tensed again. "A while." He answered.

I nodded my head, assuming as much.