EDWARD

Somehow, we make it home before any of us realizes. We hesitate a moment because none of us wants to start the discussion with Carlisle and Esme. Sighing, I get out of the car and make my way to the house at a human pace. So what if I'm trying to put off the inevitable? My siblings are matching my pace in their own attempt at delay. Carlisle and Esme are waiting for us in the dining room. They look worried. I make a conscious effort to not look into their thoughts.

"She knows." Rosalie is not beating around the bush.

"We think that she knows." Emmett tries to soften the blow.

"What makes you think that she knows about our true nature?" Carlisle places a comforting hand on Esme's.

"In biology today, she did the lab without looking at the slides or notes. She just wrote out the right answers. When I questioned her about it, she said that maybe she could read minds or see the future." I cannot look at any of the others.

"Bella made a point of qualifying the seeing the future option. She said she could see the answers once she decided to do the lab." Alice clarifies the part that most caught her attention.

"Based on her reaction to us on her first day, I think we can assume that she already knew about vampires when she got to Forks. If you add in what happened today, I think she actually knows about us specifically." Jasper thinks out loud for everyone else's benefit.

"Maybe she does know us." Esme looks to me for something that I cannot give - insight into the girl's mind.

"I would remember if we were ever anywhere near her. Her scent calls to me so strongly." There's a bit of a bite to my words.

"We should try and find out what she knows and what she plans to do with that knowledge. If word got to the Volturi, her life would be at risk." Carlisle is concerned about Bella's welfare without even meeting her.

"There's more. I don't affect her." I share this so that we all can understand the entire situation.

"At all?" Emmett's disbelief is shared by the rest of my family.

"She wasn't just disinterested when I tried to use my vampire allure on her. She looked completely repulsed and angry with me for attempting anything." That part troubles me more than her overpowering scent.

"Then we need to do damage control and get Bella to tell us her story on her own terms," Carlisle decides. Even Rosalie agrees with this plan.

"Since we have little to go on, we should start by being nice and trying to befriend her." Jasper is trying to imagine Rosalie playing nice.

We all go about our evening routines. Emmett and Rose are getting loud in their amorous endeavors. I make a hasty retreat from the house. I'm so focused on what to do about Bella that I don't even notice where I walk until her house is in front of me.

Bella walks into her room and closes the door. One look around can't hurt, right? She moves around the room collecting her sleepwear and a bag before heading back towards the bathroom. This is for the family after all and maybe it will provide some much needed clues to her past.

"You are such a stalker." Alice appears beside me.

"That does not make this a bad idea." I sigh. What else can we do? I can't read her thoughts.

"I still don't like it. It feels dishonest." Alice hands me a small can of oil before vanishing back into the trees.

Apparently the window will be squeaky. There's no need to draw any unwanted attention, especially in the house of the chief of police. I carefully apply the oil and slide open the window. Her scent hits me like a punch to the gut. I can't do this. Curiosity be damned. If I go in there, she will die at my hands. Is that why Alice left? So she wouldn't have to witness my mistake? But then, why provide the oil at all?

"Damn vampire."

I freeze at her window. She knows that I am here. No … she's talking in her sleep? Interesting. I stop breathing and lean into her room. Bella clutches her leg as she tosses and turns.

"Edward." What is that in her tone? Relief? That would not make sense.

Suddenly Bella screams and grabs her forearm. She wakes just before the door to her room flies open. I slide the window closed and hide as her father barrels into the room. His mind is hazy, but I can read the tone of his thoughts. His concern overshadows his desire to pursue whatever made his daughter scream.

"Time to leave." I was so distracted by the scene playing out before me that I didn't even notice my sister's arrival.

"No." I have to know that it was only the nightmare that scared Bella.

"If we don't leave now, Bella will find us here." Damn.

We melt into the trees and head home. What could I have done anyway? Since I am hovering outside her window makes entrance into her room impossible without raising suspicion.

"Jasper is curious about her, but that will only go so far," Alice warns me of the possibility that Bella may face a death at the hands of a member of my own family.

"I won't let anything happen to her." My intensity scares me. I've always been alone by choice. Is this slip of a girl changing that?

"I know." Alice sighs.

Time crawls by. Dawn finally comes. I've been thinking about her all night. But why? Because her scent calls to me like no one else's ever has? That first day I called her plain. I was sorely mistaken. She's stunning in her hostility. She's breathtaking in her rage. Even in fear, she is something to be cherished. Have I found a potential mate? Or has she only caught my attention because I can't read her mind? She knows something but is not telling any of us what it is. She is a curiosity. But is she only a curiosity?

"We have to be careful. No one wants to tell secrets when they feel ambushed," Alice informs us.

The frustrated tint to her thoughts makes me focus on her more closely. She can't see Bella. There is a vision of Alice and me waiting by my car. Bella's so-called truck is there. We're looking right at it for some reason. Then Tyler's van comes sliding into the lot. It's completely out of control. The only thing it hits is Bella's truck. It leaves a dent, but there is no other damage there. Tyler needs medical attention though. He's shaken up and looking at Bella's truck.

We get to school and the others head inside to wait and watch. Alice and I take our positions from the vision. She shrugs just as Bella turns into the parking lot. I bet you can hear that stupid thing all the way across the country with just human hearing capabilities. Like every other human in sight, she looks anxious. The icy roads cause her to be more careful both behind the wheel and when she sets foot on the pavement. She checks her snow chains and gets … emotional? What is she thinking? I simply have to know. I even take a step towards her before the van comes flying into the lot. As expected it is heading straight for the back of Bella's truck. NO!

I rush forward, ignoring the human role I am supposed to be playing. My siblings file out of the school. Jasper tries to calm me down, but his thoughts are all focused on my apparent security breach. Like I don't know that I'm breaking the rules. There is no missing Rose. Her thoughts shoot at me like bullets. They are loud and full of profanity. Of course I care about their safety, I just can't seem to control myself when Bella is in such immediate and deadly danger. Alice's mind is swirling as she tries to see a good outcome. She can't see Bella in any vision though. Why can't she see Bella? Will I be too late? Emmett is amused for some reason. I don't have time to worry about that now. My Bella is in danger!

Bella looks right at me. Can she see me moving at this speed? I push a little harder to get there. She slips on a small patch of ice at her feet. No surprise there. There is a sickening thud as her head comes into contact with her truck. I'll have to tell Carlisle to look at that in particular. Her arms come up like they can ward off the incoming disaster. Or maybe she is trying to ward off me? What is it about me that makes her hate me so much that she would rather deal with a van than me? Maybe I'm just being silly. What feels like a shockwave flings me back to my car. I didn't see anything coming at me. Did I miss something deflecting me? Surprise filters through all of my siblings. Not just me then. I glance around to see what it was that hit me. There is nothing that could force me back this car.

The van somehow hits the truck and blocks Bella into a small space. Thank God. But she is standing back up and glaring at something. All I can do is stare with an equally stunned Alice. What just happened? The noise of all the thoughts around me is almost overwhelming. I can't move though. It would be too obvious if one of us helped her now, so we try to blend in with the other students.

Jasper sends a wave of calm towards Bella. She is obviously upset. But is she upset about the fact that she almost died or something else? He takes a couple of steps back as if he has been hit with something. Just like what happened with me. Once more there is nothing that could have caused his reaction. My siblings and I make plans on how to play this. Carlisle needs a warning. Ideally, one of us should ride with Bella to the hospital. No one says it, but everyone thinks that she will not stand for that.

After what seems like a horribly long time, the ambulance arrives. I keep a more human pace as I head towards her this time. I know the EMTs, so it is likely that they will let me ride with her. What I don't expect is her reaction. She completely shuts me down. I freeze in place for a moment. There is no way that I can convince anyone that I should go if she is so openly against me tagging along. Why are you making things so difficult? I wish I could see your mind.

The police chief himself rides in. He looks crushed when he realizes that Bella is the one in need of help. That has to be hard, seeing your one and only child being placed on a stretcher. Charlie complicates things. Bella is reassuring him. If I tried to go with her again, she may cause me to be an object of scrutiny for Fork's finest. I have to let her go. Damn.