All characters belong to Stephenie Meyer.

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Chapter 7 – Broken Dreams

EDWARD

Bella was a mystery to me.

I couldn't hear a single thought off of her, and the way she acted...well, I guess I should've been thankful that she wasn't a whiny, girly, bitch.

We were stranded on an island with a baby, and she seemed to accept it. I realized as well that she also had accepted death on the plane. Or maybe she knew something that I didn't. Maybe she had an Alice of her own, or maybe she was her own Alice.

No, that couldn't have been right. That wouldn't make sense.

She was quiet, and I was grateful for that. She would occasionally try and get me to talk with her, but I was very out of practice with carrying on a normal conversation. I'd sometimes sit with Alice, she'd see the conversation in her head, and I would just sit there and watch it play out in her mind. Words very seldom were spoken out loud between us, there just wasn't a need.

Using my voice was foreign, but required now.

At first, I thought I had hit my head and lost my ability, but I could still get thoughts off of the baby. He mostly just wanted his mother. Bella, she was silent. It was nice and frustrating at the same time. She wasn't normal, not that I was a picture of normal myself, but she didn't seem all that freaked out by our situation.

She did what she could to help make the best of it. She unpacked and moved right in. She stuffed the bed and found food. She had silently made the gathering of food and fishing her chore, where I worked on structures, planted the garden and tried my hand at hunting. I had to learn to shoot straight.

She had a way of charming things. The way the baby took to her instantly, for example. I knew he loved her like his mother. I wondered if he confused them. Bella cared for Jake, that much was obvious, and I found myself wondering if she had children or siblings she cared for.

The chickens followed her around in the most humorous of ways. Since I was not a great conversationalist, Bella would often talk to her chickens like they were her best friends. She didn't know, but I often listened in and found her quite humorous and entertaining. Still, even listening in, I couldn't figure her out. She never spoke of anyone else in her life before the crash. She mostly spoke of things she missed. Usually different kinds of food or books, and I wondered what she had done for a living.

I had asked once, and she'd said she was a student. She was young, and I wondered how young she really was and what was she a student of? I hoped it wasn't high school. She seemed older than that, more mature, and she seemed to know a lot about taking care of herself.

Alice's letter had warned me to give Bella space, but when I caught her taking pills, I worried. Of course, she just snapped at me and told me that I was taking the baby. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going on with her.

She was moody and snappy, but in kind of a funny way. I think she would have been pissed if I'd laughed at her, though. She razzed me about my shooting and bragged she knew more about sports than I did. I knew she couldn't play anything, she could barely walk.

When she fell into me the first few times, I thought it was a lame attempt at flirting, but then she snapped and told me to get over myself. I just didn't like being touched. I usually knew why people were touching me, and their intentions never met their actions. I found it sickening, and I didn't want to play their games. The fake bitches could keep their hands to themselves.

Bella had only reached out to touch me a couple of times. Once, when we first introduced ourselves, because she thought I had a head injury, and then when she woke me from my nightmare.

She never brought it up again and never touched me on purpose after that. I was silently grateful to her for leaving me alone. I didn't think I could handle a girl's hands on me, when I was unsure of her intentions. Even when touching wasn't involved, things went wrong. Tanya was proof of that, the sick, lying, psychopathic bitch. I couldn't let her hurt my brother.

I shook the thoughts of Tanya out of my head. I hated that bitch. She'd ruined my life. I needed to stop thinking about her. I didn't want to snap at Bella for no reason.

Bella had once again proved she was a charmer, when she befriended a wild dog, the very same dog that had nearly attacked and killed her. The girl was nuts and impossible to figure out.

She confused me even further, when I returned to camp after dispatching the cougars. She stood holding a knife and shouted at me, furious because she had been worried about me. The expression on her face proved her words were sincere. This odd woman seemed to care for me.

When I returned from cleaning up, little Jake called out to me, calling me "Da-Da." I knew Bella knew I was not his father, but she still taught him to call me dad. I had to admit it warmed my heart when he reached his chubby little hands out to me, calling for me. I couldn't resist picking him up and talking with him about my day.

I told him about the cave the cats had lived in as I picked the ticks off the dog. Once Sam figured out what I was doing, he held still and let me handle him without complaint. Little Jake was practically dancing with excitement as the chickens hopped around, fighting for the bugs I threw at them to eat.

I couldn't help but laugh a little at myself. I was sitting outside the house, playing with the baby, watching the chickens scratch, as I took care of the dog. It was such an ordinary scene for a country boy that I couldn't help but smile. I was by no means a country boy, but I could see the appeal in the life. I guess in a way, that was my life now.

Bella came out to let us know dinner was ready. When I told her about the ticks, her reaction was hilarious. She shivered and gagged, and I watched as she scratched her arm, neck and leg through the evening. She had cleaned up after dinner, and I was thankful that she had gotten Jake to settle down. I was tired from dragging those damn cats.

I wanted to get as much sleep as possible, before the nightmares started up again. I had gotten pretty good at waking myself, before I woke Bella. I'd slip out at night and go to a little meadow on the far side of the clearing. I had my recorder in a hollow tree there, and I would play a few songs, before I'd eventually fall asleep.

Of course, that didn't happen this evening. This evening, everything changed. I woke up to a slap in the face. I looked over at Bella to see what the hell was up, because she was good about never touching me. She knew it made me uncomfortable. I saw her flopping around, and she sounded like she was crying. It was then I noticed she was still awake.

I asked her what was wrong and was surprised that she was still freaking out about the ticks. It was ridiculous, really. I mean she'd faced down a wild dog and then kept her cool when she faced down three cougars, but not a little tick. "Oh, help me!" I mentally teased. I had a feeling it wouldn't have gone over well if I'd said it out loud.

I told her I'd check her, and she looked at me like I was nuts. I let her know that I had been a doctor before we'd ended up on the island and feel a little bad. It really wasn't a lie, but it hadn't been the truth, either. I hadn't been licensed to practice for over a year.

I checked her hair, and I was surprised to feel how soft it was. I found myself getting distracted playing with it, but hid it as just thoroughly checking her hair. I looked behind her ears and checked in them as well. Her skin was sunburned, but still soft. I would've thought she'd be rough and dried out like me, but she wasn't. She was so soft. Her neck was beautiful and long. The curve seemed to call to me. I quickly shook the inappropriate thoughts out of my head. I was out of practice. I needed to focus on the task and ignore the girl. I had to stay in doctor mode.

I knew she probably didn't have any ticks on her, but I figured I'd be thorough, so she'd be able to sleep. I had a feeling she would be flopping all night if I didn't pull it together and get this examination over with.

She looked panicked and appalled when I asked her to take her shirt off. I was just going to let it be. If she was fine with not getting all the way checked, I wasn't going to push her. Of course, the next thing I knew, she was telling me to recheck everything and her shirt.

Little girl was a little paranoid.

Her back was beautiful. I found myself running my hands down it, and then I quickly chastened myself for getting lost in her soft skin.

Doctor mode, I told myself.

I had her lift her arms, and I could see the sides of her breast. I had never really been all the interested in sex. My mind had seen it all, and it usually looked rather disgusting, but I was finding her body beautiful.

I found myself brushing the sides of her breasts and then cursing myself for being so disgusting myself. I had her stand to put some distance between us and checked her legs.

Her body was toned. Living on the island had been a workout, forget the gym. I knew I had gained quite a bit of muscle building the house and working the land. It looked like the same had happen to her. I ran my hands down her body and back up, until I reached the edge of her shorts. I looked up to see her biting her lip nervously.

I checked under her breasts, and she shivered lightly like she was cold, but I couldn't imagine that she was. It was hot and humid. When I asked her, she just said yes, and I let it slide. I knew I needed to stop, while she still thought I was acting like a professional.

I flopped back on the bed, leaving her to check the rest while I did my best to fall asleep. It wasn't long before she woke me, frantic and completely naked. She wasn't even trying to cover herself, and tears were running down her face.

I asked her what was wrong and was able to guess that she had found a tick. I grabbed a twig with a hot coal end to get rid of the tick for her, and she freaked out. I finally got her settled and asked her where the damn thing was. I was actually surprised she'd found one.

When she told me where it was, I wanted to kick myself.

Doctor!

Doctor!

I was a doctor. I could do this and not be bothered by it.

Doctor, I said to myself and focused, sitting down and then reached for the stirrups that weren't there. After laughing at myself, I was able to focus a little better and examine her. I couldn't find the damn tick anywhere, but the way she was freaking out, I was pretty sure she'd found something.

A mole.

Bella had found a mole.

I thought she was pulling my leg, but when I pressed her finger into it, she freaked out, almost screaming. Honestly, I didn't know how Jake slept through it.

It was hard not to laugh at her, and it was also hard not to find her completely endearing. This girl was innocent. She wasn't familiar with that part of her body at all. My guess was she was probably a virgin.

I quickly removed myself from her presence, letting her get dressed. I had to for my own sanity.

Her being innocent changed everything. I knew for sure that she wasn't some hussy, playing a game or trying to trick me into fucking her. No, she didn't want that from me. It obviously wasn't something she did. All my rudeness and pushing her away had been for nothing, and now I suddenly found myself even more attracted to her.

I eventually made it back to bed. She was lying with her back to me, and when I asked her if she was alright, she just nodded her head silently, not looking at me.

I kind of felt bad for not having been nicer to her.

A/N: Thanks for reading and please review!