Well, hello there! It's been, what? Three months since I posted? I am SO sorry, but I had major writers block for this story, nothing at all seemed to come out. I apologies for this chapter, it's a tad dry but now hopefully I will be able to get back into the story. The first part, Ryan the ghost's POV, was originally an outtake from the previous chapter but this chapter is quite short so I thought I would add it in.

I hope you enjoy! I own nothing Twilight.

Chapter Nineteen

Would You Rather?

Ryan POV

I know it was creepy, but I watched her sleep that afternoon after the accident. I came to give her an update on what was happening, but when I floated into the smallest bedroom of the Swan residence, she was huddled into the side of the blood-sucker and was sound asleep.

I wanted to be worried for her - she was after all in the clutches of someone who could kill her by a merely cuddling her too hard - but she looked worn out and she deserved the sleep. So, I stayed like a creep and pondered what was going to happen.

Bella was still asleep when the pixie vampire sister came into Bella's room via the window. I watched as the mind reader carefully shimmied out of Bella's hold, crossed over to the window and opened it as wide as it would go. He stood back and seconds later there was a light thump on the floor and up stood Alice.

We all automatically turned to the sleeping girl in the bed, who didn't even twitch, then Edward closed the window again.

"You look happy," Alice commented as she floated across the room and sat on the bed.

Edward had looked awfully smug the whole time I had been in the room, but of course he's the only mind reader so I couldn't tell what he was so happy about.

Edward shrugged but his smile grew. "I am surprised you don't already know, Alice," he said in a mock shocked tone. "Some psychic you are!"

Alice narrowed her eyes then stuck out her tongue. "Fine, don't tell me, I'll just get it out of Bella tomorrow when we visit the nursing home together."

It was Alice's turn to look smug to which Edward scowled. There was a long pause, and I assumed Edward was reading Alice's mind.

"You are going to help the ghost from the hospital?" Edward said out loud. He paced the room a few times before he spoke again. "Why can't you see what else happens? Why does the vision fade after you get to the nursing home?"

Alice shrugged but she seemed pleased about something. "That, my dear brother, is for me to know and you to find out." She glanced at Bella on the bed, avoiding Edwards gaze.

"What's with the secrets, Alice? What are you hiding?" Edward winced. "Stop playing that song over and over in your head, it's getting on my nerves!"

Alice laughed softly. "Well, stay out of my head!" She smiled. "And I am not hiding anything. Bella is."

Edward crossed his arms to wait for her to elaborate.

"I don't know how she cottoned on so quickly, but she has managed to make decisions to give me a vision, but she has kept the decision basic so I don't see all her plans. However, I do see that she is worried about something, I get the internal feeling with the vision that she wants to ask me something – something she doesn't want to ask you." She glanced at Bella then back to Edward. "See, I am already the person she turns to for advice. Told you she would be my best friend soon enough."

-x-

Bella POV

When I woke up my body was heavy with sleep. I rolled over and stretched before I sat up and looked around the room. I didn't have to look far to find what I was looking for as Edward was sitting on the rocking chair in the corner, his pale profile almost glowing in the dark.

"You have sat on that more in the last few days than anyone has sat on it in years," I muttered before I yawned loudly.

Edward chuckled softly. "I have taking quite a liking to it," he said. "Sixteen hours of sleep did you well, you look very refreshed."

My mouth fell open is shock. "Sixteen! I slept for sixteen hours!" I glanced at the clock which read 3.10am, and did my own quick mental math check.

"Like a baby," Edward said.

I ran my fingers through my hair slowly. "You should have woken me," I told him. "You must have been bored out of your mind."

"Nothing would have woken you up, you were out for the count, no bombs, tornados or nuclear war would have woken you from slumber. And I wasn't bored; your snoring is actually quite soothing after a while." Edward pressed his lips tightly to stop him from laughing.

"Cheek! I do not snore," I grumbled as I threw a pillow at him. Edward caught the pillow with ease and laughed.

"True," he agreed. "But you do talk in your sleep."

My face flushed but I wasn't that embarrassed – Edward had seen me vomit everywhere, so sleep talking was nothing.

"Yeah, well, so would you if you had a stressful life as I do," I said indifferently. "What was I saying, anyway?"

"It was mostly about your mom," he said as he joined me on the bed. "Something about a beach...and decisions you had to make..."

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Strange," I said followed by another yawn. "No idea what that means," I added. "I don't remember any of my dreams from the past sixteen hours!" I shook my head in disbelief. Then something occurred to me and I shot of bed.

"Oh, my God," I gasped. "Charlie!" I started to open my drawers to look for something to put on but it was still dark and it was hard to distinguish from one item to another.

Edward shot out of bed, too. "He's fine," he said quickly. "It's quarter past three in the morning, Bella, where are you going?"

The light came on making the room bright so I had to squint to see. "The hospital," I said as I opened my closet. "Where else?"

Edward was in front of me in the closet before I could pick anything up. "Visiting hours are over, they won't let you in."

"Have rules like those ever applied to you?" I challenged.

"You're not me," Edward replied.

"I missed a whole day, Edward, please just lets go to the hospital," I pleaded. A lot could happen in sixteen hours, I was mad at myself for missing all that time when my father was so ill. And then there were the others, what had happened to all the other people that were at the scene of the explosion?

"We can go back in a few hours when it's light out." Edward put his hands lightly on my shoulders and steered me back to the bed. "They would have called if there was anything wrong...And my father is there to oversee his care, he will be just fine."

I reluctantly sat on the bed and pulled my feet up off the floor. I shuffled up the bed so I was hunched against the pillows and folded my arms across my chest to let Edward know I was mad.

Edward, fighting a smile, sat on the other side of the bed and put a pillow next to mine and we both sat in silence facing the wall with the desk, which was cultured with junk.

"So, we going to sit here all night?" he asked casually. I didn't answer. "Want to play a game?" My lips twitched, curious. I was imagining him hauling out our old battered Monopoly set which Charlie and I used to play for hours when I used to visit. "Emmett and I used to play it all the time...He has some imagination!"

"Okay, I'll fold, what game?"

The smile was evident in his voice when he replied, "You ever played "Would you rather"?"

I stared at him. "Yeah in sixth grade," I said trying not to laugh. Edward shrugged. "Oaky, but can we go out for a while? Just a walk around the block...or to the park by the elementary school?"

I could see him weighing his options; go to the hospital with me, go on a walk with me or stay stuck in the same room he has sat for the last sixteen hours. "A walk sounds good," he said. "On one condition..." I narrowed my eyes, waiting. "We don't go further than Humble Road."

I scowled. Past Humble Road was on route to the hospital. "Fine, no detours past Humble Road. To the park and back, promise."

I got out of bed and instead of looking for clothes again; I pulled on my UGG boots over my pyjama pants and picked up my blue hoody from the back of the rocking chair. Edward watched me as I put the lazy ensemble together.

"Did you expect me to pause to put on my best clothes and coat on a thick layer of makeup just to go for a quick walk?" I asked as I shorted my hood.

"You don't need to, you look perfect without even trying," Edward said. "Girls make too much fuss over their appearance, when really there is no need. Girls looked just fine before the cosmetic industry came about."

I was glad he thought that way because I didn't really have the skills to make myself look pretty by applying makeup every day. But in truth, I had thought about buying some makeup ever since I met Edward. Next to him I felt invisible.

Leaving the house at that time of the morning felt weird. I felt like I was breaking the law or something, and the street was so quiet it was eerie.

"You'll be safe with me," Edward said reading my expression. I automatically walked closer to him. I had the urge to hold his hands as we walked out of the drive way, but instead I slipped my arm though his in case he was uncomfortable holding my hand.

"Okay, so let's play your game," I began as we neared the end of the road. Edward stiffened when I had held onto his arm but quickly eased and it felt natural as we walked side by side. "Would you rather...relive the same day over and over...or...go through the rest of your life deaf and blind?"

It was almost three thirty in the morning, what can I say? I couldn't think of anything else.

Edward didn't hesitate to answer, "Relive the same day over and over."

I opened my mouth to ask why but he smirked, shaking his head. "My turn," he said quickly. "Would you rather be able to travel back time or be able to travel into the future?"

I thought for a few seconds, many things going through my mind, making it hard to decide. "Travel back in time," I said eventually. I could see my mom whenever I wanted, and maybe warn her of the cancer before she got sick.

"Would you rather be able to travel back time or be able to travel into the future?" I put the same question to him, interested in his answer.

"Same as you," Edward answered, quicker than I had. "Would you rather never be able to speak again, or only be able to speak the entire truth no matter what you were asked?"

"Never be able to speak again," I said at once. Sometimes, the truth hurts, so I would rather not be able to speak if I was going to offend everyone every time I opened my mouth. Besides, I could learn to sign.

We had reached Collins Road, which was a block from the park. The town was still eerily quiet, not even a cat had crossed our path.

"Okay my turn," I said quietly, trying not to disrupt the silence of the street. "Would you rather have all your hair shaved off to never grow back again, or be only three feet tall?"

Edward gave me a funny look but answered, "Shave off all my hair..." He didn't sound confident. I had to laugh.

"Okay, Miss Swan, would you rather have a beard like Father Christmas that you could never shave off, or eat bugs for the rest of your life?" Edward challenged playfully.

I snorted. "The beard of course!" Then I changed my mind when the image of me having a huge white beard flashed in my brain. "Wait...what kind of bugs? And dead or alive?"

"Spiders, cockroaches, flies...But it doesn't matter, you can't change your mind now," he said with a grin. "I shall call you 'Mr Clause' from now on..."

"You didn't say anything about a sex change," I said nonchalantly and Edward laughed loudly.

"There is someone coming," Edward said softly and pulled me into the shadows of the houses.

An old pickup truck passed us and carried on nosily down the street. Despite the fact that we weren't really doing anything wrong, it was not the best idea for the Chief's daughter and the Doctors son to be caught wondering around town so late. Once the truck had passed Edward led the way through the gate of the small play park that was across the street.

I sat on one of the swings and Edward sat on the one next to me. The night was still and the breeze was soft against my face. Above us was a clear sky, with pretty diamonds in the sky.

"Night is always my favourite time," I said quietly. "I love the moon and stars. My mom and I used to camp out in our garden and just stare at the sky for hours talking." I sighed and swung my legs a little. Thinking of my mom led me to a question that plagued my mind for weeks. "Would you rather save one person from dying or help a million people through death?"

I stopped swinging my legs and stared straight ahead. For me I always wondered if I could trade my gift to save my mom. A deal I wish I could have made with the universe. Initially, while I was still feeling raw of her passing, still angry that she was taken from me, I would have given my own life for her if I could. But in the past week or so, something was telling me that she wouldn't have wanted that. The accident had opened my eyes a lot. I always knew you couldn't get anything for free; the world just didn't work like that. If I had been able to save my mom, give up my gift, then would Charlie be dead now? It was a selfish, horrible thought, but I knew the answer. I would never choose one parent over the other, but the one thing that my mom taught me while she was sick, but something I have been telling people all my life, was that when it's a person time then you just have to accept it. No matter how unfair it seemed. But despite that, I would have still have done anything just to keep her with me.

I could feel Edward tense up but I didn't turn to see his reaction. The night continued to be silent while Edward thought his answer.

"Save one person from dying," he whispered. I turned to look at him. He was staring at me intently. I felt a shiver down my back as I stared into the depth of his golden eyes, and in a single second I knew who he would save.

And suddenly I felt like I was connected to Edward, like there was a string attached to us both. It was as if we were one, and nothing could break us apart. I didn't know where the feeling came from, but it was strong and I knew then that whatever may happen I never wanted the string to break because I didn't ever want to be apart from him. My heart swelled as I stared back at Edward, and everything became clear for me at that moment.

The intensity of his stare and my surge of feelings for Edward, led me to ask a question which I wasn't sure I wanted to know the answer to. "Would you rather I was a vampire and shared entirety with you, or I lived a long human life and died peacefully."

Edward didn't miss a beat when he replied, "The latter, that you lived a long human life and died peacefully."

It was if someone had brutally cut the string that I had felt that was keeping us bonded. My heart quickened and my body froze internally. I felt like a knife twisted my heart, and reality was dawning on me quick. I was just dreaming that he would want to be with me forever.

I got off the swing numbly and walked towards the gate like a robot. My legs were stiff, as if they weren't used to walking. It was such a slap in the face that I couldn't even cry as his words sunk in.

"I didn't mean it like that," Edward's voice called after me. "Bella, wait!"

"You can't change your mind now," I said just has he had earlier. I opened the gate and let it slam shut behind me.

Edward was in front of me before I would blink and he wouldn't let me passed so I stopped but didn't meet his gaze.

"You caught me off guard; I didn't even think the question through. You have no idea what the question actually means."

"Actually, Edward, I do," I said stiffly. "And I was kidding myself thinking you would have chosen differently, that you would actually want to share a life with me forever..." I stepped around him and walked away. "Maybe you should go home," I called back but didn't turn. I knew I was acting like a child that had been told I couldn't get a toy, but I was more hurt than I had realised I would be. "But, I will see you when around eight, we can go to the hospital together...if you want to," I added because I was scared I would never see him again after this...not that I would have blamed him.

To my relief and dignity Edward didn't stop me as I walked quickly through the streets towards the house. When the house came into view I ran towards it and locked myself inside. I was shaking by the time I reached the stairs and I didn't bother taking off my hoody of UGGs and threw myself under the duvet.

I knew I was acting like I had just been publicly humiliated, as if Edward had announced to the world that I actually thought I had a snowball's chance in hell of being with him, but that's exactly how I felt. I knew as soon as the question bubbled on my lips what his answer was likely to be, but just in that second, with the spark of feelings that had rushed through me, I had hoped he would have chosen to keep my forever rather than see my human life wither over the years while he stayed his perfect self. I felt like a pathetic little girl who thought that her crush loved her back.

I was stupid, extremely naive for even thinking that was possible. Of course he wouldn't want to stay with me. How could I even begin to think that?

Tears splashed onto my pillow while I wallowed in self pity and somewhere amongst my self-pitying I must have drifted off back to sleep because before I knew it, Edward was by my side and it was daylight again.

"Charlie's awake," he whispered. "Do you still want to go to the hospital with me?"

My heart skipped a beat, and for a cloudy second I thought I was dreaming. I sat up in the bed awkwardly and rubbed the sleep out my eye. I glanced at the clock to see that it had just gone eight thirty. I watched Edward as I stepped out of bed, but he showed no sign of wanting to speak about what happened earlier.

"Just give me a couple of minutes, I will get ready," I said as I grabbed a few essentials from my room and hurried off to the bathroom, glad to have a moment to myself.

I knew that I had missed enough school as it was, but I was sure they would understand if I took yet another day off. I wondered if there was even school at all. As far as I was aware no one from school was directly affected by the accident and explosion, but in small towns like this when something as big as this happened then everyone was affect, no matter who was hurt. I decided that it didn't matter either way. I had my priorities and school wasn't one of them at that very moment, my injured father and the spirits of the people that had just lost their life was much more important.

While I was getting ready, my mind wondered to the incident that had happened at the park. I wondered what Edward really thought. If he didn't want me, then why was he back? Was he only back because he pitied me? I vaguely rembered inviting him back to go to the hospital, but it was an open invitation; he didn't have to take me up on it. Still, I was pleased he came back; it would have been a kick in the gut if he never showed up.

As I left the bathroom, closing the door behind me, I decided that I would just act normal. It was my fault that I put what we had into jeopardy. If I hadn't opened my mouth to ask that stupid question then Edward would have probably spent the remainder of the night with me in my room.

When I entered the bedroom, my bed was freshly made and Edward was sitting like a statue on the rocking chair. He blinked after a second and stood up, looking towards me with a large crooked smile.

"Ready," I said, my voice sounding unsteady at the sight of his idyllic smile. Then it hit me again. The feelings I had felt before came rushing back. The string that had attached us at the park seemed to tug at me tightly, drawing me towards him. I knew what he had wanted in the future, but I knew how I felt at that moment. As I got closer to him, electric seemed to flow through the string, making my body spark with heat.

Edward stood in front me, and gingerly brushed his hand down my face. He bent down and kissed the side of my mouth gently. I took a sudden intake of startled breath and swayed on the spot.

"Sorry," he whispered, lingering by my mouth.

"For what?" I breathed. My heart was going so fast I was surprised I stayed standing.

"For upsetting you," he replied. "I didn't mean to. Forgive me?"

My hands were shaking so I placed them on his chest for support. "There is nothing to forgive," I said shakily. "I shouldn't have said anything."

Edward wrapped his cool arms around my back, holding me close. I could feel his breath on my cheek, and I was almost certain he could hear my heart rocket within me. "Well then, the only thing left to say is..."

And he kissed me. Slowly at first then the rhythm quickened, became harder, yet more passionate. When we parted I was breathless and yearning for him to be closer to me once more, but to my utter dismay, he smiled down at me and pulled away.

"Time to go, Mr Clause," he said with an affectionate grin. I made a face to protest, I was quite content where I was, forgetting about pretty much everything expect the two of us."You were all so eager to go to the hospital not four and half hours ago..."

"Your such a tease, Mr Cullen," I said but couldn't hide my own smile. "Fine, let's go!"

Sorry it was short; I will try for a longer one next time. What do you guys think so far? Also, has anyone had a chance to read my other stories: Trapped and Falling into Darkness? They kept me going while I had writers block for this one!

Okay, so I need to ask your opinion. I have a few chapters planned but a few of them are a little dramatic due to Bella's expanding gift she will be put into situations which are projected from certain ghosts, which will cause her to go through what they go through. Should I just go with what I have in my head, or have a few steady chapters since I have already done a lot of drama in relation to Bella lately. I can tone it down if you think it's unrealistic (as realistic as a vampire/ghost story can get lol).

Thanks again for reading; I appreciate your reviews so far!