This chapter concludes the first part. Again, to those who received a preview, I hope you aren't expecting too much. I told you I was evil, and you will agree with me when you realise how much I made the preview look interesting! Lol. I hope you enjoy anyway!

Chapter Twenty-Four

Part Two

Instincts

"We are alone at last," Edward said as he settled on top of my duvet cover. I stuffed my clothes into my hamper, which was over flowing in the corner of my bedroom. I had been so busy with everything that I had only put on one wash since I had arrived. I was running out of clothes, so I made a mental note to put a wash on for Charlie and me before the memorial in the morning.

I ran my fingers through my hair, pulling away the wet strands that stuck to my face, as I edged over to the bed. I lay on top of the duvet, too, then slide closer to his cool chest. "We are alone at last," I repeated with a satisfied smile. "It has been a good day all round I think."

Edward wrapped his arm around my shoulders as I lay between his arm and chest. The coolness was welcoming after a hot shower.

Being alone with Edward after a long day was bliss, but I still felt guilty that I hadn't been there for Charlie on his first day home after being discharged from the hospital. He was out cold in his bed by the time we arrived back home. He had insisted that I got out and "enjoy myself" after I had fussed over him for a few hours after taking him home.

That was when Alice showed up and planned the makeover.

"It was ghost free, which means it was an excellent day," Edward said softly as he ran his fingers through my soaking hair. At least I was chlorine free. Or at least to my sense of smell. "I'm proud of how you handled Emily today. I still wish I knew how much you had been hurting over your mom's death." Edward paused. I could feel his eyes on me. "I should have realised, though. It has only been a month; of course you were still hurting."

I hated to hear the guilt so thick in his voice. As if it was entirely his fault that she had died.

I peeked up at him for a second, absorbing his pain filled eyes. I looked away quickly before settling my head on his firm chest. "Please don't," I whispered. "You make it sound like it's your fault. It was just my way of dealing with it. To be honest, I didn't know how bad it really was until Jasper showed me."

"I won't ever let your hurt again. When you hurt, I hurt." With his free hand, Edward's finger traced down the side of my cheek. A trail of fire was left in its place, a wild tingling that was also tapped into my heart.

I breathed steadily as he repeated the motion, his finger lightly sweeping my face from my temple to my chin. I closed my eyes as I tried to control myself. I wanted to let go of my inner control and kiss him, but after today I wasn't sure it was a good idea.

"I like this," he whispered. "I like having you close to me."

I smiled against his chest. "I'm glad you said that, because I wouldn't change this for anything."

"Are you tired enough to sleep?"

"Not even close!" I was only beginning to enjoy being with Edward, I wasn't going to let sleep ruin that for me now. Besides, who knew what my dreams would turn into? I didn't want another vision while I slept. I had enough of those to last me a life time.

"I won't let anything happen to you," Edward said softly, his mouth inches from my ear. I shivered involuntary.

"You know," I whispered, "I sometimes think you really can read my mind; you just pretend otherwise!"

I could feel Edward chuckled silently, the vibrations pulsing through me from his chest. "If only, Bella. If only!"

We settled into a peaceful silence, but sleep still didn't overcome me. Since I was reassured that my mind was entirely my own, I let me thoughts wonder to earlier today in the ladies changing room. Edward had acted way out of character – for him anyway. I was torn, though: I enjoyed the kiss and the closeness with Edward, but I knew he wasn't really thinking clearly. The Edward I met less than a week ago would have never surprised me like that. Or at least he wouldn't have gotten that close!

But it felt so good! Why was I complaining?

My instincts were telling me what was right. My head wanted to ignore it so much, but my heart was telling me that I needed to speak to one of his family about it.

Losing Henry a second time was making Edward become out of character.

I knew that I wasn't the only one hiding my feelings about losing a loved one. Only Edward was dealing it in a whole different way than I was. As much as I wanted to ignore my heart, to let him act however he wanted because it felt so good...or natural, I knew that if I did nothing Edward would be angry with himself if he lost control altogether. Then that would be very bad for both of us.

I suppressed a sigh. I knew what I had to do. But it wouldn't be easy. And I wasn't sure if Edward would ever forgive me.

"Are you asleep yet?" Edward interrupted my thoughts and the silence.

"Nope," I whispered.

"Good." Edward moved away from me before he picked me up in one easy motion. He pulled back the duvet and placed me down gently on one side. He covered me up to the neck before he settled back down on the duvet again. "I don't want you to get cold," he told me in way of explanation.

"I was fine as I was...but thanks," I said as I slide back to nestle in his chest. "Edward, can we talk about something?"

Edward froze from under me. I would have bet all the money in the world that despite my thoughts being my own; he knew what I was thinking anyway. Or at least along the lines of what I was thinking.

"Anything," Edward replied, still frozen.

"You said you should have seen the pain that I was going through with my mom, but I could say the same with what you are going through with Henry. We haven't talked about the other night when we saw Henry go into The Light. For the first time I know what people go through when they see their loved ones leave earth, so I know how it feels. Do you want to talk about it? I don't want you to bottle anything up just because I am going through a lot. I want to be there for you, like you are with me."

Edward's body relaxed. I knew then that I wasn't going to get the reply I wanted. "Bella, I know you won't believe me when I say this, but I am honestly not suffering. I'll admit it was a shock in the beginning, and then seeing Henry...it wasn't easy. But now I am better than okay. I have you; that's all I need now."
I pulled myself away from Edward, leaning on my elbow to look into his eyes. I didn't see a lie on his face, but he had over one hundred years of practicing deceit, un like me. However, his normally liquid eyes were frozen, hard, blocking me out entirely. He was a good liar, but I was good at detecting body language.

He was hurting, but he didn't want me to deal with it.

I wanted to open my mouth and ague, but I knew it would only push him away. It was the same with Charlie and me in the beginning. I wouldn't be able to do anything to change his mind about talking to me, and the more I tried, the further he would push me.

"Okay," I whispered, as I turned away from him. I settled on the pillow this time. The feeling of rejection wormed through me before I could rationalise the situation. It wasn't Edward's fault, but it still hurt.

There was a long silence between us.

I decided that I wasn't going to be sulky. I didn't want this to put an actual block on our relationship. Edward would talk when he was ready. I knew that better than anyone.

"I have a subject changer, but I don't think you will like it," I said slowly, almost playfully.

"Oh really? And what would that be, Miss. Swan?" I was relieved to hear the friendly tone back in Edward's voice.

"Well," I said slowly, "I was thinking about today when you couldn't drive to Port Angeles with us because of the sun. And I wondered if we could talk about that?"

I looked up to meet Edward's eyes. They were amused. "You want to talk about the sun?"

I rolled my eyed. "No, I mean talk about the vampire thing in general."

Edward eyed me cautiously. We stared each other out for a second, but he didn't answer.

"Please? I am just curious. You showed me the sun thing, you told me that the myths surrounding vampirism is mostly just tall tales that were created to steer humans in the wrong direction about vampires, but I am curious for more. It's not every day you find yourself lying next to a real vampire."

I knew the last part was a mistake. I froze, as I watched Edward take in my silly pleas of wanting to know what being a vampire really meant. So, I changed my words around quickly, "I mean you know a lot about me. I know some things about you, but not even a fraction of the history you have lived. You must be able to tell me something about yourself?"

Edward's profile relaxed. "It's only fair I suppose," he said thoughtfully. "What do you want to know?"

I had gathered up so many questions over the last few days, but there had been too much going on to ask any. I knew about the sun, that they didn't sleep and I knew Edward had been turned in 1918. He was over one hundred years old; so much history had passed through his eyes.

I wanted to one day know every detail.

"What's it like being a vampire?" I began. "You have over a hundred years worth of history in your mind. I can barely wrap my head around that. It must be...exhausting following all the eras, the trends..." I grinned; a simple question touched my lips. "What's your favourite decade?"

"The sixties," Edward replied without hesitation. He was laid-back and I was glad my questions didn't appear too imposing.

"Really? Why?"

"Better music," Edward said simply. "The Beatles made it worthwhile. But I am very much beginning to enjoy the twenty-first century."

I smiled as I realised his meaning. "I'm glad," I said before jumping onto the next question. "What was the worst decade?"

"Hard to say," Edward said thoughtfully. "There are a few decades that I am glad are over."

"If you had to choose?"

"The seventies. Maybe the nineties– the grunge year." Edward shuddered dramatically.

I giggled. "The nineties weren't the best, huh? What was the best fashion?"

"This is a question for Alice or Rose. However, I didn't mind the thirties and forties too much."

"You're like a walking history book!" I was eager for much more, but I couldn't decide where to else to start.

"You want history; you should talk to Jasper or Carlisle."

"How old is Carlisle?" I had been curious for a long time. I knew from what Henry said that he had turned Edward, but I couldn't even guess how old he actually was.

"Over three hundred years old," Edward told me. I couldn't help my eyes flaring in surprise.

"Wow," I whispered. I tried to look disappointed after a second. "That's too bad. I mean I thought he must have been near the million mark or at least ten hundred or more. Three hundred years is a lot of history, but a couple of thousand is a whole lot more!"

I thought Edward would laugh, or at least smirk with a witty come back, but something had made Edward shut down completely, his eyes dropped past me. It was as if I had switched a button, his mood dramatically changing in seconds, with no warning.

I instantly began to worry. Did he hear something? Was Charlie okay?

"Edward?" I whispered. I shuffled a little more towards him. I placed my hand on his but he was a frozen statue.

I tried to run my mind back to the conversation, piece together what I had said wrong. I knew it was something I had said, he was fine until I joked about Carlisle being older than he was.

I glanced at my cell phone on my night stand. I was so panicked that I would have even asked one of the Cullen's to come over to see what was wrong with him.

"Edward, please talk to me," I prompted. "What did I do? Did I upset you?"

Like the internal switch had been flipped, Edward unfroze instantly, his eyes meeting mine. There was no reassurance inside his deep gold eyes, though, but deep routed pain.

"Edward, please talk to me," I beseeched in a small whisper.

"Nothing," he promised stiffly. "Nothing is wrong."

"Edward, you may think I am an ignorant human, but I can detect a lie when I hear one. You scared the crap out of me. I feel your pain when your upset, but I never know what the cause is. Please tell me; what is wrong?"

Edward's gaze flickered away from mine. An uneasy feeling quivered inside me as he stared towards the window. He was contemplating.

He wanted to get out of this room, I could tell that instantly.

I shot out of bed, and in a flurry of panic I almost crashed into the wall to stand in front of the window. "You are not leaving!" I felt my insides shake. "Don't you dare leave, Edward Cullen. Not until you have told me what is wrong!"

I saw utter surprise spring on Edward's face, before it quickly faded into sheer burning pain. His intense look jolted through my heart, leaving me almost breathless.

"Please," I begged, the tears already brimming to my eye lids. I let the first wave of tears fall before I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. "Edward, we were fine one minute, then the next you freeze up. Please, please, tell me what is going through your head!"

"Bella, this is wrong," Edward said in a hollow voice. "This is wrong in so many ways." He looked stricken, like he had been given news of the worst kind.

I wrapped my arms around my waist, a small comfort while I tried to process his words. "What is wrong?" I asked softly, my voice threatening to break. I was truly frightened; it was hard to keep myself standing.

Edward appeared in front of me. His gaze bore down on mine. He lifted his hands as if to touch me, before he changed his mind and stepped back.

"Us," he whispered brokenly. "We are wrong. You are human, I am vampire. It is wrong!"

I flinched at his hurtful words. I dared not to cry anymore, as my heart felt like it was being stabbed repeatedly. "W...what do you mean?" The world seemed to shake with me as I tried to focus on Edward.

The distance between Edward and I felt like miles.

"Vampires are not designed to mate with humans. It's unheard of for the most part, and for good reason." Edward took yet another step back.

It was as if I was suddenly the plague.

"But we...I...I don't understand," I uttered. My chest tightened as I realised what he was meaning. "You don't love me anymore?"

I thought Edward was going to turn around and snapped my bed into two out of frustration. "Don't ever think that, Bella! Don't ever think that for one second that I don't love you. I always have and I always will!"

"Then tell me, Edward, what you mean exactly?" I almost shouted. He was not making any sense and I wasn't the least bit any the wiser to what he was thinking.

"That's why I wanted to leave, so I could get a clear head until morning." Edward closed his eyes. "That was cowardly of me. I am well and truly sorry, Bella. For everything." Edward pinched the bridge of his nose. "This conversation was always going to come about at some point, but it's my fault it came about this way."

I walked over to him. I peeled his hand away from his face and held it gently. I tried to calm myself down, but I was still shaking at his outburst of words. The pain still tightened my chest, but I wanted to hear every last thing that Edward was thinking.

"Then tell me what is going on. You scared me so much, Edward. I thought for a second you were about to leave. Tell me what is going through your mind."

Edward took my other hands and escorted me back onto the bed. I leaned in close, as I waited for him to explain.

"I do love you," he told me in a soft whisper. "I love you more than my own life. But that's why this is so wrong. That's why we shouldn't be together. Or at least not until you are ready to join me in my world."

"Then turn me now," I said instantly. "If you can't be with me now because of the mere complication of me being human, then I don't want to be one any longer. I don't ever want to be apart from you, Edward."

Edward squeezed my hands gently. "It's not as simple as that, love. I can't just change you right now. You have a life and I won't take it away out of the spur of the moment. No, I need to tell you what made me get like that. But I promise it will never happen again."

"You won't ever leave me?"

Edward took my face in his hands. "I will never leave you," he promised. "I will make it up to you for scaring you like that, but first I need to tell you about one of the oldest vampires of our kind."

My heart was still racing, but at least he wasn't going anywhere. I nodded. "Okay," I said stiffly.

"Like each country has a government, rulers to keep other humans in check, our world also has such people put in place to make sure we don't step out of line. They call themselves the Volturi. They are our world's largest coven, but also the most powerful. Their main goal is to make sure we do not expose ourselves to the rest of the world. They are the unofficial royalty, generally what they say goes and the rest of us have to follow any laws they should impose on us. They have been in power for over three thousand years, with a very powerful, very manipulative vampire called Aro, who most people see as the leader."

It was obvious what he was saying before he said it. "There are laws on vampire and humans having a relationship?" My heart sank. Was Edward in trouble because of me?

Edward fought a twisted smile. "Bella, not many vampires have the control to be this close to a human without..." He met my gaze and his attempt to smile faded. "What we have is unheard of, like I said. So no, that's not technically the law but it is implied. You are human, and you know my secret..." His voice trailed off.

"Oh," I said quietly. "I can see your sudden change of heart. I am putting you in danger." I stood up abruptly, but Edward pulled me back hard. I landed on his lap. He lifted me by the waist, shifting me on the bed beside him.

"Do you really think that I flipped out before because I thought I was in danger?" Edward probed me seriously with his gaze. He shook his head heavily. "Bella, it's not me I am worried about. It's not just that you are human that scares me to death if Aro were to find out you and I was together."

"Then what?" What could be worse than breaking the number one law in the vampire world?

"You are gifted," Edward said simply, but with a heavy undertone. "Aro is a collector. His guard is made up of others who have useful gifts. Think of the term guard as something physical. His guard is there to protect him from any kind of threat, and those whom he has 'collected' are able to provide the protection."

I narrowed my eyes. "But my gift is nothing." I threw up my hands. "Seeing ghosts is not worth collecting."

"Bella, you underestimate yourself and your gift too much. Trust me when I say that Aro would more than love to collect you. It's not only your ability to see spirits that would fascinate him, but the moment he touches you he will know how different you are and not because of the spirits."

"His gift?"

Edward nodded grimly. "Aro's gift is quite similar to mine but more powerful in a way...limited in others. Whereas I can read everyone's thoughts at once, I cannot pick out something individual unless the person is thinking it at the very moment I am in their head. Aro, on the other hand, can read every single thought, dream and desire one person has ever had just by one touch. But that's where it limits; his gift is restricted to touch only."

I let the revelation of this powerful vampire sink in. Then I realised what Edward meant. "You said, "Not because of the spirits". His gift won't work on me. Like yours doesn't."

"I very much doubt it," Edward confirmed. "I am sure your thoughts will be safe from him, too."

"Then...then what does that leave us? You said being together is wrong. I get that now, but..." I didn't want to finish. The thought of him leaving hurt too much.

"I don't know, Bella," Edward said sorrowfully.

"Do you want to leave?" I closed my eyes tightly.

"I am putting you in danger. It's not just Aro finding out that worries me..."

My eyes sprung open and I darted off the bed again. I stared at Edward with unexpected anger. "If this is about your control, Edward, then I will stop you right there. We both know that you are very much in control of your thirst. You have proved that every time my blood has been spilled since we have met. I understand your change of heart, but we can make this work. Even if I am just human. I love you, Edward, and there is no changing the fact. If you leave me now, I will understand, but know that you will be taking a part of me with you. No one has made me feel the way I do until I met you. How many people can say the truly fall in love within days of meeting? I don't care what the risk is with being with you!" I took a breath. I was not one for big, heavy speeches. But it was necessary. "If this Aro finds out about us, then let him come. We will face punishment together." My voice jitters and I try to reign in my plight of love and focus the subject that has brought Edward to question being with me for now. "Whatever happens, we are meant to be together. As far as these Volturi are concerned, you and your family are living a happy existence. They don't know of any laws that you have broken and I am certainly not going to tell them. By the time they find out about me, I will be one of you. No harm done."

Edward gave me a stare that made me nervous. He was thinking; hard. I couldn't even begin to tell what was going on in his mind at that moment, there was no such hint in his beautifully structured face; his eyes were silent, his face with concealed.

My breathing was uneven as I waited for him to speak. I wanted him to say something, anything, but I waited patiently.

I didn't know how to feel. I wanted to tell Edward that I didn't care about these so called leaders at all, but I knew that was ignorant. That way of thinking would only make Edward question our being together further. But I didn't want them to stop us being together. I couldn't physically be away from him for any length of time. It was hard being away from him at the pool, even though I knew he was right there on the balcony.

It wasn't fair that there was an actual law in place to separate us if it came down to us being together.

Although, it was slowly dawning on me that if the royal vampires were to find out that Edward had divulged his secret to me, a mere human, then separation was surely to mean death.

For both of us.

I wouldn't let this be a different version of Romeo and Juliet. We weren't doing anything wrong.

"I don't know what to think anymore, Bella," Edward said finally. "Everything was perfect until I ruined it. But I knew that the conversation of the Volturi was going to come up sooner or later. It's played on my mind since I met you. And it's been brought up within the family. I am putting them at risk as well."

"You're making me feel guilty," I whispered. My instincts were failing me on this one. I couldn't see what Edward was going to do. I knew he loved me too much to stay at the risk of my death if the rulers of his world discovered us being together. But I also knew that he wouldn't have stayed this long if he was convinced that we were in immediate danger. "What are you thinking?"

Edward cast his eyes to meet my own. "Trying to work out if I should follow my head or my heart."

"What about your instincts?"

"They are telling me to never leave your side again," he answered honestly. He leaned over and kissed the crease of my mouth. He pulled back for an instant, his breath kissing my own. "I will make many promises to you, the biggest being that I will protect you at the extent of my own life. I will keep you safe, Bella, but I promise to never leave you again...unless you see sense and wish me away."

"That will never happen." I touched his lips with my own for a brief second. "I can't imagine a life spent without you. My wish will always be to keep you with me...always."

"Then who am I to shatter your wish?" Edward said. He touched my cheek, pressing softly as colour flooded it. "You should get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."

I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could get a word out, Edward had placed me in bed. He held me as close as he always allowed, but even though he was still in bed with me, a duvet apart; I could feel the distance between us.

He wasn't leaving, he as good as promised, but I could tell that his train of thought about us being wrong for each other while I was human was just catching. Our conversation tonight was just the beginning, the spark that I knew deep inside would never go away.

At least while I was human.

Still to come we have the memorial for the accident victims and some of their funerals (I won't do them all). But we still need to find out who that ghost woman is that has hurt Bella...so keep reading to watch the rest of the story unfold. I haven't mentioned too much of Henry yet, but don't worry I will get back to Edward's brother soon. Edward will keep having those spurs of out of characterless in the next few chapters. He will get a little out of control, but in a way that would please any woman with a heartbeat. Still, Bella knows what is right and what is wrong. Unfortunately. Lol. Also like Bella said, those thoughts about them being together are just the beginning for Edward. Hopefully he will keep his promise and doesn't leave. But who knows!

Sadly, there won't be a preview, but reviews make me happy.

Thanks for your patients! I love you guys!