"Edward, I'm fine. Seriously, it's not that bad."

He was frustratingly silent as he packed his guitar back in its case. As he stood up, his face was a blank mask, and this scared me more than anything. This was exactly how he had looked in the hospital in Phoenix, when I couldn't manage to get him to promise that we would always be together. By the time we had returned to Forks, he had perked up and I hadn't given it too much thought. But now, as I saw his face, the memory hit me like a truck, and a strange feeling tore at my chest. I had to make sure this didn't ruin things.

I walked up to him and took both of his hands, forcing him to stand still. They were hot, but once I got over the shock, it wasn't so bad, and I knew they wouldn't burn me if I didn't hold them too long. "Seriously, you should have seen the sunburn I got in Phoenix last year. Renee was buying aloe lotion in bulk that summer," I said lightly.

"Aloe!" Edward's eyes snapped up to mine and he smiled a bit. "That would help the pain. I have some in the car. Come on." He started walking toward the path, pulling me by the hand.

"Edward, wait." I pulled back, and he stood still again. "I know it ended… strangely, but I had a wonderful time. It was a great surprise." I stood up on my toes and kissed him. The heat on his lips was something I had never felt before, and before I knew it, he was pushing my face away with both hands. Something was hurting… as I came out of my reverie, I cried out in pain; he had forgotten my burn and had laid his hand on the tender skin.

"Bella, I'm so sorry! I can't believe I just did that!" He backed away, eyes black again and jaw set. I bit my lip, congratulating myself on my stupidity. Well played, Bella.

"Come on, let's go gets some aloe," I muttered. I walked up to Edward to climb onto his back, but he backed away again.

"No. It'll burn you again," he whispered.

"No it won't. I've been holding your hands, and I just kissed you. My hands aren't burned, and my lips aren't either. It's a time thing, like a sunburn."

"No."

"For heaven's sake! I can't walk back. It'll take all day!" Stubborn vampire.

Edward thought for a moment, and then knelt down by the picnic blanket, unfolding it and shaking out the crumbs. "Come on," he said, throwing it over his back like a cape. I climbed on, and he adjusted the fabric to lay as a barrier everywhere that our skin touched. After he was satisfied, he took the last corner and wrapped it around the front of his neck so I could hold on.

As we headed back through the forest, I tried to ignore the pain shooting up my arm every time Edward's feet hit the forest floor. I knew he was trying his best to run smoothly, and I clenched my teeth to avoid crying out, even as tears were running down my face from the pain.

Edward set me down by the car so carefully it was like slow motion. As soon as he saw my face, he sighed. "Bella, if I had known you were crying-"

I wasn't about let him start again. I needed another reason to explain the tears… "It's just that I want you to let it go, okay? You and me, we're… we're unique. There's bound to be a few bumps in the road, so please don't let it ruin our day. Please don't treat me like- like I'm so breakable. I really did have a great time, and I want to be a happy memory, okay? Please?" I really was crying again now. He was starting to scare me.

The second batch of tears must have worked, because he finally smiled my favorite crooked smile. "You're right, I'm making too much of it. Shh, Bella, it's all right." He reached up and dried the tears on the right side of my face. "At least I'm the right temperature again- look." He reached down and pressed his hand against mine. Sure enough, he was almost back to normal, after our run in the shade.

He opened the door for me and I slid into my seat. By the time I heard the door shut, he was already in the driver's seat, twisting around to reach a large box sitting in the floor of the backseat behind him.

"So… why would a vampire have aloe lotion in his car?" I asked. I had a feeling I wasn't going to like the answer.

He opened the lid, revealing a huge first aid kit. "When vampires have accident-prone human girlfriends, they learn to plan ahead," he smirked as he rummaged through the contents of the box. I leaned over and saw an assortment of band-aids, two epi-pens, tourniquets, several mysterious-looking syringes… unbelievable.

"Dare I ask what the smaller box is, down at the bottom?" I asked. I had a feeling I wasn't going to like the answer to this one, either.

I didn't hear an answer so I looked up, finding Edward with a sheepish look on his face. "It's a bag of… blood. On dry ice," he mumbled, looking away.

I burst out laughing. I couldn't resist the joke that popped into my head. "In case you need a snack on the road sometime?" I giggled. He just looked at me in shock and I laughed even harder. In a moment, he was laughing with me and I finally relaxed.

He handed me a small green tube. "Just massage it in gently, three or four times a day," he ordered, sounding like Carlisle for a moment. I opened the tube and started rubbing it into my elbow, surprised at how cold the cream felt. It was wonderful. And the cold gave me an idea.

"Um, Edward? You don't happen to have an emergency clothes kit, do you? This cream is freezing."

"Ah, now you're thinking like Alice. She prepared that part of the kit, as I'm sure you can imagine." He got out of the car and walked back to the trunk, coming back with a cream-colored sweater. It was surprisingly normal, considering who packed it.

I was relieved to put it on. I certainly wasn't going to say anything to Edward about it, but I had been nervous about Charlie seeing the hand print on my arm. He was used to me coming home with all sorts of bumps and bruises, but even he would think that looked suspicious. As we drove home, Edward told me the stories of how he had learned to play each of his guitars.

.

.

.

We were home before I knew it, and I was surprised to see Charlie's cruiser in the driveway. Edward opened my door for me and kissed me on the cheek; he must have "seen" Charlie watching out the window. Sure enough, the front door opened and Charlie walked out.

"Hey, Edward! Heard you went on your first deer hunt with your folks this weekend. Catch anything?" I bit my lip to keep from laughing, but Edward's face was the picture of innocence.

"Yes, sir, two bucks. I even saw a mountain lion!"

"Whoa! I'm glad you made it out all right. Always good to have a gun with you when you're out that deep in the woods." It was nice to see Charlie making an effort to bond- over his second-favorite hobby, no less. I shut the car door and turned around, taking Edward's hand as I prepared to wait out the male bonding ritual.

Charlie's smile faded away as soon as he saw it. "Whoa, Bells. What'd you do to your face?

I had spent part of the drive home coming up with an answer to this. "Edward and I wanted to cook lunch over a fire, but I found out that campfire cooking and I do not belong together. I managed to splash the boiling water on myself when I was cooking." I was rather proud of my little alibi.

Charlie gave me a funny look, and his eyes drifted back to the burn on my face. Suddenly, I felt Edward stiffen beside me, and his hand tightened on mine. Not a good sign…

Charlie's eyes narrowed as he looked back and forth between Edward and I. Edward's hand tightened on mine even more, but he didn't move or speak. The silence was deafening, and finally Charlie broke in with a gruff voice. "Edward, you'll have to excuse us. I haven't seen Bella all day, and I'd like to spend some quality time with my daughter. Alone." Well, that was a phrase I never thought I would hear.

Edward finally cleared his throat. "Actually, sir, I was wondering if we could-"

"Goodbye, Edward."

Edward cleared his throat again and looked at Charlie for a moment longer before turning to me. "I'm going to head home and unpack. See you tomorrow?" His eyes were full of meaning, and I nodded nervously.

Charlie and I stood in awkward silence as we watched Edward's car head down the street. I knew he wouldn't go far; something was obviously wrong, and he would surely up in my bedroom soon, listening in on Charlie's thoughts during whatever awkward conversation we were about to have.

As soon as we were back in the house, Charlie turned on me, his eyes unusually gentle. He hesitated a moment, then took a deep breath. "Bells, is there anything you want to tell me, now that Edward's gone?" he asked softly.

"Like what?" My pulse quickened and I could feel my heart rising up my throat.

He gestured to my face. "That wasn't made from boiling water, and you know it."

My face turned hot. "Well, it was …"

"What?" He crossed his arms, waiting.

"Okay, I didn't want to tell you in front of Edward, but…" I had to think of something! What could I have possibly burned myself with, other than a vampire boyfriend? I was the klutziest person on earth, and my mind quickly scrolled through all the things I had burned myself with in the past. Pots and pans, metal spoon, curling iron…

"Curling iron!" I blurted out. Charlie's eyebrows shot up, and he gestured for me to go on. "I was really excited about seeing Edward again today, so while I was waiting for him I was… I was trying out a new look for my hair, but when I was just getting started, it accidentally touched my face, and… and when it scared me I dropped it, and it burned the whole side of my face as it fell. Anyway, I felt really stupid about it, and I never did get my hair curled, and so I told him the boiling water thing, only that it happened while I was… cooking breakfast." I looked back up, to see if he bought my ridiculous story.

"So… uh, how are things between you two, you know, lately?" His face turned red and he started scratching the back of his head again. Bad sign.

"Great! We took a walk out in the woods, and he played guitar for me. I didn't even know he could play. I mean, I knew he could play piano, but I didn't know he could play guitar." I knew I was rambling, but I couldn't help it.

"Oh. Well, it sounds like you had a nice time." He seemed more relaxed now.

"So, Ch- Dad, how come you're home so early today?"

He gave me a strange look, and my heart started skipping beats again. He scratched the back of his head again. "Oh, I dunno… I just had a funny feeling. Just thought I'd take the rest of day off. I was thinking about a fishing trip, but it was already too hot."

"Yeah, a scorcher," I replied, with a little nervous laugh. Maybe this conversation was over, after all.

"It was. It was sweltering, actually, so why are you wearing a sweater?"

I froze. He had totally caught me off guard and I didn't have a story ready. Think, Bella, think! As I opened my mouth, inspiration hit me. "We got so hot earlier that we went for a splash in the creek. You know, that little one a ways behind the house. Anyway, I got so wet I got a chill."

Charlie didn't even blink. "Your clothes aren't wet."

"Well, it was a while ago. My hair dried pretty quickly in the sun, too." What was he getting at?

"Could you take off your sweater, please?" His voice was cold now.

"Uh… I'm still a little chilly, actually."

He just stood there with his arms folded. I blew out a huge sigh and pulled the sweater over my head, trying very hard not to wince as the fabric rubbed along my elbow as I slid it off.

"Geez, Bella!" But his hands flew up to my left shoulder, where the welt from earlier had turned into a huge, ugly purple bruise. This was good. Maybe he'd stop there, and not see the real one…

"What, that? Oh, you know me. I was running to get the phone this morning, and my bad knee buckled. I hit the counter on the way down." It felt good to say something true for once today.

But to my dismay, his frown only deepened, and he walked around to my other side. His breath caught in his throat as he saw the handprint, and when he held up his hand next to the burn, comparing the shape, my head started spinning. I hadn't planned a story for this one, and my mind was an absolute blank. I had nothing.

"He's been hurting you, hasn't he?" he asked, his voice quivering.

"Of course not! He would never-"

"Then how did all this happen?" He pointed back to my face, and the bruise on my shoulder.

"I…" I looked into his eyes, and I did the worst thing possible. I burst into tears; how could I do anything else? I couldn't tell him the truth, and for the life of me I couldn't think straight enough to think of another alibi. I felt a ridiculous urge to call for Edward to come downstairs, but I knew it would only raise more questions that we wouldn't be able to answer. How was I going to fix this?

He wrapped me in a gentle bear hug, which made me cry even harder. After a few moments, I was able to finally squeak out a sentence. "It's not … it's not what you think, Charlie, I swear to God it's not."

I could feel his tears sliding down my cheek, mingling with my own. "I want to believe you sweetheart, I really do. But you have to give me an explanation that makes sense. You have to." He pushed me away far enough to look into my eyes, but I had nothing to give him. I couldn't think anymore, and my head was pounding. I just shook my head.

Charlie was scratching his head again now, but he was standing up straighter. "Bella, look, I know it's hard to… to talk about these things. I've been a cop for a long time, so I'm used to playing the bad guy in these… these situations. I'll call him and tell him he can't see you anymore. Maybe we could-"

"NO!" I shouted, and he jumped back in surprise. "Charlie, you can't! He's… he would never hurt me, you have to believe me! He's everything to me!" I was crying again now, and Charlie held his hands up between us.

"I know you've been through a lot together, but…" He trailed off, and his gaze fell downward. What was he looking at? His eyes snapped back up to mine, and now they were bright with anger. His hands balled in fists at his side, and when he spoke, I could barely hear him. "Bells, I'm gonna run into work for just a few minutes. Don't go anywhere – I'll be right back." He grabbed his police belt off its hook and slammed the door behind him.

As soon as it shut, I was running up the stairs, bad knee and all. I only had a few minutes for Edward to tell me everything Charlie had been thinking, and help me come up with a good alibi for the hand print. I flung open the door to my bedroom, but my heart sank into my stomach.

He wasn't there.

I sat down slowly on the bed, thinking. Charlie had looked so angry right before he left. What was he going to do? And why hadn't Edward come back? I reached over to my phone and called his cell number, but I got no answer. My stomach twisted as I imagined a hundred awful scenarios, and I pulled my knees up to my chin, wrapping my arms around them as my tears began again.