Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.
A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.
Chapter Eight
Reading Twilight
"Hello," Bella smiled at the godlike figure standing by her window and he smiled back. "I guess you know I'm finished."
"Yes, and it only took you an hour and forty seven minutes," Edward smiled. "I get to have an extra thirteen minutes with you."
Bella rolled her eyes and then laughed at that comment. She stayed where she was sitting, watching him as he made his way towards her, picking up one of the books that was on her bed and handing it to her.
"So how is this going to work … do you want to read out loud?" Edward questioned and he smiled at the idea. It would be interesting seeing her react to everything that happened in the book.
However, Bella was shaking her head. "I prefer not to …"
"You don't have to be embarrassed with me," Edward informed her.
"I still prefer not to," Bella shrugged, and opened the book, Twilight, at the middle.
"What are you doing?" Edward exclaimed, looking at her incredulously.
"I'm reading a book, what does it look like I'm doing?" Bella furrowed her eyebrows, had she missed something? Didn't he want her to read this book now?
"Exactly, and you're supposed to start a book from the beginning … not jump into it at the middle," Edward explained.
"But I already know what happens in the beginning," Bella whined, "and I really want to know what's going to happen next."
"So you're not curious at all?" Edward said raising an eyebrow. There was an odd smirk on his face, like he knew he was about to say something that she couldn't disagree with. "About what you thought when we first met … what your take was on all the incredible things that were happening around you?"
"Nope," Bella said, though he could see that her eyes were brimming with curiosity.
"Really," Edward smirked, "I know I'm curious to know what I thought for the first half of this book, even the hard to read parts … I think it would be interesting to see what I was thinking."
"Well, that's nice, but I want to read from here," Bella said stubbornly, the page turned to the chapter entitled Balance.
"If that's what you want," Edward pouted, "I just thought that you would like to know everything that's going on …"
"You don't play fair," Bella grumbled. He had made her curious now and she was finding herself wondering what she had felt in the beginning, wondering if it was what she was feeling now.
"Of course not," Edward chuckled.
"But I still want to know what's going to happen next," Bella pouted this time, indecisive of what she should do next.
"Bella, you have plenty of time, will it really be that hard to wait a day or two?" Edward asked, amused about something more than her dilemma.
"What does that smirk mean?" Bella questioned.
"I had to wait twenty four days … you have no idea how hard that was," Edward smiled, but his voice was a little distant as he thought of that time.
"I'm sorry," Bella said soothingly, she didn't like the distance in his voice. "I supposed I can read from the beginning. It wouldn't be so awful."
"Thanks so much for your sacrifice," Edward said with a fake frown. "I know how difficult this must be for you."
Bella rolled her eyes and turned the pages back to the beginning. "Happy now?"
"Immensely," Edward smiled at her pouting expression.
Bella started to read then, looking up every once in a while as she felt his gaze on her. She would blush whenever she did this, feeling self conscious as she read about what would have been her first thoughts of Edward if neither one of them had never gotten the books. The first chapter went by like this. She was barely paying attention to the book as she had already known what was going to happen here. She had already lived through this day so it didn't matter much. She instantly felt grateful that she listened to him about reading from the beginning, it was going to take her a while to get used to having him in the room, watching her read.
After she finished the first chapter she looked up at him, not sure what she should do now … she didn't have any questions about this, it was straightforward, but she felt that it would make sense if they discussed things. Why else would he be there? Well, other than the fact that he wanted to be close to her that is.
"I'm done with the first chapter," Bella announced, he was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room and she was in her bed, having gone there to get more comfortable.
"Hm … did you find it interesting?" Edward questioned, his brows furrowed. He was looking almost disappointed about something.
"Not really … your version had a lot more information in it … and I already know why you're glaring at me," Bella shrugged. "Oh … about that … do you want the copy of Midnight Sun … it's on the shelf there …" she added pointing at the bundle of papers.
"Yes, but I think for now I'll rather watch you read," Edward smiled at her. "Though I must say I was hoping that you would have reacted more to things …"
"Maybe you'll get your wish once I read something new," Bella told him.
"Then carry on reading," Edward said, "Don't mind me."
So Bella started reading the next chapter, again she found it to be a little mundane, though there was one part that caught her off guard.
"Wow, I never thought Charlie would feel that way!" Bella said. "He really thinks Carlisle is something …"
"Yes, we were quite surprised about that, too," Edward chuckled. "It was nice to hear."
The only other reaction to the chapter Bella made was grimacing when she read about her gym class. She could just hear Emmett laughing at her for that. In fact, she could actually hear Edward chuckling as she read that, her face must have been showing her annoyance.
Again she announced that she was on the next chapter, feeling that it was best this way and she noticed that he stiffened at that. Knowing what was going to happen she gave him a reassuring smile and then she frowned.
"Edward," she said before she read on. "Tyler is still going to have a car accident isn't he? I mean nothing we have done yet would change him deciding to take that turn to quickly."
Edward grimaced; his eyes looked thoughtful, but also dark. "I won't let you get hurt."
Bella rolled her eyes. "I know that. I just … I don't want anyone else getting hurt either."
"Well, I suppose we could have someone driving in front of Tyler … make sure he goes a reasonable speed around that corner," Edward said. "I'll talk to Alice about that."
Bella nodded her head and then started reading again. Again the only thing that really caught her off guard with this chapter was Charlie's unspoken concern for her … that he was actually taking care of her, by putting chains on her truck's tires when she had always been the one to take care of her mother.
Edward didn't want to disturb her reverie so he waited for her to start reading again before he asked softly, "what did you just read?"
"Charlie put chains on my truck," Bella answered him, her voice just as soft.
"He cares about you very deeply," Edward said with a caring smile. "You're probably the most important thing in his life."
Bella didn't know what to say to that, but again she was touched. It had only been five days since she moved back here, too short of a time to know if he was right or not, but she couldn't help but feel the sincerity in Edward's voice.
Still she started to read again. She got through most of this chapter with no trouble, she knew what was going to happen after all; there was nothing to worry about. It was a little odd, hearing her thoughts about how she dismissed some of the things and held fast to the others. It was intriguing hearing her thought process as she was faced with the incredible and unbelievable things happening around her.
"Um …" she said as she put down the book, it was starting to get late and she had to get to bed soon … she would just have to wait to read the rest tomorrow.
"Finished for tonight," Edward said cheerfully, he could tell that she was finding the book more intriguing the longer she read, and naturally he found himself wishing he knew what she was thinking about it.
"Yes," Bella said. "I was just wondering something."
"What's that?" Edward asked.
"When did you realize that you couldn't read my mind while you were reading this book?" Bella asked. "Was it during our first conversation … when I told you I was an open book … or was it sometime during this chapter?"
"I was aware of that fact during that whole conversation, I made more mistakes than I should have," Edward chuckled. "But no, it wasn't until we were in the hospital and I was shocked when you told me everything that you saw me do to save your life that I knew for sure."
"That must have been unnerving to find out," Bella said.
"Yes, it was, but not nearly as unnerving as the truth is," Edward said smirking at her. "How I wish I could hear just one thought from you. Emmett and Alice found this all very amusing …"
"Argh," Bella groaned.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you that they..." Edward started,
"No, I remembered that your whole family has read this," Bella grumbled, angrily. "I can just imagine everything that Emmett would laugh at... it's quite annoying actually."
"Sorry, but there's nothing I can do about that now," Edward frowned.
"I know that," Bella sighed. "I think the worst part of it is that I can't even be legitimately mad at them, because I did the same thing to you."
Edward chuckled at that. "Hm... are you sorry that you read the book then?"
"No," Bella shook her head. "I think I have a better understanding of you... a lot better than I do in this book at least. A little embarrassment is worth the trade off for that."
"Goodnight, Bella," Edward said softly, standing as he said it and walking closer to her.
"You don't have to go," Bella said. "You can stay... in the chair."
"Tempting," Edward said, indeed tempted, but he wanted to try something first. He had been jealous of how easily his family was able to be near her today, and he wanted that, too. He reached out his hand, slowly but deliberately and she didn't move or shy away from him. In fact it seemed like she was moving into him, though she was trying to steady herself. Then he was touching her cheek, her skin was warm, but that was nothing to the shock that went though him, burning through his icy skin, awaking things in him that he never knew before.
"Wow," Bella said breathlessly as he lowered his hand. She had felt the electric current going through her, making the touch feel like it went so much deeper than possible.
"Yes," Edward said, as he lowered his hand. It was a mistake to touch her now, because he now never wanted to stop touching her. He knew he wasn't ready for that; prolonged exposure to her would only drive him mad. Still, he was glad he had touched her all the same, that was one hurdle down and only a million or so to go before he would be ready.
"Goodnight, Bella," he then repeated.
"Goodnight, Edward," Bella said back, this time letting him go, knowing that he wouldn't be far.
The next day Bella woke up to the wonderful scent of the Orange Blossoms. She could definitely get used to that, though waking up next to Edward might be better. She got ready for school quickly, and was tempted to read part of the book now, but she had a feeling that Edward wouldn't like that... he wanted to see her read. She didn't know why that would be so fascinating to him, but she didn't want to disappoint him if she could help it. Besides, she was sure to come across something that she wanted to talk to him about eventually and it would be more convenient if he was there.
She got to school early, in hopes that he would be there too, and of course he was. She wasn't sure if he had driven there with his siblings, or merely ran there from her house, but she didn't think of asking that because as soon as she saw him it didn't matter. After they exchanged pleasantries Bella asked Edward what he did last night.
"I read," Edward said. "Midnight Sun was very interesting."
"You read the whole book?" Bella questioned, it had taken her more than a day to read it and she always considered herself a fast reader... of course there was all the discussions she had with Jacob but still...
"Yes, me and my family," Edward said. "It's much the same as Twilight I have to admit, but it's nice to finally know what I was thinking. I must tell you that I was called an idiot more times in those four hours than I have ever been in my whole life... even more so than when I was reading Twilight!"
"It couldn't have been all that much fun to read," Bella said, after listening to him laugh for a minute; she liked the sound of his musical laughter.
"No... It wasn't," Edward said, frowning now, and Bella wished that she hadn't brought it up. "I thought it would have been bad reading my original thoughts about you... especially my deadly thoughts, but it was bearable... honestly, I think the hardest chapter for all of us to read was the fourth... when..."
"Alice had her vision of me," Bella supplied, for she didn't like the look in his eyes, it was dark.
"Yes," Edward said, amused that she would say that, when he was thinking about the family meeting where they talked about eliminating their threat... her.
"Yes, that would be hard for you to hear," Bella said comfortingly, and he looked at her, shaking his head with a smirk. She was clearly trying to soothe him as he talked about this; that was so his Bella. The bell rang in the distance and Bella startled, looking at the school building with a frown. She wished that she could spend more time with Edward, but it would just have to wait until lunch.
Lunch couldn't have come soon enough, and she was a little surprised to find that Edward was sitting at a table alone waiting for her. She thought for sure Alice would have forced her to sit with the rest of the Cullens, but it looked like they were still giving her time to get used to just Edward.
She told Edward then that she wanted to read more today than she was able to yesterday and to do that it would be better if she went home today. That way she could get her homework done and cook dinner before Charlie got home and she would have the rest of the evening with Edward and the book. Edward agreed with this easily enough and they spent the rest of lunch asking each other questions.
She did exactly what she had said she would and everything worked occurring to plan. By seven o'clock she was in her bed, Edward was sitting across from her with a bemused expression on his face and she was reading the next chapter. She grimaced as she read the chapter title and remembered what was going to happen. She seriously hoped that she could avoid this happening in this reality. After all, she was spending all her time with Edward so those boys couldn't possibly think of asking her out... to a girls' choice dance... right?
She knew that she made faces at all the right moments as she read this chapter and the next, because she could almost feel Edward's amusement coming off him, though every time she looked up his face was arranged in an innocent expression.
However, the chapter after that was more interesting. This was the chapter that didn't have Edward in it at all, so it was completely new to her. She smiled when the book talked about going to the tide pools, and at her first thoughts about Jacob. She could see that she had liked him from the start and was annoyed with herself for using him like she did to get the information she wanted out of him.
"What's the matter, Bella?" Edward questioned, when he noticed the expression on her face. She seemed close to tears and she didn't know if it was because she was angry with herself or because she was feeling so guilty about this.
"It's nothing," Bella said. "I just wish... I wish I didn't pump Jacob for information like this."
"Yes, I do, too," Edward said, though he was thinking that it probably only encouraged the pup's infatuation with his Bella. "I'm sure he understands."
"Yes," Bella agreed, still downcast. "At least I could tell Jacob that it's not all his fault... if Sam hadn't said what he did about the Cullens I never would have questioned Jacob."
Edward was frowning at that. His thoughts on the tiny town of La Push and the werewolves he had thought where gone, yet they still existed.
"He really is a werewolf now, isn't he?" Bella asked, reading the expression on his face and remembering her talk with Jacob about this. Edward looked at her with surprise... how would she know that when they didn't figure that out until the second book? Again, she answered him as if she was the mind reader and his mind was completely open to her. "Jacob... er... said he thought that Sam was a werewolf... that Sam has been at council meetings and he remembered a time when Sam went missing."
"Yes, he's a werewolf," Edward answered softly and Bella paled a little, trying to calm herself down.
"And Jacob..." Bella started to question.
"He's just a boy," Edward said. He was wondering if there was a way for things to work out so that Jacob... and most of the other younger boys wouldn't have to turn into monsters.
"And is he going to change?" Bella asked, reading the hesitation on his face.
Edward sighed, "I can't be sure... but he did in the books."
"Oh, Jake," Bella sighed, wishing there was something she could do to stop that.
"I think you should read now," Edwards suggested.
"Right," Bella said, still thinking about what was going to happen to her poor friend.
However, she did read the rest of this chapter and quickly moved on to the next. She found her nightmare to be disturbing. It was odd how much there was actually true in that dream, even if most of it seemed unbelievable. She found her search on the internet entertaining. She supposed she really didn't have anything better to look at, but still, real vampires wouldn't be that easy to look up. The way she made her decision about what to do about Edward was interesting, too, but she already knew that she didn't have a choice in this matter. For her, she didn't even have to meet Edward in person to know that he was the one for her and having him there in front of her must only have strengthened that thought.
She moved on to the next chapter, reading the first part as quick as she could, she didn't really want to know what she thought about when she was being herded into a sick trap. However, she had to ask Edward one thing about this man before she kept on reading.
"Edward," she said in a shaky voice. She looked up at him then and saw his face was set in a hard scowl, his eyes burned with anger. He clearly knew what she was reading at the moment.
"Yes," he said curtly, obviously trying to disguise his anger.
"What are you going to do about, Lonnie?" Bella asked, not hiding her fear when she said the name. She no longer feared for herself, of course, she had Edward and he would protect her if she were ever to face this man in this reality. However, she was afraid for the girl that would take her place... or the girl that came before her... before her in the book, but maybe not in this reality.
"Alice has been looking for him since we finished reading," Edward informed her in a stiff, barely controlled voice. "It was difficult for her... not knowing his name, or anything else that made him stand out, but we have hopes that she will find him now. If not, we will be going to Port Angles soon... and making sure that he doesn't do anything there."
"Okay," Bella nodded her head, feeling relieved about that. It made reading that part of the story easier, she knew this man was going to be taken care of and so she didn't have to worry about anything.
The ease of mind which she had now, made it that much easier for her to enjoy reading the rest of the chapter and the next one. Her thoughts on these matters were interesting to hear. She didn't really like the fact that she was so afraid of Edward leaving though... she could understand her feelings of course, with the way that Edward was behaving, and she would feel them too if Edward really decided to leave, but she didn't think he was going to go anywhere. No, if he was going to leave, she assured herself, he never would have showed himself to her in the first place. It was as simple as that so she had no fear of him leaving in this reality, but she wasn't so sure about in the books.
"I think that's enough for today," Edward said when she informed him that she had finished the chapter. He was looking at the clock and it was later than it was the other night.
Bella looked at the clock, too, and sighed. "Yes, I suppose it is... and I've almost caught up with myself, now..."
"Well, then you'll have something new and interesting to read tomorrow," Edward chuckled.
"Right," Bella said, suddenly feeling sleepy and it wasn't long after that that she actually did fall asleep.
The next day passed much the same as the last one did. She enjoyed her lunch with Edward as they talked about things, getting to know each other more soundly, getting more comfortable with each other. After she had to say goodbye to him after Biology, she was dazed, which was never good before gym and she may have caused a few accidents because of it. Then there was her allotted homework time which she squeezed in with making dinner. Seeing as Charlie wasn't home yet, and she was used to his presence while she read, she let Edward help her with homework this time. She had to admit it did take a little longer than it should have, but the fact that he was with her was well worth it.
Again, it was seven o'clock that she was able to start reading, Edward taking his seat in the rocking chair. Bella read through this chapter without any questions or comments, but she did blush and huff a lot as she remembered all the things that he listened to. The next chapter was much the same; however, when she got about half way through she noticed the chapter went farther along than the other book. She started reading eagerly when she noticed this, it was all going to be new to her now and she was finally going to get answers to some of her questions.
She did however have to ask Edward about what they were going to do about Angela and Ben, seeing as he was the reason that they got together in the first place. Edward sighed and said that they would have to think of something, because he didn't think the plan in Midnight Sun would work, seeing as everyone was talking about his and Bella's relationship already. As you can imagine, Bella made a face at the mention of the attention she was getting, but was glad at least that it was bearable to her as long as she was with Edward.
Though most of the rest of the chapter was filled with questions that lacked answers, at least in the book, she had answered out loud to Edward in the last few days, she was intrigued how the chapter ended. The Blacks had come to visit her, Billy seeing Edward. She quickly went on to the next chapter, wondering how she was going to handle that. She was a little bit upset about how she treated Jacob, hardly noticing him because she was worried about what Billy would say but at least it showed that she did like him and that Jacob was okay with her and Edward's relationship.
Then the chapter moved on to show her making excuses so that Edward wouldn't get in trouble if anything bad happened to her. Bella paused there for awhile, thinking about what she would do at the moment if she was in her own shoes, surely she would have done the same thing. Looking up at Edward she knew that she would, though she knew that it would be a futile effort. It wouldn't matter if anyone blamed him for her death or not, he would not be able to get over that, she had heard his thoughts enough to believe that.
"What is it?" Edward questioned, seeing her pensive expression, but not knowing where she was reading from so he couldn't possibly guess what she was thinking.
"I was just reading about lying to Jessica and Charlie about..." Bella said, pausing for a second to think of the best way to phrase it, "going with you to the meadow."
"You mean when you covered for me in case I slipped up," Edward said, a little harshness in his voice that she hadn't heard before.
"I knew you wouldn't," Bella shrugged and Edward glared at her.
"I was hoping that you were going to take some more care with your safety than you did in the book, but it looks like that will be too much for you," Edward groaned. "At least in this particular case I don't think we can keep it a secret... We've been together too much for that."
"That's what I was thinking," Bella chuckled. "But I wouldn't have done this even if everyone would have believed me, because there wouldn't have been a point. I know that you would never hurt me."
Edward rolled his eyes, exasperated at the comment, even though he believed it to be true. He was never going to risk being alone with her like that until he had control of himself.
Bella began reading the book again soon after that, her curiosity getting the better of her. This was what she'd been dying to read about since Saturday night when she had finished Midnight Sun with Jacob. Finally, she was going to know what happened once she got to the meadow with Edward. She read on to the next chapter, a little annoyed the other one stopped when it was just starting to get good. She didn't really care about reading about him walking into the sun, for she already knew about that. Still, she made a mental note to have Edward show her what he looked like in the sun as soon as it was possible. She was curious to know if it was like she had pictured in her head. Knowing that everything about Edward was so much better than she had imagined, she had a feeling that this would be, too.
"What are you doing?" Bella said out loud as soon as she got to the part where Edward was showing, quite descriptively how powerful a vampire was.
"Um..." Edward said, bowing his head, because he could see in her bemused expression what part she was reading about. "I have no idea... I wondered that myself when we read that..."
"You seem so excited," Bella chuckled. "If you weren't acting so frightening I might want to see that..."
"Of course you would," Edward rolled his eyes. "Just keep reading, Bella."
"Okay," Bella chuckled again and then started reading, smug at the fact that things indeed seemed to have worked out for them just as she thought they would and that they had obviously grown a lot closer after that trip to the forest. Of course everything wasn't solved there, he was still affected by her scent, but he wasn't shying away from her any more. It gave her hope that someday soon Edward would be able to hold her like that too. And then he just had to ruin it by...
"You took me running..." Bella said, paling at just the thought of it, how it was described in the book. "Even after how I panicked just driving in the car with you."
"Bella," Edward said exasperated. "You must know that I would never let you get hurt like that... that you would be completely safe in my arms..."
"I suppose," Bella admitted grudgingly.
"Besides, I think you're going to like how I try to help you recover from this," Edward smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. He was highly anticipating Bella's reaction to their first kiss.
"Oh," Bella said. She could feel the blush coming to her face as she watched his angelic face smile at her in a way that made her stomach turn in the best way. As soon as she could break away from his gaze, she read the book again with anticipation.
"We kiss," she breathed out seconds later and beamed at Edward, who was smiling back, knowing that she didn't read the whole kiss yet as she wasn't embarrassed enough. No, Bella was just so excited, she thought it would have taken longer than this... she wasn't even sure if it was possible with how conflicted he seemed to be, and she was elated that it was.
She turned back to the book and as soon as she read her reaction in the book her cheeks started to burn crimson; she had attacked him. And he'd read this with his whole family. She looked up at him, she could hear his silent chuckles and she tried to glare at him, but she was too embarrassed to pull it off.
"Ah... that's what I was expecting," Edward chuckled at the weak glare.
"Stop it," Bella grumbled. Then she sighed, knowing that she had only made it harder on him, "I'm sorry I reacted like that..."
"I'm not," Edward said, and he wasn't, as long as she wasn't hurt he would always like that kind of reaction. "I like that I'm irresistible."
Bella rolled her eyes, still quite red in the face and then ducked her head back in the book in hopes that it would hide her face, knowing it was a futile attempt. Bella read through the next chapter in a daze, still feeling elated about knowing that she could eventually kiss Edward and that it probably wouldn't take too much longer for that to happen and embarrassed by her reactions to the kiss. Soon enough, though, she was caught up in the book again, lost in the details that he was telling her. She liked it when he was talking about his family; most of that stuff was new to her in a way, a different perspective at least.
However, the part she liked best was when she read that he stayed with her all night and more importantly that he had held her all night long. Again, she couldn't wait for that to happen, she knew that she had to be patient for a little while, but she hoped it wouldn't take too long.
The next chapter, she got a little nervous reading the title as she was clearly going to go to the Cullens' house in this chapter. She wasn't sure of the kind of reception she was going to get from most of them, knowing it couldn't possibly be as warm as the one that she had gotten a few days ago. This was what they would have thought of her if they didn't already know everything about her and somehow that made her feel nervous. However, at the start of the chapter, she found herself relaxing because of the simple conversation she was having with Edward. It seemed that she wasn't awkward with him anymore... or at least not as awkward as she was before and she loved how close they were getting.
Of course as soon as their second kiss was mentioned and the fact that she passed out she was blushing again, and Edward chuckled. She really wished she could have known what she did to him when they kissed, hoping that it would affect him similarly to her, but unfortunately she couldn't. She read on, not looking at Edward, though she could feel his amused eyes on her the whole time.
Bella was pleased to see that the meeting with the Cullens was similar to the one that she had a few days ago, they really did seem to accept her. Though she did note the differences, ones that she was expecting, but they still made her frown. Rosalie clearly didn't like her at all and wasn't about to make the attempt to try. Again she wondered what might have happened in the books that would have changed the blonde vampire's opinion of her. She wasn't too worried about Emmett's absence, she knew it wouldn't take much for her book self to make him come over to her side; one conversation would probably do it. Jasper, on the other hand, though trying to make the attempt to be friendly recently seemed to be more standoffish in the book. Was that because she appealed more to him there... or because she didn't really mean anything to him, she was just Edward's girlfriend. She didn't know, and wasn't likely to find out.
She smiled when Edward started playing the lullaby for her, she could hear the notes in her head, which was only made all the better when Edward started humming the tune too.
"How did you know I was reading that?" Bella questioned with a smile after he had finished the song.
"You had this smile on your face... I noticed it while I was playing the music for you earlier, I thought this might be what it meant," Edward explained, pleased that he was right.
Soon after that she was reading about Carlisle's past, which she found to be very intriguing indeed. So much so that she didn't even pause to tell Edward that she was moving on to the next chapter, so she could hear more about Edward's father.
It was rather amazing reading about how much Carlisle was willing to do so that he wouldn't be a danger to humans... so that he was even able to save people and make a real difference in the world. He really was one of the most compassionate people that she'd ever met.
When she got to the part about Carlisle being with the other vampires in Italy, having no idea what problems they were to cause them in the future books, she asked Edward how many vampire existed in the world.
"I can't be sure, I'm sure the number chances every day," Edward said thoughtfully, thinking mostly of the south and the armies that were still there. "More than you're thinking I'm sure, but not too many when you compare it to the human populations."
"That's not really an answer, you know," Bella pouted.
"Thousands at least... perhaps even tens of thousands," Edward rolled his eyes.
"Oh... okay," Bella gulped and then started reading again, enjoying the rest of Carlisle's story, especially the part with Edward in it, but it was a little sad to hear about him being ill.
"Wow," Bella said as she finished the chapter, caught off guard by Edward's carefree nature at the end of it. Again she longed to see that happy and free Edward, the one that didn't shy away from her at all. The one that must have been in complete or near to complete control as he could get.
"What?" Edward questioned again trying to read her expression.
"Um... I didn't know you played baseball," Bella said, not really sure how to explain her thoughts so she went on to another thing she was thinking about. "That must be interesting to see."
"It really is," Edward said, controlling his expression easily because he knew this was coming. Of course she was going to read about what was going to happen next, but there was no need for her to worry about it tonight, not when it was time for her to go to bed now.
"I guess my curiosity is just going to have to wait until tomorrow," Bella frowned when she noticed the time. "But at least it's Friday and I should be able to finish the book then!"
"You'll still have three more books after that," Edward reminded her.
"I know," Bella nodded her head. "I'll get to them soon enough."
A/N: Wow, seriously this took a lot longer than I thought and I'm not even finished yet. However, I'm behind again, writing twice a week is too much for everything else I have to do, and this chapter is longer than any other except for the first so it should be enough. The next chapter is obviously going to be Bella continuing to read Twilight, and it's going to be more emotional than this one... everything bad happens in the next chapters. Edward and Bella are also going to have more discussions in the next chapter, I promise. So until next week, I hope this is good enough.