A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed/favorited/followed! All mistakes are mine. I hope ya'll like this chapter! Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

"You make me wanna pull this truck to the side of the road, slide on over, let me hold you close and tell you everything I'm thinking." – Thomas Rhett

Chapter 17

BPOV

February 2009

Walking into Mr. Masen's class, I feel a sense of anticipation was over me. Ever since the semester started, I have always been too eager to go to this class even though it's my only class without Edward. Mr. Masen has proven to be a really great teacher. He's witty and smart and he knows how to handle a bunch of high school kids without being a dick about it. He's by far my favorite teacher that I've ever had.

Not only is he cool, but he gets us as students. Ever since we all turned in our letters about what we wanted out of this class, he has specifically made adjustments to the class based on what we all said. For the people who wanted to work hard and really learn, he gives us plenty of challenging books to read and write about. For the people who know they will never use this stuff in the real world, he gives easier books to read and write about.

Our entire class loves him, especially me. I thought that I would hate this class because it was my only one without Edward, but I was completely wrong. Mr. Masen is the best teacher I've ever had.

"Alright class, I need you to finish up what you all are doing and turn your attention to me." I turn to face the front of the class where Mr. Masen is standing. "Next week, we will be starting a research paper. You can choose any topic of you want, but you have to be in class that day. If you aren't, I will be choosing your topic and I will make it something that you will not enjoy." He tries to smirk at us before he starts dying from laughter. It's so hard to take him seriously sometimes. "I'm just kidding about not enjoying you're topic." He pauses. "Or am I?" The entire class bursts out in laughter. "Now I don't care what you write about, as long as it is well written with a strong thesis. You need three outside sources and it must be 1500 words. You have until the end of the semester to finish it and turn it in. Sound alright?"

The class groans collectively, except for me. I immediately know what I want to write about. Wuthering Heights. I can feel the anticipation grow in my stomach. I can't remember ever being this excited about an essay before.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go whine to your friends and have a good weekend, everyone! If you all are going to the football game tonight, make sure you stay warm!" He yells as we pack up our things and leave.

I walk out of class to find Edward by the door waiting on me. He sees the smile on my face and asks, "Good class?"

I smile even bigger and nod my head. I walk over to him and wrap my arms around his neck. He places his arms around my waist and pulls me closer to him. He buries his head in the crook of my neck. "You want to go to the game tonight or go do something else?"

"I'll go wherever you want to go."

I can feel him smirk on my neck before replying. "So if I wanted to go jump off of a cliff, you'd go with me?"

I pull back from him so he can see me roll my eyes at him. I playfully smack his chest before replying. "You know what I mean."

"You sure you don't mind going to the game tonight? I can't even play and it's supposed to start getting really cold. It's supposed to snow next week too." I can feel him go stiff beside me. What's that all about?

"Yeah, I'm sure I'll be fine. I have a giant new coat to keep me warm." I smile at him, ignoring his stiffness. He smiles and leans in to kiss me.

He pulls back slightly and says, "You do, don't you?" All the stiffness has left his body now. He's completely relaxed in my arms.

"I do now, because of you." I smile and lean back in to kiss him.

"Oh, for Pete's sake, would you two just get a room so I don't have to see this every time I am around you guys?"

Edward and I abruptly break away upon hearing Emmett's outburst. I look to see him with the rest of our friends. Standing a few feet away from us is Emmett, Rosalie, Seth, and Jacob. Jacob is staring at me in a way that makes me feel uncomfortable. I try to ignore him and focus on Edward and Emmett.

"Oh, just let the two lovebirds have their fun. I'm just happy that it's Bella that Edward is thinking about this week…" Seth says, a somber edge in his voice.

He and Edward exchange a look. I'll have to ask Edward about it later.

"Are you two coming to eat with us before the game or not?"

"Yeah, we'll meet you there. Come on, Bella." Edward takes my hand and leads me to his car.

We talk about mindless things on the car ride to the restaurant. Our conversations goes from everything to types of cars to favorite foods to things we want to do with our lives. Edward seems to have his entire life planned out for him. He'll finish high school then go to some big college somewhere. Then he'll meet a girl and get married. They'll have 2.5 kids with a dog and a white picket fence around their yard. He has nothing to worry about. He has everything going for him. I, on the other hand, don't even know how I am going to survive into next year.

Sensing my somber mood, Edward changes topics and starts talking about this book about a sparkling vampire that people are talking about.

When we all meet up at the restaurant, we split up. Edward suggests that he, Rosalie, Seth, and Jacob get the food. He turns to Emmett and says, "Why don't you and Bella go get us a place to sit, Em?" He nods and Emmett and I head deeper inside the restaurant, away from our friends.

I can feel Emmett's eyes look me over as we go find some place to sit. "I'm fine, Em. Nothing has happened since Christmas."

He sighs. "I'm sorry. I just wish you would tell somebody else, anybody really."

I give him a knowing look.

"Just think about it, please?"

I don't get a chance to respond before the others catch up to us. Eating goes smoothly after that. Edward gets me a grilled chicken sandwich and french fries to eat. We all eat and then head back to the game. When we get there, Edward pulls me to the side.

"Don't go anywhere alone tonight, okay? Stay as close to Rosalie as you can."

I look to him in confusion. "What? Why?"

"I just don't want you getting hurt. Since I still have to be on the bench, I need you to be safe and the only way I know how to make sure of that is if you stay with Rosalie."

His answer only makes me more confused. I've spent every game of his that I've been to alone. What's so different about this one? "Edward, is something wrong?"

He smiles tightly. "No, nothing is wrong. I just need to make sure you are safe."

"Um, okay. I'll stay with Rose during the game." I don't know what is going on with him, but he's clearly freaked about something happening to me.

He sighs in relief. "Thank you. I have to go now, but I'll meet you after the game to take you home, alright?"

"Alright. Good luck." He smiles and quickly presses his lips against my forehead before running to catch up with Emmett, Seth, and Jacob.

I go find Rosalie and patiently wait for the game to begin.

Halfway through the game, it starts to rain. It's barely thirty degrees outside and now it's raining on top of it. I'm going to get sick from all this. I wrap my coat around me tighter and pull the hood up over my head in an effort to block the rain from getting to me. Rosalie must have noticed my discomfort, despite her constant cheering to the crowd behind me. She walks away after she gets through with a cheer and heads over to me.

"Are you okay?"

I nod my head, but she doesn't seem convinced.

She goes back down to where the rest of her fellow cheerleaders are cheering to get her bag. She reaches inside and pulls out a giant green blanket that looks amazingly warm right now. She brings it up to me and wraps it around my shoulders. "It may not keep stop the rain from getting on you, but it will keep you warmer for the rest of the game. Edward would kill me if I gave you back to him half frozen to death." I smile at her and she leaves to go back to cheering.

The rest of the game goes by quickly. We ended up winning the game, despite Edward not being able to play. The stands cheer and the football team whoops and hollers at their victory. I spy Edward amongst them not looking even slightly interested in their win. What is going on with him?

I'm literally shaken out of my thoughts when Rosalie comes back to me on the bleachers. "We're storming the field, Bella come on!" She says excitedly. She grabs my hand and hauls me to the edge of the field where everyone is waiting to storms the field. As soon as the opposing school's team walks off the field, we all run toward our team. I frantically search for Edward amongst the sea of people. I see white uniforms everywhere, but no Edward. I start to worry until I feel hands sneak around my waist. I immediately relax in them.

"I know the kind of person you really are, bitch." I flinch and try to get out of this guy's grip on me. "You can pretend all you want that you have actual friends, but deep down inside, you're just a worthless piece of shit. You know it. I know it. Even you're foster parents know it. I mean, why else would they hit you if it weren't true? It's only a matter of time before Edward and the rest of his little gang of friends realizes it too." I can feel his hot breath against my ear. I shudder at the thought of someone else knowing what goes on inside my house. "Tell anyone about our little encounter, and I'll make sure pretty boy over there knows what exactly goes on inside your house." He points to where Edward is standing with Emmett and Rosalie. "I'll see you soon, Isabella." He lets go of me and I instantly turn around to find out who it is. No one I know is around me.

I search the crowd frantically, looking for the mysterious man who had just grabbed me. I don't know who it was, but I did slightly recognize his voice. I could tell he was a guy from that much.

Scared out of my mind, I frantically try and find Edward once more. I try to run to where I last saw him, but everything starts to blur. I can feel the tears in my eyes, begging me to let them fall. I refuse to let this man get to me that easily. I force the tears back and continue my search for Edward. Minutes pass before I feel the familiar hand grab my own.

"I've been looking everywhere for you." Edward whispers softly in my ear.

As soon as I hear his voice I turn towards him and throw myself at him.

"Whoa, hey, I'm happy to see you too." He stares at me. I know he can tell that I almost cried. He brushes his thumb across my cheek. "Are you okay?"

I nod my head and bury it in his chest. "I am now." I don't even know if he heard me, but I don't care. I'm safe and in Edward's arms now. Nothing can hurt me.

"Did something happen?" He asks worriedly.

I shake my head and he drops the subject for now. "I need to go see the trainer about my ankle. Do you want to come with me?"

I nod my head and pull away from his chest. He takes my hand and pulls me to the locker room. I expected to see all the football players to be in here, but I am mistaken. No one is in here and it's kind of creepy. We walk in to a small room where a man about thirty years old is waiting for us. "Steve, this is my girlfriend Bella. Bella this is the trainer Steve." Edward introduced us.

I smile at him and he smiles back.

Steve immediately gets to work on looking at Edward's ankle. He presses down on it at certain spots. He asks Edward to walk on it. He asks him to hop on it. In the end, Steve says that Edward can play on it now, but he has to be careful. He said that if it starts to hurt then to immediately stop and see him once more.

Utterly fascinated by what's going on, I completely forget about the time. Edward pulls me out of my thoughts and tells me it's time to take me home. I nod and we head to Edward's car.

"Are you sure you're okay Bella? When I saw you in the field, you looked really spooked."

"I'm fine." I whispered, barely audible. He frowns, unconvinced and opens the car door for me.

We drive to my house in silence. I don't know what to say. I can't tell him about what happened on the field. He can't know about what goes on in my house. He can't know how useless and worthless I really am. I don't want him to pity me when he finds out that my "dad" hits me. I don't want to ever see the look on his face if he ever finds out.

When we arrive at my house, I don't speak as I slowly get out of his car. I just want this night to be over with. I just want to get out of my soaking wet clothes and go to bed. Edward has other plans though.

"Bella, what happened on the field? Did someone say something to you?"

I shake my head. He can never find out.

He tries again. "Did you get hurt or something?"

I shake my head once more. Part of me feels bad that I am leaving him in the dark like this, but the other part of me knows it is what has to happen.

He sighs. "Why aren't you talking to me?" He runs his hands through his hair and pulls on the ends roughly.

"I'm sorry, Edward, but nothing happened! I swear! I was just searching for you with Rosalie, but then I lost her. I couldn't find you or her. I got lost in the crowd and got freaked out a bit." At least it's not a complete lie.

He sighs. He doesn't look convinced, but doesn't speak of it again. "Go inside. It's freezing out here. Go warm up." He grabs me by my face and swiftly kisses me on my mouth. I smile and nod. I turn to go inside when Edward playfully slaps my butt.

I turn to face him, completely embarrassed. No one has ever touched me like that before and I don't know how to respond to it. I feel my cheeks burning. Edward looks at me sheepishly as I stare at him.

"What? I'm just marking what is mine. Now go inside and get warm. I'll see you on Monday."

When I reach the door, I turn around to look at Edward once more. "Be safe, my Bella." I smile and walk inside.

Next week at school, Edward doesn't mention the incident at the football field, which is good. I also haven't had any more visits form the guy either. I don't like living in fear of my own shadow again, but I don't have a choice. I can't risk Edward finding out anything. I try not to think of it. I hope it was just a fluke and the strange guy was just a figment of my imaginations

Edward has been acting really strange lately. It's as if he is just waiting for something to happen. It's weird and he is kind of freaking me out, but I don't tell him that.

Day after day goes by and every time I leave Edward's sight, he says to be careful. If I go to the bathroom, he says be careful. When I go to Mr. Masen's class without him, he says be careful. When he picks me up from school every morning, he says be careful. When he drops me off after school and before his practice, he says to be careful. It's like there's something going on with him, but I don't know how to bring it up. For the first time in my life, someone cares enough about me to want me to be safe and I don't want to ruin it.

We are currently on our way to my house after a long day at school. I love the fact that Edward wants me to be careful for him, but at the same time I don't know how to react to his protectiveness. I decide just to go with it and be grateful that he cares so much about me.

I'm pulled out of my thoughts when we reach my house.

"Be careful, okay?" He says as I get out of his car.

I smile softly. "I will."

The next day, it snows really badly. There was snow, sleet, hail, ice, anything and everything cold and it was everywhere. Walking was proving to be very difficult for the uncoordinated as soon as I stepped out of my front door. I slipped on a sheet of black ice and busted my ass on the steps. I'm just happy that I didn't break a leg on my trip down because given my past lack of coordination, I would have.

Edward must have saw me fall because as soon as it happened, he was right there helping me up. "Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?"

I chuckle a little. "I'm fine. Ice doesn't really help the klutz inside of me." I joke, trying to lighten the mood. I can see bags under Edward's eyes. It looks like he hasn't slept in a month. "You're tired." I state. I bring my hand up to his face and cup his cheek.

He brings his hand up to where mine is and pulls it away. "I'm fine." He walks me over to his car with a reassuring hand on my lower back. "Let's just get today over with." He mutters vaguely. Something is definitely up with him today. He's acting more weird than usual.

The car ride to school is silent. The roads are really icy and I am somewhat concerned that we might accidentally hit some. Despite the road conditions, they didn't call off school today. I am extremely happy for this because today is the day that Mr. Masen is letting us choose our research paper topics.

Coming to the only traffic light in the only town of Forks, Edward makes a right handed turn. Everything happened so suddenly. I didn't realize I was screaming until I ran out of breath. Edward hit a patch of black ice when we turned. We weren't going fast enough to tip over, but still fast enough to spin around a couple of times on the road. There was no one around us that could have seen it happen. It was only 6:43 in the morning after all. I completely forgot that Edward was even the car. After I stopped screaming, there wasn't any sound at all. It was eerily quiet. I look over to him to find him gripping the steering wheel so hard that his knuckles were turning as white as the snow outside. His eyes were glazed over.

"Edward? Are you okay?" I whisper. He doesn't answer. I lightly grab his arm in an effort to shake him. He still doesn't respond. Shit, what am I supposed to do? "Edward! Please answer me. You're scaring me." I shake his arm a little rougher now. Nothing.

I look around the street some more, but there is no sign of life anywhere. We're currently in the middle of the road where a car could come any second and hit us. We need to get out of the middle of the road.

"Edward please!" Still no response. I do everything I can think of to wake him up out of this trancelike state. I shake him. I try to loosen his grip on the steering wheel. I all but crawl into his lap in an effort to get him to come back to me. I cup his cheek. I move his head to face me, but his eyes tell me that he is far away from being in this car with me. I lightly kiss his cheek.

Not knowing what else to do, I start thinking about what I can do to help without Edward. I can't walk anywhere to get help because there isn't anywhere to walk to. I certainly can't drive because one, I never was taught how, and two, there is no way I could ever move his body from the seat. I start trying to think of who could help me if they saw us.

Emmett!

My heart fills with relief at the thought of him. But how am I supposed to get him down here? I think for a few moments before I come to an answer. I can just call him on Edward's phone. Edward showed me how to use it the other day. My plan is perfect. I'll just call Emmett and tell him what happened and he'll come help me. Maybe by the time he gets here, Edward will be back to me.

"Edward." I try to get him once more. "I'm going to call Emmett, okay? We can't stay in the middle of the street for much longer." I slowly reach over his lap to his front pocket on his pants where I know he keeps his phone. "I just don't want us to get hit by another car or anything." I grab his phone and with shaking hands, unlock it. "We could get hurt being out in the road like this. A car could hit the same patch of black ice that we did and spin like we did. It could get really bad."

Something in him snapped at what I said. He lets go of the steering wheel immediately. I see his eyes fill with tears. Before I get a chance to say anything, he turns to me. He brings his hands up to my face and starts rubbing his thumbs across my cheek gently. "Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay. I don't know what I would do if you weren't okay. What happened? I remember hitting the ice, but after that I –"

"Edward, calm down. I'm fine. You're fine. Everything's fine. You just scared me. As soon as we hit the ice, the car started to spin. You were able to stop the car without flipping or too much sliding. After that, I don't know what happened with you. I couldn't get your attention for the life of me. It's like you were somewhere else. It's been about ten minutes since I last heard your voice. You scared the hell out of me…"

Tears are freely running down Edward's face right now. "Bella, I'm so sorry. I didn't – I was – I'm so sorry." His voice cracks at the end. He covers his face with his hands.

"Hey. Hey. Look at me." I gently move his hands from his face. "You did nothing wrong. We hit a patch of ice, that's all. Nothing bad happened. We are okay." I take his hand in mine.

"I'm sorry, Bella. I'm so sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry for. You can't help that you hit ice. It is not your fault. You couldn't have done anything about it." I try soothing him by running my hands up and down his arms, but it doesn't help. Now, he is shaking uncontrollably from his sobs. I want to help him, I just don't know what to do.

"Edward, maybe we should get out of the middle of the road now." I say softly.

He looks at me. "I'm sorry." He shifts gears and starts driving to school once more. When we get there, he doesn't park in his regular spot. He looks at me apologetically. "I can't go to school today. I'm sorry, Bella. I just can't do it. I'll be back to pick you up when school ends." He looks out the window and away from me.

My heart breaks seeing him like this. I can't just leave him like this. Not when he is so vulnerable and clearly in pain. "I'm not going anywhere without you, Edward." I says softly.

He looks at me, shock clearly written all over his face. "What?"

"You heard me. I'm staying with you." I say with conviction. No matter how excited I was to go to Mr. Masen's class today, I know Edward needs me more.

"Even after I nearly killed us this morning?"

I scoff. "I've had plenty of near death experiences, Edward, and that does not even come anywhere close to one."

"But I hit ice. I lost control of my car and we spun on the road. We could've been killed." His voice cracks a little more with every word. His tears are coming in faster and faster.

"Edward."

"You're not safe with me. I – I –"

"Shh. Don't. I trust you. I'm always safe with you. Take me with you, wherever you're going. I don't want you to be alone right now."

He stares at me for a few more minutes before nodding his head. "Okay, we can go back to my house."

"Okay." His house it is then. I've never been to his house. I don't know what to expect. Are his parents going to be home? Will Edward get in trouble for ditching school? Will they call Phil and tell them that I am ditching school?

As if reading my thoughts, Edward speaks up again. "Don't worry. My parents are both working. They won't be home until later tonight. We'll have the entire house to ourselves." His tears are still freely flowing down his face. I reach over and grab his hand in mine, wanting to comfort him in some way.

I don't know what I expect when we pull into Edward's driveway, but I definitely didn't expect him to live in a mansion. There is three floors, a giant front yard, and a beautifully decorated garden around the house. It's so big that you could fit at least three of my house inside his.

We get out of the car and Edward grabs my hand and leads me through the garage and into his house. It looks even bigger on the inside than it does on the outside if that is even possible. We walk straight up the three flights of stairs and into what I am assuming is his room. My hand still in his, he pulls me to his bed and lays down. He pulls me down beside him to where we are facing each other.

I slowly bring my hand up to his face to wipe away some of his tears. "What's wrong?"

It takes him a moment to get his composure. "On this day last year, I lost the most important person in the world to me…"

I don't say anything. I just wait for him to continue. I can tell he is about to pour his soul out to me, out where I am able to see all of him. He's completely vulnerable right now and I just want to help or comfort him in some way. He takes a deep breath and then begins.

A/N: I know, I know I'm evil by leaving it here. What do ya'll think happened to Alice? Why do you think Edward froze up like that? Any thoughts on who grabbed Bella on the football field? Leave me what you think in a review! See you next week.