Chapter Eighteen

Edward

Just what the hell did Bella think she was doing talking to Rose as if I had done something unwarranted to her? Of course neither Rose nor Emmett believed Bella had been anything but wrong about her feeling but even so….did she really not understand the chemistry between us? It seemed I was working on an incorrect assumption. Bella had not understood what I was saying to her, I had been too subtle. Well, it was time to up my game, be more open about my feelings and I couldn't bear the thought of waiting until I could see her again. Her work schedule meant there was no possibility of catching her in the week and by the weekend Jasper would be back. That would make it difficult to allow Bella to come to terms with the fact that it was I who was her perfect partner, not my idiot "brother".

Deciding there was no time like the present I excused myself from a family discussion on how they were going to help with the winter festival and made my way back to Bella's. True it was the middle of the night but that couldn't be helped, I was working to a tight schedule and Bella and I must be a couple before Jasper got back, that way he would be faced with a done deal.

The Swan house was in darkness and I could hear steady breathing from two rooms so I knew both Charlie and Bella were asleep. That would make things easier for me to sneak in if Bella had been awake I might have startled her and explaining to her father why I was in his daughter's bedroom at 2.30 in the morning making her scream would not be easy.

I soon slipped in through an unsecured ground floor window, sloppy for a cop but helpful for me. As I went carefully up the stairs I trod on the edges but one still squeaked a little and I froze. Charlie's snores continued uninterrupted but Bella had woken up. I cursed, well it couldn't be helped and I was fast enough to reach her side and put a warning hand over her mouth before she could make a noise.

The sound of my whispered explanation should have been enough to calm her but I heard her thoughts clearly for once, she thought I was Jasper at first and now she was truly frightened. I had to reassure her quickly.

"Don't worry Bella, I'll explain everything but you must be quiet. Can you do that? I'd hate for you to wake your father if you did then I would be forced to act."

I hated to scare her but I could hear she was planning to scream as soon as I moved my hand. I waited, hand still firmly across her mouth until finally, she nodded.

"Good. Just listen quietly, I promise you'll understand everything in a few minutes."

I moved my hand cautiously, again I had the speed to prevent any cry but I didn't want to use force, it was hardly the way to tell the girl you loved that we were going to be together for always. She was sensible and merely pushed my hand away her eyes burning with anger and embarrassment, she looked so beautiful I couldn't resist kissing her but I hadn't expected her response to be so violent. She grabbed the table lamp from her bedside locker and swung it at my head. Fortunately, I caught it in time and pulled it from her grasp. Things weren't going the way I had envisaged.

"Bella, calm down, you know I'm not going to hurt you, how could I? You must know I feel the same way you do, we are perfect."

She shuffled up the bed away from me and grabbed the covers pulling them close to her, almost cocooning herself within them.

"What do you want Edward?"

Her voice was an angry hiss,

"Get the hell out of my room, you're crazy."

"Crazy? I'm not the one who thinks they are in love with a psychotic killer. You can't fight this Bella, it's stronger than you, If you just listen to your heart you'll understand that it's me you love. We are the perfect couple in every way."

"We? Are you crazy? There is no we Edward Cullen and as for being a couple? You are mad or deluded or possibly both. If Jasper finds out you broke in and sneaked up to my room…"

I smiled, now I understood, I reached out and grasped one of her hands preventing her from pulling away from my touch,

"Bella, there's no need to worry or feel guilty. I'm positive Jasper understands that you are far out of his reach, he's just a plaything to you. There is no need to even speak to him again, I'll sort my brother out. I think you need to know what he really is."

She wrestled her hand free but not before I heard something click in her wrist and a hiss of pain.

"I'm sorry Bella, I never meant to hurt you but you keep trying to pull away and I'm trying to explain things as calmly as I can. You have to know the truth about Jasper before it's too late and no one else in the family will tell you so it falls to me."

She sat cradling her wrist in her other hand and I could see she was in pain but it was imperative she listen, then I would take her to the clinic or to Carlisle, after all, she couldn't be that badly injured I had been very careful not to use excessive force.

"I'm really sorry to be bursting your bubble Bella but Jasper is not a good person, he is dangerous and they should have warned you as soon as he showed any interest, I'm shocked that they didn't. I would have if I'd been around. His past is horrific, he has killed. More than once I'm afraid and he will do so again eventually. He is hanging onto his sanity by his fingertips. I really wish I could tell you everything but it's impossible, the truth would be far too dangerous for you and for us. With me you will be perfectly safe, I won't let him get anywhere near you I promise."

I could see that she didn't believe me and her thoughts were so loudly proclaiming that I was an imbecilic asshole liar that it was giving me a headache! Frustration made me mad and I grabbed her by the arms trying to shake some sense into her.

"Bella, I love you. We are destined to be together, we fit together so perfectly. Listen to me, that is the truth, everything I said is the truth, your only safety lies with me."

Seeing the tears in her eyes I understood I was hurting her again and I let go staring at her as if I could bore into her brain and scorch the truth into its surface. She spoke through gritted teeth, such a look of contempt on her face I recoiled a few inches.

"I don't believe a word you said. For some stupid reason, you seem to think I'm attracted to you, Edward. Well, let me put it as simply and clearly as I can. I think you are a backstabbing creep and far from being attracted I am actually repelled by you."

Yes? Really? Repelled by me! I pulled myself together from the blow her words had been and pulled her into a tight embrace determined that she should know the truth about us, if she could handle it, maybe it would frighten her into accepting the truth of my words.

"Listen to me you little fool, you have no idea what you are dealing with here. You are playing with fire. We aren't ordinary people, we are a family of vampires who could kill you in a second. You should be grateful that I am willing to protect you from the worst of our kind, Jasper Hale is truly a monster who has killed hundreds if not thousands of humans and lived on their blood. You should know that he sees you only as a plaything. He's going to keep you around until you begin to bore him and then both you and probably your father too will find yourselves a vampire's meal. You might want to keep that in mind along with the fact I am prepared to be your protector."

I couldn't think any further ahead, I just wanted to have her, to force her to accept that she really loved and needed me.

As I forced her backwards against the pillows, ignoring her grunt of pain and her thoughts that were screaming help, denying the truth I had told her, she genuinely felt she was being violated, how could she?

Suddenly I was shocked backwards almost falling from the edge of the bed. My mind was filled with a pressure and a darkness that felt as if it were about to explode outwards. I put my hands to my temples as if I could hold my skull together with the strength of my hands. The pressure kept building and I staggered to the window pushing it up careless of the noise it made and almost fell out hitting the ground harder than I wanted and only just keeping my balance. I headed for the trees not sure what was happening to me but knowing I needed to get away from Bella Swan as far and as fast as I could.