Chapter Nineteen

Bella

I was terrified but relieved when Edward suddenly left holding his head and groaning. I just hoped it hadn't been loud enough to wake Charlie. Then I heard his voice from the landing,

"You OK Bella? Sounds like someone's been overindulging in alcohol out on the street. Did he throw something at your window?"

Thinking quickly I replied before he could come in to check on me,

"No, I heard the noise and opened my window to see what it was, sorry if I woke you, dad."

He seemed happy enough with my explanation and went back to his room mumbling about getting more patrols in the street if that went on again. We'd had a problem with a small group of guys getting drunk and waking the neighbourhood once before and he thought it was something similar.

I waited until I heard his door close and only then rushed to the window and pulled it shut locking it with my good hand before I dared to look out. There was nothing to see in the light from the street lamp, Edward had gone. Turning on my lamp I inspected my arms which both bore darkening bruises where he had squeezed them and my wrist was already puffy and throbbed badly enough that I thought it might be fractured if not broken but that was the least of my concerns right now. I was more worried about what Edward had said. It was crazy of course but he seemed adamant, the Cullens were vampires? Did he really think I would believe that? It was preposterous! Maybe had lost his mind, it seemed as sensible a theory as to why he had said such crazy things but as I sat there cradling my wrist certain things came back to me. All the family had very pale and cold hard skin plus the strangely pigmented eyes. I had rarely seen any of them eat and when they did it was only small amounts. Jasper had explained his own strangeness as the result of some medical disorder but what were the chances of the whole family, a collection of unrelated people all having the same medical condition? There was also Edward's speed, he couldn't possibly have beaten me back to the parking lot from the restaurant yet he had and he had been at my car door before I could get out, something else that should have been impossible.

Of course, the whole thing was absurd, there were no such things as vampires were there? And if he or Jasper had been the undead how come they came out in daylight? I had a photograph of Jasper and me yet vampires weren't visible in photographs or in mirrors and then there was the problem of the coffins. If vampires slept in coffins full of earth where were the seven coffins the family used stored? I had been all over that house with one member of the family or another, even to the basement and garage and there was no sign of even a single wooden casket. The other thing that made his words so unbelievable was the presence of a huge wooden cross in the hallway. Weren't vampires cursed? They shied away from religious symbols such as crosses. I still felt uneasy. What should I do? I decided as soon as it was light I would ring Carlisle and ask him to meet me, tell him that I needed to see him and take advantage of his medical skills. Then I started to laugh, the absurdity of Edward's words came home to me as I realized if he were correct then there was a blood-drinking fiend working as a doctor in the local clinic, yeah, sure there was! Feeling much better in my mind having reassured myself, although still terrified of Edward coming back, I sat up the rest of the night watching alternately the door and the window for any sign of it.

Edward

The pain in my head was getting worse and I was convinced if it didn't ease soon my head would explode. I couldn't see for pain and stumbled into the trees at the back of Bella's place hoping the darkness would hide me from her father if he had heard me leave. Since becoming a vampire I had never known pain, only the agony of a newborn's thirst and this was far, far worse. It was as if every thought I had ever read were trying to be in my head all at once plus all the thoughts of everyone within range. Staggering I fell to my knees then pitched forward onto my face curling up into a fetal position with my hands over my ears as they could stop the thoughts from intruding. For the first time since becoming a vampire, I cursed my gift.

I have no idea how long I lay there half mad with pain but eventually the pressure began to ease, the voices to fade away and I was able to see, to fight my way to my feet although I needed the support of a nearby tree to keep me on them. Something had changed, I felt different, odd and I looked around only to find myself by the edge of a stream. I must have crawled further into the forest at some point and realized I was now dangerously close to the treaty boundary. Deciding I was in no fit state to challenge a giant wolf right now I made my way unsteadily towards the house relieved to find myself still alone. The strange feeling was still there in the pit of my stomach and I had glanced at my reflection in the water thinking I must look different somehow but the face that stared back was familiar enough.

Perhaps returning to the house would not be the smartest of moves. I had no idea if Bella had contacted then about my nocturnal visit. I tried to remember exactly what I had said to Bella but the very effort of thinking threatened to bring the pain back again so I found a solitary spot halfway up a tall conifer and sat waiting for the nagging pain to ease again. I would stay out of sight until I understood just what was happening to me.

Bella

I got dressed with difficulty, both my arms were stiff and sore and my wrist was now twice its normal size and crept downstairs leaving messages for Charlie and work. I pleaded sickness to the latter and told my dad I had gone out to meet someone who had a lead on a story I was working on, that should keep everyone off my back for a while. I had considered ringing Jasper but he was too far away to have been of any help and it hardly seemed fair to worry him when I had no idea what was true and what were lies. For the first time, I felt a stirring of unease thinking of my boyfriend. Had I been dating a vampire for the past few months? I shook my head, what an idiotic idea but something was still nagging, unanswered questions about Edward's behavior. Could it be that he was a vampire and the others didn't know? If so then they needed to be warned but would I be laughed at? I guess I'd soon find out.

I still didn't have my car so I was forced to walk to the clinic in town and wait, Doctor Warren, Carlisle's partner was there and insisted I have an X-ray which meant thinking of a good story to explain my injury. A fall on the wet path outside the house sounded feasible and he didn't question it. The outcome was a fracture which needed a plaster although I managed to talk him down to a splint and bandage which was a relief, I'd had too many plaster casts in my life and knew just how inconvenient they could be.

Luckily I had only just finished the paperwork when Carlisle appeared and from the way he greeted me he had no idea of what had happened with Edward.

"What on earth have you done to yourself, Bella?"

"She decided to try skating on a wet sidewalk it would appear Carlisle but we soon patched her up. Well, I have some files to put away before I go home so I'll see you later."

I indicated I wanted to talk to Carlisle out of earshot of the other staff and he ushered me through into his office closing the door and turning to me with a mildly puzzled expression,

"Is there something wrong Bella?"

"Actually yes there is. I didn't fall on the sidewalk, I was attacked."

"Attacked?"

He looked genuinely horrified and I felt everything catching up with me, my eyes began to fill with tears and I could feel myself begin to shake. He took my arm and led me to a chair squatting down to look into my face,

"What happened? Does your father know? Who did this Bella?"

I shook my head, struggling to speak through the sobs that I was choking down,

"Edward, he broke into the house…... into my bedroom and….he…...he told me you were vampires. I think he's lost his mind Carlisle and I'm scared."

He rocked back on his heels frowning then put a hand on my arm,

"I'm so sorry Bella. Look, let me see if I can get Clive to stay on so I can take you to our place and sort this out. Edward isn't there and I promise you he won't harm you again."

I had expected him to laugh at Edwards accusations but he didn't and I suddenly felt even more terrified.