"Bella?"

I took in a shaky breath and turned back to Jason.

"You're shaking. What did he say to you?"

My mouth opened but no words came out. What could I possibly say to him? I hardly knew what to think myself. I couldn't tell Jason that my ex-boyfriend was a vampire, and that he wanted me back.

Why did he want me back? I was a mere distraction to him. Did he get bored and decide to come play with my feelings again? Was it because he loved the scent of my blood so much? Did he want to finish the job properly, and kill me?

"Let's go, Bella. I'll pay this time. No, don't argue, it's okay. Just get your jacket on and I'll be back in a minute." He kissed my forehead as he walked past me to go to the counter. I took a deep breath and pulled my jacket back on, rubbing my arms to try stop my shivering.

There was a burning in my eyes, a familiar prickling. I sniffed and rubbed away the unshed tears. I couldn't fall apart here. God, I didn't want to fall apart at all. I took another sip of water from my glass, willing the tears to go away.

Then Jason was there, rubbing circle on my back. "Come on, Bella. I'll walk you to your truck." He held out a hand which I gladly took. We walked to the door, nodding to the waitress as we passed her. We let the door swing shut behind us, blocking out the hum of voices and leaving us in the dark warmth.

"Why is he back?" I whispered, letting a tear roll down my cheek. "I'm happy without him and now he's back. Why couldn't he stay away?"

"Shh," Jason murmured. "Bella, baby, please. I need to know what he said to you." His thumb drew comforting circles on my hand. "I know it's a shock seeing him again, but I'm going to help you."

I shook my head. "He was so toxic." My voice was croaky and the tears kept coming. "Our relationship was so toxic." I sniffed. "He said, um, that- that he loves me. He wants me back and- and that he always gets what he wants!" A sob escaped me. "I don't want him!" I moved closer to Jason. "I'm scared."

We'd reached my truck and we stopped, leaning against it. Jason pulled me closer to him, wrapping his arms around me.

"Don't worry, Bella. I'll keep you safe from him. He can't touch you, he can't do anything to you. And if he does… well, your dad's chief of police." I couldn't help a watery smile forming on my face.

"Thank you," I whispered.

Jason stepped back and gently tipped my chin up. "Are you okay to drive? I can take you home and we'll come back for the truck tomorrow if you want."

Part of me didn't want to be a nuisance to Jason. The other part, a significantly larger portion, didn't want to be alone. I nodded.

We went to his car, not far from my truck, and I slid into the passenger seat, settling there comfortably. As Jason drove me home, I stared out of the window. I had an eerie feeling that Edward and Alice knew exactly where I was and what I was doing.

"Bella?"

I looked over at Jason. He was focused on the road, but had one hand outstretched, palm open. I slid my hand into his.

"You're going to be okay, you know that, right?"

I didn't say anything. What could I say? There was the very likely possibility that I would end up dead at the hands of Edward, which was very much not okay.

"I'm sure he'll be gone soon," Jason continued. "I know you're scared and I know you're relationship with him was, in hindsight, difficult and toxic. But you have me now. And very soon, you'll be going to university. He can't follow you there."

He could. Edward easily could follow me to the university I'd picked out. I needed Victoria. Preferably with James and Laurent too. I needed someone who actually stood a chance in a fight against Edward.

"Yeah. I know," I muttered.

Reaching home didn't make me feel any safer. Jason walked me up to the door and I grabbed out my keys.

"Do you want me to come in and talk to your dad?" Jason asked.

I nodded and we both went inside. I quickly shut and locked the door behind us- not that it would do much good against a vampire.

"Hey, Dad," I said. He was in the sitting room, watching a baseball game.

"Hi, Bel-" He turned to look at me and immediately jumped up. "What happened?" He turned to Jason. "Did you do something? Why does my daughter look so- so defeated?"

I ran a hand through my hair. I must have looked worse than I thought.

"Dad, it's not Jason. It's…"

"Edward," Jason finished. "He uh, was at the restaurant. Spoke to Bella. His words… shook her a little."

Charlie nodded. "I see that. Bella, you stay here. Sit down, have a breather. I'm going to have a little chat with Jason."

The two of them went into the kitchen and I could hear their murmured voices, but I didn't bother trying to make out the words. Jason came back in a few minutes later and enveloped me in a tight hug.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow morning so we can fetch your truck," he said. "You're safe. I love you."

"I love you too," I said, looking at him properly. He was worried, but he hid it behind his strained smile.

Charlie walked him to the door, then returned to sit beside me.

"He says that Edward was… threatening you? Something about him wanting you, and getting what he wants."

"Sounds about right."

"Look, Bella, he can't hurt you. You're scared, I understand. But I am not going to let him hurt my daughter a second time." He put one arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to him.

I wanted to believe him. But I knew what Edward was capable was, and there was nothing Charlie could have said that would ease my mind.


My room was chilly when I went inside. I briskly walked to the window and peered out, scanning the ground for any signs of Edward. There were none. I slammed the window shut. All I could do was hope that he hadn't already got inside.

I hurried to the bathroom to brush my teeth, anxiously checking Charlie's room as I passed to make sure Edward wasn't lurking in there. I locked the door behind me but it did little to make me feel safer. Fear gripped at me when I shut my eyes to wash my face; I didn't like being unable to see if Edward was creeping up behind me. Why couldn't I feel safe in my own home? Why did Edward have so much power over me?

It wasn't fair. What had I done to deserve this? I stormed into my room and frustratedly flipped the light switch. Then the panic threatened to overwhelm me. Edward was sat calmly on my bed, gazing at the posters stuck on my wall.

I opened my mouth to scream for Charlie, but in a split-second Edward was behind me, pinning my arms to my side and clamping a hand over my mouth. He nudged the door shut and leaned close to my ear.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he whispered.

He gently lifted me up and plopped me back down on the bed.

"Now are you going to stay quiet?" he asked, his icy hand still over my mouth.

Staring into his eyes, the little black pools, I nodded. What choice did I have? To scream meant imminent death for Charlie, most likely, and lord knows what else for me.

"Good." He removed his hand. "I just want to talk to you, Bella."

"Hanging around in my room without my knowledge isn't a great way to get a girl talking, Edward." I rolled my eyes. "I'd have expected you to know better after what happened at the restaurant."

Edward shook his head, a pained expression on his face. "It's just the shock, Bella," he told me. "You know deep down that you never truly moved on from me. How could you?" He gave me a slight smirk.

I bit back a sharp retort, instead asking, "How did you get in?"

"The window. Then I hid in your closet when you first came up here. I needed to wait for you to calm down a bit so we could have a proper conversation."

"Edward, I don't want to talk to you. I don't care what it is you have so say. I've finally moved on and I'm happy without you in my life. Can't you please just respect that."

He shook his head sadly. "Never, Bella. Because I know it's not true."

I fought the urge to slap some sense into him, knowing it would only hurt me. Still, maybe it would shock him into believing me…

"Look, you can't leave all of a sudden, breaking my heart with your words, then come back into my life months later and expect to have me back. It doesn't work like that. I wasn't waiting for you. I was getting on with my life and I was happy until you and Alice showed up tonight and ruined it." I turned to Edward, looking him in the eye. "Things are over between us. I don't care anymore what happened in the past. I don't care what you've done. I just… need to be left alone. So I can forget about you and our love and all the pain that came along with that."

For a few seconds, Edward simply stared at me. He didn't move, he didn't say anything, he didn't give any indication that what I'd just said had sunk in. Then he nodded. I was surprised, though I did my best to hide it.

"I'll leave you be. For now, anyway," he said. "One day, though, you'll realise I was right all along. Goodbye, Bella." He went over to the window and pushed it open. "I'll be back." Then he was gone, disappearing into a blur out of the window.

My eyes burned and I hastily wiped away the brimming tears. I slammed the window shut again and stared out into the garden. There was no sign of Edward, of course, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was still out there, still listening to me.

Edward would haunt me forever, and I was powerless to do anything against him.