Come and Get Your Love- Redbone

Tell Me Baby- Red Hot Chili Peppers

Alice was furious. Before, she had just been upset, and probably embarrassed, but now she was absolutely enraged. Charlie had simply surmised that Edward and Alice were still fighting and left it at that, but this felt like more than a fight.

Edward had yelled at her, and then gone and done essentially the same thing she did. I expected Alice to yell, too, to scream or cry. She was always so expressive, and bounced off the walls with energy and emotion. But this was different, and in that difference, scary.

Alice had gone silent, and completely withdrawn. Edward followed her up the stairs and tried to talk to her, but she had locked her door and made no move to open it, nor did she even seem to register his knocking. Charlie was in the kitchen, fiddling around with a leftover dish and seemingly trying to give us some privacy, so I followed Edward up and also tried reaching her. But my luck was the same as Edward's, and Alice remained still on her bed on the other side of the door.

She stayed locked in her room through the night, only slipping out and into the kitchen to eat in the dead of night, when she couldn't know that I was only a few feet away, curled into her brother's side in his small bed.

Edward offered to take her out, through the door of course, the next morning. She remained frozen in her room, and I gently pulled Edward away. The look he gave me… he seemed so lost, so at a loss. His mouth parted slightly and brows pulled together, and the sadness in his eyes was deep and profound. And I had no advice, no words of comfort beyond telling him to give her space, because this time she wasn't sad or upset.

She was pissed. And she was pissed at both of us.

We were hypocrites. Or, at least, Edward was, and I was complicit. I quietly detailed to Rose what all had happened while Emmett distracted Edward with video games, though he wasn't very successful. Edward's play was sloppy and slower than normal, and Emmett was breezing past him with an exacerbated ease.

"I just can't believe I didn't realize they had come home," I whispered quickly, lightly scratching my fingernails up the back of Edward's neck and into the soft tangle of hair, then back down again. Edward's gaze flickered over to me every once in a while, but even if he could hear us, he certainly couldn't keep up with the conversation.

"I don't have an answer, Bella," Rose sighed, casually flicking a pretzel at Emmett's head. "This is different. It's all so different. Being like this with a human… I'm not sure there's a vampire in existence who's kept their mate human."

"And not actually mated," I added, biting down on my bottom lip to draw my attention from the familiar ache in my chest.

"That, too," Rose agreed, nodding at tossing another pretzel into Emmett's hair. This time it caught, hanging on one of the perfect coils of his dark hair, and Rose shot me a grin and tossed another. "That's got to be it. It's like with a lot of other things. Until you two finally have sex, and really complete your bond, you're going to feel lost sometimes. It's just the nature of our existence. Not to mention the obsessive first few years anyways," she reminded, and I instantly recalled the very singularly focused Emmett and Rose the first decade of their relationship.

"It's ridiculous," I complained. "I'm now somehow losing my abilities? I can't multitask anymore, or hear beyond a few feet? I might as well be human."

"It's not that you can't hear, but you're not paying attention. One track mind, and all."

"A one track mind…" I repeated, again becoming distracted by the way Edward's hair slid through my fingers. Rose chuckled, and I looked over to see her staring at me, one perfect brow arched.

"Edward, you ready to play?" Rose interrupted the game, and Edward looked over at her. Rose flashed up next to the piano, and Edward tossed the controller onto the couch and followed her.

"Dude, come on!" Emmett objected. "We're not even halfway through this level!"

I slid into the warm spot Edward had deserted on the couch and Edward's onscreen avatar came back to life, running after Emmett's as I rotated the joystick on the controller. A moment later, a beautiful melody of scales woven into one of Edward's newest compositions. Rose had been helping him transcribe it onto the book I gave him for his birthday, and it was fascinating to watch.

Theoretically, I could read music. I understood what each written note was meant to sound like, and I could assign the proper name to each. But while Edward was still memorizing the theoretical aspect, he knew the music. It was more than just pressing a key on an instrument, and this was just another talent I didn't have.

"See, this here part here is the French style," she said, playing a quick, complex tune in D minor, then repeating the same in B minor, "And that's the Italian. In this Bach piece, the second swift movement after the allemande is either a courante, which we call the French style, or corrente, also referred to as the Italian style."

"Huge d-difference," Edward agreed, and I turned to look back at him just as my avatar on screen got shot by the opposing force.

"Pay attention," Emmett hissed, squinting intensely at the screen. I rolled my eyes but turned back to the television set.

"It's not just the key," Rose started, scribbling down something on a piece of scratch music paper.

"No, it's d-definitely not. The courante is s-s-somehow s-sadder-"

"And the meter?"

"Triple, naturally, b-but also l-looser than the corrente. And a l-lot s-s-slower."

"Exactly!" Rose exclaimed. "It's actually the slowest of all the dances with three temps to the measure."

"S-s-s what should I do with this melody?" Edward asked, playing a piece I had heard him hum before.

"I'm not going to tell you how to compose."

"Come on, Rose," Edward pleaded, and I inhaled sharply and almost cracked the controller in my hand. Emmett growled softly and gave me a quick glare for messing him up.

It was irrational, but I felt a bubbling of jealousy. The way he said her name so casually- her nickname even, that only her family used- and the beg in his tone that I had only ever heard him use with me. And they were sitting so close together on the piano bench, sharing in something so important to Edward that I could never be an active participant in.

"You're horrible at this game," Emmett sighed, stockpiling a cache of weapons so he could pick up my slack as he went on a spree. I flinched at the graphics, blood flying onto the screen as Emmett sprayed bullets at the oncoming opponents.

"Don't we get enough of this in our everyday life," I complained, scooting my character behind Emmett so I wouldn't be hit by any of his stray bullets.

"Do you often go on killing sprees in generalized Latin American airports?" Emmett snarked, but I was too distracted by Edward and Rose's debate on embellishing the change up in his composition enough that it would turn into a vamp to muster up a snappy retort. They were so invested in the conversation, so in sync, and they played dueling ideas in different octaves so the arrangement sounded like a strange but compelling echo.

Their lesson was interrupted by Esme coming home from the grocery store, a huge haul of food in tow that she asked Emmett to unload while she pulled together Edward's lunch.

I let everyone else have their time with Edward. It seemed to be a good distraction, though his mouth was still set in a deep frown, and I could see the turmoil in his eyes. He tried to be a good sport, keeping the pain hidden as he used the memorized design suggestion I had provided on Esme, much to her delight.

"What a fantastic idea, dear," Esme complimented, pulling a tome of a magazine from the pile on the counter. "You have such an eye for this."

"It w-was Bella's idea," Edward immediately conceded, and I smiled warmly at him. He grinned back and reached out for my hand across the table. I offered it readily, flipping my hand up so he could trace the tips of his fingers along the lines of my palm before loosely twining our fingers together.

"And I learned everything from you, Esme, so if you think about it, that was really your idea."

Esme laughed, and Edward joined in, and soon the two were searching through the glossy pages for inspiration.

"I need a human eye," Esme insisted, and I understood why. In reality, this remodel was for Edward. She wanted him to be as comfortable as possible here, and if that meant tricking him into picking everything out, then she wasn't above a little harmless deceit.

"What color palette should we go with in the living room?" Esme asked, displaying an array of paint cards on the table in front of them. "What about this green?" she asked, pushing it towards him. It was a familiar color- a more muted and pale shade of the emerald that colored Edward's eyes. It was also a color he wore often, especially since Alice had become his primary personal shopper and packed his tiny closet full of her shopping hauls.

"I don't know," Edward shrugged, studying the few dozen colors presented to him. "Did you w-want g-green?"

"Do you have another color in mind?" Esme asked curiously, and Edward flipped through the rolodex of colors. A whole rainbow flashed about, the greens brightening and then lightening into blue, which darkened into violet, and then past the prism of colors into whites and greys and finally, just before the multitude of shades of black, Edward found what he was looking for.

"This is beautiful," Esme said, holding the warm, chocolatey brown up to the light. "It's a wonderful accent color. I was thinking bright, but you're right. Maybe we need a little comfort in here, a hominess that's missing."

"Everything is already so green here," I agreed, gesturing out the window where the lush thicket of Olympic National Forest stretched out before us. I turned back around to find Edward staring at me, his eyes dark as he stared.

It was an immediate reaction. The hunger I had been repressing for months came roaring forth, beckoned by the phantom touches that lingered on my body. I squeezed my legs shut, trying to quench the burning as an unfamiliar wetness pooled between my thighs- an phenomenon I had only experienced the day before, with Edward's hand on my bare breast. That memory made the burning more intense, especially under Edward's verdant gaze.

Emmett laughed loudly, and I couldn't stop the growl that ripped through my chest. Esme was staring wide-eyed at the counter, but had darted around the table and to my side in a moment as I half-stood from my seat.

"Why don't you two head back? Edward's been spending so much time here, I'm sure Charlie would like to have him home for dinner."

My anger faded into embarrassment with Esme's warm grip firmly holding me in place, and I nodded in acquiescence. Esme stared down at me with a kind smile and tucked an errant lock of hair behind my ear, then cupped the side of my face under my ear and rubbed her thumb along the hollow of my cheekbone for a moment.

"I'll take care of him," she promised, and Emmett in the living room gulped so loudly I couldn't help but laugh, my anger all but dissipating.

Edward was quiet as he tried to help Esme reorganize the messy dining room table with sketchbooks and magazines strewn about, but she shooed us away and out of the house. I had only just pulled out of the long driveway and onto the one-oh-one back to Forks when Edward turned in his seat to look at me.

"What happened?" he asked, and I shifted uncomfortably and unnecessarily focused on the road in front of us.

"Emmett was being a jerk, as usual. It's fine, Esme will put him in his place and he'll be less obnoxious for the next, say, two days," I joked lightly, but Edward didn't seem to accept my vague explanation.

"What was he b-being a j-jerk about?"

"It's embarrassing."

"I won't laugh," Edward promised, and I knew he wouldn't. He wouldn't find it humorous, but what would he think? That I was obsessive? Pressuring him and moving too quickly? How bizarre would it be to him that my brother could smell me like that, that we all had that capability?"

"It's really nothing," I insisted.

"Please?" Edward asked, leaning closer to me as he spoke, his piercing green eyes darkening in the fading afternoon light.

I tried to remember how to exhale the breath I was holding in my lungs, coming out in an audible pant. I had to look away, back to the road, before I could breathe in.

"That's not fair," I muttered, turning into Forks proper and slowing down in the 'rush hour' traffic.

"What's not?"

"You say I dazzle you, but you have no idea…"

"Oh." He frowned.

"It's not your fault," I sighed, grateful to be pulling onto Edward's street and hopefully putting the uncomfortable conversation to rest.

"Are you g-going to answer the que-question?"

I was saved by the speed of my car, and the fact that Charlie was sitting out on the front steps, untangling fishing line from his tackle box. We wouldn't get away with sitting in the car for long, and Charlie was already looking up at us and smiling welcomingly as I pulled along the curb.

"You have a good piano lesson today?" Charlie asked as we walked up the driveway.

"Yeah," Edward said, then noticed that Charlie seemed to be expecting more. "Rosalie is a g-great t-teacher. She sh-showed me today how I c-can m-mirror Bach in my own c-compositions."

"It's amazing," I added. "Edward is incredibly talented. Even my sister would admit that the student has surpassed the teacher." Edward blushed enticingly, the heady scent of his sweet blood sharpening.

"I'd love to hear you some day," Charlie said.

"I'm sure we could arrange that. Esme would love to have you over for dinner some time."

"Great!" Charlie said, clapping his hands together so loudly Edward jumped a little next to me. "Dinner and a show. Just let me know when."

"I d-don't really have anything p-prepared for a performance," Edward murmured, leaning down to help Charlie untangle the absolute mess of clumps of line.

"Oh please," I scoffed, joining Charlie on the top step to also start untangling, my fingers moving more quickly and deftly than they were capable of. "There are like thirty pieces he can play flawlessly. At least. Not to mention his own compositions."

"What kind of, um, artists? Like, I know Beethoven and Mozart…"

Edward shrugged and made the knot he was working on worse. "Bach, Debussy, Chopin, Tchaikovsky-"

"Are you ever going to play Schumann for me?" I interrupted, giving Edward a mock-glare.

"Clara or Robert?" he asked slyly, a crooked grin playing across his lips.

"Touché," I said, smiling back. I wrapped up the fishing line in a loop and picked up the last clump out of the tacklebox.

"You're good at that," Charlie commented quietly, and I slowed down my untangling in case he noticed that I was a bit too fast with something humans typically found difficult and fumbled with. "I take it you like classical music too, Bella?"

"I'm a bit old fashioned," I told him, drawing a chuckle from Edward which he masked with a cough. "Like Edward."

"Yeah, I bet," Charlie said, sounding somewhat skeptical. Edward, from the bottom step, whipped his head up to look at Charlie, looking pale. I took it that Edward didn't miss whatever Charlie seemed to be implying with his short response, and maybe even understood more than I did.

I asked him about it that night, when Charlie was fast asleep in bed and Alice was quietly tiptoeing out of her room to eat cold leftovers from the refrigerator, as had become the routine.

Edward shrugged and pressed his lips together in a tight line. "I d-don't th-think we fooled him as m-much as we thought we d-did the other day."

I froze up next to Edward and buried my face in the crook of his shoulder, finding a modicum of comfort in the thumbing beat of his heart against my face. "Oh no," I moaned, again so grateful that blushing and crying were two reactions I was incapable of.

"Yeah," he agreed, gently stroking my hair. "S-s-speaking of which," he said after a moment, leaning back so he could look down at my face. "What happened t-today? With the…" he trailed off, then touched his chest next to my head.

I let a rumble grow in my own chest, pressed against Edward's side. It was softer, and not nearly as aggressive as this afternoon- more a purr than a growl, if I was now somehow comparing myself to a cat.

"Yeah, that," Edward said.

"Ugh," I groaned, curling back into Edward to hide my face in his neck. I'd rather just stay here, quiet but for the rhythm of Edward's pulse at his jugular brushing my lips, and his steady breathing with the rise and fall of his chest.

"What?"

"It's beyond embarrassing," I whispered, still not wanting to look up at him. I didn't care so much about Emmett knowing, or Esme. I had experienced every sound and scent from their own private moments, so my reaction had been more about Emmett's teasing than anything else.

"I won't l-laugh," he promised, needlessly valiantly. "You c-can t-tell me anything, Bella."

He twisted a lock of my hair around his finger, and I leaned back to look up at him, searching his face. He stared back at me, green eyes serious and earnest. Months ago, he had sadly wished that he could be in a place in which I could share everything with him, and had admitted himself that he wasn't ready to hear everything yet.

I sighed and pulled myself off of him so I could sit up in bed next to him, waiting for Alice to settle safely back in her room with a napkin full of Esme's cookies and a glass of water. She was definitely done for the night, and would be skipping therapy to go fishing with Charlie and Billy in the morning- definitely doing everything in her power to ignore Edward and me.

"It's sexual in nature," I warned Edward, not wanting to trigger any sort of panic attack with what he wanted to know.

Edward inhaled sharply and his eyes tightened. He set his jaw and nodded, looking up at the ceiling.

I shifted uncomfortably. He wasn't looking at me. He didn't actually want to hear this, didn't want to discuss sex with me. I wondered if he had enjoyed what he had done yesterday at all, or was just trying to appease me. Had I been overly needy?

I shook my head and looked at my feet, bare and inhumanly pale against the dark wood floor. "It's fine, forget it."

"Whatever you're th-thinking, I'm imagining it's w-worse th-than it p-probably is right now, s-s-so I'd like s-some r-reassurance," he said quietly from between clenched teeth, and I shrunk into my sweater. Anger was not a reaction I had been expecting. I ripped at the fabric of my shirtsleeves nervously, tearing through the hem as easily as a sheet of paper.

"When a woman-," I started, trying to remain clinical to distance myself from having to explain physiological responses to sex to my repressed mate, "There are these two small glands called the Bartholin's glands at the posterior region of the vaginal opening which are connected to ducts between the labia minora and-"

"What?" Edward interrupted, and I could feel the burn on his stare even though I couldn't move my gaze from affixed on lap.

"I can't even begin to explain how embarrassing this is," I repeated, burying my face in my hands. The torn sleeve rubbed angrily against my chin, reminding me of something else I'd ruined by just being myself. "Emmett could smell me," I whispered, the sting of unshed venom burning in my closed eyes and begging for a release.

"I thought you c-could all s-s-smell each other all th-the t-time?"

"He could smell my…" I swallowed thickly, trying to force the word out, "arousal."

"I'm s-s-still not entirely following."

"Between the clearing at the river, and what you did yesterday," I could feel the heat of Edward's blush from the other side of the bed, but he stayed quiet and listened intently, "Just looking at me like you did… I don't know, I'm feeling things I've never felt before, and Emmett could smell the physiological reaction I had to you."

"To me?" Edward asked, sounding more confused than before, and I knew I wasn't being clear. I just didn't know how to be more straightforward! The words weren't coming out the way I wanted them to, and I knew that Edward didn't have a firm grasp of any of this. It was why he had asked Emmett about sex while they were camping- it had been such a trigger for so long that he had avoided any mention of the topic in literature, media, school, et cetera.

"To put it colloquially, I guess, I was, uh, turned on."

"For me?"

"Obviously," I sighed, rubbing at my eyes needlessly. "You gave me a look, and that was all it took. I know, it seems extreme. I totally understand that you're not in the same place as I-"

Edward interrupted me again. "So you w-weren't… with Emmett, you know? F-feeling l-like that?"

"What? No!" I cried, then froze when Charlie rolled over in bed and began mumbling about needing to talk to someone. Edward stilled too, looking up at the ceiling and waiting for me to give him the okay. Luckily, Alice had stuffed herself so full she was forced into a deep sleep and didn't seem disturbed in the least.

"No," I continued, "I've never… With Emmett. Ugh." I shivered at the fleeting thought. No, if I had ever entertained the musings of forcing myself to be attracted to someone, my brother certainly was never among the candidates.

Edward sat up in bed, crossing his legs under him and leaning against the headboard. "S-s-so, l-like how men get…" Edward trailed off, gesturing to his lap.

"Erections, yeah. It's not outwardly obvious for humans, but it is the female equivalent," I said. Edward didn't immediately respond, so of course I had to fill the silence with meaningless medical babbling. "Well, actually the male equivalent would be pre-ejaculate. That comes out of the bulbourethral gland, unlike semen which is a combination of sperm and other fluids secreted from a few different glands, and the bulbourethral gland is homologous to the Bartholin's glands, which is what I was talking about earlier-"

"Bella."

"-And they really do serve similar functions. Both are triggered by the beginning stages of arousal, and serve the purpose of protecting their respective organs. At least, in humans, they do. In vampires, of course, we can't reproduce so male semen is-"

"Bella," Edward said again, but I didn't want to know what he was going to say. I was sharply tapping my knees, my hands cracking against my hard skin.

"-likely simply venom, though I have to say I've never looked into it. I've never exactly studied vampire semen. And as for the mucus secreted in the Bartholin's glands, from the scent of it, it doesn't seem to be venom, but has a similar sweetness. I wonder if it's some sort of inert fluid, because otherwise I'd think Tanya, Kate, and Irina might have turned a few men. I mean, one cut from shaving his pubic area, or in his mouth even-"

I couldn't get another word out, my mouth covered with Edward's and his hands cradling my face on either side to keep me there. His lips were soft, yielding against my own. He moved against me, kneeling on the bed between my legs and hovering over me. His eyes were shut tightly and his tongue snaked out into my slack-open mouth before I finally registered that Edward had effectively shut me up.

Once I closed my mouth slightly and leaned into him, Edward pulled back, still holding my face still. "You're absurd s-s-sometimes, y-you know?" he said, shaking his head.

"You're the one who thought I was… I don't know, fantasizing about my brother!" I defended quickly, and Edward blushed slightly but chucked. "And you said you wouldn't laugh at me," I pointed out.

Edward smile fell, and his eyes snapped to mine. "I wasn't l-laughing at you," he promised, totally sincere. His eyes were so piercing it felt like he was trying to burn a hole through my head and see into my mind by sheer force of will.

"I'm sorry," I apologized.

"For what?" he asked, brows knitting together. He had yet to blink, yet to break eye contact, and I felt captured and powerless under his stare. I tried to distract myself from becoming too enraptured, counting each of his long, dark lashes that so perfectly framed his eyes.

"I don't know. Not controlling myself better?" I offered.

"I don't th-think that's really s-s-something you can control, is it?"

"No, I guess not. But I've never… I mean, as a vampire, I've never experienced anything like that. And I've kept myself very restrained, but yesterday was… And then today, when you looked at me…"

"I understand the f-feeling," Edward said. I had to break eye contact, blinking rapidly to try to make sure I hadn't somehow fallen into unconsciousness and dreamt this all up.

"You do?"

"Bella," Edward huffed, arching a brow like he thought I was being completely ridiculous. "You r-really don't see yourself very c-clearly. With just one look, you c-can have that effect on half th-the b-boys at Forks High. And p-probably every other s-s-school in the c-country. The world."

"But with you?" I prodded, not wanting to get into his misunderstanding of how humans became attracted to vampires. The physiological effect on them was a biological imperative, but they were usually quickly repulsed once they got too close.

"I am a boy who goes to Forks High, aren't I?" he asked evasively.

"But which half?" I insisted, not wanting to let this go. I usually didn't like to push, but having to explain to him how he made me wet in front of my family, who could smell the reaction… Well, that was just too embarrassing to not get something in return out of it.

"S-s-sometimes, just being next to you, even just th-thinking about you, and I feel… things I've n-never felt before. I didn't th-think it would ever be p-possible f-for me, but with you, Bella," he leaned in again, chastely pressing his lips against mine. "You've s-s-saved me."

"I feel the same," I said, placing my hand on his cheekbone and feeling the warm blood pool just under his soft skin. "I was being to think there was something broken in me. That the way I saw others act, and with my family finding their partners, it was just not meant for me."

Edward looked down at my hand and put his over it, holding mine to his face. "When Alice and I were b-bouncing around g-group homes, I had overheard one of th-the s-s-social workers s-say that he thought that I had b-been too young, and I m-might n-never be normal."

"They should never have said something like that, especially with you within earshot," I said immediately, my hand twitching under Edward's as I stopped myself from moving dangerously.

Edward shrugged and squeezed my hand, pulling in from his cheek to kiss my palm softly. His lips were so warm, and a few drops of wetness were left burning its essence on my skin. "He was wrong," he said, playing with my fingers. I kept my hand limp, trying to not make any sudden moves.

Time and time again, Edward would mention some part of his upbringing, and I would become enraged. Because, without fail, unless it was the rare story involving his almost-forgotten mother, it was fucking horrific.

I would figure out a way to make everything right. I had three private investigators contracted to find James and Victoria, and I had already had a bank account set up in a blind trust for every child in the foster care system in the state. The next step would have to be funding a system reform- hiring more social workers, paying for more training, a massive investment in oversight of and investigation into foster parents and group homes.

"He was wrong," I repeated forcefully, trying to keep my voice down.

Edward chuckled and pulled me down with him on the bed, curling me into his side. "I know, th-that's was I just s-s-said." He rolled onto his side to face me, wrapping his legs through mine to pull our bodies almost-flush. "Talk to me about s-s-something?"

"What do you want me to talk about?" I asked, smiling and reaching a hand up to scratch gently at his scalp. His eyelids seemed heavy, like he was forcing them to stay open with each blink. It was very late again, and I kicked myself internally for consistently keeping him up night after night.

"I don't care," Edward shrugged. "Maybe s-s-something s-stupid Emmett's done?"

"Where do I begin?" I laughed, twisting a long lock of his hair and watching it coil and bounce when I dropped it back. "He once tried to train a bear to balance on this big rubber beach ball, claiming he was going to join a Russian circus and needed an act," I started, telling Edward all about how the balls kept deflating from the bear's sharp claws, not to mention the animal's general terror around Emmett. Edward was amused, laughing when I told him about Emmett suiting up in some of Rose's clothes to try to get the strongman-in-a-singlet look, and his eyes fluttered shut softly when I was telling him about Rose chasing Emmett around the house with a giant metal barbell that Emmett had been trying to include in his "act".

I trailed off, Edward breathing deeply and steadily beside me as I continued scratching his scalp carefully. I traced down his jaw, skimming over the smattering of microscopic hair growing at his chin, then up to trace the shape of his full lips.

I quickly returned my hand to the safe comfort of his hair when he sighed and rolled onto me more, his arm draping over me and keeping me anchored to my spot on the small mattress.

"Hey, Bella," Edward said sleepily, eyes closed and face tucked into his pillow.

"Yeah?"

"What you said, about it n-not being v-venomous? B-being inert?" he asked, and I knew he was talking what I had mentioned in my babbling about sexual wetness in vampire women. Ugh. Still beyond embarrassing to even think about.

"Yeah?" I replied cautiously, my hand stilling in his hair.

"You r-remember the g-graduation p-party in June?"

"I do." It wasn't as if I could forget anything.

"What Jessica was d-doing to Tyler? In the b-bathroom, when I interrupted th-them?"

I didn't know where he was going with this. The two thoughts seemed unconnected, but it was late at night, and he was nearly asleep. Maybe this was actually sleep talk in stage one sleep, and I was just humoring his mutterings.

"I do remember."

"Is that s-s-something I could do t-to you s-s-sometime?"

I had no witty response, though there were multiple options. "Yeah," I said again, rather stupidly, and Edward was truly asleep a moment later.