Chapter 5. Truth. Part 2.

EPOV.

Bella's face was unreadable as we drove to my house. I didn't know what exactly bothered her in my question, but decided not to take any chances and I kept quiet. After a few seconds, she sighed and then looked into my eyes, searching for something in them.

"In addition to our diet, vampires and humans have a number of other differences. All vampires are several times stronger than the average human. I can pick up a few tons and not notice, Emmett for the sake of interest once lifted a load of over 50 tons, but he's sure he can do better. We're also a lot faster than humans, the speed we're driving now is not half our normal speed," Bella stopped her monologue and glanced at the speedometer, where I was a little afraid to look. "Our vision and sense of smell are superior to that of human, and we also possess an extraordinary Intellect. Our skin is incredibly strong and, as you may have noticed, bullets couldn't hurt me. Vampires are real apex predators. We were invented to kill people. Everything about me invites you in – my face, my voice, my smell. Not that I need any of this. People can't kill us."

I began to ponder over her words. The existence of such creatures frightened me. Bella said her family doesn't hunt humans, but what about other vampires?

"Are there a lot of…?"

"No. Vampires quite rarely bite people in order to turn them. Not only is it very difficult, it's also a big responsibility. Not many of us have the restrain to accomplish it."

"So you weren't born this way? Were you once human too?"

"Of course, all of us we were human before. Unfortunately, vampires can't have children because our bodies don't change anymore. Maybe nature made us that way so we wouldn't overpopulate the planet, vampires don't die of old age."

This information surprised me. It was incredibly hard for me to imagine Bella as an ordinary person.

"How did you become a… vampire?"

"It's a long story, but in short, I fell off a cliff during a picnic with my classmates. The fall was almost fatal, but I was lucky, Carlisle was on his way back from the hunt. Then he saved me by turning me into a vampire."

From the thought of Bella being so close to death, I took a sharp breath.

"And how exactly did he save you?"

"He bit me. We are venomous, with a bite our venom enters the bloodstream and starts the process of transformation. It's usually incredibly painful and lasts an average of three days."

"Wow," that's all I could say at that moment. "How long ago did that happen?"

"By vampire standards, relatively recent, but probably not by human."

"How long ago, Bella?"

"There's a chance it might scare you off."

"Try me. I doubt anything can scare me away," the last sentence I whispered to myself, but Bella heard and smiled faintly.

"I was born in 1963, I was 18 when it happened."

After a quick count in my head, I realized that Bela was twenty-nine years older than me. But how could she look not a day older than eighteen? Why was she still going to school?

"How is that possible? You look like my age, not my mom's age!"

"How very gentlemanly of you, Edward. It's not polite to discuss a lady's age. Vampires are immortal, we're stuck in the age at which we were changed. Like I said, no vampire has ever died of old age."

"So, something could still kill you?"

"Planning on getting rid of me already?"

I almost blushed when I realized how rude my question was.

"Relax, I'm kidding, I know you're just curious. Back to your question, the answer is yes. A vampire can only be killed by another vampire. There used to be huge territorial wars, back then, a whole new vampire army were creating every month, and only the strongest remained alive. Wild times. Now, our leaders are watching this closely, and if you break the law, you're doomed to die because these things always attract people's attention. There've also been several cases of werewolves killing vampires."

"Werewolves aren't myths either!?"

With every new piece of information my head started to hurt more and more. The world no longer seemed the same to me.

"I personally have never met them, but I've heard enough stories. Our species don't tolerate each other. We're like natural enemies."

"Who else isn't fiction? Mermaids, elves, witches?"

"Not that I know. You can ask Carlisle about it. I know he's been interested in the subject of witches in the past."

I shook my head silently, trying to understand my new reality. Bella was concentrating on the road and thinking of something of her own. What did she want to offer me instead of my original plan?

"Are you suggesting I become a vampire? To be able to protect my family?"

Perhaps for the safety of my parents...

"No! Of course not! I don't want to deprive you of human life. After transformation, there's no going back."

"What are you suggesting then?"

"Edward, you need to tell us everything you know about your situation.My family can protect yours. Whoever these people are, they're nothing against us."

I thought about her proposal. The idea of guards in the form of supernatural creatures was clearly attractive. But how could I ask them for something so serious? I haven't even talked to the Cullens, except for Bella.

"Bella, I don't want to burden you like this. And how exactly do you plan to do it? I can't keep my parents in one place forever, so you can keep an eye on us. We all have our own lives, school, work."

"Don't worry about it, we have other ways of looking out for people. Our physical presence will be necessary only on extremely rare occasions."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Some vampires have special talents. You know Alice, right? So, she's one of those rare vampires with a special talent. She sees the future. The better she knows the person, the clearer and more detailed her visions are. I can introduce you tomorrow, and I need her to meet your parents at least once. She wanted to introduce herself anyway. After that, she will be able to monitor your future and, of course, check on your parents. Accordingly, if she sees any danger, we can react quickly."

"But it can't last forever. At some point, we'll still be forced to run."

"Of course not. This is only a temporary solution that will help us buy some time for more colossal steps. But we need as much information as possible, you can't make hasty decisions with people like that."

It was hard for me to make a solo decision about the safety of the whole family, but I knew that an endless run wouldn't have saved us.

"All right, I'll tell you what I know, but this is unfortunately not the full picture. Dad just couldn't share all the information with us, it's not safe."

"I understand, but tell me what you know. Maybe that'll be enough."

With my eyes closed for a few seconds, I tried to immerse myself in the memory of my last days in Chicago.

"It happened a little less than two months ago. My father and his close friend worked at their own law firm. My dad used to try to avoid serious crime cases, because he knew it wasn't just dangerous for him, but it could also affect me and my mom. One day, he was asked to take on the case of one rich kid, the son of a powerful Chicago businessman. At first, everything about this case seemed clear and safe. The guy was found with a lot of drugs, and he was trying to prove that it was planted by his father's rivals. Dad had to do everything he could to clear the reputation of this guy and his family." I paused for a moment to relive that moment of my life. At that time, no one knew what it would mean for us. Bella examined my face, completely ignoring the road.

"I guess this case wasn't as simple as it seemed at the beginning?"

"No. Again, I don't know all the glorious details, but I do know that the investigation was able to find some solid evidence that this guy was actually not just storing those illicit substances, but was selling them. Then my dad told the guy to tell him the truth so that he could come up with good defenses beforehand. He was expecting to hear a typical story about some dirty dealers, or an addiction, but he wasn't ready for what his client had shared." I looked into Bella's tiger eyes, silently asking if she was ready to be part of that secret.

"Was his confession about his father?"

"Not just his father, but his entire family and a couple of known associates. Apparently, the guy wasn't smart enough to consult with his father first. He accidentally blabbed to my father all the high-end drug-trafficking schemes in Illinois and nearby states. Oh, he also casually mentioned some details of human traffic with Europe and South America. The drugs he was found with weren't just his, they were a small batch to sell. A speck in comparison to the truth. My dad knew right away that this information could cost him his life, and maybe my and my mom's too. He went home in a panic that day and said that we had to run quickly. There was no point in waiting for open threats, everything was clear. A day later we left Chicago, a week later we received the first warning. It became clear that my father's fears were true. After my dad got a new encrypted e-mail, we moved to Forks. It was quiet until today, and we naively hoped that maybe they understood that we weren't going to say anything, and that we just want to continue our lives as if nothing had happened." I took a deep breath and looked at the roof of the car, trying to calm down. "But, as you can see, we're in danger again."

"My question may sound indelicate, but why haven't they tried to kill your father yet? In the message, he tried to tell your father to come to Chicago. It doesn't look like they're threatening him."

Her eyes focused on me, eager to understand why we're still alive.

"The answer is simple. My father's sudden disappearance aroused suspicion. An already high-profile and not-so-closed case caught the public's attention. People keep talking about it, it gets the attention of the authorities. They think that if my father goes back to the case and somehow proves his client's innocence, then when it's over, they can deal with us. But definitely not now, they need us alive."

Bella squeezed her elegant fingers around the steering wheel and shook her head.

"I'm sorry you have to go through all this. We'll do everything we can as soon as possible. Do you remember their names?"

"Of course, you may have even heard of them. James and Albert Hill. James is Albert's son. He is the reason of all our problems."

"I think Alice and I will work together to find a solution. Just, don't say anything to your parents. Especially what you know about our family."

I nodded silently and directed my eyes into the windshield of the Mercedes. The familiar scenery of Forks began to appear outside the window, which meant that our conversation was coming to an end.

"I'm not sure I know where your house is. I'm still not getting a good look around Forks."

Having received a brief description of the route from me, Bella easily drove me to the desired location. She shut down the engine, and we silently sat in the car in the driveway to my house. Bella and I were lost in our thoughts, but none of us were in a hurry to say goodbye. The events of the evening were beyond my comprehension, and I shuddered to think what dreams I would have at night. Bella and her entire family were not human beings, and my parents and I were again exposed to danger, followed by an unexpected offer of protection from mythical creatures. And it all happened in one night. Suddenly, I wanted it all to be a dream, but I realized that my fantasy wasn't good enough to create such a chain of sequences. I wasn't sure that my face was reveling, but Bella suddenly touched my hand.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." I tried to convince either myself or Bella, but in any case, my attempt failed. She raised her eyebrow expressively. "Okay, I'm not totally fine, but who would be in my situation?"

Bella squeezed my hand tighter, and I tried to squeeze it back. The contrast of our temperature fascinated me, distracting me from unnecessary emotions. It seemed that in the place where our skin came into contact, there were small discharges of electricity.

"You don't care about the cold from my skin?" She didn't look at me, her eyes were pointed somewhere towards her knees.

"Of course not. I wouldn't call it cold, rather a pleasant coolness."

Bella smiled briefly, but it didn't touch her eyes. Maybe she didn't believe me, even though I told her the truth. Then we were silent again for a moment, Bella was staring at the stars and the moon, and I was staring at her. Her features were a work of art, and her looks made you study her longer and longer. Her beauty, her intelligence and her personality were my undoing. I was falling more and more in love with Isabella Cullen with every new second at the worst possible time.