THE TWENTIETH TIME

Thankfully, Alice chose a neutral meeting place. Oddly, it's a coffee shop. And since it's the weekend, it's quite busy with students meeting friends or catching up on homework.

When we walk in, the smell of coffee hits my nose like a battering ram. There's another smell underneath… tangy and metallic. My nose crinkles. I squeeze Edward's hand. Colors pulse across my field of vision, though I'm not dizzy this time.

I lost count of how many times his teeth sunk into my flesh between last night and this morning. There's a crimson rim around his black pupil, only visible up close.

Edward leads me to the second floor, to a secluded table in the back. I keep my eyes trained on my feet as the world seems to shift around me.

When we stop and I look up, my eyes immediately land on Alice's face, on her golden eyes that swim with unshed tears. She's the same, just new clothes, dark hair styled a little differently.

She looks from Edward to me and back to Edward. Then, she's up on her tiptoes and holding him so tightly to her that he grunts and drops my hand. They don't say anything, but I know she's telling him everything mentally. I avert my eyes in an attempt to give them some privacy.

When I make a move to sit down, Alice yanks herself back from him and throws herself at me. I startle as her tiny, iron arms surround me. "Alice," I choke, barely able to move.

"Sorry, sorry," she says as she pulls back. She wipes at her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Bella. And not just for hugging you too tightly." Her voice chimes low in the din of the crowd. "I should've fought with him over it but it just felt so completely out of my hands and then he told me that I wasn't allowed to contact you, that you wanted a clean break, and I wasn't supposed to see you anymore." She stomps one of her little feet.

It takes me a moment to realize she's waiting for an answer. "Yeah, you should've. Fought with him, I mean." I say firmly.

She looks at me for a long while; my eyes shift over her shoulder to see Edward take a seat. He reaches out to tug on her peacoat and she moves to sit next to him.

I take the seat across from them both.

Alice pushes a lemon and blueberry scone across the table to me. I grab the drink in front of her and take a sip; it's chamomile tea. I look at her curiously.

"Look, beyond my need to apologize to you, because I miss you, I came because I'm worried about you two." She fidgets a bit in her seat, looks sideways at Edward, who shakes his head.

"We aren't going to do that," I say around a mouthful of scone.

Edward leans across the table and takes my left hand in his. "She's chastising me." I look at the more than subtle red rim around his irises. From me. My blood. My core tightens and his thumb strokes against mine like he knows.

"Carlisle cannot see you like that," Alice says, not unkindly. "If you aren't careful-"

I cut her off. "We're being careful."

Her eyes narrow imperceptibly. "Are you?"

I pull my hand back from Edward's and glare at her. I take a sip of the chamomile.

Alice's voice drops low. "You're being reckless. You don't know what you're doing to each other. No one has tested something like this" - one hand gestures between us - "before."

Edward puts his elbow on the table and cups his face as he looks at her. "Besides a few… side effects, things seem to be fine."

Alice's voice drops even lower as she hisses, "Oh, like the fact that Bella knocked someone's teeth out? Or the fact that she is getting faster? Her strength has a direct correlation to you," she jabs a finger into his chest.

"I'm fully consenting," I jump in.

She whirls on me. "Don't even get me started on you."

My eyebrows shoot up just as the table trembles. I look over at Edward, whose face remains impassive, but his eyes flash with rage.

"Oh, stop growling at me. You overbearing, overprotective male," Alice snarls. He doesn't relax. She turns back to me; her eyes soften. "Bella, he could change you if he isn't careful."

I sit up straighter. "He is careful."

She huffs.

"Can we stop talking about my sex life?" I snap.

She narrows her eyes again. "Is that where this is going?"

My eyes flicker to Edward's; he's already watching me closely. "Maybe?" I squeak.

He gives me a slight nod. Mouths, "If you want."

Fuck.

"Bella," Alice sighs and my eyes unwillingly slide back to hers.

"We'll be careful, okay? I'm already on birth control," I mutter, having gone on it to regulate my cycle years ago. "He won't hurt me."

I can feel his piercing gaze trained on me and I look down, take another bite of my scone.

Alice sighs dramatically. "Actually sealing the mating bond is going to drastically change things between you, you know that, right?"

"Maybe," I whisper. I look around the room in an attempt to avoid locking eyes with Edward or Alice. There's more than a few people surreptitiously watching our terse, low conversation.

Alice leans forward and her tiny hands grab my face, forcing me to look at her. "We've never seen a sealed mating bond between a human and one of our kind. We also do not know what could happen if you continue to allow his venom into your system." She whispers, golden eyes serious.

Around her hands, I mumble, "My body seems to process it within a few days."

She cocks her head. "Oh, and the flecks of copper in your brown eyes have always been there?"

I pull back and she drops her hands, biting my lower lip. My eyes dart to Edward; his face impassive, calm. So he's noticed.

"Excuse me." I shove away from the table and skip down the stairs and march to the restroom. Luckily, there isn't anyone inside, and I lock the door and walk straight up to the mirror. When I lean close to look at my face, my hands gripping the sink tightly, I see exactly what she means. My eyes, which have always had little streaks of gold when you look closely, now have reddish flecks too. I hear a crack and look down to see my right hand has created little fissures in the porcelain. I yank my hands away, take a step back.

There's a knock on the door. "One moment!" I call, one hand on my chest in an attempt to calm my racing heart. Another knock.

I sigh, move to open the door. Edward is there, his face solemn, the tea Alice bought me in one hand. He offers me his free hand.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I whisper.

"Why didn't you tell me about my eyes?" His hand drops to his side.

"I…" I don't know. I noticed, obviously, but I guess I didn't want to bother him. Or it wasn't the time. Or something.

"Perhaps it'd be best if we went for a bit of a walk together."

Something in my chest breaks. My face crumples as I suck in a deep breath.

His hand is reaching for me in the next moment, realizing he said something similar before he left me. He cradles my face. "No, no, no. To talk. I'm not leaving you." He presses his forehead to mine, presses me against the wall next to the restroom door. "I won't ever leave you again, Bella."

My hands fist in his jacket, hold him close to me.

"Okay?" He kisses the tip of my nose, thumb trailing along my jaw. "I'm staying for as long as you want me."

Someone clears their throat and Edward snarls instinctually; it's a predatory sound that tears through the tense atmosphere of the small, darkened hallway. I push against his chest, turn my head just in time to watch a young man scurry away.

I look back at him to see his eyes have never left my face. I take a deep breath. "Okay."