A/N: Hey guys... I wish there were enough words in the English dictionairy to express just what I've been going through these past few months...but to surmise and to greatly understate- its been rough. This story became less of an escape for me and I no longer turned to it to express myself because of my desire to write this properly. I also, haven't had the time to...but I can understand the frustration and hopelessness that a great deal of my readers have felt thus far- constantly questioning whether or not I've abandoned this story ...I'm not going to. Updates aren't consistent, and I can't promise that it will be from here on out. Right now, my mental health is taking priority after what I've experienced these past few months. The guilt that I feel is not something that I can express in its entirety either...but this will have to do. I'm sorry for being so inconsistent. I truly can't help it at this stage of my life...but I refuse to leave this story of mine untold. So, I'll continue- but as I said- updates are not going to be consistent.

As for the reviews, thank you all so much for leaving them- you have no idea how much joy I feel whenever I see that a new one has been posted. Thank you guys for sticking by the story for this long. 3

Disclaimer

Twilight and all affiliated characters are the property of Stephanie Meyer. I do not own any of the aforementioned characters except Beth and the plot of this story (that is, should it stray from the original Twilight). This story is for entertainment only and is not part of the official storyline. I am not in any way, shape, or form benefiting financially from the publishing of this story on this site and am very grateful for Mrs. Meyer's creation. Besides, if I did own Twilight, I'd be taking a vacation right about now.

A splash was heard as a car drove past the white house, its muddied tires disrupting the large puddle that had formed from the constant downpour of rain that never seemed to stop…even then it was drizzling, fat drops of water falling from the heavy, gray porous clouds.

Edward rocked back on his heels, mind tuning in unbidden to the thoughts of the closest neighbors as they wondered who'd parked outside of the Chief of Police's house. His eyebrow quirked as he heard some shuffling and creaking of the floorboards inside, steps heavy and he knocked twice, once more before a voice called out from within,

"God, I'm coming!" the voice sounded annoyed, a scoff on the cusp of escaping their lips. The front door creaked open then and the voice continued,

"I heard you the first three times…" she trailed off upon seeing exactly who it was. A brown, thin eyebrow raised in what he assumed was surprise as her eyes trailed across his figure.

"Edward," she greeted him, hand coming up to hold the door as she stepped into the doorway a bit more. Goosebumps arose across her bare arms, the tank top that she was wearing doing little against the cold that seeped past him and into the house. Her toes peeked out from under her long, plaid pajama pants as she shifted in response to the temperature.

Edward took a step closer, his gaze apologetic, "I was hoping I could speak with you, if that's okay."

Beth noted that wasn't a question, but with a sigh, she stepped inside once more and held the door open for the tall, penny haired male. As he stepped inside and finally stood within her home, she couldn't deny that he looked ridiculously out of place in his designer clothes next to the brightly colored finger painting hung up on the wall that either she or Bella had done at some point during the little time they'd previously spent with their dad when they were younger.

Closing the door behind him, she led the way into the living room, taking up a pair of socks that she'd abandoned when she came downstairs to open the door. Pulling them on, she took a seat across from him, pulling a blanket up and around her shoulders as she did.

"Would you like something to drink?" She offered courteously before her cheeks heated as she realized the implication of her words. She hoped that he figured she was offering water and not…

He smirked and before she could rectify her question, he said "no, thank you.

She cleared her throat then, the static from the muted television being the only noise for a moment, "So…" she drawled in the awkward silence, his golden eyes watching her every move. It was unnerving to say the least. "You wanted to talk?" she prompted.

He leaned back into the chair, a hand running through his hair. "I came to apologize again for yesterday and to give an explanation."

Elizabeth felt a spike of irritation at the reminder, her mouth drying. Her arms folded across her chest as she sunk into the chair a bit more as he continued,

"I feel very protective of you and when I wasn't able to see you, I couldn't help myself…I had to know that you were alright when you didn't show up to school and then I came back that night…"

Beth pursed her lips, "So, what? You've been stalking me or something?"

He shook his head rapidly, "No, no, I don't- I've no intention to do so but because I feel so strongly, you've become my priority and I get," he paused, trying to find the right term, "anxious when I can't ensure your wellbeing."

"That's still stalking, Edward," Beth argued, "that's not good."

"In fact, that's actually really creepy," her eyes widened to stress the point. He winced then, fingers fiddling with the sleeve of his sweater.

Edward ducked his head then, "There are more dangerous things in this town than just myself and my family and if something happened and I didn't know-" he stopped then, as if he couldn't bear the thought of it. "I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you knowing that I could have prevented it.."

Uncomfortable with what he was expressing, the girl shifted in her seat, "You said more dangerous things?" She didn't really want to put more thought on the fact that he had admitted to having felt that way about her. Still, he hadn't outright said that he loved her or anything so he might just care for her platonically…right?

He looked up at her, nodding, "There are more- many more vampires in the world who don't live as my family does, they never really stay in one place and they don't have any regard for human life. They are a lot more dangerous than you would assume- faster and stronger than us because they drink from humans… Every now and then they cross into our borders unknowingly to feed and they're not entirely discreet about it.." he trailed off, and a thought occurred to her then.

"The animal attacks," she guessed and her horror only grew when he nodded. "But the rest of the town…" she trailed off, thinking of all the innocent people who could be- who were- victims of these attacks. She gasped a little and her hand reached up and covered her mouth in disbelief.

"We try to make the territory known, but it's hard to track their movements with how sporadically they hunt."

She sighed, "Okay, I understand your reasoning for wanting to protect me, but that doesn't mean that stalking me is okay. There are other ways to ensure my safety that don't include standing over me while I sleep.."

Edward agreed reluctantly, and there was a lull in the conversation, Elizabeth still trying to come to terms with everything and Edward watching her in turn. Despite the fleeting microchanges to her expression, it was still incredibly hard for him to determine her thoughts. Edward's frustration must have shown on his face, for when she glanced up at him, she asked him what was wrong.

He apologized then, cursing himself internally at how he must have come across to her. "It's just, you're very hard to read. I don't normally have an issue with other people."

Her eyebrows pinched at his wording, "read?" she muttered in question, toes curling as her mind began to try to comprehend what he meant. She was starting to realize that his words and expressions were very cryptic and he didn't ever, really speak plainly and when he did, it was something that only he understood. Shaking her head, she waited for him to expound.

Edward almost looked sheepish when he explained, "Some of my family and I have special powers." At her prompting, he laughed shortly and without any true amusement behind it, "I can read minds."

Her eyes widened in a panic, "Oh my god, please don't read my mind!" Looking away from him as though that would have helped, she tried to clear her thoughts. What if he knew about her past life? Just how was he supposed to explain that to him? Her cheeks colored once more.

He was quick to reassure her, however, lips tilted in a small, questioning smile. Just what was she thinking? "While I don't really have any control over it, rest assured that I can't read you or your sister's mind."

Beth released a breath she didn't know she was holding, shoulders untensing. And thank god for that too, Elizabeth didn't like the idea of every thought and memory that she had being broadcasted to him against her will. What if he had found out about her reincarnation? No one knew, and she preferred it that way. Granted, who better to tell than a supernatural creature of the night? Still, it unsettled her more than she realized.

Something must have caught his attention from outside, as his head turned sharply to the window. Beth wondered then, about the rest of his family.

"Jasper is an empath and has the ability to feel and manipulate the emotions of those around him. Alice, the only other one who has powers, can see the future dependent on the decisions of people. Her visions are subjective like that."

The brunette hummed, before she looked at him with betrayal, "In the parking lot yesterday! It was Jasper that did that, wasn't it?" Muffling a chuckle at her expression, Edward nodded in confirmation.

"That is so unfair," she mumbled, it had been so strange with how rapidly her emotions had flipped from being as angry as she had been to much calmer and more willing. And Alice! She'd been in on it the whole time- the conniving little vampire, she was.

The sound of a key turning in the door startled her then, and unlike her, Edward didn't seem surprised when not a minute later, Charlie strode in after he hung up his jacket, his car keys placed on the hook just behind the sofa that she sat on. The chief blinked then, noting Edward across from her,

"..Why, hello."

"Hi dad," Beth greeted him, leaning over the back of the mint green cushions in order to face him properly. Behind her, Edward stood and held out his hand for her dad to shake.

"Chief," he acknowledged, "I'm Edward Cullen."

The mustached man nodded in recollection, "Dr. Cullen's son? You helped Beth during the accidents, I remember. Thank you, again." Charlie looked between the two and came to a conclusion.

"So, how long have you been dating my daughter?"

Beth choked from her position, a sizeable amount of spit flying down the wrong passage. Behind her, Edward huffed in amusement, a cold hand gently patting her back as she stood to clarify, stuttering all the while as the blanket slid from her frame.

"Dad, we are not dating!" the tips of her ears reddened at the implication. Embarrassment took over her being, and Edward hadn't helped matters as he quietly snickered behind her, not bothering to deny anything. "Edward just came by to talk about a Biology project we have coming up," she said quickly.

Unconvinced, Charlie continued shooting looks between the two, "Sure, whatever you say, kiddo." Walking some ways away, she spun to the vampire and glared at him, eyes burning with a promise of retribution.

"You knew he was coming!" she whisper-yelled, but the penny haired demon only smirked slightly but said nothing.

The middle aged man looked back at them before offering Edward to stay for dinner. Then it was Edward's time to scramble for an excuse. He tried to refuse, he really did- But Charlie had been adamant, claiming that it was to express his gratitude for saving one of his daughters lives. When the man disappeared into the kitchen to see what could be scraped together for dinner, Edward had muttered to her about his inability to digest human food and that he'd have to upchuck everything at a later time. Beth had simply smirked, and instead, confirmed with her dad that Edward would be staying before turning back to him with an evil grin, the karma curling up her spine with a tinge of satisfaction.

"This is perfect revenge for before," she smiled in glee before following after her father, leaving the penny haired boy staring after her with regret coloring his sculpted features. Still, a hint of admiration was noted as well, despite it all.

Dinner had been an awkward affair especially without Bella. When her dad had questioned her absence, Beth had explained that she'd disappeared earlier on in the day to La Push to see Jacob about the truck.

"Is something wrong with it?" Charlie had inquired curiously from the head of the table, knife and fork pausing in their journey to the food that was spread out on his very full plate. Beth had made a lovely lasagne, simple but practical and she'd ensured to serve Edward a hefty portion, blissfully ignorant of the frustration and slight annoyance that painted his expressions. He had to suck it up, however, and cut large chunks from the serving and moved bits and pieces of the pasta, cheese and meat mixture around his plate ever so often- begrudgingly taking small forkfuls whenever Charlie looked his way and forcing it down with a barely hidden grimace.

"The engine was stalling pretty badly last week," his other daughter explained, "it was a miracle that it even started up today when she went."

Charlie hummed, taking a bite and the rest of dinner continued, with Charlie grilling Edward about his grades and the rest of his siblings before he excused himself to make his way to the living room to catch the last part of the football game that was set to be played today.

As soon as the chief left their vicinity, however, Beth's plate suspiciously filled once more and Edward's had miraculously emptied- the vampire looking more than pleased with himself, despite his constant throat clearing as his system struggled to hold in the food, the unpleasant flavors making his mouth taste bitter. Choosing to say nothing lest Charlie hear in the room over, she took her plate to the fridge and then placed the vampire's plate into the sink with her fathers.

"I should get going," Edward mentioned, clearing his throat again. Beth snickered quietly, his countenance amusing to her, but nodded and led him to the door.

"Do you want a ride to school on Monday?" he offered when he grabbed his jacket from the coat rack.

She hummed noncommittally, "I'll send you a text to let you know when Bella gets home," And after he'd called out a goodbye to Charlie, she'd made her way to the living room, a smile playing on her lips as she sat beside her dad as he sipped a beer, her mind conjuring up the very funny image of Edward upchucking in her neighbors begonias with a grimace before he left. It was hilarious, she had to admit. But her father had assumed that she'd been smiling about something completely different.

"He likes you, you know.." he mentioned after seeing her pleased expression.

Pursing her lips, Elizabeth merely shrugged, not wanting to think about it too much, "Dad," That would just complicate a lot of things. Besides, she was still unsure of how to feel about him, given the recent discoveries she'd made about his character.

"Hey, Beth," Charlie nudged her sometime later, feet still cocked up on the coffee table in front of the sofa they sat on, "I put some pepper spray in your bag, just in case." And rolling her eyes in fond exasperation, she leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder as they watched the game, not wanting to argue with him about Edward's intentions but still thankful given the events that had taken place in Port Angeles a few weeks ago.

"Thanks, dad."

It was only much later that she realized that she hadn't taken Edward's number…