1 PARTY. 2 STITCHES

1 PARTY

I WAS NINETY‑ NINE POINT NINE PERCENT SURE I WAS dreaming.

The reasons I was so certain were that, first, I was standing in a bright shaft of sunlight–the kind of blinding clear sun that never shone on my drizzly new hometown in Forks, Washington–and second, I was looking at my Grandma Marie. Gran had been dead for six years now, so that was solid evidence toward the dream theory.

Gran hadn't changed much; her face looked just the same as I remembered it. The skin was soft and withered, bent into a thousand tiny creases that clung gently to the bone underneath. Like a dried apricot, but with a puff of thick white hair standing out in a cloud around it.

Our mouths–hers a wizened picker–spread into the same surprised half‑ smile at just the same time. Apparently, she hadn't been expecting to see me, either.

I was about to ask her a question; I had so many–What was she doing here in my cream? What had she been up to in the past six years? Was Pop okay, and had they found each other, wherever they were? –but she opened her mouth when I did, so I stopped to let her go first. She paused, too, and then we Goth smiled at the little awkwardness.

" Bella! "

It wasn't Gran who called my name, and we both turned to see the addition to our small reunion. I didn't have to look to know who it was; this was a voice I would know anywhere–know, and respond to, whether I was awake or asleep… or even dead, I'd bet. The voice I'd walk through fire for–or, less dramatically, slosh every day through the cold and endless rain for.

Edward.

Even though I was always thrilled to see him–conscious or otherwise–and even though I was almost positive that I was dreaming, I panicked as Edward walked toward us through the glaring sunlight.

I panicked because Gran didn't know that I was in love with a vampire–nobody knew that–so how was I supposed to explain the fact that the brilliant sunbeams were shattering off his skin into a thousand rainbow shards like he was made of crystal or diamond?

Well, Gran, yon might have noticed that my boyfriend glitters. It's just something he does in the sun. Don't worry about it…

What was he doing? The whole reason he lived in Forks, the rainiest place in the world, was so that he could be outside in the daytime without exposing his family's secret. Yet here he was, strolling gracefully toward me–with the most beautiful smile on his angel's face–as if I were the only one here.

In that second, I wished that I was not the one exception to his mysterious talent; I usually felt grateful that I was the only person whose thoughts he couldn't hear just as clearly as if they were spoken aloud. But now I wished he could hear me, too, so that he could hear the warning I was screaming in my head.

I shot a panicked glance back at Gran, and saw that it was too late. She was just turning to stare back at me, her eyes as alarmed as mine.

Edward–still smiling so beautifully that my heart felt like it was going to swell up and burst through my chest–put his arm around my shoulder and turned to face my grandmother.

Gran's expression surprised me. Instead of looking horrified, she was staring at me sheepishly, as if waiting for a scolding. And she was standing in such a strange position–one arm held awkwardly away from her body, stretched out and then curled around the air. Like she had her arm around someone I couldn't see, someone invisible…

Only then, as I looked at the bigger picture, did I notice the huge gilt frame that enclosed my grandmother's form. Uncomprehending, I raised the hand that wasn't wrapped around Edward's waist and reached out to touch her. She mimicked the movement exactly, mirrored it. But where our fingers should have met, there was nothing but cold glass…

With a dizzying jolt, my dream abruptly became a nightmare.

There was no Gran.

That was me. Me in a mirror. Me–ancient, creased, and withered.

Edward stood beside me, casting no reflection, excruciatingly lovely and forever seventeen.

He pressed his icy, perfect lips against my wasted cheek.

" Happy birthday, " he whispered.

I woke with a start–my eyelids popping open wide–and gasped. Dull gray light, the familiar light of an overcast morning, took the place of the blinding sun in my dream.

Just a dream, I told myself. It was only a dream. I took a deep breath, and then jumped again when my alarm went off. The little calendar in the corner of the clock's display informed me that today was September thirteenth.

Only a dream, but prophetic enough in one way, at least. Today was my birthday. I was officially eighteen years old.

I'd been dreading this day for months.

All through the perfect summer–the happiest summer I had ever had, the happiest summer anyone anywhere had ever had, and the rainiest summer in the history of the Olympic Peninsula–this bleak date had lurked in ambush, waiting to spring.

And now that it had hit, it was even worse than I'd feared it would be. I could feel it–I was older. Every day I got older, but this was different, worse, quantifiable. I was eighteen.

And Edward never would be.

When I went to brush my teeth, I was almost surprised that the face in the mirror hadn't changed. I stared at myself, looking for some sign of impending wrinkles in my ivory skin. The only creases were the ones on my forehead, though, and I knew that if I could manage to relax, they would disappear. I couldn't. My eyebrows stayed lodged in a worried line over my anxious brown eyes.

It was just a dream, I reminded myself again. Just a dream… but also my worst nightmare.

I skipped breakfast, in a hurry to get out of the house as quickly as possible. I wasn't entirely able to avoid my dad, and so I had to spend a few minutes acting cheerful. I honestly tried to be excited about the gifts I'd asked him not to get me, but every time I had to smile, it felt like I might start crying.

I struggled to get a grip on myself as I drove to school. The vision of Gran–I would not think of it as me–was hard to get out of my head. I couldn't feel anything but despair until I pulled into the familiar parking lot behind Forks High School and spotted Edward leaning motionlessly against his polished silver Volvo, like a marble tribute to some forgotten pagan god of beauty. The dream had not done him justice. And he was waiting there for me, just the same as every other day.

Despair momentarily vanished; wonder took its place. Even after half a year with him, I still couldn't believe that I deserved this degree of good fortune.

His sister Alice was standing by his side, waiting for me, too.

Of course Edward and Alice weren't really related (in Forks the story was that all the Cullen siblings were adopted by Dr. Carlisle Culler and his wife, Esme, both plainly too young to have teenage children), but their skin was precisely the same pale shade, their eyes had the same strange golden tint, with the same deep, bruise‑ like shadows beneath them. Her face, like his, was also startlingly beautiful. To someone in the know–someone like me–these similarities marked them for what they were.

The sight of Alice waiting there–her tawny eyes brilliant with excitement, and a small silver‑ wrapped square in her hands–made me frown. I'd told Alice I didn't want anything, anything, not gifts or even attention, for my birthday. Obviously, my wishes were being ignored.

I slammed the door of my '53 Chevy truck–a shower of rust specks fluttered down to the wet blacktop–and walked slowly toward where they waited. Alice skipped forward to meet me, her pixie face glowing under her spiky black hair.

" Happy birthday, Bella! "

" Shh! " I hissed, glancing around the lot to make sure no one had heard her. The last thing I wanted was some kind of celebration of the black event.

She ignored me. " Do you want to open your present now or later? " she asked eagerly as we made our way to where Edward still waited.

" No presents, " I protested in a mumble.

She finally seemed to process my mood. " Okay… later, then. Did you like the scrapbook your mom sent you? And the camera from Charlie? "

I sighed. Of course she would know what my birthday presents were. Edward wasn't the only member of his family with unusual skills. Alice would have " seen" what my parents were planning as soon as they'd decided that themselves.

" Yeah. They're great. "

" I think it's a nice idea. You're only a senior once. Might as well document the experience. "

" How many times have you been a senior? "

" That's different. "

We reached Edward then, and he held out his hand for mine. I took it eagerly, forgetting, for a moment, my glum mood. His skin was, as always, smooth, hard, and very cold. He gave my fingers a gentle squeeze. I looked into his liquid topa2 eyes, and my heart gave a not‑ quite‑ so‑ gentle squeeze of its own. Hearing the stutter in my heartbeats, he smiled again.

He lifted his free hand and traced one cool fingertip around the outside of my lips as he spoke. " So, as discussed, I am not allowed to wish you a happy birthday, is that correct? "

" Yes. That is correct. " I could never quite mimic the flow of his perfect, formal articulation. It was something that could only be picked up in an earlier century.

" Just checking. " He ran his hand through his tousled bronze hair. " You might have changed your mind. Most people seem to enjoy things like birthdays and gifts. "

Alice laughed, and the sound was all silver, a wind chime. " Of course you'll enjoy it. Everyone is supposed to be nice to you today and give you your way, Bella. What's the worst that could happen? " She meant it as a rhetorical question.

" Getting older, " I answered anyway, and my voice was not as steady as I wanted it to be.

Beside me, Edward's smile tightened into a hard line.

" Eighteen isn't very old, " Alice said. " Don't women usually wait till they're twenty‑ nine to get upset over birthdays? "

" It's older than Edward, " I mumbled.

He sighed.

" Technically, " she said, keeping her tone light. " Just by one little year, though. "

And I supposed… if I could be sure of the future I wanted, sure that I would get to spend forever with Edward, and Alice and the rest of the Cullens (preferably not as a wrinkled little old lady)… then a year or two one direction or the other wouldn't matter to me so much. But Edward was dead set against any future that changed me. Any future that made me like him–that made me immortal, too.

An impasse, he called it.

I couldn't really see Edward's point, to be honest. What was so great about mortality? Being a vampire didn't look like such a terrible thing–not the way the Cullens did it, anyway.

" What time will you be at the house? " Alice continued, changing the subject. From her expression, she was up to exactly the kind of thing I'd been hoping to avoid.

" I didn't know I had plans to be there. "

" Oh, be fair, Bella! " she complained. " You aren't going to ruin all our fun like that, are you? "

" I thought my birthday was about what I want. "

" I'll get her from Charlie's right after school, " Edward told her, ignoring me altogether.

" I have to work, " I protested.

" You don't, actually, " Alice told me smugly. " I already spoke to Mrs. Newton about it. She's trading your shifts. She said to tell you 'Happy Birthday. '"

" I–I still can't come over, " I stammered, scrambling for an excuse. " I, well, I haven't watched Romeo and Juliet yet for English. "

Alice snorted. " You have Romeo and Juliet memorized. "

" But Mr. Berty said we needed to see it performed to fully appreciate it–that's how Shakespeare intended it to be presented. "

Edward rolled his eyes.

" You've already seen the movie, " Alice accused.

" But not the nineteen‑ sixties version. Mr. Berty said it was the best. "

Finally, Alice lost the smug smile and glared at me. " This can be easy, or this can be hard, Bella, but one way or the other–"

Edward interrupted her threat. " Relax, Alice. If Bella wants to watch a movie, then she can. It's her birthday. "

" So there, " I added.

" I'll bring her over around seven, " he continued. " That will give you more time to set up. "

Alice's laughter chimed again. " Sounds good. See you tonight, Bella! It'll be fun, you'll see. " She grinned–the wide smile exposed all her perfect, glistening teeth–then pecked me on the cheek and danced off toward her first class before I could respond.

" Edward, please–" I started to beg, but he pressed one cool finger to my lips.

" Let's discuss it later. We're going to be late for class. "

No one bothered to stare at us as we took our usual seats in the back of the classroom (we had almost every class together now–it was amazing the favors Edward could get the female administrators to do for him). Edward and I had been together too long now to be an object of gossip anymore. Even Mike Newton didn't bother to give me the glum stare that used to make me feel a little guilty. He smiled now instead, and I was glad he seemed to have accepted that we could only be friends. Mike had changed over the summer–his face had lost some of the roundness, making his cheekbones more prominent, and he was wearing his pale blond hair a new way; instead of bristly, it was longer and gelled into a carefully casual disarray. It was easy to see where his inspiration came from–but Edward's look wasn't something that could be achieved through imitation.

As the day progressed, I considered ways to get out of whatever was going down at the Cullen house tonight. It would be bad enough to have to celebrate when I was in the mood to mourn. But, worse than that, this was sure to involve attention and gifts.

Attention is never a good thing, as any other accident‑ prone klutz would agree. No one wants a spotlight when they're likely to fall on their face.

And I'd very pointedly asked–well, ordered really–that no one give me any presents this year. It looked like Charlie and Renee weren't the only ones who had decided to overlook that.

I'd never had much money, and that had never bothered me. Renee had raised me on a kindergarten teacher's salary. Charlie wasn't getting rich at his job, either–he was the police chief here in the tiny town of Forks. My only personal income came from the three days a week I worked at the local sporting goods store. In a town this small, I was lucky to have a job. Every penny I made went into my microscopic college fund. (College was Plan B. I was still hoping for Plan A, but Edward was just so stubborn about leaving me human…)

Edward had a lot of money–I didn't even want to think about how much. Money meant next to nothing to Edward or the rest of the Cullens. It was just something that accumulated when you had unlimited time on your hands and a sister who had an uncanny ability to predict trends in the stock market. Edward didn't seem to understand why I objected to him spending money on me–why it made me uncomfortable if he took me to an expensive restaurant in Seattle, why he wasn't allowed to buy me a car that could reach speeds over fifty‑ five miles an hour, or why I wouldn't let him pay my college tuition (he was ridiculously enthusiastic about Plan B). Edward thought I was being unnecessarily difficult.

But how could I let him give me things when I had nothing to reciprocate with? He, for some unfathomable reason, wanted to be with me. Anything he gave me on top of that just threw us more out of balance.

As the day went on, neither Edward nor Alice brought my birthday up again, and I began to relax a little.

We sat at our usual table for lunch.

A strange kind of truce existed at that table. The three of us–Edward, Alice, and I–sat on the extreme southern end of the table. Now that the " older" and somewhat scarier (in Emmett's case, certainly) Cullen siblings had graduated, Alice and Edward did not seem quite so intimidating, and we did not sit here alone. My other friends, Mike and Jessica (who were in the awkward post‑ breakup friendship phase), Angela and Ben (whose relationship had survived the summer), Eric, Conner, Tyler, and Lauren (though that last one didn't really count in the friend category) all sat at the same table, on the other side of an invisible line. That line dissolved on sunny days when Edward and Alice always skipped school, and then the conversation would swell out effortlessly to include me.

Edward and Alice didn't find this minor ostracism odd or hurtful the way I would have. They barely noticed it. People always felt strangely ill at ease with the Cullens, almost afraid for some reason they couldn't explain to themselves. I was a rare exception to that rule. Sometimes it bothered Edward how very comfortable I was with being close to him. He thought he was hazardous to my health–an opinion I rejected vehemently whenever he voiced it.

The afternoon passed quickly. School ended, and Edward walked me to my truck as he usually did. But this time, he held the passenger door open for me. Alice must have been taking his car home so that he could keep me from making a run for it.

I folded my arms and made no move to get out of the rain. " It's my birthday, don't I get to drive? "

" I'm pretending it's not your birthday, just as you wished. "

" If it's not my birthday, then I don't have to go to your house tonight…"

" All right. " He shut the passenger door and walked past me to open the driver's side. " Happy birthday. "

" Shh, " I shushed him halfheartedly. I climbed in the opened door, wishing he'd taken the other offer.

Edward played with the radio while I drove, shaking his head in disapproval.

" Your radio has horrible reception. "

I frowned. I didn't like it when he picked on my truck. The truck was great–it had personality.

" You want a nice stereo? Drive your own car. " I was so nervous about Alice's plans, on top of my already gloomy mood, that the words came out sharper than I'd meant them. I was hardly ever bad‑ tempered with Edward, and my tone made him press his lips together to keep from smiling.

When I parked in front of Charlie's house, he reached over to take my face in his hands. He handled me very carefully, pressing just the tips of his fingers softly against my temples, my cheekbones, my jawline. Like I was especially breakable. Which was exactly the case–compared with him, at least.

" You should be in a good mood, today of all days, " he whispered. His sweet breath fanned across my face.

" And if I don't want to be in a good mood? " I asked, my breathing uneven.

His golden eyes smoldered. " Too bad. "

My head was already spinning by the time he leaned closer and pressed his icy lips against mine. As he intended, no doubt, I forgot all about my worries, and concentrated on remembering how to inhale and exhale.

His mouth lingered on mine, cold and smooth and gentle, until I wrapped my arms around his neck and threw myself into the kiss with a little too much enthusiasm. I could feel his lips curve upward as he let go of my face and reached back to unlock my grip on him.

Edward had drawn many careful lines for our physical relationship, with the intent being to keep me alive. Though I respected the need for maintaining a safe distance between my skin and his razor‑ sharp, venom‑ coated teeth, I tended to forget about trivial things like that when he was kissing me.

" Be good, please, " he breathed against my cheek. He pressed his lips gently to mine one more time and then pulled away, folding my arms across my stomach.

My pulse was thudding in my ears. I put one hand over my heart. It drummed hyperactively under my palm.

" Do you think I'll ever get better at this? " I wondered, mostly to myself. " That my heart might someday stop trying to jump out of my chest whenever you touch me? "

" I really hope not, " he said, a bit smug.

I rolled my eyes. " Let's go watch the Capulets and Montagues hack each other up, all right? "

" Your wish, my command. "

Edward sprawled across the couch while I started the movie, fast‑ forwarding through the opening credits.

When I perched on the edge of the sofa in front of him, he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me against his chest. It wasn't exactly as comfortable as a sofa cushion would be, what with his chest being hard and cold–and perfect–as an ice sculpture, but it was definitely preferable. He pulled the old afghan off the back of the couch and draped it over me so I wouldn't freeze beside his body.

" You know, I've never had much patience with Romeo, " he commented as the movie started.

" What's wrong with Romeo? " I asked, a little offended. Romeo was one of my favorite fictional characters. Until I'd met Edward, I'd sort of had a thing for him.

" Well, first of all, he's in love with this Rosaline–don't you think it makes him seem a little fickle? And then, a few minutes after their wedding, he kills Juliet's cousin. That's not very brilliant. Mistake after mistake. Could he have destroyed his own happiness any more thoroughly? "

I sighed. " Do you want me to watch this alone? "

" No, I'll mostly be watching you, anyway. " His fingers traced patterns across the skin of my arm, raising goose bumps. " Will you cry? "

" Probably, " I admitted, " if I'm paying attention. "

" I won't distract you then. " But I felt his lips on my hair, and it was very distracting.

The movie eventually captured my interest, thanks in large part to Edward whispering Romeo's lines in my ear–his irresistible, velvet voice made the actor's voice sound weak and coarse by comparison. And I did cry, to his amusement, when Juliet woke and found her new husband dead.

" I'll admit, I do sort of envy him here, " Edward said, drying the tears with a lock of my hair.

" She's very pretty. "

He made a disgusted sound. " I don't envy him the girl –just the ease of the suicide, " he clarified in a teasing tone. " You humans have it so easy! All you have to do is throw down one tiny vial of plant extracts…"

" What? " I gasped.

" It's something I had to think about once, and I knew from Carlisle's experience that it wouldn't be simple. I'm not even sure how many ways Carlisle tried to kill himself in the beginning… after he realized what he'd become…" His voice, which had grown serious, turned light again. " And he's clearly still in excellent health. "

I twisted around so that I could read his face. " What are you talking about? " I demanded. " What do you mean, this something you had to think about once? "

" Last spring, when you were… nearly killed…" He paused to take a deep breath, snuggling to return to his teasing tone. " Of course I was trying to focus on finding you alive, but part of my mind was making contingency plans. Like I said, it's not as easy for me as it is for a human. "

For one second, the memory of my last trip to Phoenix washed through my head and made me feel dizzy. I could see it all so clearly–the blinding sun, the heat waves coming off the concrete as I ran with desperate haste to find the sadistic vampire who wanted to torture me to death. James, waiting in the mirrored room with my mother as his hostage–or so I'd thought. I hadn't known it was all a ruse. Just as James hadn't known that Edward was racing to save me; Edward made it in time, but it had been a close one. Unthinkingly, my fingers traced the crescent‑ shaped scar on my hand that was always just a few degrees cooler than the rest of my skin.

I shook my head–as if I could shake away the bad memories–and tried to grasp what Edward meant. My stomach plunged uncomfortably. " Contingency plans? " I repeated.

" Well, I wasn't going to live without you. " He rolled his eyes as if that fact were childishly obvious. " But I wasn't sure how to do it–I knew Emmett and Jasper would never help… so I was thinking maybe I would go to Italy and do something to provoke the Volturi. "

I didn't want to believe he was serious, but his golden eyes were brooding, focused on something far away in the distance as he contemplated ways to end his own life. Abruptly, I was furious.

" What is a Volturi? " I demanded.

" The Volturi are a family, " he explained, his eyes still remote. " A very old, very powerful family of our kind. They are the closest thing our world has to a royal family, I suppose. Carlisle lived with them briefly in his early years, in Italy, before he settled in America–do you remember the story? "

" Of course I remember. "

I would never forget the first time I'd gone to his home, the huge white mansion buried deep in the forest beside the river, or the room where Carlisle–Edward's father in so many real ways–kept a wall of paintings that illustrated his personal history. The most vivid, most wildly colorful canvas there, the largest, was from Carlisle's time in Italy. Of course I remembered the calm quartet of men, each with the exquisite face of a seraph, painted into the highest balcony overlooking the swirling mayhem of color. Though the painting was centuries old, Carlisle–the blond angel–remained unchanged. And I remembered the three others, Carlisle's early acquaintances. Edward had never used the name Volturi for the beautiful trio, two black‑ haired, one snow white. He'd called them Aro, Caius, and Marcus, nighttime patrons of the arts…

" Anyway, you don't irritate the Volturi, " Edward went on, interrupting ray reverie. " Not unless you want to die–or whatever it is we do. " His voice was so calm, it made him sound almost bored by the prospect.

My anger turned to horror. I took his marble face between my hands and held it very tightly.

" You must never, never, never think of anything like that again! " I said. " No matter what might ever happen to me, you are not allowed to hurt yourself! "

" I'll never put you in danger again, so it's a moot point. "

" Put me in danger! I thought we'd established that all the bad luck is my fault? " I was getting angrier. " How dare you even think like that? " The idea of Edward ceasing to exist, even if I were dead, was impossibly painful.

" What would you do, if the situation were reversed? " he asked.

" That's not the same thing. "

He didn't seem to understand the difference. He chuckled.

" What if something did happen to you? " I blanched at the thought. " Would you want me to go off myself? "

A trace of pain touched his perfect features.

" I guess I see your point… a little, " he admitted. " But what would I do without you? "

" Whatever you were doing before I came along and complicated your existence. "

He sighed. " You make that sound so easy. "

" It should be. I'm not really that interesting. "

He was about to argue, but then he let it go. " Moot point, " he reminded me. Abruptly, he pulled himself up into a more formal posture, shifting me to the side so that we were no longer touching.

" Charlie? " I guessed.

Edward smiled. After a moment, I heard the sound of the police cruiser pulling into the driveway. I reached out and took his hand firmly. My dad could deal with that much.

Charlie came in with a pizza box in his hands.

" Hey, kids. " He grinned at me. " I thought you'd like a break from cooking and washing dishes for your birthday. Hungry? "

" Sure. Thanks, Dad. "

Charlie didn't comment on Edward's apparent lack of appetite. He was used to Edward passing on dinner.

" Do you mind if I borrow Bella for the evening? " Edward asked when Charlie and I were done.

I looked at Charlie hopefully. Maybe he had some concept of birthdays as stay‑ at‑ home, family affairs–this was my first birthday with him, the first birthday since my mom, Renee, had remarried and gone to live in Florida, so I didn't know what he would expect.

" That's fine–the Mariners are playing the Sox tonight, " Charlie explained, and my hope disappeared. " So I won't be any kind of company… Here. " He scooped up the camera he'd gotten me on Renee's suggestion (because I would need pictures to fill up my scrap‑ book), and threw it to me.

He ought to know better than that–I'd always been coordinationally challenged. The camera glanced off the tip of my finger, and tumbled toward the floor. Edward snagged it before it could crash onto the linoleum.

" Nice save, " Charlie noted. " If they're doing something fun at the Cullens' tonight, Bella, you should take some pictures. You know how your mother gets–she'll be wanting to see the pictures faster than you can take them. "

" Good idea, Charlie, " Edward said, handing me the camera.

I turned the camera on Edward, and snapped the first picture. " It works. "

" That's good. Hey, say hi to Alice for me. She hasn't been over in a while. " Charlie's mouth pulled down at one corner.

" It's been three days, Dad, " I reminded him. Charlie was crazy about Alice. He'd become attached last spring when she'd helped me through my awkward convalescence; Charlie would be fore'ter grateful to her for saving him from the horror of an almost‑ adult daughter who needed help showering. " I'll tell her. "

" Okay. You kids have fun tonight. " It was clearly a dismissal. Charlie was already edging toward the living room and the TV.

Edward smiled, triumphant, and took my hand to pull me from the kitchen.

When we got to the truck, he opened the passenger door for me again, and this time I didn't argue. I still had a hard time finding the obscure turnoff to his house in the dark.

Edward drove north through Forks, visibly chafing at the speed limit enforced by my prehistoric Chevy. The engine groaned even louder than usual as he pushed it over fifty.

" Take it easy, " I warned him.

" You know what you would love? A nice little Audi coupe. Very quiet, lots of power…"

" There's nothing wrong with my truck. And speaking of expensive nonessentials, if you know what's good for you, you didn't spend any money on birthday presents. "

" Not a dime, " he said virtuously.

" Good. "

" Can you do me a favor? "

" That depends on what it is. "

He sighed, his lovely face serious. " Bella, the last real birthday any of us had was Emmett in 1935. Cut us a little slack, and don't be too difficult tonight. They're all very excited. "

It always startled me a little when he brought up things like that. " Fine, I'll behave. "

" I probably should warn you…"

" Please do. "

" When I say they're all excited… I do mean all of them. "

" Everyone? " I choked. " I thought Emmett and Rosalie were in Africa. " The rest of Forks was under the impression that the older Cullens had gone off to college this year, to Dartmouth, but I knew better.

" Emmett wanted to be here. "

" But… Rosalie? "

" I know, Bella. Don't worry, she'll be on her best behavior. "

I didn't answer. Like I could just not worry, that easy. Unlike Alice, Edward's other " adopted" sister, the golden blond and exquisite Rosalie, didn't like me much. Actually, the feeling was a little bit stronger than just dislike. As far as Rosalie was concerned, I was an unwelcome intruder into her family's secret life.

I felt horribly guilty about the present situation, guessing that Rosalie and Emmett's prolonged absence was my fault, even as I furtively enjoyed not having to see her Emmett, Edward's playful bear of a brother, I did miss. He was in many ways just like the big brother I'd always wanted… only much, much more terrifying.

Edward decided to change the subject. " So, if you won't let me get you the Audi, isn't there anything that you'd like for your birthday? "

The words came out in a whisper. " You know what I want. "

A deep frown carved creases into his marble forehead. He obviously wished he'd stuck to the subject of Rosalie.

It felt like we'd had this argument a lot today.

" Not tonight, Bella. Please. "

" Well, maybe Alice will give me what I want. "

Edward growled–a deep, menacing sound. " This isn't going to be your last birthday, Bella, " he vowed.

" That's not fair! "

I thought I heard his teeth clench together.

We were pulling up to the house now. Bright light shined from every window on the first two floors. A long line of glowing Japanese lanterns hung from the porch eaves, reflecting a soft radiance on the huge cedars that surrounded the house. Big bowls of flowers–pink roses–lined the wide stairs up to the front doors.

I moaned.

Edward took a few deep breaths to calm himself. " This is a party, " he reminded me. " Try to be a good sport. "

" Sure, " I muttered.

He came around to get my door, and offered me his hand.

" I have a question. "

He waited warily.

" If I develop this film, " I said, toying with the camera in my hands, " will you show up in the picture? "

Edward started laughing. He helped me out of the car, pulled me up the stairs, and was still laughing as he opened the door for me.

They were all waiting in the huge white living room; when I walked through the door, they greeted me with a loud chorus of " Happy birthday, Bella! " while I blushed and looked down. Alice, I assumed, had covered every flat surface with pink candles and dozens of crystal bowls filled with hundreds of roses. There was a table with a white cloth draped over it next to Edward's grand piano, holding a pink birthday cake, more roses, a stack of glass plates, and a small pile of silver‑ wrapped presents.

It was a hundred times worse than I'd imagined.

Edward, sensing my distress, wrapped an encouraging arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head.

Edward's parents, Carlisle and Esme–impossibly youthful and lovely as ever–were the closest to the door. Esme hugged me carefully, her soft, caramel‑ colored hair brushing against my cheek as she kissed my forehead, and then Carlisle put his arm around my shoulders.

" Sorry about this, Bella, " he stage‑ whispered. " We couldn't rein Alice in. "

Rosalie and Emmett stood behind them. Rosalie didn't smile, but at least she didn't glare. Emmett's face was stretched into a huge grin. It had been months since I'd seen them; I'd forgotten how gloriously beautiful Rosalie was–it almost hurt to look at her. And had Emmett always been so… big?

" You haven't changed at all, " Emmett said with mock disappointment. " I expected a perceptible difference, but here you are, red‑ faced just like always. "

" Thanks a lot, Emmett, " I said, blushing deeper.

He laughed, " I have to step out for a second" –he paused to wink conspicuously at Alice–" Don't do anything funny while I'm gone. "

" I'll try. "

Alice let go of Jasper's hand and skipped forward, all her teeth sparkling in the bright light. Jasper smiled, too, but kept his distance. He leaned, long and blond, against the post at the foot of the stairs. During the days we'd had to spend cooped up together in Phoenix, I'd thought he'd gotten over his aversion to me. But he'd gone back to exactly how he'd acted before–avoiding me as much as possible–the moment he was free from that temporary obligation to protect me. I knew it wasn't personal, just a precaution, and I tried not to be overly sensitive about it. Jasper had more trouble sticking to the Cullens' diet than the rest of them; the scent of human blood was much harder for him to resist than the others–he hadn't been trying as long.

" Time to open presents, " Alice declared. She put her cool hand under my elbow and towed me to the table with the cake and the shiny packages.

I put on my best martyr face. " Alice, I know I told you I didn't want anything–"

" But I didn't listen, " she interrupted, smug. " Open it. " She took the camera from my hands and replaced it with a big, square silver box.

The box was so light that it felt empty. The tag on top said that it was from Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper. Selfconsciously, I tore the paper off and then stared at the box it concealed.

It was something electrical, with lots of numbers in the name. I opened the box, hoping for further illumination. But the box was empty.

" Um… thanks. "

Rosalie actually cracked a smile. Jasper laughed. " It's a stereo for your truck, " he explained. " Emmett's installing it right now so that you can't return it. "

Alice was always one step ahead of me. " Thanks, Jasper, Rosalie, " I told them, grinning as I remembered Edward's complaints about my radio this afternoon–all a setup, apparently. " Thanks, Emmett! " I called more loudly.

I heard his booming laugh from my truck, and I couldn't help laughing, too.

" Open mine and Edward's next, " Alice said, so excited her voice was a high‑ pitched trill. She held a small, flat square in her hand.

I turned to give Edward a basilisk glare. " You promised. "

Before he could answer, Emmett bounded through the door. " Just in time! " he crowed. He pushed in behind Jasper, who had also drifted closer than usual to get a good look.

" I didn't spend a dime, " Edward assured me. He brushed a strand of hair from my face, leaving my skin tingling from his touch.

I inhaled deeply and turned to Alice. " Give it to me, " I sighed.

Emmett chuckled with delight.

I took the little package, rolling my eyes at Edward while I stuck my finger under the edge of the paper and jerked it under the tape.

" Shoot, " I muttered when the paper sliced my finger; I pulled it out to examine the damage. A single drop of blood oozed from the tiny cut.

It all happened very quickly then.

" No! " Edward roared.

He threw himself at me, flinging me back across the table. It fell, as I did, scattering the cake and the presents, the flowers and the plates. I landed in the mess of shattered crystal.

Jasper slammed into Edward, and the sound was like the crash of boulders in a rock slide.

There was another noise, a grisly snarling that seemed to be coming from deep in Jasper's chest. Jasper tried to shove past Edward, snapping his teeth just inches from Edward's face.

Emmett grabbed Jasper from behind in the next second, locking him into his massive steel grip, but Jasper struggled on, his wild, empty eyes focused only on me.

Beyond the shock, there was also pain. I'd tumbled down to the floor by the piano, with my arms thrown out instinctively to catch my fall, into the jagged shards of glass. Only now did I feel the searing, stinging pain that ran from my wrist to the crease inside my elbow.

Dazed and disoriented, I looked up from the bright red blood pulsing out of my arm–into the fevered eyes of the six suddenly ravenous vampires.

2 STITCHES

CARLISLE WAS NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO STAYED calm. Centuries of experience in the emergency room were evident in his quiet, authoritative voice.

" Emmett, Rose, get Jasper outside. "

Unsmiling for once, Emmett nodded. " Come on, Jasper. "

Jasper struggled against Emmett's unbreakable grasp, twisting around, reaching toward his brother with his bared teeth, his eyes still past reason.

Edward's face was whiter than bone as he wheeled to crouch over me, taking a clearly defensive position. A low warning growl slid from between his clenched teeth. I could tell that he wasn't breathing.

Rosalie, her divine face strangely smug, stepped in front of Jasper–keeping a careful distance from his teeth–and helped Emmett wrestle him through the glass door that Esme held open, one hand pressed over her mouth and nose.

Esme's heart‑ shaped face was ashamed. " I'm so sorry, Bella, " she cried as she followed the others into the yard.

" Let me by, Edward, " Carlisle murmured.

A second passed, and then Edward nodded slowly and relaxed his stance.

Carlisle knelt beside me, leaning close to examine my arm. I could feel the shock frozen on my face, and I tried to compose it.

" Here, Carlisle, " Alice said, handing him a towel.

He shook his head. " Too much glass in the wound. " He reached over and ripped a long, thin scrap from the bottom of the white tablecloth. He twisted it around my arm above the elbow to form a tourniquet. The smell of the blood was making me dizzy. My ears rang.

" Bella, " Carlisle said softly. " Do you want me to drive you to the hospital, or would you like me to take care of it here? "

" Here, please, " I whispered. If he took me to the hospital, there would be no way to keep this from Charlie.

" I'll get your bag, " Alice said.

" Let's take her to the kitchen table, " Carlisle said to Edward.

Edward lifted me effortlessly, while Carlisle kept the pressure steady on my arm.

" How are you doing, Bella? " Carlisle asked.

" I'm fine. " My voice was reasonably steady, which pleased me.

Edward's face was like stone.

Alice was there. Carlisle's black bag was already on the table, a small but brilliant desk light plugged into the wall. Edward sat me gently into a chair, and Carlisle pulled up another. He went to work at once.

Edward stood over me, still protective, still not breathing.

" Just go, Edward, " I sighed.

" I can handle it, " he insisted. But his jaw was rigid; his eyes burned with the intensity of the thirst he fought, so much worse for him than it was for the others.

" You don't need to be a hero, " I said. " Carlisle can fix me up without your help. Get some fresh air. "

I winced as Carlisle did something to my arm that stung.

" I'll stay, " he said.

" Why are you so masochistic? " I mumbled.

Carlisle decided to intercede. " Edward, you may as well go find Jasper before he gets too far. I'm sure he's upset with himself, and I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now. "

" Yes, " I eagerly agreed. " Go find Jasper. "

" You might as well do something useful, " Alice added.

Edward's eyes narrowed as we ganged up on him, but, finally, he nodded once and sprinted smoothly through the kitchen's back door. I was sure he hadn't taken a breath since I'd sliced my finger.

A numb, dead feeling was spreading through my arm.

Though it erased the sting, it reminded me of the gash, and I watched Carlisle's face carefully to distract me from what his hands were doing. His hair gleamed gold in the bright light as he bent over my arm. I could feel the faint stirrings of unease in the pit of my stomach, but I was determined not to let my usual squeamishness get the best of me. There was no pain now, just a gentle tugging sensation that I tried to ignore. No reason to get sick like a baby.

If she hadn't been in my line of sight, I wouldn't have noticed Alice give up and steal out of the room. With a tiny, apologetic smile on her lips, she disappeared through the kitchen doorway.

" Well, that's everyone, " I sighed. " I can clear a room, at least. "

" It's not your fault, " Carlisle comforted me with a chuckle. " It could happen to anyone. "

" Could" I repeated. " But it usually just happens to me. "

He laughed again.

His relaxed calm was only more amazing set in direct contrast with everyone else's reaction. I couldn't find any trace of anxiety in his face. He worked with quick, sure movements. The only sound besides our quiet breathing was the soft plink, plink as the tiny fragments of glass dropped one by one to the table.

" How can you do this? " I demanded. " Even Alice and Esme…" I trailed off, shaking my head in wonder. Though the rest of them had given up the traditional diet of vampires just as absolutely as Carlisle had, he was the only one who could bear the smell of my blood without suffering from the intense temptation. Clearly, this was much more difficult than he made it seem.

" Years and years of practice, " he told me. " I barely notice the scent anymore. "

" Do you think it would be harder if you took a vacation from the hospital for a long time. And weren't around any blood? "

" Maybe. " He shrugged his shoulders, but his hands remained steady. " I've never felt the need for an extended holiday. " He flashed a brilliant smile in my direction. " I enjoy my work too much. "

Plink, plink, plink. I was surprised at how much glass there seemed to be in my arm. I was tempted to glance at the growing pile, just to check the size, but I knew that idea would not be helpful to my no‑ vomiting strategy.

" What is it that you enjoy? " I wondered. It didn't make sense to me–the years of struggle and self‑ denial he must have spent to get to the point where he could endure this so easily. Besides, I wanted to keep him talking; the conversation kept my mind off the queasy feeling in my stomach.

His dark eyes were calm and thoughtful as he answered. " Hmm. What I enjoy the very most is when my… enhanced abilities let me save someone who would otherwise have been lost. It's pleasant knowing that, thanks to what I can do, some people's lives are better because I exist. Even the sense of smell is a useful diagnostic tool at times. " One side of his mouth pulled up in half a smile.

I mulled that over while he poked around, making sure all the glass splinters were gone. Then he rummaged in his bag for new tools, and I tried not to picture a needle and thread.

" You try very hard to make up for something that was never your fault, " I suggested while a new kind of tugging started at the edges of my skin. " What I mean is, it's not like you asked for this. You didn't choose this kind of life, and yet you have to work so hard to be good. "

" I don't know that I'm making up for anything, " he disagreed lightly. " Like everything in life, I just had to decide what to do with what I was given. "

" That makes it sound too easy. "

He examined my arm again. " There, " he said, snipping a thread. " All done. " He wiped an oversized Q‑ tip, dripping with some syrup‑ colored liquid, thoroughly across the operation site. The smell was strange; it made my head spin. The syrup stained my skin.

" In the beginning, though, " I pressed while he taped another long piece of gauze securely in place, sealing it to my skin. " Why did you even think to try a different way than the obvious one? "

His lips turned up in a private smile. " Hasn't Edward told you this story? "

" Yes. But I'm trying to understand what you were thinking…"

His face was suddenly serious again, and I wondered if his thoughts had gone to the same place that mine had. Wondering what I would be thinking when–I refused to think if –it was me.

" You know my father was a clergyman, " he mused as he cleaned the table carefully, rubbing everything down with wet gauze, and then doing it again. The smell of alcohol burned in my nose. " He had a rather harsh view of the world, which I was already beginning to question before the time that I changed. " Carlisle put all the dirty gauze and the glass slivers into an empty crystal bowl. I didn't understand what he was doing, even when he lit the match. Then he threw it onto the alcohol‑ soaked fibers, and the sudden blaze made me jump.

" Sorry, " he apologized. " That ought to do it… So I didn't agree with my father's particular brand of faith. But never, in the nearly four hundred years now since I was born, have I ever seen anything to make me doubt whether God exists in some form or the other. Not even the reflection in the mirror. "

I pretended to examine the dressing on my arm to hide my surprise at the direction our conversation had taken. Religion was the last thing I expected, all things considered. My own life was fairly devoid of belief. Charlie considered himself a Lutheran, because that's what his parents had been, but Sundays he worshipped by the river with a fishing pole in his hand. Renee tried out a church now and then, but, much like her brief affairs with tennis, pottery, yoga, and French classes, she moved on by the time I was aware of her newest fad.

" I'm sure all this sounds a little bizarre, coming from a vampire. " He grinned, knowing how their casual use of that word never failed to shock me. " But I'm hoping that there is still a point to this life, even for us. It's a long shot, I'll admit, " he continued in an offhand voice. " By all accounts, we're damned regardless. But I hope, maybe foolishly, that we'll get some measure of credit for trying. "

" I don't think that's foolish, " I mumbled. I couldn't imagine anyone, deity included, who wouldn't be impressed by Carlisle. Besides, the only kind of heaven I could appreciate would have to include Edward. " And I don't think anyone else would, either. "

" Actually, you're the very first one to agree with me. "

" The rest of them don't feel the same? " I asked, surprised, thinking of only one person in particular.

Carlisle guessed the direction of my thoughts again. " Edward's with me up to a point. God and heaven exist… and so does hell. But he doesn't believe there is an afterlife for our kind. " Carlisle's voice was very soft; he stared out the big window over the sink, into the darkness. " You see, he thinks we've lost our souls. "

I immediately thought of Edward's words this afternoon: unless you want to die –or whatever it is that we do. The lightbulb flicked on over my head.

" That's the real problem, isn't it? " I guessed. " That's why he's being so difficult about me. "

Carlisle spoke slowly. " I look at my… son. His strength, his goodness, the brightness that shines out of him–and it only fuels that hope, that faith, more than ever. How could there not be more for one such as Edward? "

I nodded in fervent agreement.

" But if I believed as he does…" He looked down at me with unfathomable eyes. " If you believed as he did. Could you take away his soul? "

The way he phrased the question thwarted my answer.

If he'd asked me whether I would risk my soul for Edward, the reply would be obvious. But would I risk Edward's soul? I pursed my lips unhappily. That wasn't a fair exchange.

" You see the problem. "

I shook my head, aware of the stubborn set of my chin.

Carlisle sighed.

" It's my choice, " I insisted.

" It's his, too. " He held up his hand when he could see that I was about to argue. " Whether he is responsible for doing that to you. "

" He's not the only one able to do it. " I eyed Carlisle speculatively.

He laughed, abruptly lightening the mood. " Oh, no! You're going to have to work this out with him. " But then he sighed. " That's the one part I can never be sure of. I think, in most other ways, that I've done the best I could with what I had to work with. But was it right to doom the others to this life? I can't decide. "

I didn't answer. I imagined what my life would be like if Carlisle had resisted the temptation to change his lonely existence… and shuddered.

" It was Edward's mother who made up my mind. " Carlisle's voice was almost a whisper. He stared unseeingly out the black windows.

" His mother? " Whenever I'd asked Edward about his parents, he would merely say that they had died long ago, and his memories were vague. I realized Carlisle's memory of them, despite the brevity of their contact, would be perfectly clear.

" Yes. Her name was Elizabeth. Elizabeth Masen. His father, Edward Senior, never regained consciousness in the hospital. He died in the first wave of the influenza. But Elizabeth was alert until almost the very end. Edward looks a great deal like her–she had that same strange bronze shade to her hair, and her eyes were exactly the same color green. "

" His eyes were green? " I murmured, trying to picture it.

" Yes…" Carlisle's ocher eyes were a hundred years away now. " Elizabeth worried obsessively over her son. She hurt her own chances of survival trying to nurse him from her sickbed. I expected that he would go first, he was so much worse off than she was. When the end came for her, it was very quick. It was just after sunset, and I'd arrived to relieve the doctors who'd been working all day. That was a hard time to pretend–there was so much work to be done, and I had no need of rest. How I hated to go back to my house, to hide in the dark and pretend to sleep while so many were dying.

" I went to check Elizabeth and her son first. I'd grown attached–always a dangerous thing to do considering the fragile nature of humans. I could see at once that she'd taken a bad turn. The fever was raging out of control, and her body was too weak to fight anymore.

" She didn't look weak, though, when she glared up at me from her cot.

" Save him! ' she commanded me in the hoarse voice that was all her throat could manage.

" I'll do everything in my power, ' I promised her, taking her hand. The fever was so high, she probably couldn't even tell how unnaturally cold mine felt. Everything felt cold to her skin.

" You must, " she insisted, clutching at my hand with enough strength that I wondered if she wouldn't pull through the crisis after all. Her eyes were hard, like stones, like emeralds. 'You must do everything in your power. What others cannot do, that is what you must do for my Edward. "

" It frightened me. She looked it me with those piercing eyes, and, for one instant, I felt certain that she knew my secret. Then the fever overwhelmed her, and she never regained consciousness. She died within an hour of making her demand.

" I'd spent decades considering the idea of creating a companion for myself. Just one other creature who could really know me, rather than what I pretended to be. But I could never justify it to myself–doing what had been done to me.

" There Edward lay, dying. It was clear that he had only hours left. Beside him, his mother, her face somehow not yet peaceful, not even in death. "

Carlisle saw it all again, his memory unblurred by the intervening century. I could see it clearly, too, as he spoke–the despair of the hospital, the overwhelming atmosphere of death. Edward burning with fever, his life slipping away with each tick of the clock… I shuddered again, and forced the picture from my mind.

" Elizabeth's words echoed in my head. How could she guess what I could do? Could anyone really want that for her son?

" I looked at Edward. Sick as he was, he was still beautiful. There was something pure and good about his face. The kind of face I would have wanted my son to have.

" After all those years of indecision, I simply acted on a whim. I wheeled his mother to the morgue first, and then I came back for him. No one noticed that he was still breathing. There weren't enough hands, enough eyes, to keep track of half of what the patients needed. The morgue was empty–of the living, at least. I stole him out the back door, and carried him across the rooftops back to my home.

" I wasn't sure what had to be done. I settled for recreating the wounds I'd received myself, so many centuries earlier in London. I felt bad about that later. It was more painful and lingering than necessary.

" I wasn't sorry, though. I've never been sorry that I saved Edward. " He shook his head, coming back to the present. He smiled at me. " I suppose I should take you home now. "

" I'll do that, " Edward said. He came through the shadowy dining room, walking slowly for him. His face was smooth, unreadable, but there was something wrong with his eyes–something he was trying very hard to hide. I felt a spasm of unease in my stomach.

" Carlisle can take me, " I said. I looked down at my shirt; the light blue cotton was soaked and spotted with my blood. My right shoulder was covered in thick pink frosting.

" I'm fine. " Edward's voice was unemotional. " You'll need to change anyway. You'd give Charlie a heart attack the way you look. I'll have Alice get you something. " He strode out the kitchen door again.

I looked at Carlisle anxiously. " He's very upset. "

" Yes, " Carlisle agreed. " Tonight is exactly the kind of thing that he fears the most. You being put in danger, because of what we are. "

" It's not his fault. "

" It's not yours, either. "

I looked away from his wise, beautiful eyes. I couldn't agree with that.

Carlisle offered me his hand and helped me up from the table. I followed him out into the main room. Esme had come back; she was mopping the floor where I'd fallen–with straight bleach from the smell of it.

" Esme, let me do that. " I could feel that my face was bright red again.

" I'm already done. " She smiled up at me. " How do you feel? "

" I'm fine, " I assured her. " Carlisle sews faster than any other doctor I've had. "

They both chuckled.

Alice and Edward came in the back doors. Alice hurried to my side, but Edward hung back, his face indecipherable.

" C'mon, " Alice said. " I'll get you something less macabre to wear. "

She found me a shirt of Esme's that was close to the same color mine had been. Charlie wouldn't notice, I was sure. The long white bandage on my arm didn't look nearly as serious when I was no longer spattered in gore. Charlie was never surprised to see me bandaged.

" Alice, " I whispered as she headed back to the door.

" Yes? " She kept her voice low, too, and looked at me curiously, her head cocked to the side.

" How bad is it? " I couldn't be sure if my whispering was a wasted effort. Even though we were upstairs, with the door closed, perhaps he could hear me.

Her face tensed. " I'm not sure yet. "

" How's Jasper? "

She sighed. " He's very unhappy with himself. It's all so much more of challenge for him, and he hates feeling weak. "

" It's not his fault. You'll tell him that I'm not mad at him, not at all, won't you? "

" Of course. "

Edward was waiting for me by the front door. As I got to the bottom of the staircase, he held it open without a word.

" Take your things! " Alice cried as I walked warily toward Edward. She scooped up the two packages, one half‑ opened, and my camera from under the piano, and pressed them into my good arm. " You can thank me later, when you've opened them. "

Esme and Carlisle both said a quiet goodnight. I could see them stealing quick glances at their impassive son, much like I was.

It was a relief to be outside; I hurried past the lanterns and the roses, now unwelcome reminders. Edward kept pace with me silently. He opened the passenget side for me, and I climbed in without complaint.

On the dashboard was a big red ribbon, stuck to the new stereo. I pulled it off, throwing it to the floor. As Edward slid into the other side, I kicked the ribbon under my seat.

He didn't look at me or the stereo. Neither of us switched it on, and the silence was somehow intensified by the sudden thunder of the engine. He drove too fast down the dark, serpentine lane.

The silence was making me insane.

" Say something, " I finally begged as he turned onto the freeway.

" What do you want me to say? " he asked in a detached voice.

I cringed at his remoteness. 'Tell me you forgive me. "

That brought a flicker of life to his face–a flicker of anger. " Forgive you? For what? "

" If I'd been more careful, nothing would have happened. "

" Bella, you gave yourself a paper cut–that hardly deserves the death penalty. "

" It's still my fault. "

My words opened up the floodgate.

" Your fault? If you'd cut yourself at Mike Newton's house, with Jessica there and Angela and your other normal friends, the worst that could possibly have happened would be what? Maybe they couldn't find you a bandage? If you'd tripped and knocked over a pile of glass plates on your own–without someone throwing you into them–even then, what's the worst? You'd get blood on the seats when they drove you to the emergency room? Mike Newton could have held your hand while they stitched you up–and he wouldn't be righting the urge to kill you the whole time he was there. Don't try to take any of this on yourself, Bella. It will only make me more disgusted with myself. "

" How the hell did Mike Newton end up in this conversation? " I demanded.

" Mike Newton ended up in this conversation because Mike Newton would be a hell of a lot healthier for you to be with, " he growled.

" I'd rather die than be with Mike Newton, " I protested. " I'd rather die than be with anyone but you. "

" Don't be melodramatic, please. "

" Well then, don't you be ridiculous. "

He didn't answer. He glared through the windshield, his expression black.

I racked my brain for some way to salvage the evening. When we pulled up in front of my house, I still hadn't come up with anything.

He killed the engine, but his hands stayed clenched around the steering wheel.

" Will you stay tonight? " I asked.

" I should go home. "

The last thing I wanted was for him to go wallow in remorse.

" For my birthday, " I pressed.

" You can't have it both ways–either you want people to ignore your birthday or you don't. One or the other. "

His voice was stern, but not. is serious as before. I breathed a silent sigh of relief.

" Okay. I've decided that I don't want you to ignore my birthday. I'll see you upstairs. "

I hopped out, reaching back in for my packages. He frowned.

" You don't have to take those. "

" I want them, " I responded automatically, and then wondered if he was using reverse psychology.

" No, you don't. Carlisle and Esme spent money on you. "

" I'll live. " I tucked the presents awkwardly under my good arm and slammed the door behind me. He was out of the truck and by my side in less than a second.

" Let me carry them, at least. " he said as he took them away. " I'll be in your room. "

I smiled. " Thanks. "

" Happy birthday, " he sighed, and leaned down to touch his lips to mine.

I reached up on my toes to make the kiss last longer when he pulled away. He smiled my favorite crooked smile, and then he disappeared into the darkness.

The game was still on; as soon as I walked through the front door I could hear the announcer rambling over the babble of the crowd.

" Bell? " Charlie called.

" Hey, Dad, " I said as I came around the corner. I held my arm close to my side. The slight pressure burned, and I wrinkled my nose. The anesthetic was apparently losing its effectiveness.

" How was it? " Charlie lounged across the sofa with his bare feet propped up on the arm. What was left of his curly brown hair was crushed flat on one side.

" Alice went overboard. Flowers, cake, candles, presents–the whole bit. "

" What did they get you? "

" A stereo for my truck. " And various unknowns.

" Wow. "

" Yeah, " I agreed. " Well, I'm calling it a night. "

" I'll see you in the morning. "

I waved. " See ya. "

" What happened to your arm? "

I flushed and cursed silently. " I tripped. It's nothing. "

" Bella, " he sighed, shaking his head.

" Goodnight, Dad. "

I hurried up to the bathroom, where I kept my pajamas for just such nights as these. I shrugged into the matching tank top and cotton pants that I'd gotten to replace the holey sweats I used to wear to bed, wincing as the movement pulled at the stitches. I washed my face one‑ handed, brushed my teeth, and then skipped to my room.

He was sitting in the center of my bed, toying idly with one of the silver boxes.

" Hi, " he said. His voice was sad. He was wallowing.

I went to the bed, pushed the presents out of his hands, and climbed into his lap.

" Hi. " I snuggled into his stone chest. " Can I open my presents now? "

" Where did the enthusiasm come from? " he wondered.

" You made me curious. "

I picked up the long flat rectangle that must have been from Carlisle and Esme.

" Allow me, " he suggested. He took the gift from my hand and tore the silver paper off with one fluid movement. He handed the rectangular white box back to me.

" Are you sure I can handle lifting the lid? " I muttered, but he ignored me.

Inside the box was a long thick piece of paper with an overwhelming amount of fine print. It took me a minute to get the gist of the information.

" We're going to Jacksonville? " And I was excited, in spite of myself. It was a voucher for plane tickets, for both me and Edward.

" That's the idea. "

" I can't believe it. Renee is going to flip! You don't mind, though, do you? It's sunny, you'll have to stay inside all day. "

" I think I can handle it, " he said, and then frowned. " If I'd had any idea that you could respond to a gift this appropriately, I would have made you open it in front of Carlisle and Esme. I thought you'd complain. "

" Well, of course it's too much. But I get to take you with me! "

He chuckled. " Now I wish I'd spent money on your present. I didn't realize that you were capable of being reasonable. "

I set the tickets aside and reached for his present, my curiosity rekindled. He took it from me and unwrapped it like the first one.

He handed back a clear CD jewel case, with a blank silver CD inside.

" What is it? " I asked, perplexed.

He didn't say anything; he took the CD and reached around me to put it in the CD player on the bedside table. He hit play, and we waited in silence. Then the music began.

I listened, speechless and wide‑ eyed. I knew he was waiting for my reaction, but I couldn't talk. Tears welled up, and I reached up to wipe them away before they could spill over.

" Does your arm hurt? " he asked anxiously.

" No, it's not my arm. It's beautiful, Edward. You couldn't have given me anything I would love more. I can't believe it. " I shut up, so I could listen.

It was his music, his compositions. The first piece on the CD was my lullaby.

" I didn't think you would let me get a piano so I could play for you here, " he explained.

" You're right. "

" How does your arm feel? "

" Just fine. " Actually, it was starting to blaze under the bandage. I wanted ice. I would have settled for his hand, but that would have given me away.

" I'll get you some Tylenol. "

" I don't need anything, " I protested, but he slid me off his lap and headed for the door.

" Charlie, " I hissed. Charlie wasn't exactly aware that Edward frequently stayed over. In fact, he would have a stroke if that fact were brought to his attention. But I didn't feel too guilty for deceiving him It wasn't as if we were up to anything he wouldn't want me to be up to. Edward and his rules…

" He won't catch me, " Edward promised as he disappeared silently out the door. . and returned, catching the door before it had swung back to touch the frame. He had the glass from the bathroom and the bottle of pills in one hand.

I took the pills he handed me without arguing–I knew I would lose the argument And my arm really was starting to bother me.

My lullaby continued, soft and lovely, in the background.

" It's late, " Edward noted. He scooped me up off the bed with one arm, and pulled the cover back with the other. He put me down with my head on my pillow and tucked the quilt around me. He lay down next to me–on top of the blanket so I wouldn't get chilled–and put his arm over me.

I leaned my head against his shoulder and sighed happily.

" Thanks again, " I whispered.

" You're welcome. "

It was quiet for a long moment as I listened to my lullaby drift to a close. Another song began. I recognized Esme's favorite.

" What are you thinking about? '" I wondered in a whisper.

He hesitated for a second before he told me. " I was thinking about right and wrong, actually. "

I felt a chill tingle along my spine.

" Remember how I decided that I wanted you to not ignore my birthday? " I asked quickly, hoping it wasn't too clear that I was trying to distract him.

" Yes, " he agreed, wary.

" Well, I was thinking, since it's still my birthday, that I'd like you to kiss me again. "

" You're greedy tonight. "

" Yes, I am–but please, don't do anything you don't want to do, " I added, piqued.

He laughed, and then sighed. " Heaven forbid that I should do anything I don't want to do, " he said in a strangely desperate tone as he put his hand under my chin and pulled my face up to his.

The kiss began much the same as usual–Edward was as careful as ever, and my heart began to overreact like it always did. And then something seemed to change. Suddenly his lips became much more urgent, his free hand twisted into my hair and held my face securely to his. And, though my hands tangled in his hair, too, and though I was clearly beginning to cross his cautious lines, for once he didn't stop me. His body was cold through the thin quilt, but I crushed myself against him eagerly.

When he stopped it was abrupt; he pushed me away with gentle, firm hands.

I collapsed back onto my pillow, gasping, my head spinning. Something tugged at my memory, elusive, on the edges.

" Sorry, " he said, and he was breathless, too. " That was out of line. "

" I don't mind, " I panted.

He frowned at me in the darkness. " Try to sleep. Bella. "

" No, I want you to kiss me again. "

" You're overestimating my self‑ control. "

" Which is tempting you more, my blood or my body? " I challenged.

" It's a tie. " He grinned briefly in spite of himself, and then was serious again. " Now. why don't you stop pushing your luck and go to sleep? "

" Fine, " I agreed, snuggling closer to him. I really did feel exhausted. It had been a long day in so many ways, yet I felt no sense of relief at its end. Almost as if something worse was coming tomorrow. It was a silly premonition–what could be worse than today? ' Just the shock catching up with me, no doubt.

Trying to be sneaky about it, I pressed my injured arm against his shoulder, so his cool skin would sooth the burning. It felt better at once.

I was halfway asleep, maybe more, when I realized what his kiss had reminded me of: last spring, when he'd had to leave me to throw James off my trail, Edward had kissed me goodbye, not knowing when–or if–we would see each other again. This kiss had the same almost painful edge for some reason I couldn't imagine. I shuddered into unconsciousness, as if I were already having a nightmare.

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