Big apologies to everyone! I've been missing for a while but things have been hectic. I know this is short but it is what I had time to do and hopefully it will suffice for now. A big thanks to everyone who is reading this.

Disclaimer: Stephenie Meyer owns it all.

Bella was restless, having a bad dream I supposed. I could here her uneven breathing and endless twisting and turning from the living room.

My hunting trip had not lasted long and my family left me to sulk alone once I returned. They were in their respective rooms now waiting for our guest to settle down. The entire house had been set on edge because Jasper was having difficulty calming Bella into a peaceful slumber.

She woke with a gasp, her pulse racing as she drew in deep uneven breaths. Then with a slight moan of frustration her feet hit the floor and began to make their way down the hall causing everyone to jump into silent motion.

My sibling's thoughts were frantic as the rushed to their beds to feign sleep, in case she decided to enter their rooms. Carlisle and Esme took cover in the library. I dove towards the couch where I had made a makeshift bed.

It was absurd the amount of frenzy this girl caused.

Bella's soft steps sounded off the floor as she padded down the stairs, past me and into the kitchen. On of the cupboards opened and was followed by the distinctive ring of crystal and the rush of the tap. She was getting a drink.

On a whim I decided to follow her. I had not forgiven today's earlier events but thought that I might be able to help her so my family could relax. I ghosted into the kitchen, my footsteps as quiet as death.

I coughed in the doorway to announce my presence. My eyelids were half closed and my hair more unruly than its usual disarray. I hoped she would buy my act. Bella gasped, spinning suddenly, dropping the glass in her hand. I reached out on instinct catching the glass before it had a chance to hit the ground. I held Bella's eyes as I slowly placed it on the counter.

"What are you doing?" She asked in a breathy voice. She didn't mention my slipup but I could see the wheels in her mind turning, calculating.

"I was trying to sleep," I said my voice thick. I pointed towards my chest indicating the outfit I had changed into, "see, jammies."

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to wake you. I couldn't sleep."

"No worries, neither could I." I could not help it as the corner of my mouth pulled up in a slight smile. "Common, why don't we see what is on the television."

Bella followed me back into the living room and sat pin straight on the couch. I didn't need Jasper to tell me how awkward she felt. I threw a blanket at her only to earn a sceptical look. "I'm only offering it for your comfort. You can relax, I won't bite." I could hear Emmett's boisterous laugh from the floor above.

In all honesty I was lying to myself when I said I was angry with her. There was no way I could hold a grudge against Bella. Jacob was another story entirely.

Slowly and reluctantly Bella eased her way into the couch, pulling her legs up underneath her. She remained closed to the arm of the couch opposite to me though and that tugged something inside me.

We watched the flickering screen in silence, or rather she did. I watched Bella. The soft curve of her neck where I could see her pulse beating rhythmically, the crimson stain that covered her cheeks and the lift at the edge of her full lips when she laughed. The light almost from the television reflected off of her practically translucent flesh making shadow dance across her exposed skin. She had told me she had never like how pale her skin was when revealing her childhood in Arizona to me but I found it, her, entrancing.

Our TV time didn't last long though. Soon her eyelids became heavy and she slowly fell into the sofa with her head on my lap. Her dark hair spilled out across the cushions and my legs, her body lying long and languid down the length of the 'bed'.

I sat pin straight at the contact surprised at the sudden warmth and intimacy of her touch, even if it was unintentional. After a few minutes of listening to her rhythmic breathing I relaxed, revelling in the warmth, in the feeling of simply having her near me. I was mesmerised by the curl of her collar bone at the hollow of her throat when it peaked from the collar of my shirt. My eyes followed the languid curve of her body that was stretched the length of the couch. I felt this need when ever I was near her, a pull, like a magnetic attraction. I didn't know what this hunger was or what it meant but I enjoyed it.

I found it odd how it was tonight of all nights she had not been able to sleep. It had been the only night since she arrived that I had not stayed in her room. Was it possible that she felt the same pull towards me?

I instantly pushed the thought from my mind. There was no way innocent Bella could have any feelings for a monster like me. I did not deserve them.

I lifted Bella from the sofa with great care taking her back to her room so my family had freedom to roam the house. She sighed contently in my arms her perfumed breath fanning across my neck and her small hands gripping at my shirt. Despite myself I had to stop and even out my breathing but it was not out of bloodlust.

I finally made it to her bedroom and lay her gently on the bed, prying her hands from my shirt. Then, alone, I returned to my couch. I needed to think and it was impossible to do so when she was lying out it front of me, in my clothes. It only made the strange hungers worse. Made me want to reach out and touch her. But that would be a mistake, an unforgivable one. She was too fragile.

What are you doing, Edward? Asked Jasper in a concerned voice. And that was the question wasn't it?

What was I doing? This girl had me unravelling, second guessing everything I had and everything I wanted. She was a mystery and intriguing but there was so much more than that. It was what was past her cool exterior and apparent frustration and hatred towards me. It was just too. She knew that I was hiding something, what she had seen yet I refused to tell her the truth.

The truth was too dangerous and too revealing. I did not want Bella to think even less of me than she did now and I did not want to put her life at risk even further than it already was. The rules of my society demand this though.

And why was I even questioning this? Bella would leave soon and I would never have to see her again, never have to worry about her finding out about my world.

That thought caused more pain. Leaving Bella alone upstairs was hard enough, let alone leaving her to return to another state.

What was wrong with me?

I tried to untangle the mass of thoughts and emotions that knotted in my mind and could only come to the following conclusion: I was in love with Isabella Swan. The only problem was I did not know what that meant.

Slowly the sky turned from black to grey and I rose from my position on the couch and drifted towards the kitchen. There was an odd comfort I had discovered in the mechanical motions of working in the kitchen albeit the lack of satisfaction I gained from the tasteless putrid foods. Perhaps it was because I liked cooking for Bella, seeing the happiness displayed on her face when she ate.

I poured some batter into the pristine waffle maker on the counter and began to dice fruit as I waited for the machine to beep.

As expected Bella shuffled into the kitchen a few minutes later, I placed a plate of waffles and a yogurt parfait in front of her. "Thanks," she murmured to her plate. I could here the double meaning in the word and could sense the flush of her cheeks. She was embarrassed about last night.

"It was my pleasure," I assured her.

Emmett came in next with Alice at his heels. They were both rubbing the sleep from their eyes and dressed in wrinkled sweat pants and cotton t-shirts.

"Want anything?" I asked with a smirk and quirked brow when they sat beside Bella at the Island. "No thank you, my stomach is still a bit off," replied Emmett rubbing his center for emphasis. Alice shook her head.

"I am glade to see that you are feeling better," Bella commented as the rest of the family wandered in. I pointed a pair of tongs towards the waffle maker in silent offering, receiving a series of 'no thank you's' in reply.

"I terribly sorry about this Bella," offered Esme.

"Not at all, it isn't your fault you got sick."

"What is everyone planning for today?" asked Carlisle.

"TV," was the response from most of my siblings. Bella on the other hand said she had to get more of her article written.

The day passed uneventfully once again. My family had dispersed though out the house after a few hours of congregation in the living room. Carlisle and Jasper were in their respected offices, Esme in her studio, Alice had retreated to her closet and Emmett and Rosalie out to the garage. This left me alone with Bella.

She tapped furiously against the keys of her laptop as I leafed through a novel at human speed. Both of us were silent.

"Who is Jacob?" I blurted out unthinkingly cutting the comfortable silence between us.

Bella stopped typing and looked up at me over the screen of her laptop; brows knit together, "Excuses me?"

I cursed silently trying to come up with an explanation for my outburst. "You were mumbling about someone named Jacob in your sleep last night.

Stain flooded her cheeks, "He is a family friend that lives over on the reservation. His dad and mine were friends so we grew up together. He's a good guy." A slight smile pulled at her full lips as she thought about this Jacob character but she broke out of her trance, face full of fear, "I didn't said anything else did I?" she demanded.

"Not coherently," I told her, she seemed reassured. "I thought he might be your boyfriend."

Bella blanched slightly at this, blushing again, "N-no," she stuttered, "I don't have a boyfriend."

I felt like rejoicing. I could feel a large smile break across my face; I must have looked ridiculous, like the Cheshire Cat. "Oh, that's too bad. I am sorry to hear it," I lied through my teeth; there was nothing sad about it in my opinion.

Bella shrugged, "Just waiting for Mr. Right I suppose."

This was good new, I could be Mr. Right.

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-Red