A/N: I do not own anything Twilight-related. That work belongs to Stephenie Meyer. I'm just a fan-girl.

It was strange to think that Laurent, the gentle-seeming one, had been the one attacking me. Luring me into a trap. Clearly, he'd had all of us tricked from the very beginning. I sighed to myself as I buttoned up my shirt in the bathroom of my hospital room. The sterile smell was driving me insane, I was beyond grateful to be getting out of here. I turned to look at the mirror and fluffed my hair a bit, making a face at myself in the mirror before deciding that nothing could be done so I may as well stop worrying. I opened the door and hobbled out of the bathroom with my broken leg and nearly fell over. Thankfully, Edward's cool arms encircled me long before I came near the ground and I was overwhelmed with the warm scent of his skin. My knees buckled. I blushed. It was routine now. At least I didn't have the stupid monitor to betray my erratic heartbeats anymore. I brought my eyes up to his face and grinned widely at him. His smirk was concealed, barely, as he shook his head disapprovingly at me.

Charlie had a whole set of new rules for my life now. Things like visiting hours. I couldn't necessarily fault him for it, and it wasn't like visiting hours stopped Edward from sneaking into my room at night, but I couldn't help but feel the urge to rebel against them. Ridiculous as it was. The days went by in a haze for the most part, school and home and Edward's "visits" and then him sneaking into my room after Charlie had gone to bed. While the routine was very much the same, Edward was not. I felt him distancing himself from me more every day. Every time I would ask what it was about, it was like I was talking to someone I didn't even know. There was nothing on his face to betray him when he lied to my face and said nothing was wrong. I would have considered going to Alice for help, except that every time I looked at her she stared at me with the saddest expression on her face. I didn't want to know what she was seeing.

It wasn't long before school let out, and despite Alice's badgering I had even gotten away with skipping Prom. Summer was muggy, filled with cloudy days and sweat-soaked shirts. Shorts and tank tops weren't even enough to keep me cool. At least the rain was warmer. I preferred this over the cold. The nights were never bad with Edward's cold body lying beside me, even if he seemed miserable there. I tried to give Edward his space, to let him work out whatever it was in his head without pressuring him. I kept our talks light and as cheerful as possible. At least from my end, his end never seemed to really offer any cheer. It broke my heart every time I saw him, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make just so he wouldn't distance himself from me simply because I couldn't be patient.

I pulled myself out of bed and stretched my arms up over my head. I walked to the bathroom and brushed my teeth and hair, freshening myself up before heading back into my room to change into yet another pair of shorts and another tank top. I slipped on a pair of flip flops and tripped my way down the stairs. The kitchen was empty. That's the way it usually was on Saturday's, Charlie would get up early to go fishing with Billy and he would get home late. I poured myself some cereal and sat down at the table to eat. I hadn't sooner rinsed off my soapy bowl before I heard a gentle rapping at the front door. Edward. My face lit up and I dropped the bowl haphazardly into the strainer as I grabbed a towel and rushed to the door. I opened it quickly, drying my hands as I did so, and threw my arms around Edward's neck. His hand gently touched my back as he removed himself from my grasp. His face was particularly grim. I sighed and gave him a forced smile before heading back into the kitchen.

"So what would you like to do today?"

"We should take a walk." His voice was hard, he had no intention of negotiating this. I had no intention of trying to. I shrugged and put the towel on the counter before turning back to him.

"All right."

This was awkward. We stood in the kitchen for another minute, staring at each other without a word. Finally I got sick of it and walked passed him to the kitchen door.

"Coming?"