I held Bella as she slept soundly. She hardly moved at all, except for her lips—when they were talking. I had to bite my fist to keep from laughing out loud. She said the oddest things when she was exhausted. Along with my name, she also said things like tea kettle, don't put the dishes in the laundry closet, and my personal favourite, Edward, don't bite the dog. That was priceless. But the thing I enjoyed most was listening to her say she loved me. I watched her peaceful face in the dark, her breathing slow and even, her arm still on top of mine. "I love you, Edward." She murmured. I stared, shocked. I knew she had said it to me countless times that day, but hearing it while she was unconscious meant there was no thought filter in her brain. She was saying it, and it was completely true.

I smiled, closing my eyes and tightening my arm around her. I thought about what Bella had done in my absence. She hadn't told me much; I knew it was an extremely sensitive topic, as it was for both of us. But I told her what I did, so it was only fair. What I most resented was that she had to find the refuge of a werewolf to take my place. She chose a werewolf for protection! So far, he had done quite the opposite.

I wished I could do something about that. But if I did, it would only drive Bella away from me. There was no way I would let either of us suffer that again. I couldn't bear being without her anymore than she could breathe underwater—like Bella had earlier put it. It went against nature, against physics, against biology for us to be apart, thats why I couldn't do it. I sighed, it's why she couldn't do it, couldn't bear life anymore. I winced, rubbing my hand on her back, reassuring myself she was still there. There was also another issue that may come up later. The treaty being broken—on my part.

I would not and will not let my family or Bella suffer the consequences. If they wanted a war—that is if they ever find out—I will not begrudge them a fair fight. But nobody else will be dragged into it. So far, I hoped they never found out. I didn't want to leave Bella, possibly to run back in the arms of Jacob. Unstable, childish werewolves. If I was certain Bella would be nothing but safe and happy with him, I would be more comfortable...a little. But he wasn't. I sighed again, facing a conundrum. I pursed my lips exploring other trains of thought. School. I may still be able to get back into my old schedule—into the same classes as Bella, I smiled. She was always astonished with what I could get done for me with just a bat of my eyes. I frowned, what a girly habit—Bella stirred then. I looked down. She was flinching, twitching her fingers. Her face screwed up into a frown. Her mouth opened, her bottom lip trembled. I kept watching.

She gasped. "Jake! Get off!" she cried, sitting upright in bed. I tried extremely hard not to show the anger that I felt on my face. So I kept it as soft and concerned as I could. I caressed her cheek in my hand. "Bella, shh. It's okay. It was just a dream." I soothed her. She sobbed into my shoulder. "I'm sorry—" "Do not apologize, please. If you want Jacob to live, then please do not apologize." I said, cradling her against my chest. She sniffled then nodded. "Okay. I'm...All right." I half smiled, still rubbing her back. She fell asleep pretty fast after that, into a deeper sleep than before, less restless. This calmed my anger—partially.

The next day began with Charlie asking Bella how her previous day was. She shrugged, gave a thoughtful bite of her lip and said, "Oh, you know. Nothing spectacular." I chuckled as I watched her face beam, through Charlie's mind. He didn't register that, though. I was still up in her bedroom. It was a Saturday, and that meant no school. So we had the entire day. I grinned at myself. Once Charlie's cruiser sped off down the street, I flew down the stairs.

"Nothing spectacular going to happen today, either?" I asked teasingly. Bella turned around, I grin on her face and shrugged. "I don't suppose you have anything in mind?" I shook my head, then an idea came to mind. "Well, I'm sure Esme and Alice are dying to see you." Her eyes widened and lit up. She smiled so wide, ran up to me and kissed me. "Careful," I warned in between kisses. She smiled, not being careful at all. "You are the best." She whispered into my ear before kissing my neck. I rolled my eyes. "Can we go now?" she asked immediately. As an answer, I picked her up, and shifted her onto my back. "Oh, I wanted to ask you something, too." I looked at her from the corner of my eye. "What?" I asked cautiously. She bit her lip and I could hear her heart beat picking up. "Bella, please tell me." She sighed. "I want to go see Jacob today." I stiffened and let her go. She slid off my back. I turned to face her. "Why would you want to do that?" I asked.

"He's my friend. We still need to talk about what happened." I clenched my jaw, my lips pressing together. "Can't you call him?" I suggested. She narrowed her eyes at me. "It's perfectly safe, okay?" I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Bella, you saw what happened. He can get unstable. What if you say the wrong thing? What if he gets the wrong idea again?" I asked, grasping at straws. "Edward, he said he wasn't going to hurt me. I believe him. Why can't you? For just once? I have your cell phone. If something goes wrong, I will call you." I sighed. "Please Bella. Please, don't do this." I begged. She shook her head. "You are unbelievable. Edward, he promised. I know in my heart he wouldn't do it again. Don't you trust me?" I glared. "Of course I do. It's him I don't trust." She shook her head again. "You know what. Forget it." I brightened. "I'm going. Now. And since you can't come."

She shrugged. I stared at her, shocked, dumb-founded...hurt. "Bella! Wait!" I shouted. She jumped into her truck and sped off. I could have kept up and stopped her, but she would have found some other way to go anyway. So, instead of chasing her down and turning her back around, I followed her.

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