A/N: I'm so sorry it's taken me forever to update. From now on, I am going to update often. I want to finish all my fanfics. And thank you for the reviews thus far, I really appreciate everything and hearing what everyone thinks!

So what do you think? Is it too soon for Bella to find out what Edward is and confront him about it, or is it time for her to know?

Chapter 13: The Possible Truth

Seasons changed and as the weather grew cooler, I found myself warming up to this new Edward. Once we eliminated the questions of what he was, we got along much better. In fact, when I wasn't with Jacob, I was usually with Edward. And the truth was, I was spending less and less time with Jacob and more and more time with Edward.

I knew it was making Jacob bitter but I couldn't fully blame myself. Jacob had started acting very strangely and he had started distancing himself from me.

Winter came and the air turned as cold as Edward's skin. The days began to blend together and when I wasn't in school, Edward and I would spend time together and do things like we used to. We were best friends again.

It was extremely tricky because Edward could not be seen in daylight. He never let me see him in the daylight. And he couldn't be seen by the townspeople; he was, after all, supposed to be dead. It was a devastating and confusing thought to me still, but one I violently pushed away all of the time.

We spent most of our time together in the evenings. We picked apples in the orchard in the meadow. When the lake froze over and no one was around, he taught me to skate on it. We even found a special tree in the forest to decorate for Christmas.

Eventually, the lake thawed and the snow melted and my new found calmness melted away with it. Things gradually began to fall apart again.

One warm, spring morning, Jacob knocked on the door and asked me if I wanted to go to the lake with him. Thinking we would just be spending some time together and that I would see Edward later that night, I agreed and went along with him. But as we sat in the shade on the empty beach, I could tell something was terribly, terribly wrong.

"I know what's going on, Bella," he said quietly and resentfully.

I turned to him, surprised by this sudden revelation. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, I know about Edward."

"And what's that?" I asked.

Jacob let out a noisy breath of frustration. "Don't make me say it out loud."

I stared at him, slowly becoming aggravated at the way he was acting. "Well, you're going to have to say it out loud because I have no clue what you're trying to say."

Jacob straightened up and stared straight ahead. "He's a…" He's a something. I couldn't make out the last word he said because he said it so quietly.

"He's a what?" I pressed.

"He's a vampire, Bella!"

My entire body froze and went cold.

"That's ridiculous, Jacob," I muttered. "Vampires don't exist."

Silence prevailed as a soft breeze played across the water and ruffled the leaves of the trees almost affectionately. What Jacob said made no sense. Vampires only existed in horror novels and in deep, dark nightmares. And who knew - maybe even in history. But they didn't exist in my world.

"Tell me your evidence then, Jacob," I said flatly.

"Well, I guess we can start with the fact that he was dead and came back to life," Jacob said, his voice sarcastic. He lowered it slightly, his tone becoming more gentle. "Don't you think that's strange, Bella? He was officially pronounced dead. How else could he come back?"

Tears stung my eyes as I angrily stared ahead. I hated talking about his death. It only brought about a wave of fresh pain and confusion every time it was mentioned.

"His skin is ice cold, isn't it Bella?"

It was true. I had always wondered why his skin was so cold and if it wasn't even normal. I didn't want to admit it, but cold skin did remind me of death.

"Didn't you notice how his appearance has changed? How his eyes aren't the same color and how his skin is so pale?"

"That could be anything, Jake," I whispered weakly, feeling my anger slip away as what Jacob was saying began to make perfect sense.

"It's not just anything, Bella," Jacob said tightly. "And you know it."

"I want to go home."

"Just one last point, Bella. This one is difficult, but it has to be said."

"What is it?" I asked lifelessly.

"Four mysterious murders," Jacob said quietly, staring out across the lake.

"That was months ago, Jacob!"

"But Bella, still. Four of them and they were never explained. Vampires need to eat. They need to kill to live." Jacob turned to me. "If you can even call them living," he added bitterly. "More like the living dead."

I scrambled to my feet. Tears streamed down my face as I walked away from Jacob. I couldn't bear to hear his theories anymore.

"Bella!" he called after me and I could sense that he was getting to his feet and getting ready to follow me.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" I didn't want him to think I was furious with him and I didn't want him following me. The truth was that I was angry, but not just at him. I was angry with Edward, too.

I thought back to the conversation we had had on the beach so many months ago...it seemed like forever ago. I had been asking him what he was and he wouldn't tell me.

"Why can't you tell me that?" I asked him. "Is it really that bad?"

"I think it is," Edward replied bitterly.

I stopped in my tracks. Everything added up perfectly. Was it possible Jacob was right? Was it possible that Edward was the living dead and even he was ashamed to admit it? A feeling of piercing dread filled my chest. I knew it wouldn't go away until I asked Edward.

Later that night, I was sitting in bed attempting to read and get my mind off everything that was utterly ridiculous in my life. I couldn't get the fact out of my head that two of my closest friends were acting so strange. One was trying to tell me the other was a vampire, of all things. And the other wouldn't tell my anything at all.

There was a knock on the window. Instead of feeling excitement at seeing Edward, I felt that same piercing dread. I knew I had to ask him. I knew I would feel awful until I asked him. I walked over to the window and opened it. Edward climbed through and with a gentle smile, handed me a red rose.

"Thank you," I said, feeling strangled. "It's beautiful." He had given me a red rose when he was alive - when Spot had died, and then again a second time last April, when I had thought he was dead. I supposed it was only fitting for him to give me one now too, when he was "alive" again.

"What's wrong?" he asked, his smile disappearing. He had seen through me instantly. He knew something was wrong.

I turned away from the window and sat on the bed, twirling a long strand of brown hair around my finger. There was no easy way to bring up this topic of conversation. There was no decent way. Oh, so I hear you're a vampire? I never wanted to have this conversation. But I had to.

I placed the rose on the bed between us as he sat next to me. I cleared my throat uncomfortably. This was so difficult.

"You know you can tell me anything, Bella," Edward said quietly. He must have sensed something was wrong and that I was having trouble telling him. But then again, he had always been perceptive, even when he had been alive.

"Remember how I promised you that I would give you time?" I asked softly.

He sat up straighter as he stared at me with his strange, beautiful eyes.

"I've given you time," I whispered. My fingers dug into my blankets. I hadn't wanted to corner him, but what else could I do? I didn't want to flat out accuse him of being a vampire. I wanted him to tell me himself.

And that's when there was a flash of light from outside, along with a bang. Edward sprang off the bed so fast that he was practically a blur and looked outside.

He looked back at me, where I sat frozen on the bed. "Werewolves!" he hissed, before disappearing out the window.