8

Bella POV:

As I walk up the stairs, I hear the sound of tapping computer keys coming from my room. I push open the door tentatively to find Blaize staring intently at the screen. 'Hey... ' I start.

Blaize jolts as if she's been electrocuted, then she quickly slams the laptop shut, leaping away from the desk. 'Hi, Bella, ' she squeaks. I walk over to the laptop, and flip it open. Blaize cringes slightly as I see what she was looking at. 'Vampires?' I raise my eyebrow.

My room is empty already.

That night, I'm preparing to go to bed when I hear a faint tapping on my window. I glance briefly and do a double take as Edward slips in, grinning. 'I presume you have a reason for coming here unless it's a hobby for you to stalk people while they sleep.' Edward's smile grows wider. 'What are you really doing here, Edward?' A thrill runs through my spine as I say his name.

Edward shrugs gracefully, a crooked smile tugging at the corner of his lips. 'I came to check up on you. I've decided to quit this Stay Away from Bella thing - you have no idea how crazy it's driving me.'

'So...how many times have you done this, may I ask?' Totally not suspicious, huh.

Edward chuckles, the expression on his face almost sheepish. 'This is the fourth time.'

Maybe its the drowsiness or the warmth of his eyes, but I decide to make a bold move and snuggle into his hard chest, looking up at him. Eyes piercing into mine, I find myself drowning in the soft gold.

And then Blaize swings the door open. Upon spotting Edward, she freezes. 'What the hell, Edward?' she whisper-screeches. 'You owe me an explanation. Now. Why the hell are you here?'

Edward chuckles, unfazed. 'Okay. Get on my back, Blaize.'

Blaize POV:

I blink. 'What? Are you crazy? It's the middle of the night!'

Edward grins. 'Technically, it's only ten. I have perfect night vision, and I won't let any harm come to you.' I plant my feet on the ground, refusing to move. In the blink of an eye, I'm scooped up into Edward's arms. 'I'll be back,' he promises Bella. I suck in a deep breath.

Then Edward hurtles out of the window. The wind hits me full in the face, making my hair whip across my cheeks with small lashes. My eyes are wide - half in terror, half in excitement as the forest streaks by, each tree no more than a blur.

As Edwards stops, practically seconds later, I spring away from him simultaneously. I hate to admit it, but that was exhilarating. I'm glad my pyjamas are all long-sleeved; it's not freezing, but the evening chills have fallen.

I look at my surroundings. We're in a large grassy meadow, surrounded by a perimeter of trees. Starlight reflects off the long strands of grass, creating a silvery sheen on the ground. It's beautiful.

Edward walks next to me till we're shoulder to shoulder, and I say, 'First things first.' I drop down into a cross-legged position and tug at his sleeve for him to do so also. 'There's no point in playing charades with me now. Bella clearly knows something that I don't know. And I don't like that. I want the truth now, okay?'

Edward nods grimly, mouth set in a firm line.

'From my observations, you're cold to the touch, strong, and impossibly fast. I don't think I need to say anymore.'

Edward grimaces, conforming my thoughts.

'Right. How old are you exactly?' I ask suspiciously.

'Just over a century years old,' he admits. Jeez. Edward remains silent for a few seconds, mouth set in a grim line. 'I was born in Chicago, 1901. Carlisle, Dr Cullen, found me in a hospital in the summer of 1918. I was seventeen, and dying of the Spanish Influenza.'

Oh. I gasp involuntarily, just a quick, sharp inhale of air, and Edward gives me the smallest of smiles and a shake of his head. 'What about your parents?'

'They had already died from the disease. I was alone. That's why he chose me. In the chaos of the epidemic, no one would ever realise I was gone.'

I give a sympathetic smile, but don't try to reach out to Edward. 'How did Carlisle manage to do that? With all the blood, I mean, and not... you know?'

'Carlisle has developed a resistance against blood. Over time, he trained himself to ignore to scent of blood in order for him to focus on his passion. He found a different way to feed. He found that he could hunt animals instead of humans. Guaranteed, it's often hard to not feed on the humans. I thought I had mastered my control until you two had to come along and mess it up again.'

Edward leans forward, inhaling my jumper, and pulls back grinning. 'I would kill you now. I could kill you now...' he muses to himself.

Then he shakes his head. 'I'm getting sidetracked. Anyway. You want to know more about me?' I nod. 'Well, some of us have gifts. Or powers. But we tend to call them talents.'

I bite my lower lip, and breathe through it in long sighs. Edward stiffens. 'Please don't do that.'

I look away and ask, 'Do you have any talents?'

He grins. 'Mind-reading.' Shit. 'But for some reason, I can't hear Bella's thoughts.' Thank heavens. Perv.

We sit in silence for a moment, Edward a statue, and me running my finger through the grass in circles. This is absurd. I'm sitting next to a vampire, discussing his life stories. And what's worse is that my sister has fallen in love with him. He could be her great great great times ten grandfather!

Edward snickers. 'Get out!' I snap. He rises in one fluid movement. 'You're not worried that this grandpa is one of the most dangerous predators in the world?'

I don't think that the two words Edward and grandpa go together.

'Everything about me invites you in, my voice, my face, even my smell. As if I need any of that!' I blink and Edward disappears and reappears, having circled the meadow within less than a second. 'As if you could outrun me,' he says bitterly.

Then he darts to the far side of the meadow, ripping a thick bough off a tree with a sharp crack. 'As if you could fight me.' His voice drops, and trails off, becoming pensive with thought. Then Edward drops the branch and flits over to me. 'Scared yet?' he teases.

'No.' That was the truth. 'I'm genuinely fascinated.'

Edward chuckles darkly. 'You really shouldn't have said that.' Then he growls at me, a low, harsh sound that rips up through the back of his throat, sending chills down my spine. He shifts into a crouch, and, with a movement too fast for my eyes to track, pins me onto the ground with his arms, his knees clamping around my sides like iron manacles. His nostrils flare wide, and I can see no traces of human in his eyes. They glint with thirst, black streaks beginning to pour into the golden irises.

My heartbeat increases drastically. Freaking hell. Edward's jaws open wide, and I can see each perfect, pointed weapon, glistening white. I start to squirm, unable to escape from his stone grip. Then they snap down towards my throat.

A startled eek slips through my lips as Edward stops, millimetres from my neck. He gently lowers himself so that his lips brush the hollow of my throat. I hear his blissful sigh, almost pained towards the end. Then he sits upright. 'I had your heart rate going for a while there, didn't I?' He grins, expression smug. 'Say it. Say that you're scared.'

I bare my teeth at him. 'Never.'

'Was that not dangerous enough for you? It doesn't bug you that I'm a monster?'

I prop myself up onto my elbows to meet his curious gaze. 'No. Not at all.' Edward tilts his head to the side, inquisitive. 'It doesn't matter to me. It doesn't matter what you are. And I don't think my sister cares either.' I bite my lip. 'Because she's in love with you.'