I couldn't respond; I was still frozen.

He opened his eyes. They were beyond fury now.

"He's going to change you into a filthy bloodsucker in just a few weeks !" Jacob hissed through his teeth.

Too stunned to take offense at his words, I just nodded mutely.

His face turned green under the russet skin.

"Of course, Jake," I whispered after a long minute of silence.

"Just get out of there," Edward said. "There's no point in explaining... he's not going to understand no matter what your reasons are."

"He's seventeen, Jacob. And I get closer to nineteen every day. Besides, what's the point in waiting? He's all I want. What else can I do?"

I'd meant that as a rhetorical question.

His words cracked like snaps of a whip. "Anything. Anything else. You'd be better off dead. I'd rather you were."

Luckily Edward had enough sense to drop the book before he balled both his hands into fists and hit the armrest on chair (causing the whole chair to shatter, though he was up and pacing before that even mattered to him).

"How could he have said that?" Edward growled and no one answered him (Alice shaking her head at Jasper as he was about to try and calm his brother down; he need to get this off his chest). "He's supposed to be her best friend! He freaking wished that she was dead! DEAD! I should go and tear his stupid mutt head off!"

This went on for almost a minute before Carlisle stood up and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Doesn't he realize how much that will hurt her?" Edward snapped at his father, still quite angry.

"I don't think he was thinking about that at all," Carlisle said. "I think he just didn't want her to change..."

"He wished her dead!" Edward hissed.

"And from his point of view..." Carlisle said.

"It's not better!" Edward shouted.

"But isn't that what you want?" Emmett said. "You're against her becoming a vampire too."

"It's not the same thing!" Edward really growled at his brother. "I don't wish her dead!"

"But that's what is going..." Emmett started.

"After a full life yes... but the stupid mutt..." Edward interrupted.

"He thinks that she would be worse than dead if she becomes a vampire," Carlisle said and this time didn't let Edward interrupted him. "He thinks she'll be a monster and he doesn't want that for his friend. He doesn't think that she could still be Bella after this."

"I know!" Edward growled. "But he said that to her face... Her best friend said that he wished her dead!"

"I know son," Carlisle sighed. "That angered me too."

Edward stopped his pacing at this though his eyes still looked furious.

"So, now that Eddy is done with his tantrum, do you think we can read again?" Emmett asked another few minutes later.

"Fine!" Edward said; not going to let anyone read for him it seemed and he picked the book off the floor.

I recoiled like he'd slapped me. It hurt worse than if he had.

Edward flinched at that and glared murderously at the book.

And then, as the pain shot through me, my own temper burst into flame.

"Maybe you'll get lucky," I said bleakly, lurching to my feet. "Maybe I'll get hit by a truck on my way back."

I grabbed my motorcycle and pushed it out into the rain. He didn't move as I passed him. As soon as I was on the small, muddy path, I climbed on and kicked the bike to life. The rear tire spit a fountain of mud toward the garage, and I hoped that it hit him.

"That's not the only thing Eddy wants to hit him," Emmett laughed, trying to break some of the tension in the room... or just finding that funny... it was hard to tell with Emmett.

I got absolutely soaked as I sped across the slick highway toward the Cullens' house. The wind felt like it was freezing the rain against my skin, and my teeth were chattering before I was halfway there.

Motorcycles were too impractical for Washington. I would sell the stupid thing first chance I got.

I walked the bike into the Cullens' cavernous garage and was unsurprised to find Alice waiting for me, perched lightly on the hood of her Porsche. Alice stroked the glossy yellow paint.

"I haven't even had a chance to drive it." She sighed.

"That's not important right now," Edward shot her a glare.

"It's not like I know what happened to her!" Alice said. "What the mutt said to her!" she added looking quite livid about what had been said to Bella too.

"Sorry," I spit through my rattling teeth.

"You look like you could use a hot shower," she said, offhand, as she sprang lightly to her feet.

"Yep."

She pursed her lips, taking in my expression carefully. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"But I can comfort you if you tell me," Alice frowned.

She nodded in assent, but her eyes were raging with curiosity.

"Do you want to go to Olympia tonight?"

"Not really. Can't I go home?"

She grimaced.

"Never mind, Alice," I said. "I'll stay if it makes things easier for you."

"Thanks," she sighed in relief.

I went to bed early that night, curling up on his sofa again.

It was still dark when I woke. I was groggy, but I knew it wasn't near morning yet. My eyes closed, and I stretched, rolling over. It took me a second before I realized that the movement should have dumped me onto the floor. And that I was much too comfortable.

I rolled back over, trying to see. It was darker than last night - the clouds were too thick for the moon to shine through.

"Sorry," he murmured

"Good... you'll make her feel better," Esme said.

"If she tells me what happened," Edward said.

"She'll tell you," Esme said confidently.

so softly that his voice was part of the darkness. "I didn't mean to wake you."

I tensed, waiting for the fury - both his and mine - but it was only quiet and calm in the darkness of his room. I could almost taste the sweetness of reunion in the air, a separate fragrance from the perfume of his breath; the emptiness when we were apart left its own bitter aftertaste, something I didn't consciously notice until it was removed.

Edward sighed, not liking the sound of that.

'Well at less there was no fury,' Alice thought to light his mood up. 'And it's definitely good that you didn't yell at her for this right now.'

Edward looked at her for a second and then went back to reading.

There was no friction in the space between us. The stillness was peaceful - not like the calm before the tempest, but like a clear night untouched by even the dream of a storm.

And I didn't care that I was supposed to be angry with him. I didn't care that I was supposed to be angry with everyone. I reached out for him, found his hands in the darkness, and pulled myself closer to him. His arms encircled me, cradling me to his chest. My lips searched, hunting along his throat, to his chin, till I finally found his lips.

"Too bad we can't have her do that to you now... she would have you cheered up in no time, Eddy," Emmett smiled at his brother.

"I'm sure that's true," Edward said, trying to let go of his tension; it seemed easier to do when he didn't have to read about the mutt.

Edward kissed me softly for a moment, and then he chuckled.

"I was all braced for the wrath that was going to put grizzlies to shame, and this is what I get? I should infuriate you more often."

"That was rather a let down," Emmett pouted.

"Do you not know where she was today?" Jasper questioned.

"I don't know," Edward said slowly, puzzled by that reaction. "I don't see how I wouldn't... it's been hours and even if Alice didn't call... well I would have heard it by now."

"Maybe shortie doesn't want you to know," Emmett said. "That way you can't take away her Porsche."

"No, Alice wouldn't let me go up there without know this," Edward frowned.

"Give me a minute to work up to it," I teased, kissing him again.

"I'll wait as long as you want," he whispered against my lips. His fingers knotted in my hair.

My breath was becoming uneven. "Maybe in the morning."

"Whatever you prefer."

"Welcome home," I said while his cold lips pressed under my jaw. "I'm glad you came back."

"That's a very good thing."

"Mmm," I agreed, tightening my arms around his neck.

His hand curved around my elbow, moving slowly down my arm, across my ribs and over my waist, tracing along my hip and down my leg, around my knee. He paused there, his hand curling around my calf. He pulled my leg up suddenly, hitching it around his hip.

"Now Eddy... what are you planning on doing," Emmett laughed, waggling his eyebrows.

Edward shut his eyes in annoyance for a second, before he started to read again.