I looked up at him, the tears not yet dried on my cheeks. "Why in the world would I be okay, Jacob?"

"She's more honest when she's tired," Edward muttered to himself with a smile.

"She's always honest," Alice corrected. "She's just less considerate when she tired."

Anguish replaced some of the bitterness in his face. "Right," he agreed, and took a deep breath. "Crap. Well… I – I'm so sorry, Bella." The apology was sincere, no doubt about it, though there was still an angry twist to his features.

"Why did you come here? I don't want apologies from you, Jake."

"I know," he whispered. "But I couldn't leave things the way I did this afternoon. That was horrible. I'm sorry."

I shook my head wearily. "I don't understand anything."

"I know. I want to explain –" He broke off suddenly, his mouth open, almost like something had cut off his air. Then he sucked in a deep breath. "But I can't explain," he said, still angry.

"Then why did he even bother going there?" Edward hissed.

"It looks like he literally cannot tell her," Carlisle said thoughtfully. "I wonder if that's part of being a werewolf."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked.

"'Almost as though something had cut off his air,'" Carlisle repeated. "It might be more than they aren't allowed to share the secret; he might not be able to say it at all."

"I wish I could."

I let my head fall into my hands. My question came out muffled by my arm. "Why?"

He was quiet for a moment. I twisted my head to the side – too tired to hold it up – to see his expression. It surprised me. His eyes were squinted, his teeth clenched, his forehead wrinkled in effort.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

He exhaled heavily, and I realized he'd been holding his breath, too. "I can't do it," he muttered, frustrated.

"Do what?"

He ignored my question. "Look, Bella, haven't you ever had a secret that you couldn't tell anyone?"

"Yeah... ours," Rosalie said – it was the one thing that she really appreciated about Bella.

He looked at me with knowing eyes, and my thoughts jumped immediately to the Cullens. I hoped my expression didn't look guilty.

"Something you felt like you had to keep from Charlie, from your mom… ?" he pressed.

"Something you won't even talk about with me? Not even now?"

I felt my eyes tighten. I didn't answer his question, though I knew he would take that as a confirmation.

"Can you understand that I might have the same kind of…situation?" He was struggling again, seeming to fight for the right words. "Sometimes, loyalty gets in the way of what you want to do. Sometimes, it's not your secret to tell."

So, I couldn't argue with that. He was exactly right – I had a secret that wasn't mine to tell, yet a secret I felt bound to protect. A secret that, suddenly, he seemed to know all about.

I still didn't see how it applied to him, or Sam, or Billy. What was it to them, now that the Cullens were gone?

"I don't know why you came here, Jacob, if you were just going to give me riddles instead of answers."

"He's trying to make her feel better," Esme said. "Even this will help her."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "This is so frustrating."

We looked at each other for a long moment in the dark room, both our faces hopeless.

"The part that kills me," he said abruptly, "is that you already know. I already told yon everything!"

"That's right," Carlisle mused. "Perhaps he can get around the edict then."

"What are you talking about?"

He sucked in a startled breath, and then leaned toward me, his face shifting from hopelessness to blazing intensity in a second. He stared fiercely into my eyes, and his voice was fast and eager. He spoke the words right into my face; his breath was as hot as his skin.

"It seems like he just had the same idea you had," Edward commented in an emotionless voice.

"You still don't know if this is good or not," Carlisle said.

"No," Edward sighed.

"I think I see a way to make this work out – because you know this, Bella! I can't tell you, but if you guessed it! That would let me right off the hook!"

"You want me to guess? Guess what?"

"My secret! You can do it – you know the answer!"

"And she's highly intelligent," Esme said.

"Yeah, she'll have it figured out in no time," Emmett smiled.

"She's dead on her feet," Alice reminded them. "It might take her a little longer."