as well; the recent growth spurt had left him looking gangly and
uncoordinated, he was probably no better a dancer than I was.
"So, how did you end up here tonight?" I asked without true curiosity.
Considering Edward's reaction, I could guess.
"Can you believe my dad paid me twenty bucks to come to your prom?" he
admitted, slightly ashamed.
"Yes, I can," I muttered. "Well, I hope you're enjoying yourself, at
least. Seen anything you like?" I teased, nodding toward a group of girls
lined up against the wall like pastel confections.
"Yeah," he sighed. "But she's taken."
He glanced down to meet my curious gaze for just a second — then we both
looked away, embarrassed.
"You look really pretty, by the way," he added shyly.
"Um, thanks. So why did Billy pay you to come here?" I asked quickly,
though I knew the answer.
Jacob didn't seem grateful for the subject change; he looked away,
uncomfortable again. "He said it was a 'safe' place to talk to you. I
swear the old man is losing his mind."
I joined in his laughter weakly.
"Anyway, he said that if I told you something, he would get me that
master cylinder I need," he confessed with a sheepish grin.
"Tell me, then. I want you to get your car finished." I grinned back. At
least Jacob didn't believe any of this. It made the situation a bit
easier. Against the wall, Edward was watching my face, his own face
expressionless. I saw a sophomore in a pink dress eyeing him with timid
speculation, but he didn't seem to be aware of her.
Jacob looked away again, ashamed. "Don't get mad, okay?"
"There's no way I'll be mad at you, Jacob," I assured him. "I won't even
be mad at Billy. Just say what you have to."
"Well — this is so stupid, I'm sorry, Bella — he wants you to break up
with your boyfriend. He asked me to tell you 'please.'" He shook his head
in disgust.
"He's still superstitious, eh?"
"Yeah. He was… kind of over the top when you got hurt down in Phoenix. He
didn't believe…"Jacob trailed off self-consciously.
My eyes narrowed. "I fell."
"I know that," Jacob said quickly.
"He thinks Edward had something to do with me getting hurt." It wasn't a
question, and despite my promise, I was angry.
Jacob wouldn't meet my eyes. We weren't even bothering to sway to the
music, though his hands were still on my waist, and mine around his neck.
"Look, Jacob, I know Billy probably won't believe this, but just so you
know" — he looked at me now, responding to the new earnestness in my
voice — "Edward really did save my life. If it weren't for Edward and his
father, I'd be dead."
"I know," he claimed, but he sounded like my sincere words had affected
him some. Maybe he'd be able to convince Billy of this much, at least.
"Hey, I'm sorry you had to come do this, Jacob," I apologized. "At any
rate, you get your parts, right?"
"Yeah," he muttered. He was still looking awkward… upset.
"There's more?" I asked in disbelief.
"Forget it," he mumbled, "I'll get a job and save the money myself."
I glared at him until he met my gaze. "Just spit it out, Jacob."
"It's so bad."
"I don't care. Tell me," I insisted.
"Okay… but, geez, this sounds bad." He shook his head. "He said to tell
you, no, to warn you, that — and this is his plural, not mine" — he
lifted one hand from my waist and made little quotations marks in the air
— '"We'll be watching.'" He watched warily for my reaction.
It sounded like something from a mafia movie. I laughed out loud.
"Sorry you had to do this, Jake," I snickered.
"I don't mind that much." He grinned in relief. His eyes were appraising
as they raked quickly over my dress. "So, should I tell him you said to
butt the hell out?" he asked hopefully.
"No," I sighed. "Tell him I said thanks. I know he means well."
The song ended, and I dropped my arms.
His hands hesitated at my waist, and he glanced at my bum leg. "Do you
want to dance again? Or can I help you get somewhere?"
Edward answered for me. "That's all right, Jacob. I'll take it from here."
Jacob flinched, and stared wide-eyed at Edward, who stood just beside us.
"Hey, I didn't see you there," he mumbled. "I guess I'll see you around,
Bella." He stepped back, waving halfheartedly.
I smiled. "Yeah, I'll see you later."
"Sorry," he said again before he turned for the door.
Edward's arms wound around me as the next song started. It was a little
up-tempo for slow dancing, but that didn't seem to concern him. I leaned
my head against his chest, content.
"Feeling better?" I teased.
"Not really," he said tersely.
"Don't be mad at Billy," I sighed. "He just worries about me for
Charlie's sake. It's nothing personal."
"I'm not mad at Billy," he corrected in a clipped voice. "But his son is
irritating me."
I pulled back to look at him. His face was very serious.
"Why?"
"First of all, he made me break my promise."
I stared at him in confusion.
He half-smiled. "I promised I wouldn't let go of you tonight," he
explained.
"Oh. Well, I forgive you."
"Thanks. But there's something else." Edward frowned.
I waited patiently.
"He called you pretty," he finally continued, his frown deepening.
"That's practically an insult, the way you look right now. You're much
more than beautiful."
I laughed. "You might be a little biased."
"I don't think that's it. Besides, I have excellent eyesight."
We were twirling again, my feet on his as he held me close.
"So are you going to explain the reason for all of this?" I wondered.
He looked down at me, confused, and I glared meaningfully at the crepe
paper.
He considered for a moment, and then changed direction, spinning me
through the crowd to the back door of the gym. I caught a glimpse of
Jessica and Mike dancing, staring at me curiously. Jessica waved, and I
smiled back quickly. Angela was there, too, looking blissfully happy in
the arms of little Ben Cheney; she didn't look up from his eyes, a head
lower than hers. Lee and Samantha, Lauren, glaring toward us, with
Conner; I could name every face that spiraled past me. And then we were
outdoors, in the cool, dim light of a fading sunset.
As soon as we were alone, he swung me up into his arms, and carried me
across the dark grounds till he reached the bench beneath the shadow of
the madrone trees. He sat there, keeping me cradled against his chest.
The moon was already up, visible through the gauzy clouds, and his face
glowed pale in the white light. His mouth was hard, his eyes troubled.
"The point?" I prompted softly.
He ignored me, staring up at the moon.
"Twilight, again," he murmured. "Another ending. No matter how perfect
the day is, it always has to end."
"Some things don't have to end," I muttered through my teeth, instantly
tense.
He sighed.
"I brought you to the prom," he said slowly, finally answering my
question, "because I don't want you to miss anything. I don't want my
presence to take anything away from you, if I can help it. I want you to
be human. I want your life to continue as it would have if I'd died in
nineteen-eighteen like I should have."
I shuddered at his words, and then shook my head angrily. "In what
strange parallel dimension would I ever have gone to prom of my own free
will? If you weren't a thousand times stronger than me, I would never
have let you get away with this."
He smiled briefly, but it didn't touch his eyes. "It wasn't so bad, you
said so yourself."
"That's because I was with you."
We were quiet for a minute; he stared at the moon and I stared at him. I
wished there was some way to explain how very uninterested I was in a
normal human life.
"Will you tell me something?" he asked, glancing down at me with a slight
smile.
"Don't I always?"
"Just promise you'll tell me," he insisted, grinning.
I knew I was going to regret this almost instantly. "Fine."
"You seemed honestly surprised when you figured out that I was taking you
here," he began.
"I was," I interjected.
"Exactly," he agreed. "But you must have had some other theory… I'm
curious — what did you think I was dressing you up for?"
Yes, instant regret. I pursed my lips, hesitating. "I don't want to tell
you."
"You promised," he objected.
"I know."
"What's the problem?"
I knew he thought it was mere embarrassment holding me back. "I think it
will make you mad — or sad."
His brows pulled together over his eyes as he thought that through. "I
still want to know. Please?"
I sighed. He waited.
"Well… I assumed it was some kind of… occasion. But I didn't think it
would be some trite human thing… prom!" I scoffed.
"Human?" he asked flatly. He'd picked up on the key word.
I looked down at my dress, fidgeting with a stray piece of chiffon. He
waited in silence.
"Okay," I confessed in a rush. "So I was hoping that you might have
changed your mind… that you were going to change me, after all."
A dozen emotions played across his face. Some I recognized: anger… pain…
and then he seemed to collect himself and his expression became amused.
"You thought that would be a black tie occasion, did you?" he teased,
touching the lapel of his tuxedo jacket.
I scowled to hide my embarrassment. "I don't know how these things work.
To me, at least, it seems more rational than prom does." He was still
grinning. "It's not funny," I said.
"No, you're right, it's not," he agreed, his smile fading. "I'd rather
treat it like a joke, though, than believe you're serious."
"But I am serious."
He sighed deeply. "I know. And you're really that willing?"
The pain was back in his eyes. I bit my lip and nodded.
"So ready for this to be the end," he murmured, almost to himself, "for
this to be the twilight of your life, though your life has barely
started. You're ready to give up everything."
"It's not the end, it's the beginning," I disagreed under my breath.
"I'm not worth it," he said sadly.
"Do you remember when you told me that I didn't see myself very clearly?"
I asked, raising my eyebrows. "You obviously have the same blindness."
"I know what I am."
I sighed.
But his mercurial mood shifted on me. He pursed his lips, and his eyes
were probing. He examined my face for a long moment.
"You're ready now, then?" he asked.
"Um." I gulped. "Yes?"
He smiled, and inclined his head slowly until his cold lips brushed
against the skin just under the corner of my jaw.
"Right now?" he whispered, his breath blowing cool on my neck. I shivered
involuntarily.
"Yes," I whispered, so my voice wouldn't have a chance to break. If he
thought I was bluffing, he was going to be disappointed. I'd already made
this decision, and I was sure. It didn't matter that my body was rigid as
a plank, my hands balled into fists, my breathing erratic…
He chuckled darkly, and leaned away. His face did look disappointed.
"You can't really believe that I would give in so easily," he said with a
sour edge to his mocking tone.
"A girl can dream."
His eyebrows rose. "Is that what you dream about? Being a monster?"
"Not exactly," I said, frowning at his word choice. Monster, indeed.
"Mostly I dream about being with you forever."
His expression changed, softened and saddened by the subtle ache in my
voice.
"Bella." His fingers lightly traced the shape of my lips. "I will stay
with you — isn't that enough?"
I smiled under his fingertips. "Enough for now."
He frowned at my tenacity. No one was going to surrender tonight. He
exhaled, and the sound was practically a growl.
I touched his face. "Look," I said. "I love you more than everything else
in the world combined. Isn't that enough?"
"Yes, it is enough," he answered, smiling. "Enough for forever."
And he leaned down to press his cold lips once more to my throat.
===========================================================================
Acknowledgments
A huge thank you to:
my parents, Steve and Candy,
for a lifetime of love and support,S
for reading great books to me when I was young,
and for still holding my hand through the
things that make me nervous;
my husband, Pancho, and my sons, Gabe, Seth, and Eli,
for sharing me so often with my imaginary friends;
my friends at Writers House,
Genevieve Gagne-Hawes, for giving me that first chance,
and my agent Jodi Reamer, for turning the most
unlikely dreams into realities;
my editor Megan Tingley, for all her help in
