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I’D NEVER GIVEN MUCH THOUGHT TO HOW I WOULD DIE
Surely it was a good way to die, in the place of someone else, someone I loved.
When life offers you a dream so far beyond any of your expectations, it’s not reasonable to grieve when it comes to an end.
a small town named Forks exists under a near-constant cover of clouds.
No one was going to bite me. I finally exhaled and stepped out of the truck.
was there, sitting in the lunchroom, trying to make conversation with seven curious strangers, that I first saw them.
“That’s Edward. He’s gorgeous, of course, but don’t waste your time. He doesn’t date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him.”
dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was.
Edward Cullen didn’t come back to school.
“Edward Cullen is staring at you,”
I looked up to see him smiling a crooked smile so beautiful that I could only stare at him like an idiot.
If I was being honest with myself, I knew I was eager to get to school because I would see Edward Cullen. And that was very, very stupid.
But more clearly than all the yelling, I could hear Edward Cullen’s low, frantic voice in my ear.
“No.” I set my jaw. The gold in his eyes blazed. “Please, Bella.” “Why?” I demanded. “Trust me,” he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.
That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.
one else was as aware of Edward as I always was. No one else watched him the way I did. How pitiful.
His voice shouldn’t have been so familiar to me, as if I’d known the sound of it all my life rather than for just a few short weeks.
“Appear out of thin air.” “Bella, it’s not my fault if you are exceptionally unobservant.”
“But I’m tired of trying to stay away from you, Bella.”
“You really should stay away from me,” he warned.
“I decided as long as I was going to hell, I might as well do it thoroughly.”
“I think your friends are angry with me for stealing you.” “They’ll survive.” I could feel their stares boring into my back. “I may not give you back, though,”
amazing how instantaneously the choking fear vanished, amazing how suddenly the feeling of security washed over me—even before I was off the street—as soon as I heard his voice.
“Distract me, please,” he ordered.
“Do I dazzle you?” “Frequently,” I admitted.
“I hear voices in my mind and you’re worried that you’re the freak,” he laughed.
“Why didn’t you want to leave?” “It makes me… anxious… to be away from you.” His eyes were gentle but intense,
his pale, glorious face just inches from mine. My heart stopped beating.
About three things I was absolutely positive. First, Edward was a vampire. Second, there was part of him—and I didn’t know how potent that part might be—that thirsted for my blood. And third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.
He grinned his crooked smile at me, stopping my breath and my heart.
Everything about me invites you in—
“As if you could outrun me,”
“As if you could fight me off,”
But don’t worry. I’m essentially a selfish creature. I crave your company too much to do what I should.”
He smiled swiftly, seeming to appreciate my effort. “Yes, you are exactly my brand of heroin.”
“Bella, I couldn’t live with myself if I ever hurt you. You don’t know how it’s tortured me.”
“You are the most important thing to me now. The most important thing to me ever.”
“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…,” he murmured. I looked away, hiding my eyes as I thrilled to the word. “What a stupid lamb,” I sighed. “What a sick, masochistic lion.”
“The blush on your cheeks is lovely,” he murmured.
“Drunk?” I objected. “You’re intoxicated by my very presence.” He was grinning that playful smirk again.
“Can I have a minute to be human?” I asked.
“Stay,” I said, trying to look severe. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Don’t go away, then,” I responded, unable to hide the longing in my voice. “That suits me,” he replied, his face relaxing into a gentle smile. “Bring on the shackles—I’m your prisoner.”
beauty, Rosalie—was meant for you. Emmett or no Emmett, how can I compete with that?” “There’s no competition.”
“You left?” I accused, touching the collar of his fresh shirt. “I could hardly leave in the clothes I came in—what would the neighbors think?”
“I love you,” I whispered. “You are my life now,” he answered simply.
I sat my food on the table, and then paused. “Can I get you anything?” I asked, not wanting to be rude. He rolled his eyes. “Just eat, Bella.”
“Will you be?” I asked, suddenly anxious. “Will you really be here?” “As long as you want me,” he assured me. “I’ll always want you,” I warned him. “Forever.”
“And you’re worried, not because you’re headed to meet a houseful of vampires, but because you think those vampires won’t approve of you, correct?” “That’s right,”
He shook his head. “You’re incredible.”
