such a rare state in our world-the right thing to do would have gone something like this:
<"I'm surprised to see you in class, Edward. I heard you were involved in that awful accident this
morning."
"Yes, I was, Mr. Banner, but I was the lucky one." A friendly smile. "I didn't get hurt at all... I wish I could
say the same for Tyler and Bella."
"How are they?"
"I think Tyler is fine...just some superficial scrapes from the windshield glass. I'm not sure about Bella,
though." A worried frown. "She might have a concussion. I heard she was pretty incoherent for a whileseeing
things even. I know the doctors were worried..." >
That's how it should have gone. That's what I owed my family.
"I'm surprised to see you in class, Edward. I heard you were involved in that awful accident this
morning."
"I wasn't hurt." No smile.
Mr. Banner shifted his weight from foot to foot, uncomfortable. "Do you have any idea how Tyler
Crowley and Bella Swan are? I heard there were some injuries..."
I shrugged. "I wouldn't know."
Mr. Banner cleared his throat. "Er, right..." he said, my cold stare making his voice sound a bit strained.
He walked quickly back to the front of classroom and began his lecture.
It was the wrong thing to do. Unless you looked at it from a more obscure point of view. It just seemed
so...so unchivalrous to slander the girl behind her back, especially when she was proving more
trustworthy than I could have dreamed. She hadn't said anything to betray me, despite having good
reason to do so. Would I betray her when she had done nothing but keep my secret?
I had a nearly identical conversation with Mrs. Goff-just in Spanish rather than in English-and Emmett
gave me a long look.
I hope you have a good explanation for what happened today. Rose is on the warpath.
I rolled my eyes without looking at him.
I actually had come up with a perfectly sound explanation. Just suppose I hadn't done anything to stop
the van from crushing the girl... I recoiled from that thought. But if she had been hit, if she'd been
mangled and bleeding, the red fluid spilling, wasting on the blacktop, the scent of the fresh blood
pulsing through the air ...
I shuddered again, but not just in horror. Part of me shivered in desire. No, I would not have been able
to watch her bleed without exposing us all in a much more flagrant and shocking way.
It was a perfectly sound excuse...but I wouldn't use it. It was too shameful. And I hadn't thought of it
until long after the fact, regardless.
Look out for Jasper, Emmett went on, oblivious to my reverie. He's not as angry...but he's more
resolved.
I saw what he meant, and for a moment the room swam around me. My rage was so all-consuming that
a red haze clouded my vision. I thought I would choke on it.
SHEESH, EDWARD! GET A GRIP! Emmett shouted at me in his head. His hand came down on my
shoulder, holding me in my seat before I could jump to my feet.
He rarely used his full strength -there was rarely a need, for he was so much stronger than any vampire
any of us had ever encountered-but he used it now. He gripped my arm, rather than pushing me down.
If he'd been pushing, the chair under me would have collapsed.
EASY! He ordered.
I tried to calm myself, but it was hard. The rage burned in my head.
Jasper's not going to do anything until we all talk. I just thought you should know the direction he's
headed.
I concentrated on relaxing, and I felt Emmett's hand loosen.
Try not to make more of a spectacle of yourself. You're in enough trouble as it is.
I took a deep breath and Emmett released me.
I searched around the room routinely, but our confrontation had been so short and silent that only a
few people sitting behind Emmett had even noticed. None of them knew what to make of it, and they
shrugged it off. The Cullens were freaks-everyone knew that already.
Damn, kid, you're a mess, Emmett added, sympathy in his tone.
"Bite me," I muttered under my breath, and I heard his low chuckle.
Emmett didn't hold grudges, and I probably ought to be more grateful for his easy going nature. But I
could see that Jasper's intentions made sense to Emmett, that he was considering how it might be the
best course of action.
The rage simmered, barely under control. Yes, Emmett was stronger than I was, but he'd yet to beat me
in a wrestling match. He claimed that this was because I cheated, but hearing thoughts was just as much
a part of who I was as his immense strength was a part of him. We were evenly matched in a fight.
A fight? Was that where this was headed? Was I going to fight with my family over a human I barely
knew?
I thought about that for a moment, thought about the fragile feel of the girl's body in my arms in
juxtaposition with Jasper, Rose, and Emmett-supernaturally strong and fast, killing machines by nature...
Yes, I would fight for her. Against my family. I shuddered. But it wasn't fair to leave her undefended