Itriedveryhardnottobeawareofhimfortherestofthehour,and,sincethatwasimpossible,atleastnottolethimknowthatIwasawareofhim.Whenthebellrangatlast,Iturnedmybacktohimtogathermythings,expectinghimtoleaveimmediatelyasusual. "Bella?"Hisvoiceshouldn'thavebeensofamiliartome,asifI'dknownthesoundofitallmyliferatherthanforjustafewshortweeks. Iturnedslowly,unwillingly.Ididn'twanttofeelwhatIknewIwouldfeelwhenIlookedathistoo-perfectface.MyexpressionwaswarywhenIfinallyturnedtohim;hisexpressionwasunreadable.Hedidn'tsayanything. "What?Areyouspeakingtomeagain?"Ifinallyasked,anunintentionalnoteofpetulanceinmyvoice. Hislipstwitched,fightingasmile. "No,notreally,"headmitted. Iclosedmyeyesandinhaledslowlythroughmynose,awarethatIwasgrittingmyteeth.Hewaited. "Thenwhatdoyouwant,Edward?"Iasked,keepingmyeyesclosed;itwaseasiertotalktohimcoherentlythatway. "I'msorry."Hesoundedsincere. "I'mbeingveryrude,Iknow.Butit'sbetterthisway,really." Iopenedmyeyes.Hisfacewasveryserious. "Idon'tknowwhatyoumean,"Isaid,myvoiceguarded. "It'sbetterifwe'renotfriends,"heexplained. "Trustme." Myeyesnarrowed.I'dheardthatbefore. "It'stoobadyoudidn'tfigurethatoutearlier,"Ihissedthroughmyteeth. "Youcouldhavesavedyourselfallthisregret." "Regret?"Theword,andmytone,obviouslycaughthimoffguard. "Regretforwhat?" "Fornotjustlettingthatstupidvansquishme." Hewasastonished.Hestaredatmeindisbelief. Whenhefinallyspoke,healmostsoundedmad. "YouthinkIregretsavingyourlife?" "Iknowyoudo,"Isnapped. "Youdon'tknowanything."Hewasdefinitelymad. Iturnedmyheadsharplyawayfromhim,clenchingmyjawagainstallthewildaccusationsIwantedtohurlathim.Igatheredmybookstogether,thenstoodandwalkedtothedoor.Imeanttosweepdramaticallyoutoftheroom,butofcourseIcaughtthetoeofmybootonthedoorjambanddroppedmybooks.Istoodthereforamoment,thinkingaboutleavingthem.ThenIsighedandbenttopickthemup.Hewasthere;he'dalreadystackedthemintoapile.Hehandedthemtome,hisfacehard. "Thankyou,"Isaidicily. Hiseyesnarrowed. "You'rewelcome,"heretorted. Istraightenedupswiftly,turnedawayfromhimagain,andstalkedofftoGymwithoutlookingback. Gymwasbrutal.We'dmovedontobasketball.Myteamneverpassedmetheball,sothatwasgood,butIfelldownalot.SometimesItookpeoplewithme.TodayIwasworsethanusualbecausemyheadwassofilledwithEdward.Itriedtoconcentrateonmyfeet,buthekeptcreepingbackintomythoughtsjustwhenIreallyneededmybalance. Itwasarelief,asalways,toleave.Ialmostrantothetruck;therewerejustsomanypeopleIwantedtoavoid.Thetruckhadsufferedonlyminimaldamageintheaccident.I'dhadtoreplacethetaillights,andifI'dhadarealpaintjob,Iwouldhavetouchedthatup.Tyler'sparentshadtoselltheirvanforparts. IalmosthadastrokewhenIroundedthecornerandsawatall,darkfigureleaningagainstthesideofmytruck.ThenIrealizeditwasjustEric.Istartedwalkingagain. "Hey,Eric,"Icalled. "Hi,Bella." "What'sup?"IsaidasIwasunlockingthedoor.Iwasn'tpayingattentiontotheuncomfortableedgeinhisvoice,sohisnextwordstookmebysurprise. "Uh,Iwasjustwondering…ifyouwouldgotothespringdancewithme?"Hisvoicebrokeonthelastword. "Ithoughtitwasgirls'choice,"Isaid,toostartledtobediplomatic. "Well,yeah,"headmitted,shamefaced. Irecoveredmycomposureandtriedtomakemysmilewarm. "Thankyouforaskingme,butI'mgoingtobeinSeattlethatday." "Oh,"hesaid. "Well,maybenexttime." "Sure,"Iagreed,andthenbitmylip.Iwouldn'twanthimtotakethattooliterally. Heslouchedoff,backtowardtheschool.Iheardalowchuckle. Edwardwaswalkingpastthefrontofmytruck,lookingstraightforward,hislipspressedtogether.Iyankedthedooropenandjumpedinside,slammingitloudlybehindme.Irevvedtheenginedeafeninglyandreversedoutintotheaisle.Edwardwasinhiscaralready,twospacesdown,slidingoutsmoothlyinfrontofme,cuttingmeoff.Hestoppedthere—towaitforhisfamily;Icouldseethefourofthemwalkingthisway,butstillbythecafeteria.IconsideredtakingouttherearofhisshinyVolvo,butthereweretoomanywitnesses.Ilookedinmyrearviewmirror.Alinewasbeginningtoform.Directlybehindme,TylerCrowleywasinhisrecentlyacquiredusedSentra,waving.Iwastooaggravatedtoacknowledgehim.