 

Three quick raps on the door saved me. Charlie rolled his eyes and I jumped up. 

"Coming!" I called while Charlie mumbled something that sounded like, "Go away." I 
ignored him and went to let Edward in. 

I wrenched the door out of my way - ridiculously eager - and there he was, my personal 
miracle. 

Time had not made me immune to the perfection of his face, and I was sure that I would 
never take any aspect of him for granted. My eyes traced over his pale white features: the 
hard square of his jaw, the softer curve of his full lips - twisted up into a smile now, the 
straight line of his nose, the sharp angle of his cheekbones, the smooth marble span of his 
forehead - partially obscured by a tangle of rain-darkened bronze hair. . . . 

I saved his eyes for last, knowing that when I looked into them I was likely to lose my train 
of thought. They were wide, warm with liquid gold, and framed by a thick fringe of black 
lashes. Staring into his eyes always made me feel extraordinary - sort of like my bones were 
turning spongy. I was also a little lightheaded, but that could have been because I'd forgotten 
to keep breathing. Again. 

It was a face any male model in the world would trade his soul for. Of course, that might be 
exactly the asking price: one soul. 

 

No. I didn't believe that. I felt guilty for even thinking it, and was glad - as I was often glad - 
that I was the one person whose thoughts were a mystery to Edward. 

I reached for his hand, and sighed when his cold fingers found mine. His touch brought with 
it the strangest sense of relief - as if I'd been in pain and that pain had suddenly ceased. 

"Hey." I smiled a little at my anticlimactic greeting. 

He raised our interlaced fingers to brush my cheek with the back of his hand. "How was your 
afternoon?" 

"Slow." 

"For me, as well." 

He pulled my wrist up to his face, our hands still twisted together. His eyes closed as his nose 
skimmed along the skin there, and he smiled gently without opening them. Enjoying the 
bouquet while resisting the wine, as he'd once put it. 

I knew that the scent of my blood - so much sweeter to him than any other person's blood, 
truly like wine beside water to an alcoholic - caused him actual pain from the burning thirst it 
engendered. But he didn't seem to shy away from it as much as he once had. I could only 
dimly imagine the Herculean effort behind this simple gesture. 

It made me sad that he had to try so hard. I comforted myself with the knowledge that I 
wouldn't be causing him pain much longer. 

I heard Charlie approaching then, stamping his feet on the way to express his customary 
displeasure with our guest. Edward's eyes snapped open and he let our hands fall, keeping 
them twined. 

"Good evening, Charlie." Edward was always flawlessly polite, though Charlie didn't deserve 
it. 

Charlie grunted at him, and then stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. He was 
taking the idea of parental supervision to extremes lately. 

"I brought another set of applications," Edward told me then, holding up a stuffed manila 
envelope. He was wearing a roll of stamps like a ring around his littlest finger. 

I groaned. How were there any colleges left that he hadn't forced me to apply to already? 
And how did he keep finding these loophole openings? It was so late in the year. 

He smiled as if he could read my thoughts; they must have been very obvious on my face. 
"There are still a few open deadlines. And a few places willing to make exceptions." 

I could just imagine the motivations behind such exceptions. And the dollar amounts 

 

involved. 

Edward laughed at my expression. 

"Shall we?" he asked, towing me toward the kitchen table. 

Charlie huffed and followed behind, though he could hardly complain about the activity on 
tonight's agenda. He'd been pestering me to make a decision about college on a daily basis. 

I cleared the table quickly while Edward organized an intimidating stack of forms. When I 
moved Wuthering Heights to the counter, Edward raised one eyebrow. I knew what he was 
thinking, but Charlie interrupted before Edward could comment. 

"Speaking of college applications, Edward," Charlie said, his tone even more sullen - he tried 
to avoid addressing Edward directly, and when he had to, it exacerbated his bad mood. 
"Bella and I were just talking about next year. Have you decided where you're going to 
school?" 

Edward smiled up at Charlie and his voice was friendly. "Not yet. I've received a few 
acceptance letters, but I'm still weighing my options." 

"Where have you been accepted?" Charlie pressed. 

"Syracuse . . . Harvard . . . Dartmouth . . . and I just got accepted to the University of Alaska 
Southeast today." Edward turned his face slightly to the side so that he could wink at me. I 
stifled a giggle. 

"Harvard? Dartmouth?" Charlie mumbled, unable to conceal his awe. "Well that's pretty . . . 
that's something. Yeah, but the University of Alaska . . . you wouldn't really consider that 
when you could go Ivy League. I mean, your father would want you to . . ." 

"Carlisle's always fine with whatever I choose to do," Edward told him serenely. 

"Hmph." 

"Guess what, Edward?" I asked in a bright voice, playing along. 

"What, Bella?" 

I pointed to the thick envelope on the counter. "I just gotmy acceptance to the University of 
Alaska!" 

"Congratulations!" He grinned. "What a coincidence." 

Charlie's eyes narrowed and he glared back and forth between the two of us. "Fine," he 
muttered after a minute. "I'm going to go watch the game, Bella. Nine-thirty." 

That was his usual parting command. 

 

"Er, Dad? Remember the very recent discussion about my freedom . . . ?" 

He sighed. "Right. Okay, ten -thirty. You still have a curfew on school nights." 

"Bella's no longer grounded?" Edward asked. Though I knew he wasn't really surprised, I 
couldn't detect any false note to the sudden excitement in his voice. 

"Conditionally," Charlie corrected through his teeth. "What's it to you?" 

I frowned at my dad, but he didn't see. 

"It's just good to know," Edward said. "Alice has been itching for a shopping partner, and I'm 
sure Bella would love to see some city lights." He smiled at me. 

But Charlie growled, "No!" and his face flushed purple. 

"Dad! What's the problem?" 

He made an effort to unclench his teeth. "I don't want you going to Seattle right now." 

"Huh?" 

"I told you about that story in the paper - there's some kind of gang on a killing spree in 
Seattle and I want you to steer clear, okay?" 

I rolled my eyes. "Dad, there's a better chance that I'll get struck by lightning than that the 
one day I'm in Seattle -" 

"No, that's fine, Charlie," Edward said, interrupting me. "I didn't mean Seattle. I was 
thinking Portland, actually. I wouldn't have Bella in Seattle, either. Of course not." 

I looked at him in disbelief, but he had Charlie's newspaper in his hands and he was reading 
the front page intently. 

He must have been trying to appease my father. The idea of being in danger from even the 
most deadly of humans while I was with Alice or Edward was downright hilarious. 

It worked. Charlie stared at Edward for one second more, and then shrugged. "Fine." He 
stalked off toward the living room, in a bit of a hurry now - maybe he didn't want to miss 
tip-off. 

I waited till the TV was on, so that Charlie wouldn't be able to hear me. 

"What -," I started to ask. 

"Hold on," Edward said without looking up from the paper. His eyes stayed focused on the 
page as he pushed the first application toward me across the table. "I think you can recycle 
your essays for this one. Same questions." 

 

Charlie must still be listening. I sighed and started to fill out the repetitive information: name, 
address, social. . . . After a few minutes I glanced up, but Edward was now staring pensively 
out the window. As I bent my head back to my work, I noticed for the first time the name of 
the school. 

I snorted and shoved the papers aside. 

"Bella?" 

"Be serious, Edward. Dartmouth ?" 

Edward lifted the discarded application and laid it gently in front of me again. "I think you'd 
like New Hampshire," he said. "There's a full complement of night courses for me, and the 
forests are very conveniently located for the avid hiker. Plentiful wildlife." He pulled out the 
crooked smile he knew I couldn't resist. 

I took a deep breath through my nose. 

"I'll let you pay me back, if that makes you happy," he promised. "If you want, I can charge 
you interest." 

"Like I could even get in without some enormous bribe. Or was that part of the loan? The 
new Cullen wing of the library? Ugh. Why are we having this discussion again?" 

"Will you just fill out the application, please, Bella? It won't hurt you to apply." 

My jaw flexed. "You know what? I don't think I will." 

I reached for the papers, planning to crumple them into a suitable shape for lobbing at the 
trashcan, but they were already gone. I stared at the empty table for a moment, and then at 
Edward. He didn't appear to have moved, but the application was probably already tucked 
away in his jacket. 

"What are you doing?" I demanded. 

"I sign your name better than you do yourself. You've already written the essays." 

"You're going way overboard with this, you know." I whispered on the off chance that 
Charlie wasn't completely lost in his game. "I really don't need to apply anywhere else. I've 
been accepted in Alaska. I can almost afford the first semester's tuition. It's as good an alibi 
as any. There's no need to throw away a bunch of money, no matter whose it is." 

A pained looked tightened his face. "Bella -" 

"Don't start. I agree that I need to go through th