Ett "klipp" ur Twilight

Kapitel 9: THEORY

Edward har precis bjudit Bella på mat och de sitter i hans bil på väg hem från restaurangen. Bella ställer frågor till Edward efter att han uppmanat henne att berätta om sin teori om vad han är.

"Were you hunting this weekend, with Emmett?" I asked when it was quiet again.
"Yes." He paused for a second, as if deciding wether to not say something. "I didn´t want to leave, but is was necessary. It´s a bit easier to be around you when I´m not thirsty."
"Why didn´t you want to leave?"
"It makes me... anxious... to be away from you."
His eyes were gentle but intense, and they seemed to be making my bones turn soft.
"I wasn´t joking when I asked you to try not to fall in the ocean or get run over last Thursday. I was distracted all weekend, worrying about you. And after what happened tonight, I´m surprised that you did make it through a whole weekend unscathed."
He shook his head, and then seemed to remember something.
"Well, not totally unscathed."
"What?"
"Your hands," he reminded me. I looked down at my palms, at the almost-healed scrapes across the heels of my hands. His eyes missed nothing.
"I fell," I sighed.
"That´s what I thought." His lips curved up at the corners.
"I suppose, being you, it could have been much worse - and that possibility tormented me the entire time I was away. It was a very long three days. I really got on Emmett´s nervs."

He smiled ruefully at me.
"Three days? Didn´t you just get back today?"
"No, we got back Sunday."
"Then why weren´t any of you in school?" I was frustrated, almost angry as I thought of how much disappointment I had suffered because of his absence.
"Well, you asked if the sun hurt me, and it doesen´t. But I can´t go out in the sunlight - at least, not where anyone can see me.
"Why?"
"I´ll show you sometime," he promised.
I thought about it for a moment.
"You might have called me," I decided.
He was puzzled. "But I knew you were safe."
"But I didn´t know where you were. I - " I hesitated, dropping my eyes.
"What?" His velvet voice was compelling.
"I didn´t like it. Not seeing you. It makes me anxious, too." I blushed to be saying this out loud.

He was quiet. I glanced up, apprehensive, and saw that his expression was pained.
"Ah," he groaned quietly. "This is wrong."
I couldn´t understand his response.
"What did you say?"
"Dont you see, Bella? It´s one thing for me to make myself miserable, but a wholly other thing for you to be so involved."
He turned his anguished eyes to the road, his words flowing almost too fast for me to understand.
"I don´t want to hear that you feel that way." His voice was low but urgent. His words cut me. "It´s wrong. It´s not safe. I´m dangerous, Bella - please, grasp that."
"No," I tried very hard not to look lika a sulky child.
"I´m serious," he growled.
"So am I. I told you, it doesen´t matter what you are. It´s too late."
His voice whipped out, low and harsh. "Never say that."
I bit my lip and was glad he coulden´t know how much that hurt. I stared out at the road. We must be close now. He was driving much to fast.

"What are you thinking?" he asked, his voice still raw. I just shook my head, not sure if I could speak. I could feel his gaze on my face, but I kept my eyes forward.
"Are you crying?" He sounded appalled. I hadn´t realized tha moisture in my eyes had brimmed over. I quickly rubbed my hand across my cheek, and sure enough, traitor tears were there, betraying me.
"No," I said, but my voice ckracked.
I saw him reach toward me heasitantly with his right hand, but then he stopped and placed it slowly back on the steering wheel.
"I´m sorry." His voice burned with regret. I knew he wasn´t just apologizing for the words that had upset me.