Breaking Dawn

I closed mine and let the bait sit there. I yawned.

It took only a minute—not long enough for me to zonk out.

“All right. What is it you want?”

I gritted my teeth for a second, fighting a smile. If there was one thing he couldn’t resist, it was an opportunity to give me something.

“Well, I was thinking… I know that the whole Dartmouth thing was just supposed to be a cover story, but honestly, one semester of college probably wouldn’t kill me,” I said, echoing his words from long ago, when he’d tried to persuade me to put off becoming a vampire. “Charlie would get a thrill out of Dartmouth stories, I bet. Sure, it might be embarrassing if I can’t keep up with all the brainiacs. Still… eighteen, nineteen. It’s really not such a big difference. It’s not like I’m going to get crow’s feet in the next year.”

He was silent for a long moment. Then, in a low voice, he said, “You would wait. You would stay human.”

I held my tongue, letting the offer sink in.

“Why are you doing this to me?” he said through his teeth, his tone suddenly angry. “Isn’t it hard enough without all of this?” He grabbed a handful of lace that was ruffled on my thigh. For a moment, I thought he was going to rip it from the seam. Then his hand relaxed. “It doesn’t matter. I won’t make any deals with you.”

“I want to go to college.”

“No, you don’t. And there is nothing that is worth risking your life again. That’s worth hurting you.”

“But I do want to go. Well, it’s not college as much as it’s that I want—I want to be human a little while longer.”

He closed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. “You are making me insane, Bella. Haven’t we had this argument a million times, you always begging to be a vampire without delay?”

“Yes, but… well, I have a reason to be human that I didn’t have before.”

“What’s that?”

“Guess,” I said, and I dragged myself off the pillows to kiss him.

He kissed me back, but not in a way that made me think I was winning. It was more like he was being careful not to hurt my feelings; he was completely, maddeningly in control of himself. Gently, he pulled me away after a moment and cradled me against his chest.

“You are so human, Bella. Ruled by your hormones.” He chuckled.

“That’s the whole point, Edward. I like this part of being human. I don’t want to give it up yet. I don’t want to wait through years of being a blood-crazed newborn for some part of this to come back to me.”

I yawned, and he smiled.

“You’re tired. Sleep, love.” He started humming the lullaby he’d composed for me when we first met.

“I wonder why I’m so tired,” I muttered sarcastically. “That couldn’t be part of your scheme or anything.”

He just chuckled once and went back to humming.

“For as tired as I’ve been, you’d think I’d sleep better.”

The song broke off. “You’ve been sleeping like the dead, Bella. You haven’t said a word in your sleep since we got here. If it weren’t for the snoring, I’d worry you were slipping into a coma.”

I ignored the snoring jibe; I didn’t snore. “I haven’t been tossing? That’s weird. Usually I’m all over the bed when I’m having nightmares. And shouting.”

“You’ve been having nightmares?”

“Vivid ones. They make me so tired.” I yawned. “I can’t believe I haven’t been babbling about them all night.”

“What are they about?”

“Different things—but the same, you know, because of the colors.”

“Colors?”

“It’s all so bright and real. Usually, when I’m dreaming, I know that I am. With these, I don’t know I’m asleep. It makes them scarier.”

He sounded disturbed when he spoke again. “What is frightening you?”

I shuddered slightly. “Mostly . . .” I hesitated.

“Mostly?” he prompted.

I wasn’t sure why, but I didn’t want to tell him about the child in my recurring nightmare; there was something private about that particular horror. So, instead of giving him the full description, I gave him just one element. Certainly enough to frighten me or anyone else.

“The Volturi,” I whispered.

He hugged me tighter. “They aren’t going to bother us anymore. You’ll be immortal soon, and they’ll have no reason.”

I let him comfort me, feeling a little guilty that he’d misunderstood. The nightmares weren’t like that, exactly. It wasn’t that I was afraid for myself—I was afraid for the boy.

He wasn’t the same boy as that first dream—the vampire child with the bloodred eyes who sat on a pile of dead people I loved. This boy I’d dreamed of four times in the last week was definitely human; his cheeks were flushed and his wide eyes were a soft green. But just like the other child, he shook with fear and desperation as the Volturi closed in on us.

In this dream that was both new and old, I simply had to protect the unknown child. There was no other option. At the same time, I knew that I would fail.

He saw the desolation on my face. “What can I do to help?”

I shook it off. “They’re just dreams, Edward.”

“Do you want me to sing to you? I’ll sing all night if it will keep the bad dreams away.”