when i opened my eyes in the morning, something was different.
it was the light. it was still the gray-green light of a cloudy day inthe forest, but it was clearer somehow. i realized there was no fogveiling my window.
i jumped up to look outside, and then groaned in horror.
a fine layer of snow covered the yard, dusted the top of my truck, andwhitened the road. but that wasn't the worst part. all the rain fromyesterday had frozen solid — coating the needles on the trees infantastic, gorgeous patterns, and making the driveway a deadly ice slick.
i had enough trouble not falling down when the ground was dry; it mightbe safer for me to go back to bed now.
charlie had left for work before i got downstairs. in a lot of ways,living with charlie was like having my own place, and i found myselfreveling in the aloneness instead of being lonely.
i threw down a quick bowl of cereal and some orange juice from thecarton. i felt excited to go to school, and that scared me. i knew itwasn't the stimulating learning environment i was anticipating, or seeingmy new set of friends. if i was being honest with myself, i knew i waseager to get to school because i would see edward cullen. and that wasvery, very stupid.
i should be avoiding him entirely after my brainless and embarrassingbabbling yesterday. and i was suspicious of him; why should he lie abouthis eyes? i was still frightened of the hostility i sometimes feltemanating from him, and i was still tongue-tied whenever i pictured hisperfect face. i was well aware that my league and his league were spheresthat did not touch. so i shouldn't be at all anxious to see him today.
it took every ounce of my concentration to make it down the icy brickdriveway alive. i almost lost my balance when i finally got to the truck,but i managed to cling to the side mirror and save myself. clearly, todaywas going to be nightmarish.
driving to school, i distracted myself from my fear of falling and myunwanted speculations about edward cullen by thinking about mike anderic, and the obvious difference in how teenage boys responded to mehere. i was sure i looked exactly the same as i had in phoenix. maybe itwas just that the boys back home had watched me pass slowly through allthe awkward phases of adolescence and still thought of me that way.
perhaps it was because i was a novelty here, where novelties were few andfar between. possibly my crippling clumsiness was seen as endearingrather than pathetic, casting me as a damsel in distress. whatever thereason, mike's puppy dog behavior and eric's apparent rivalry with himwere disconcerting. i wasn't sure if i didn't prefer being ignored.
my truck seemed to have no problem with the black ice that covered theroads. i drove very slowly, though, not wanting to carve a path ofdestruction through main street.
when i got out of my truck at school, i saw why i'd had so littletrouble. something silver caught my eye, and i walked to the back of thetruck — carefully holding the side for support — to examine my tires.
there were thin chains crisscrossed in diamond shapes around them.
charlie had gotten up who knows how early to put snow chains on my truck.
my throat suddenly felt tight. i wasn't used to being taken care of, andcharlie's unspoken concern caught me by surprise.
i was standing by the back corner of the truck, struggling to fight backthe sudden wave of emotion the snow chains had brought on, when i heardan odd sound.
it was a high-pitched screech, and it was fast becoming painfully loud. ilooked up, startled.
i saw several things simultaneously. nothing was moving in slow motion,the way it does in the movies. instead, the adrenaline rush seemed tomake my brain work much faster, and i was able to absorb in clear detailseveral things at once.
edward cullen was standing four cars down from me, staring at me inhorror. his face stood out from a sea of faces, all frozen in the samemask of shock. but of more immediate importance was the dark blue vanthat was skidding, tires locked and squealing against the brakes,spinning wildly across the ice of the parking lot. it was going to hitthe back corner of my truck, and i was standing between them. i didn'teven have time to close my eyes.
just before i heard the shattering crunch of the van folding around thetruck bed, something hit me, hard, but not from the direction i wasexpecting. my head cracked against the icy blacktop, and i felt somethingsolid and cold pinning me to the ground. i was lying on the pavementbehind the tan car i'd parked next to. but i didn't have a chance tonotice anything else, because the van was still coming. it had curledgratingly around the end of the truck and, still spinning and sliding,was about to collide with me again.
a low oath made me aware that someone was with me, and the voice wasimpossible not to recognize. two long, white hands shot out protectivelyin front of me, and the van shuddered to a stop a foot from my face, thelarge hands fitting providentially into a deep dent in the side of thevan's body.
then his hands moved so fast they blurred. one was suddenly grippingunder the body of the van, and something was dragging me, swinging mylegs around like a rag doll's, till they hit the tire of the tan car. agroaning metallic thud hurt my ears, and the van settled, glass popping,onto the asphalt — exactly where, a second ago, my legs had been.
it was absolutely silent for one long second before the screaming began.
in the abrupt bedlam, i could hear more than one person shouting my name.
but more clearly than all the yelling, i could hear edward cullen's low,frantic voice in my ear.
"bella? are you all right?""i'm fine." my voice sounded strange. i tried to sit up, and realized hewas holding me against the side of his body in an iron grasp.
"be careful," he warned as i struggled. "i think you hit your head prettyhard."i became aware of a throbbing ache centered above my left ear.
"ow," i said, surprised.
"that's what i thought." his voice, amazingly, sounded like he wassuppressing laughter.
"how in the…" i trailed off, trying to clear my head, get my bearings.
"how did you get over here so fast?""i was standing right next to you, bella," he said, his tone seriousagain.
i turned to sit up, and this time he let me, releasing his hold around mywaist and sliding as far from me as he could in the limited space. ilooked at his concerned, innocent expression and was disoriented again bythe force of his gold-colored eyes. what was i asking him?
and then they found us, a crowd of people with tears streaming down theirfaces, shouting at each other, shouting at us.
"don't move," someone instructed.
"get tyler out of the van!" someone else shouted.
there was a flurry of activity around us. i tried to get up, but edward'scold hand pushed my shoulder down.
"just stay put for now.""but it's cold," i complained. it surprised me when he chuckled under hisbreath. there was an edge to the sound.
"you were over there," i suddenly remembered, and his chuckle stoppedshort. "you were by your car."his expression turned hard. "no, i wasn't.""i saw you." all around us was chaos. i could hear the gruffer voices ofadults arriving on the scene. but i obstinately held on to our argument;i was right, and he was going to admit it.
"bella, i was standing with you, and i pulled you out of the way." heunleashed the full, devastating power of his eyes on me, as if trying tocommunicate something crucial.
"no." i set my jaw.
the gold in his eyes blazed. "please, bella.""why?" i demanded.
"trust me," he pleaded, his soft voice overwhelming.
i could hear the sirens now. "will you promise to explain everything tome later?""fine," he snapped, abruptly exasperated.
"fine," i repeated angrily.
it took six emts and two teachers — mr. varner and coach clapp — to shiftthe van far enough away from us to bring the stretchers in. edwardvehemently refused his, and i tried to do the same, but the traitor toldthem i'd hit my head and probably had a concussion. i almost died ofhumiliation when they put on the neck brace. it looked like the entireschool was there, watching soberly as they loaded me in the back of theambulance. edward got to ride in the front. it was maddening.
to make matters worse, chief swan arrived before they could get me safelyaway.
"bella!" he yelled in panic when he recognized me on the stretcher.
"i'm completely fine, char — dad," i sighed. "there's nothing wrong withme."he turned to the closest emt for a second opinion. i tuned him out toconsider the jumble of inexplicable images churning chaotically in myhead. when they'd lifted me away from the car, i had seen the deep dentin the tan car's bumper — a very distinct dent that fit the contours ofedward's shoulders… as if he had braced himself against the car withenough force to damage the metal frame…and then there was his family, looking on from the distance, withexpressions that ranged from disapproval to fury but held no hint ofconcern for their brother's safety.
i tried to think of a logical solution that could explain what i had justseen — a solution that excluded the assumption that i was insane.
naturally, the ambulance got a police escort to the county hospital. ifelt ridiculous the whole time they were unloading me. what made it worsewas that edward simply glided through the hospital doors under his ownpower. i ground my teeth together.
they put me in the emergency room, a long room with a line of beds separated by pastel-patterned curtains. a nurse put a pressure cuff on myarm and a thermometer under my tongue. since no one bothered pulling thecurtain around to give me some privacy, i decided i wasn't obligated towear the stupid-looking neck brace anymore. when the nurse walked away, iquickly unfastened the velcro and threw it under the bed.
there was another flurry of hospital personnel, another stretcher broughtto the bed next to me. i recognized tyler crowley from my governmentclass beneath the bloodstained bandages wrapped tightly around his head.
tyler looked a hundred times worse than i felt. but he was staringanxiously at me.
"bella, i'm so sorry!""i'm fine, tyler — you look awful, are you all right?" as we spoke,nurses began unwinding his soiled bandages, exposing a myriad of shallowslices all over his forehead and left cheek.
he ignored me. "i thought i was going to kill you! i was going too fast,and i hit the ice wrong…" he winced as one nurse started dabbing at hisface.
"don't worry about it; you missed me.""how did you get out of the way so fast? you were there, and then youwere gone…""umm… edward pulled me out of the way."he looked confused. "who?""edward cullen — he was standing next to me." i'd always been a terribleliar; i didn't sound convincing at all.
"cullen? i didn't see him… wow, it was all so fast, i guess. is he okay?""i think so. he's here somewhere, but they didn't make him use astretcher."i knew i wasn't crazy. what had happened? there was no way to explainaway what i'd seen.
they wheeled me away then, to x-ray my head. i told them there wasnothing wrong, and i was right. not even a concussion. i asked if i couldleave, but the nurse said i had to talk to a doctor first. so i wastrapped in the er, waiting, harassed by tyler's constant apologies andpromises to make it up to me. no matter how many times i tried toconvince him i was fine, he continued to torment himself. finally, iclosed my eyes and ignored him. he kept up a remorseful mumbling.
"is she sleeping?" a musical voice asked. my eyes flew open.
edward was standing at the foot of my bed, smirking. i glared at him. itwasn't easy — it would have been more natural to ogle.
"hey, edward, i'm really sorry —" tyler began.
edward lifted a hand to stop him.
"no blood, no foul," he said, flashing his brilliant teeth. he moved tosit on the edge of tyler's bed, facing me. he smirked again.
"so, what's the verdict?" he asked me.
"there's nothing wrong with me at all, but they won't let me go," icomplained. "how come you aren't strapped to a gurney like the rest ofus?""it's all about who you know," he answered. "but don't worry, i came tospring you."then a doctor walked around the corner, and my mouth fell open. he was young, he was blond… and he was handsomer than any movie star i'd everseen. he was pale, though, and tired-looking, with circles under hiseyes. from charlie's description, this had to be edward's father.
"so, miss swan," dr. cullen said in a remarkably appealing voice, "howare you feeling?""i'm fine," i said, for the last time, i hoped.
he walked to the lightboard on the wall over my head, and turned it on.
"your x-rays look good," he said. "does your head hurt? edward said youhit it pretty hard.""it's fine," i repeated with a sigh, throwing a quick scowl toward edward.
the doctor's cool fingers probed lightly along my skull. he noticed wheni winced.
"tender?" he asked.
"not really." i'd had worse.
i heard a chuckle, and looked over to see edward's patronizing smile. myeyes narrowed.
"well, your father is in the waiting room — you can go home with him now.
but come back if you feel dizzy or have trouble with your eyesight atall.""can't i go back to school?" i asked, imagining charlie trying to beattentive.
"maybe you should take it easy today."i glanced at edward. "does he get to go to school?""someone has to spread the good news that we survived," edward saidsmugly.
"actually," dr. cullen corrected, "most of the school seems to be in thewaiting room.""oh no," i moaned, covering my face with my hands.
dr. cullen raised his eyebrows. "do you want to stay?""no, no!" i insisted, throwing my legs over the side of the bed andhopping down quickly. too quickly — i staggered, and dr. cullen caughtme. he looked concerned.
"i'm fine," i assured him again. no need to tell him my balance problemshad nothing to do with hitting my head.
"take some tylenol for the pain," he suggested as he steadied me.
"it doesn't hurt that bad," i insisted.
"it sounds like you were extremely lucky," dr. cullen said, smiling as hesigned my chart with a flourish.
"lucky edward happened to be standing next to me," i amended with a hardglance at the subject of my statement.
"oh, well, yes," dr. cullen agreed, suddenly occupied with the papers infront of him. then he looked away, at tyler, and walked to the next bed.
my intuition flickered; the doctor was in on it.
"i'm afraid that you'll have to stay with us just a little bit longer,"he said to tyler, and began checking his cuts.
as soon as the doctor's back was turned, i moved to edward's side.
"can i talk to you for a minute?" i hissed under my breath. he took astep back from me, his jaw suddenly clenched.
"your father is waiting for you," he said through his teeth.
i glanced at dr. cullen and tyler.
"i'd like to speak with you alone, if you don't mind," i pressed.
he glared, and then turned his back and strode down the long room. inearly had to run to keep up. as soon as we turned the corner into ashort hallway, he spun around to face me.
"what do you want?" he asked, sounding annoyed. his eyes were cold.
his unfriendliness intimidated me. my words came out with less severitythan i'd intended. "you owe me an explanation," i reminded him.
"i saved your life — i don't owe you anything."i flinched back from the resentment in his voice. "you promised.""bella, you hit your head, you don't know what you're talking about." histone was cutting.
my temper flared now, and i glared defiantly at him. "there's nothingwrong with my head."he glared back. "what do you want from me, bella?""i want to know the truth," i said. "i want to know why i'm lying foryou.""what do you think happened?" he snapped.
it came out in a rush.
"all i know is that you weren't anywhere near me — tyler didn't see you,either, so don't tell me i hit my head too hard. that van was going tocrush us both — and it didn't, and your hands left dents in the side ofit — and you left a dent in the other car, and you're not hurt at all —and the van should have smashed my legs, but you were holding it up…" icould hear how crazy it sounded, and i couldn't continue. i was so mad icould feel the tears coming; i tried to force them back by grinding myteeth together.
he was staring at me incredulously. but his face was tense, defensive.
"you think i lifted a van off you?" his tone questioned my sanity, but itonly made me more suspicious. it was like a perfectly delivered line by askilled actor.
i merely nodded once, jaw tight.
"nobody will believe that, you know." his voice held an edge of derisionnow.
"i'm not going to tell anybody." i said each word slowly, carefullycontrolling my anger.
surprise flitted across his face. "then why does it matter?""it matters to me," i insisted. "i don't like to lie — so there'd betterbe a good reason why i'm doing it.""can't you just thank me and get over it?""thank you." i waited, fuming and expectant.
"you're not going to let it go, are you?" "no.""in that case… i hope you enjoy disappointment."we scowled at each other in silence. i was the first to speak, trying tokeep myself focused. i was in danger of being distracted by his livid,glorious face. it was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.
"why did you even bother?" i asked frigidly.
he paused, and for a brief moment his stunning face was unexpectedlyvulnerable.
"i don't know," he whispered.
and then he turned his back on me and walked away.
i was so angry, it took me a few minutes until i could move. when i couldwalk, i made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway.
the waiting room was more unpleasant than i'd feared. it seemed likeevery face i knew in forks was there, staring at me. charlie rushed to myside; i put up my hands.
"there's nothing wrong with me," i assured him sullenly. i was stillaggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.
"what did the doctor say?""dr. cullen saw me, and he said i was fine and i could go home." isighed. mike and jessica and eric were all there, beginning to convergeon us. "let's go," i urged.
charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me tothe glass doors of the exit. i waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping toconvey that they didn't need to worry anymore. it was a huge relief— thefirst time i'd ever felt that way — to get into the cruiser.
we drove in silence. i was so wrapped up in my thoughts that i barelyknew charlie was there. i was positive that edward's defensive behaviorin the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things i still could hardlybelieve i'd witnessed.
when we got to the house, charlie finally spoke.
"um… you'll need to call renée." he hung his head, guilty.
i was appalled. "you told mom!""sorry."i slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out.
my mom was in hysterics, of course. i had to tell her i felt fine atleast thirty times before she would calm down. she begged me to come home— forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment — but her pleaswere easier to resist than i would have thought. i was consumed by themystery edward presented. and more than a little obsessed by edwardhimself. stupid, stupid, stupid. i wasn't as eager to escape forks as ishould be, as any normal, sane person would be.
i decided i might as well go to bed early that night. charlie continuedto watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves. i stopped on myway to grab three tylenol from the bathroom. they did help, and, as thepain eased, i drifted to sleep.
that was the first night i dreamed of edward cullen.
第三章 奇迹
早上，当我睁开眼睛时，发现事情有些变化。
是光。灰绿色的光线落入房中，依然宛如阴天森林里的光影，却更明朗些。我意识到，我的窗没有被云雾遮蔽。
我跳下床想看看外面，然后发出了惊恐的呻吟。
好一场大雪：吞没了前院，压满了我的车顶，把道路都染白了。但这还不是最糟的。昨天下的雨都冻成了冰——树上挂满了奇形怪状的、图案绚丽的冰棱，车道上也覆上了一层该死的冰面。即使在地面干燥的时候我都很难不摔倒，现在我还是回到床上去比较保险。
我下楼的时候，查理已经走了。从很多方面来说，和查理住在一起就像我自己一个人住一样，而且我发现我很享受独处的感觉，并不觉得孤独。
我匆匆咽下一碗麦片，喝了盒橙汁。我急于去学校，而这一点把我吓到了。我知道这不是因为那里有我所期望的良好的学习氛围，也不是因为能见到我那帮新朋友。如果我对自己足够诚实，我会承认，我渴望去学校是因为我想见到爱德华?卡伦。但是，这念头实在是非常，非常地愚蠢。
在昨天说了那堆毫无头脑、令人尴尬的胡言乱语之后，我应该彻底地避开他。而且我对他也有些疑惑：他为什么要对他眼睛的事说谎呢？我仍害怕着有时候感受到的，从他身上散发的敌意。更何况，无论何时，只要一想到他那张完美的面孔，我就会舌头打结。但是，我很清楚地意识到，我的活动范围和他的活动范围完全没有重合之处，所以今天我不应该这样急切地盼着见到他。
活着通过那段冰封的车道耗尽了我身上每一盎司的注意力。快要走到车前的时候，我差点失去平衡，但最后还是成功地抓住了后视镜，让自己得救了。这再清楚不过了，今天将会是一场噩梦。
开车去学校的路上，我尽可能地把注意力从对车子失控的恐惧，还有对爱德华?卡伦的不必要的推测，转移到迈克和埃里克，还有这里的年轻男孩们对我的截然不同的态度上。我确定我的外表和在凤凰城时一样。也许是因为我家那边的男孩们亲眼目睹了我惨不忍睹的青春期的全过程，还在用老眼光来看我。也许是因为我在这个新鲜事匮乏的地方是个新奇的存在。也可能是我跛子似的笨拙惹人怜爱而非怜悯，让我陷入了肥皂剧里的不幸少女的角色。不管理由是什么，迈克宠物犬一样的举动，还有埃里克跟他针锋相对的表现，让我受宠若惊。我不知道自己是不是更情愿被无视。
我的卡车似乎丝毫不受路面上那层黑冰的影响。但我还是开得很慢，生怕在大街上撞出一条破坏通道来。
等我到了学校，走下车的时候，我才明白为什么路上没遇上半点麻烦。某些银色的东西吸引了我的视线，我走到卡车后面——小心地抓住支撑的东西——检查我的车胎。细细的链条十字交叉成钻石的形状，缠在车胎上。天知道查理是几点起的床，给我的卡车上了雪地链。我只觉得喉头一紧。我不习惯被人照顾。查理讷于言表的关心冷不防打动了我。
我站在车后的一角，拼命压抑着雪地链带来的突如其来的、潮水般的情绪。就在这时，我听到了一个古怪的声音。
那是一声惊骇的尖叫，然后迅速变成了一片尖叫声。我吃惊地抬起头。
我同时看见了好几件事物。没有一个像电影中那样，用慢动作进行着。事实上，是奔涌的肾上腺素让我的大脑运作得更快，使我可以同时专注于几件事物的细节。
爱德华?卡伦站在离我四辆车以外的地方，一脸惊恐地看着我。他的脸在许多张脸汇成的海里显得格外清晰。这些脸上都挂着一模一样的，被吓坏了的神情。但更迫在眉睫的是那辆打滑了的、轮胎锁死了的深蓝色的货车。它的刹车发出尖锐的呼啸声，在停车场的冰面上疯狂地旋转着。它即将撞上我的卡车后部，而我正站在它们中间。我甚至没有足够的时间来闭上眼睛。
在我听见那辆货车压上我的卡车车厢的那声毁灭性的碾压声以前，某种东西硬邦邦地撞上了我，但不是在我所预料的那个方向。我的头磕到了结冰的柏油路面上，我感到有个又冷又硬的东西把我按在了地上。我躺在了一辆客货两用车前的人行道上，刚才我正是把我的卡车停在了这辆客货两用车旁。但我没有机会注意别的事情，因为那辆货车冲过来了。它让人气恼地顶着卡车后部拐了个弯，继续旋转着滑过来，即将再次撞上我。
一声低咒让我意识到有人和我在一起，而这个声音，我绝对不会认错。两条长长的，雪白的胳膊伸在我前面保护着我。那辆货车忽然停在了离我的脸只有一英尺远的地方。那双大手如有神助地嵌在了货车车身一侧的一道深深的凹痕上。
而后，他双手的动作快得让我看不清。（他使出了无影手。）一只手骤然撑住货车的车身，另一只把我拖开。我的双腿像破布娃娃一样晃荡，直到碰上那辆客货两用车为止。一阵金属坠地的锐响刺痛了我的耳朵，那辆货车重重落到地面上，玻璃爆裂，迸射到柏油路面上——恰恰是一秒钟以前，我双腿所在的地方。
一阵彻底的沉默，几秒后，一片尖叫。在这阵突然的骚动里，我听到不止一个人在呼喊着我的名字。但比所有的喊叫声都要清晰的是，我听见了，耳畔，爱德华?卡伦低沉的，狂乱的声音。
“贝拉，你没事吧？”
“我没事。”我的声音听起来怪怪的。我想要坐起来，然后发觉他紧紧地抓着我，把我护在身下。
当心，”当我挣扎的时候，他警告我。“我觉得你的头碰得很厉害。”
我这才注意到我的左耳一阵抽痛。
“哦。”我惊讶地说。
“这正是我所想到的。”奇怪，他的声音听起来像是在用力忍住笑声。
“怎么回事……”我的声音弱下来，努力整理思路，控制自己的举动。“你怎么能那么快就冲到这边呢？”
“我就站在你旁边，贝拉。”他说，语气再度严肃起来。
我挣扎着坐起来，这次他不再阻止我，而是松开了紧紧箍住我腰部的双臂，迅速又安静地退开，退到这个狭小空间所能允许的离我最远的地方。我看着他既担忧又无辜的神情，又一次迷失在他黑金色的双眸中。我想问他什么来着？
他们终于发现了我们。一群泪流满面的人，彼此呼喊着，呼唤着我们的名字。
“别乱动！”有人下令。
“把泰勒从货车里弄出来！”另一个人喊道。
我们周围一片忙乱。我想要起来，但爱德华冰冷的手按住了我的肩膀。
“现在待在这儿别动。”
“但这儿太冷了。”我抱怨着。让我惊讶的是，他悄声地笑了起来，声音小得几乎听不见。
“刚才你在那里。”我忽然记起来了。他的轻笑声戛然而止。“你站在你的车旁边。”
他脸色一沉。“不，我没在那里。”
“我看见你了。”我们周围一片混乱，我可以听到到达现场的大人们粗暴的声音。但我固执地继续我们的争论：我是对的，他应该承认这一点。
“贝拉，我就站在你旁边，是我把你拉开的。”他不再掩饰，用直勾勾的、毁灭性的眼神瞪着我，像是要让我明白某件极其严重的事情。
“不是的。”我咬紧牙关。
他眼中的金色在燃烧。“求你了，贝拉。”
“为什么？”我诘问。
“相信我。”他恳求着。他柔和的声音征服了我。
我听见了救护车的警笛。“你能保证过后向我解释一切吗？”
“很好。”他咆哮着，勃然大怒。
“很好。”我气愤地重复着。
六个紧急医疗救护人员和两个教师——瓦尔纳老师和克拉普教练——合力把那辆货车退开，好让担架进来。爱德华坚决拒绝上担架，我正要开口，那个叛徒却告诉他们我撞到了头，很可能有脑震荡。当他们给我戴上护颈支架的时候，我羞愧得想要一死了之。看上去整个学校都到场了，庄严肃穆地目送我被抬进急救车后部。而爱德华居然可以坐在救护车前排。这简直让人抓狂。
更糟糕的是，查理?史温在他们把我安全地弄走以前赶到了。
“贝拉！”当他看到我躺在担架上时惊恐地大喊。
“我一切安好，查——爸爸。”我叹息道。“我没事。”
他转向离他最近的那个紧急医疗救护人员询问补充性意见。我索性不管他，开始思考在我脑海中乱转的一些令人费解的画面。当他们把我从那辆客货两用车旁抬出来的时候，我看到了车的保险杠上一道深深的凹痕——一道显然和爱德华双肩的轮廓相吻合的凹痕……就像是他曾经撑在这辆车上，生生把这个金属框架给压变形了一样。
那时候，他的家人远远地看着，神情各异，从不赞成到愤怒，但唯独丝毫不见对他们兄弟安危的关切。
我试图想出一个合乎逻辑的答案来解释我看到的一切——一个能否定我精神不正常的假设的答案。
自然，救护车一路由警车护送，到达了县医院。让我觉得荒谬的是，他们根本不让我下来，一路抬着我走。更糟的是，爱德华依靠自身的能力轻轻松松地溜出了医院大门。我直把牙咬得咯咯作响。（这段不太懂，不知道是指爱德华用“脚”走出去，还是用“色诱”蒙混出去。。。）
他们把我推进急救室，这是一个长长的房间，呈一字型排开的各张床之间只用塑料帘隔开。一个护士在我手臂上缠了一个血压计，在我舌头上放了一支温度计。既然没人费事把塑料帘拉起来给我留点隐私，我也没有义务再戴着那个看起来傻不拉几的护颈支架了。一等护士走开，我立刻解开了维可牢扣，把它扔到床上。
又一群医院职员匆匆忙忙地冲进来，又一副担架被抬到了我的邻床上。我认出那是和我一起上gover-nment课的泰勒?克劳利，他头上包扎着血迹斑斑的绷带。泰勒看上去比我糟一百倍。但他不安地盯着我。
“贝拉，真对不起。”
“我没事，泰勒——你看着挺吓人的，你没事吧？”我们说话的时候，护士开始解下他弄脏的绷带，露出他前额和左脸颊上的无数浅浅的伤痕。
他无视我的话。“我还以为我会把你撞死！我开得太快了，又错误地撞到了冰上……”当一个护士开始给他脸上抹药的时候他畏缩了一下。
“别担心，你没撞上我。”
“你怎么能那么快躲开呢？你本来在那里，然后就不见了……”
“嗯……爱德华把我拉开了。”
他看上去很困惑。“谁？”
“爱德华?卡伦——他就站在我旁边。”我实在是个蹩脚的说谎者，我的声音听起来一点也不能让人信服。
“卡伦？我没注意到他……噢，我猜是因为，事情发生得太快。他没事吧？”
“我想是的。他在这里的某处，但他们没用担架固定他。”
我就知道我没疯。到底发生了什么事？我完全没办法解释我所看到的一切。
他们把我放到轮椅上，推着我去做头部x光检查。我告诉他们我没事，一切都很好，甚至没有受到任何撞击。我询问我能否离开，但护士告知我必须先跟医生商量。于是，我被困在急诊室里，等待着，同时被泰勒滔滔不绝的道歉骚扰着：他保证他会补充我的。我无数次试图说服他，让他明白我没事，但他还是不停地责怪自己。最后，我闭上眼晴，无视他的存在。他继续懊恼地说个不停。
“她睡着了吗？”一个天籁般的声音问道。我飞快地睁开了眼睛。
爱德华站在我的床尾，坏笑着。我瞪着他。这不太容易——也许抛个媚眼会更自然些。
“嗨，爱德华，我很抱歉——”泰勒又开始了。
爱德华竖起一只手阻止了他。
“不流血，就不算犯规。”他说着，露出整齐的皓齿。他走过去坐到泰勒的床边，脸向着我。然后，又一次撇嘴坏笑。
“那么，他们对你的判决是？”他问我。
“我一点问题也没有，但他们就是不让我走，”我抱怨着。“你是怎么做到的，居然没像我们俩那样被捆在轮床上？”
“这都是你所知道的那人的功劳。”他回答道。“但别担心，我是来带你离开这里的。”
随后，一个医生从拐角处走过来。我张大了嘴巴。他很年轻，金发碧眼，肤色白皙……还有，他比我见过的任何一个电影明星都要英俊。但是，他的肤色太苍白了。他看上去很疲倦，眼睛下还有黑圈。根据查理的描述，这位应该就是爱德华的父亲。
“那么，史温小姐，”卡伦医生用极富魅力的声音说道，“你感觉如何？”
“我很好。”我答道，希望这是最后一次说这句话。
他走过来，把我头上的壁灯打开。（lightboard是什么东东？直译是灯牌。。。）
“你的x光照片看着没什么大碍，”他说。“你觉得头疼吗？爱德华说你的头碰得很厉害。”
“我的头没问题。”我重复着，叹了口气，小小怒视了一下爱德华。
医生冰冷的手指轻柔地察看着我的头。我畏缩了一下，他注意到了。
“疼吗？”他问道。
“不疼，真的。”我有过更惨痛的体验。
我听见一声嗤笑，便看看四周，只见爱德华一脸俨然以恩人自居的笑意。我眯缝起眼睛。
“好啦，你父亲在等候室——你现在可以跟他回去了。但是，如果你感到晕眩，或者有任何视力问题，请务必回来复查。”
“我不能回学校吗？”我问道，想象着查理努力表示关心的样子。
“恐怕你今天得悠着点了。”
我瞪着爱德华。“那他可以回学校咯？”
“总得有人回去把我们幸免于难的好消息传播出去吧。”爱德华沾沾自喜地说。
“事实上，”卡伦医生更正道。“大半个学校好像都在等候室里了。”
“哦不！”我呻吟着，用手捂住脸。
卡伦医生扬起眉头：“你想待在这里吗？”
“不，绝不！”我坚持着，把腿甩下床，飞快地跳下地。快过头了——我摇晃起来，卡伦医生抓住了我。他看上去有点担心。
“我没事。”我再次向他保证。没有必要告诉他我的平衡问题跟碰到头一点关系都没有。
“拿点泰诺止痛吧。”他一边稳住我，一边建议道。
“没痛到那个地步。”我坚持着。
“听起来你相当地幸运。”卡伦医生说道，微笑着用优雅的手势在我的表格上签字。
“幸运鬼爱德华碰巧站在了我旁边。”我更正道，用力瞪着我的病历的标题。
“哦，嗯，是的。”卡伦医生同意道，忽然对他面前的那张纸产生了浓厚的兴趣。然后他看向别处，看着泰勒，去下一张床。我灵光一闪：这医生熟悉内情。
“恐怕你得在这儿多待一阵子了。”他对泰勒说，开始检查他的伤口。
医生刚转过身去，我立刻挪到爱德华身旁。
“我能和你谈谈吗？”我小声说道。他退了一步，下巴骤然一紧。
“你父亲在等着你。”他从牙缝里挤出这句话。
我瞥了一眼卡伦医生和泰勒。
“如果你不介意的话，我希望和你单独谈谈。”我强调。
他怒视着我，然后转过身去，大步流星地走过这个长长的房间。我几乎要小跑着才能跟上他的步子。我们转过拐角，刚走到一个短短的走廊里，他转过来面向我。
“你想干嘛？”他问道，听起来气坏了。他的眼神冰冷。
他的不友好让我感到了威胁。我说出的话远远没有达到我所想要的充满火药味的效果。“你欠我一个解释。”我提醒他。
“我救了你的命——我不欠你任何东西。”
他声音里的忿恨让我退缩了。“你保证过的。”
“贝拉，你撞到了头，你不知道自己在说些什么。”他斩钉截铁地说。（his tone was cutting.这样翻应该没问题吧。）
我被激怒了。我大胆地瞪视着他。“我的脑子没有任何问题。”
他瞪回来。“你想从我身上得到什么，贝拉？”
“我要知道真相。”我说。“我要知道我是为了什么在替你圆谎”
“你以为发生了什么事？”他嚷道。
我再也收不住话头，连珠炮似的脱口而出。
“我所知道的就是你根本不在我旁边——泰勒也没看见你，所以别告诉我我的头碰得太厉害。那辆货车本来要撞上我们的——可它没有，你的手在它身上留下了凹痕——你在另一辆车上也弄了一道凹痕，可你却一点都没受伤——那辆货车本来会碾碎我的双腿的，但你把它举起来了……”我知道这些话听起来有多疯狂，但我就是停不住。我太生气了，我能感觉到眼泪就要掉下来了。我咬着牙，努力把眼泪逼回去。
他用不相信的眼神看着我。但他的脸绷紧着，防备着。
“你认为我把一辆货车从你身上举起来？”他的语气是在质疑我的神智是否正常，但这让我更起了疑心。这话听起来像是一个娴熟的演员所说的完美的台词。
我只是点了点头，下巴一紧。
“你知道，没人会相信这些话的。”他的声音现在几近于嘲讽。
“我不会告诉任何人。”我一字一句地说道，竭力控制着怒火。
惊讶的神色在他脸上一闪而过。“那么，说这些又有什么用呢？”
“这对我很重要。”我坚持着。“我不喜欢撒谎——所以最好能有一个让我这样干的理由。”
“你就不能说声谢谢，让这事过去吗？”
“谢谢。”我等着，怒气冲冲地期待着。
“你不会就这样算了的，对吧？”
“是的。”
“既然这样……我希望你享受失望的滋味。”
我们沉默着，怒视着对方。我第一个开了口，试图让自己集中注意力。我面临着被他铁青着的，绝美的面孔分神的危险。就像是在盯着一个毁灭天使看，试图看得他垂下眼睛去一样。
“你何必这样自找麻烦？”我冷淡地问。
他顿了顿，有一瞬间他足以让人迷乱的脸上露出了一丝意料之外的脆弱的神情。
“我不知道。”他耳语道。
然后，他转过身去背对着我，走开了。
我简直气疯了，过了好几分钟，我才控制住自己的情绪，强迫自己离开。一直等到我能走路的时候，我才慢慢地向走廊的尽头走去。
我一直忧心忡忡着，但等候室里的情形比我想象中的更不愉快。看样子我在福克斯认识的人全到齐了，都在盯着我看。查理向我冲过来，我只得举手投降。
“我没事。”我阴沉着脸，向他保证。我依然怒气冲冲，丝毫没有闲聊的兴致。
“医生怎么说？”
“卡伦医生给我看过了，他说我一切都好，可以回家了。”我叹息道。迈克，杰西卡还有埃里克都在，开始向我们靠拢过来。“我们走吧。”我催促着。
查理伸出一只手放到我的背后，但没有碰到我，带着我向出口的玻璃门走去。我笨拙地向我的朋友们挥手告别，希望能传达出让他们不必担心的意思。能坐进警车里实在是件让人感到莫大的宽慰的事，我头一次这样觉得。
一路上，我们都沉默着。我深深地沉浸在自己的思绪中，以至于只能勉强注意到查理还在那里。我敢肯定，爱德华在走廊里的那些自我保护的举动只能证明我看到的那些异乎寻常的事情都是真实存在的，尽管我自己都很难相信它们的真实性。
当我们到家的时候，查理终于开口了。
“嗯……你得给蕾妮打个电话。”他垂下头，心虚地说。
我吓坏了。“你告诉她了！”
“对不起。”
我走下车，“砰”的一声关上巡逻车的门，力道大得有些不必要。
当然，我妈竭斯底里大发作。我不得不一遍又一遍地告诉她我感觉很好，说了至少三十次，她才冷静下来。她求我回家——完全忘记这会儿家里根本没人的事实——但她的恳求比我想到的还要容易回绝。我对爱德华神神秘秘的举动简直着了魔。而且，我也迷上了爱德华本人，不止是一点点。愚蠢，愚蠢，太愚蠢了。我应该，像任何一个正常的，头脑清楚的人会做的那样，渴望着逃离福克斯。但我却没有。
这天晚上，我决定早早上床睡觉，和平时一样。查理始终一脸担忧地看着我，这让我更加烦躁。半路上，我停下来，到浴室里拿了三片泰诺。这些药片真的很有帮助，当疼痛不再那么厉害时，我沉沉地睡去。
那天晚上，我第一次梦见了爱德华?卡伦。