Prologue

I watched from my perch on the rocking chair. I watched her as closely as a hawk that was about to swoop down on its unsuspecting prey. But I was not about to swoop down on my prey, although unsuspecting that I was watching. I was merely looking after what could possibly be the most precious thing to me.

She was lying on her side facing me, curled into a tight ball. The quilt had been kicked off when I had arrived, the sheets tangled at the end of the bed. With great care I had tucked the quilt back around the sleeping girl who every so often mumbled my name. This proceeded to bring a smile to my face as it always did.

Her hair was messy and tangled from her tossing and turning, although she had not moved a muscle since I had come. Her eyelids were closed over the deep, chocolate colored eyes that I found myself falling in love with anew every waking moment. I could see her chest rising and falling evenly in her sleep and found myself counting her breaths.

This beautiful girl, who was humble enough not to be insulted when half-wit boys called her pretty, was the love of my life of 104 years. Her name was Bella.

We had met when she had moved from her home in Phoenix to the nearly sunless town of Forks. It had been highly interesting as the events of our meeting began to unfold before us.

First there had been her first day of school, where I could only hear thoughts of the new girl. The boys seemed to be quite taken with her, their perverted, preteen minds conjuring up fantasies that sickened me. I was completely uninterested in this new specimen and decided to pay her no mind – until I saw her in the cafeteria. The scent that she carried with her was almost unbearable to inhale. It was so mouthwatering and delicious that I found it hard to concentrate, but I managed to restrain myself from spilling all of her delectable blood.

We then had the pleasure of being seated beside each other in biology. It was peculiar the way she got so close. I and my family were used to the humans shrinking and shying away from us. But this girl could not have gotten any closer to me had she climbed right into my lap. I wondered if she knew exactly how close she had gotten, and I found myself having to be the one to shrink away before the scent overwhelmed me completely.

I remembered the first of many times that I had saved her life. She had nearly been crushed by a van that had careened out of control on the icy surface of the parking lot. But with my vampire speed I was able to rescue her from the fate of being squashed. Had I allowed her to be killed, I surely would have lost control.

This girl was relentless. She knew from the very beginning that something odd had happened and I grew a bit frightened, thinking that she might uncover my secret. I tried my best to belittle her and harden my dead heart against her, but she pushed herself through my barrier and ended up surprising me in the end when she kept her word and spoke nothing of the secrets that she somehow knew I was keeping.

I found myself being drawn closer and closer to her, seeing myself dissolving in every and any thoughts of her. It was not just her blood I thirsted for. I saw something even deeper than that for the first time in my long life.

One of my fondest memories of Bella and I's beginning relationship was the day we had spent in the meadow. We actually called it our meadow now. That day I had allowed myself to get close to her and she had responded to my affections. I was finally beginning to feel the happiness that I had been waiting to feel, but I could not help the voice in my head that screamed warnings to me every second. It told me that if I loved her I would not endanger her life by being with her. Good thing that vampires are selfish creatures eh?

I realized that I was grinning from ear to ear as I brought myself back to the present. Remembering memories made me want the night to pass quickly so that Bella would wake and we could create new memories, new ones that on a later day I would remember.

My grin disappeared in a flash and was replaced by a frown.

When I would reminisce, would Bella be by my side? God knows that I would do anything to save her life, to keep her safe from the danger that seemed to find her as if she were a magnet. But age was something that I could not save her from. Age would eventually claim the girl that I loved unconditionally.

She begged me to change her nearly everyday, and if not, I just knew without being able to read her mind that she was thinking about it. I did not understand why she was so willing to give up her humanity so easily. Did she not realize that I would be killing her? She would never blush again, never flush a deep red when she was embarrassed. Her need for air and the beat of her heart would be gone. With the grace and strength that came with being a vampire, she would no longer trip or wobble on her feet. She would not need me to catch her or carry her ever again.

I was interrupted by my inner battle when she shifted position, turning away from me and loosening herself from the ball. Her legs slowly stretched out and I could hear a bone crack as she did so. A sigh escaped her lips.

"Edward." She murmured. "I love you. I love you Edward."

This returned the smile to my face. I got up from the rocking chair and went to the bed, standing over my angel that slept soundly beneath the quilt. I could see that she was smiling, her dreams peaceful.

I reached out and swiftly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She did not move or take notice of my presence and so I laid carefully beside her, moving my arms behind my head as I continued to watch her sleep. I then hummed her lullaby and she sighed once more.

"Do you? Do you love me Edward?" She fell onto her stomach, her face buried into the pillow.

I raised an eyebrow as I looked down at her. She had never asked questions in her sleep before, she had only professed her love to me and talked endlessly about pointless subjects.

Only when I took notice that her breathing was no longer deep and even did I realize that she was no longer sleeping. I moved a hand onto her back and rubbed slowly up and down, feeling her warmth from beneath her T-shirt.

"It is late Bella. You should not be awake." I whispered.

"I thought you went hunting." Her voice was muffled for her face was still buried into the pillow. I moved my head from her back and watched as she slowly lifted her face from the pillow and laid her head on it, looking up at me.

"I did." I answered simply.

"But you told me that you wouldn't be back until tomorrow afternoon."

"I decided to come back early." I shrugged and waited for it. Finally she smiled widely and sat up, flinging her arms around me in one movement. I half expected her to fall out of bed in the process.

"I missed you." She mumbled into my shoulder.

I moved my nose slowly up her neck, lingering over her pulse point for a moment, before finally burying it into her hair. I always did miss her smell when I was away hunting.

"I missed you too Bella." I told her as she laid her head on my chest. Her arms left from around my neck and moved around my waist instead. I pulled her warm body close after covering us up, my own arms wrapped securely around her.

"What are we going to do tomorrow? First real day of summer." Her voice was uneven and was broken from the yawn that escaped midway through her chatter.

"We will see in the morning but it is time for the human to sleep."

"Edward-" Without looking I moved one finger over her lips. I could feel the pressure of her lips against it and knew she had kissed it.

After I had assumed my position of holding her close I hummed my angel back to sleep. I would lay with her all night just to be close to her. Just to feel her warmth. Just to hear her breathing.