d

〃Oh；　crap〃　I　croaked。　My　throat　was　thick　with　sleeping。

〃What's　wrong；　Bella？〃

I　frowned　at　him　unhappily。　His　face　was　even　more　anxious　than　before。

〃I'm　dead；　right？〃　I　moaned。　〃I　did　drown。　Crap；　crap；　crap！　This　is　gonna

kill　Charlie。〃

Edward　frowned；　too。　〃You're　not　dead。〃

〃Then　why　am　I　not　waking　up？〃　I　challenged；　raising　my　eyebrows。

〃You　are　awake；　Bella。〃

I　shook　my　head。　〃Sure；　sure。　That's　what　you　want　me　to　think。　And　then　it

will　be　worse　when　I　do

wake　up。　If　I　wake　up；　which　I　won't；　because　I'm　dead。　This　is　awful。　Poor

Charlie。　And　Renee　and

Jake〃　I　trailed　off　in　horror　at　what　I　had　done。

〃I　can　see　where　you　might　confuse　me　with　a　nightmare。〃　His　short…lived　smile

was　grim。　〃But　I　can't

imagine　what　you　could　have　done　to　wind　up　in　hell。　Did　you　mit　many

murders　while　I　was　away？〃

I　grimaced。　〃Obviously　not。　If　I　was　in　hell；　you　wouldn't　be　with　me。〃

He　sighed。

My　head　was　getting　clearer。　My　eyes　flickered　away　from　his　face—unwillingly

—for　one　second；　to　the

dark；　open　window；　and　then　back　to　him。　I　started　to　remember　details　and　I

felt　a　faint；　unfamiliar

blush　warm　the　skin　over　my　cheekbones　as　I　slowly　realized　that　Edward　was

really；　truly　here　with　me；

and　I　was　wasting　time　being　an　idiot。

〃Did　all　of　that　really　happen；　then？〃　It　was　almost　impossible　to　reassign　my

dream　as　reality。　I　couldn't

wrap　my　head　around　the　concept。

〃That　depends。〃　Edward's　smile　was　still　hard。　〃If　you're　referring　to　us

nearly　being　massacred　in　Italy；

then；　yes。〃

〃How　strange；〃　I　mused。　〃I　really　went　to　Italy。　Did　you