Breaking Dawn   ::   Meyer Stephenie

The bruises were much better now—yellowing in some places and disappearing altogether in others—so tonight I pulled out one of the scarier pieces as I got ready in the paneled bathroom. It was black, lacy, and embarrassing to look at even when it wasn’t on. I was careful not to look in the mirror before I went back to the bedroom. I didn’t want to lose my nerve.

I had the satisfaction of watching his eyes pop open wide for just a second before he controlled his expression.

“What do you think?” I asked, pirouetting so that he could see every angle.

He cleared his throat. “You look beautiful. You always do.”

“Thanks,” I said a bit sourly.

I was too tired to resist climbing quickly into the soft bed. He put his arms around me and pulled me against his chest, but this was routine—it was too hot to sleep without his cool body close.

“I’ll make you a deal,” I said sleepily.

“I will not make any deals with you,” he answered.

“You haven’t even heard what I’m offering.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

I sighed. “Dang it. And I really wanted… Oh well.”

He rolled his eyes.

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.