A Heart of Ice

Kiss Me

EPOV:

God, I felt like crap. The pain meds were starting to wear off and the pain in my chest was flaring up. I opened my eyes. Bella was knocked out next to me, her forehead still against mine, her lips parted the tiniest bit. Tears rolled down her face and I sighed. Bella, I thought, exasperated, it wasn't your fault.

"It's not your fault," I whispered out loud. "Not your fault," I willed her to hear me, to believe me. "Bella, it's not your fault." I wiped the shining drops away, leaning closer to her.

Looking at her sleeping face, I was painfully aware of the fact that I loved her. I loved her with a passion and I couldn't have her. She didn't love me the way I loved her and I wasn't sure she was ready to love again anyway, not after what happened the last time. This close to her, I wanted to touch her lips with my own. The need, the want burned inside me, nearly propelling me forward before I stopped myself. Come on, Edward. Be what she needs. Do this for her.

I pulled my head back, sighing, and called for more pain meds. When the nurse came in, she gave me my shot and looked at Bella, asleep on the hospital bed with me.

She started to wake her, "Come on, sweet heart, it's time to move,"

"No, no, she's fine," I told her. Bella started moving, waking.

"Edward?" She murmured.

"Shh, it's okay Bella, go back to sleep." I touched her face, smoothing her tangled curls back from her ear. She settled down and I looked at the nurse. "Just leave her here," she nodded at me and left, closing the door softly behind her.

I looked down at my little porcelain princess. I truly would do anything for her. And if that meant distancing myself from her to protect her and to preserve our friendship, no matter how much it hurt me, then I would do it. Because I loved her.

BPOV:

Three months have past since Jacob came back and Edward was stabbed. Edward constantly told me the whole thing wasn't my fault, but he was wrong. He couldn't even be around me anymore, at least, not as much as he used to be. I would come over to his house for movie night or to sleep over with Alice and he would disappear into his room for hours at a time.

Sure, he would speak to me at school, we would talk and joke around and he would smile and laugh and I would feel like everything was back to normal, but then this sad look would come into his eyes and everything would change.

I missed my friend more than I thought was possible. A fierce aching in my chest had me curled up at night, trying to somehow alleviate the pain. Why did this hurt so much? It's not like I never saw him. I just…didn't see him as often. He didn't smile as often as he used to and I couldn't help but think that it was in some part, my fault…

"Hi, Bella," It was Mike Newton, punk extraordinaire.

"What's up, Newton?" I asked, not looking up from Wuthering Heights.

"Well, umm, I was wondering if you wanted to do something Friday night, I dunno, maybe a movie?" I was in the library before school, in my favorite corner. I don't know how Mike had found me, but there you go.

"Sorry Mike I'm going to see a movie that night."

"Well, I know, I just wondered if you wanted, maybe to go with me. On a date. To the movies." He said, almost as if I were Jessica. And let me just say that was a pretty bad insult.

"Um, yeah, I got that. The answer is no." Briefly, the idea of a date fluttered through my mind and appealed to me, only with a very different guy. A green-eyed bronze-haired one. Quickly, I shook the thought out of my head. Why had I thought that?