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.Exposure.© 2008 Stephenie Meyer 59And this certainly wasn t going to help, but there was no way I was going toallow the van to succeed in its second attempt to take her life.I dropped her and threw my hands out, catching the van before it could touch thegirl.The force of it hurled me back into the car parked beside her truck, and I could feelits frame buckle behind my shoulders.The van shuddered and shivered against theunyielding obstacle of my arms, and then swayed, balancing unstably on the two far tires.If I moved my hands, the back tire of the van was going fall onto her legs.Oh, for the love of all that was holy, would the catastrophes never end? Was thereanything else that could go wrong? I could hardly sit here, holding the van in the air, andwait for rescue.Nor could I throw the van away there was the driver to consider, histhoughts incoherent with panic.With an internal groan, I shoved the van so that it rocked away from us for aninstant.As it fell back toward me, I caught it under the frame with my right hand while Iwrapped my left arm around the girl s waist again and drug her out from under the van,pulling her tight up against my side.Her body moved limply as I swung her around sothat her legs would be in the clear was she conscious? How much damage had I doneto her in my impromptu rescue attempt?I let the van drop, now that it could not hurt her.It crashed to the pavement, allthe windows shattering in unison.I knew that I was in the middle of a crisis.How much had she seen? Had anyother witnesses watched me materialize at her side and then juggle the van while I tried tokeep her out from under it? These questions should be my biggest concern.But I was too anxious to really care about the threat of exposure as much as Ishould.Too panic-stricken that I might have injured her myself in my effort to protecther.Too frightened to have her this close to me, knowing what I would smell if I allowedmyself to inhale.Too aware of the heat of her soft body, pressed against mine eventhrough the double obstacle of our jackets, I could feel that heat&The first fear was the greatest fear.As the screaming of the witnesses eruptedaround us, I leaned down to examine her face, to see if she was conscious hopingfiercely that she was not bleeding anywhere.Her eyes were open, staring in shock.© 2008 Stephenie Meyer 60 Bella? I asked urgently. Are you all right? I m fine. She said the words automatically in a dazed voice.Relief, so exquisite it was nearly pain, washed through me at the sound of hervoice.I sucked in a breath through my teeth, and did not mind the accompanying burn inmy throat.I almost welcomed it.She struggled to sit up, but I was not ready to release her.It feltsomehow& safer? Better, at least, having her tucked into my side. Be careful, I warned her. I think you hit your head pretty hard. There had been no smell of fresh blood a mercy, that but this did not rule outinternal damage.I was abruptly anxious to get her to Carlisle and a full compliment ofradiology equipment. Ow, she said, her tone comically shocked as she realized I was right about herhead. That s what I thought. Relief made it funny to me, made me almost giddy. How in the& Her voice trailed off, and her eyelids fluttered. How did youget over here so fast? The relief turned sour, the humor vanished.She had noticed too much.Now that it appeared that the girl was in decent shape, the anxiety for my familybecame severe. I was standing right next to you, Bella. I knew from experience that if I wasvery confident as I lied, it made any questioner less sure of the truth.She struggled to move again, and this time I allowed it.I needed to breathe sothat I could play my role correctly.I needed space from her warm-blooded heat so that itwould not combine with her scent to overwhelm me.I slid away from her, as far as waspossible in the small space between the wrecked vehicles.She stared up at me, and I stared back.To look away first was a mistake only anincompetent liar would make, and I was not an incompetent liar.My expression wassmooth, benign& It seemed to confuse her.That was good.The accident scene was surrounded now.Mostly students, children, peering andpushing through the cracks to see if any mangled bodies were visible.There was a© 2008 Stephenie Meyer 61babble of shouting and a gush of shocked thought.I scanned the thoughts once to makesure there were no suspicions yet, and then tuned it out and concentrated only on the girl.She was distracted by the bedlam.She glanced around, her expression stillstunned, and tried to get to her feet.I put my hand lightly on her shoulder to hold her down. Just stay put for now. She seemed alright, but should she really be moving herneck? Again, I wished for Carlisle.My years of theoretical medical study were no matchfor his centuries of hands-on medical practice. But it s cold, she objected.She had almost been crushed to death two distinct times and crippled one more,and it was the cold that worried her.A chuckle slid through my teeth before I couldremember that the situation was not funny.Bella blinked, and then her eyes focused on my face. You were over there. That sobered me again.She glanced toward the south, though there was nothing to see now but thecrumpled side of the van. You were by your car. No, I wasn t. I saw you, she insisted; her voice was childlike when she was being stubborn.Her chin jutted out. Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way. I stared deeply into her wide eyes, trying to will her into accepting my versionthe only rational version on the table.Her jaw set. No. I tried to stay calm, to not panic.If only I could keep her quiet for a fewmoments, to give me a chance to destroy the evidence&.and undermine her story bydisclosing her head injury.Shouldn t it be easy to keep this silent, secretive girl quiet? If only she wouldtrust me, just for a few moments& Please, Bella, I said, and my voice was too intense, because I suddenly wantedher to trust me.Wanted it badly, and not just in regards to this accident.A stupid desire.What sense would it make for her to trust me?© 2008 Stephenie Meyer 62 Why? she asked, still defensive
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