"Thank you." I waited, fuming and expectant.

"You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"No."

"In that case… I hope you enjoy disappointment."

We scowled at each other in silence. I was the first to speak, trying to
keep myself focused. I was in danger of being distracted by his livid,
glorious face. It was like trying to stare down a destroying angel.

"Why did you even bother?" I asked frigidly.

He paused, and for a brief moment his stunning face was unexpectedly
vulnerable.

"I don't know," he whispered.

And then he turned his back on me and walked away.

I was so angry, it took me a few minutes until I could move. When I could
walk, I made my way slowly to the exit at the end of the hallway.

The waiting room was more unpleasant than I'd feared. It seemed like
every face I knew in Forks was there, staring at me. Charlie rushed to my
side; I put up my hands.

"There's nothing wrong with me," I assured him sullenly. I was still
aggravated, not in the mood for chitchat.

"What did the doctor say?"

"Dr. Cullen saw me, and he said I was fine and I could go home." I
sighed. Mike and Jessica and Eric were all there, beginning to converge
on us. "Let's go," I urged.

Charlie put one arm behind my back, not quite touching me, and led me to
the glass doors of the exit. I waved sheepishly at my friends, hoping to
convey that they didn't need to worry anymore. It was a huge relief— the
first time I'd ever felt that way — to get into the cruiser.

We drove in silence. I was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I barely
knew Charlie was there. I was positive that Edward's defensive behavior
in the hall was a confirmation of the bizarre things I still could hardly
believe I'd witnessed.

When we got to the house, Charlie finally spoke.

"Um… you'll need to call Renée." He hung his head, guilty.

I was appalled. "You told Mom!"

"Sorry."

I slammed the cruiser's door a little harder than necessary on my way out.

My mom was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her I felt fine at
least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged me to come home
— forgetting the fact that home was empty at the moment — but her pleas
were easier to resist than I would have thought. I was consumed by the
mystery Edward presented. And more than a little obsessed by Edward
himself. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I wasn't as eager to escape Forks as I
should be, as any normal, sane person would be.

I decided I might as well go to bed early that night. Charlie continued
to watch me anxiously, and it was getting on my nerves. I stopped on my
way to grab three Tylenol from the bathroom. They did help, and, as the
pain eased, I drifted to sleep.

现象（8）

    "谢谢你。"我等候着，既怒气冲冲，又满怀期待。

    "你不打算让这事儿过去算了，是不是？"

    "没错。"

    "那样的话……你就好好地等着失望吧。"

    我们默默地怒视着对方。是我先开的口，目的是为了让自己精力集中，因为我的注意力时刻面临着被他那张气得发青，却又令人愉快的脸分散的危险。这情形就如同努力把一个催魂天使盯得不敢跟你对视一样。

    "那你干吗还要费那个劲呢？"我冷冷地问道。

    他顿了一会儿，然后有那么短暂的一瞬，他那张漂亮至极的脸，出人意料地脆弱了。

    "我不知道，"他低声说道。

    然后他转过身去，走了。

    我都气晕了，好几分钟不能动弹。可以动步以后，我慢吞吞地走到了过道尽头的出口。

    候诊室比我担心得还要糟糕。似乎我在福克斯认识的每一副面孔都在那里，直盯盯地看着我。查理冲到了我身边；我举起了双手。

    "我一点事儿也没有，"我绷着脸跟他说。我的火还没消，没有心情聊天。

    "大夫怎么说？"

    "卡伦大夫看的，他说我没事儿，可以回家。"我叹息道。迈克、杰西卡和埃里克都在，过来跟我们会合了。"咱们走吧，"我催促道。

    查理把一只手臂放在了我的背后，没有完全碰到我的身体，引着我朝出口的玻璃门走去。我腼腆地朝朋友们挥了挥手，希望向他们传达不必再担心了的意思。坐进巡逻车真是一种巨大的安慰——我平生第一次有这样的感觉。

    我们默默行驶着。我全神贯注地想着问题，几乎把身边的查理给忘了。我确信爱德华在过道里的辩护行为恰好证实了我亲眼目睹的那些不可思议的事情，虽然至今仍不敢相信。

    我们到家时，查理终于开口了。

    "唔……你得给蕾妮去个电话。"他愧疚地垂下了头。

    我吓坏了："你告诉妈了！"

    "对不起。"

    我从巡逻车下来后，砰地一声摔上了车门，力气稍稍使大了一点儿。

    我妈自然是歇斯底里了。我起码得跟她说上三十遍我没事儿，她才会冷静下来。她恳求我回家去——忘掉家里暂时没人这件事——不过她的请求比我想象的要容易拒绝。我已经被爱德华带来的神秘弄得精疲力竭了，而且更有一点被他这个人给迷住了。愚蠢，愚蠢，愚蠢。我不渴望着逃离福克斯了，离开这个我本应该避而远之的地方，就像任何正常的神志清醒的人那样。

    那天晚上，我决定不妨早点儿上床睡觉。查理依旧不安地看着我，看得我都有些发毛了。我去卧室的中途停了下来，从卫生间抓了三颗泰诺。还确实管用，很快就止疼了，我不知不觉就睡着了。