Twilight The Stranger's Gaze

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Alice POV

The world passed by in a stream of light and shadow through the windshield. Alice didn't see the road. She didn't see Edward.

She only saw the blood.

The bright red that had stained the air. The heat in her throat. The exact moment when she stopped being herself… and became that.

"It's okay," Edward said softly, even though she hadn't spoken. "It's over."

Alice didn't answer. Her fingers dug into her knees, stiff like claws. If she closed her eyes, she saw it again: the gash on Nate's arm, the scent that hit her like a punch, the impulse that surged through her like a current.

Just one more step… just one more breath, and she would've lost control.

Edward turned toward the forest and stopped the car. He turned off the engine. Outside, there was no one—only dark trees, the rustling wind… and guilt.

"I'm sorry," Alice whispered, barely audible.

Edward didn't respond right away. He knew she wasn't speaking to him. She was talking to herself.

"I thought I could handle it," she went on. "I thought… I had more control. I've been fine for so long…"

"It caught you off guard," Edward said gently. "It was too fresh. Too close."

"That's no excuse," she murmured.

Her breathing grew unsteady, even though she didn't need it. Just another ghostly reflex of her lost humanity.

Edward watched her in silence. His mind, open like a river, gave her glimpses—scattered and cloudy: images of the scene, the trembling in her hands, Nate's face. The fear.

"He didn't think that," Edward said at last. "He didn't think you were a monster. He was more… worried about you than himself."

Alice shut her eyes tight.

"That's worse."

Edward tilted his head, confused.

"He saw me shake. He saw me hesitate. He tried to come closer, to help me… even while bleeding. And I, Edward, I almost lunged at him." She clenched her fists, the shame burning inside her like fire. "How can anyone trust us after that?"

"Because you didn't," Edward answered firmly. "Because you fought it. Because you stopped."

Alice leaned back in her seat. The cold leather against her back contrasted with the heat in her chest. Silence settled like a weight. A familiar one. One she'd known for decades.

Finally, she turned to look at him.

"I'm sorry… about Bella. Now she knows the truth."

"She was going to find out anyway. If you two hadn't stepped in, I would've. I'd been following her for a while, hoping things wouldn't escalate. If you hadn't been there… who knows what I might've done."

Edward's expression tensed.

"Those men were lucky. They should've died tonight."

Alice looked at him for a few seconds before adding, heavily,

"Still, I think we could've exposed ourselves to Bella under less… stressful circumstances."

Edward nodded slowly. He didn't look upset. Just… tired. Empty.

"I was going to tell her anyway. Tomorrow."

Alice looked at him, surprised.

"You've decided?"

Edward kept his gaze fixed on the darkness of the forest.

"Yes. I don't want to keep lying to her. I've decided I want to be with her."

Alice tensed. The visions came back like shards of glass: the meadow, the golden light through the trees, Bella at the center… and two paths. One beautiful. The other is bloody.

"What if it ends badly?" she asked in a low voice. "What if you hurt her?"

"I won't," Edward said without blinking. "I can't live in this limbo anymore, Alice. I can't keep pushing her away out of fear of what I am. I tried. It didn't work. She deserves to know… and to choose."

Alice lowered her gaze. She said nothing more.

She stayed there, sitting beside Edward in the silent Volvo, long after the conversation had ended. He didn't push her. He knew when silence was the only comfort left.

When they finally returned home, she didn't even go inside.

She just took off running.

Into the forest, like a shadow fleeing from itself.

She spent hours hunting.

A fox. Then a deer. Then another. She didn't even need that much, but the motion, the animal blood in her throat, kept her away from the most painful memory: the bright red flash on Nate's arm. His face. The way he looked at her. Not with fear… but with compassion.

That hurt more than if he had run away.

At some point in the early morning, she perched on a high branch, her forehead resting on her knees, and simply thought.

She thought about him.

About how everything had progressed so fast—at first cautiously, studying each other—and then how they began to speak with disarming honesty, how they laughed together, how the conversation always felt engaging.

Another memory surfaced: the day they almost kissed. She had it tucked away like a whisper she didn't dare repeat, but it returned every time she was alone.

She was the one who pulled away afterward.

He had taken the first step to close the distance a week later, no resentment, no questions.

And she had accepted.

She admitted to herself that being with him was… intriguing. He was multifaceted—kind, intelligent, even funny. A completely unpredictable point in her life. Someone beyond her visions. Something that could be dangerous… or good. Something different.

And now… she had ruined it all.

All for one moment.

For one reflex.

For what she was, at her core. A creature who, no matter how well she pretended, still had a monster sleeping beneath her skin.

Alice had long ago made peace with what she was. It was, after all, the only thing she had ever truly known.

But now, for the first time in decades, she understood the torment her brother lived with.

When she walked into the house, it was already morning. She didn't see anyone. She changed quickly, got ready like usual, and went downstairs to join her siblings on the way to school.

Jasper stood by the door.

His eyes found her instantly. She felt his gift brush against her, offering a wave of calm.

She didn't respond.

She shook her head. She didn't want that favor. Not yet. For now, she wanted to feel the guilt that was eating her alive.

Jasper, reluctantly, seemed to accept her choice.

The school day was… unbearably normal.

Classes. Hallways. Laughter. Notes passed from desk to desk. The routine was spinning as if nothing had happened the night before.

As if she hadn't almost attacked someone. As if she hadn't crossed an invisible line she now had no idea how to erase.

At lunch, she saw Edward and Bella sitting at a table by the windows.

Edward was speaking quietly, but Alice heard every word.

"I'll tell you everything you need to know after class."

Bella simply nodded. No anxiety. No rush. As if she already knew.

Alice noticed how Bella seemed so focused on their conversation that she didn't see anything around her.

And she couldn't blame her. Everything was the same as always.

Except for one thing.

Nate wasn't there.

Not in the halls. Not in class. Not in the corner of the table where he sat when he didn't feel like talking to anyone.

He wasn't there.

The absence hit her too hard.

He didn't come because of me.

Alice lowered her gaze to her hands, feeling something tighten in her lifeless chest.

She felt stupid for everything.

For looking at him that way. For getting so close. And more than anything, for enjoying it.

And now…

Now she probably wouldn't see him again.

The thought chilled her.

What if all I did was confirm everything he feared about us?

She felt like she had destroyed everything good between them.

And against all logic, against all caution…

She took out her phone.

Hesitated.

Her finger trembled a second before she dared to type:

"I know you don't want to talk to me. And I get it. I just… wanted to say I'm sorry. Really sorry."

She stared at it. Once… twice. Her thumb hovered over the send button.

And in the end… she pressed it.

She sent it.

Closed the phone. Put it away.

She wasn't expecting a reply.

But he needed to know.

Even if it was in silence.