"And you're worried, not because you're headed to meet a houseful of vampires, but because you think those vampires won't approve of you, correct?” “That's right,” I answered immediately, hiding my surprise at his casual use of the word. He shook his head. “You're incredible."

"Victoria?" she hissed. "Laurent?" I nodded, a teensy bit alarmed by the expression in her black eyes. I pointed at my chest. "Danger magnet, remember?"

I'd never understood how Carlisle was able to do that - ignore the blood of his patients in order to treat them. Wouldn't the constant temptation be so distracting, so dangerous? But now, I could see how, if you were focusing on something else hard enough, the temptation was be nothing at all.

I didn't relate well to people my age. Maybe the truth was that I didn't relate well to people, period. Even my mother, who I was closer to than anyone else on the planet, was never in harmony with me, never on exactly the same page. Sometimes I wondered if I was seeing the same things through my eyes that the rest of the world was seeing through theirs. Maybe there was a glitch in my brain.

I'm just here to be your friend. Your best friend, one last time.

I grinned at him, feeling more enthusiastic about my plan now that he was on board. Rosalie was a pain, but I would always owe her one for choosing Emmett; no one had a better brother than mine.

It's over. We've all been sentenced to die.