We both glanced out the windows at the thinning clouds after he spoke.
"Charlie said it would be warm today."
"I don't give a damn what your father..." he began, but then realized he had something else to say about my father. "Did you tell Charles what you were up to?"
"Nope."
"'Nope.'" He mimicked. "But Jessica thinks we're going to Seattle together?"
"No, I told her you canceled on me—which is sort of true."
"No one knows you're with me?!" The sack shook with rage, and I could only imagine that all of Fredward's blood had gone to his face.
"That depends... I assume you told Alice?"
"That's very helpful, Bella," he snappered.
I kippered my lips and pretended I didn't hear that.
"Are you so depressed by Forks that it's made you suicidal?" he demanded when I ignored him.
I unkippered. "You said it might cause trouble for you, us being together publicly," I reminded him.
"So you're worried about the trouble it might cause me—if you don't come home?"
I nodded, keeping my eyeballs on the road.
He muttered something quietly, angrily.
We were silent for the rest of the drive. I felt waves of infuriated disapproval at my reckless desire to love, rolling off of him in peels of enraged cold-heat, and there was nothing I could do to cool-cool them.
And then the road ended, constricting to a narrow foot trail marked by a small wooden post. I parked on the narrow shoulder and stepped out, afraid of his anger. Now I didn't have driving as an excuse to not look

256

Chapter 12

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