Gifted

Chapter 15: Endurance

Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight. Please, please read and review if you can spare a moment. They make my day.

Author's note: I'd like to clarify something a few people mentioned in the reviews. This is NOT a Bella/Rosalie/Emmett fic. There will be Bella/Rosalie, and there will probably be some mild Emmett/Rosalie since their relationship is so integral to this story. I hope this is clear now.

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Bella sighed in relief when the last bell rang and she could finally flee. In the last couple of hours her tolerance for pain had reached new heights. She could feel Emmett and Rosalie staring at her all through their classes together, and could only pray that her stiff, focused demeanor hadn't made them suspicious.

Though her head was practically vibrating with the power coursing through her body, Bella was still able to reflect on what had happened earlier. She knew she was incredibly lucky. Bella was quite familiar with her body and the way it reacted...if what she felt had occurred just a few months ago, everyone in the cafeteria would be dead. In the past, when she'd come this close to disaster she'd take it as a cue to leave town. But this was the second time in as many days that she had this reaction and was able to contain it. Did that mean she'd finally found a way to live with it? Or was there some unforeseen consequence to keeping that power locked in?

God, what if she hurt someone again? She had worked so hard to keep her distance from people for the express purpose of never, ever repeating the accident that killed her mother. What if in the last couple of years, she had just been lulled into a false sense of security? What if she wasn't as strong as she thought she was?

She glanced at Rosalie and Emmett who were walking beside her out of the classroom. What if she hurt them? Or Alice or Jasper or Carlisle or Esme? Esme...Esme had become so much more to her than her friends' mother. Bella was not a fool-she knew what her behavior and her feelings for the woman meant... that she now very much considered her a surrogate parent. She doubted Esme felt the same way, but her treatment of Bella while she was practically living with them last week suggested she at the very least felt a sympathy and compassion toward the younger girl. A week ago, Bella was so starved for any kind of emotional connection that she had latched onto Esme with everything she had.

She blinked back a tear as the thought of hurting Esme, hurting any of the Cullens...

"Bella Bear, are you ok?" Emmett was asking quietly.

Bella nodded, not trusting her own voice at the moment. The pain she felt in her heart was in many ways more powerful and debilitating than the burning all over her body. She had to stay away from the Cullens. Every second she spent with them, she was putting them in grave danger. They had shown her love, compassion, friendship. They had filled the shell that Bella used to be with something that resembled a human being. The best way to repay them now was to leave them in peace before she made a fatal mistake.

"Hey," Rosalie's soft voice reached her, and Bella felt herself be maneuvered so she was looking directly into her eyes. "What's going on, Bella?"

Even as she repeated the words to herself, she knew she couldn't leave. One look in Rosalie's eyes and Bella could feel her resolve crumbling into dust. Bella could endure the pain her power forced on her. She could endure a thousand times the pain she felt in the cafeteria. But she didn't have the strength to leave these people...not if she wanted to hold on to the last shreds of her humanity.

"Yeah," Bella said to Rosalie. "I'm-I'll be ok. First day jitters that's all."

Bella smiled lightly. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow," she said to both of them.