CHAPTER 9. Theory

Summary

Bella asks a couple of final questions from Edward. She wants to know how exactly he found her after she didn't go to the bookstore, and he answered that he did so through her scent. Then she asked if the rest of his family can read minds; he says they can't. She then asks why he can't read her mind; he says he doesn't know but suspects it doesn't work the same way as other people's. Bella is afraid that her mind doesn't work right and she's a freak, which amuses Edward considering his own admission.

Bella then grows frightened at Edward's driving, which was a hundred miles per hour; he slows down to eighty for her, though he considers it driving slow. Edward asks Bella for her theory on him and she slowly explains that she got the information from Jacob Black, a son of one of the Quileute elders, and that the Cullens came up due to a snippy comment from Lauren. Edward is amused at how she flirted to get the information, comparing it to his own ability to dazzle people. Bella goes on to talk of doing research on the internet and deciding it didn't matter. This shocks Edward, who confirms what she means: that she doesn't care if he's a monster and not human. She then asks him some more questions, dispelling myths about not being able to come out during daytime, being burned by the sun, sleeping in coffins. Edward adds that he can't sleep at all, then moves to the topic of whether or not he drinks blood. He explains that he does drink blood though he does not hunt people, and that the Quileute treaty is there to reduce the risk of mistakes. Bella asks why his family hunt animals instead of people and whether or not it's enough. He says he hunts animal because he doesn't want to be a monster and sometimes it is more difficult than others to put off his thirst. She explains her theory about his thirst and the color of his eyes, and that men are crabbier when they're hungry.

Edward tells Bella that when he went hunting with Emmett, he was anxious to be away from her. When he brings up he returned from hunting on Sunday, Bella asks why he wasn't in school Monday. Edward answers that while the sun doesn't hurt him, he still can't be seen in sunlight - and adds he will show Bella why sometime. Bella adds that she was concerned when she didn't see him on Monday, prompting Edward to say that what they're doing is wrong, that it's one thing for him to be miserable and a whole other thing for her to be involved. This causes Bella to cry and he apologizes. He asks what she was thinking when she confronted the men, and she says she was preparing to fight them. This amazes Edward, who agrees with her earlier statement that he's fighting fate trying to keep her alive. He drops her off at home and assures her he'll see her in school tomorrow. Edward then makes Bella promise not to go into the woods alone, adding he's not the most dangerous thing out there.

Inside the house, Bella lies to Charlie about being dropped off by Jessica, and calls her because she left her jacket in the car. Jessica wants details but Bella puts her off until tomorrow. Bella takes a shower but is still trying to make sense of the evening. However, she knows three things: Edward is a vampire, part of him wants her blood, and she loves him unconditionally.

Notes

Edward's fast driving scares Bella, and this helps reinforce how differently each of them perceives time. Edward begins his ongoing argument with Bella that his very presence places her in danger; this feeds into the dark romanticism of the novel, adding an element of risk that makes their love more dramatically consequential.