"What happened?" she breathed. Her eyes dropped down to rest on his neck. A frown appeared on her face as her eyes traveled over the bruises along his throat.

He remained silent for a moment as he contemplated how best to explain what had happened. Finally, he decided to be blunt.

"I had a nightmare," he replied simply. After taking a moment to gauge her reaction, he added: "I thought you might want to talk about it."

Bella closed her eyes briefly, pressing her lips together and exhaling through them in a manner which suggested that she was attempting to force herself to remain calm. For a couple of minutes...