Keeping his eyes on mine, Jacob began to bend his face toward me. And I was still absolutely undecided.
The shrill ring of the phone made us both jump, but it did not break his focus. He took his hand from under my chin and reached over to grab the receiver, but still held my face securely with the hand against my cheek.
I was still stunned by what almost transpired just a second ago, but I still could snatch the phone before Jacob did. I pulled it to my ear, glaring at Jake breathlessly.
"This is Carlisle Cullen, is Charlie here?"
There was something wrong with the honey smooth voice on the other end. It sounded like Carlisle's, but it didn't….
"Hi Carlisle, this is Bella. It's nice to talk to you again." I answered even more stunned than before and relieved to talk to him again. "Alice isn't here right now, if that's why you called…"
There was a sharp intake of breath and no reply. I started getting nervous. "Umm, Carlisle, are you okay?"
Jacob mouth had twisted into a sneer while his eyes bore into mine.
"Bella," A new voice whispered. No, this wasn't a new voice; I would know it from anywhere. It was one that I heard before I jumped of the cliff today. It was the one that haunted me as I faced danger in reckless ways. It was the one that used to sing me to sleep. It was the one that I would know as I walked to my death. It was the velvet, voice I'd never forget.
"Oh my god," I cried tears forming in my eyes. My weak legs lowered me to the kitchen floor.
Jacob's hot breath was in my other ear. "What happened?"
I ignored him. "Edward?" I gasped. Through my tears, Jacob's mouth was wide open. His surprise didn't last long. His eyes flashed pain and betrayal and his face turn a swallow green. Jake's body quivered head to toe. What if he transformed so close to me inside the house…
"Jake! Calm down! Go!" I yelled. He glanced at me and ran out the door.
"You're alive…you're alive." Edward murmured on the other end. "Oh, Bella,"
Edward's voice chased away all nightmares and everything I'd gone through in the past months of agony.
"Of course I am. What did you expect?" I sniffled trying to clear my throat.
He sound absolutely dazed. "You, you jumped off a cliff…did you want to die?" He suddenly roared, startling me.
What happened suddenly dawned on me. "Rosalie told you I jumped off that cliff to kill myself didn't she? It was for recreational purposes only."
There was a short silence. "Oh." Edward said quietly. There was a longer pause. "This was a…mistake Bella. I…I-I promised you I would not interfere with your life anymore. I'm sorry that I called."
I started screaming into the phone. "Please, please, please don't hang up. Don't go again!" I pleaded, tears gushing down my face. "I know you told me you don't love me. But I still love you! I-I-I m-miss you s-s-s-so m-much…!"
Sobs broke free from my chest, enabling me from talking. I couldn't even seem to a breath. The hole in my chest ripped open farther, edges burning. If he left, I wouldn't be able to get repaired again. Jacob comfort could not help. This time, I would be the one that would cease to exist. I'd suffer alone…
"Bella give me the phone." I looked up instantly, unaware of how close Alice's face now was. She didn't wait for me to answer. The telephone was next to her ear in an instant. She started talking, her lips a blurring with speed. I couldn't make out what she was saying. Alice kept an expressionless face.
My body ached to hear the conversation. Alice would convince him to come back right? She would talk some sense into him.
He told me so many months ago that he didn't love me…but why did he call then? If he didn't love me, why did he call to see if I was alive? He didn't care anymore, did he?
The hole was festering, waiting to dominate my tense body. It fed on the hopeless hope that Edward still cared on me.
Alice glanced at me once. Then she hung the phone up.