Eclipse (EPOV)
CHAPTER 1
My hands moved swiftly over the keys as the melody drew nearer to its
end, finally resting on the chord that was both a blessing and a curse. I didn't'
want the lullaby to end, just as I didn't want my love for Bella to end.
I sighed as I glanced at the clock. Twenty-four minutes until I was allowed
to see my angel, my brave, soft, warm Bella, who had unfortunately been
grounded by her father, as a punishment for her unexplained 3-day
disappearance to Italy. Her grounding restricted my visiting hours, which was
hard for me, as any moment not spent with Bella I thought a waste of time.
Oh, I wish Edward would keep playing. That song is so beautiful. I smiled
as Esme's thoughts flitted through my mind. She loved listening to my piano-
playing, which I was doing more and more these days.
Oi! Edward! I know you can hear me! Get your butt down here! We're
going to play baseball! Emmett yelled at me silently from outside.
I sighed and made my way downstairs, moving at superhuman speed. I
was at Emmett's side in less than two seconds.
"Hey, sorry, man, I've got better things to do." I winked at him and went to
the garage to get my Volvo.
"Aw, come on brother! You spend way too much time with that human; it's
time for some family time." Emmett pleaded with me.
My lips curled back ever so slightly at the casual word. Bella was no
ordinary human. She was the most important thing in the world to me, the
love of my existence.
But I laughed as I got into the car. "Sorry, Em. Visiting hours are seven to
nine-thirty only. Maybe tomorrow?"
"Yeh, sure. See ya." Behave yourself, he thought to me and winked as I
accelerated down the driveway.
* * *
I reached Bella's house at exactly seven o'clock, pulling into the driveway
and cutting the quiet purr of the engine. I walked slowly to the front door,
careful to travel at human speed encase anyone spotted me flying to the door
at eighty miles an hour.
I knocked at the door and waited to be let in. I heard Charlie grumbling "Go
way!", then Bella's eager voice; "Coming!"
I heard her quick footsteps, the door was wrenched open, and there she
was. I smiled at her intense gaze, marvelling at the beauty of her soft, warm,
chocolate-brown eyes.
She reached for my hand and I grasped her fingers, the warmth spreading
up my arm like fire.
"Hey", she said softly, a smile playing across her lips.
I lifted our hands up to her glowing cheek and brushed it with the back of
my hand. The colour in her cheeks deepened at my touch.
"How was your afternoon?" I asked.
"Slow".
I smiled, remembering my own impatience as time seemed to stand still
this afternoon. "For me, as well."
I pulled her wrist up to my nose, closing my eyes and sighing with pleasure
as I breathed in her delicious scent.
What is taking her so long? The sooner that boy gets into the house, the
quicker he can damn well leave. I heard Charlie's impatient and annoyed
thoughts as he stomped down the hallway.
I opened my eyes and dropped my hand, but kept Bella's fingers
intertwined with my own.
"Good evening, Charlie", I said, trying as always to be polite to Bella's
father.
Why does he always have to be so polite? Is he trying to piss me off?
Charlie grunted in reply and stood in the doorway, arms crossed, clearly not
happy with my presence at his house.
"I brought another set of applications," I told Bella, ignoring Charlie's
disgruntled expression. I held up the envelope and smiled at Bella's
expression.
"There are still a few open deadlines. And a few places willing to make
exceptions." After a couple of bribes, I added to myself. I did not mention this
to Bella, knowing that it would annoy her even more than my constant stream
of applications I made her fill out.
I laughed as her expression became more infuriated than bored, almost like
she could tell what I had been thinking.
"Shall we?" I led her to the kitchen table before she could protest.
Charlie followed close behind us, his thoughts becoming slightly less
annoyed. Oh well, I suppose if all they're doing is filling out college
applications I can't complain…
Bella quickly cleared the table and I placed the pile of forms in front of her.
I raised one eyebrow as I saw the book she lifted out of the way.
Wuthering Heights again? She really needs a new book; she should know
that one by heart by now.
I was about to comment but Charlie cut in.
"Speaking of college applications, Edward," his voice sounding more
displeased by the second, "Bella and I were just talking about next year. Have
you decided where you're going to school?" And it better not be "just
wherever Bella's going", son, he added to himself, I don't want you two
getting that serious.
I smiled at how oblivious he was to the intensity of mine and Bella's relationship.
"Not yet. I've received a few acceptance letters, but I'm still weighing my options."
"Where have you been accepted?" Charlie pressed.
"Syracuse, Harvard, Dartmouth… and I just got accepted to the University of Alaska Southeast today." I threw that last one in just to watch his face. I winked at Bella and she stifled a giggle.
"Harvard? Dartmouth?" Charlie mumbled in awe. Wow, this guy must be a brainiac. Just like his father, I suppose. "Well, that's pretty… that's something. Yeah, nut the University of Alaska… you wouldn't really consider that when you could go Ivy League." Thank God Bells isn't that clever, then. There's no way he's gonna miss such an opportunity. "I mean, your father would want you to…"
"Carlisle's always fine with whatever I choose to do," I said as patiently as possible.
"Hmph." He can't be serious. Christ, he would actually consider turning down Dartmouth?
"Guess what, Edward?" Bella's voice sounded a bit too false.
"What, Bella?" I asked, playing along.
She pointed to an envelope on the counter.
"I just got my acceptance to the University of Alaska!"
"Congratulations!" I grinned at her. "What a coincidence."
Now that's just a bit too… Charlie's eyes narrowed as he glared at Bella and I.
"Fine," he muttered after a minute. "I'm going to watch the game, Bella. Nine-thirty."
"Er, Dad?" Bella spoke carefully. "Remember the very recent discussion about my freedom?"
Charlie sighed. Dang, she remembered. "Right. Okay, ten-thirty," he said grudgingly. "You still have a curfew on school nights."
"Bella's no longer grounded?" I already knew this, of course, but I tried to keep the excitement out of my voice.
"Conditionally." Charlie spoke through his teeth. "What's it to you?" Don't get too excited, boy. She's still living under my roof and I have rules…
"It's just good to know," I said. "Alice has been itching for a shopping partner, and I'm sure Bella would love to see some city lights." I smiled at Bella, knowing exactly how she felt about Alice's shopping trips and her extreme makeover sessions.
Shopping? In the city?! Charlie growled, "No!", his face turning purple.
"Dad! What's the problem?" Bella seemed bewildered by her father's reaction.
He mad and effort to sound more normal, seeing Bella's concern. "I don't want you going to Seattle right now."
"Huh?"
She was either unaware of the deadly happenings in the city at the moment, or she had forgotten just how easily danger was attracted to her. So Bella.
"I told you about that story in the paper – there's some kind of gang on a killing spree I Seattle and I want you to steer clear, okay?"
Bella rolled her eyes. "Dad, there's a better chance that I'll get struck by lightning than that the day I'm in Seattle – "
"No, that's fine, Charlie," I interrupted her. Did she really think that I would let her go to Seattle with that kind of danger roaming the streets? "I didn't mean Seattle. I was thinking Portland, actually. I wouldn't have Bella in Seattle either. Of course not."
I noticed a newspaper lying on the table and picked it up, slowly reading the front page. Of course, I already knew the story, but I wanted Charlie to realise that I wasn't a reckless and irresponsible teenager who wouldn't give a thought to his daughter's safety.
IT must have worked as he glared at me for a moment, then shrugged. "Fine," he said, and stalked off to watch his game.
"What – ", Bella started to speak.
"Hold on," I said, my eyes still on the paper. I pushed the Dartmouth application across the table. "I think you can recycle your essays for this one. Same questions."
I didn't want to discuss what was really going on in Seattle while Charlie could still hear.
I stared out of the window, thinking over my conversation with Carlisle a few weeks ago…
"The attacks in Seattle. They can't be one person," I said.
Carlisle shook his head. "Not likely. They're not human attacks either. A newborn, most likely."
"We'll have to keep a close eye on the city, then."
"Yes, if things get worse, the Volturi will surely pay a little visit to Washington."
I shuddered as his words reminded me of another reason why the Volturi might visit. Carlisle guessed what I was thinking.
"Relax, Edward. Bella will be safe from them for quite a few years, I'm sure. There's no hurry to change her just yet."
Bella snorted and brought me back to the present.
"Bella?" I asked as she shoved the papers aside, her face stubborn and slightly annoyed.
"Be serious, Edward. Dartmouth?"
I sighed and placed he application in front of her again. She could be so difficult.
"I think you'd like New Hampshire. There's a full complement of night courses for me, and forests are very conveniently located for the avid hiker. Plentiful wildlife."
I grinned at her, using a smile I knew she couldn't resist.
She inhaled deeply through her nose.
"I'll let you pay me back, if that makes you happy," I said, knowing I would let her do nothing of the sort. "If you want, I can charge you interest," I teased.
"Like I could even get in without some enormous bribe. Or was that part of the loan. The new Cullen wing of the library? Ugh. Why are we having this discussion again?"
"Will you just fill out the application, please, Bella?" I said with an exasperated sigh. "It wont hurt you to apply."
The stubborn expression was back on her face. "You know what? I don't think I will."
I sighed again and swept the papers into my pocket before she could throw them in the trashcan.
"What are you doing?" she demanded.
"I sign your name better than you do yourself. You've already written the essays."
I knew it was pointless to make her apply for universities like Dartmouth. No matter, I would just do them myself. She would be annoyed with me but she needed the options for next year.
"You're going way overboard with this, you know," Bella whispered. "I really don't need to apply anywhere else. I've been accepted in Alaska. I can almost afford the first semester's tuition. It's as good an alibi as any. There's no need to throw away a bunch of money, no matter whose it is."
I remembered the reason for her reluctance. "Bella – "
"Don't start. I agree that I need to go through the motions for Charlie's sake, but we both know I'm not going to be in any condition to go to school next fall. To be anywhere near people."
She was still adamant that she would be changed before she went to college then. I was still far form happy about this, doing everything I could to delay her becoming a vampire.
"I thought the timing was still undecided," I said quietly. "You might enjoy a semester or two of college. There are a lot of human experiences you've never had."
"I'll get to those afterward".
"They won't be human experiences afterward. You don't get a second chance at humanity, Bella," I said fiercely.
She sighed. "You've got to be reasonable about the timing, Edward. It's just too dangerous to mess around with."
"There's no danger yet," I insisted, my discussion with Carlisle coming back to me again.
She glared at me for a while, and I saw the distress on her face.
"Bella," I murmured, "there's no hurry. I won't let anyone hurt you. You can take all the time you need."
"I want to hurry," she whispered, smiling weakly. "I want to e a monster, too."
My jaw hardened at the word. What was she thinking? Why was she so desperate to become like me, a vampire… a monster? I was angry with myself. If I had left her alone at the start, all those months ago, this would not be happening. She would not be sitting here now, calmly discussing her death.
"You have no idea what you're saying." I spoke through clenched teeth. I threw the paper towards her and pointed to the front page headline:
Death toll on the rise,
Police fear gang activity.
"What does that have to do with anything?" Bella said, confused.
"Monsters are not a joke, Bella." How cold I make her see this? Make her realise how wrong it was for her to want to become one?
She stared at the headline, realisation dawning. "A… a vampire is doing this?" she whispered, looking up at me.
I smiled humourlessly and spoke coldly. "You'd be surprised, Bella, at how often my kind are the source behind the horrors in your human news. It's easy to recognises, when you know what to look for. The information here indicates a newborn vampire is loose in Seattle. Bloodthirsty, wild, out of control. Te way we all were."
I grimaced, remembering my newborn days; the unbelievable thirst, the constant burning throat…
Bella's gaze left my face to study the paper again.
"We've been monitoring the situation for a few weeks. All the signs are there – the unlikely disappearances, always in the night, the poorly disposed-of corpses, the lack of other evidence… Yes, someone brand-new. And no one seems to be taking responsibility for the neophyte…"
I trailed off, letting the information sink in, then took a deep breath, trying to lighten the tone of the conversation. "Well, it's not our problem. We wouldn't even pay attention to the situation if it wasn't so close to home. Like I said, this happens all the time. The existence of monsters results in monstrous consequences."
Bella gazed at the article for a while longer.
"It won't be the same for me," she whispered softly. "You won't let me be like that. We'll live in Antarctica."
I snorted at the idea, breaking to tension. "Penguins. Lovely."
Se laughed shakily and knocked the paper off the table. "Alaska then, as planned. Only somewhere much more remote than Juneau – somewhere with grizzlies galore."
"Better," I considered. "There are polar bears, too. Very fierce. And the wolves get quite large."
Her mouth fell open and her breath came out sharply.
"What's wrong?" I asked, puzzled by her reaction. Then I realised. Wolves. Of course that would upset her, But a the same time, I was annoyed. Werewolves were a subject we completely disagreed on.
"Oh. Never mind the wolves, then, if the idea is offensive to you," I said formally.
"He was my best friend, Edward," she murmured. "Of course the idea offends me."
"Please forgive my thoughtlessness. I shouldn't have suggested that." My voice still sounded so formal. Again. I blamed myself for Bella being friends with Jacob Black and the rest of those stinking dogs. If I hadn't left her… The memory was still painful for both of us.
"Don't worry about it," Bella said quietly. She stared at her clenched hands. I tried to read her expression. Was she very angry with me? Upset?
We sat in silence for a long time while I waited for her to calm down. Finally, it became too much. I placed a finger under her chin and lifted her face up so I could look into her eyes.
"Sorry. Really." She had no idea how sorry I was, how much it pained me to see her upset.
"I know. I know it's not the same thing. I shouldn't have reacted that way. It's just that… well, I was already thinking about Jacob before you came over."
I tensed at way she said his name. She hesitated, searching my expression.
"Charlie says Jake is having a hard time," she continued. "He's hurting right now, and… it's my fault."
I sighed. That was so Bella. Always trying to take the blame.
"You've done nothing wrong, Bella," I said, relaxing a little.
She took a deep breath. "I need to make it better, Edward, I owe him that. And it's one of Charlie's conditions anyway – "
She broke off as my jaw hardened again.
"You know it's out of the question for you to be around a werewolf unprotected, Bella. And it would break the treaty if any of us cross onto their land. Do you want to start a war?" I said angrily.
"Of course not!"
"Then there's really no point in discussing the matter further."
I dropped my hand from under her chin and looked away. I hated arguing with Bella, it felt wrong.
I cast my eyes around the room, searching for a subject change. My gaze fell upon her book lying on the counter.
"I'm gland Charlie has decided to let you out – you're sadly in need of a visit to the bookstore. I can't believe you're reading Wuthering Heights again. Don't you know it by heart yet?" I teased.
"Not all of us have photographic memories," she said curtly. Obviously still annoyed with me then.
"Photographic memory or not, I don't understand why you like it," I persisted, trying to distract her from our werewolf argument. I hated her being upset with me too, as much as I deserved it. "The characters are ghastly people who ruin each other's lives. I don't know how Heathcliffe and Cathy ended up being ranked with couples like Romeo and Juliet or Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. It isn't a love story, it's a hate story.
"You have some serious issues with the classics," she snapped.
I smiled. At least I had managed to distract her, even though her mood had not seemed to change.
"Perhaps it's because I'm not impressed by antiquity." I paused. "Honestly, though, why do you read it over and over?" I asked, genuinely curious.
I reached over to take her face in my hands. "What is it that appeals to you?"
"I'm not sure," she said carefully.
My touch seemed to have scattered her thoughts as she struggled to find the words.
"I think it's something about he inevitability. How nothing can keep them apart – not her selfishness, or his evil, or even death, in the end…"
I considered her words, gazing into her beautiful, thoughtful eyes. Cathy and Heathcliffe's story seemed to fit right into our own love story… well, almost. I would never accuse Bella of being selfish.
I smiled teasingly at her. "I still think it would be better if either of them had a redeeming quality."
"I think that may be the point," she disagreed. "Their love is their only redeeming quality."
"I hope you have better sense than that – to fall in love with someone so… malignant." Like me, I reflected sadly.
"It's a bit late for me to worry about who I fall in love with," she pointed out. "But even without the warning, I seemed to have managed fairly well."
I chuckled quietly. "I'm glad you think so."
"Well, I hope you're smart enough to stay away from someone so selfish. Catherine is really the source of all the trouble, not Heathcliffe."
"I'll be on my guard," I promised. Did she really see herself that way? Did she really see us that way? Her as the selfish one? She was completely wrong about that.
She sighed and held my hand to her face with her warm fingers. "I need to see Jacob."
I closed my eyes. Why did she have to bring that up again? I thought angrily. She could never be distracted for long…
"No," I said, finally.
"It's truly not dangerous at all," she argued. "I used to spend all day in La Push with the whole lot of them, and nothing ever happened."
I gave her a moment to consider what she had said. I nodded in satisfaction when I heard her heart speed up as she realised that it was not quite true.
"Werewolves are unstable. Sometimes, the people near them get hurt. Sometimes, they get killed."
I waited for this to sink in.
"You don't know them," she whispered.
"I know them better than you think, Bella. I was here the last time."
"The last time?" She sounded surprised. Clearly, Jacob had not filled her in on all the details.
"We started crossing paths with the wolves about seventy years ago… We had just settled near Hoquiam. That was before Alice and Jasper were with us. We out-numbered them, but that wouldn't have stopped it from turning into a fight if not for Carlisle. He managed to convince Ephraim Black that coexisting was possible, and eventually, we made the truce."
I broke off, then muttered to myself; "We thought the line had died out with Ephraim, that the genetic quirk which allowed the transmutation had been lost…" I looked at Bella accusingly. "Your bad luck seems to get more potent every day. Do you realise that you insatiable pull for all things deadly was strong enough to recover a pack of mutant canines form extinction? If we could bottle your luck, we'd have a weapon of mass destruction on our hands," I teased.
"But I didn't bring them back. Don't you know?"
"Know what?" I was curious about what she had discovered.
"My bad luck had nothing to do with it. The werewolves came back because the vampire did."
I stared at her with surprise.
"Jacob told me that your family being here set things in motion. I thought you would already know…" For the second time that night, she trailed off at my expression.
My eyes were narrowed. Of course that stupid mutt would tell her that, I thought sourly. "Is that what they think?"
"Edward, look at the facts. Seventy years ago, you came here, and the werewolves showed up. You come back now, and the werewolves show up again. Do you think that's a coincidence?"
I blinked as I realised her words may have some truth about them. "Carlisle will be interested in that theory," I said thoughtfully.
"Theory," Bella scoffed.
I ignored her remark and thought for a moment. It was true, the facts did fit, nut could it simply be a coincidence? It was an interesting theory, but I was sure that, whether it was correct or not, it would not pose any new threat to our family.
"Interesting theory, but not exactly relevant," I murmured to myself, voicing my thoughts out loud. Then to Bella; "The situation remains the same."
I would not have her conversing with dangerous mutts like Jacob Black while I sat worrying about her at home, unable to protect her because of the treaty. No, she would not be visiting La Push any time soon.
Bella considered what I had said for a moment, then got up and walked around the table. I opened my arms for her and she sat herself on my lap, her warmth spreading through me, almost thawing out my frozen heart. I wrapped my arms around her waist, never wanting to let her go, and waited to hear what she wanted to say.
She began hesitantly. "Please just listen to me for a minute. This is so much more important than some whim to drop in on an old friend. Jacob is in pain." Her voice cracked at the word and I hugged her closer to me. "I can't not try to help him – I can't give up on him now, when he needs me. Just because he's not human all the time… Well, he was there for me when I was… not so human myself. You don't know what it was like…" She paused.
I clenched my fists at the memory of the pain I had caused when I had left her. I would never, could never forgive myself for what I had done to her.
"If Jacob hadn't helped me…" she continued, "I'm not sure what you would have come home to. I owe him better than this, Edward."
I closed my eyes, my jaw strained and my arms rigid around her.
"I'll never forgive myself for leaving you," I whispered. "Not if I live a hundred thousand years." The pain I had felt when we were apart had been unbearable, I could only imagine what it had been like for Bella…
I felt her warm hand against my cheek and sighed. My eyes opened and found her beautiful, brown, forgiving ones.
"You were just trying to do the right thing. And I'm sure it would have worked with anyone less mental than me." I couldn't even smile at her attempt at a joke.
"Besides," she carried on, "you're here now. That's the part that matters."
I sighed in frustration. "If I'd never left you, you wouldn't feel the need to go risk your life to comfort a dog."
She flinched at my word choice, nut she had to see that that's what she was doing. That was what my leaving came down to. I had put her in more danger than I had realised when I had left.
"I don't know how to phrase this properly," I said carefully. "It's going to sound cruel, I suppose. But I've come too close to losing you in the past. I know what it feels like to think I have. I am not going to tolerate anything dangerous." I hoped I hadn't sounded too harsh, but she had to realise how terrible I felt for leaving her, and the unbearable pain I had felt when I thought I had lost her forever.
"You have to trust me on this. I'll be fine," she insisted.
"Please, Bella," I whispered. I couldn't let anything happen to her again.
She stared I to my eyes. "Please what?"
"Please, for me. Please make a conscious effort to keep yourself safe. I'll do everything I can, but I would appreciate a little help." I pleaded with her.
"I'll work on it," she murmured.
That was probably the best I was going to get. I sighed. "Do you really have any idea how important you are to me? Any concept at all of how much I love you?" I pulled her closer to me, allowing no space between us. I rested my chin on her soft, warm hair and breathed in her heavenly scent.
She pressed her hot lips to my neck. "I know how much I love you," she answered.
"You compare one small tree to the entire forest."
"Impossible."
I smiled at her stubbornness and kissed the top of her head. I sighed with pleasure at her amazing warmth and fragrance.
"No werewolves."
"I'm not going along with that," she said with firm conviction. "I have to see Jacob."
"Then I'll have to stop you," I answered simply.
"We'll see about that." I rolled my eyes at her bluff. "He's still my friend," she said sadly.
I didn't care. I didn't care that Jacob was hurting. I didn't care about the newborn roaming Seattle. I only cared about Bella. I wanted her to be safe. Safe from werewolves, the Volturi, safe from any danger the world could throw at her. And I would be there to protect her, no matter what price I had to pay.