The end was coming – I could feel it – I just didn't know when. Everything around me had come crumbling down, my 'friends' wouldn't talk to me, Charlie was always quiet around me, and Jacob had stopped answering my calls. Luckily, I always had Edward, he would always be by my side. My gloomy attitude wasn't helping things much either.
When Edward came back he closed the hole. Most of it. Something was always wrong.
The past few days I'd been having this feeling that something bad was going to happen, and I guess it showed.
"Bella, is something wrong?" Edward said in his 'tell-me-or-I'll-force-it-out-of-you' voice.
"Huh? What? Oh. Nothing, I've just been thinking."
"About what? I can't read your mind you know. It drives me insane sometimes."
"Oh stop being such baby. I was thinking about the usual – how someone is always trying to kill me, how everything bad seems to be focus on me, and how you would be there to keep me safe is your over protective way."
"Well, thanks for sharing, it's not everyday that I get someone telling me how I fit in with catastrophes."
I was so consumed in my thought I forgot I was on Edward's back headed for the meadow. And even though I was in a beautiful place with a beautiful – protective – vampire, I couldn't shake the feeling someone else's presence was so close I could touch them.
Edward must have noticed because his entire body stiffened just then.
"Stay here Bella, I'll be right back." Before I had time to respond he was gone.
"Stupid werewolves." Was all he could manage to say when he came back.
"Edward?"
"Yes love?"
"Could you please tell me why you are calling one of my best friends a 'stupid werewolf'?"
"No."
"And why not?"
"Because you might get mad." He knew I could never get mad at him no matter how hard I tried. I put on the one face I knew he couldn't resist.
"Please?"
"He was trying to tell me there was 'danger' nearby so I would leave you with him. He wanted to tell you something." Then why didn't he? Jacob has always told me what was on his mind no matter how much he hurt my feelings. What would he try to keep from Edward?
"Do you know what it is?"
"No. And I really wish I did."
"I'll call him later. He can suffer a little bit." My mind was preoccupied with thinking about what Jacob had to say. Edward's cold hand was holding my face in both hands.
"Whatever he has to say, please say you won't go over there with him alone." He stretched the word alone more than I would have liked him to.
" I promise. I can already see it starting out as 'Bella, I've said this more than once before…' I don't need Alice for that one." He chuckled and smiled my favorite crooked smile.
"Now that that's out of the way, what would you like to do?"
"Oh I don't know… can we think of something completely horrible-"
"Bella, I don't want to damage you more than you already are."
"You didn't let me finish. As I was saying, do something horrible to Mike Newton?" I was being selfish, completely selfish. I was only doing this to get my mind off of my depressing thoughts. But it was the kind of selfish everyone would enjoy – even Rosalie.
"Hmmm… that sounds like another one of your 'evil' plans."
"Mind telling me why you put air quotes around evil?"
"Because your plans aren't so evil."
"Well, thanks."
"Anytime. You're plans are always so much fun. Why don't we get everyone to help us plan though? Your planning skills don't always make sense."
"Well, I'm glad you agree. And I can make an evil plans as fun as you, thank you very much."
"You are one stubborn human Bella."
"Not for long."
"Not right now Bella. We have to find Alice, she is probably bouncing up and down as we speak."
"Fine." I couldn't argue with him. My thoughts were uncontrollable right now. This was one of the many moments I was glad that Edward's gift didn't work on me. All I was thinking about is what horrible thing was going to come out of Jacob's mouth when I finally decided to call him.
