Disclaimer: I own Twilight.
Stephenie Meyer: No, you don't.
Me: Well, can I own Edward?
SM: Hell No.
Me: Jacob?
SM: No.
Me: Emmett?
SM: Again, no.
Me: Seth?
Sm: Definitely not.
Me: Aro?
SM: *smirks* You can have James.
Me: Oh, screw you.
I woke up to a sweltering hot bedroom. "Edward," I said groggily, groping the bunched sheets next to me. There was nothing there.
Yawning, I sat up, kicking the thick, heavy comforter off of me, and reached blindly for the lamp switch.
"Edward?" I repeated, my sleepy brain not registering. I licked my dry lips. It tasted like something had died in my mouth.
There was a note on my other pillow. In beautiful handwriting, far superior to my chicken scratch, it read:
Bella,
Love, if you have woken up and are reading this note,
I am sorry for leaving you. I need to hunt. It has been
almost three weeks now, and I am dangerously pushing
my boundaries. I will be back hopefully by late afternoon,
but until then, Alice will be staying with you. Please,
at least try to stay safe.
Edward
I groaned. Alice meant playing Barbie-Bella, and Barbie-Bella meant extreme torture by makeup. And Charlie was going fishing with Billy later, so there was no one to stop her.
I laid back down on the messy bed, relishing the soft down and Edward's faint but lingering sweet smell. (Is that too weird?)
I glanced at the clock. Eight-thirty. Damn. There was no way I was going to fall asleep now.
Sighing, I rolled out of bed, put my fuzzy bunny slippers on (yes, you read me right), and blundered for the bathroom.
After taking care of my human needs, brushing my teeth, yanking a brush through my tangled and knotted hair, and splashing my face repeatedly with cold water, I felt somewhat roused, and hurried down the stairs to make breakfast.
"Hi,Bella!" Alice chirped from the kitchen table. She was reading one of Charlie's newspapers.
My reply was something like, "Ermph."
"Well aren't you bright and cheerful this morning," she said sarcastically.
I stuck my tongue out at her and went to pour a bowl of cereal,but she stopped me. "If you pour that bowl of cereal, you are going to miss the bowl, spilling them all over the floor. Then, when you go get a broom to clean them up, you are going to slip spectacularly, fall, and possibly break your leg. Edward would destroy me if I let that happen, so please , either let me pour it for you, or just make an omelette."
She said it so seriously and in such a confident, matter-of-fact tone that I burst out laughing. "Um, okay. If you say so." I was still laughing as I handed her the cereal box.
Alice wrinkled her nose as she poured the cereal. "Yuck. I will never understand why humans love this sugary junk. It may just be the vampire in me, but they smell so gross. I wouldn't have ate them even when I was a human." She made a face and pushed the bowl toward me, like it was diseased or something.
"Fruit Loops?!" I said, incredulous. "You will pay for that blasphemy!" I took a huge spoonful. "Mmm," I said, making sure to slurp the milk. I did it mostly to annoy Alice, but also because they just taste sooo good. I love sugar. (Who else loves Fruit Loops? I do!)
"Ew." Alice wrinkled her nose. "Those better not make you hyper," she said, eying me warily. I just laughed.
By the time ten minutes were up, the cereal was all gone, and the bowl was in the dishwasher.
"What do you want to do?" Alice asked. Her golden eyes sparkled with mischief.
"Not what you want to do," I told her.
"Please?" She begged, giving me the Bambi-eyes she knew I couldn't resist. Shoot.
"Fine." I finally said. I swear the evil pixie squealed. "But no funny business this time! I do not want to wear another corset!"
Alice laughed crazily and ran upstairs to get her makeup bag. She had left it at my place last time Edward went hunting. She said that she had dozens of them while I had none. I didn't have the heart to tell her I would never use it.
Alice came skipped down the stairs, and I began humming the theme song from Jaws. "Oh, screw you," she said, but she was laughing.
I tried to fall asleep while she "worked". It wasn't easy. She is very fond of mascara. (A.N. Who else hates mascara? I know I do! I hate having anything near my eyes!) I managed to get between an hour to two hour's worth of sleep before Alice woke me up so she could show me her masterpiece.
"Come on!" She said, trying to tug me to the mirror. I was just glad she wasn't using her full strength. As it was, she was just about tugging my arm off.
"No!"
"Please?"
"Dammit. Fine." Damn Bambi-eyes.
She pulled me upstairs to the master bath, were there was a full length mirror.
"See?" Alice said. "You look beautiful!"
She was right for once. My brown eyes were easily accented by long, fluffy lashes and a gray-blue eyeshadow. My thin, light lips were full and a natural, bright pink. My ivory skin seemed to shimmer underneath all the blush and powders. My hair was done up in a messy but elegant bun, loose curls sticking out at odd angles. I looked almost like a fairy-tale princess.
"Wow." I finally said. Alice grinned. "Wow," I said again, feeling stupid now.
"Now may I please read Wuthering Heights?"
"How does that story not bore you? You read it so often."
I rolled my eyes. "Well, we can't all be into Vampire Diaries."
Alice gasped. "How did you find out?!"
I grinned but didn't answer.
"Spill it!"
"Well, when you accidentally leave the book lying on the coffee table in full view, someone is bound to find out."
She groaned. "Damn you!"
I just laughed and ran upstairs to get my book.
In this manner, hours past. It is so easy for me to get lost in a book. The characters pull me into their world. So when Alice said, "Where are they?", I looked up in surprise.
"Where are who?" I asked.
"Edward and Jasper!" Alice was clearly agitated; she was pacing the hardwood floor. Her heels were making an awful racket. I don't know how I did not notice it before.
"They should have been back by one!" She practically shouted.
I glanced at the kitchen clock. Two-thirty. "Maybe they are running a little late," I suggested. Then my brain cleared, I shook my head. Edward would never run late. Hell, half the time he came back, an hour early, saying he could not bare to be away from me any longer. Crap. They really were late. What the hell? I joined Alice in her pacing.
"What if something is wrong?" Alice asked me, eyes crazed with fear for her mate.
"Like what?" I said, though her fears echoed mine. "Victoria is gone, and the wolves won't attack unless the treaty is breached. You would have seen if the Volturi were to come down, you have been watching them so carefully. What could possibly harm them?"
"What if it is a group of newborns?"
"Don't be silly; newborns could not hurt Jasper. Or Edward, either."
Just then, Alice's phone ran. As if on cue, she froze. She stood still as a statue, her eyes blind; seeing the future.
"Great timing, Alice," I muttered to myself. "You better be seeing something useful." Then I realized what her ringtone was, and I cracked up. It was "Sexy Back" by Justin Timberlake. Tears rolled down my face, and I was shaking, I was laughing so hard.
Once I was done laughing, I reached into her jean pocket, pulling out her cellphone. The newest iPhone, of course; the one that can't even be bought in stores yet.
The caller id said, "Honey." Jasper, probably.
My worry overrode any sort of caution and respect for Alice's privacy. "Hello?" I said, answering the phone.
"Bella, is that you?" Jasper sounded out of breath, almost as if he had been frightened. In he background, I could hear grunts, heavy panting, and . . . hacking?
Before I could respond, Jasper continued. "It's Edward," he said. "I think he's . . . sick."
A.N. Sorry for the cliffy! So what do you guys think so far?