All my focus pinpointed to the bear. It roared, furious at me. We had gone at this for...fifteen minutes, was it? Edward would probably be getting impatient soon. I should finish it up.
The bear was left broken and bleeding, but still he fought, his eyes black eyes smoldering with fury.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to play with your food?" a sudden voice called out, coming from behind.
My head whipped around, trying to locate the source.
Edward sat on a large boulder, grinning impishly at me. He looked just like he did before we had gone separate ways, him searching for mountain lion he had caught scent of, and myself in search of a large grizzly bear who knew how to put up a fight. Damn, did he know how to keep his shirt clean!
A grin spread across my face. "Oh, hey Edward!" I called, waving back and forth. He rolled his eyes at my childish gesture.
The bear's claws raked against my chest, the blood loss making it weaker than when we had started the fight. A sound like nails on a chalkboard was made at the impact of his claws and my bare skin as he tore holes in my shirt.
It was momentarily frightened by this sound.
Only then did I notice the tears in my clothing. Aw, hell, I thought with building anger, Rose gave me this shirt!
I roared at the animal, the sound echoing off the surrounding trees.
But the staggering stance of it almost gave me pity. I let it try to claw my head off, chuckling loudly as the impact sent it hobbling back.
I caught Edward's impatient sigh, and hurried to finish things up. With a bellow, I launched myself at it, knocking ourselves into a full-grown tree, effectively sending it tumbling over. The animal struggled a bit more, but I silenced it with a bite to its throat, sending the blood gurgling out and into my mouth.
Of course, I knew it wasn't as satisfying as human blood, but what's better—momentary enjoyment, or a good fight? I would choose the latter; it was much more fun that way. After all, humans didn't have the faintest idea what hit them. All they would do was plead with us to stop drinking their blood, not struggle back. It was so boring that way.
I stood up, leaving the empty carcass on the ground, and trotted over to where Edward sat. I decided I would have to apologize to Rose; the shirt was in bloody shreds, covering in brown tufts of fur do to the stickiness of sap it was coated in. I hoped she wouldn't be too mad at me.
A smile stretched across my face as I went to stand in front of Edward.
"That was a strong one. I could almost feel it when he clawed me." It was true. That was one of the best fights I had had the pleasure of enjoying in a long while. Too long. I really should seek out larger bears.
Edward only shook his head at my 'immature' way of thinking. "You're such a child, Emmett."
That much was probably true.
His clean shirt—not dirtied with a drop of blood—caught my eye. "Weren't you able to track down that mountain lion, then?" I teased, not caring what snide comment I would receive next. It was too much fun to mess with my brother.
"Of course I was. I just don't eat like a savage," he shot at me.
My laugh bounced off the trees at his reasoning. I shook my head humorously. "I wish they were stronger. It would be more fun," I told him.
Maybe up in Alaska somewhere. When we lived in Denali, they had wolves, and the bears they grew up there put up an excellent fight. I was sad when we had to go. We had been here three years, and it was almost time to move.
I was thinking Canada....
Edward snorted, breaking my train of thought. "No one said you had to fight your food," he responded to my previous statement, letting my thoughts drop. Yes, only he would figure that....
"Yeah, but who else am I going to fight with?" I whined. "You and Alice cheat, Rose never wants to get her hair messed up, and Esme gets mad if Jasper and I really go at." I could never forget that one time Esme came into the woods near our house after a large tree nearly fell on the house. Her eyes were blazing with fury and she shouted at us. Esme never shouts if she can help it.
After that, Jasper and I tried not to get too rough. Though occasionally Esme would have to come back out.
Edward smiled a bit. "Life is hard all around, isn't it?"
I didn't care that he would hear my next thoughts. I crouched down low on the damp forest floor, a low growl escaping. "C'mon Edward. Just turn it off for one minute and fight fair."
He pursed his lips. "It doesn't turn off," he said bluntly, a smile toying at his lips.
Then the face of the new girl—Bella Swan—floated into my head. Edward didn't hear her. "Wonder what that human girl does to keep you out? Maybe she could give me some pointers," I wondered, definitely not expecting his next reaction.
He hissed through his teeth. "Stay away from her," he demanded, his eyes turning hard and cold. Man, he was serious!
"Huh," I muttered, straightening out of my crouch. "Touchy, touchy." I looked curiously at him, eventually settling down next to him on his stone chair.
He didn't say anything, a deep look of concentration gracing his features.
"Sorry. I know you're going through a tough spot. I really am trying to not be too much of an insensitive jerk, but, since that's sort of my natural state... " I waited for him to laugh at my cheesy joke, but no kind of chuckle followed. My brow furrowed in worry; was he okay?
So serious all the time. What's bugging you now? Ever since the meeting, Edward had been...less optimistic, per say. He almost never laughed at my tacky comments anymore.
He took a deep breath before he spoke. "Thinking about her, well worrying, really." We both knew he was talking about Bella. He acted so odd about this girl.
I let out a humorous laugh. "What's there to worry about? You are here." She was far away from him; he couldn't hurt her. I had even promised him one night that if he tried to get a bite out of her, I would restrain him. The same thing applied here. If he cared about her, I wouldn't let him place one harmful finger on him. I owed him—a lot.
He ignored my thoughts. "Have you ever thought about how fragile they all are? How many bad things there are that can happen to a mortal?"
It had been such a long time since I had been human. I didn't really remember all the catastrophes I had been placed in. I was physically intimidating—why would anyone want to harm me? The only real danger I had faced when I was a mortal was the grizzly bear that had attacked. And it was dead, anyway.
"Not really. I guess I see what you mean, though. I wasn't much match for a bear that first time around, was I?"
Edward nodded his head in silent confirmation. Then his forehead creased. I almost smacked myself; what did I do this time?
"Bears," he muttered, talking to himself. "That would be just her luck, wouldn't it? Stray bear in town. Of course it would head straight for Bella."
He really was going insane. Off to the funny farm for him, yes siree! "You sound like a crazy person, do you know that?"
Whatever I had said, something in him burst. "Just imagine for one minute that Rosalie was human, Emmett. And she could run into a bear..."—ironic—"or get hit by a car...or lightening...or fall down stairs...or get sick—get a disease!" he exploded, fury clouding his suddenly black eyes. I hadn't ever seen him this angry."Fires and earthquakes and tornadoes! Ugh! When's the last time you watched the news? Have you seen the kinds of things that happen to them? Burglaries and homicides..." His jaw snapped and he started quivering all over, tremors rippling down his spine.
My eyes widened. Edward wasn't acting like himself at all. But he hadn't been acting like himself at all for the past week or so. "Whoa, whoa! Hold up, there, kid. She lives in Forks, remember? So she gets rained on." I tried to lighten the mood unsuccessfully.
He turned his head slowly at me, his eyes burning with anger. "I think she has some serious bad luck, Emmett, I really do. Look at the evidence. Of all the places in the world she could go, she ends up in a town where vampires make up a significant portion of the population." He spoke to me like I really didn't understand. Maybe I didn't.
I shrugged. "Yeah, but we're vegetarians. So isn't that good luck, not bad?" It would be much worse if we drank the blood of humans. After all, if we had, Bella Swan would have been long dead by now.
Oops. Wrong thing to think. Edward lashed out at me again, angrier than before. "With the way she smells? Definitely bad. And then, more bad luck, the way she smells to me."
He looked down at his hands then, suddenly weary. It hurt to see my brother like this. Nobody deserved this. Even more so, him.
Tentatively, I placed a hand gently on his shoulder. "Except that you have more self-control than just about anyone but Carlisle. Good luck again." The words that spewed out of my mouth were true, but the only way I knew how to lighten a situation was humor. I couldn't be serious most of the time without becoming extremely uncomfortable.
He looked up at me. "The van?" he tested me.
"That was just an accident," I tried to convince him.
Edward was shaking his head before I finished my sentence. "You should have seen it coming for her, Em, again and again. I swear, it was like she had some kind of magnetic pull."
"But you were there," I protested. "That was good luck." Wasn't it?
"Was it?" he contradicted me. "Isn't this the worst luck any human could ever possibly have—to have a vampire fall in love with them?" I was momentarily stunned into silence. He honestly loved her? This was the first time he was open about it.
The image of the girl floated into my head. Pale, brown eyes, brown hair...plain. Nothing exotic like Rose. Honestly, I can't really see the draw, I mentally told him.
"Well, I can't really see Rosalie's allure, either," he shot back, belligerent. "Honestly, she seems like more work than any pretty face is worth."
I chuckled at his reasoning. But Rosalie was all I could have dreamed for, and more. Not only was she gorgeous, but when you really got to know her, she was truly beautiful, inside and out. She was only hard on the surface because of what happened to her.
The thought of what happened before Edward and I had gone hunting stuck with me. "I don't suppose you'd tell me..." I hinted.
His mouth twitched up into a random grin. "I don't know what her problem is, Emmett," he lied, quite obvious.
I went to punch him, put he saw through me just before my hand came in contact with his shoulder, my fist instead splitting the boulder down the middle as he artfully dodged my shot. Awww man, I almost had him!
"Cheater," I accused sourly as he continued grinning at me.
The most peculiar thought came into view then. Bella reappeared in my head, except she was a whole lot paler, and her eyes were a bright ruby red instead of the soft brown pair she now wore.
Edward made a sound, and the image disappeared. "No," he choked out, his cry strangled.
It pained me, but there was a question lurking in my head, an obvious solution to the problem at hand. "It solves your worries about mortality, doesn't it? And then you wouldn't want to kill her, either. Isn't that the best way?" I pressed, knowing the answer he gave was sure to be the most difficult one for him.
"For me? Or for her?"
I scoffed, the answer once again obvious. Didn't know why he was asking. "For you."
He laughed, his head shaking. "Wrong answer," he told me.
I waited for more, but none came. "I didn't mind so much." Really, I hadn't. As long as I was with Rose, it was all worth it. Isn't that worth it? As much as Edward hated to accept it, he was in the same position as Rose. Wow. They actually had something in common right now.
"Rosalie did," he fired back, stunning me. The kid brought up a point. Rosalie would do anything to have her human life back.
A sigh escaped my lips, knowing he had a valuable point. "Yeah, Rose did."
Pain entered his face again. "I can't... I shouldn't... I'm not going to ruin Bella's life," he decided firmly. "Wouldn't you feel the same, if it were Rosalie?"
I refused to go down that path. Instead, I started a new—but not entirely different—conversation. You really...love her? Edward and a human.
His face warmed up at the thought of his...love. "I can't even describe it, Emmett. All of a sudden, this girl's the whole world to me. I don't see the point of the rest of the world without her anymore."
But you won't change her? She won't last forever, Edward. For a fairly intuitive vampire, Edward was being really stupid. He vehemently refused to choose what was best for him. This was great. If the girl died, he would be suicidal. A suicidal vampire.
I struggled to comprehend the situation in front of Edward. Can you even touch her? I mean, if you love her...wouldn't you want to, well touch her...? You could only express your love physically, couldn't you? Edward had no idea what he was missing out on. If only he wasn't a virgin, he would understand. Then he would change her. But he didn't. How could one love if they couldn't touch? Couldn't even kiss each other. Not even a 'good night' kiss?
"I can't even think of that, Emmett."
Wow. So what are your options, then? This was the ultimate fork in the road. Which direction would he choose to go in?
"I don't know," he said quietly, the look of pain once again washing over his face. "I'm trying to figure out a way to...to leave her. I just can't fathom how to make myself stay away..."
Seriously? This kid was nuts!
In an instant though, Edward's expression shifted to one of anxiousness. Huh. What are you thinking about?
"Right now," he admitted, and if he was human, he would be blushing,"I'm dying to run back to Forks and check on her. I don't know if I'll make it till Sunday night."
What? No! This was our hunting trip! I wasn't gonna sacrifice this time for Edward, and I was gonna let him know that. "Uh-uh! You are not going home early. Let Rosalie cool down a little bit. Please! For my sake." Honestly, Rose was the last thing on my mind, for once. I was still thirsty, but I tried to block that from Edward's head. The former was a more reasonable excuse.
He looked at me dubiously. "I'll try to stay," he conceded. Good enough. After a certain point, I would let him return, but not now.
Besides, I had Alice on my side. The phone in his jean pocket bulged out. I tapped the hard surface. "Alice would call if there were any basis for your panic attack. She's as weird about this girl as you are." No idea why though.
Edward made a face. "Fine," he said grudgingly, "but I'm not staying past Sunday."
Still about Peter and Charlotte? Come on! Jasper wouldn't let them do anything. "There's no point in hurrying back—it's going to be sunny, anyway. Alice said we were free from school until Wednesday," I pointed out.
He shook his head, dead set on his decision. So much for making him stay. That plan just flew out the window.
I groaned, exasperated. "Peter and Charlotte know how to control themselves."
He shook his head for the second time in a row. I waited for him to speak. "I really don't care, Emmett. With Bella's luck, she'll go wandering off into the woods at exactly the wrong moment and—" He flinched. Still on the danger magnet theory? "Peter isn't known for his self- control. I'm going back Sunday." I grimaced. Edward had a point.
Exactly like a crazy person.
But no matter how hard I tried to persuade him as we hunted some more, he wouldn't waver even an inch from his decision. So I would have to face Rose.
"Thanks, Edward," I hissed spitefully.
He just grinned as his eyes glazed over, thinking of the human. Bella.
Wow. I was shaken from my previous anger. The kid was lovestruck.
Finally.