I don't own Twilight or any of the characters or places. All of it belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Although I wish Jacob was mine.
I decided to go ahead and post this chapter since it was finished and it's a little short. However, I wouldn't count on updates always coming this quickly! Sadly, college demands a lot of my time. Anyways, hope you enjoy! :)
Chapter 2
Temperature
It was with great anxiety that I stood outside the door to Charlie's house and watched Emily's Jeep fade into the distance until it was only a red blur amongst the green trees lining the highway. I knew there would be hell to pay for my rebellious trip to La Push, but I couldn't convince myself it wasn't worth it. Jacob and I lay on his bed in silence until we both fell asleep. We must have stayed there for hours because it was dark when Emily came to wake me. Even if we only said a handful of words to each other, Jacob's presence did more to calm the storm that had been raging in my mind in hours than Edward had been able to do in weeks. And that scared me.
Before I realized how long I had been standing outside, I felt the first drop of the next rain shower and knew I could no longer avoid it. I looked to my bedroom window and unintentionally gulped. The fact that a very angry vampire was waiting in one's room would be a reason for most people to run. However, I knew I had to face him eventually.
Charlie rose from his chair as soon as I opened the door.
"How's Jacob?" he asked.
I laughed. "It's nice to see you too, Dad. I had a great day. Thanks for asking!"
He grinned and said, "Sorry, Bells. Billy called and said Jake had a motorcycle accident and was pretty banged up. I told you those things were dangerous. I hope you have more sense than to ride that two-wheeled death machine again!"
I put my hands up in front of me. "Easy, Dad. I'm on house arrest, remember? No death machines for me."
"Right," he said. "So anyway, how was Jacob?"
I noticed he didn't mention my breaking the rules by going to the reservation. Not that I was surprised.
"He's going to be okay," I said. "Broken leg and a concussion."
"Well that's good. I mean, it could have been much worse," Charlie said. "I'm glad you went to see him."
I anxiously glanced at the stairs. "Yeah, me too."
Charlie stood in the hallway as if he were waiting for me to say something else. I figured that meant Billy had mentioned a little more than Jacob's accident. Like how we were found snuggling on his bed. The fact that Edward could be, no definitely was, upstairs listening to every word Charlie thought was enough to make me realize I had to end this conversation. Fast.
"Well, I'm going to bed. Big test tomorrow. Goodnight, Dad!"
I was up the stairs before I finished my sentence. I stopped short just outside of my bedroom door. Here goes nothing.
The sight that welcomed me was not what I expected. Edward was perched on my bed reading my worn out copy of Wuthering Heights. If I didn't know better, I would think he was perfectly content. After a long five seconds, he looked up as if he just noticed my presence.
"Hi," I stuttered.
"Hello," he replied, immediately looking back at the book. After a few more seconds he turned the page, and my patience was wearing thin.
"Are you not going to talk to me then?" I asked.
He set the book down carefully and looked at me once again.
"What would you like to talk about?"
I stared at him in disbelief.
"Why don't you just lecture me and get it over with?" I said.
"I'm not going to lecture you," Edward said. "I'm not your father. Although, he didn't seem to mind your little excursion. In fact, he seemed happy to think about everything Billy told him about your visit."
I felt the blood rush to my face.
"You know it's not like that with Jake," I said defensively. "He's hurting a lot right now, and he needed a friend."
"Like I said, Bella, I'm not going to lecture you. You are free to make your own choices."
His voice was even and emotionless. I knew he was masking whatever he really felt because that empty tone was not one he used with me often.
"So that's it?" I asked. "You're not even the slightest bit mad at me?"
Edward laughed darkly. "I think you know me a little better than that. I only said that I wouldn't lecture you, not that I wasn't furious with your recklessness."
"I came back in one piece," I said. "I would harpdly call visiting an injured friend reckless."
Edward rose from the bed and pinned me against the door faster than I could blink. I inhaled sharply and felt my heart flutter at his closeness. His hands framed my face and began to trace along my temple all the way to my lips. I shivered.
"You have no idea how worried I was," he whispered.
"I'm sorry," I managed to get out.
"Are you?" he asked.
"I'm sorry you were worried," I corrected.
"But not enough to stay away from him," Edward said.
It wasn't a question. He dropped his hands slowly and walked back to my bed. I followed and sat next to him, taking his hand in both of mine.
"I know this must seem harsh to you," he said.
I bit the corner of my lip and said nothing.
"You can't imagine what it's like for me," he said. "Not knowing if you are okay or if Victoria finally found you in the one place I can't do anything to save you. Did you know your future disappears completely when you're with him? Not even Alice can guarantee your safe return."
"I know you worry," I said. "But you've got to have a little more faith in me than that. There is an entire pack of wolves in La Push on the lookout for Victoria. I'm probably safer there than anywhere else in Forks."
He frowned and I could tell he disagreed.
"They killed Laurent, you know," I reminded him.
"Another disaster you should have never had to face alone," he said.
"I wasn't alone," I pointed out.
That sentiment didn't seem to comfort him. That was when I knew I had finally hit the real source of Edward's anxiety. It had nothing to do with my spending time with werewolves. It had everything to do with the werewolf I was spending time with.
"That's what this is really about, isn't it?" I asked.
He didn't respond. I placed my hand on his face gently and said, "Edward, I love you."
He looked at me and I was struck by the sadness in his eyes. In that moment, I hated myself for how much I was hurting him.
"I love you," he said. "More than you know."
I rested my head on his cold shoulder and exhaled.
"So am I forgiven?" I asked hopefully.
He sighed. "I could never stay mad at you, Bella."
"Good," I mumbled. "Because I promised Jacob I would be back tomorrow."
Edward became as still as a statue but released my hand after a few seconds. Without meeting my eyes, he scooted back until he was propped up against my headboard.
"I think you should go to sleep now," he said a little too calmly. "You do have that trig test tomorrow."
I studied his solemn face before deciding I was too tired for a fight. So I crawled under the covers and buried my face in his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders. I hated myself for it, but I couldn't help but think of Jacob's warm, soft skin pressed against mine. Thankful that Edward couldn't hear my thoughts, I pushed the traitorous memory right out of my mind and made myself as close to him as the blanket between us allowed. But that feeling of missing something, or someone, wouldn't go away entirely.
It seemed as if there were more than a few things that wouldn't be the same anymore.
