AUTHOR'S NOTE
I know it's been FOREVER since I posted the first chapter of this story. I'm SO SORRY! Real life has been happening and it's been crazy. I am working on this story again, and I should have another chapter up sometime next week (Jake POV!). For now, I don't have a set update schedule but I'm going to try my best to make them weekly. Thanks for sticking with this story if you're still reading!
In the future, I'm going to shoot for 8-10K words per chapter. So here is a little snippet that will be moved to the end of chapter one at the next update.
Please review if you like!
Edward came through my window just as I was drifting off to sleep.
The night's events flashed through my mind—the shocking heat of Jacob's slick tongue in my mouth—"I love you more," —"This is your life, Bella. You only get one," —"I'm breaking off the engagement." A sick feeling settled in the pit of my stomach, and I closed my eyes tightly, like I could wish him away if I tried hard enough. I really, reallydid not want to deal with this right now. I considered feigning sleep, but I was sure my racing heart had already betrayed me.
"Bella?" he whispered. His cool breath tickled the shell of my ear and I gave an involuntary shudder. He was sitting on the corner of the bed right next to my pillow, but I hadn't realized he was so close. I hadn't felt him sit down. "Are you okay, love? Your heartbeat…"
With I sigh, I opened my eyes. "I'm fine. It was just a bad dream."
The sick feeling was still there, and I felt a familiar panic rising in my throat at the thought of telling him it was over. Get it together, Bella. I had made my choice. Alice had probably already seen it. Maybe Edward already knew, and was here to say goodbye.
Yeah, keep deluding yourself. He wouldn't be acting so normal if he knew.
Well, you never know.
Uh-huh. Keep telling yourself that, B.
You know, talking to yourself is bad enough, but these internal debates are just one step away from clinical insanity. I wiped my sweaty palms on the blanket and sat up, faking a smile in a sad attempt at composure.
Edward reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late, dear. But Alice had a vision—"
The rest of his words were drowned out by the frantic beating of my heart. Oh my God. She knows. Does he know? Did she tell him?I could feel the blood rush out of my face as I blanched.
"— and so Tanya invited all of us; it means a lot to all of them that we be there. Do you think Charlie would permit you to accompany us?"
I blinked a few times and looked up at him, confused. "W-wait a minute. What?"
The corner of his mouth turned up in a smirk, and he all but rolled his eyes at me. "Were you even listening to me, darling? I said Tanya is getting married, and she invited us to the wedding. It would be disrespectful not to attend. Do you think Charlie will allow you to go?"
"To…Alaska?"
"Well yes. That is where the Denali clan is located, after all." He ran a hand through his perfect bronze locks and smiled down at me with his eyes. "It would mean a lot to me if you could come. After all, our own wedding is only a few weeks away. You're already part of the family." His eyes were so pretty, a rich honey-brown which, was oddly brilliant despite the dimly lit room. I took a deep breath and felt the tension drain out of me. I felt warm, there was a pleasant dull hum in my ears. It would be nice to get away from here for a while. Maybe I could think of something to tell Charlie—
No! What's wrong with you? Wake up, he's doing that 'dazzling' thing again.
Suddenly, I could see Jacob in my mind's eye, as clearly as if he were right in front of me.
We're standing in his garage, and the tinny pitter-patter of rain on the roof is broken by a crack of thunder. Jacob leans back against his workbench, tucking a greasy rag into the front pocket of his cutoffs. Both of his arms are streaked with oil. His mouth is set in a frown, and he runs a dirty hand through his cropped hair, leaving a black smudge on his left cheekbone. Suddenly, he closes the space between us, grabbing my hand.
"He's like a drug for you, Bella. I see that you can't live without him now. It's too late." Pain is written in the set of his eyes, the lines of his face. "But I would have been healthier for you. Not a drug; I would have been the air, the sun."
The humming stopped as abruptly as it started. I shook my head to clear the strange foggy feeling and jerked away from him, clutching my cold hand to my chest. "What was that?" I demanded.
His brow furrowed for a split-second before he remembered himself and smoothed his features. "Whatever do you mean dear? I was just asking a question." He spoke softly, like I was some scared animal he wanted to coax back to hand.
"That. That thingyou did with your eyes, your voice. That hypno-thing." I scooted to the far side of the bed and kicked at the mess of covers. "Ugh!" I tossed the tangle of blankets to the floor in frustration and got to my feet, backing further away from him and bumping into the rocking chair.
"Come now, Bella. You do hear yourself, don't you? You realize how ridiculous—"
"Me?" Now I was ridiculous? I could tell I was being handled. "No, Edward. It's you." My eyes widened as the words came back to me: I'm the world's most dangerous predator. Everything about me invites you in. My voice, my face, even my smell. As if I wouldn't need any of that. As if you could out-run me. As if you could fight me off.It seemed like those warnings were from a lifetime ago. At the time, I hadn't thought much of it.
"You're trying to manipulate me! Like some kind of vampire mind control shit!" My hand flew to my mouth, I was shaking all over.
Edward rose slowly, taking small steps around the bed with a quizzical look on his face. "I'm not sure what you mean, love," he said in a low voice. "I wasn't doing anything."
I crossed my arms tightly against my chest and pointedly refused to look him in the eyes. "I really think you should go now, Edward," I said slowly through clenched teeth. "I-I need to be alone. Please don't come in through the window anymore."
I couldn't see his expression, but his voice grew soft and sad. "Alright. Whatever you want." A pang of guilt washed over me as I imagined those perfect features crumpled into disappointment. He ran his fingers down the side of my arm in a fleeting caress, then vaulted silently out the open window and into the dark, starless night.
