Author's Note: Sorry if the quote of Jacob is wrong, I don't actually have my copy of eclipse here at the moment, my friend is reading it, so I'll just fix it later. Don't forget to comment! I could use your assistance. I'm not really sure where this story is headed at the moment... Any ideas? (hint hint review nudge nudge)
Disclaimer: I own nothing. The Twilight series is the imaginative creativity of Stephenie Meyer.
Chapter Three.
'The Runaway'
"Jacob is …" I struggled to find the right words in the whirl and disarray of thoughts that blurred my mind. "…Gone?"
Edward's eyebrows contracted uneasily. He was leaning slightly away from me, taking in my reaction carefully. His eyes were pleading as if this were his fault; as if I was about to lash out at him for this at any second. I felt defeated. Hadn't it been only a few days ago that I'd talked to Jacob? That I'd (I shuddered at the thought, but only a little) kissed him?
Disbelief. That's how I felt. I was dreaming again – dreaming that Edward was worried, that something was wrong, that Jacob was missing…
All at once, Edward's prediction came true. It was an involuntary reaction. Suddenly I was clawing into his shoulder, reaching for his face, digging my nails and fists into his body so hard that if he wasn't a virtually indestructible vampire, he would be bruised and bleeding on the floor. The thought of blood promptly made me sick, and I was pressed against Edward to steady myself, yet I was still trying, in vain, to attack him.
He gently pulled my thrashing limbs away from his body, his expression unsurprised. He held my wrists in the air, waiting for my attack to subside. I gave into the overpowering tears that had been threatening me, and he sighed, looking torn. He seemed to want to comfort me, yet he also seemed to know I wanted space to think. "Alice told me you would react like this." He whispered after a while.
I was instantly alert. "Alice?" How could she have seen Jacob? "Alice saw Jacob?" A thousand questions flooded my mind. What did this mean?
Edward gave in to the side of himself that wanted to comfort me and wrapped his arms around me tightly. "Don't worry … the pack is sure he's fine. Alice just saw me telling you this when I'd decided to tell you, and she told me how you would react. I wasn't sure if I wanted to hurt you; last night I was still undecided about telling you." It explained a lot. Sort of.
"So … how did you know he was missing?" I asked, shaken. Edward smiled at me, a tentative grin, as if he were both excited and embarrassed.
"Seth."
"Seth? Seth the werewolf, Seth?" I was amazed and shocked. Edward was getting along with a werewolf? A werewolf was getting along with him? When did that happen?
"Yes. He trusts me, I guess …" Edward shrugged … "He called to let you know Jacob was missing, he thought you might want to know, and he was worried you'd be angry if you didn't. The pack isn't sure exactly where he is, he's been careful to cut off communication. They're on the lookout, though. Seth thinks Jacob's just gone to get some space until …"
I crumbled, Something inside me broke and I felt like screaming. It was pure agony, as If I'd just been the one viciously assaulted. "Until after the wedding." I said, almost inaudibly. Edward nodded. I realized then that I may never see Jacob again. I had abandoned him, and then I would be becoming a vampire, and Jake would never even want to look at me.
"I'd rather you were dead."
His voice cut through me like a knife, as if he were right next to me, his anger and pain stabbing me with every syllable. He'd prefer to see me dead than with Edward. Dead. Jacob was gone, and I wondered if he would ever come back.
