Blood Moon

Chapter Three

Bella felt a slight throbbing in her head and squinted her eyes open to see shafts of morning sunlight breaking through her curtains, the last thing she remembered was crying and realised she must have fallen asleep during some point, she looked at her duvet that was tucked around her to keep her from the mornings chill, Alice must have come in during the night to make sure she was ok.

She felt more than a twinge of guilt as she remembered yelling at Alice, sweet loving Alice who had always been a friend, more like a sister than anything, determined to apologise she threw back the covers and stood to go for the door in search of Alice hoping she was still around.

Before she could take a step Alice stepped out from around the corner of her room, a smile splayed generously across her face, making her pixie-like dimples deepen, she saw no anger in Alice's brown chocolate rich eyes, "Good morning Bella" she said coming and sitting on the end of Bella's bed, bending back a little to look up at Bella.

"M-morning" Bella stuttered blinking, Bella made a pained expression then slowly sat down on the other corner, she took a deep breath and looked at Alice, "I'm sorry about going off at you yesterday Alice" she gushed with emotion and guilt, "I just…" she couldn't finish.

Alice just smiled softly, "It's ok Bella" she reassured her, "You were upset and you were right" she admitted, "I had no idea what you've been going through these past months, Charlie had told me he had worried about you and that you weren't coping but I never…" Alice stopped unable to find the right words.

"But I never…had the right to question your actions" she said finally.

Bella felt her breath catch as she remembered once more Jacob's kiss and Alice's shock, "I just…it just happened and I don't know why I kissed Jake I just wanted to get back at Edward…" she choked on Edward's name and Alice immediately closed the distance between them and wrapped her petite arms around Bella as a mother would to embrace her child and comfort them.

Bella started crying against Alice's shoulder, stuttering words out rapidly as she felt the pain in her heart pierce her like a knife, "H-he said-d he'd-d never-r leave me-e" she stammered clutching herself to Alice's cold body, "And then he-e just-t…" she couldn't go on and just wept uncontrollably against Alice.

Alice whispered reassuring words against Bella's hair and held her, Bella resembled a cracked vase that was slowly shattering, piece by piece and Alice begun to wonder whether she could be fixed, or was the damage already so far along that very soon she would just be a memory of the sweet kind, content Bella that Alice had come to know, she gave a silent prayer that Edward was not far away, he had called from the airport again, saying he had landed and hired a car to take him to Forks less than twenty minutes ago, even though she desperately wanted him here, she was worried about how Bella would handle seeing him again after everything, and how Edward, her perfect composed brother would handle seeing his only love this way, he would of course blame himself, she just hoped that Bella and Edward would work things out, for she loved them so much that the hurt she saw in both of them was a painful thing to watch.

…

Bella woke once again but this time Alice was not in her room when she looked around. Her throat felt raw and strained from sobbing, but at least she wasn't so cold anymore.

She rushed into the shower and got changed, determined to go see Jacob and try and make him understand that she hadn't meant to kiss him, it was a unintelligent reaction to Edward and she had used him shamefully. She hoped if he was sympathetic that things wouldn't have to change between them as friends.

She went downstairs to the phone and dialled Jacob's number, and when she heard his voice she lost her train of thought on what she would say, "A…hey Jake" she said stumbling over words.

"Hey Bella" Jacob said with far to much excitement in his voice, "…what's up?" Jacob continued.

"Ah I was hoping I could come visit you, like now?" Bella responded innocently hoping he would realise her intent.

Jacob chuckled on the other end and she swore she could hear him smile widely, "Of course" he laughed, "So I'll see you soon?" he asked eager.

"Yeah I'm leaving now," she told him trying to sound happy.

"Ok see you when you get here" he said and after they said bye to each other she hung up the phone.

Bella went to the small kitchen table and picked up her trucks keys, she looked up when she heard a knock at her front door and went to answer it thinking it might be Alice.

But when she opened the door with a smile she froze when she saw who it was and her smile disappeared to be replaced by shock and disbelief…after the longest silence she finally stuttered out one word before a dark hole swallowed her up and dragged her into the sweet unknowing bliss of unconsciousness, "…Edward?"