Hey, I'm back! Thanks so much for the review, I truly appreciated them! Hope you like this chapter, it's got a lot of Jacob/Bella and a bit of Alice/Jasper. Edward too, of course! I will update ASAP with the next chapter, I am going on a hliday, but I promise I'll try. Enjoy and don't forget to review! Hehe...
And thanks to my editor, BitterBeginnings, for again, being a wonderful editor :D!!
Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer, and this is not what she wrote. And she does own the characters, I'm afraid. Too bad.
ENJOY!
Chapter 2
Alice couldn't stop laughing. It was really getting on my nerves. I sigh, frustrated.
"So- wait- what…" she manages a laugh in between "What did he say?"
"I left, he had no time to say anything or do anything," I said calmly, hoping that the boring news will calm her down.
"I can so imagine the look on his face! Was he…" Alice bursts into a fit of giggles once more, unable to finish her sentence.
We are both sitting in the kitchen of the Cullen's house, and Alice is telling me, well, was telling me about a shopping trip she wants to have in Seattle next week. The topic then switched to the new treaty and somehow the punch I gave Jacob yesterday slipped out and now she is hunched over, shaking, stricken tears of laughter lining her beautiful face.
"Alice, stop please," Edward commands.
This time he turns to me "I need to talk to Bella."
I look up at his stern face, and at the visible worry in his eyes. I wonder aloud.
"What happened?" I ask, standing up.
Edward's eyes dart at Alice, who has finally stopped laughing and is nervously pulling a strand of hair.
"You can't see anything?" Edward whispers to Alice.
I walk over to his immobile body and take hold of his hand. I don't know why he looks so worried, so I try to comfort him. Edward reaches out and pulls me to his chest, resting his chin on top my head.
Edward stares at my face, cupping it with his hands. I could sense that something was wrong. Incredibly wrong.
"Seth is missing, Bella. He went missing after the campfire yesterday. No-one remembers where he went, and the Quileutes are extremely worried," Edward seemed determined to answer honestly "since he hasn't phased in all this time."
My jaw dropped open in shock, and I am quite sure that if I still had a beating heart, it would have skipped a beat. I didn't know what to say so I stood quite still. The Quileutes were probably terrified, and Leah even more. I imagine the state of Seth's mother. A sadness creeps into my stomach and over to my legs. Seth was missing. Seth. The words try to make sense in my head but fail.
Edward gave me a light shake. I tilted my head up and inhaled. My nostrils stung, and this could only mean one thing. Werewolves. Jacob was outside, with someone from the pack, whose scent I did not recognize. I sniffed again, wondering whom it was outside.
Edward, apparently reading my thoughts, murmurs "Leah" and walks to the main entrance to the Cullen's house, and I quietly follow behind him. He glances back before opening the door, as if to check if I agree.
Once we are outside, I can see Leah and Jacob in a stance by the front door, they aren't phased yet, which is strange.
"Welcome." Edward says calmly, "Carlisle will join us in a moment."
He is incredibly polite.
I pretend not to notice Jacob, and nod to Leah, who moves her head upward as if she were nodding back. None of us say anything else, and there is a sort of tension in the air. I am afraid to speak; yet I still want to say something. I want to insult Jacob in the most ways I can think of, threaten him for going near my daughter, and hurt him in any way possible for getting in the way of my perfect life. I have the urge to jump at Jacob and bite him, yet there is a small piece of me who still loves him. This piece of me wants to run up to his feet and beg for his forgiveness, to please him in any way possible, and make him happy. It wants to comfort Jacob and erase all the unhappy lines out of his face, and to see him smile. Yet I know I cannot do any of these things, and I therefore resolve to look at my own feet.
Through the silence, Jacob speaks up.
"Did you see Seth anywhere Ed- Edward?" he stuttered in an unsure voice, obviously knowing what the answer would be.
"No we haven't." Edward's alluringly soft voice responds, putting an emphasis on the 'we' as to not leave me out. He walks over to put his arm around my shoulders,
I am stunned. I do not comprehend how Jacob just addressed Edward but completely ignored me. Jacob never trusted Edward, he has always held trust in me for he was my friend. He used to love me, for gods' sake! I suddenly feel extremely jealous and clench my fists into tight balls. Edward notices this and runs his hand down my back, which eases my tension for a moment or two.
Leah and Jacob seem to have noticed my tension and Jacob chuckles lightly, probably guessing how jealous I am. This sends furious glowering sparks to my brain, which acts on it's own accord, once more.
"How can you be so selfish, Jacob Black? How can you- you stand there… laughing at me knowing how I feel! How could you imprint on my own daughter and think I would be fine with it? Reneesme is not yours and will never be, so stop thinking that one-day you will be able to kiss her. Leave her alone and go away, you moronic dog, go home to La Push. I warn you, if you do so much as touch her, I will tear that head of yours off your shoulders!" I yell as I glare at him right in the eye.
Jacob looks stunned.
"I hate you Jacob Black!"
The words roll of my tongue as if they were a juicy fruits, and I savor each one. There is a short silence in which we were all listening to the echoes of my hateful words. Jacob's face is contorted in anger, he steps closer to where I stand.
"Well I hate you too, Bella." He says in a bitter, rough voice.
I want to attack Jacob, so I lunge forwards as Jacob backs away, trembling. I lunge again but he dodges out of the way in a nick of time. A snarl escapes my lips, as I prepare to lunge again. Jacob walks into the forest, calmly and out of sight. In one fast motion, Edward walks towards me and holds his hands out. I stare at them and he beckons me into his arms. I run to them. Cradling me, he presses his cool lips against my hair.
"Calm down there Bella honey." he repeats over and over, rocking me backwards and forwards. He brings my forehead to his lips and softly kisses it, humming my lullaby at the same time.
"Don't worry."
Jacob is no longer in sight, but I sense he is somewhere near the house inside the bushes. He has transformed, I can also tell by his soft paw sounds on the copper autumn leaves.
Leah is still in sight, a shocked expression on her face.
"Wow." is all she can manage.
She stares at me with an odd look on her face.
"Well, I definitely can see why you are so mad at him." She announces, and turns to call for him.
"Jacob!"
At almost exactly the same time, Carlisle comes out of the house, followed by Alice, Jasper and Esme. Esme looks worried, probably about what just happened. Alice and Jasper are holding hands, determined looks on their beautiful faces.
Jasper releases Alice's hand and looks at Leah's bewildered face.
"What was all that about?" Jasper asks.
Alice chuckles at him
"Stop pretending you don't know, Jazz. You were watching the whole thing from the upstairs window" she retorts.
Jasper chuckles and turns to Carlisle. His smile turns to a serious look.
Carlisle notices that all attention is on him, and he now turns to observe me.
"Bella, are you calmed down now?" he asks.
"Yes."
"Should we talk about this seriously now?" He glances at Jasper with a frown.
"Okay." Jasper speaks up.
Everyone is looking at Carlisle again, I notice.
"Bella, you do know the seriousness of what happened don't you? Jacob could have been killed, and the treaty could have been ruined."
I nod solemnly, inspecting my hands at the same time. A faint chuckle escapes Edward's lips.
"Edward should have stopped you earlier," Carlisle goes on, " I do not want any more of this silly fighting, understood?"
There is a slight pause while he surveys me and the words settle into my skin.
"Okay." I answer, "I am sorry for causing trouble."
Esme, seeing my embarrassment, rushes over to pat my back and kiss my cheek.
"Everything is fine now Bella, darling. Don't fret."
Carlisle speaks once more.
"Jasper and I are going to go settle things with the Quileutes."
As they leave, I look at Edward with what I hope is a sour look on my face.
Later that night we were reading our books in front of the fireplace in out tiny cottage. I put mine down and think about what had happened that day, worried. I had nearly bitten Jacob three times. A few days ago, I would never have believed I could have done such a thing. I didn't feel bad about it however, but something was bugging me.
"Edward." I started, "At first, why didn't you stop me from hurting Jacob?"
Edward and I sat in silence for a while, Edward chuckling faintly to himself. He shifted towards me and pressed his muscular body against mine, pulling me in for a strong passionate kiss.
"I enjoyed watching you fight, Bella. You really are one fierce little vampire." He whispered.
And then pulled me once more into his arms for another very, very passionate kiss.
A/N: PLEASE REVIEW! HOPED YOU LIKED IT! I will update ASAP, I promise :D
