Hello everyone, I just wanted to inform you that the chapter where Eva and Paul meet is written! I'm planning on publishing it in a few days. I also wanted to know your opinion about Alex. What do you think of him?

xx

"Good morning." I was greeted by a calmer Bella who was already eating breakfast. "I called Jacob." I listened to her while pouring some cereal into a bowl and looked through the window. The weather was cloudy as usual and it looked like it would rain soon.

"So… What did he say?" I asked sitting on the chair across from her.

"I didn't speak to him. His father told me he's sick." I didn't know why but something was not right. "He was very hot last night. His skin was burning. Maybe I should go there to pay a visit."

I kept eating my cereal in silence, trying to process everything. If he was hot then there was a possibility that he was sick. It was logical. "Would you like to come?"

I took another spoonful of cereal before answering. "Yeah, sure."

...

That day we were not lucky. Billy told Bella that Jake was really sick and couldn't get visits.

More days had passed and Billy kept Bella away from his house, saying that she could get sick too. I didn't buy any of that. Something was odd and my cousin started to realize the same.

"It's strange" she said while we were watching tv. "What's strange?" I asked, distracted while texting Alex.

"Jacob's disease. It doesn't feel right."

"Yeah." I said putting my phone aside. "I know what you mean. Feels like they're trying to avoid you, right?" Bella and I were in sync, just like we used to be. It felt good to team up with her. "I think I should go there anyways" I heard her saying.

I glanced at her, not expecting her to make a decision like that. She looked determined so I didn't stop her. "Want me to come?"

I admit I just asked that to be polite. I always thought that she should sort things out by herself.

"No, thank you. I need to do this alone." She politely declined for my relief.

"Good luck. I'll cook dinner tonight."

I spent the rest of the day reading culinary books, looking for a good recipe. I decided for Italian food. Pasta was easy to cook. It was 7 when p.m uncle Charlie came back from work, tired as always.

"Eva? Bella?" he called.

"I'm in the kitchen uncle Charlie." I said while observing the pasta in the boiling water. I heard him entering the kitchen "Where's Bella?" he asked, taking off his jacket and placing it in one of the chairs.

"She went to La Push to visit Jacob." I looked at him and he smiled, trying to hide the look of concern from his eyes.

Dinner was almost ready so I decided to prepare the table. I covered it in a green towel when the front door was slammed.

"Bella" I heard Charlie call and storm into the hall.

That was a hell of a night. I had dinner with uncle Charlie while Bella stayed in her room, allowing the depression to invade her again. I decided to call Alex because this entire situation was driving me crazy and I didn't know what to do.

I went outside and waited for him to answer, which took a while.

"Alex." I said, my voice a bit shaky.

"Hey love, how are you?" He sounded strange. The words came out very slow as if he was… drunk.

"Have you been drinking?" I asked a bit shocked.

"Hum… yes, I'm having dinner with the boys and we had a couple beers. But I can talk if you need me, love."

I didn't want to speak to him while he was drunk, this was a serious issue.

"Not, let it be." I said, whipping a tear that was forming in one of my eyes.

"You sure? Come on darling, talk to me. Are you crying?"

Even drunk Alex was aware of my state, which surprised me. I hated when he was drunk and babbled around in is British accent.

"No, Alex, I'm fine. We'll talk tomorrow. Or the next day, you'll probably get a hangover tomorrow."

"Did I ever tell you that I crumble completely when you cry?"

I kicked a small rock and sighed, tired of that conversation.

"Alright Alex, we'll talk when you're sober."

"But love –"

I hanged up. I had to.

I had nothing against him drinking. He was not an alcoholic and he barely got drunk, but something was disturbing me that day. He was annoying me. When I most needed him he decided to get drunk. "Alright Eva, you need to sleep." I told myself.

I went inside, craving for my bed and for this day to end. I just wanted for things to get back to normal.

I wanted Bella to be okay but for that to happen Jacob needed to stop avoiding her. I decided that I was going to ask her about what happened during breakfast. She would tell me, I had a feeling that she would.

...

I went down for breakfast before my cousin had even woken up. I had several text messages from Alex. He probably texted them while drinking his 30th beer.

"You up?"

"Where are you?"

What the hell? He knew where I was! Definitely drunk texting.

"I wanna see you."

"Why no answer?

"Text me so I know you're ok."

"Possessive boyfriend?" I jumped when I heard Bella's words, being caught off guard. "No, just a drunk one." I said, putting my cell phone back on the table.

"I was thinking about going out today, want to come?"

I looked around, trying to decide what to eat. I was not hungry so ended up picking an apple. "Sure! Where do you want to go?" Bella seemed happy and that enlightened my mood also.

"I thought we could go on a hike." I never thought of my cousin as an outdoor person who was into hiking but if that made her happy then I was willing to go. "Sounds good, let me just change into my boots and I'll be ready."

Bella drove her truck to a forest that seemed to be pretty close to La Push. Wait, was this a plan to try to see Jacob? I decided it was time to text Alex back. I actually didn't know what to say… I was not mad but his behavior didn't make me happy either. "Alex, we'll talk when you're sober. I'm busy now so call me at night. IF YOU'RE SOBER!" I pushed my phone back into my pocket and walked behind Bella.

"Where are we really going?" I asked with curiosity. The forest was actually really beautiful and I wondered how did Bella discover such a stunning place.

"We're heading to a clearing. We're almost there." When we reached the said place Bella looked around as if there was something there that made her feel a bit complete. Suddenly she looked shattered and curled into a ball, touching de ground.

"Bella, are you okay?" I approached her, worried that she would have another meltdown.

But something was wrong, and it was not Bella. We both raised our heads and saw a man standing in the middle of the field.