Chapter 3: An old friend
Bella survived the night, and in the morning she actually felt a little silly at how relieved she was to be alive. It was stupid but part of her honestly thought that last night was going to be her last.
After she got up and showered, she sat at the kitchen table and had a big bowl of cereal. She hadn't ate much yesterday and she was making up for it now. Her appetite was back but the fear was still there too, just less intense, a mild gnawing at her stomach. She kept glancing out the window as she ate as if Alice might pop up any moment. She was not looking forward to biology.
When she got to school, she pulled up just in time to see the Cullen's exiting their little silver Volvo. She watched them through the windshield and she couldn't help but notice that Alice was not among them. Maybe she really was sick. Inside Bella met up with Jessica and Angela in one of the corridors. The day proceeded much like the one before, and between classes Bella would be on the look out in the halls for Alice but she never saw her. Even at lunch time there was no Alice at the Cullen table. There was just the four others and for some reason they seemed as much wary of Bella as Bella was of them. Edward was the only one she knew by name, and she caught him glaring over at her a few times, the leggy blonde glaring too. The big guy only smirked when he glanced over, and the tall one looked mildly speculative, studying Bella from across the cafeteria with a rather detached air, elbows leaning on the table either side of his tray, idly twirling a French-fry between his long fingers. Bella didn't know what to make of it. She looked toward doors that led into the cafeteria but still, no Alice.
Biology was right after lunch and even though Alice wasn't in the canteen, Bella was still nervous. She took a deep breath before opening the door. She walked in and looked up and—
Still no Alice.
She took her seat, the same stool as yesterday, and waited. People trickled in. Bella glanced at the empty stool beside her. There was a curious fluttering in her stomach, like… butterflies? Was she actually a little disappointed? Bella frowned down at the desk. The teacher began the lesson, and Alice never arrived.
A week went by, and Alice wasn't at school once. Bella's fears had faded over the week, and now she was preoccupied with other things like fitting in. She'd become a little more lively with her new friends, during lunchtime and between classes. There was still a distance between them though, and she wouldn't actually call any of them friends to their faces, except maybe Angela. They were alright company. Even Jessica, surprisingly. Bella tried to make it a habit of not talking about people behind their backs, but Jessica had no such scruples. One of her favorite subjects was the Cullens and in Bella she found an eager, if rather quiet, audience. She told her how the Cullens were all jerks, and how Rosalie was the worst of them all. Bella guessed Rosalie was the blonde, and she was in no way disposed to disagree with her new friend. She'd met Rosalie in the halls one morning, a common enough occurrence in a school who's population barely exceeds three-hundred. They'd passed each other going in opposite directions and Bella was actually stunned at the distain in the blonde's glance.
As the days passed Bella fell into routine, but the fear of Alice was always in the back of her mind. She wondered what their first meeting would be like, whether or not Alice would apologize and if she did what would she apologize for? In the evenings Bella would check the newspaper when her dad was done with it—the Forks Daily—for any news of grisly murders or unexplained disappearances. She never found anything even remotely vampire-like and after a couple days she stopped looking, deciding that she really was being stupid.
All in all it wasn't a bad first week. She was getting along with Charlie, and she was now the official cook of the house. She was e-mailing her mom to stay in touch, and she'd made some decent friends. She'd been dreaming of Alice almost every night, but nothing like that first dream. That dream had been so intense she could almost feel it, but these dreams were vague and indistinct, just little vignettes of dread. They never woke her up at night and in the morning she'd shake them off before even brushing her teeth.
By the weekend she was in a fairly good mood. On Saturday Charlie was having an old friend over for dinner and to watch the football game, Billy Black, an old fishing buddy. Charlie said he'd get pizza but Bella said she didn't mind cooking, and that night saw her standing at the stove in an apron with her hair tied back, smiling to herself at how domesticated she felt. She was boiling pasta when the phone rang, stirring the steaming pot with a wooden spoon. She glanced over her shoulder toward the living room, and she heard Charlie answer it and she heard him talking. She heard him hang up and then he came to the kitchen and popped his head around the wall.
"Hey Bells," he said. "That was Billy. He said Jacob wants to come watch the game too, that okay with you?"
Bella shrugged a shoulder. "I guess. Is he eating?"
Charlie grinned. "Hell Bells, one smell of your cooking he won't be able to resist."
Bella rolled her eyes and smiled. "I'll make sure there's enough then."
Charlie smiled and went back to the living room to watch his shows. Bella went back to her cooking but she was a little nervous now. Jacob was Billy's son, and he was about a year younger than her. She hadn't seen him since they were kids and even then she barely remembered him. From what she'd been told he was always sweet on her, and while she wasn't usually prone to the typical vanities of a teenage girl, she couldn't help but wonder if this Jacob was really coming to see the game or to see her.
Bella was still cooking when they arrived. There was a knock at the door and Charlie went to answer. She left the stuff on the stove and wandered out into the living room where she could already hear voices.
"There she is," Charlie said, when Bella appeared. "Bella, you remember Billy?"
Billy was in a wheelchair, courtesy of a car accident some years ago. He had black hair and a long face. He nodded at her, smiling. "Bella," he said, by way of greeting.
Bella waved awkwardly, standing there in her apron. "Hey."
She looked around for Jacob and saw him standing a bit off to the side with his hands in his pockets, a lanky boy—very tall—with long black hair and a shy smile. He had coppercolored skin and big bright eyes, and Bella was a little startled that he was so cute. She hadn't expected him to be cute. They glanced at each other and she gave him an awkward wave too. "Hey Jake. Been a while, huh?"
He smiled, shuffling on the spot. "Yeah, it's uh… good to see you," he finished lamely.
Bella nodded casually.
The adults shared a look. Even they could discern a tension there. Billy turned to Bella. "So," he said, sniffing the air. "Something sure does smell good. Charlie tells me you've been cooking for him, Bella?"
Seizing the levity, Bella turned to him with a friendly smile, an natural hostess, and they joked for a bit about at how useless a cook Charlie was. Bella could only chat for a couple minutes before she had to go check the stove, and as she was backing away she shared a glance with Jacob and was once more surprised at how cute he gotten.
About ten minutes later they were sitting down to eat, Charlie wheeling Billy in from the living room. Bella served the plates, pasta and salad. Charlie and Billy were loud and pleasantly boisterous, leaning over their plates and inhaling the steam, remarking how good it smelled. Jacob was like a shy little boy, sitting there with his hands in his lap. When she put his plate before him he whispered a thank you but it came out hoarse and almost silent so he cleared his throat and said it again, frowning and blushing. She smiled at him and took her own seat, right opposite.
They started eating and after the initial round of compliments to the cook the men fell to talking about sports to the exclusion of all else. Jacob loosened up after a while and joined in, but it was always obvious that he was the youngest person at the table. Even though he was the tallest, taller than Charlie even, he had a young boy's humility, cautious with his words, polite, friendly. Bella thought that was cute too. Their eyes caught from time to time over their plates, and by the end of the meal Bella had decided she liked him. Not like like like like, but like how you'd like any guy you thought was cute and kind of nice.
When Charlie was finished he pushed his plate and slouched back in his chair. "Goddamn, Bells," he said. "I should've had you come live with me a long time ago."
Bella smiled.
Jacob snatched the opportunity to say something. "Yeah, it was… really good."
Bella gave a little nod. "Thanks."
"Hey Jake," Charlie smirked. "Why don't you give Bella a hand with the dishes? You look like you wanna catch up a little bit."
Bella shot him a look. "I'm fine, dad. Besides, he'll miss the first part of the game."
Jacob smiled hesitantly. "I don't mind really. And I'd love to help."
"See, it's fine," Charlie said, and then he smirked at Billy. "At least one of em's a good guest."
Billy snorted. Bella sighed and looked at Jacob. He smiled awkwardly and she had to smile too.
Ten minutes later the men were off in the living room and Bella was at the sink, washing the plates and passing them to Jacob who stood at her side with a dishtowel. She was only on the second plate when the first cheer went up from the living room. Bella glanced over her shoulder and she smiled at Jacob. "I've never seen my dad like this. He's usually more… quiet."
Jacob smiled back. "Yeah, he and my dad have been friends forever. They're like kids when you get em together."
Bella laughed. She handed him a plate. He took it with both hands and a servant's solicitousness, as if he were being extra careful not to drop it. "So, um," he said. "How've you been since we last seen each other?"
"Not bad. You know, school and stuff."
"How do you like Forks?"
"It's…" Bella struggled for a word. "…good," she settled on.
He smiled. "It's kinda dreary, huh?"
"Yeah. But I don't mind the weather so much, it's the change I hate. I mean, I like living with my dad and all, but…"
"Yeah, I know. You were happy were you were."
"Well, content anyway."
He nodded. Bella went on with the dishes. There was another cheer from the living room. Bella smiled and glanced at Jacob, passing him a drinking glass. "You know, I just can't get over how different you look. You're huge."
Jacob grinned. "Yeah. I work out and stuff."
Bella smiled at his childlike pride.
"You got pretty big yourself," he said. "Tall, I mean, not big."
"Thanks."
"You got real pretty too."
Bella smiled and bit her lip. "Thanks," she said again.
Jacob laughed to cover his embarrassment. "I remember when we were kids, you looked like a boy. All flat and thin."
Bella laughed too. "I was thinking the same thing about you."
"What, that I looked like a boy?"
"No, that you looked like a girl. Because you were kind of small and pretty looking and you had long hair. I used to be jealous of your hair, I remember that." She took a quick glance at his hair now, a long shiny black sheet that fell just past his shoulders. "Hell," she said, "I'm jealous of it now."
He was cringing in embarrassment, shaking his head. "Thanks," he said sarcastically. "That's exactly what a guy wants to hear. That he looks like a girl."
Bella giggled. "Sorry. But you called me a boy, so fair's fair."
By now the dishes were dried and stacked and Bella set Jacob about the kitchen to put them away, directing him from cupboard to cupboard while she wiped down the sink. Another cheer came up from the living room, and Bella turned to him smiling. "It sounds like you're missing a pretty good game."
"It's alright, I like helping" he said, closing a cupboard. "So, are you coming to watch the game with us?"
Bella was actually tempted. Not to watch the game—she hated sports—but to hang out with Jacob. But she was shy, so she shrugged and said, "Nah, I think I'm just gonna go read or something."
He grinned. "You'd rather read than watch football?"
"Yeah. I don't really understand the game anyway, it all seems pretty stupid to me."
"I could explain it to you if you want. It's actually pretty cool."
Bella shrugged again and went to make another excuse, but she saw the boyish hope in his eyes and said, "Oh alright. I guess it can't be that bad."
It was the first time she'd ever watched a football game. Charlie was sitting on the couch and Billy in his wheelchair, so Bella and Jake sat on the sofa but with a respectable distance between them. Charlie was surprised when Bella came in, but pleased too. Jacob had said he'd explain the game to her but he'd gotten shy again so Charlie and Billy did most of the explaining, pointing out the significance of the yard lines, the difference between the offence teams and the defense. They went on to add for her consideration various quotes from the NFL rule book, a tactical analysis of certain plays, a bit of umpire bashing, and all of it interspersed with gossip about the players, which ones were divorced, which ones were caught cheating, which ones used to play for which teams but were fired for various other forms of disgraceful behavior. Bella hardly grasped any of it but she smiled and nodded continually. When she expressed confusion over the execution of a buttonhook Charlie took it upon himself to demonstrate with an empty beerbottle, a charade that bent Billy and Jacob over in laughter. Bella laughed too. She thought Charlie was a bit drunk but it was good to see him having fun. She smiled, glancing around. It wasn't her ideal way to spend an evening, but she supposed it was a nice change from holing up in her room with a battered copy of Wuthering Heights.
When the game was over—Charlie's team had won—Charlie wheeled Billy out to his truck and Bella and Jacob stood on the front lawn and said goodbye. Jacob's smile was particularly radiant, and in the pale moonlight Bella realized he still did look a little girlish. He was tall and broad, sure, but he carried himself shyly, almost demurely, with his feet together and his elbows tucked. He had long eyelashes too and smooth clear skin. It was a handsome sort of girlish though, and as Bella waved to their truck as it pulled away into the street she wondered if or when she'd see him again.
Sleep came easy that night. She was up early in the morning—well, early for a Sunday—and as she sat up in her bed she realized it was quite bright in the room. She went over to the window and opened the drapes and saw with a little surprise that the sun was out. She realized it was the first time she'd seen it since moving to Forks and the thought made her smile.
Charlie was still asleep, she could hear him snoring as she passed his room. She went on to the bathroom and had a shower and then she had breakfast. While she was eating the phone rang. She looked up from her cereal bowl, as if wondering if it would ring again. It did and she quickly hopped up to answer it before it woke Charlie.
"Hello?" she half whispered into the receiver.
She suspected it would be her mother, since none of her friends had her number and Charlie didn't get many calls, but she was in for a surprise when the voice spoke up. "Bella?" it said, sounding nervous. "H-hi, it's Jacob. From last night. You know."
Bella blinked. "Oh," she said, more surprised than anything. "Hi. Um, were you calling for me or…?"
"Actually, yeah. I just wanted to talk for a while. It's not too early is it?"
"No, no, it's fine. What's up?"
By the time Charlie came down the stairs in his undershirt and sweatpants, his dark hair all disheveled, she was hanging up the phone and smiling at it vaguely. "Morning Bells," he said, with a huge yawn. "Who was that on the phone?"
Bella glanced up. "Oh, that was Jake," she said, pointing at the phone absently. "He asked me out on a date. For next weekend."
Charlie paused on the bottom step, hand on the banister. "A date?"
"A date."
"Well," Charlie said, mildly stunned. "Congratulations, I guess."
Bella followed Charlie back into the kitchen and sat down to her now soggy cereal and began to spoon it up thoughtfully. Charlie had some juice and contemplated the toaster but settled on plain bread with butter, him no gourmet. They sat together, eating in silence. Bella was in sort of a delighted dazed. She'd been flattered by Jacob's constant glancing last night, but she tried not to read into it. But now she guessed he really did like her. When Bella was done she rose and put her bowl in the sink. Charlie piped up and said he'd be going to the hardware store. Bella nodded. With a grin he asked if she wanted him to pick anything up for her, a box of nails, a Philipshead. She smiled and shook her head. She was tempted to mention a lock for her bedroom window but didn't. He asked what she was going do today and she leaned against the sink and gazed out the sunfilled window and said she might spend the day reading outside.
It was a beautiful morning, the sky a pale blue and the sun nice and bright. Bella came out the backdoor dressed in jeans and a top, no sweater, smiling at the warm sunlight on her arms. She spread a blanket on the damp grass and sat in the center with her legs tucked under her. She looked about the yard, the book in her hand resting in her lap. It was an old house in an old neighborhood and there were no fences. Out beyond the lawn Bella could see where the grass gave way to woods, a dark forest that stretched away as far as you could see. There was a dirt path that wound up though the trees and Bella could remember vaguely walking that path with her mom and dad, a five year old girl tramping along in a yellow raincoat and yellow rainboots, gazing about at the trees and the birds that flew from branch to branch, her mom pointing at the flowers, her dad telling her to watch her step, an exciting adventure.
She smiled at the memory, but it wasn't really a happy smile. Thinking about the past always bought on a strange melancholy, as if there had been something missing in her life, something that should've been there but wasn't. She always had this strange suspicion that she remembered things better than what they were. It was silly. She tried not to think about it.
Lowering her eye to the book, she trailed her fingertips over the cover. How many times had she read the exact same story? She'd literally lost count. It was her favorite book, Wuthering Heights. What she loved about it was the passion of the characters, particularly Heathcliff. There aren't many romantic males in the history of fiction who can muster up even one tenth of what he feels for Cathy, even if his feelings are violent and disturbing. Sometimes she thought she'd like to meet a guy like him, but if she did she'd probably end up insane or dead like Cathy, so that wouldn't be good.
Bella opened the book at the marker but before she started reading she took another glance about. She looked back at the house over her shoulder. She could see her bedroom window and her eyes flickered over to the drainpipe beside it, a cold feeling creeping over her. But it was just a dream, just a coincidence. She looked down at the book and started reading. She almost knew the thing by heart and she read slowly and leisurely, losing herself in the story.
She lost track of time and after a while the wind picked up and a cloud blew over the sun. A shadow fell over Bella and her book and she looked up. The sky was getting grey again. She sighed and tucked some hair behind her ear. A bird shrieked from the woods. She looked over and her heart stopped to see none other than Alice Cullen standing there among the trees.
Bella froze, stunned to stupidity. The treeline was less than twenty feet away and Alice stood in the shadows, resting a hand on the treetrunk beside her, watching Bella with a strange tenderness, a forlorn fondness. Bella stared at the girl across the lawn and she was still staring when the wind picked up and blew the cloud away from the sun. A wave of warmth washed over her. Sunlight fell through the leaves above Alice and where the rays touched her skin the skin sparkled like diamonds. She looked pretty and unearthly, glittering among the trees like an elf or nymph or some other fairytale creature wandered from the woods. Bella was staring, her heart in her throat. And yet strangely unafraid. Who could fear something so beautiful?
Alice met her eyes across the yard and smiled softly. She dropped her hand from the treetrunk and moved behind it. She didn't reappear on the other side, and Bella was left to wonder if she'd even been there at all.
