Hello? Anybody here? I know people are reading this ... why aren't they reviewing?

This chapter was really really hard to write, and it took me a while to get things how I wanted them.

Bella wanted to ditch school when she woke up in the morning, but she remembers the promise she made herself—to act normal for Charlie's sake. Even though she was taking no joy in life, she still needed to live. How pathetic, that every since he loped into her life with his graceful stride and out-dated chivalry, she hadn't been able to live for herself. She'd lived for him, and then later, Jacob. And now she lived for Charlie and Renee. Stupid, pathetic, helpless. The words echo through her head in a torturous rhythm that fills her with self-loathing. Bella wants more than anything to be able to live for herself.

She isn't paying attention to the road as she drives to school. Though the asphalt is slick, she's used to the wet conditions.

But then she makes a turn that's too sharp, she starts skidding, and she runs into a pedestrian. She brakes the car and half tumbles onto the road, suddenly scared that she's killed someone. When she sees whom she's run over, she stops still.

Lying there in the road, his face paler than she's ever seen it, is Jacob Black. And he's not moving.

The scream is caught in her throat, choking her. She stands there in shock for a few seconds—can they really be seconds, they feel like hours! There are a few people already gathering at the scene.

She doesn't know what she says, perhaps the shrill sounds that escape her mouth have meaning, but Bella doesn't know. He still hasn't opened his eyes, moved. The past few months are forgotten as she flings herself onto the asphalt beside him, scraping her knees. She calls his name soundlessly, her eyes tearless. She wishes she would cry, but her tears have been locked inside her for so long that she almost can't remember how. The ambulance arrives, along with Charlie, his eyes wide in horror at Jacob motionless and Bella beside him, looking lost and almost as bad as Jacob.

He pulls her up gently; murmuring empty comfort into her ear, telling her it's not her fault. She pulls away and stares at Jacob, trying to see him move.

He's grown, put on muscle—a lot of it—and his silky black hair is cut short, barely over an inch long. Bella wonders if he was so massive before, or if it's just her memory at fault. And he's still not moving. Gradually her breath creeps up and her heartbeat climbs till it's a thundering staccato in her ears. The EMT's load Jacob into the ambulance, and then Charlie hands her over to them. She's going into shock, she thinks distantly as they inject something into her arm and soothing voices talk. It's as if she's balancing inside a glass bubble, watching the scene flicker by in one of the old silent movies. The ambulance's sirens cut the air, driving everything home to her. She can't be numb anymore, because the concerned faces of the EMT's bending over Jacob scare her too much.

She asks again and again if he's okay, but all she gets are vague statements, meant to soothe her, not inform her. They've injected something in her bloodstream to make her calm and sleepy, but Bella doesn't want to sleep. She tries to tell them, frantically gesturing with arms that feel so heavy. But the darkness is swirling around in her head, making lines soft and her brain feel fuzzy. The silence presses down on her from all sides. Silence is the worst thing for her now, because she can hear her heartbeat, drumming out the seconds and minutes.

There is one thought she holds on to as she sinks deeper into sleep. Please, don't let him be dead…

It's a cliffie!