I walked to La Push the next morning, since I had discovered that walking and running didn't tire me out the way they used to. I actually enjoyed running with Edward.
I knocked on the door to Jacob's house. "Hi Billy."
"Hey… Bella? Oh my God! Jacob! It's Bella, she's home. Come look!"
I heard a round of disbelief come from a group in the living room in the form of gasps. Jacob, Sam Uley, Quil and Embry, Seth and his sister, and a couple of the other kids from the reservation came running. "Bella!" Jacob shoved through the small crowd. "Bella! Oh God…" he broke off. "Bella, Look at me," He commanded.
I continued to stare at my shoes. I noticed that his scent didn't relax me the way it used to; in fact, it was very unpleasant. It must be a vampire thing.
"Bella please look at me," Jacob begged.
I did and they all jumped back in terror. One kid started shaking until he looked like he was vibrating. I stepped back, confused and a little bit scared.
"What is the meaning of this?!" roared Sam.
I gulped. "I was attacked by vampires in Italy. Mom and Phil…" I looked back at my shoes, trying hard to erase those memories. Unfortunately, the one time I wanted my memory to be less than perfect, it functioned all too well. "They didn't make it."
"How did you get here?! Does Charlie know? Oh Bella," mourned Jacob, and I long to comfort him. But the closer I tried to get to him, the more agitated Sam and the vibrating kid would get.
"Paul, calm the hell down. What are we going to do? Do you know what the rule is?"
I shook my head. "What rule?"
"Because our people have had…run-ins with vampires in the past, you and your kind are not allowed on the reservation," said Sam coldly.
My eyes widened. "What? But… Jacob… is my friend."
Jacob looked away.
"Right?"
Silence came over them.
"Jake… right?"
He sighed. "Bella, there's something I have to tell you."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
I ran all the way home at full speed, sobbing the whole time. I couldn't believe it! My Jacob was a vampire slayer. And I was a vampire. Needless to say, we can't be friends.
Of all the damn rotten luck. Why did he have to be a werewolf? Why did this have to happen to me?
When I got home, Carlisle and Esme were gone. Emmet was watching baseball and Edward was nowhere to be seen. "Where is Edward?" I demanded.
"What? Miss your little boyfriend?" came the answer from the top of the stairs.
Jasper was definitely going to get it from me. I was not in the mood. "Jasper shut the hell up and tell me where he is."
He must have sensed the foulness of my mood (he had a special knack for that) because he gulped and said, "by the river. He was worried about you."
Suddenly I felt a bit calmer. The vicious anger inside of me faded and horrible depression was left in it's place. "I'm going to find him," I mumbled, getting away before Jasper could screw with my emotions again (it was part of the special knack thing) and heading to the river.
I found him pacing at the riverbank, mumbling nervously to himself and wringing his hands. Every so often, he would run his hand through his messy bronze hair and bite his lip.
"Edward?"
"Bella! Where the hell did you go? Didn't you think to tell anyone where you were going?! I was worried."
"Worried about what?"
"I was worried you'd gotten into trouble."
"Like what? Hm? Werewolf trouble? Worried I'd cross the line and get myself killed?"
If he could get paler, he did in that moment.
"I went to Jacob's house."
"What?!"
"Yeah. Sam… in order to avoid complications… ordered us to stay away from eachother."
He sighed. "I'm so sorry, Bella." He enclosed me in his arms and I instantly felt better.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"I wasn't my place. I was going to tell you about the treaty… oh, you don't know how close I came to breaking it to look for you."
"You can't do that!" I yelled at him, alarmed.
"The hell I can't. You're part of the family now. I'd do anything for my family."
"Like keep me away from Jacob."
"Look, maybe there's a way for you to still be friends… phone, email… I don't know, but Sam is right. It's too dangerous for you two to be near each other."
"I don't want to lose my friend," I sniffed. "I've already lost everything else."
He hugged me tighter. "I know. Oh, I know, Bella… you don't know how much it kills me to see you in pain. I'm so sorry, Bella."
We wound up sitting by the river all night in silence, me curled up in his lap and his arms tight and protective around me. He sighed softly when the sun started to shine over the river again. "Dawn. The most beautiful time of day, don't you think?"
"I like sunset better. It's been so long since I've watched the sunset." I snuggled closer not wanting to get up just yet. "In Phoenix, the sunset in the desert is pretty amazing."
He started to play with my hair rather absently. "Tell me more about you, Bella."
"Well… let's see. What do you want to know?"
"Everything. Anything. Tell me."
I sighed. "When I was four I took ballet."
"Really? Were you good at it?"
"Remember when I almost ran into the tree?" He nodded. "That was me with super powers or whatever. Imagine me without them."
He laughed. "I'm glad this helped, then."
I made a sour face. "Yeah."
"Aww Bella, I didn't mean--"
"It's okay."
After a silence, "Do you want to talk about Jacob?"
I shrugged. "I guess."
"How did you guys meet?"
"My dad and his dad are best friends. We used to play in the rain a lot. Then, when I moved to Phoenix, I used to come up every summer until I started middle school. I hadn't seen Dad or Jacob after that until last summer, but Jake and I always talk. " I made a face again. " Or used to." I sighed. "I was supposed to come here from Italy. To see them. I just graduated, you know… my college was a big deal for Renee… she wanted me to see Dad before I went."
"Where did you decide to go?"
"I was accepted to Dartmouth, NYU, Yale. Hadn't heard from Harvard. Princeton's acceptance letter came two days before the trip."
"So you're an Ivy League girl."
I nodded proudly. "Straight A's since sixth grade, hadn't missed yet. Also, a lot of AP classes helped."
"Wow. You like to learn. What were you going to major in?"
"Pre-law."
"Hm. A lawyer. No wonder you like to argue so much."
I hit him with the stick on the ground next to him. "Shut up."
"Ouch! Can you at least warn me when you're going to play Matilda?"
I laughed. "You deserved it."
"So where do you want to go?"
"Huh?"
"I was going to go to University of Alaska."
"Really? Good school, but… aren't you a vampire?"
"Yeah. High school and college in vicious, never ending cycle… it sort of sucks. I've graduated from college seven times. Forensic Science Music Theory, Theatre, Philosophy, Biology… and so on. Now it was going to be Music Performance."
"You like music a lot, don't you?"
He nodded. "Music is what life sounds like."
I thought about that for a long time.
His shaking me snapped me back to reality. "Hey. Let's head back, okay? I know you have a lot to think about today. Let's get change and just chill in your room today."
I shook my head. "No, I don't want to think. I want to decorate my room. You and Alice have to take me shopping."
"You know, you never struck me as a person that loves shopping."
"I don't. It's a necessary evil."
He laughed. "Alright. Your bum's all dirty. Get some fresh clothes and I'll tell Alice."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
We decided to sneak in through Edwards Room to avoid teasing. It only made it worse. The second I walked out the door, Emmett was standing there.
"Whoa! Jazz, check it out! Edward and Bella have unlocked the key to having quiet sex without destroying things!"
Jasper came running, stopping right in front of me as I approached the staircase. "Ooh, ooh! Tell me, what's the secret?"
I smirked, leaning in as if I were to whisper in his ear. He leaned toward me, grinning. I put my shield up, and he tumbled down the stairs. He managed to gain control of himself in the middle of the staircase, but not before I made sure he took a couple of good hits. I also pushed him down the rest of the way with my eyes.
Esme and Alice came running in at the commotion. Alice saw Jasper land in an unceremonious heap at the bottom of the stairs. "Oh my Gosh! Jazz, what'd you do?"
Edward grabbed my arm and yanked me back into his room. We listened through the door.
"It was her," he was saying.
"Who? Jasper, there's no one up there."
Emmett burst out laughing from his hiding place at the top of the staircase. I could tell Edward was fighting to keep his laughter under control too.
"Edward?"
"Yes, Bella."
"You guys… don't think I'm crazy, do you? I mean, I've been acting like a loon, hitting you guys and--"
"Nonsense. We're stronger than most people; we can handle it. There's been a prank war going on in this house for like, thirty years now. And it seems like you'll be the key to my survival… Jasper and Esme have been cooking up something since December. What do you say we team up and pull an awesome prank on Rose?"
"I don't know… Rose doesn't seem to like me very much… especially after I chucked that vase at vase at Emmett's head."
"Don't worry. Plenty of times, she's wanted to do the exact same thing." He pointed at his temple and grinned. "I would know."
I had to laugh. "You're an idiot. Alright, fine. I'm in on this prank war. But my shield will be up the whole time, just in case."
Edward just laughed.
