Back to Edward's POV.
CHAPTER 9: THE SIGHT OF YOU
"Alice", I gasped.
The vision was like a horror film waiting to happen. So barbaric.
Bella. Blood streaming from her mouth. Two puncture wounds on her neck, blood pouring from them too. Her body covered in wounds. I wanted to close my eyes, but the image was burned in my brain. Nothing could make it go away.
Alice put her palm up to silence me. "I know, Edward. I know. Believe me, these images have been haunting me since lunch"
"What do we do?", I growled, "We cannot let this happen. I will rip him apart..."
I would. If Jacob would harm Bella, even in the slightest way, I'd kill him. No matter what the result of that would be to the existence of the treaty
"No! Listen. I can't see properly. I don't know why. I don't know who...", Alice trailed off
What? I quickly scanned through her vision and realized what she meant. I was in the vision too. So there was a 50 percent chance that I was responsible for Bella's horrible fate.
Those puncture wounds could have been inflicted by me....my razor sharp teeth.
"You think that I....", I whispered in disbelief.
I couldn't believe it. I was capable of alot - my bare hands could easily crush cement - but to harm the girl I had come to love so much in such a small amount of time? That seemed very impossible.
"I thought it was Jacob at first. So I convinced her not to see him tonight. But my vision hasn't changed. So maybe it's not him...", Alice mumbled
This was absurd. Bella had become the focal point of my existence in three short days. All I wanted and needed was her.
"Why? Why would I harm her? Alice, I love her. I don't know why or how, but I do. With every fiber of my being. I have never felt this way before. I love her. ", I cried.
"I know you do. And she feels the same. Which is why she was going to break up with Jacob tonight. ", Alice said
At any other time that would have sounded like a great plan. Something I had very much wanted to hear since I had seen him with her at the mall. But now it seemed like that plan could actually hurt her. Kill her even. Such an unbearable thought.
"That has to be the reason. I knew he was trouble. The way he had that grip on her arm at the mall. Alice, it has to be him. He has a motive. Maybe Bella will go off to see him after all", I said.
"Maybe", Alice hesitated, "but if that's the case, what do we do? We cannot go to La Push. The treaty doesn't allow it. It would cause such a mess if we crossed the border"
The treaty made between the Quileute elders and our family had been effective for decades. We stayed off their land and they'd leave us alone and unexposed. But now, with Bella possibly going there, there was a real possibility we had to break the treaty.
I was very willing to do this.
I was rocking on my feet as I looked at my sister. She could not expect me to do nothing.
"Alice", I pleaded softly, "I cannot just let this go....I have to do something"
"Hey, she's my friend too..", Alice whispered. "But you have to stay here. It's of vital importance that you do", she ordered.
What? She could not really be asking this of me. I needed to protect Bella.
And I certainly could not do that when stuck here.
"Alice, don't be ridiculous. I can't stay here. We have to go to La Push. If you won't go, than I will.", I threatened.
"I know. But what will you tell Carlisle? You think he will understand and on the surface he might. But deep down inside you will let him down. Very much", Alice asuured me.
This was a painful thing. My father was very righteous. He'd never cause trouble when it wasn't needed. He'd never cause trouble period. And I was about to.
"Alice", I cried out in frustration,"What other choice do I have?"
"OK, let's look at my vision. I see Bella and Jacob arguing. You emerge later, when Bella is already...well, you know. I don't see how it happens, or who is responsible. I smell fire; maybe a camp fire. And something sort of salty. Perhaps the ocean. I think she might have been at First Beach, which is probably not far from Jacob's house. And you two were the only ones I see with her. So if we can make sure she does not go there, she will probably be safe", Alice stated
"And how do we manage that?", I asked, "What if she does end up going there?"
"She promised she wouldn't. I trust her not to go", Alice stated
I didn't. Not because I thought Bella would lie to Alice on purpose, but because I had the feeling Bella wanted to get this over with. She seemed to be the kind of person who - once made up their mind- would not change back or back down.
"Alice your vision didn't change, even after she promised you. Which is why you came here in panic. I don't think she lied to you when she promised not to go to meet Jacob. But maybe she has or will change her mind. After all, she doesn't know the weight behind the promise", I pointed out.
The weight. It was pulling all of us down. This vision was more vicious than any other vision Alice ever had. And it had these restrictions to make it almost impossible to stop. But there had to be a way.
"So..", I mused, "What are we going to do..."
"We need to keep her safe. I think La Push is unsafe", Alice concluded.
"We make sure she doesn't go there, like she promised", I agreed, "You should call her, invite her over. Anywhere but La Push right?"
Alice sighed. "I told her I have a date with Jazz."
"So, tell her it got canceled. I don't think one lie outweighs her safety", I told Alice.
"I can't bring her here anyway, You are here.", Alice pointed out
"But your vision most likely takes place at La Push", I shot back angrily.
I was still not over the fact my sister actually thought I would be the one to hurt Bella. To kill her. It was an insane and repulsive thought.
"Still better safe than sor....OH MY...", Alice gasped
Her eyes went blank. Unfocussed as she stared off in the distance behind me.
Another vision. Of Bella and me.. Kissing in a dark room. It looked nice, but also kind of sinister. Not to mention... sexy.
Especially that.
"Alice, what!! What does that mean?" I yelled as I shook her shoulders.
Alice focussed her eyes on me and...smiled.
She pulled out her phone and dialed a number. Then she handed the phone to me.
I stared at her apprehensively as I took the phone. Before I could ask Alice what she was doing, a familiar voice boomed in my ear, immediatedly tugging at my silent heart like an amazing symphony.
"Hello?", the voice spoke.
"Bella, it's me....Edward..", I said hesitantly. I looked at Alice for clues but she just grinned.
Whatever this new vision meant, it had been far more optimistic than the doom scenario that had been playing in her head before.
"Edward", Bella sounded surprised, "What's up?"
"I...uh....I am calling to apologize...", I improvised
I did owe her an apology for what happened during Biology. Though she had not been that nice herself.
I could hear her smile "Hmm, that's sort of your thing, isn't it?", she teased
"Yeah, I suppose it is. Only with you though", I assured her
"Wow, I feel so special..", Bella retorted, "anyway, apology accepted. I wasn't very friendly myself. Just an off-day, I guess. Not that that's an excuse", she rushed to say.
"Don't worry, we all have those", I told her..
What was I supposed to do now? Alice raised one eye-brow as she glanced at me. I felt like I was missing a big clue. Alice had wanted to me to apologize for our little tiff in class this afternoon. Why was that? What did that have to do with lip-locking in a dark room. Where was this room anyway?
Idiot! Pay attention. Ask. Her. Out. Movie theatre! Alice pressed internally.
Wait? Ask her out. Like on a date? I wanted to ask Alice, but Bella was still on the other side of the line and I didn't want her to hear. I grabbed a piece of paper and scribbled something down
You want me to ask her out on a date? Is that what that meant??
Alice rolled her eyes. Duh. Of course that's what it means.. You made up your mind about it, before it even hit your conscious. It's the key. If Bella can't go to La Push, she needs to be distracted so she'll stay away. And apparently I'm not that distraction. *You* are!
"Edward? You still there?", Bella wondered
"What? Sorry...I got distracted. Look, the reason I called is..", I started
"To apologize", Bella interrupted
I wrote on the piece of paper again. Before I could ask, I needed to know one thing. The most essential thing.
I won't kill her then? I wrote.
Alice shook her head and smiled. Ask her now, before she hangs up on you.
"Bella...I wanted to ask you, if you want to go to a movie tonight. I could pick you up within 30 minutes", I told her
Silence. Seconds passed. I could hear her breathing unsteadily for a moment and I wondered if her cheeks were spilled with a fresh pink now.
Finally, she spoke. "As friends?", she checked.
Right, the friend rule was still in place. She did not know that I knew what her initial plans for the night had been. "What else", I muttered
Bella laughed. "If you want to be here within 30 minutes, you better get going. I will be timing you", she threatened jokingly. "If you're late, you'll pay for the tickets"
"I'll be on time and still pay", I assured her
"Ok, I'll be waiting".
The line went dead and I handed Alice her phone back.
I'll be waiting. Such a wonderful phrase after such a terrible start of the evening. That reminded me...
"Alice, what changed? How can one vision of horror turn into another filled with glory?", I wondered
"Hey, I don't get how this works most of the time. The visions do not come with an intsruction manual.", Alice shrugged, "Maybe this wasn't about keeping you away from her. I guess all it took was an alternative to La Push. You offered her one. Subconsciously you already planned on asking her out. That solidified this vision and overruled the other vision, I think.
"So, I was going to kill her and instead I decided to ask her out on a date?", I asked in disbelief.
"OK, I'll admit that maybe I overreacted with the idea you would kill her. But I really couldn't see", Alice defended herself.
"Glad to see you jumped to conclusions immediatedly", I retorted.
"Don't fuss now. You need to change. A tip: Bella will wear dark blue. Hmm, she looks lovely", Alice beamed.
I dashed upstairs to take a quick shower. The warm water only heated my body for a second as it almost immediatedly evaporated into a moisty damp. What a bizarre night. Alice and her ridiculous visions. She had been right on occasion, but this time she had been really off the mark. Instead of killing Bella, we were going out. Two complete opposites.
After the shower, I put on some khaki paints and a dark blue knit round necked sweater.
Alice was waiting for me at the bodem of the stairs. "Very nice", she approved.
"Thanks. So, before I walk out the door, anything I need to pay attention to? No new visions when I was upstairs, oh Great Magic Eight Ball", I teased.
Alice shoved me and ruffled through my freshly modeled hair. "Be nice to me! Without my visions, you would be lost", she declared.
I sighed as I tried to remodel my hair, but Alice stopped me. "Bella likes the disheveled look. Now go", she ordered
I made it to the Swan house just in time. I was surprised to find Bella waiting for me on the front porch of her house. As soon as she saw my car pull up to the curb, she made way to the street.
She reached the Volvo rather quickly, stumbling on her way down as she almost tripped over her own shoes in her eagerness to get into my car.
"Are you alright?", I asked as she opened the door.
Bella shot me a glance as she sat down. "I know I am not the most graceful person, especially compared to Alice, but you better be nice to me. Unless you want to apologize again", she teased.
"You're very graceful", I said as I looked her over. She was wearing a dark blue blouse and a pair of tight fitting jeans. The blouse made her perfect ivory skin look glorious. It almost took my breath away. Something inside me started burning and I knew it was my longing to be close to her.
"You look beautiful", I commented with a big smile.
Bella's cheeks turned red at this. "Thanks", she mumbled.
"So, where are we going and what movie are we going to see?", Bella wondered.
"Port Angeles has the most picks, theater-wise. Any idea what you would like to see?", I asked
"Anything but the action packed stuff. No James Bond, please. Jake always...", Bella started but she abruptedly closed her mouth.
I decided to ignore this and pretended to be perfectly fine with her mentioning him. In fact, it was a nice opening to ask her about something I had been musing on, when driving to her house.
"Jacob is a James Bond fan? That must be diffcult for you", I teased half-heartedly. I couldn't care less about him. "Speaking of him, does he know about this. "
"Edward, don't start. Jake has friends and so do I. I don't have to run my plans by him. ", Bella assured me.
"Just curious. I wouldn't want you to get into trouble", I winked.
"Are you planning to be trouble?", Bella asked, one eye brow raised. "Am I going to have to be very stern with you tonight?"
Why did that sound so incredibly sexy coming from her, making my mind wander to dangerous, naughty places. I gazed at her and she grinned at me.
"Tss, Edward, don't even ...", she warned
"Don't even what?", I quizzed innocently
"Nothing. I seem to always get myself into trouble when I talk to you.", Bella mumbled.
"Isabella Swan", I laughed, "Are you assuming that I was thinking inappropriate things when you mentioned how stern you were going to be with me?"
I could not read her mind, but she seemed good at accessing mine.
"Weren't you?", Bella blinked nervously.
"A gentleman wouldn't tell. ", I smiled
"Ugh. This is not going to work..", Bella muttered
It wasn't. We were good at this back and forth rapport, but being friends was very difficult with this electric current constantly pulling at us.
"Bella", I said softly, "Lets just have fun, OK. I promise I'll behave. Scout's Honor"
"I'll behave too", Bella smiled.
"You better. I can act stern too", I teased
After I had parked the car at a parking lot near the centre, we strolled around to find a theatre to our liking so we could pick a movie. Eventually we found a small art house cinema where we chose to watch an Italian film about an Italian nurse in love with a German soldier.
I didn't need the subtitles to understand the film, so I spend most of my time looking at Bella. Occasionally tears welled up in her eyes and her mouth moved as she read the subtitles silently.
Here in the dark, it was easy to pretend we were a couple and I wanted nothing more but to reach out and brush her flushed with pink cheeks. Hold her hand or put my arm around her. But I had promised to behave. So I would. Our time would come. At least we had that chance now. Tonight could have ended so much worse. Luckily that all had changed. Still, against my better judgement, I thought of this as a date.
The end of the movie was tragic. The nurse ended up being shot in a cross-fire in front of the soldier's eyes after which she died in his arms. Tears streamed down Bella's face as she clutched my hand in support.
The coolness of my skin didn't seem to bother her as she squeezed my hand tightly. The electricity between us pulsed through my arm.
"Why do some movies have to end in such a sad way?", Bella sniffled, "It's not fair. She loved him and he loved her and it should not have ended like that..."
I leaned over to softly wipe the tears of her cheek. She turned away from the screen to face me. For a second I was certain she would reprimand me but she didn't. She just gazed at me as I tried to catch all the tears that were spilling.
"Bella", I soothed, "Don't cry, please"
I brushed her bottom lip with my finger to feel her breath caress my finger. Two dark brown eyes continued to stare at me. Not sternly, as Bella had promised. But with longing.
For a second I measured the distance between my lips and hers and decided to take a chance. I let my one free hand - Bella still held the other - linger on her collarbone as I leaned in until I was close enough to feel her warm breath wash over me.
I was still waiting for her to pull away but she didn't. In fact, she released my hand to pull me even closer to her. Her eyes never left mine as she stroked my cheek.
"Edward..", she whispered, "I am calling on sub-article one of the friendship rule"
"What's that?", I murmured
"Screw the friendship rule", Bella breathed as she crushed her lips against mine.
Had our first kiss been amazing, this one was even better. Our lips molded like they were made for one another. Bella wrapped her arms around my neck as I moved mine down her waste. The armseat between us was uncomfortable and before I could think I had pulled her onto my lap. She didn't protest as she moved one hand through my hair, disheveling it to her liking. Our lips wrestled and her heat did awkward things to my heart. I was certain it was about to start beating again. Bella let her tongue look for an opening between my cold lips and I was very eager to allow her in. But before I could properly make my mind up about that, the lights in the theatre went on again. The people a few seats down - the theatre had been half empty- looked at us in surprise as they caught us in this rather compromising position.
Bella climbed off my lap and steadied herself on the floor. She straightened her blouse and ruffled through her hair.
"Wow, that was not embarrassing at all", she sighed, sarcasm thick in her voice.
"Do you regret it?", I grinned
Bella's cheeks coloured a deeper shade of red as she smiled. "Can't say I do, no"
"Then who cares what people think", I whispered as I took her hand to lead her out of the theatre.
I decided to take Bella to a small coffee house, because I wasn't ready to have this night end yet. She ordered a latte - apparently caffeine wasn't her friend, so she made sure to not over do it - and I ordered some regular black coffee. Easy, but disgusting to choke up later. Still worth it though.
"The movie made you sad", I concluded as she took a sip from her latte.
"I hate unhappy endings. It's too realistic sometimes", Bella told me.
Hmm, what did that mean? Sometimes I forgot I was unable to access her mind but then there were times I was dying to find out what she was thinking. Now was one of those times.
"Are you expecting some kind of unhappy ending?", I wondered as I looked her over
"I was going to break up with Jacob tonight", Bella blurted out
"I see. Now I kind of feel bad for asking you out", I smiled
Bella rolled her eyes as her mouth curled up a bit. "Don't blame yourself. Blame Alice. She begged me not to go because she was afraid Jake would get agressive. Of course now, I wonder...", Bella mused
"What do you wonder about?, I asked.
Bella gazed at me for a while before she spoke again. "Well, it cannot be a coincidence that first Alice begs for me to cancel my plans and then you call me out of the blue to ask me out. Did you plan this?"
No, I hadn't. Alice had though. Even I momentarily wondered if maybe Alice hadn't misused her powers to get Bella and me together. The vision about a dead Bella had been planted in my head but so had the one where we were kissing in the dark. That one had come true. Had it all been a hoax? Was my sister that good? Faking visions to get Bella out and about with me. I couldn't believe that.
"I didn't plan this. Alice told me you were home tonight and I called to apologize. Which I did", I pointed out.
Of course I could not tell her about the real reason behind my call. About the visions; the good and the bad one.
"But you also called me to ask me out", Bella reminded me
"Which I also did. And you accepted. That made me very happy", I smiled.
Bella forgot about her wonders for a brief moment as she smiled back, her eyes soft. But then she got serious again. "So, you didn't plan this?"
"No, I didn't", I assured her. At least that was true. Not in my wildest day dreams - night dreaming needed the essence of sleep and that was impossible for me - I could have imagined to go out with Bella tonight. Especially not with that deadly vision still fresh in my memory.
"Do you have any idea why Alice was so panicky about me talking to Jake tonight?", Bella asked, while she finished her latte.
Well, he sort of was going to kill you. Just a tiny thing..not panick-worthy. I thought sarcastically.
"You better ask Alice. She has a good intuition when it comes to people. Her initial impression about someone is usually never wrong", I said.
"So Alice thinks Jake is bad news?", Bella muttered, "You know I have known him for years and he has never been agressive", she stated
"Bella, please don't take offence, but I could not care less about him.", I told her
I could have not cared completely, but the fact he posed a danger to Bella, made him a little more interesting. To kill, mostly.
"So, instead of discussing Jacob or Alice, I'd rather hear what you told Charlie tonight. You know, about where you went. So I'll know what to expect when I drop you off.. ", I explained.
I just wanted to know, if she had mentioned me to her father. I wasn't sure why that mattered to me all of a sudden. I suppose I was hoping, she was at least open about our 'sort of' friendship with these odd but delicious sub rules.
Bella sighed again. "I told him I was going to a movie with Jake. Then I figured that if that failed - you know, if Jake had called by accident or maybe his father would have mentioned something, I would just tell him about Alice and Jasper and how they were having a date until Jasper stood her up and she needed a female friend to cry with. But of course he bought and encouraged the date with Jake thing. He even gave me thirty bucks. Which I am now totally keeping. So the next movie is on me", she teased
I must have looked disappointed, because before I could speak, Bella rushed me to it. "It's not that I didn't want to tell my dad the truth. But he knows Jake and Jake's father Billy was there. So lying seemed better. I just didn't want to be lectured about going out with a male friend. They would not have understood."
"Never mind", I mumbled. I hated how we had to sneak around like this. That was fair to no one. And I didn't want to be her 'male' friend.
"Listen", I said without trying to stare at her, like she seemed to do so freely with me. "We better go back to the car. It's getting late. I suppose I should drop you off a the beginning of your street and not walk you to your front door", I guessed
Bella nodded and smiled in apology.
We walked back to the parking lot in silence. When we reached the car, I went to the passenger side to open the door for Bella.
"Thank you", she smiled as she stroked my hand, which was rested on the top of the open door. "I had a great night. I know this are difficult right now. I just need a little more time to sort things out. Maybe next time we go out, you can walk me to the door."
"If I agree to that, you can count on me to call on that sub-article myself", I promised with a smile as I closed it behind her.
As I walked around to my side I smelled it.
Like someone had been sitting too close to a fireplace.
Or a camp-fire.
The smell of fire and smoke was mixed with something more animal like and for a moment that threw me aback. I knew this meant something, but for some reason I could not access the meaning of it. It wouldn't lock in my brain.
I felt my phone buzz in the pocket of my coat, but I didn't need to take it out, to know who it was. As I stood there, a screaming violent flow of thoughts and profanities filled my head as the murderous vision Alice had seen, became the background picture. I didn't need the reminder anyway; I knew the terror as it was locked in my brain permanently.
The fire and the fury in the air. These angry thoughts eating away my brain. Alice's vision ripping my heart. She had smelled the fire. And the salt.
The salt. Blood.
Which would flow.
It was not even a question of whose blood that was going to be.
Bella's.
I wondered if he knew that too as I turned to face the extremely angry figure emerging from the shadows.
"Hello Jacob....."
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More cliffhanging, sorry. Sometimes you just cannot escape a darn vision :P
Thanks for all the reviews and input! I enjoy how some of you dive into the story and look for motivations from all the characters :) Keep it coming.
