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Port Angeles
I had fucked up. There was really no other way of putting it. Edward hadn't picked me up after my first class as he usually did. Instead, Alice met me, because Edward had gone home to do what Edward did best – sit in his room and brood.
I sat in Creative Writing, hyper aware of the empty seat to my right. I wasn't surprised he'd gone home early, that he didn't want to face me just yet. If I had been in his place, I'd feel the same way. Probably the only reason he came with me to school in the first place was to make sure I was safely away from James.
James wasn't at the house, of that I was sure. He knew he'd crossed a line, and Edward had already demonstrated the shortness of his temper. I was relieved because I didn't want them fighting, but angry at myself at the same time. If I hadn't wanted anything to start between them then why hadn't I listened when Edward told me James couldn't be trusted?
I'd spent the last three periods asking myself if I was attracted to James, on any level at all. I'd badgered my subconscious over and over, but couldn't find anything unusual. Was James good-looking? Sure he was, but not unlike Emmett and Jasper, or even Carlisle, and I wasn't attracted to them. Even with the temporary improvements on his personality, he hadn't been nearly as agreeable. And even if he had been, even with a sparkling personality, even if there had been just the teeniest bit of a physical attraction, there was Edward. Even if I had felt...something...there wasn't anyone or anything I would ever want more than Edward, and I had never wanted anything to come between us. I'd allowed James to do that, for whatever reason, but at this point it was safe to say that the reason wasn't about James.
So then what?
Fine, I said in my mind, as the nagging thought I'd been having all morning tugged at me. I was lying to myself. I knew the true reason I'd been so stubborn and difficult about James. Yes, I'd known it was far-fetched to think that after clearly displaying an inappropriate interest in me, James would be after my friendship. But I'd wanted to believe it, because everything had finally been perfect before he'd shown up causing problems. My family trusted my control over my thirst, and hadn't been worried about where I was all the time. I could go on spontaneous runs if I wanted, without anyone tagging along or without even saying I was going. I could finally go places in public in Forks because I wasn't pretending to be in Phoenix with my mom. I could visit Charlie. Things were almost back to normal.
When James had shown up, the big white house had started to feel like a prison again. But if everything was okay with him, things would go back to normal. If James became my friend, and then eventually patched things up with Edward and became his friend, all the extra security would stop. No more late night invasions of my private time, no more escorts to and from school, and to and from class. I'd be allowed to see Charlie again whenever I wanted, not just when I begged on my birthday. Things would be perfect again.
I shook my head at my own stupidity. Maybe I needed to stop reading so much fiction.
My phone buzzed. Whoops. I usually put it on silent for school. No one seemed to notice, which was good, and I whipped out my phone, read the text, put the phone on silent and had it back in my bag before anyone was the wiser.
The text had been from Rosalie. She and Emmett had gone to the mall after stealthily dropping off Alice and Jasper, and they wanted to know if I needed anything, or maybe something for Edward. In other words, they were suggesting I give him a sorry-I-was-a-big-stupid-idiot present.
On the one hand, I didn't want to give Edward a present as an apology. Besides the fact that it just wasn't me, it wasn't right. Edward and I would sit down and discuss this matter properly, and I would express my regret like a mature human – well, no not really – being. On the other hand, our relationship was way out of balance in terms of who had given what to whom. First there was the little matter of the little presents that had found their way into my room while he'd been courting me. Then there was the matter of the earrings. Even if I wrote that off as a birthday gift, there was still the matter of the necklace, and finally, there was the matter of the orgasm. Even in our physical relationship, I was lagging behind.
The trouble was that Edward had had unlimited time and unlimited funds for longer than I could conceive. I held down a chuckle as I remembered a scene from Breakfast at Tiffany's (one of the DVD's Edward had gotten me) and imagined going in to buy Edward a sterling silver telephone dialer. For the vampire who has everything.
I tried to think of something I would want, something that time and money couldn't necessarily guarantee me – something rare.
And then it hit me.
BELLZ: Need a favor…
Despite the fact that he was positively disgusting, James had been right about some of the benefits of being a vampire. I listened to the lecture even as I texted Alice, moving too quickly for anyone to see. My phone was on silent now, but the phone apparently still made a noise when new messages were received – the noise was just too low for humans to hear.
PIXIE: Yes.
I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing out loud. Alice must have looked ahead to what I had decided to ask her, and hadn't bothered wasting data costs.
BELLZ: After school. Tell Edward?
"Miss Swan? Which of the two sentences is correct?" The voice coming from the front of the room wasn't the one I'd grown accustomed to for this period, and was so condescending I had to fight off a sneer. Every head in the room turned anxiously toward me, probably expecting me to be made an example of. Unfortunately for them, I'd read Rosalie's text book for this class last year while I was bored at home.
"The one with the semicolon." My voice was confident…almost a bit bored. I couldn't help but smirk at the disappointment that registered on the old woman's face. The substitute teacher must have thought I hadn't been paying attention. Okay – I hadn't completely been, but I didn't exactly need my whole brain for this.
PIXIE: Meet after THIS class. Leaving b4 lunch.
Oh. This was news to me, but at least it meant Edward would be super surprised. With any luck he wouldn't realize the sun had come out and assume we were in school when we were actually shopping. At least, I assumed that's why we'd be leaving early.
BELLZ: Sun?
I quickly opened my internet app to Google some stores.
PIXIE: Yup. Emergency accessories in car – will be safe in store.
BELLZ: Thx
The substitute wasn't nearly as animated as Mrs. Katz, so class dragged; I doodled. When the class finally came to an end I had to fight not to run at full speed out into the parking lot. Alice must have left Gym early and run home to get her car because I received a text as soon as I made it outside.
PIXIE: Took the sports car. Meet around corner.
This was less than ideal. Though I considered myself to be a Cullen, I was still recognized in Forks High School as my human self – Miss Bella Swan. This meant that Dr. Carlisle Cullen could not call and excuse me from school on sunny days the way he did Edward and Alice. Generally if the sun was going to be an issue, we knew in advance, if only because of the weather report. Carlisle would call as usual, and I would just stay home, returning to school the next day with a sick letter carefully scrawled in Charlie's handwriting. It would be too suspicious if Carlisle and Charlie called the school the same mornings all year to excuse their children – we didn't want to draw attention to our family alliance.
This was significant today because I was already in school. Carlisle had no doubt called with some excuse for Edward and Alice to leave before lunch, but not for me, and I couldn't so much as blink without someone noticing in this school – my new-student status, coupled with my vampiric appearance, along with my dating Edward Cullen had made me a high-profile senior.
I had two choices: I could leave campus at human speed and risk being seen and accused of truancy, or I could run faster than human eyes could see. The decision wasn't difficult; with all the babysitting since James had shown up, I hadn't had a good solo run in a while.
I made sure my bag was securely shut before assuming a half crouch. On your marks. Get set. But before I took off, my phone made its muted sound.
PIXIE: Charlie called for you. WALK!
Sheesh. I never got to have any fun.
…
Alice and I arrived in Port Angeles in Rosalie's red Mercedes. Alice and I had on the necessary accessories to protect our skin form direct contact with the sun while we were outside, and Alice was clearly milking the fashion opportunity. Technically, we could have just worn big hats or hoods with our hands shoved in our pockets. A sunny day in Forks was a rare occurrence, and even on those days, it was not unusual to see residents dressed for rain if only out of habit. Instead, Alice was wearing elbow high leather gloves (as her jacket had cropped sleeves), sunglasses, and a scarf tied around her short hair and neck Audrey Hepburn style. Alice pulled it off, but I would have felt like an old lady in a rain cap in a scarf and told her as much. The alternative was a huge, black sunhat, black sunglasses, and black leather gloves. I shook my head as I caught our reflection in the shop windows – we looked like two different versions of Jackie O.
We went into the first shop that I had secretly Googled during class. I was initially very disappointed. The shop wasn't at all what I thought it would be like.
"The description said it was a rare book store," I whispered rapidly. No human ears would have been able to decipher the words, even if I had spoken them at an audible volume.
"I'm sure the books here are rare," she replied. The shop was…different…to say the least. Strangely, though I knew I wasn't going to find what I was looking for here, I didn't immediately leave. Alice didn't comment, though she probably knew where I could find what I needed. She was respecting my desire to do this on my own, and fading into the background as much as she could to give me the illusion of solitude. She was here in the role of babysitter, not personal shopper. (I couldn't very well have surprised my boyfriend if he had been the one to take me, now could I?)
The store seemed to be Native American owned. I smiled at the man behind the front counter as I passed, eyeing its contents. His skin was a dark cinnamon, and his once jet black hair, now streaked with gray, was long and straight, tied in a sleek ponytail at the back of his head. Though he wasn't openly hostile, he didn't seem too pleased to see me either – this surprised me. Humans were usually quite affected by my "vampiric charms" as Edward liked to call them. This was the first polite smile I'd sent out in the past six months that had not been returned. I frowned.
"Bella, maybe we should hurry up in here," Alice suggested. Her voice was low and brisk.
"In a second," I said aloud, not understanding her sudden hurry. My eyes skimmed the bookshelf. I didn't see anything I was thinking of picking up and taking home. Most of the books seemed to be very specific to this particular tribe; they were history books, or books that held legends. Interesting, yes, but not what I came for. What was really attracting me to the shelves were some of the small trinkets they held. There were several carvings out of wood and stone. I considered picking up something for Carlisle; he loved to collect art of different cultures. I started to grab an interesting wooden mask, but remembered my mission and resolved to wait until his birthday. (Edward assured me they didn't celebrate birthdays anymore but I was planning to ignore him.) After my quick scan and new appreciation for the tribal store, I was ready to leave. I turned my head to give Alice the "outta here" signal, when I spotted something that made me pause.
I allowed myself to reach out and touch the small object, my fingers gliding gently over the woven texture.
"It's a dream catcher." I jumped when I heard the warm, deep voice. When I turned, I found that I had to crane my neck to see the large boy who stood behind me. His skin was the same rich cinnamon as the old man's at the counter, but he was obviously young, while the man at the counter looked like he could be the eldest leader of whatever tribe he represented. His scent was intoxicating. It was so different from anything I'd smelled on a human before. I could hear the sure, steady beat of his heart, and I could smell the sweetness of his blood, but he smelled so much more like nature than most humans. He smelled of firewood and salt – bonfires at the beach? – and there was one other thing... Impossible, I knew, but I could swear I smelled the sun on his skin. His eyes were as jet black as his hair. They widened as they met mine, and he smiled. The sight was radiant.
"Hey," he said, his voice uncertain as he scrutinized my face. "Have we met?"
"I don't…think so," I said, which was true. I didn't think so, but there was something oddly familiar about him. Something gave a distant tug at my memory. It was a tug I recognized, usually occurring when I had forgotten something I'd known in my human life.
"You look sort of familiar," he said. "Are you from around here?"
"Um…yeah. Well, no, not really. But sort of, yeah." He squinted at me. I laughed at my incoherence. "I meant – I used to live here when I was younger. Then I moved to Phoenix, but now I'm back. So…yeah." I was going to have to speak to the family about becoming my private charm school. For a vampire, I wasn't very eloquent.
"Phoenix, huh?" he said, smiling at me. Okay, so my jumbled sentences hadn't scared off the stranger. "I have a friend out there."
"Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah she…I mean we were friends when we were little. She used to live here, too, but when her folks split up she left with her mom. Her dad's chief of police out in Forks. I see him sometimes."
I gaped at him.
"What?" He half laughed the word.
"You don't mean Charlie Swan?"
"Yeah. You know him?"
"I'm his daughter," I said, as though it was obvious. The boy's eyes widened, his grin becoming huge across his face.
"Bella?" I didn't remember him, but he clearly knew me, and I felt myself smiling anyway. "Oh, my God. I hardly even recognized you, you look so different now. I didn't know you were back!" He started to reach forward to hug me. Just then there was a loud sneeze from the back corner of the store. We both jumped.
"Pardon me," Alice said, in her brightest, high-pitched voice. Okay. She wasn't sick. Had she just not wanted us to hug?
Oh, right. I wasn't an ordinary human girl anymore; I had to avoid physical contact with humans. This boy was huge, and he looked like he'd have a similar hugging style to Emmett – pick up and crush. He would notice when I wasn't soft and pliable the way I should be.
Luckily, Alice's ploy had been successful. The moment had passed.
"You're so tall!" I exclaimed. He grinned, seeming to accept that I remembered him. I still hadn't placed him, but if we hadn't seen each other since we'd been kids this was an appropriate observation. He couldn't have been six feet tall when he was five. "I've only been back for about a month or two," I said casually, hoping to change the subject. I was facing the same problem I'd had on the first day of school when Jessica and Mike had approached me. Mike had been so enthusiastic, so genuinely pleased with my return. He'd known me right away, but I hadn't remembered him, not entirely. Though I felt oddly comfortable in the presence of this particular boy, I couldn't seem to remember him at all.
"A month or two? I would have thought Charlie would have mentioned something to my dad."
His dad. "Maybe he did, and your dad just forgot." I was fishing. Come on. Tell me something I can use, I willed him.
"Maybe. They've been pretty preoccupied lately, trying to get all their fishing in before it gets too cold. And Charlie's been coming down to the reservation a lot more so I won't have to drive illegally." He shrugged.
Reservation. Bingo.
My dad's best friend was Billy Black. He lived on the Quileute reservation not too far from Forks. He was in a wheel chair, which made it difficult for him to get around. Charlie had mentioned that to me when I'd come over on my birthday. I knew that the real reason Charlie had been spending so much time on the reservation was to avoid having company, so that people wouldn't notice I wasn't actually living with him – especially since I'd been on house arrest. He did tell me I may have to come over some night soon, though, because football season was starting, and Billy preferred his flat screen. He'd mentioned that Billy's son would drive him up, the same son that took care of my truck – Jacob.
"True. But football season is starting up, right Jake?" He smiled. Apparently I hadn't been as slick as I thought and he'd suspected I didn't really remember him. "You and your dad will come by soon?"
"Yeah, definitely!" I smiled at him before the moment became awkward. My mind began to wander as the implications of what I'd just done sunk in. On the one hand, I'd had to say what I'd said, so not to blow my cover. On the other hand, creating the illusion of living at Charlie's wasn't going to be easy with the James issue at large, and judging by the intensity of Jacob's reaction, he had his dad would be visiting sooner rather than later.
"Well," Jacob said, with 'goodbye' already evident in his tone, "I better get going. I only came in to pick up something for my dad."
"Oh, okay."
"Yeah. But I'll see you soon." He started to turn to leave, then stopped. "Hey, are you gonna get that?" He gestured to the dream catcher.
I started to say yes, but then realized there wouldn't be a point. "Maybe another time? I was looking for something kind of specific and I'm on a budget."
"Aren't we all?" I suppressed a giggle. No, not really. "Bye, Bella. See you soon." He waved.
"Bye, Jake."
The moment he walked out of the store, Alice made a b-line for me.
"We need to leave. Now." Her eyes met mine with intensity and determination. I didn't dare dispute. I walked slowly out with Alice, trying again with a polite smile and nod to the man behind the counter. His expression was actually cold this time, and I wondered if he'd been glaring at me that way all along.
"Stupid," Alice muttered, once we'd donned our sun-gear in the doorway and headed outside.
"What's wrong?" I asked, already in a panic. "Is it James?" An unwelcome image of Edward and James tearing the house apart flashed through my mind. "What's happened?"
"It's nothing like that," she said. That was weird. She seemed calmer already. "Come on, Bella, I know the place you're looking for. They've got a bunch of limited edition books and I'll be able to tell you what Edward doesn't already have."
"Okay." She was trying to side-track me. Admittedly, it was working just fine on a part of my brain. I was instantly excited again, and pleased that I had the means to get Edward something in return for all he'd showered me with. Our relationship had started off incredibly one-sided, and I was determined not to allow it to continue that way. I allowed myself to be distracted as we walked the few blocks we had to travel to get to the next shop. The moment we were inside, however, I received a sunny smile from the female cashier, and couldn't help but remember the icy glare of the man in the tribal shop. "Alice?" I asked.
My mind already made up, she knew what I was going to ask her.
"Yes," she answered my future question, as she had a tendency to do. "There's a reason he was looking at you that way."
"What is it, Alice?" This was bad. I didn't know how or why, but somehow I just knew.
"He knows what we are. Bella…we should hurry up with the book, okay? We need to get home. There's something we're all going to need to talk about."