I woke p when it was still dark
I woke p when it was still dark. Edward was shifting beneath me, but trying not to wake me. It was as if he were worried. Then, his phone started ringing and he answered it before it got to ring a second time.
"Alice, what is it?" His voice was low and soft, as if he didn't want me to hear what they were saying.
As he talked, I looked out the window, searching for Jake. I saw movement inside his car, and I felt an urge to go give him some company. It was only about four or five in the morning, but the moon gave off its light as if it were day.
"They're coming here?" Edward asked Alice.
I settled back into his arms and tried to listen.
"How much time?" he asked. There was a moment of silence where he listened to what Alice was saying. Then his voice was almost a growl. "I can't risk her like that! It's too dangerous."
I wondered if he was talking about me, but I didn't ask.
"What do you mean?...I know that, but isn't there another way. What do you see them doing?" His voice was getting worried in my opinion. I desperately wanted to comfort him, telling him it would all be okay, that it didn't matter if something happened to me as long as he was with me until my last heart beat, my last breath.
Edward's hand wound around me protectively. I could feel his breath against my hair as he spoke to Alice.
"Fine, we'll keep put until they come. Will you be here before them?"
By the sound of it, I was guessing the Volturi were coming after us, but the Cullens were also coming. That frightened me. I was feeling scared for them, not me. I was putting them in another difficult situation.
Though, the reason the Volturi were coming was because they had wanted me to become a vampire because I knew their secret. Maybe then, Edward would change me. It was selfish of me to think of it, but it was all I wanted: to be with Edward for all eternity.
"Call me if there is any change in plans," he told her before hanging up.
He let out a sigh. Not of relief.
"What did Alice say?" I asked him, trying to sit up.
He positioned me comfortably in his lap, wrapping his arm around me, and holding my hand with the other.
"The Volturi are coming to find us. They are going to be tracing our scent. I'm hoping that with the dog here they will go in another direction, but I don't think it'll work. I'm worried about what could happen, now. By not going I'll be risking your life," he whispered against my hair.
I traced his lips with my trembling fingers, feeling his frown underneath. "Edward, the last thing I want is for you to feel guilty if anything happens. It won't be your fault," I assured him. Finding his cold, marble lips, I kissed him once before adding. "What if we tell them about the wedding and that afterwards you were going to change me? Maybe they'll wait," I suggested, thoughtfully.
"They would probably make us hurry things up a little faster," he replied.
"I'm not complaining."
His muscles tightened. It felt like sitting on a rock.
"You just can't wait, can you?" he asked.
"Edward, I think I've been waiting since the day I met you. I know what I want. You know what I want, but you're afraid to give it to me because you think I'll regret it someday when it's too late. But if you think that, you don't know me very well. You're something nobody could possibly regret."
He didn't say anything for a moment.
"What about your last human demand? You're willing to give that up?" I knew what he was trying to do.
"You're just trying to stall me so I'll decide to wait. Weren't you the one always saying it was too dangerous? But if I had to give it up just to be with you…I'd give up anything, everything I had."
He softened, then.
"Go back to sleep. Alice and the others will be here early," he said against my lips.
I didn't want to pull away, but I did.
"I need to go check on Jacob," I said. It felt like asking for permission more than it did telling him I was.
"He's fine. But I guess you should go talk to him." He pulled his arms back, letting me out. "Tell him he should leave," he told me.
I nodded. I didn't want Jacob to be here when the Volturi came. It was dangerous for him. Jane was dangerous, I thought, remembering the time in Italy.
Jacob saw me as I walked toward his car, and I could also feel Edward's eyes on my back. When I got to the Rabbit, the door opened for me. I climbed in. Jacob was sitting there, but I wondered if he was sleepy. Had he been up making sure nothing happened?
"Hi," I started out.
It was dark inside, but I could see him nod in response.
"Edward thinks-I think you should go home. Not that I don't want you here, but because I don't want to put you in danger," I explained.
I could feel him staring at me, but I couldn't see his face.
"Why don't you go home? It'll be the same anywhere, won't it? That way the pack can help with those bloodsuckers," he said coolly, his voice full of anger.
"Yes, but I don't want to get the pack involved, and I don't want to put other lives in danger, either."
"Bella, I'm not leaving. At this point I could care less about what happens to me. All I care about is you, Bella. You. Nothing else matters. And if you're not in this world with me, alive, I wouldn't care to live," he explained, leaning toward me. Young Jacob was back, instead of the stubborn one.
"I'm sorry. I just think it would be better if you jus went back home. Whatever happens, we both know it was going to happen sooner or later…and…I'm sort of glad it's…" I didn't know how to explain to him. We were running out of time. I wasn't scared for myself, but those two were worried about what was going to happen to me. "I just want you to leave," I said.
Even in the dark I could see the hurt I had caused. "We're running out of time, and I have no idea what they would do to you if you were still here; I can just imagine…"
He turned his head, looking the through the windshield now. I could see his tightened jaw.
"If I left…and you got bit by any of those filthy…bloodsuckers…would you ever come…back? For me?" His broken voice was whispering out to me. It made the lump in my throat seem like a huge rubber ball had gotten stuck in it.
I reached to touch his face, but he pulled back, running his hands over his face. It took a moment before I could answer him.
"Of course I would. I'd come back for y" My voice cracked and I started to sob.
How could he ever think I wouldn't come back? I would be back for him, whenever I could control myself. I'd come back even if he didn't want me then. I couldn't imagine life without my best friend. I'd have Edward, but there would be a gap left that nobody would ever be able to fill up, a place that was reserved for Jacob only. Jacob, my best friend.
I felt his arms weave around me. It felt comforting. The warmth, the piney scent, the sound of his heart…everything was comforting. Maybe it was because I knew it might be the last time I saw him, at least as human. What if he rejected me as his friend later?
A knock on the window made us both jump. It was Edward. I heard Jacob sigh in anger but he pulled his arms back. I made my way out of the car, wiping my eyes. Edward put his hand around my waist and guided me toward his Volvo.
I had stopped crying by then, not completely, but enough to say, "I miss my truck. How is it?"
"It'll be okay," he replied, and he wasn't talking about my truck.
The sun finally rose later on. I felt a surge of excitement when I saw Emmett's jeep coming up the dirt road. Jacob had gone out for a "walk" while Edward had been on the phone with Alice.
The jeep was stopped a few feet away, and without a second of hesitation, the Cullens stood in front of Edward and me.
"Bella," Alice nodded toward me. Ten, turning toward Edward, she said, "I see them coming this way. It shouldn't be long-about three hours or so. They are very quick."
Edward nodded for the information.
"Where's the dog?" asked Rosalie in a I-don't-actually-care tone. Her arms were crossed, standing next to brawny Emmett, looking glamorous as always.
Edward looked down at me with a questioning look. I shrugged. I only knew he had gone for a walk somewhere.
"I was on the phone when he must have left. I wasn't paying attention, but I think he must have gone back. Bella told him to. I doubt he would, and if he didn't, I have no idea where he might be," Edward answered.
"I can still smell him, unless it is only Bella," Jasper concluded, standing behind Alice.
"It's Bella," Emmett answered, sure. "Did he touch you?" he asked, directing the question directly at me.
I remembered the hug and nodded.
"Maybe it'll keep the Volturi away, then," he said.
"Or maybe it'll make them want to kill her even quicker," Rosalie suggested coolly.
Edward growled from somewhere in his chest. I stayed, unmoving.
"You should have left her," Edward said through clenched teeth.
"Oh, like I would have come, but they made me," she growled back.
We were waiting, then, for their arrival. Jacob hadn't appeared yet and I was starting to get worried. Rosalie and Emmett had left for a small talk. Jasper was leaning silently against a tree. Alice had her eyes closed, watching for a change. And Edward, he was pacing back and forth without making a sound. It was starting to get me nervous.
"They're nearer," Alice stated.
Edward stopped and walked back toward me.
"I'll go fetch Rose and Emmett," Jasper volunteered and then was gone.
"Should I call Charlie before…?" I asked.
Alice nodded and handed me her phone. I dialed the station's number with trembling fingers. Charlie answered on the third ring.
"Honey, it's good to hear from you. Are you having fun?" he asked, excited.
I tried to sound happy. "I am. I think I'm even starting to like shopping," I lied.
"That's great," he said. "I have a lot of work here, but if you want you can call me later," he suggested.
"I'll try,"-I paused- "I love you, dad."
"I love you too, sweetheart."
I hung up the phone feeling almost faint. I wasn't going to be able to say goodbye to my mom.
The other three Cullens appeared again, just when Alice announced, "They've arrived."
Okay, so, um, I guess they arrived.
A little more info:
Jacob went back to La Push, but...
No one is going to die...yet
There will be some getting hurt...