Chapter 14

BPOV

Jake smiled wearily at me from his place on the armchair, his bandaged leg resting gingerly on the coffee table in front of him.

"Hey Bella," he greeted me cheerfully. "Have a nice night?"

I forced myself to smile back, although every nerve in my body wanted me to cry.

"It was alright," I mumbled. "How was yours?"

Jacob shrugged, only a small wince flickering across his features as the movement jolted already sore muscles in his shoulders.

"It was okay." His black eyes watched my expression carefully as I went to sit down on the couch beside his chair, being careful to avoid Seth's sleeping form on the cushions beside me.

Leah smiled tentatively at me from her spot on the second couch, her brown skin still pale from the effects of the venom.

I smiled back, noting absently that the expression seemed to be getting harder as time went on.

Jake frowned.

"Hey," he whispered. "Is everything okay?"

I shrugged and looked away, not really in the mood to go through my fight with Edward. I felt terrible for saying such hurtful things to him, and I wished that I had the guts to go up to his room and apologize, but I just couldn't. Everything that had happened last night was my fault and I didn't deserve forgiveness, especially not from someone as amazing as Edward.

"Did you and Edward make up yet?" Jacob asked cautiously.

I glanced at him in surprise.

"How did you know about the fight?" I whispered back.

"We heard it," Leah said simply. "We have better hearing than the average human, you know."

I felt my skin burn with the ghost of a blush and looked down, embarrassed.

"I only started listening in at the middle of it," Jake said quietly. "Carlisle was re-breaking my bones so that they would set right and I needed a distraction… You two are more entertaining than a soap opera."

"I feel like a soap opera sometimes," I muttered darkly.

"You guys weren't fighting because of us, were you?" Leah asked quietly.

"No, of course not," I assured her quickly, feeling slightly shocked by her concern. I wasn't aware that Leah cared about my love life that much.

"Then why aren't you two up there being all lovey dovey?" Jake asked sternly.

I shrugged and looked down at the crisp white carpet that covered the floor.

"I don't know if I can do that anymore," I mumbled.

"Why?" Jake persisted, seeming confused. "Did you find some other guy to make out with?"

Leah shot him a withering look.

"I'm sure that's not the case, Jacob," she hissed. "Right?" she said, turning to me.

I nodded.

"I don't think that I'll ever find someone else," I mused. "I think that, for vampires, it's a one time thing."

"Wish it was that way for us," Leah muttered darkly.

"But, we have imprinting, don't we?" Jake asked, confused.

"Yeah, but you have to find the imprint first," Leah snapped. "Until then, you can crush on every boy you set your sights on if you want to."

"Okay," Jake said slowly. He turned back to me, seeming eager to get rid of the subject. "So, if you still like the guy, why can't you go and make up?"

I shook my head, mentally asking myself the same question. Sure, it would be easier for my mental and emotional health if I simply walked up the stairs and apologized to Edward. I knew that he would forgive me in a heartbeat, knew that he had probably already forgiven me for the things I said. And yet… I also knew that if I went back into Edward's arms, I would never be able to make myself leave, even if it meant his death. And I couldn't let Edward die, no matter what it cost me.

"Bella?" Jake's voice jolted me out of my thoughts, reminding me that there were others in the room with me.

"Hmm?" I said absently, a plan already forming in my mind. Almost as an after thought, I put my mental shield around the three wolves, effectively hiding their thoughts from Edward. I couldn't take the chance of them figuring my plan out and alerting Edward. It would be hard enough hiding it from Alice.

"You never answered my question. Why can't you go and make up with Edward?" he pressed.

"I don't think she can, Jacob," Leah said softly, her dark eyes on mine. I met her gaze for a second and saw a tiny flash of pity and admiration. She knew what I was going to do, it was the same thing she would have done if she had been in my position. I just hoped that Rose, Alice, and Esme would be as understanding.

"You guys need to get some rest, okay?" I said hastily, already heading towards the door. "I don't want Carlisle to scold me for interfering with your recovery."

Leah nodded, her eyes still pitying. I made a mental note to keep the shield on her and Jake until they left the house later in the day.

"Make sure to check in later, okay?" Jacob called after me. "I don't want to miss saying good-bye before Embry drags me off to La Push."

I felt my heart jump into my throat and wondered if Jake had figured my plan out too. Then I remembered that he and Billy were going to see Jacob's sister, Rebecca, in Hawaii for a week and relaxed.

"Of course I'll be back later," I assured him. "I need to make sure you bring me something back from Honolulu."

"What makes you think I'll get a vampire a souvenir from Hawaii?" he shot back.

"I'll give you twenty bucks."

"I'll see what I can do," he said quickly, his eyes lighting up at the prospect of more spending money. I made another mental note to give him forty dollars instead of twenty. After all, money wouldn't really matter soon.

I shuddered and pushed the thought away as I walked out of the door. I cast a quick look around at the trees that were still shadowed by the remnants of last night and felt my throat burn with the thirst. I would need to hunt later.

EPOV

I listened in on the Bella's conversation with the wolves, feeling slightly guilty for eavesdropping. Then again, what else could I do? I couldn't read Bella's thoughts, she hadn't said a word to me since our argument last night, Jasper was still recovering from the wolves' pain, and Alice couldn't see the future around the wolves. I was running out of options.

"… Did you find some other guy to make out with?" Jacob Black asked, his thoughts confused. I winced at his words and listened intently, the cracks in my heart widening slightly at the thought of Bella with another man.

"I'm sure that's not the case, Jacob," Leah broke in. It had better not be the case, I'm just starting to like this chick, she added mentally. "Right?" she appealed to Bella.

"I don't think that I'll ever find someone else," Bella mused, the sound of her voice making my heart ache and relax at the same time. "I think that, for vampires, it's a one time thing."

I felt Leah's relief mix with my own, although I detected a small amount of envy among the relief. I listened into the rest of the conversation, making sure to watch Bella carefully through Jacob and Leah's thoughts. I tried to avoid Seth's thoughts, as he was dreaming of vampire rabbits at the moment.

Geez, I didn't even know that vampires could zone out, Jacob thought irritably as he waited for Bella to answer his last question. Why can't she just answer my question? Or, better yet, why can't she and Edward just-.

I jolted upright in bed as Leah, Jacob, and Seth's thoughts all disappeared. I reached out for the thoughts once more, trying to detect anything. I found nothing.

I frowned, guessing who was responsible for the block.

"Bella," I sighed.

I ran out of my room, being careful not to alert Bella or the wolves, and paused briefly by Alice's door.

Come in, she thought the second I paused.

I opened the door as quietly as possible and slipped into Alice and Jasper's room, feeling slightly self-conscious.

Alice and Jasper were both perched on the edge of their bed, their darkening gold eyes watching me expectantly. Alice's head rested gently on Jasper's shoulder, and their hands were intertwined in her lap as he leaned towards her.

Are you alright? Jasper asked, reading the pain, suspicion, and fear that seemed to have become permanent residents in my psyche.

"Bella just used her shield to block out the wolves' thoughts," I explained hastily. "I think she might be hiding something."

Jasper frowned, his focus travelling towards where ever Bella was in the house.

Guilt…Pain… Fear…Determination…Hunger, he listed in his mind. I think she's mostly thirsty right now, he reported.

"I don't see her trying anything unusual," Alice added. "She's going to hunt after the wolves leave, but I can't see anything-."

Alice gasped as a new vision came to her. We both watched as Bella ran through the trees after a mountain lion, her brow furrowed in concentration. She turned away from her prey as something appeared in the trees behind her… then the vision went black.

I felt a lump form in my throat and saw Jasper wince as my pain and fear grew.

"What does it mean?" I asked, barely able to speak.

Alice shook her head, her expression annoyed.

"There was more," she hissed. "I know there was more to that vision. Why did it just cut off like that?"

"Maybe Bella changed her mind?" Jasper suggested eager to ease some of our panic.

Alice shook her head, still irritated.

"That wasn't completely Bella," she said quietly. "Bella's decision to go hunting is only half of the vision. The part that I can't see… that's the part that belongs to someone else's decision."

"Whose?" I demanded.

"I don't know."

BPOV

"Are you sure you want to give me this?" Jacob asked, his eyes wide with awe as he looked at the two twenty dollar bills in his hand.

I shrugged.

"Neither of us know how expensive things are in Hawaii," I pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess, but still…" Jake's voice trailed off as he looked up at me, his expression doubtful.

"Just take it, okay Jake?" I insisted. "Buy yourself something cool."

Jacob shrugged and put the bills gently in the pocket of his jeans.

"Alright," he conceded.

"Geez Jake, take me along next time, will ya?" Quil teased. "I could use forty bucks."

"So could I, nimrod," Embry shot back. "And we all know Jake likes me best."

"He does not!" Quil growled indignantly. "You don't, do you Jake?" he added in a pleading voice.

"I don't know why you even bother," Seth said lazily. "We all know he likes me better."

I laughed and shook my head in mock exasperation.

"Boys," Leah sighed, echoing my thoughts. She smiled at me again before walking over the treaty line to join the others. "Make sure to stop by my place and say hi sometime, okay?" she called back to me.

I nodded, feeling another flash of relief that I had agreed to go with the wolves to La Push. It would definitely give me a head start on my 'hunting trip'.

"Thanks again, Bella," Sam called from the other side of the treaty line.

"Yeah, thanks," Paul muttered.

I smiled at them and waved before turning away and running into the trees, hoping desperately that Alice still couldn't see me.

Okay, I still do not own Twilight or any of the characters in it. *Sigh* Thanks once again to all of the awesome people who read and reviewed my story!