Chapter 14

I pounded the 1 key on my phone to dial my voicemail. When it finally went through, I punched in my passcode.

"You have…five…new voice messages…..To listen to your…new messages…press one now…"

That stupid automated voice always bothered me, but today it seemed to be working extra slow.

"Emma. It's Embry. I don't know why you hung up on me earlier, but you need to call me back. Right now. It's serious. Call me, Emma."

"I know you have your phone on, if you're just mad at me you need to get over it, I need your help!" Call me back!"

"Emma, pick your phone up! You have to call me back!"

"Emma, this is an emergency, why are you not picking up! Call me back right now!"

My stomach dropped some more, if that's even possible at this point. With each message, Embry seemed to be getting more frantic.

"Emma. It's Jacob. Something's happened with Bella. I know that you know what it involves. You need to answer your phone. We need your help."

Jacob's message seemed strangely calm after hearing Embry's, but I could hear the strain and the sound of a ton of worried voices in the background. Something had happened to Bella? With that many people in the background, it sounded like they were in the hospital. My mind started to race. What had happened?

Car crash?

Tripped and fell?

Smashed her finger in a door?

And why would they need my help? I'm a 16 year old girl.

Whatever it was, I'm sure that Charlie had it taken care of. I mean, he is the police chief, and Forks is a really, really small town. Plus, I reminded myself, Jacob and Embry were obviously there.

I took a deep breath to calm my frazzled nerves; those messages were left over an hour ago, whatever it was had probably been taken care of by now. Even so, I was really worried about Bella. I checked the multitude of texts, which offered no additional information.

I thought about calling Embry or Jacob back, but decided against it. Since it had already been a good hour since the last call, I figured it would be best to get Damon, pay, and leave immediately. I would call them on our way to Forks.

I shook my head slightly, took another deep breath, and arranged my face into what I hoped was a pleasant, rather than worried expression, and, walking slightly faster than normal, I reentered the dining area. As I was weaving through the candlelit tables, I remembered something strange from Jacob's voicemail.

"…I know you know what it involves…"

How could I know what it involves? I hadn't seen or even really talked to Bella since I had forced her to come shopping for the dress I was currently wearing almost three days ago. And she had seemed fine then.

I realized I hadn't been paying attention to where I was going, and looked up just in time to run head first into a concerned looking Damon.

"There you are! You've been gone for a long time; I was just coming to see if everything was alright. I was worried."

He looked at me again, and his brow furrowed with worry. "Are you feeling ok? You're really pale."

"Umm…" I stammered, "My friend, you know, the one I was at lunch with when you met me, had an accident of some sort. I really should get home. I need to make sure she is ok."

His eyebrows raised in surprise. "Of course! Let me pay and I'll meet you out front!"

Luckily, Damon was quick about it, and we were in the car en route to Forks in a matter of minutes.

"So…what happened to your friend, if you don't mind my asking?"

"To be perfectly honest, I'm not sure. I wasn't told much. It doesn't sound terrible, but it doesn't sound good. I wish I knew more." I responded, thinking again about Jake's odd statement.

He nodded seriously.

"I'm sorry about cutting our dinner short. I really did have a good time."

"I understand. You're friend's in trouble. I like that you're loyal." He paused, "If you had such a good time, does that mean I get that second date you mentioned earlier?"

I grinned, my fears forgotten for about half a second as I responded, "I think we can make that work."

He returned the grin, and then turned his attention back to the road. "Great!"

With the conversation stopped, my fears returned. I contemplated calling the boys as I willed the car to move faster. Impatient, I leaned over to catch a glimpse of the speedometer. It read 95mph.

I gasped.

"What?" Damon looked concerned.

"Nothing, it's just that, wow, you're driving so fast!" Suddenly worried that the comment might offend him, I began to backtrack, babbling, "Not that I'm not happy about that since we will get home faster, it's just that I've never been in a car going so fast before! Well, I mean, except for this one time I was going shopping with my friend Alice. She really, really likes to go fast! It kinda scared me sometimes to be honest, but she was always in complete con_."

I stopped.

Alice.

The Cullens.

Vampires.

Oh. My. God. My heart began to beat heavily within my chest. My palms got all sweaty, and I suddenly felt the amazing urge to lose my expertly cooked dinner.

How. In the world. Could I have missed that!

Of course that's what Jacob's comment in the voicemail meant! He was referencing my nightmare of a real make believe world. He was referencing vampires and werewolves.

If he knew, he must have transformed…

Of course he'd transformed! He's been "sick" for weeks; no one has seen him. Of course. Of course.

You would think that with the abnormalness, vampires and werewolves would be the first thing I would think of, but the concept of those things being real was still foreign to me. I'm still disappointed it took me this long. I guess I must have known all along. That was why I kept going back to Jacob's elusive statement. Sometimes, I guess it's just easier for your mind to pretend that something isn't happening then to face it right away.

I was so far off with the jammed finger theory.

Ok, so a vampire was probably around. That's why Embry was upset. Why was he so upset? The only vampires in the area were the Cullens, and they had moved.

I remembered the night I had found out about this whole werewolf thing. The Cullens were not the only vampires who had been in this area. My stomach clenched. The vampire that snuck into Bella's room. The one they didn't know.

"Emma," Damon's concerned voice startled me out of my revere, "Are you ok? You look like someone just punched you in the stomach. Do you need me to slow down, or pull over? Because I can."

"No. No, no, no, no, keep going! I have to get home!"

"Umm…ok? Is everything alright?

NO! NO, EVERYTHING WAS NOT ALRIGHT!

"Yes, everything's fine. I'm just worried about Bella."

"Don't worry, I'll have you there soon. I'm so sorry this happened."

"Me too." I murmured.

Now that I had put it all together, I had gone from being worried to being absolutely terrified. Yet, one thing still didn't make sense. Why did they need my help? I was no match against a vampire! I didn't even know they existed until about a month ago!

My phone started to vibrate. I jumped and looked at the caller I.D.

Jacob.