BELLA- Letters From the Sky

Jacob and I were sitting on the couch when we heard the familiar sound of tires on the driveway. The engine cut off, a door slammed shut, and a few seconds later the back door swung in, revealing a haggard looking Charlie.

"Hey, kids," he called as he hung up his belt and kicked off his boots.

"Hey, Dad," I called back. He disappeared and I heard him open the refrigerator, no doubt looking for a cold beer. Sure enough, there was the sound of a bottle cap being removed a few seconds later. He walked back across the kitchen and shifted through an old stack of newspapers on the table.

"Something in the mail for you, Bells," he called.

I stuffed a page of notes into the book I had been reading for English and went into the kitchen. A square white envelope was waiting for me on the table. I picked it up and examined the writing. There was something familiar about the neat, slanted letters, but there was no return address.

I ripped open the envelope and tugged out the note inside. As I unfolded the paper, I caught a whiff of a familiar scent, but I couldn't remember where I knew it from.

I read the note once, and then a second time, before it slipped from my hand and I stood frozen on the spot, staring blankly down at the seemingly harmless piece of paper.

"What is it?" said Jacob, swooping to my side in an instant. He stooped to grab the note and scanned it quickly. His face darkened as he read.

"No," he said quietly. The paper crumpled in his clenched fist.

Charlie, who seemed oblivious to the whole thing, padded out of the room and plopped into his chair. The TV clicked on and began announcing the score from last night's game.

"No," said Jacob again.

And while all this was happening, my mind had gone numb. Only one thought seemed to be repeating itself over and over again: he's coming back.

"Here." Jacob pulled out a chair and pushed me into it. My knees bent of their own will; my mind didn't seem to have any control.

"Hey," said Jacob from what seemed to be a great distance. "Hey, Bella." He turned my face towards his and peered at me with a worried expression. "Are you okay?"

With what seemed like a great effort, I nodded. That movement seemed to shift something inside me, and I began to feel normal again. "I'm fine," I replied.

"Are you sure?" said Jacob, still worried.

"Yes," I said. "I was just… surprised."

Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Surprised?"

"Yeah."

"But now…?"

"I'm fine," I said again.

Jacob stared at me for a few seconds before clapping his hand to my forehead.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I said, trying to pull him off me.

"Do you have a fever or something?" he said, ignoring my feeble tugs on his arm.

"No, Jacob, I'm fine," I said, squirming away from him. "Let go of me."

He dropped his hand but continued to watch me.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked.

"Yes. Why don't you believe me?" I huffed.

"Because, well… I guess I was expecting you to—I don't know, freak out or something. Or do that thing you used to do, when you wrapped your arms around yourself like you would fall apart if you didn't."

He was right, of course. I should be curled up in a little ball on the floor right now. But I wasn't. I really had just been surprised.

"I don't know," I said. "I guess…I guess I'm over it."

That night, after Jacob had pretended to leave but had really just snuck up to my room, I lay awake, unable to fall asleep even so long after Jacob had. Instead, I thought about Edward.

We were going back to the place it had all started, really, the place where it had turned from friendship to…something else. It was one of the few places where we had been able to be ourselves. So somehow it seemed appropriate that the meadow was the place where it would all end.

I couldn't imagine what it would be like to see Edward. I had dreamed about him, heard his voice in my thoughts, but I knew that the more timed that passed, the more blurred the lines of his face became. Having to see him standing in front of me would bring back all the memories: the good ones, when we had spent so much time together, and the bad ones, when he had left me crumpled and broken on the forest floor.

I remembered the dream I had a few weeks ago, when Edward had fed on me in the meadow. It hadn't really been our meadow, but some twisted alternate reality. It was strange that he was coming back and would meet me in the meadow, just as he had in the dream. And in the dream, I had known how dangerous Edward was but hadn't been able to tear myself away from him. For the first time since reading Alice's note, I felt scared. Scared, because I knew Edward's potential to hurt me not only physically but also emotionally…again. He had already hurt me so much, but when I saw him again, would I fall right back into his trap?

Jacob stirred beside me. I glanced to see if he had woken up, but his eyes were still closed.

No. Suddenly I knew the answer. I wouldn't fall back into Edward's trap. Because as much pain as he had caused me, I was still here. It had felt like my world was going to end when Edward left, but it hadn't.

Because I had Jacob.