Chapter Twenty-One: The Return of Alice
By the time we made it to the cliff, I felt like my arms were going to fall off. I'm serious. The fine hairs that covered the tops of them were standing straight up, I had goosebumps all over, and they were bright red from the combined efforts of the wind and me rubbing them too keep the blood flowing.
Bella walked over to the edge and I followed closely behind before standing next to her. Looking down over the edge, the water seemed like an angry gray mass. Every so often it would rear up and crash loudly against the rocks of the cliffs. I turned to face my crazy sister.
"Are you seriously going to jump into that?" But she wasn't paying attention to me. Her head was turned slightly to the right, a faint smile on her face. I followed her gaze where I saw nothing but rocks and trees. "Hello? What are you looking at?"
"You wanted me to be human. Watch me," Bella muttered softly before unzipping her jacket and handing it to me.
"Who are you talking too?"
"You won't stay with me any other way," came Bella's answer.
I stood there, eyebrows raised. The day had finally come. My sister had completely lost her mind. I watched as her smile widen just before she took a step closer to the edge, flinging herself into the open air.
My scream mixed with hers as she plummeted down. I watched with wide eyes, praying that she wouldn't get hurt. It didn't seem like she had jumped that far out and I was afraid she would hit the rocks either on her way down or upon landing. But it seemed like my worries were for nothing as she splashed into the water and resurfaced seconds later. Even over the roar of the water I could hear her faint laugh.
But the peace didn't last long.
The fear I felt in my gut had only loosened for a moment before it was back in full force. A particularly large wave had formed and crashed over Bella, burying her under a wall of water. I couldn't see her anymore and panic ran through my veins like ice. Quickly, my eyes darted across the water, scanning for any sign of her. But there was nothing. No pale head forcing itself to the surface for air. No dark brown locks drifting just below the surface. Just red. Red like fire.
Wait. Red?
Lowering myself so that I was now on my stomach, I stuck my head over the edge of the cliff and squinted my eyes for a better look. It was faint, but I was almost positive that I had seen a stalk of bright red hair in the water. And there was only one person that had hair like that, and they weren't even a person. Victoria.
Scrambling away from the edge, I started looking around in the woods. I needed help. Bella needed help. If Victoria was in the water that probably meant that she had been driven towards the water. And if she had been driven towards the water then that meant that the wolves had to be nearby. Without hesitation, I took a deep breath of cold air before yelling as loud as I could.
"Jacob! Sam! Anybody! Help! Help!"
Turning back to the water, I searched once again for any sign of Bella. But there wasn't any. I could only assume that she was still under the surface. I couldn't see the bright red of Victoria's hair either and had no idea if that was a good or bad thing. I called out for Jacob or Sam once more before deciding that I couldn't wait any longer. Bella needed my help. Kicking off my shoes, I set Bella's jacket next to them before rising and moving towards the edge of the cliff.
It was a lot higher than what I had done before over the summer and the water was a lot scarier, but I knew that I had to do it. Bella needed help and right now I was the only one around. Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath before counting myself down.
"One…Two…Three…"
I was just bending my knees, about to spring myself into the open air when a pair of large hands clamped themselves over my upper arms and pulled me back.
"Alex, are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?" Came Jacob's concerned voice as he pulled my back to his chest. He was so warm and I couldn't help but turn around and wrapped my arms around his waist.
"You're freezing, where is your coat?" he asked as my cold flesh met his. "Alex, what's wrong? I heard you yelling. You about gave me a heart attack."
"I-I-I, Bella went cliff diving, but the water is too bad so she got swept under and I haven't seen her for a while now, but I did see Victoria, I'm sure of it. She's in the water, Jacob." Tears had started to fall from my eyes.
Gently but quickly, Jacob pushed me from his chest, his face serious as he looked down at me. "Bella is in the water?"
I found it difficult to form words so I just nodded my head. I watched as Jacob moved towards the cliff, looking down.
"I don't see her. Listen, Sam is on his way, wait here for him then meet me at the beach, I'll get Bella." Taking a few steps towards me, he placed a quick kiss to my forehead "I'll get her, I promise." And with that, he jumped over the edge.
I stood there, shivering for a few seconds before realizing that I had taken my shoes off and that my feet were now freezing. Bending down, I returned them to my feet before picking up Bella's jacket and pushing my arms through the sleeves. Sam arrived shortly after.
"Alex, where's Jacob?"
Wrapping my arms around myself, I started filling him in on what had happened. By the time I was done, he had moved over to the cliff and was looking down at the water.
"I don't see any signs of the red haired women, but it looks like Jacob's has found Bella."
I rushed to the edge of the cliff, eyes scanning the gray. Sam helped me out by pointing down at where Jacob was indeed swimming to shore with my sister. Grabbing his arm, I started to drag him back towards the woods and the path that would lead us towards the truck. Driving quickly, we finally made it to the beach where Jacob was leaning over Bella.
"Go to them. Tell Jacob I'll be at Harry's place," Sam said as I killed the engine to the truck. I gave him a confused look before getting out and running across the sand to Jacob and Bella.
"Oh my god!" I yelled as I slid to the ground next to my sister. Throwing my arms around her wet body, I held her close for a minute before letting go. "I never thought you would actually do it! My god, you really do have a death wish!"
"Sorry," Bella whispered weakly, trying to smile. "I just needed to see something."
"Well, next time it's not worth your life, crazy."
"Come on, we should get her into something dry. We can go to my house," Jacob said, helping Bella up.
"Okay. Sam said he was going back to Harry's." I told him, falling into step beside him. The was a small silence because I asked, "What's going on at Harry's?"
"Didn't Charlie call you?"
"No, I forgot to grab my phone before I ran after death wish Sally here," I said, giving my sister a pointed look. She just shrugged her shoulders weakly before shivering once more.
Jacob gave a heavy sigh. "Harry Clearwater had a heart attack. He didn't make it. Charlie and my dad are over with his family now."
A wave of sadness swelled within me as I thought of Harry. Poor, sweet, Harry who was one of Charlie's best friends. Harry who always promised to look after him. Who promised to look out for Jacob and the others because he knew their secret and wanted to protect them. I just couldn't believe that he was gone.
Getting into the truck, I drove us over to Jacob's house while Bella huddled next to him for warmth. When we got there, Jacob led us into the living room before disappearing for a moment with the promise of coming back with warm clothes. While he was gone, I sat Bella down on the couch and wrapped her in the blanket that hung over the back. She gave me a small smile before huddling down. Jacob returned shortly after, throwing a clean shirt and a pair of sweats over to Bella. He also threw me one of his sweatshirts.
"You need to warm up too, missy," he said as he came to sit down next to me in front of the couch. I rolled my eyes, I told him to cover his eyes before pulling off Bella's jacket and handing it back to her. I had warmed it up slightly, something that she would need. I took her wet clothes once she had pulled them off and folded them as best I could before setting them next to me. Once Bella had put on Jacob's clothes as well and her jacket, I told Jacob it was fine for him to uncover his eyes.
Everything was quiet for a while before it was broken by Bella's heavy, but peaceful breathing.
"You should probably get some sleep too. You look exhausted," I said, looking up at Jacob.
"No, I'm fine."
"No, you're not. The skin around your eyes is so dark I would think you were a vampire if I didn't know better," I teased.
Jacob sent a quick glare my way. "That's not funny."
"Come on, it was a little funny." Shifting myself into a more comfortable possession, I felt his arm wrap around me and I rested my head against his chest. "Thanks for saving Bella," I said quietly.
"No problem." His voice sounded heavy and before I knew it his slow breathing mixed with Bella's. Shifting once more, I raised myself enough to give him a kiss on the cheek before settling down and drifting to sleep as well.
I woke up hours later to the dark sky peaking through the windows. Stretching, my hand suddenly connected with something hard. A deep voice called out in pain shortly after and I turned around to see Jacob holding his nose.
"I'm so sorry," I managed to get out in between giggles. I don't know why, but I just found it funny.
"Yeah, I can see you're really broken up right now," Jacob muttered, pulling his hands away from his face.
He looked at me for a moment before moving towards me. I moved to get away, but only managed to lie on the ground away from him. He fixed that, though, shifting his position. I continued to laugh as he leaned over me, a fake angry look on his face. My laughing continued for a few seconds before it slowly faded away. I could feel the heat from Jacob's body through my clothes and the look he gave me turned my insides to butterflies. Slowly, he lowered his head down to kiss me. I waited, closing my eyes for a moment before turning my head at the last second. I wasn't ready for this yet. I knew he was sorry for lying and keeping secrets, but I need to work my way back to trusting him again.
"I'm sorry," Jacob breathed, lifting his head.
"I'm just not ready yet," I said sadly, looking up at him.
He gave a sigh before getting off of me, offering a hand to help me up. "I should probably get you guys back home."
I nodded my head before turning to wake Bella up. She seemed a bit groggy, but I helped her out to the truck and got her all buckled up before getting into the passenger seat. Jacob got behind the wheel and drove us home. The trip was spent mostly in silence until Jacob pulled up into the driveway. Bella thanked him for saving her and I was just opening the door when Jacob freaked out. Reaching across Bella and me, he grabbed the door and pulled it shut.
"What are you doing?" I asked, looking at him in confusion.
"Vampire."
"How do you know?" Bella asked, her face white and eyes wide.
"I can smell it. Hang on, I'll get you guys out of here." Reversing the truck, he was just about to take off when Bella stopped him.
"That's Carlisle's car," she muttered, pointing through the front windshield at the sleek black car parked in the shadows. "They're back!"
Before Jacob could stop her, she crawled over me, opened the door, and took off towards the house. Jacob groaned in frustration before getting out and running after her.
"It's a trick. Bella you've got to come with me."
"Bella, maybe you should listen to Jacob," I said, getting out of the truck as well.
I didn't know what I was feeling. It had been so long since the Cullen's had left. Why would they randomly show up now? Part of me didn't want it to be them, so that they didn't have to run the risk of getting hurt again. But another part of me wished it were one of them and not Victoria.
Jacob grabbed Bella's arm, holding her in place, but she pulled it away. "Jake, please, I have to go in."
"Don't you get it, Bella? If a Cullen is back then this is their territory. The Treaty says we can only defend our own lands. I can't protect you if you go in there."
"I'm sorry, but I have to." Without looking back, she walked up the front of the stairs and into the dark house.
Jacob let out a loud growl and stalked back to the truck, slamming the door closed in an attempt to release some of his anger. I followed close behind, laying a hand on his back.
"Jacob, you have to calm down."
Beneath my hand, I could feel Jacob's chest rise and fall as he took deep breaths of air. Slowly, he turned around to face me. "Why does your sister keep throwing herself into situations that could get her killed?" he asked, his teeth clenched so tight I almost thought they would shatter.
"I have no idea. I swear I'm going to have white hair before my twenty because of her," I tried to joke, but a slight pain filled my chest. "I have to make sure she's okay."
"You can't seriously be telling me that you're going to go in there too," Jacob growled, his face twisted in anger and fear.
I knew that me putting myself in danger was not going to make things any easier for him but also knew that I couldn't just abandon my sister.
Holding up my hands, I gave him the calmest look I could. "I have to check on her. But I don't have to go alone. You can come with me."
"I told you, I can't protect you because of the Treaty."
"You can't protect me if a Cullen's here. If it really is one of them, than we should be fine. But if it's Victoria, you have a duty to kill that bitch."
I watched as he thought it over for a second before a smirk slowly pulled at his lips. "I knew there was a reason I liked you."
Pulling me close, he set his face before leading the way up towards the house and the vampire that waited inside. As we got closer, I realized now that it was one of the Cullen's I hoped to see on the other side. I didn't want to think about the destruction that would happen if it were Victoria waiting for us.
Authors Note:: Mah, don't really like this chapter. But that doesn't really matter because we are almost finished with this story! Yay! Anyway, thanks so much for the amazing reviews everyone! Especially Altair.K for being number 200. One of my stories has over 200 reviews, I just can't believe it! I have a bit of an idea for the whole Renesme thing. It will probably end up being a poll but not for a while yet. Lord help Edward when Alex see's him again. She blames him for everything so it will not be a pretty sight. Thank you very much, I'm glade you like it and that the characters aren't totally OOC. I try to keep them as in character as possible. I'm glad you all enjoyed the the little Lunch at Emily's scene, that was a lot of fun to write. I'm just going to say it now, Alex will not be going with to save Edward, like you said, it wouldn't be very unrealistic. As for Alex and Alice, Alex likes her but is way closer with Emmett and Jasper. They will be the one's she is freaking out at for leaving while trying to hug them to death because she missed them. Thank you so much to everyone else who has favorited, followed, or is just reading this story! You guys are all awesome as well! :)