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Chapter twenty one – Information

Nobody was happy with my breakup. The wolf pack didn't like me anymore - Leah sneered at me whenever she saw me. Charlie was confused and Billy was furious. Emily and Sam were disappointed in me, and kept urging me to talk to Jacob. But he wanted nothing to do with me. I had returned to Charlie's house, with the wolf pack guarding my house, reluctantly.

Alice finally managed to get a hold of me, and we had made plans to meet at a local coffee shop. I entered the café, to see Alice and Edward sitting next to each other. I smiled at Alice who engulfed me into her arms. My good vampires were exactly the same.

Both of them had their usual golden eyes, pale skin, designer clothing, and most importantly, they had purple rings under their eyes. Both of them were relieved and ecstatic to see me. Edward and I just smiled awkwardly at each other. "Hello Bella. Lovely to see you," he said, warmly. My heart would've melted after hearing his honey like voice. But it didn't. There was no speeding up of my heartbeat, no blushing, no feelings. Just emptiness. It was like I was never in love with him. Strange.

The usually upbeat Alice was grave. "Where do I begin?" I asked. "Everything, tell us everything," insisted Edward. I began narrating my tale, keeping my eyes on Alice the whole time, as I felt Edward gaze at me. It was discomforting. "Edward, please, stop staring at me." I requested. "My apologies. It has been a long while since I've seen you," he muttered, taken aback at my tone.

"Well, that doesn't give you the right to stare," I countered. Alice was surprised at the exchange. Moreover, even Edward didn't expect a placid Bella to meet him I suppose.

Once I was done, Edward and Alice were equally displeased. "It seems that things have become very complicated after my departure," Edward stated. Indeed it has.

That was our first meeting. It was less dramatic and less incongruous than I had expected. I didn't demand for answers, and neither of them offered them any. There was tension in the air, and it wasn't because of our dynamics. "Do come and visit. Carlisle and Esme would to see you. Emmett has been asking about you as well." Edward invited. I raised my eyebrows at him in disbelief. "Jasper will not be around," he mentioned.

Alice looked visibly disturbed. It was her mate who started all this. Nonetheless, it didn't change anything. "And about Jacob-" Edward began. "We've broken up," I cut him off. Alice looked ecstatic. "But that doesn't mean that I'm getting back together with you. My breakup has nothing to do with you. Don't bring this. If you want to be friends with me again, then you'll have to refrain from talking about touchy topics," I cautioned. "Otherwise, I'll speak to you. The both of you. I'm in a very irritable mood,"

So neither of them persuaded me to leave Jacob, aware that I was serious. Surprisingly, both of them were very grave while they listened to me. Also, they seem preoccupied with other things to talk about the past anymore.

I knew that we would have the conversation another day. It had been nearly two weeks since I spoke to Jake, or the wolf pack. Obviously, they found out about my rendezvous with the Cullen siblings. After that, all the girls were disappointed in me as well. Charlie chastised me several times for meeting with Edward. I kindly reminded him that Alice was also present, however, he was still livid.

Edward and I met up only once after that. He was never around when Alice and I went out together numerous times these past two weeks. It may also have something to do with the fact that Charlie had banned Edward from entering the house. Charlie didn't want my ex anywhere near me and had threatened Edward to stay away.

Sadly, his ban didn't seem to work, as today, I was going to review my college application before I posted them. I needed help. Alice who was supposed to assist me in this endeavour, conveniently had to go hunting. Alice informed my father that she had sprained her ankle. So Edward showed up at my door step, much to Charlie's distaste.

"Good evening, Charlie." Edward was always flawlessly polite, though Charlie didn't deserve it. Charlie grunted at him, and then stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. He was taking the idea of parental supervision to extremes lately.

"I brought a set of applications," Edward told me then, holding up a stuffed manila envelope. He was wearing a roll of stamps like a ring around his littlest finger. I groaned. How were there any colleges left that I hadn't applied to already?

He smiled as if he could read my thoughts; they must have been very obvious on my face. "Shall we?" he asked, towing me toward the kitchen table. Charlie huffed and followed behind, though he could hardly complain about the activity on tonight's agenda. He'd been pestering me to make a decision about college on a daily basis these days, to get my mind off Jacob.

I cleared the table quickly while Edward organized an intimidating stack of forms. When I moved Wuthering Heights to the counter, Edward raised one eyebrow. I knew what he was thinking, but Charlie interrupted before Edward could comment.

"Speaking of college applications, Edward," Charlie said, his tone even more sullen — he tried to avoid addressing Edward directly, and when he did - it exacerbated his bad mood. "Bella and I were just talking about next year. Do you have any plans? Have you decided where you're going to school?" Edward smiled up at Charlie and his voice was friendly. "Not yet. I've received a few acceptance letters, but I'm still weighing my options."

"Where have you been accepted?" Charlie pressed. "Syracuse . . . Harvard . . . Dartmouth . . . and I just got accepted to the University of Alaska Southeast today." Edward turned his face slightly to the side so that he could wink at me. I hid a smile. "Harvard? Dartmouth?" Charlie mumbled, unable to conceal his awe. "Well that's pretty . . . that's something. Yeah, but the University of Alaska . . . you wouldn't really consider that when you could go Ivy League. I mean, your father would want you to . . ."

"Carlisle's always fine with whatever I choose to do," Edward told him serenely. "Guess what, Edward?" I asked in a bright voice, playing along. "What, Bella?" I pointed to the thick envelope on the counter. "I just got my acceptance to the University of Alaska!"

"Congratulations!" He grinned. "What a coincidence." Charlie's eyes narrowed and he glared back and forth between the two of us. "You two better not be getting back together," he warned me. "I can't let you do that to Jacob. He's like my son," I snorted. "Dad, please, we broke up two weeks ago. It was mutual. I didn't dump him. He wanted this too." I argued.

He looked ready to counter. "And you. Don't you are make any moves on my daughter. You caused a mess when you left. I'm not letting you back into her life ever again." he declared. "Dad, I just broke up with Jake. I'm not looking for a rebound," I snapped. "And even if I was, it would not be Edward,"

Charlie was satisfied with my explanation. "I'm going to go watch the game, Bella. But I'll be paying attention," he mentioned. I waited till the TV was on, so that Charlie wouldn't be able to hear me. "What —," I started to ask. "Hold on," Edward said without looking up from the paper. His eyes stayed focused on the page as he pushed the first application toward me across the table.

"I think you can recycle your essays for this one. Same questions." Charlie must still be listening, like he swore he would. How childish. Edward and I broke up over a year ago. I sighed and started to fill out the repetitive information: name, address, social. . . . After a few minutes I glanced up, but Edward was now staring pensively out the window. As I bent my head back to my work, I noticed for the first time the name of the school.

I snorted and shoved the papers aside.

"Bella?"

"Be serious, Edward. Dartmouth ?"

Edward lifted the discarded application and laid it gently in front of me again. "I think you'd like New Hampshire," he said. I sighed. "Why are you doing this? I don't want to go back to square one at all. Stop trying to do what's best for me." I said. "We aren't dating anymore. I just need your assistance, not everything else that you do."

"I'll let you pay me back, if that makes you happy," he began. "If you want, I can charge you interest."

"Like I could even get in without some enormous bribe. Or was that part of the loan? The new Cullen wing of the library?"

"Will you just fill out the application, please, Bella? It won't hurt you to apply."

My jaw flexed. "You know what? I don't think I will."

I reached for the papers, planning to crumple them into a suitable shape for lobbing at the trashcan, but they were already gone. I stared at the empty table for a moment, and then at Edward. He didn't appear to have moved, but the application was probably already tucked away in his jacket.

"What are you doing?" I demanded.

"I sign your name better than you do yourself. You've already written the essays."

"You're going way overboard with this, you know." I said, gritting my teeth in anger. "There's no need to throw away a bunch of money, no matter whose it is."

A pained looked tightened his face. "Bella —"

"Edward, I just broke up with Jacob. The wolf pack is mad at me, and so are the girls. I'm mad at Jacob and everyone else. Plus, I'm fatigued from all this application stuff. Do you want really to have an argument with me?" I asked. He resigned, taking a temporary backseat. "Okay. But we will talk about it when the time is right," he surrendered. "Besides, we have bigger problems at hand,"

Abruptly, he flung the damp newspaper onto the table in between us. His finger stabbed the headline on the front page: DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE, POLICE FEAR GANG ACTIVITY

I stared at the headline, and then up to his hard expression. "A . . . a vampire is doing this?" I confirmed. He smiled without humor. His voice was low and cold. "You'd be surprised, Bella, at how often my kind are the source behind the horrors in your human news. It's easy to recognize, when you know what to look for. The information here indicates a newborn vampire is loose in Seattle. Bloodthirsty, wild, out of control. The way we all were."

"We've been monitoring the situation for a few weeks. All the signs are there — the unlikely disappearances, always in the night, the poorly disposed-of corpses, the evidence points only to Victoria. She's been living the area, and getting vampires to fight the wolves. Emmett, Rosalie and Jasper are on the lookout. They're trying to get rid of the newborns before they kill more people. The others are patrolling the streets at night." he stated. "We're making sure that the situation doesn't get out of hand. But the problem is, newborns are much stronger than us. We're no match for all of them. Even Emmett can't win a fight with them. They are immensely strong once they turn,"

"So, I'm warning you Bella. Do not leave the vicinity without protection. Victoria and her newborns are out to get you," he warned. "They are bloodthirsty, and your wolf pack are no match for them."