Two weeks go by and still, nothing has changed. Work is still the same. Victoria still hasn't made an appearance or even given any clues as to where she could be. No scent. No clues. I really don't understand how she can be this still after everything. As much as I hate to think of it, I know that she is capable of at least bringing the wolves down. I know that she still wants to kill me; I'm not stupid. But why doesn't she just make an appearance? It's not like she's going to just get over it and stop trying. Either she kills me or she gets killed. Just get it over with!
Is it a bad thing that I'm thinking about this? I'm so over it and, like I've been saying for what seems like forever, I want this over with and I want her to come here. At this point, I don't really care about Leah and the boys going out there when she does come because I know that that'll be one step closer to her being gone forever. I cannot wait for the day. Then life will just be a field of flowers and be perfect. Paul and I can be without worry. What a life.
My inner rambling and complaining takes place as I shower and get ready for work. It's my birthday and I'm already hating it. I'm nineteen. One year closer to getting older. I guess it doesn't bother me as much now that I'm with Paul. He's at least capable of aging and told me that he would when he didn't see the need to phase anymore. Thank, God. I don't want to look like a creep when I'm older and he still looks like he's twenty-one.
Paul told me the other day that he has something planned for tonight. I only raised an eyebrow at him when he told me. He promised me that it wasn't anything big and that we were just going to the beach with the rest of the pack for a bonfire. I can handle that. I just wanted to make sure that he didn't have anything big planned. Last time that happened, things didn't turn out well for anyone.
I head off to work and surprisingly the day seems to fly by. Maybe that just because I am kind of looking forward to tonight. I haven't really done anything different than normal for a while and it has been a few weeks since I've been to La Push. So I can catch up with everyone tonight. I miss them all, even Leah, though we don't really talk much.
I go home after work and change clothes for tonight. It's supposed to be chilly, so I throw on jeans and a long-sleeved t-shirt. As I get ready, I just get this funny feeling like something is going to happen. Maybe not today, but soon. I don't know what, but I just have that feeling. Maybe I'm just ready for all of this Victoria stuff to be over with or I'm just worrying too much. I push the feeling out quickly and run downstairs when I hear Paul at the door. I think about grabbing a jacket, too, but then I decide that I don't need one if I'll be with Paul tonight.
"Happy birthday, Bella." He says as I walk out of the house and he gives me a kiss.
"Thank you." He opens my car door for me before getting into the driver's seat and heading off to the beach.
Everyone is there already when we park at Sam and Emily's house and walk down right behind the house. Sam is trying to get the fire started. "Hey, Bella. Happy birthday." he says.
"Thanks," I reply. Everyone else says the same thing to me. Sam gets the fire going and tells everyone that they can start getting food. Paul cooks our hotdogs over the fire while I fix the rest of our plates. I sit down on a log by the fire and he comes over with the finished hotdogs and he sits beside me. The rest of the crowd gathers their food, sits and starts to eat.
We talk about anything and everything, nothing different of any other time that the whole group gets together. After we all finish eating, Sam and Emily run back to the house and bring out a cake. Of course, everyone has to embarrass me by singing. I think Jared has the most fun with it and I blow out the candles. She cuts the cake and distributes a piece to each person.
Jared takes a seat beside Paul and I. Kim sits next to him, on the other side. After a minute, Jared asks, "Paul, do you smell that?"
"What?" he asks, sniffing a little.
"Something, I don't know, sweet, maybe? I can't really describe it."
"No, I don't smell anything. Maybe you're just smelling the cake or something."
Jared shrugs and doesn't say anything else about it. A little bit later, Seth says something about the smell, too. All of the wolves sniff and take notice of it. "Where have I smelled that before?" Paul whispers to himself.
"What is it? I don't smell anything." I say. Kim and Emily seem to agree with me. We have weak human noses.
"I don't know. It's really sweet. Sickly sweet. I swear I've smelled it be-." He cuts himself off and goes over to Sam. He whispers something in his ear and Sam just gets a really serious face and nods. Sam calls Seth over, tells him something and he runs off. Paul walks up to Emily, Kim and I. He tells us to go back to the house as soon as Seth comes back. He also tells us to keep the doors locked and close all of the curtains. "And turn the TV on full volume." He tells us without saying anything else. Then he gives me a passionate kiss, the most passionate one yet and says, "I love you, so much."
"I love you, too." I say and then see Seth come from wherever he was in his wolf form. Still completely confused and totally oblivious to whatever is going on, the girls and I do as Paul said and follow Seth back to the house. He stays outside, but we go in. Emily locks the door behind her and goes to lock the front door, too. Kim and I close the curtains upstairs and downstairs and turn the volume all the way up.
We still don't know why we're doing all of this, but we trust that whatever is going on, Leah and the boys have it under control. But why would he want us to turn the TV on? That just seems really odd. Then we hear it. It's probably the most earth shattering sound I've ever heard.