Chapter Thirty Six
Bella
Edward just disappeared from school and my life which was a pity, I would have liked time to explain to him that I still liked him and valued his friendship but he seemed to take my words to heart. That day he approached me in the hall while I was talking to our friends he looked like a different person and the way he talked shocked me. I was lucky that my friends rallied round, he had shocked us all by his words and made no friends for himself.
In classes that day or the two he attended he was cold and distant glaring at Alice who was her usual friendly bubbly self sitting with me in Edward's place when he petulantly chose another desk to sit at. I was getting pretty fed up with his infantile behavior and sat at my old place with Jessica, Mike and the others leaving him to go back to his siblings alone.
When I looked round next he was gone but the others or at least Emmett and Alice both smiled and waved, I hadn't expected Rosalie to but even she didn't look as angry and disapproving as usual.
"Did you thaw the Ice Queen a bit when you were going out with Edward? She looks a little more friendly."
Mike snorted at Jessica's question,
"If that's friendly I'd hate to get on the bad side of her."
How true that really was he had no idea but it made me smile. When we got up for afternoon classes Alice came over and put her arm through mine,
"Don't let Edward get to you Bella, his pride has been wounded that's all. Personally I think you made the right decision but you will still come to visit won't you? We'll all be upset if you don't, Esme especially."
"I'd like to if it's not going to cause too many problems with Edward."
"Oh I don't think Edward will worry, he'll probably run off to our friends in Alaska, its what he usually does when he doesn't get his own way."
We had all our afternoon classes together and when she invited me over the next evening I agreed even though I still felt a bit uncomfortable.
My dad was over the moon I had broken up with Edward and his good mood lasted the rest of the week, I got extra money to gas the car up,
"It's not easy with the little money you have but I suppose you won't be gallivanting over to the Cullen house all the time now."
He wasn't quite so happy when I told him about the invitation from Alice but once I assured him it was to see the family not Edward he cheered up once more. It seemed strange going to classes without him and even more going to the Cullen house to see the piano lid down and no sign of Edward anywhere, Alice had been right, he'd gone off to their friends in Alaska.
By the end of the third week I had slipped into a routine of calling on the Cullens twice a week, more if Alice and I were study partners which we often were and with my Saturday job at Newton's store my weekends flew by. Things became strange a month after he left when one afternoon the secretary came in to our science class and after a whispered conversation with Mr Bennett called Alice out.
When school finished that day I looked for her but she was nowhere to be seen, neither were Emmett or Rosalie and their car was missing from the parking lot. Bewildered I walked slowly to my own car to find an envelope stuck behind the wipers. I picked it up and got into my car turning the heater on before opening the envelope recognizing Alice's hand writing.
"Dear Bella,
I am so very sorry to be the bearer of bad news but we have been called away, an emergency in Alaska and we won't be coming back. Please believe this has nothing to do with you. I will miss you, we all will but please don't try getting in touch, it would be unwise for all of us. It has been wonderful to have you in our lives, Esme and Carlisle both say regretful goodbyes and Emmett is very upset he won't be able to speak to you in person before we leave. The house is locked up but the furniture will be picked up by a removal firm and put in storage for now. Please remember your promise and you will stay safe.
Love Alice. xxx
They had gone, just like that without a single goodbye, how could they do that to me? But then realization hit me, they must have done this before, to others, after all they were immortal, what did the span of a human life mean to them? Still I was really hurt by their actions and when Charlie got home that night he could see I was upset but he already knew why, he'd heard the news too.
"They gone?"
I nodded,
"The Cullens were taken out of school this afternoon. Alice left me a note telling me they had an emergency but that they wouldn't be back."
"Its a bad way to leave you Bella. I would have expected more of Dr and Mrs Cullen. maybe they'll ring you with more news, tell you where they've gone."
"I don't think so dad, I think they've gone and that's it. Anyway I have homework so I'll get dinner and then go up."
He could see I didn't want to talk about it and just nodded,
"Sure Bells whatever you say."
As I cooked spaghetti and meatballs I heard Charlie on the phone to his friend Billy on the res and though I could only hear his side of the conversation it was enough to understand the Quileutes were celebrating the Cullens leaving Forks. Their attitude annoyed Charlie, after all the doctor had been good for the area, much better than any they'd had in Forks and Port Angeles before and he would be missed.
I wondered how long it would take to get a replacement, he must have left them in the lurch and that got me thinking. I washed up quickly and ran upstairs telling Charlie I was doing homework but once I shut my door I sat on the bed thinking. Dr Cullen would never just up and leave like that, he was far too professional which meant that something had happened, something serious. Had the Volturi found out about me? Is that why they had to leave and why Alice found it necessary to remind me of my promise? Surely if that were the case they would have warned me or taken me with them. I couldn't see Esme or Carlisle leaving me here in danger and running for safety themselves but maybe I had been wrong about them.
The next few nights I didn't sleep at all, I kept expecting vampires in black cloaks to come pouring through the window and carry me off or worse killing both me and Charlie so I was relieved when we were invited to a party at the res at the weekend. Billy invited us to stay overnight at his cabin and I knew vampires wouldn't come onto the res, there were the guardian wolves to keep us safe though I never let on to Billy or his son Jake that I knew their secret, I seemed to be a keeper of dark secrets since I arrived in Forks. Of course I had to sleep eventually and as the days passed one after another I began to wonder if what I had seen and been told were just dreams or nightmares but I had a couple of pictures, one of Edward and I and another of me with Alice and Emmett to prove they had been real.