Chapter 55 (Bella POV)

I was a nervous wreck by the time Jasper left to deal with Edward. I didn't need the gift of empathy to feel the thick fog of tension hanging throughout the cabin. Everyone was quiet for the first few minutes. When vampires 'sat still' it was a bit unnerving. They all looked like they were carved out of marble - beauty immobilized. They weren't doing their normal subtle human mannerisms - I guessed that was probably because they didn't feel the need to put on a show for me. Part of me wished they would - though I'd never say that out loud. They just sat frozen - listening for things that went far beyond my scope of hearing. Esme was the one to break the silence, apparently noticing my discomfort.

"Bella - are you hungry? I can go see what Jasper has in the kitchen and try to put something together for you." She offered with a warm smile. Normally I'd decline, but my stomach had been growling all morning. My nerves had gotten to me and I'd skipped breakfast. Though I'd usually offer to just get it for myself - I thought maybe seeing one of them up moving and acting normal would help settle some of my uneasiness.

"Sure, that'd be great. Thank you Mrs. Cullen." I said, forcing a small smile.

I followed her over to the kitchen and sat at one of the stools at the counter as she took a look inside of the fridge. I knew there were probably still ingredients from the other day when Jasper had made me that big breakfast, the day Edward had been introduced to my scent in Alaska. Looking back now, I wished that day would have went differently. That breakfast should have been my last human meal. Spending yesterday with Jasper had been amazing - our picnic, bowling, watching Psycho under cozy blankets - on top of all the rebellious fun stuff. But now, Jasper could hardly be near me - things had changed so quickly. I regretted how selfish I'd been - I didn't need that day. I didn't need those experiences - all I needed was Jasper. I missed him already.

"Looks like we can do eggs, bacon, and toast. How does that sound sweetie?" Esme asked - breaking my from my regretful spiral.

"Sounds amazing - thank you."

"Comin' right up!" She chimed. Then - just as fast as Jasper - she turned on the stove, got out the ingredients, plugged in the toaster, retrieved two frying pans, and got to work fast and efficiently. After a few minutes Emmett came to join us.

"Hey I thought Jasper said no distractions. Are you sure you should be frying up eggs at a time like this?" He asked Esme with a hint of sarcasm - giving me a wink.

"Well just because there's a crisis - it doesn't mean she should have to starve. Besides - I'm not much of a fighter, you know that - I'd probably just be in the way. So - right now, the best thing I can do to help Bella and Jasper is this." She told him, flipping one of the eggs as the toaster ejected 2 perfectly golden pieces of bread. Within less than 10 minutes I was scarfing down my breakfast. She'd even poured me a glass of orange juice to top it all off. Everything had been delicious. As soon as I was done, she came to take the dishes, but I refused. I needed to keep myself busy - the least I could do was wash my own dishes. She'd already taken care of the rest of the clean up while I'd eaten.

My mind wandered again while I began to soap up the plate. I needed to convince Carlisle to change me - and fast. He'd offered to do it and it seemed like Jasper's mind was occupied with so many other things. If I could just take this one thing out of the equation - let them know I really wanted to become a vampire - things would be so much easier. All of the waiting, pushing it off, was only going to make things harder in the long run. I was ready. But as I rinsed off the last dish, my juice glass - I was robbed of those thoughts.

It's just one of those things - something you've done hundreds of times with no issues - but today the glass slipped. Stuffed inside a small cabin with four vampires - the wet slippery glass fell through my fingers and shattered. The real mistake had been trying to catch it. I should have just let that damned glass fall, had someone else clean it up, but my reflexes reacted a little faster than my brain. As I went to grab for the falling glass, it broke into shards and the biggest one sliced open the thin piece of skin between my thumb and my index finger.

I couldn't move. I couldn't speak. I stared down at my now shaking hand as the water continued to run. It was a deep clean cut - the kind the doesn't bleed immediately. There were a few quiet seconds before the first drop of blood rushed to the surface. Then the slice began to gush. There was a sharp loud domino effect of hisses in next room, though it barely registered over the ringing in my ears. Dr. Cullen was next to me in a flash, giving orders to the others.

"Esme, Rose, go outside. Now! Emmett, run to the house and grab my medical bag. Don't draw any attention to yourself. Jasper will only be worried and I don't think he'd react well to the blood right now." He grabbed my hand and inspected the cut. The rusty smell of the red liquid coating my hand made me feel dizzy and sick. He grabbed a wad of paper towels and held them to my hand - trying to stop the bleeding. "Bella, this is going to need a few stitches. I want you to just try and relax okay?" The words sounded far away, like they were coming from the other end of a tunnel and my body felt heavy, clumsier. I blinked several times trying to clear the kaleidoscope of dark spots in my vision.

Carlisle grabbed me gently by the waist to support my weight as he guided me over to the couch. The paper towels began to turn red as I sat and waited. Only I would be stupid enough to bleed all over the place in a house full of vampires. I thought they were handling it better than should be expected, but the fact that Carlisle was the only one who could stand to be near me should have been a warning. He took a seat near me on the couch and reached for my hand to examine it again, but a moment later his head turned sharply towards the front door.

"Bella, I want you to go into the bathroom and lock the door." He said suddenly. My heart felt like it was going to leap out of my chest, but I sprung up from the couch and did as he said. It'd been what Jasper had told me to do if things were going south. Was this it? Just as I'd gotten myself inside the bathroom and closed the door, I heard a wild roar from outside that sounded like Jasper. There was a small window over looking the land behind the cabin. I walked over and peaked out to see if I could see anyone, but I couldn't. The paper towels were now completely soaked in my blood. I tossed them into the toilet and flushed them down - grabbing a hand towel from a hanging rack to use instead.

Then I went back over to the window and opened it with my good hand - hoping that I'd be able to hear what was going on out front. I heard what sounded like thunder coming from the front of the house and it triggered a memory - the dream I'd had of Jasper and Edward's bodies colliding. Something was wrong. Growls and shrieks ensued followed by more crashing sounds. Still - I could see nothing out the window. Then it dawned on me. Run.

As the sounds got louder and closer to the house, I crawled out the window as quietly and carefully as possible - my throbbing, stinging hand still wrapped in the towel. Just as I planted my feet onto the ground, I heard something crashing through the front door of the cabin. I turned and ran the opposite direction - holding no high hopes for getting very far before one of them would find me. I just hoped that it'd be someone who wasn't thirsty.

I had no idea which direction I was running in - or where I planned to go. I just hoped that I'd have enough time to get myself out of the way of whatever the hell had been going on back at the cabin. I knew that the fierce roar I'd heard had came from Jasper - but could he really have been trying to get to me? To my blood? Maybe he was just trying to protect me. Maybe things with Edward hadn't gone well.

I ran for five solid minutes before I stopped to listen. There was still a commotion in the distance, but I didn't hear anyone close by. Had they really not noticed I'd left? I figured they'd have heard me and someone would've been right on my tail, but I was completely alone. Though I was aware that that could change at any moment - they were fast. The longer I ran the more familiar my surroundings became until I somehow ended up on the dirt road that led back to the Cullen's house. I hadn't remembered running towards the house - but in that moment it became my destination goal if only because it was somewhere familiar. Then I remembered Jasper's truck and hoped that the keys were still inside. The towel around my hand was already beginning to soak through by the time I ended up in front of the house.

I went straight for Jasper's truck, only to find that the keys were missing. I stared towards the open front door of the house and considered my options. I had no idea who was inside that house - if there was anyone at all, but I didn't really want to find out. Then again, there was a chance that they keys were in there, so I decided to go for it - in and out. When I first stepped inside it was quiet, I checked the table by the entry way - nothing, then the coffee table. Bingo. The moment I reached for the keys I heard something coming from upstairs and I froze in my tracks.

"Hello?" I called out with a shaky voice.

"Bella?" a confused voice yelled out from upstairs. The hairs on the back of my neck stood up upon realizing that it was Edward. If he was speaking again, that meant that he was at least partially reassembled and I was alone in the house with him - bleeding like a water faucet.

"Bella? Bella! Please - you need to go, leave now! You shouldn't be here!" He shouted in a panicked voice. I hurried to the kitchen in search of another towel and found one rather quickly, but I had no idea what to do with the old one. After a few seconds of standing there awkwardly, I opened the back door and chucked it outside - figuring it best not to leave it inside with Edward since I didn't' know exactly how far their sense of smell traveled.

Then there was a loud growl from upstairs that answered my question. It was followed by a disturbing banging sound, like someone was throwing a bowling ball against a door. I stumbled my way to the front door, still half frozen in fear and ran to the truck - keys in hand. As I started the engine - my eyes darted frantically around the forest in front of me for any sign of one of the Cullen's, but there were only the trees swaying in the cold wind.

It had to have been at least twenty minutes since I'd made my escape from the bathroom window. I had to wonder exactly what was going on back at the cabin enough to distract everyone to the point that I'd been able to make it this far. Despite my success, I knew I couldn't take time to worry about why. Edward had sounded like an animal trying to break loose from his cage - and the others were bound to find out that I was gone before long. If I had any chance at getting away I knew that I would need to start driving - I just didn't know where to go. The first place I thought of was Phoenix, but I knew on second thought - I'd never make it that far. I had 11 on me and there was only half a tank of gas in the truck.

I settled for Port Angeles and started to drive - unsure of exactly what I'd do once I got there, but driving somewhere was better than sitting in the parked truck waiting to become a meal. I relaxed slightly once I made it out onto the main road - though I still frequently checked the rear view mirror for any sign of vampires. Then my guilt began to settle in. Would Jasper be upset? I had just stolen his truck and defied everyone's orders. Tears began to fall down my cheek once I noticed the sound of the banjos and fiddle's on the radio. I was remembering our first date - driving down this same road headed towards the same place. I decided if I could make it far enough that's where I'd go - to the diner. I'd go to the diner and I'd wait for Jasper. I panicked realizing that I didn't have my cellphone on me. I had no way to get a hold of anyone - no way of knowing what was going on back at the house or when it would be over.

Then suddenly there was a loud thunk in the bed of the truck that nearly made me jump out of my skin. My head whipped around just in time to see Emmett knocking on the glass window behind my head. I pulled off to the side of the road and wrapped the towel tighter around my hand. The bleeding seemed to have slowed. Then I popped the latch, opening the driver's side door and slid over to the other side.

"Bella are you okay? Everyone is worried sick - you didn't happen to see Edward did you?" He asked as he hopped into the truck. My blood ran cold at the mention of his name.

"Edward . . .?" I repeated - my lips hardly moving.

"Yeah - once we finally got Jasper calmed down and back in one piece, Alice went back to the house and he was gone. That's when she saw the truck was gone so I came to find you. They're all looking for him now."

"Oh no! Emmett - that means he's coming for me. I had to go into the house - to get the keys. I changed out the towel around my hand and I think he . . . smelled my blood. He started growling and banging against the door."

"Shit - we don' t have much time then. Let me call Carlisle. He's back at the house waiting for us." He told me, pulling the phone from his pocket.

"What happened to Jasper, and why didn't he come looking for me?" I asked, suddenly sick with worry - wishing he were the one here with me now. Emmett paused and set the phone in his lap.

"Believe me - that was an argument too. Carlisle told him I could handle it - that we needed to make sure your bleeding was under control first. I'm still shocked he tasked me with that." He shook his head in disbelief.

"So what happened? You said you had to get him back in one piece, is he okay?" It felt like a sinking hole opened up in my chest at the thought of Jasper being in pain.

"He's fine now, but he really freaked out - he must've smelled your blood once he got close to the cabin. All hell broke loose. He tried to rush the cabin to get to you - and took anyone out that tried to get in his way. He ripped off Carlisle's leg and Alice's arm trying to get through the door. He did manage to break the door down before Rose and I teamed up and took his arms before he could do any more damage."

"You don't think he would have . . . killed me do you?" I asked with a hard gulp.

"I don't know - he swore once it was all over that he wouldn't have - that emotions were just running high and things got out of hand. I guess it's possible that it was just a misunderstanding, but it sure seemed like he was trying to get in there to do more than just see if you were okay. Anyways, Rose and I left his arms off while we put Alice and Carlisle back together. Then once everyone whole again and Jasper apologized, Carlisle went in to check on you - that's when he noticed you were gone. Sorry to leave you hanging for so long - you were probably shitting yourself. It wasn't very hard to find you though - you need to leave less of a trail next time." He told me. I rolled my eyes - only he could still poke fun at me at a time like this.

"There isn't going to be a next time - Emmett I need you to change me now. If I left a trail that means Edward can follow it just as easily as you did."

"Bella - that's the stupidest thing you've ever said." He said with a chuckle - but I held strong.

"No - no more running. Let's just go now - run somewhere, anywhere."

"Go where? Bella - I should really take you back to Carlisle. I can hardly handle the smell of the blood right now as it is."

"But you are - you're focused and you haven't hurt me. Emmett - this is your chance to prove yourself and everyone else wrong. I need you to do this for me. Let's just leave the truck - right now."

"Bella I -"

"Emmett - please. This may be my only chance. What if we don't make it back? I'm Edward's blood singer - not yours." I paused for a second - trying to phrase my next sentence carefully so as to not bruise his ego. "I know on any normal day you could take him - but you've came across your blood singer before. You know what it feels like - how strong it is. And you know that there is a huge possibility that if he finds us, you might not be able to handle him all alone - especially with the smell of my blood in the air." He stared ahead in silence for a moment mulling everything over. The waiting made my nerves sky rocket. I glanced through the trees around us anxiously. "The longer you take to decide, the more likely it is that he's going to find us. Please. Emmett . . . if you care about me at all you'll do this. And If I don't make it . . . I forgive you. I just need you to try."

"You don't know what you're asking Bella. If anything happens to you - sure you'll be dead, but I'll be tortured for the rest of eternity by Jasper if he doesn't murder me on sight." He said shaking his head, wearing a somber expression.

"A slim chance is better than no chance at all! I'll use your phone to call him - right before you bite me. To tell him that it's not your fault no matter what happens - that I begged you. Please, Emmett . . . we have to go now!" I demanded, raising my voice. Then, without another word he opened the door, grabbed me by the arm, and in one swift motion he yanked me towards the door and up into his arms. Then he began to run.