A/N: This episode is dedicated to Belle who said, "You haven't updated since March, I'd like to read one more chapter soon," and I thought I should update one more chapter soon.
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Kidnapped:
Bleeding
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Turns out the outdoors weren't much better - I lasted about fifteen minutes in the forest before I remembered that I didn't actually like the forest. I laughed at myself and started to head back, questions whirring in my head, and the helplessness stirring my stomach uneasily.
Why did Alice give me a phone? Why did Jacob say that about seeing this before? Questions whirred As I sat there, turning the shiny device over and over in my hands, it began to vibrate. Spooked, I jumped, this time catching myself before I fell. I turned the phone over to see the words, "Be careful" written next to a silly emoticon.
"Alice," I said her name like a swear word.
The phone lit up again. "Busted."
I rolled my eyes, confident she could somehow see it.
The phone vibrated again; this time it was ringing. I sighed. "Good one, Alice-"
"Isabella."
Not Alice.
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The call with Edward was short and strained. It wasn't so uncomfortable in the "this guy tried to eat me" kind of way and more in the "I don't understand why this guy is calling me" kind of way. I used my brush with nature as a distraction for much of the conversation.
He asked me what I was doing, which might have been cute if it weren't so creepy. I thought I was speaking with Jekyll, but what if it was Hyde?
"I'm… uh… Not sure I should answer that question. Can I talk to Alice?"
I could basically hear Alice rolling her eyes. "Really, Bella, it's not like he's going to eat you."
My hand trembled slightly, my breath hitched. I didn't say anything.
She sighed. "Too soon?"
I wanted to be comfortable around Alice; I knew she had done nothing to hurt me… but there was a "yet" that felt like it ought to be tacked to that thought. I couldn't bring myself to expect too much from Alice - she might prefer me alive for whatever reason, but I had the feeling it wasn't in the same way a human would want another human alive. Maybe more like a human and an abandoned puppy. But I wasn't going to say anything about it.
Or maybe I was, because her next sentence was as if she knew exactly what I would say. "I'm sorry, Bella, I don't know what it's like to feel - fragile. I am trying to be a good friend but I am new to this, I swear." I could hear a soft smile in her voice. "You're my first human friend."
Guilt warred with frustration. I don't want to be your friend! I bit my lips to keep the harsh words in.
"Oh," was all she said. I guess it didn't matter that I'd stopped myself - she still heard it, thirty seconds ahead.
"Alice -"
"Here's Edward, Bella."
I sighed.
"She's trying, you know." I did not have the emotional bandwidth to be guilt-tripped by my would-be murderer.
"I didn't ask her to try," I spat, my lip stinging from the effort of restraint, my conscious stinging from the vitriol in my voice.
A bird flew by me, cawing loudly. I shrieked slightly spooked, before I could stop myself.
"Seriously, where are you?"
"You can't turn into birds by chance, can you?" I quipped.
"Not that I'm aware of. But seriously, where are you?" A sudden intensity gripped him. "Are you outside?"
"No." The lie fell obviously from my lips. "I'm-"
My clumsiness got the best of me.
The log I'd stepped on snapped underneath me, launching me headfirst into a tree trunk. My hands shot out instinctively to catch me, and I was able to brunt my fall with the palms of my hands.
"Shoot," I murmured, reaching for the phone I'd dropped. Looks like Edward hung up.
My stomach churned uneasily from the telling scent of rust.
"Shoot," I repeated.
"I'm…bleeding," I finished the sentence.
For a minute, I sat there, catching my breath and talking myself down. "It's okay Bella, no vampires here," I whispered to myself between breaths. But I think maybe a part of me knew.
I stared into the forest, absent-mindedly pulling shards of wood out of my bleeding palms.
"Edward."
I knew he would come.
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A/N: I know this has taken a long time to update. I was worried because I was at a fork in the road in the story and I was afraid of picking the wrong direction, so I was a bit paralyzed. But I decided today I should just go with where I'm going and figure it out as I go.