I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the people who have followed this story or made it one of their favorite stories.

I should also send you many greetings from Sandra, the author of this story. Also I want to thank you for your reviews. I am very happy about these and more in the future. Verena (vero3161)

Chapter 10

A Difficult Question

Edward

"The only thing I'm going to have a conversation with you about is why there are eight of you now and not seven!" retorted Jake in a harsh voice, pushing me down the stairs with all his might.

No sign of the seventeen-year-old boy.

Just for a moment I laid still and quickly reviewed the last minutes in my mind's eye.

Jake did everything he could so that I didn't get to see his mother. Why would he do that if it wasn't Bella? I didn't care about any other woman in this world and no other woman cared about me.

I sat up and ran my hands through my hair indecisively when my imaginary Bella appeared in front of me and tenderly put a hand to my cheek. I almost believed I could feel it. I had absolutely no proof for this, but I was sure.

'You are the mother of Jake and Leah Black. You're living the very life I left you for. With a wolf by your side.'

I smiled to myself.

'One monster leaves you alone and you can't think of anything better to do than turn to the next monster,' I accused the adorable face in front of me.

She shrugged apologetically but laughed.

'Nothing stupid or daring! Do you remember that promise?' I continued to lament softly.

'When did I ever do what you expected?'

I closed my eyes and concentrated on her imaginary voice.

She was different than usual. A little rougher. More mature! That's why I hadn't been able to recognize Jake's mother's voice as Bella's right away. My imaginary Bella had the timbre of an innocent eighteen-year-old girl and not that of a grown woman. But now my imagination was adapting to reality.

If it was her!

Jake had almost taken my head off when he pushed me down the stairs. He was stronger than he should have been in human form. An adrenaline boost. It couldn't be more than that. He hated me, that much was certain. Specifically, me, not the others. But I couldn't hate him. I couldn't even feel the slightest dislike for him or Leah. If they were Bella's flesh and blood, I would protect those children with my life. Even though I really couldn't inject myself into her life again. I had to stay away from her. Keep my promise. Not just because of Jake's threat. I wasn't sure what I would do if I really looked into Bella's big chocolate eyes. She had a family. This is what I had wished for her! I couldn't touch that! So close to Bella and yet I wasn't allowed to be with her.

'I'm going to need you to survive this!' I implored the Bella sitting in front of me.

'I won't leave you alone!' she promised me and I went back into the building where the bell was just heard.

The first class was over.

Jake's thoughts came to me of their own accord, and I also recognized Leah's immediately, although I had not consciously sought hers out.

I already saw Jake and Becky was standing in front of him. Enamored, the two looked at each other.

Enamored and shy. I heard Jake, but now I was also paying attention to Becky's thoughts ...

How broadly could the term 'protect' be defined? ...

I 'shoved' Becky in the back and mumbled an apology. When I got to the door to the classroom, I turned around.

They happily hugged each other.

I smiled and winked at Jake as he looked to see who he had to thank for this providence. In thanks, I received another death threat.

Don't worry, Jake. I'll keep my word.

The music class today wasn't top notch.

Becky played guitar. I had been able to completely convince myself of her talent last week. She played really well.

But not today. She just couldn't get Jake out of her head and kept missing her cue, not hitting the right notes, and the instrument kept slipping out of her hands.

'She's got it bad!' Bella gave me to understand.

I laughed contentedly.

'Yes, she does.'

"You're helping our nemesis get a girlfriend?" accused Emmett, grinning amusingly after class in the hallway, who had seen my stumble across the hallway earlier.

"Why not?" I asked, sounding unconcerned.

"You don't usually do that. No matter how much their smitten thoughts scream at you."

"I haven't heard what they're going to do with us yet. Doing him a small favor now will possibly benefit us later," I explained matter-of-factly. It was an excuse, but Em didn't realize it.

I just let Leah and Jake's thoughts run in the background. I didn't want to eavesdrop on them, just watch out for them.

With a happy face, I entered the cafeteria and sat down with my siblings.

We had been kindly asked to vacate the table last week, so we were now sitting one table over.

'What happened?' Jasper asked me in his mind.

Questioningly, I looked toward him.

'You are happy and devastated! … AT THE SAME TIME!' he explained with a worried smile.

I was happy. About Bella being fine. That she had a loving family, was blessed with two wonderful children who loved her more than anything and wanted to protect her. And that Bella apparently led a very enjoyable life.

I was devastated. About how this life had nothing to do with me. Except for the small fact that I had left her. Bella was happy because I wasn't there and it had to stay that way. I was not allowed to tell my family. Alice was capable of seeking out Bella immediately. But we had promised that she would never see us again. I had promised that. I would stick to that.

But one little thing still didn't fit into the overall picture. I had been putting this question off since this morning because I didn't really want an answer to it. It wasn't until I was sitting in biology class and focused a little more closely on Bella's children again that this question got my attention.

I knew we would have this class together, but they weren't here yet. Mr. Moore had even had the two searched for last Monday.

'And Dad didn't do it either!' I heard Jake say through his thoughts then the two of them immediately came running into the room.

Of course, they turned their chairs away from me.

Like their mother!

I couldn't help but laugh.

My imaginary Bella was with me. As she had promised, she did not leave me alone. She sat down cross-legged on the desk directly in front of Leah and Jake and looked at them long and hard.

'These are supposed to be my children?' she questioned.

'Leah has your eyes.'

'I must have had them ...'

'... less than two years after I left,' I sadly finished her sentence.

Bella nodded: 'Humans forget quickly.'

'That's it. That's the way I wanted it.'

'They're both good looking!' Bella stated matter-of-factly a little later.

I laughed again.

'What else would they be - with you as their mother,' I countered her.

'You're biased!'

'No, you're still underestimating yourself.'

'There must be a handsome father involved too!' Bella said coldly now, looking directly and stubbornly at me.

That was the thing that didn't fit. Bella, my imaginary Bella, had brought this question back to my consciousness.

No one thought about Leah and Jake's father or Bella's husband! The twins themselves, their friends, the teachers, and even the school principal. It was always about her. Never about the father of the two. What had happened to him? Was Bella alone after all? Wasn't she leading as happy a life as I had assumed in the last few hours? Why did I even assume she was happy? Maybe it wasn't her!

Why am I your mortal enemy?

I later asked Jake in writing during our last class.

Perhaps I could evoke a mental image of his mother from him, to have my suspicions confirmed once and for all. But he was mentally stronger than I expected and the 'conversation' went differently than planned. He really could throw me off just as much as his mother. If it was really her.

After the lesson, I drove home lost in thought.

I needed to talk to someone about it and my Bella wasn't the one to do it. She sprang solely from my head. Even if she argued with me from time to time, in the end it was only my own thoughts that Bella represented.

So, I went to the person I had been turning to for problems for a hundred and six years.

My father. Carlisle.

It was a long conversation that lasted well into the night.

"Why are you so convinced of that?" Carlisle skeptically asked at one point. He didn't trust my judgment, but I couldn't blame him for that.

I curled into a heap of misery in one of his large leather armchairs while my thoughts and feeling raced and twisted around like a roller coaster together. I was useless right now.

"It explains everything! ... Alice loves Bella almost as much as I do. That's why she recognized her likeness in the two children as well. Leah has Bella's eyes, which had sent chills down my spine last week. Even though, I hadn't known yet why. They hide any thought of their mother. Why would they do that if it isn't Bella? They made her a promise not to reveal her. Jake hates ME, not us. They are Quileute wolves and know about the treaty. He threatened ME with death if I got too close to her. He barely even paid attention to the others. She stumbled for no apparent reason," I summarized everything as matter-of-factly as possible.

"That really sounds like Bella," Carlisle smiled sentimentally, remembering the number of times he had treated her. "Maybe there's another reason they're keeping their mother from you. You suspect that there is no longer a father. He could have been killed by others like us, and they want to save their mother from this fate, and if necessary, they will take on a whole coven. That would also explain why they are so far away from La Push. To have some distance from the things that made her remember their father and her husband."

"And that would fit Bella perfectly. Distance from Forks and La Push. Where she lost me and maybe her husband!"

Carlisle nodded wordlessly and reconsidered the facts.

"He asked me about Samantha," I interjected, explaining further.

Of course, Jake was concerned with the treaty and a possible breach of the terms. He was looking for the justification to destroy me specifically. But I was convinced that that was not the only reason for his question. Jealousy had clearly resonated in his thoughts. This only made sense if he knew about the physical resemblance between Samantha and Bella.

"How else would these wolves know so much about us?" I asked the question in his thoughts that was simply logical to me, only if it was Bella. No other human knew us as well as she did. Especially not the wolves with whom we had made the treaty. "That I can read thoughts ... His threat that you would turn me over if necessary, to protect the family."

I looked at Carlisle and he looked at me.

"What about Leah?" Carlisle continued.

"She has better control of her thoughts. She avoids us and also any thought of us. She seems much more relaxed than Jake, although she has a high temperament. Leah is also very distracted by her boyfriend," I smiled slightly and we continued to discuss things for some time.

"This uncertainty is driving me crazy!" I declared later, hiding my face in my hands as I kept going back and forth on what to do with my hunch.

"If it's really Bella and she's alone, you only must ask yourself one question!" said Carlisle seriously after a few minutes.

One question? That sounded way too easy.

In disbelief, I looked into my father's face.

"This time, are you willing to do anything Bella might ask you to do?"

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