The next few days were better… and worse.
I was better because it didn't rain too much. It was easier because I knew what to expect of my day. People didn't take a second glance at me now, and less giggles erupted every time I tripped. It was better because Edward wasn't in school.
Wednesday morning I was dreading lunch, fearing his bizarre glares. Part of me wanted to confront him and demand to know what his problem was. While I was lying sleepless in my bed, I even imagined what I would say. But I knew myself too well to think I would really have the guts to do it. I made the Cowardly Lion look like the terminator.
But… It was worse because I was tired. I still couldn't sleep. It was miserable because I had to play volleyball and the one time I didn't cringe out of the way of the ball, I hit my teammate in the head with it. And it was worse because Rosalie wasn't in school either.
I wanted to thank her. On Tuesday I was too shocked to do so properly. I would be an idiot if I thought that what she did was more than ordinary human decency, but still. Part of me hoped that she wanted to be friends. Which yes, is a crazy thing to say about someone you've had one conversation with. But I felt understood by her.
One day I asked my dad about the Cullens over dinner.
"Dr. Cullen's family? Sure. Dr. Cullen's a great man."
"They… the kids… are a little different. They don't seem to fit in very well at school."
"People in this town," he muttered. "Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon who could probably work in any hospital in the world, make ten times the salary he gets here. We're lucky to have him - lucky that his wife wanted to live in a small town. He's an asset to the community, and all of those kids are well behaved and polite. I had my doubts, when they first moved in, with all those adopted teenagers. I thought we might have some problems with them. But they're all very mature - I haven't had one speck of trouble from any of them. That's more than I can say for the children of some folks who have lived in this town for generations. And they stick together the way a family should - camping trips every other weekend, sometimes in the middle of the week if it's good for them… Just because they're newcomers, people have to talk."
It was the longest speech I'd ever heard Charlie make. He must feel strongly about whatever people were saying. But, camping trips. In the middle of the week. If they need them. That would make sense - Rosalie had said that she would deal with Edward - maybe they were camping together so he could let out whatever unwarranted rage he had at me. That put me more at ease. Rosalie wasn't avoiding me, she was helping me.
On Friday, I stayed behind after school to look at what few books they had in the meagre library. Charlie was leaving for his fishing trip by dinnertime so there was no need for me to rush home. I was closing my locker when I froze. Next to me, in this empty hallway, stood Edward Cullen.
"Hello," said a quiet musical voice.
I looked up, stunned that Edward was speaking to me. His face was friendly, a slight smile on his flawless lips. But his eyes were guarded and… different. Today, his eyes were a completely different colour. A strange ocher, darker than butterscotch, but with the same golden tone.
"My name is Edward Cullen," he continued. "I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week. You must be Bella Swan."
My mind was spinning with confusion. Had I made up the whole thing? He was perfectly polite now. I had to speak; he was waiting. But I couldn't think of anything to say.
"Did you get contacts?" I blurted out unthinkingly.
"No." He said firmly. His eyes seemed to swirl. Was that anger stirring?
"They were black the last time I saw you." What reason did he have to lie to me? I wasn't crazy. I know what I saw.
I saw his fists clench like last time, the tendons straining against pale skin. I backed away, wondering if I should run. I was so alone.
"You're wrong. Admit it." He dropped all friendly pretences.
I swallowed. "Edward. Please leave me alone."
I tried to turn away, but he grabbed my wrist, twisting it against the locker above my head with a crack. "Ow!" I screamed, struggling. "Help! Somebody help me!" He leaned close to my ear, his teeth almost brushing it. I scrunched up my eyes tight. I didn't want to see what was going to happen to me.
"Say it. Out Loud."
"Leave me alone!" I screamed
"Say it!" he shouted, as I cringed at the volume.
*SMASH*
Edward released my wrist. I staggered back from Edward and cradled it. Rosalie was standing there, her hand… She had hit the locker. She had hit the locker and the shape of her palm was perfectly imprinted… into the metal. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows, a stormy, terrifyingly powerful expression on her face. He snarled at her. Snarled.
"Do you really want to do this in front of a human?" She asked calmly.
'Do what? Human? What is going on?' I felt like screaming at them, but I stayed quiet, as tears pricked my eyes at the pain of my wrist. I fell to the ground, my legs unable to steady me any longer. It didn't feel like it, but I must have lost time. I was looking at him, right at him. I blinked, and he was gone.
She looked at me, and her face fell. "I'm so sorry," she said, so softly I wondered if I'd even heard her at all, "I came as quickly as I could. Let me help you up."
"Your wrist is broken, I could tell by the sound. I'll take you to Carlisle." I said nothing.
"Did he hurt you in any other way?"
I cleared my throat. "No."
"You can't tell, but I'm furious. The thing's I will do to that monster when he comes home…" She trailed off. I could tell she meant the threat, but the soft tone she was speaking in confused me. I said nothing.
"Right, you're probably still in shock." She sighed.
Rosalie shepharded me to E.J. and drove me to the hospital. I was so dissociated that the entire thing was a blur. She must have called dad because he was waiting at the ER when we arrived. They talked over me, letting me walk in silence as Charlie fired questions at Rosalie. I felt sorry for his fishing buddy that Charlie had to come and deal with me.
As if no time had passed, I was in an examination room. "So, Miss Swan." Dr. Cullen said. "How are you feeling? I startled at the mention of my name and came to attention.
"Um.. Ow." I managed.
He chuckled. "Yes, ow. Rose informs me that you twisted your wrist when you fell, is that correct?" He gave me a look that quietly demanded a 'yes,' but it didn't feel unkind.
"Yes. That's right. I'm pretty clumsy." Charlie's mouth twitched and I knew he was fighting a smile. 'Pretty clumsy' didn't even begin to cover it. "Where is she?"
"Oh, she's just talking to Alice. She'll be back soon." He smiled at me. Alice was here?
He examined me, and it turned out that Rosalie was right - it was broken. Luckily for me they had a choice of cast colours - I chose purple of course. While Charlie went to confer with Carlisle about aftercare, Rosalie came back into the room.
"Thank you. For everything." Were the first words out of my mouth.
"Ah so you're talking now then?" She smirked, her usual haughty attitude and air of superiority fully back in place.
I smiled and shrugged, then let it drop. "Rosalie-"
She held up her hand to stop me. "I will tell you everything. But not now. On Sunday, wear sensible clothes and shoes." She smirked and looked me up and down. "Not that you ever wear anything else. I'll pick you up. 10am." She turned to leave, having said her piece.
"Wait!" She looked back, surprised. "I'm um… I'm going to a bonfire tomorrow. At First Beach. You should come."
She laughed airly. "Just because I don't want you to get hurt doesn't mean we're friends now." I wish I could have caught the sad look in her eyes as she left.
On the way home, Charlie was quiet. He seemed almost sick with worry over what happened. Imagine if he knew the full story… I sighed inwardly. I wanted to tell him the truth about what happened to my wrist, about Edward. But the truth was that I knew, deep down, that the Cullens were dangerous.
When we pulled into the driveway, Charlie sat there for a minute, unmoving - immediately I was suspicious. "What's up dad?"
He hung his head, guilty. "Don't be mad, but… I had to call your mother."
I closed my eyes and sighed. "It's okay dad. I know you meant well."
I went straight upstairs to call mom, dressing one armed into comfy pyjamas while the dial-up tone played. She was in hysterics, of course. I had to tell her I felt fine at least thirty times before she would calm down. She begged me to come home, forgetting that we sold the house, but her pleas were easier to resist than I would have thought. Forks… might be growing on me. I loved living with my dad, I had started to make friends and the mystery presented by Rosalie and her family was dangerously enticing. Stupid, I know. I should be desperate to escape Edward's grasp.
Once I'd exhausted all my platitudes, I headed downstairs to talk to dad. I expected he'd be in front of the TV like usual, but I found him in the kitchen, warming up some tomato soup on the stove. "I can do that if you want, dad."
He looked at me like I had three heads. "You have one arm! What kind of father would I be if I made you cook like that?"
I smiled. "It's just soup." but I let him take care of me regardless. After the week I'd had, I needed it. After dinner, he retired to his usual position, throwing a blanket over his lap. It has been getting colder recently. I had thought that all I'd want to do when I got home was theorise about the Cullens. But right now? The sofa looked much more inviting. I curled up next to my dad, tucked my legs underneath me and pulled his arm over my shoulders. He chuckled and gave me some of the blanket.
"Bells? Bells?" Charlie murmured, nudging me gently and carefully avoiding my wrist. "You can't sleep here all night, my shoulder's getting numb!"
I laughed sleepily and sat up, stretching. "Sorry dad. G'night."
"Goodnight."
I tucked myself into bed and fell asleep without even turning the light off. That was the first night I dreamed of Edward Cullen.
Saturday morning, I woke up in a cold sweat with a start. The wind whistled through the room and I realised with horror that my window was open. This was Forks. We never opened the windows. I leapt out of bed to close it, dressed as hurriedly and warmly as I could and opened a blank notebook. I thought back to all my interactions with the Cullens and wrote a list of things I knew, regardless of relevancy. It didn't help.
I… was at a loss. "Dammit!" I cursed, resting my head on the desk. "Ughhh!" Maybe I had to rephrase it. Questioning is always better than writing facts. I started with the easy ones and built up to harder questions.
Why are they so cold?
Why do they have dark shadows under their eyes?
Why don't they eat?
Why do they take so many trips out of town?
Why are they so violent?
Why do they look like they're in pain? Especially Jasper?
What would make a teenage boy just as muscular as a professional bodybuilder?
Why did she call me human as if she isn't?
What would make their eyes change colour other than contacts?
Who could make an imprint of their hand in a locker?
Short of suggesting they were some sort of supernatural being, the only thing I could think of was drugs. Admittedly, I don't know a lot about drugs - I'm a cop's daughter after all. But I know that they can make you cold, tired, and too nauseated to eat. Perhaps even throw in disordered eating like mine. Maybe they go on drug binges and need to stay home for a few days. Drugs can make you violent if misused and the pain could be withdrawal symptoms. Maybe Rosalie was so high she thought she wasn't human? Can that happen? Some drugs make your pupils bigger - I could have mistaken that for eye colour. The muscles and the handprint - steroids. That had to be it. Not to mention, Dr. Cullen was a superbly respected doctor. He might have access to more drugs than most, and he certainly has access to plenty of needles.
I leaned back in my chair. It was far fetched and conspiratorial, there was no doubt about that. But the alternative theory was that the Cullens were monsters. Out of the two, I'd much prefer to believe in this than admitting that the things that go bump in the night exist. I would never be fully satisfied with my answers until Rosalie confirmed them herself, but it was enough to sate my curiosity as a working theory for now, especially since I was seeing Jacob… Today. Oh no. I can't drive.
I rushed to the window to see if my dad's cruiser was still in the driveway and heaved a sigh of relief. He hadn't gone back on his fishing trip, so my plans with Jacob were safe as long as he agreed to drive me. Luckily for me, when I headed downstairs to ask, he said that he'd already planned to go see Billy today, so he'd take me. I quickly considered my outfit - a purple henley, black skinny jeans over some thermal tights. It'd do for the beach. I threw on an extra flannel and grabbed a thick brown jacket. Surprisingly, it didn't have a hood, but I trusted that our outing would likely be over if it rained.
We took E.J. to the Black's house since Jacob would take over driving to First Beach. As we approached, I saw the curtains peel back a little and a wide grin flash before disappearing again. The door flew open as dad helped me out of the cab and I watched as Jacob bounded up to us like an excited puppy, long hair flowing freely in the wind.
"Where the hell have you been, loca?" He said longingly as he hugged me. "I've missed you!"
I laughed at the bizarre line and hugged him back awkwardly with my good arm. He pulled back to look at my cast and his eyes enlarged.
"How did you manage that in your first week?" He asked, incredulously.
"Long story." I said, with a wink.
He rushed inside to get a pen to write on my cast. "I've gotta be the first one!" he cried. Charlie and I looked at each other and shrugged with a smile. Surprisingly, he didn't draw a dick like most boys would, he actually wrote a sweet 'get well soon' message. I smiled.
The longer I spent with Jacob, the more I felt like being around him was like basking in the late morning heat of the sun. He wasn't too hot, not too cold - just perfectly warm.