Book 3- Preface
Sometimes, the ones you love are the only thing that matters in the world.
Sometimes, it's easier to be selfless.
I didn't want anyone to get hurt.
It's all my fault. They could get hurt because of me.
I just wanted to scream:
"Hey, Come and Get me"
So I could protect the ones I love.
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I've tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
-Robert Frost
Book 3- Chapter 1: Escape
I walked into the door to the smell of burning metal and dirt and into the kitchen to find Charlie and a jar of spaghetti sauce he had stuck in the microwave was only on its first revolution before I yanked the door open and pulled it out.
"What did I do wrong?" Charlie demanded.
"You're supposed to take the lid off first, Dad. Metal's bad for microwaves." I swiftly removed the lid as I spoke, poured half the sauce into a bowl, and then put the bowl inside the microwave and the jar back in the fridge; I fixed the time and pressed start. Charlie watched my adjustments with pursed lips.
"Did I get the noodles right?" I looked in the pan on the stove.
"Stirring helps," I said mildly. I found a spoon and tried to de-clump the mushy hunk that was scalded to the bottom. Charlie sighed. "So what's all this about?" I asked him.
"Nothing" He grunts and I sigh. "Just thought I would make dinner for a change" he says and I raise my eyebrows.
"Yeah…you mean give yourself food poisoning?" I ask him and he laughs.
"Ha-ha. Very funny" he says and I shake my head as I pass him a bowl of pasta and he starts to eat. I raise my eyebrows and look at the time to see it was past six. "Now…I-" He starts but the knock on the door cuts him off. Swiftly and gracefully, I get up and walk to the door to meet Alice instead of Edward. She bounces in and I groan mentally. Oh no. "Alice, nice to see you" Charlie says and I look at her.
"Just looking through Bella's wardrobe. Edward's coming now" Alice adds and I nod with a sigh of relief.
"Why do you need to look through my wardrobe?" I ask her and she grins.
"Secret" she says as she bounces up towards my room. Charlie raises his eyebrows.
"Why?" he asks I and I shrug. She might be looking for something. I hear another knock and I basically almost sprint to get the door and open it to see my Edward standing there with a frown placed on his face.
"Hello" He says as he kisses me, electric currents flowing through my nervous system and walks back into the living room. Charlie grunts at the sight of Edward, he didn't really like him too much after we announced our engagement privately to him. He thought, according to Edward, that he was taking me away from him. Suddenly, Alice comes bounding down the stairs with a huff in my peripheral vision, catching my attention.
"You" she points at me. "Need a better taste in clothing? You obviously don't know how to use a wardrobe" she says and I sigh with a smile.
"Thanks Alice" I murmur as she disappears and Edward and I make our way up to my room. Edward sits on my bed and I sit in his lap. "You notice how close we've come in the past couple of months" I say as we lay together on the bed and he grins.
"Yes, I have noticed that" he says with the tone of amusement in his voice. I smile. "Have you noticed that Jacob Black likes you?" Edward asks and I sigh.
"Yes I have actually. He's taken a very particular liking to me" I say and Edward grins. "But he knows about us mating. And I wouldn't be surprised if he and the pack knew about the wedding" I say and he nods his head in agreement.
"Actually, he doesn't but I'm sure he will know after graduation" Edward says as he wiggles his eyebrows and I laugh. He was probably right. "I just hope he imprints soon" he murmurs "I don't want to worry about any competition" Edward says and I frown.
"You know that there is you, and only you" I murmur and he smiles as his hand rubs my back. "Could you tell me why Alice was here?" I ask him now, merely curious. He grins.
"Ah… She was looking for decent clothes so she can pack for our…umm…honeymoon" Edward says awkwardly and I smile. "She didn't find anything, her opinion on your clothes were…let's just say…irritating to her." He says as I look into his, close to black eyes. I frown. His eyes look like a weird brown. He smiles as he looks into mine and I grin. "We match" he laughs and I smile.
"We can go hunting later. I just want to escape Alice and her nightmare of wedding plans." I say and he smiles.
"What would you like to do then?" he asks me in a whisper and I grin.
"Stay here, and never let you go" I say huskily. The next couple of hours is spent whispering comforting words occasionally in each other's ears but most of the time is spend kissing each other. Then after a few hours, Charlie comes in and checks on us. He raises his eyebrows at the sight of Edward reading huskily in my ear as I lay against his chest. "Hi Dad" I say, breaking up our recital of the book. Charlie frowns.
"I was going down to the reservation for dinner. Want to come, you know, talk to Jacob and the boys and something?" he asks and I smile before looking at Edward. He grins and kisses my cheek. I knew going on the reservation would make it that Edward and I could not have Alice in our ears, and in his head bustling about the wedding plans.
"What are you waiting for? Permission?" he teases and I grin as Charlie stands at the door, uncomfortably and impatiently. I laugh.
"No silly, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me" I say and he grins and nods. "Ok Dad, do we need to bring anything or something?" I ask him and Charlie shakes his head before walking away. "Are we going to tell the wolves? About us getting…married?" I ask him and he shrugs.
"Still wear the ring though, I would like to send a message to Jacob Black" he says and I smile as I stand up and walk to the wardrobe, where I pull on my shoes and I turn to brush my hair. As per usual, he turns to me and takes the brush out of my hair and runs it through it gently. We are done within a minute, and we walk downstairs, holding hands to see Charlie's cruiser gone. Edward leads me towards his car and I take my turn to drive, knowing that he would drive at crazy speeds. He chuckles and watches me with a grin on his face, soon enough, we make it to the reservation, and within their borders and park outside the black household.
"Bella" Jake says as he runs over to Edward and I with a smile plastered on his face. "Welcome back" he says as he hugs me and I flinch from his smell.
"Jeez, you really stink Jake" I tease and he laughs.
"I could say the same about you and your mate" he spits the word with disgust and I frown.
"Aww, Jake, please don't" I say with a frown and he sighs.
"Yeah, Yeah. I get it" he grumbles. "Why don't you come sit with the Super naturals?" he says and I sigh and look at Edward. "Don't tell me you have to ask him for Permission?" he spits and I frown.
"I don't ask Edward for permission. Why do you two have to be at each other's throats all the time? I came here thinking 'I get to hang out with Jake' but I can't do either if you are at each other's throats" I say angrily, my newborn temper getting the most of me. Edward rubs my arm and slips the ring onto my finger.
"I'm sorry" he murmurs as I try to calm myself down. Don't let your temper get out of hand. You can't hurt Jake. It is an intriguing idea but don't. He's not as unbreakable as Edward and Emmett. I think and I finally manage to calm myself down. Edward senses my calm posture and kisses my forehead. Then Jake catches sight of the ring and a choking noise comes out of his mouth.
"You're…You're" he chokes looking between Edward and I. I frown and turn into Edward's chest, where he kisses my hand. "You're engaged?" he asks angrily and I nod before turning to see his body shaking and him running into the forest. I hear some of the boys chase after him and I frown. Why did I have to hurt everyone I loved?
Edward and I walk over towards Charlie who is frowning and looking towards the bush. "Where's Jake?" Billy asks and I frown.
"He ran. Edward and I…he got upset…I don't know how to explain" I mumble and Billy frowns.
"Bella and I are getting married in August. We told him and he got a bit…temperamental and ran off to Phase" Edward says with a shrug as if it was nothing. But from those first eight words, I would sense the pride in his eyes that I was his, and he was mine.
Mine. It made everything so real. "Oh" Billy mumbles and he frowns. "Jake has displayed a sort of interest in you too Bella." Billy says, but much louder and I sigh and nod. Suddenly, Edward's phone breaks the noise and I pull it out, and as I suspected, it was Alice.
"Edward?" she asks and I frown. "We need you to come back to the house. We caught Victoria's scent" Alice says and I sigh and pass the phone over to Edward.
"We need to go." I say to Charlie and he nods, just wishing for Edward to leave. I drive while Edward talks and we make it back to the Cullen household in record time, myself not caring about the speed limit. We run towards the house and then Emmett leads us off to the scent. We trace it back towards a lake where it disappears. I frown. She got away.
"And that's not all. There's another scent in your house Bella" Jasper says when we get back. "Alice followed it up to your room and they walked around your room before going outside and caught a car. They drove away and the scent ended on the road." Jasper says and I frown and look around for Edward. "He went to the house" he says as I become instantly calm.
After a few minutes, they come back and Edward scoops me up into his arms before taking me to his bedroom. I sigh as I lay on the bed and close my eyes, my mind thinking of nothing. "What are you doing?" Edward asks, the hint of amusement in his voice. I smile.
"Come here" I say and he follows my instructions and lays down next to me. "Close your eyes." I say and I snuggle up against him. "Does it feel like we're sleeping?" I ask him as the electricity flows between our bodies.
"Nope…but the temptation is driving me insane." He says and I snuggle up to him closer before threading my hand through his hair "How do you think you are going to do in your finals?" Edward asks me and I laugh.
"I remember everything crystal Clear" I say and he grins at my joke. "I can't believe how fast everything has gone" I murmur and he grins.