Chapter 21 – Break
Friday after school, Charlie picked Emily up and she was waiting at my house. Alice and I drove my new car to my house and Emily jumped in. When Charlie first saw my car, he practically had a heart attack, as I said he would. Like me, he thought it was too much. "Bella, you should give it back." I looked at him, "I tried, but Esme wouldn't take no for an answer. Let's look at it this way, the insurance money from the truck could be put towards my college fund. And you don't have to worry about getting me a new car." Charlie wasn't going to debate this any further, because despite what he thought and said, he liked the car. When he calmed down, he asked to test drive it. He claimed he wanted to make sure it was safe enough for me. I smiled and gave over the keys. I did some research and found out it was an Audi Q7. When Jacob saw my car, his eyes practically popped out of his head when I pulled up in front of his house. He went on and on about the features of the car, but he never asked where I got it. He begged to drive it and I let him. He showed what the car could really do and I had to admit, I liked the speed. I've been around vampires and werewolves too long. I always obeyed the speed limit, but in this car, they weren't all that important to me.
When we were leaving for the airport, Emily was concerned Sam would arrive in wolf form to see her off. Since my accident and before the wedding and my surprise, Edward and Alice have been taking me to school. One day, being smug, Jacob took me to school on his motorcycle. That was not easy. Edward's face was livid as I got off the bike. Jacob got off and wrapped me in a huge hug. "I'll pick you up after school." I smiled, "Ok, bye, Jake." He kissed my cheek and flew away on his bike. Alice danced to my side, "Well, that explains why I didn't see you this morning." I looked down at her, "Let's go." I ran my fingers through my hair, letting it flow in the open air. I knew Jacob's scent was on me and they hated it. I took my jacket off as I walked with them. Edward barely spoke for that morning.
We were at the airport and boarding our flight. Alice was on the phone with Jasper to the very last possible moment. Emily's face lit up as we entered the first class cabin. This was my first time in first class too. I had to admit, I was concerned about seeing my mom, especially at this time. I didn't want my hunter coming after me and finding me with her. On the other hand, I was glad to be out of Forks. It felt like a war zone and I was the primary target. In this war, there were three sides. Fortunately, in this case, the "enemy of my enemy is my friend" concept was in effect. The Cullens and the wolves were respectful to each other because they wanted to find this lone vampire that was looking for me. When our flight landed, it was 2 in the morning in Florida. Alice was beaming, "I've never been to Florida. Not like I could come here." Arriving in the airport, Alice saw my mom practically bouncing in place as she stood with Phil. When she finally came into sight, she almost knocked me down as she hugged me. She hugged Alice, remembering her from my last trip to Phoenix and she hugged Emily, thanking her for being there for me when I was depressed.
Alice had to fabricate a last minute research report for her to work on during the day. While Alice was stuck inside during the day, my mom took me and Emily to the beach. We practically spent the whole day in our swimsuits. Florida was so much different than Forks. That evening when we came home, Alice came in through the back door in her own swimsuit, pretending to sunbathe. My mom went to change, while the three of us stayed in our swimwear. She knew of a pool that was open late and Alice could go swimming with us. I went into the living room to go to my room, when I met five boys sitting with Phil. "Guys, this is my step-daughter, Bella." Alice and Emily were right behind me, "And these are her friends, Alice Cullen and Emily Young." A flow of 'hi's" and "hello's" came from the boys as they saw the three of us. Alice pushed us to my room. Emily and I couldn't stop smiling and Alice closed the door. "One of them asked if Bella has a boyfriend, another asked if Emily was available and one asked if I was going to move here."
Emily hid her face and laughed, "Well, I know for me and Alice, the answer is no, but for Bella, should we tell them she has two boyfriends?" I grabbed a pillow from the bed and threw it at her, "Not funny, Em." Alice giggled, "Wow, she's right. How do you handle it?" My mouth fell open as I looked at Alice, "Whatever!" My mom knocked on the door telling us that she was ready to go to the pool. We spent our last day in Florida with my mom during the day and Alice stayed in the house and soon, we had to go back to Washington. Tears flowed out of my mom's eyes as we were leaving. "I'll see you soon for your graduation, honey." I hugged my mom, letting a tear fall from my eye. On the flight back, Alice, Emily and I talked for the whole flight.
At the airport in Seattle, Emily and I were ready for sleep. In the parking lot, she and I got a wakeup call when we saw Jacob's Rabbit idling with Sam and Jacob leaning on the hood. Both of them had the hard masks on their faces, with their arms folded. Emily froze where she stood, holding Alice's and my hand. Emily's breaths were short and quick. Sam walked over to us and took her bag, "Let's go home." He held out his hand for hers. She released our hands and took his, "Bye. I had fun." Jacob stared at me, with the same hard eyes as Sam had for Emily. Alice cleared her throat, "I'll run home, Bella. I'll call you later. Be careful." Alice walked away at a human pace, until she was no longer in sight. Jacob walked with me to my car, in silence. He put my bag in the trunk and held my door open for me. Jacob drove home and didn't speak to me for a long time. I looked out the window, wondering if Alice was following us. "What did the little bloodsucker mean by 'be careful?' Is she trying to say something?" Jacob looked at me. "She saw how mad you were and she knows that when you're mad, you could phase at any moment." He snorted, "Fair enough. Why didn't you tell me that she was going with you and Emily?" "How did you know she was with us?"
Jacob exhaled in a long gust, "Jared was patrolling the line and came across some of the Cullens. He overheard them talking about you, Emily and Alice in Florida." I closed my eyes, "Well, it was a girl's weekend and I wanted Alice to come with us." The car pushed forward as Jacob pressed down on the gas, "You know Sam is furious with her." I blinked, "We asked Alice to come with us. She was insisting that I only take Emily, but we wanted her to come." Jacob looked at me. I had to keep my own temper in check. I didn't want Jacob to explode. "Why her?" "To make you feel better, those two tickets were intended for me and Edward, but I wasn't going anywhere with him. Also, being that I'm being hunted, I thought taking Alice was a good safety measure." "Ha! Taking one bloodsucker to keep away the other." I was starting to see what Jessica was talking about; Jacob could be immature and irrational. Of course, Alice could have defended us if necessary. "So, why didn't you ask Edward?" I closed my eyes and turned away from him, refusing to answer his question. The fatigue from my flight was taking over and I fell asleep. When we arrived at my house, Jacob woke me up, "Bella, I gotta go. Bye." Jacob jumped out of the car and ran into the trees. My anger was about to explode. I was about to take off my seatbelt, when the driver's door closed and the car pulled away from the curb. Alice opened all the windows and we were flying down the road. "Are you ok?" I sighed, "He can make me so mad."
We pulled up in front of the Cullen's house and Alice pulled me from the car. "What did he say?" I groaned through my teeth, "He was questioning why I took you to Florida. In other words, he was really asking why I didn't take him." I ran my fingers through my hair, gripping at fistfuls of hair. Alice held my wrists, "Bella, stop!" She pushed me down on the couch, straightening out my hair. The front door opened, "Hey, what's wrong with the little girl?" I looked up at him, "Emmett, now is so not the time!" His eyes widened and he put his hands up in surrender, "Later." He took Rosalie's hand and towed her to the garage. I could feel Jasper trying to calm my body and I exhaled. Edward stood in front of me and crouched down, "What's the matter?" My eyes were closed. "Did you have a fight with your mom?" I shook my head. He took my hand, "Come on." I looked up, "What?" He pulled me up from the couch, "Come on." I went with him, willingly to his room. In his room, a queen bed was placed there. Charlie was the only person to use the bed. I sat on the corner of it, looking out the window. "What did Jacob say to make you so mad?" I told him about the conversation in the car and the look on Jacob and Sam's face when they met us at the airport.
He looked at me, "Well, he is a child." I nodded, "I don't know about that, but he can be childish." Edward held my hand, "Bella, he is a child, who cannot control his temper." I looked at him, "Edward, don't." "Bella, you saw how he reacted to when you found out you took Alice to Florida." I sighed and looked at him. "I'm just stating a fact, Bella." Jasper's influence was no longer working. "Edward, would you please stop. I had to deal with this with Jake; I don't want to deal with it with you." He sighed, "All right. I just don't understand why you're indulging him." I covered my face with my hands and fell back on the bed. "Bella, would you stop overreacting?" I opened my eyes and sat up, "I'm overreacting? I'm overreacting!" Blood flooded my cheeks, "You have got to be kidding me! Edward, the only person I know to really overreact is you! You are the king of overreaction! You know what, let's be honest, ok? Do you honestly think I don't know? That I don't see it! The only reason you don't want me going to La Push is because you are afraid that I am going to choose Jacob over you." His eyes widened. No matter how long we were apart, I could still see straight through to his core. I turned away from him. "Bella," he held my shoulders. "Don't! Don't do that! Don't try to make me feel better." I got up and went for the door, but I only held the handle. "Bella, I just want…." I cut him off, "To keep me safe. Well, you know what. Jake was there when I wasn't safe. Believe it or not, I feel safe with him. I've felt safe with him, when you weren't there. Edward, he was here for me when you weren't. And, I am not indulging anyone." I turned and slammed the door.
I ran down the stairs, running into Alice and Jasper. "Jasper, please don't. Please, I just…" Alice took my hand, "I'll take you home." Alice and I walked out to my car and she drove me home. "Let me drive." The ride was quick, but the further we drove away from the house, the worse I felt. One thing I picked up from the mythical creatures in my life, speed was beginning to relax me.
