Due to the great enthusiasm (and several death threats) I have decided to continue. I hope I kept everyone in character. Please rate and review. Enjoy!
"I'm sorry." His velvet voice caressed the words, making them sound more like music than an apology. It was too much. I leaned my forehead on his chest, my tears still falling freely. My vision went black as I lost consciousness. I don't even know if I landed.
I woke up a few seconds later.
My eyes popped open as I realized that I hadn't hit the ground. Someone's cold arm was holding me up by my waist.
Edward's worried face was inches from mine. He was holding me by my waist, preventing me from falling. I stared at him; I couldn't help myself.
Contrary to my outburst a minute ago, I was perfectly calm. I politely pushed myself away, preferring for him to stay as far as possible right now.
I looked away, absently rubbing my wrists. They were probably going to be purple by lunch; I bruised so easily, like an overripe banana. In the distance, I heard the bell ring, signaling that I was late for my class. Now I would be bustling in in a hurry and the teacher would give me a late notice.
I sighed, reaching down and picking up my bags from where I had dropped them in my tantrum. I turned back to Edward, drawing on all my months of practice of being normal for Charlie. "I need that." I pointed to the bag Edward was still holding.
Edward looked at me, shocked. "Are you all right?" He asked cautiously.
"I'm fine." I said, walking up to him and gently taking my bag. His arm reached out as I tried to pass him. I looked at him questioningly.
"If you were fine, why would you pass out?" He didn't comment on my tantrum, but I knew his voice well enough to know he was brooding over it.
"I didn't sleep last night." I said, shrugging like it was nothing.
"You look like it…" he wanted to say more, but hesitated. I kept my eyes on his face, but kept my own blank. "When was the last time you slept the night through?" The words came out in a rush – I had to listen hard to catch them all.
"September." I said simply, gently pushing his arm out of the way and walking back through the trees. I left Edward standing there, my body going numb again as I walked back to campus.
Chapter 2: Alice
I stayed numb until lunch, not even glancing at him let alone looking him in the eye. I did, however, notice that he kept my notes.
I walked into the lunch room, ignoring Mike's table and avoiding even looking at the Cullens'. I wasn't hungry, so I only bought a lemonade bottle. I sat down at an empty table and opened my math book, preferring to read instead of listening to my ipod. It was dangerous to have free eyes.
It was peaceful for a minute, almost calm. I relaxed into my chair, my eyes forcibly glued to the page. Then someone was standing across from me.
I knew that any human would have made noise, so it must be Edward again. I didn't look up, fearing losing my temper in front of an audience.
"Hi, Bella." Came a cautious voice. I looked up in surprise. It wasn't Edward. It was Alice.
"Alice!" I greeted her enthusiastically, getting up and throwing my arms around her. She returned the hug gently, chuckling a bit.
"Hello, Bella!" She seemed a lot happier than before. I grinned and pulled back, gesturing for us to sit.
I sat down and closed my math book, moving to the side. I picked up my lemonade and took a quick swig. When I looked back towards Alice, she looked a bit weird, cautious. I sighed, rolling my eyes.
"No. I am not going to hit you, Alice. Not that it did much good." I looked pointedly at the bruises on my knuckles and wrists and grinned wider. She looked at the bruises, raising an eyebrow.
I was incredibly happy to see Alice. Her face was the same as I remembered it, if a bit more worried than usual. "What's up?" I asked, keeping my voice light.
She smiled wryly at me. "What was that whole thing about wolves?" Edward must have shown her the letters. Or she saw it.
I smiled sheepishly at her. "I'll tell you later." Her face slipped into a grimace, but she let it pass. People were watching us curiously. Half the cafeteria was looking at either her or the Cullens' table.
"Victoria?" Again, this was a topic that shouldn't be discussed in front of people, but she seemed determined to get me to promise to tell her everything. I sighed exaggeratedly and nodded.
"I'll tell you later."
"Good." Now she beamed at me and ran her eyes over me, taking in my bloodshot eyes and rugged outfit. "You don't seem to have changed your fashion sense since we've been gone." I smiled. Alice was Alice.
"No, but I have gotten very, very good grades." She raised her eyebrows, but didn't comment.
"So, why did you hit Edward?" Now it was my turn to grimace.
"I don't know." I admitted. She frowned, obviously not happy with my pitiful answer.
Just then, the lunch bell rang, making me jump and breaking the little bubble we had been trapped in. "Can you sleep over tonight?" I asked Alice hurriedly. She nodded, an evil smile playing across her lips.
I smiled a bit at Alice, and jumped up, grabbing my math book and shoving it in my backpack. I hurried through the halls to Biology.
Just like before, I ignored Edward. Well, pretended to ignore.
When the final bell sounded, I practically ran to the door. Everyone was eager to get out, but something was obviously deterring my classmates from exiting. When I finally pushed my way to the front of the throng, I moaned.
It was, quite literally, pouring buckets of ran. Just looking at it made me feel wet. Everyone was milling back into the classroom to wait it out. I stood there, frowning. If I stayed, I would have to endure all the gossip. When it came right down to it, I preferred the rain. Without thinking anymore about it, I stepped out into the torrent.
Life had become just this simple for me; weigh your options and chose the one that makes you more happy. In this case, my choice would probably get me sick.
I walked through the rain, heading for my bike. I walked because there was really no way I could get more wet. I had been soaked to the skin as soon as I was five feet away.
I stopped when I reached the parking lot, cursing silently as I remembered my little stunt with the motorcycle. This really was not my day.
I was standing there – staring at my motorcycle and wondering if I should get on – when Alice found me. She had a big umbrella over her and I wondered absently how it was staying up under the torrent. "Bella?" She looked me up and down, frowning.
"Hey, Alice." I said, pretending I didn't notice that it was raining and walking up the bike. Her eyes got wide as she realized what I was about to do.
"No, Bella!" She growled, pulling me away with one hand. "You can ride with us in the Volvo."
I frowned. "What if I don't want to?" Alice frowned.
"Too bad." And with that, she marched me to the Volvo. I was unceremoniously thrown in the front seat.
After that I didn't complain. Inside the car, the heater was on and on full blast; Alice must have been warming it up. I eagerly put my hands against the vent while she climbed in the back. After a minute I heard the other car doors open and close to admit a slightly wet Edward and Jasper.
Jasper crawled in the back with Alice, leaving me in the front with Edward, who was looking at me, yet again. He didn't start the engine. I sighed.
"I suppose you want to know how I know about werewolves, don't you?" I kept my voice emotionless. He nodded. I rolled my eyes. "If I tell you now I'd have to retell it to Carlisle and Esmé later, so you might as well take me there now." Admittedly, I really wanted to see Esmé. I really had missed her.
Edward wrinkled his nose, but complied, starting the engine and ripping out of the parking lot. I clung to the chair, surprised temporarily by the speed. I relaxed almost immediately, smiling slightly as I watched the road fly by.
It ended almost too soon. We pulled into the Cullens' garage and parked with a little jolt. I was surprised; usually Edward was very gentle. He looked a little weird, but I dropped it and got out.
Alice was beside me in a minute, grabbing me by my elbow through the door to the house and right past a very surprised Esmé and Carlisle. "Where are we going, Alice?" I asked on the way up the stairs.
"In case you haven't noticed, Bella, you're soaked. If I don't get you out of those clothes, you'll get sick." I frowned; I hadn't thought of that.
"But I don't have –" Alice shoved me into the guest bedroom and disappeared. By now the heat from the Volvo had worn off and my teeth started chattering. Alice came back holding a bundle of clothes, which she shoved onto the counter in the guest bathroom. She closed the door wordlessly and turned to me, immediately taking my backpack from my shoulders.
I was actually enjoying myself; it felt so normal to have my wardrobe harassed by Alice. I was familiar with the routine of Alice undressing me and dressing me up in whatever she wanted.
She wasn't gentle with my clothes either, I noted. She really must have hated that jacket. I was kicked into the shower within minutes.
I sighed and turned on the hot water, letting it warm me thoroughly. After I had finished, I got out and looked at the outfit Alice had chosen and sighed with relief. This was the one time she hadn't gone overboard, guessing that I wouldn't be in the mood for it. It was plain blue sweats, which fit snuggly and were warm. I left my hair slightly wet and went downstairs.
Waiting at the bottom of the stairs was Esmé, smiling at me. As soon as I was on solid floor, she reached up and hugged me. I hugged back, smiling. I missed that. "Bella," was all she said, releasing me and putting her arm around my shoulders. We walked into the living room, where everyone was waiting.
I sighed, settling down on the couch next to Edward, which was the only available spot. Alice was curled up in Jasper's lap in the chair and Carlisle and Esmé took the only others available.
I folded my feet Indian style and looked around, wondering where to start. Carlisle realized this, and offered a suggestion; "Why don't you start at the beginning."
I thought for a minute, then decided to start with the beginning of me and Jacob's friendship. "I started hanging out with Jacob Black about four months after you left; we became like brother and sister." I decided not to mention that Jacob wanted it to be more, and continued. "Jake got sick one day and I decided I wanted to go back to Edward's meadow…that's where I ran into Laurent." I ignored the different gasps and frowns and plowed on.
"We had a…pleasant chat." I scowled, trying to remember, but not remember. I had always disliked reliving it. "Victoria had gotten back in contact with him and wanted a favor. She wanted him to…spy on me. She's been trying to get through the werewolves for months…." I frowned, leaning back on the couch and looking at the ceiling to avoid their eyes so I could finish.
"Anyway, Laurent decides he's going to kill me himself and was just about to when the werewolves showed up. They killed him, as I learned later, but I didn't know that at the time. So I came back and tried to forget it. Jacob, however, was being screened by Billy and it seemed like he didn't want to see me. After a few clues and hints, I figured it out." I sighed and looked aback at them. Everyone looked shocked. I smiled a bit and announced clearly: "My best friend had become a werewolf."
Beside me, Edward growled. Suddenly, he was in from of me, looking absolutely panicked.
"My god, Bella!" He yelled, throwing up his arms in exacerbation. "It seems you are more than just a magnet for trouble – you're the whole essence of it! Why does nothing I do make you safe?!" Now he was yelling more at himself than at me and was pacing rapidly, blurring slightly. "I left so you wouldn't be in any danger, but no! You have to go and befriend a dog!" He spat the last word, his velvet voice becoming venomous.
I was on my feet in an instant, annoyed with his animosity towards someone he had never even met. I jumped in front of him, making him stop. "Jake is my friend. He has protected me, comforted me – even just a little bit – when I was hurting, and, above all, he's stayed." By now I was crying again. I brushed them away angrily then took a deep breath, calming myself before Jasper could.
I wanted to be anywhere but here right now. I didn't want to do this in front of an audience, so I went silent. I closed my eyes and slowly lowered myself to the couch, putting my hands over my eyes and rubbing them, seriously regretting not making an effort to get any sleep last night.
Everyone was quiet, unsure how to start up any type of conversation. It was incredibly calm now, Jasper's talent had been sorely missed for the last conversation. I sighed and turned to Alice, opening my eyes.
"Where are my clothes?" She frowned and shook her head.
"They were beyond repair." Yeah, I'll bet. So that was her plan.
"I can't go home without those clothes, Alice. What will Charlie think?"
"Charlie with think Oh, how thoughtful of Alice to make sure my daughter didn't get pneumonia." I scowled, but had to admit I didn't want to put on the damp clothes.
"Fine, but I'm not going home in this." I said, motioning to the sweat suit. Alice beamed.
"Never said you had to." I groaned. Leave it to Alice to buy I whole wardrobe for one measly visit.
I closed my eyes again, grateful that Jasper was here. Everything was so calm…peaceful. Safe. I was safe with the Cullens. Everything was fine when they were here. And without realizing it, I drifted off to sleep.
Why is it that I alway end with Bella asleep? Oh, well.