Chapter Two – For Me

"Do you think you could do something for me?" Edward asked suddenly. Alice brightened as he said it.

"Edward, you are a genius," she complemented. But they both had a slightly guilty look on their faces.

I wondered what he was planning on making me do. But I knew whatever it was would help me, so I nodded my head slowly.

Before I could blink Edward had a pen and paper in his hand and was scribbling furiously.

He finished writing in half a second and turned to me. "I need you to give this to Sam, okay?"

Too exhausted from crying to ask what the letter said, I nodded again.

"I'll drive her to the treaty line so she can get there faster," Alice offered.

There was a short pause. I looked at Edward and he looked away.

"Why aren't you driving me?" I asked. But I had a feeling I already knew why. "You're going after Jacob," I mumbled. It wasn't a question. "For me."

Suddenly I forgot why I was angry at Edward. Something bigger than butterflies whirled around in my stomach and I stumbled forward. He caught me and my lips found what they were looking for. We kissed, and Edward pulled away far too quickly.

"I have to go," he said with a warning look from Alice. "I'll be back before you can miss me," he promised. Then after one last hug, he was gone.

I was still staring at the open front door when Alice nudged me softly. "Bella," she said, "We have to go now if you want this to work."

I agreed, and we hurried out of the open door and jumped into Alice's Porsche.

"Alice, come on," I pleaded. She was the one, after all, who said we had to get the letter to Sam as fast as possible if the plan was to work.

"I can't see anything dangerous lurking around right now," Alice finally concluded after staring at the trees for what seemed like hours. "Not that I would be able to anyways…" she growled. Alice had always been angry that she couldn't see anything that had to do with the werewolves.

"How many times do I have to tell you? The werewolves aren't going to hurt me," I told her for the billionth time.

She dipped her head in not-so-satisfied agreement as she unlocked the doors. I crawled out into the late afternoon sun. Edward's letter in hand, I took off towards La Push for the first time in weeks.

A short while after I started running (or jogging as fast as I could without tripping over myself), I saw Sam Uley's house on the hill. I quickened my pace a bit and found myself at the front door faster than I thought.

All of my patience gone, I banged on the door. It opened almost immediately; Emily had probably been cooking in the small kitchen next to the entryway.

"Wha-" she started. But I cut her off.

"Emily I need to find Sam. Now," I told her abruptly.

"He just went to see Billy," she said, confused. "Why do you need – Bella!"

I was already running in the direction of the house I knew very well. I tripped once on the way, scraping my knees and palms, but I heaved myself up and kept running. I didn't know what exactly Edward had planned, but I knew I could trust him. He would bring Jacob back…for me.

As soon as I saw the tiny house, I stopped dead in my tracks. This is Jacob's house. But Jacob wasn't in it. And it was my fault that he wouldn't be….

A fresh waterfall of tears cascaded down my face. Remembering what I was supposed to be doing, I leapt onto the front porch. Without bothering to knock this time, I opened the door.

Billy, Sam, and the other tribal elders stared at me as I ran in, out of breath. I hurried straight to Sam without bothering to explain myself and handed him the letter. He eyed me suspiciously as he opened it. The room was quiet as he read.

After a short moment he was done. Sam turned to me again and simply said, "Thank you, Bella. Now you can go home."

I stared at him. "What?" I asked stupidly.

"You can go home. Jacob's not coming back, and there's nothing I can do about it."

I looked at the note. "Edward,' I hissed, trying to grab the letter to see what it said.

Sam pulled it out of my reach. "It's not his fault, Bella," he said. "He's going to try, but Jacob will not come home."

There was a long silence. Then I screamed.

"NOOOOO!!!"

All of the men's eyes widened. "He has to come back! He HAS to come back!"

Sam reached out and touched my arm to comfort me but I pulled back instantly. His warm, gentle touch was way too familiar. Sam looked at Billy and said something with his eyes. I was too emotional to figure out what it was. Billy wheeled over to me and grabbed my wrist. I realized I was shaking.

"Bella," he said. "I'm sorry. Jacob's not coming back."

"He has to come back," I mumbled, still sobbing. Billy's friendly touch had calmed me down a little.

"I'm sorry, Bella." It was Sam this time. "I really am. Now let me drive you home."

I nodded slowly, and he guided me to the door. My legs were still shaking.

During the quiet car ride home, I had time to think. What kind of plan was this? Did Edward think that Sam telling me Jacob wasn't coming back would make me feel better? And what did the letter say? Is Edward actually trying to find Jacob, or was he just saying that?

When we pulled into Charlie's driveway, I mumbled a thanks to Sam. Stumbling up to the front door, I realized how tired I was even though the sun was just now setting. I fumbled with my keys and unlocked the front door, thankful that Charlie had to go to work. I went straight up the stairs and turned into my room, and without getting undressed or even taking of my shoes, I laid down on my bed. As soon as my head hit the pillow, I was asleep.