I'm really, really sorry it took so long to update this! My sister spilled vitamin water all over my laptop and I just got it back. It was extremely depressing. Anyway, here's chapter 15.
Cara:
"Of course he's not human, Paul. Kind of obvious since the beginning, moron" Quil rolled his eyes at me. Sometimes, I wanted to smack some sense into Paul, common sense anyway. I think he may have been born without it.
"I know that, idiot! Jeeze… what I mean is that, maybe he was never human. Like, vamps start out human, right? Then they get changed. Maybe he never even had a pulse to begin with" Paul eyes were excited at his sheer brilliance. His chest swelled with pride and I couldn't help but grin. What was so obvious to him, none of us understood.
"Mhmm… just say it, Paul" Leah snapped, sighing impatiently. Paul glared at her for a second before turning to me, hand out. I handed him the chain I had snagged off the bad guy.
"Maybe he's a robot!" ……
The five of us stared at Paul, not sure what to say and yet all dying to say something. A slow smile spread across my face and I tried not to laugh, then Quil snorted before busting out in full laughter. All of us, even Leah, got a good chuckled out of that.
"Robots? Come on, Paul" Sam shook his head and snatched the chain by the dog tags hanging there.
"You need to cut back on the sci-fi, man" Embry said, still smiling.
"You know what? I am so under appreciated in this Pack. I'm serious! It would explain why he doesn't have a smell- I mean come on! Can you smell metal? And Cara said he tasted funny when she bit him! It makes sense" He crossed his arms over his chest and glowered.
Poor Paul. Never taken seriously. I smiled to myself when I remembered the looks on their faces when I told them what had happened. Surprise mostly and a new sort of respect for the smallest in the Pack. Just wait till Jake heard.
"Yeah… so do mullets but that doesn't mean you should get one" Quil sneered and I laughed, much to Paul's chagrin. I smiled apologetically. It was funny, what can I say?
"Alright, enough robots and mullets… Jared, Embry and I will keep an eye out tonight, you guys can head home. We'll talk tomorrow" said Sam and he stood, flanked by Embry and Jared and headed out into the night.
"It was just an idea" Paul mumbled, his head down. He looked like such a little kid, like his mom had just said he couldn't have any ice cream. Almost compulsively, I hugged him but before he could hug me back I pulled away.
"Just not a very good one" I said and Quil laughed at Paul's face.
That night I couldn't sleep, no matter how hard I tried. I felt like at any time, the vampire- or whatever he was- would pop out of my closet or grab my ankle from under the bed. I wanted to call Jacob but figured he'd be sleeping, safe and sound in the hospital.
My eyes had adjusted a long time ago to the dark and I could see every inch of my room, from one corner to next, but my closet was closed and that shadow under the door was hard to look away from.
It started to rain, pattering against my window like rocks. Please, I begged, do not let it be the hand of some weird physco killer bloodsucker. It's just rain or hail or snow or what ever.
The ring of the phone made me jump and I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep from screaming. Deep, long breaths. I picked up on the second ring.
"Hello?" I whispered. Someone sighed on the other end before a familiar, husky voice spoke.
"God… you're okay?" Jake asked, relieved. His voice was tight and strained, like he was pain. He had called six times that night- even though I told him not to. Some people just aren't good at obeying orders.
"Yeah, I'm fine. What's up?" I glanced at my closet then pulled the covers over my head, phone and all. I kept my feet away from the edge of my bed.
"I just had this feeling… anyway, I had to make sure you were okay. Oh, hold on" The phone crackled and the sound became muted. I could hear voices, probably him and the nurse- something about lime Jello. Then the sound cleared and his voice filled my head.
"Sorry… they have this crazy idea that I like Jello. So they keep trying to feed it to me. I can't take it anymore!" he groaned and I smiled. I was glad he had called, his voice chased away all the stupid little fears I had. Deep and gentle, it made me feel safe.
"So… how was your shift?" Oh, no. The impending question had been asked. Should I tell him? To speak or not to speak, that is the real question.
"Um… interesting" Well, if that wasn't obvious enough, my voice made it worse. It quavered, unsteady. Jake got really quiet on the other end, probably thinking up all the worse case scenarios.
"Well, considering that you're not stuck in a hospital bed with me means you're not hurt… right? I'll kill Sam-"
"I'm fine, Jake. No killing of Pack members tonight" I sighed and pulled the covers down. The cool air felt good against my clammy skin. "I kind of… ran into that vampire. You know… that one"
Maybe it wasn't a good idea telling Jacob about it, he'd just flip out over it. Get all over protective and all that. I waited patiently for the onslaught but it never came, instead, there was a heavy, tired sigh in my ear.
"Then I'm sorry… about what I said earlier, I didn't mean it the way- well, okay I did. But it's just that the idea scared me, you against that guy. And… I'm just sorry, Cara"
I smiled in the dark, phone to my ear and suddenly missed him more than I had the whole time he was in the hospital. Missed his touch, the way he smelled, his smile and his laugh.
"I'm coming home, by the way" His voice was suddenly excited and anxious. "Tomorrow afternoon….. well, don't act too excited, Cara. Jeez" Jake added sarcastically when I didn't say anything.
"That's great! Letting you out early for good behavior?" I rolled onto my side and for a split second, thought I saw a shadow streak across my window. A human shadow. My stomach leapt into my throat.
"No… more like good regenerative DNA. Gotta love that fast healing and wolf genes"
He stayed on the phone until I fell asleep, talking gently and about anything at all. Just murmuring in my ear, lulling me into dreamless sleep.
Jake:
I hung up the phone with a sigh. Staring at the lime jello they still insisted I should eat, I didn't notice the person standing in the doorway. The first thing I noticed was the scent.
Strawberries… and death.
"Bella" my voice was cold as I continuing staring at the green stuff in front of me. She glided through the door with a new grace she had never had as a human. In a blue of white and brown, she arranged the chair on the other side of the room next to me.
"I'm sorry… about the attack" Apologizing again. It seemed that was all she could do these days. I didn't want to think about what else she was doing. "Cara told me-"
"Cara? You went to Cara?" I snapped, finally facing her. Regretting it instantly. Her gold eyes pierced through me, way down to the core. I missed the warm brown and the blush on her cheeks. But it was too late now, they were gone.
"Actually, she came to me. Didn't she tell you?" My lack of an answer told her everything. Her eyes widened in that way they always did, when she wasn't sure what she had walked into.
"Have you found him yet?" I asked, pulling my eyes away again. That cold ache was just creeping around the edges of my chest.
"No, he's invisible. Alice can't see him, Edward can't hear him, Jasper can't feel him. He disappeared" Bella's voice shook at the end and I knew, if she could, she would have cried.
"Aw, come on Bells… we'll find him" I said but caught myself. This was not Bells. It wasn't. No matter how much I may wish she was, she's wasn't. Mrs. Cullen was her new name. She must have known what I was thinking because she sighed, sad and wistful. Her wide eyes looked into mine.
"Will you ever forgive me, Jake?" Bella whispered.
"I think I already have" And I realized it was true. While Bella had shattered my heart to a million pieces, Cara had glued it back together. All I was waiting for was the glue to dry.
"So, she's your real imprint, huh?" Her wry grin almost reminded me of human Bella. Almost. I couldn't help but notice her sharpened teeth, just hidden but still there.
"That she is… but that doesn't mean I loved you back then any less"
"I know, Jake. I know" Bella sighed and was at the door before I could blink. "It just means you love her more now, and I'm happy for you even if you can't be happy for me"
And she was gone, the door slowly easing shut behind her.