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Disclaimer: I am not Stephenie Meyer
Chapter Five
My first thought was 'Alice!', and I was off. I ran to her and she ran to me, she had heard it too. I started running back to the car. If it was a bear, we would be safe driving away. But the sounds that I heard in the brush were too light to be a bear. And I had heard that growl before. I knew exactly what was coming for Alice…and me.
I knew that running would not work. I had run before. I stayed stock still. I was hoping that if his prey were to stay still, he would not see much of a challenge. "Edward!" I shouted to him, "It's me, Bella, and Alice! You love Alice! Don't hurt her!"
I heard the creeping in the brush grow ever closer. "Edward," I whimpered. "You can kill me, I know I've been awful to you, but just leave Ali. Please. I wish…" While I did wish that things had ended differently between Edward and me, he probably didn't want to hear it. And I was wasting valuable time that I should be spending with my daughter. It's strange, how on the brink of death, time seems to stretch until you can feel every cell in your body making ready for the change.
I turned to my daughter, who was quivering into my shoulder, "I'm so sorry Alice, and I didn't mean to hurt you. Look at me," she did, "Alice, I love you. Always remember that. Always."
Alice nodded into my shoulder, still terrified. And the vampire in the bushes was silent. And then there were more growls. Double growls, one soprano and one bass. And soon there was a fourth snarl, more tenor than anything. And the fight began. I didn't care to stay. I ran with Alice to the car. I threw her into the front passenger seat, too frightened for our safety to care if she was buckled properly. And when I had left the reservation and was on the road again, only then did I stop and climb over the seats to buckle her in.
Why oh why had vampires come to New Jersey. I had to leave here as soon as possible. But, of course, Jacob would be here soon. Forks was the only safe place for me left. We had to go instantly. The moment I stepped into my house, I ran to my laptop and reserved two one-way tickets to Seattle, disregarding the price. Unfortunately, they were for two days from then. The second thing I did was to call Jacob and tell him not to come. The third thing I decided to do was give Alice a bath. I had read somewhere that the best thing for a child in times of stress was to retain a familiar and comforting routine.
I gave Alice a bath and changed her into pajamas after brushing her teeth. I told her that we were going to see Grandpa. She was very excited at once. She asked when and I told her. The plane left at ten in the morning two days later. She was so excited. I put her in bed after snuggling with her for a little bit, as always.
And then I went around and locked all of the windows and the front door most especially. I was still very scared. I didn't bother to get ready for bed that night; I knew that I wouldn't sleep. I pulled out an old suitcase and Alice's backpack. I started packing. I packed up Alice's school things, and most of her toys and books. I packed my suitcase with our clothing and personal items. It was past midnight before I was truly done packing. At that point, I went to lie down with Alice in her bed. I knew that I wouldn't get any sleep that night. So I didn't even try.
I knew what had happened in Eagle Rock earlier that day. Edward had been there, hunting. He had probably gone hunting every night since he arrived here. The weather had been too dark for him to legitimize a real hunting trip, but he had to satiate himself before he went into my classroom. And then I had been so stupid to forget that, and taken Alice to a convenient secluded area of a public animal reservation with an overpopulation of deer! I had completely lost my mind.
And Edward had been there, hunting and had found my scent. I had been smart to stop moving, it confused the animal in him enough to give Alice, Jasper, and Emmett time to arrive and take him down. I assumed that Alice had had a vision.
I wondered where they all were now. I worried for my formerly future family. I didn't want to be the cause for their strife again.
When the sun began to rise again, I checked the clock; it was seven in the morning.
I dropped Alice off at school, and then went to Montclair High. I reported that I would be taking a month's leave from teaching for personal reasons starting the next day. I was suddenly very thankful that I'd been teaching for over ten years. I had plenty of sick days put away, enough to be gone for a month. They told me that I would have to send lesson plans. I told them that I would be able to drop them off that morning for someone to teach, and then would e-mail them more next week. I had worked on some things overnight.
The school usually asked for more time, but I told them that it was an emergency. The principal talked with me and told me that I had to be back within a month. I knew that was the case and I reasoned with myself that I would live. And maybe I would invite Leah and Jake to come stay with me when I returned home. Then I would be safe. Or maybe Alice and I would stink enough in order that we would no longer be appealing to Edward.
My classes went by quickly. Time always went faster when you were dreading the end of the day. I was dreading having to see Edward. I led my body to believe that he would be absent, but the rational part of me knew that he would be there. I knew that if my hunch was correct, he wouldn't miss an opportunity to see me. At lunch I met Alice.
She was waiting for me at Starbucks when I pulled up. I saw her for the first time in twenty eight years. I almost started crying with joy when I saw that she hadn't changed one bit. My former best friend. My formerly future sister. I embraced her quickly, and she smiled. "Hey Bella." Her voice was like a medicinal potion. It took away all of my worries and concerns.
"Hey Alice."
"How are you doing?"
"Why don't you tell me, I'm sure you've been watching."
"Not really."
"Why not?"
"Edward told me not to."
"Really?" I was genuinely surprised. After the last few encounters I'd had with him, I suspected that he would want to monitor me as well as possible. She just nodded. She was such a dear, she knew that I didn't want to talk about him right now.
When I thought about it, I really wanted an update on the Cullen family. But I didn't want to hear about the Stewart family. "How are the Cullens these days?" I asked Alice.
"You mean the Stewarts?"
"The Cullens." And again, she understood.
Alice went into detail about her family. "Well, we've rented a rather large house on the outskirts of this lovely town. It's nicely surrounded by a bunch of trees and there's a long driveway that moves off the road, so we don't get any traffic. Emmett and Rosalie are planning their next wedding, it'll be in a few years, when Rose graduates from this god-awful school –" she looked at me sheepishly, but I understood.
I shrugged, "It is awful sometimes." It was especially awful for the two last periods of the day when Edward was in my class…
She laughed, "Yes. But, um, Jazz and I went on an extended trip to Africa a few years ago. I had a great time sampling other foods."
I felt myself remembering the afternoon before. I decided to ask her about the Eagle Rock Reservation incident quickly before I decided not to. But Alice had caught that moment of decision. "It was Edward." She told me, "Yes he was hunting, yes he caught your scent, and yes I Saw him from home and took the boys to your rescue." She grinned, "I'm glad that you had the sense to run while he was distracted. Some wouldn't…you know, I rather enjoyed the chance to beat Edward to a pulp. I had a great time, maybe battered him more than I should have. Oh well, he's fine now."
I felt like I was choking on something, Edward had been just through the bushes and Alice had been there and Emmett and Jasper, all of my future siblings, disregarding Rosalie. I knew that already, my mind had already told me that, but hearing it confirmed was completely different. If I had stayed…of course I would have died, but what a way to go! Alice misinterpreted my expression, "Really, he's fine!"
"No, no." I assured her that I was totally alright. "I was just thinking."
"About what?"
"Edward." I was lost in thought; I didn't even realize what I was saying. "And the others. I wish I had stayed."
She was shaking her head, "I always knew you were crazy."
"No, no, I know that I had to go, for Alice's sake, but if I had stayed then maybe I would have seen you all."
She laughed, "I'd forgotten about Alice, my namesake. Thank you, by the way."
"Of course," I smiled, "Who else would I name her after?"
"I dunno, actually, I'm the best aren't I?"
I laughed, and the rest of lunch passed this way. We picked up our friendship just where we had left it off in Forks. I drove her back to school, I knew that with her extra abilities and immortality, she could be back to school in seconds from Starbucks. But I wanted, selfishly, more time with her. And then she left. I told her that I was summoned to Forks the next day and was unable to meet with her for lunch the next day, but I would contact her when I got back.
And I made my way to my classroom. Of course, Edward was there. Edward was always there. But he looked awful. He had a few scratches on his face, and he looked more jumpy than ever. His hands were torn worse than his face and there was a bite mark on his neck and another on his right hand. I imagined that his torso, arms and legs were just as scratched up. But I quickly stopped imagining Edward's various body parts. It was just making me depressed.
But there was one thing. It made me stop and reconsider what I had done in the last week. The bell rang and he looked at me. He looked at me with the eyes of a man who had seen a thousand years. It made the mother in me cry out to him. And so I called him out of class. I knew he wasn't breathing. I set the class to reading, and went into the hall with him.
"Are you alright?" He didn't say anything, just looked at me. I shrank a bit, "Alright then…"
He must have sensed my discomfort, "Yes, I'm fine."
"Really?"
"No. Do I look alright?
"Well, no, but that's why I came out here to ask you if I could help."
"Can you listen?"
"Yes."
"Yesterday I was hunting in Eagle Rock Reservation," I wanted to interrupt and inform him that Alice had already told me this story. But then I remembered that he just wanted me to listen. "I was hunting and I caught your scent. I was brought up short. I lost all control. I remember the feeling, it was very liberating actually, but afterwards it was quite scary. I caught your scent and I followed it all of the way across the forest. I wanted you so badly. But when you didn't run I was so bewildered. I had changed completely into an animal and the only reason that the predator chases is for the fun of it. If the predator wants to, it can just kill the thing. But when you outsmarted the vampire it knocked me back into Edward. And I heard you talking. I remember very clearly what you said to me." He pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. He imitated my voice very well. "Edward! It's me, Bella, and Alice! You love Alice! Don't hurt her!" He whispered the next part, and it looked like he was about to burst into tears. But I knew that vampires could not cry. "Edward, you can kill me, I know I've been awful to you, but just leave Ali. Please. I wish…" And he stopped talking.
I swallowed audibly. And then he was sobbing. He was leaning against the wall and crying his heart out, clenching and unclenching his fists. Until that moment I thought I had known everything about Edward. But I realized two things right then. The first thing was that Edward had changed. He was a different being from the one who had left me in the woods that day. Second, vampires could cry. No tears could ever be shed, but oh yes they could cry.
And so it was just Edward and me standing outside of my classroom at Montclair High School. And as he was crying, I was unable to comfort him. The world seemed to stand still as I watched him.
But I put aside everything in that moment and bundled it away. I filed it for further reference, but I did not even think about it as I leaned closer to him, my face so close to his, and wrapped my arms around his waist. His skin was as cold as ever. But I didn't even notice.
As soon as my arms touched his waist, Edward was brought up short. He was still so much taller than I. He quickly composed himself and turned. I let go of him, so that I would stay where I was and we would be facing each other. "Bella." He said, with so much emotion that I had to kiss him right then and there. I covered my mouth with my right hand, restraining myself and trying to hold back my own tears. I rushed back into the classroom.
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