CHAPTER SEVEN:
THUD, THUD, THUD
"Where is she?" Rosalie bellowed at the top of her lungs though they would have heard her even at a whisper. She had arrived home after several hours of hunting with Emmett, only to hear that Evelyn had almost bitten Charlie. Everyone else seemed to think it had been quite an amusing evening, after all was said and done and Charlie was home safe and sound, but Rose wasn't impressed. Of course the one night she leaves Evelyn, something like this would happen.
The poor girl was probably beside herself with guilt, which is why after pacing for several hours (she was trying not to smother the girl with attention since she remembered how much Renesmee used to complain about that) Rosalie had finally given into the desire and run upstairs to check on her. Rose knew something was wrong before she even made it to the landing. Her gut instinct said it was too quiet. The now familiar sound of Evelyn breathing and her strange heart beat were nowhere to be found. It was a sound Rosalie had become so accustomed to that its absence almost caused her physical pain.
Rosalie growled as she sped down the stairs. "She's gone! She's not in her room. The balcony doors were open…"
"That's impossible," Carlisle began.
Emmett and Edward flew upstairs to confirm. Rose heard as Emmett jumped from the upper balcony, following Evelyn's scent. Edward returned. "She took an old pair of Renesmee's shoes from the closet."
Emmett was back now too. "Her trail goes off into the woods. She was heading towards the reservation, but then veered left."
"Oh my god," Rosalie gasped. "You don't think she ran into the wolves?"
Carlisle shook his head. "They would not have harmed her. They would have been able to tell she was part human, and besides, our scent was all over her. If the wolves had found her I'm sure we would have heard from them by now."
Rosalie nodded, but the tension on her perfect face did not disappear and Emmett rubbed her shoulders sympathetically. He hated seeing Rose upset, unless she was mad at him of course, because she was sexy when she was mad, but this wasn't a time for jokes. Emmett knew Evelyn could be in danger. They had to go after her.
"But why would she leave?" Esme asked suddenly. She had been perfectly still and silent. A mesmerizing statuesque goddess as she stood by Carlisle's side. He looked at her suddenly, as if realizing for the first time how stunning she was. Then he seemed to register the question and looked to Edward.
"Did you pick up on anything?"
"No," Edward sighed in defeat. "She must have made a split second decision. She wasn't thinking about running away as much as she was thinking about missing Rose and Emmett. I thought she just wanted them to come home. I never assumed…" he shook his head. "Then her thoughts stopped. I thought maybe she had fallen asleep."
"It's not your fault, Edward," Esme said suddenly. "Don't blame yourself. We were all here. No one realized she had gone."
Bella pulled Edward close. She could tell he was already starting to beat himself up about it.
Alice nodded to herself as something in the depths of her mind became clear. "That was my vision. She wasn't running from you Jasper, she was running because of you. She thinks she really hurt you and she was afraid Bella would be mad at her. We have to go after her." Alice grabbed his arm and Jasper winced. The Cullen's froze.
"Jasper, what's wrong?" Alice asked, confusion masking her perfect-pixie features
Thud.
"You didn't have to grab me so hard," he exclaimed.
Thud.
"I didn't touch you with any more force than I usually do," Alice pouted.
Thud.
Jasper chuckled, shrugging it off. Then he felt a wave of pure exhaustion hit him, rooting him to the couch, which was impossible. Vampires didn't get tired. But Jasper almost felt as if he needed to catch his breath, then a sudden pain in his chest caught him off guard.
Thud.
What was that infernal noise, Alice wondered, and then she screamed, covering her mouth with her pale hands.
"What is that?" Edward and Rose asked together.
The sound was impossible in a room of immortal vampires. The lub-dub was completely out of place. One by one their eyes focused on Jasper, specifically the left side of his chest, where there should be no sound at all.
"Jasper," Alice shrieked. "You have a heart beat!"