Puppy Love

Chapter Five

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"Chocolates," Edward said in a mellifluous voice, holding up a bag of chocolates.

"I expected, um…you know, Alice."

"She couldn't make it today," said Edward.

I let them in, reluctantly. Still, they weren't axe-murderers, so I had no idea what I was worried about.

Angela's eye seem to rove all over the kitchen, as if she were memorizing every detail for recall later.

"Um, please don't mind…I haven't eaten since last night," I said, pulling out a box of chocolates and throwing first a cherry-centered and then a purely milk chocolate one into my mouth.

"You ate last night, then?" Angela asked.

"Yes, some spaghetti."

"So you saw the person you're in love with, but after separating again, your heart broke and the only thing left for you to eat is Valentne's chocolates, as before," said Angela.

"Oh, come on, that's silly," I said.

"But it's the only thing that fits," Edward said.

That got my mind going. Who had I seen yesterday? Only Perry Foxtrot, whom I had never met before, and Mike Newman. So, was I in love with Mike? That would be impossible, though. I couldn't be in love with someone who wanted to rape me! It was too gross.

Then a thought came to me. I had run into one other person that day: Angela. Alice had stated that my one true love could be female. But seriously, why would my heart go for Angela? I barely knew her, and she always seemed on the shifty side to me.

However, if all the theories that had been presented to me by Dr. Cullen and Alice were true, and if Angela were the love of my life, then I would be able to eat normally very soon. Until some hours after she disappeared, though. Well, at least I could experiment, once Edward and she left.

Edward asked me something, and I answered, but I was imagining what it would be like to kiss Angela, if she turned out to be the love of my life. It wasn't a happy thought, but if it happened, I decided, it happened.

Finally, Angela said it was time to go. As they left, Edward gave me a longing look, as if he would like nothing better than to kiss me himself. I wonder if he would pound me into a pulp instead if he knew I was thinking about his girlfriend as a lover.

When they had gone, I took some Jello from the fridge and had a couple of bites. Twenty minutes later, I vomited it in the bathroom.

Nope, I decided. Angela wasn't the love of my life. So who was?

I had a dream that Angela was chasing me across a lake. She was flying; I in a boat. And she gained on me, pulled me down, and kissed me full on the lips.

I woke up from that, not sure how I felt. I hoped that it wasn't a girl that I liked, and I had reason to doubt it was, for no girl had ever turned me on. But it would be worse if the person I truly wanted turned out to be Mike Newman.

On the following Saturday, I drove out to Seattle and met Perry at the place where Rugrats on Ice would be performed. He looked cute, but I still had the sinking feeling that he wasn't my true love. They were selling popsicles at the show, and Perry offered to buy me one, but I told him no thanks, because I knew it wouldn't go down.

After the show, Perry offered to accompany me in my truck, but I told him no. He kissed me lightly on my forehead, which I was glad of since I didn't feel like locking lips with him.

When I got home, Charlie was waiting. "Any luck?" he asked.

I thought of lying, but I heard myself say, "No."

"Bella…you need a boyfriend. I want you to get over this."

"I want to get over it too, but I think it's someone else. Thanks don't happen instantly, you know."

"I know," Charlie said, sighing. "Just go eat your chocolates. Tomorrow you're going to try again."

When he said that, I wished I had gone to Phoenix for the winter with my mother. There I would not have to deal with a constant worrywart. This might not even have happened if I had chosen Renee over Charlie to spend Christmas vacation with…

I trudged up the stairs After eating three chocolates, I felt like I didn't want to eat anymore. It just seemed so odd…where was the person who would be my true love? Who was it? Would I be happy with them?

I pondered this for a few minutes, until I heard Charlie calling, "Bella, there's someone here to see you."

Who could that be? I wondered. Putting my red cardigan on, I went down the stairs, hoping that it wasn't Mike Newman.

Next to Charlie stood a Native American girl, drenched from all the rain outside. My heart leapt when I saw her, though I didn't know why.

"I'm Leah Clearwater," the girl said, when I was five feet away from her. (Charlie disappeared into the living room.)

"Should I know you?" I asked.

"Not in this form," Leah said. "Do you think we could…go to your room?"

"Sure!" I said, a little too brightly and expecting Leah to raise an eyebrow. She didn't.

I led the way upstairs and into my room. Leah shut the door behind her.

"You're not plotting to murder me or anything?" I said, my voice shaky.

"No, why would you think that?"

Not saying anything, I fixed my gaze on the door.

"Oh…well, I wanted to show you who I am. And uh…why I came here."

"You mean you're not a Native American girl? What are you, a Martian planning to take over the world?"

"Wrong guess, Bella."

How does she know my name? I thought. And how does she know where I live? Unless… "Are you friends with Jacob Black?"

"I guess you could say that. Well, I know him well, would be a better way to phrase it. But now I think it's time for me to transform."

"Transform?" I asked.

"You know, change shape, looks, etc. Oh yeah, Bella, I need you to swallow this." Leah handed me a round chew that looked like a Tylenol tablet, with the letters "AS" written across it.

I stared at the chew.

"It's not poison," Leah said, attempting to assure me.

"I, er…can't swallow anything," I said.

"I know about your problem," Leah said. "But don't worry…the tablet is chocolate-flavored, and I'm sure you'll be able to swallow it."

Somehow, her words gave me the strength to do it. I did not even think why I was doing it; I just did it because this girl told me to.

A minute passed. Then Leah said, "Watch me."

I knew that I would watch her forever, watch her till she died, if she told me to. She held a power over me that I could not escape.

I watched as her legs became hairy and her fingernails turned into sharp claws. I watched as her face became elongated, and her mouth and nose were replaced by a snout. I watched as she bent foreward to stand on four legs, instead of two. I watched her clothes disappear into nothingness. I watched a girl transmogrify into a wolf in front of my very eyes.

I tried to scream, but no sound would come from my throat. I waited for the girl-wolf to kill me.