A/N: Hello, hello there. I decided I'd better go ahead and update while I was in this mood. You know, the chapter-writing/updating mood. Yeah. I'm looking for a distraction. I'm soooo nervous about our school talent show. But ANYWAY, here it is…
Part Nine
Speechless
Edward hurried around the room, making the final preparations for Bella's arrival. Alice entered the room in her usual nonchalant matter, but something was different about her presence. She looked up at him, a premonition the source of her fears. She had a feeling something was about to take place- something big- and from the look in her golden eyes, Edward could tell it wasn't going to be good.
"What is it, Alice?" Edward asked worriedly, stopping in his tracks.
At that moment, Alice wished she could seep through the living room floor on which she was standing. She was suddenly tense, visions of violence and anger coursing through her mind at rapid speeds. She pushed her fingers to her temples, trying to concentrate.
"What is it, Alice?" Edward repeated, this time much more urgent, as he rushed to her side, supporting her left side.
"I… don't know," Alice admitted, disappointed that she could not focus on her vision long enough to see what was occurring. "I saw something… and I just have this feeling that…"
Before she could finish, Jacob black burst through the front door, stomping noisily into the house. "I told you I'd be watching you, Cullen," he seethed, directing his attention at Edward as though he did not notice Alice standing right beside the two of them. "I warned you. Now you're gonna pay for it."
"Get out of here!" Alice shouted, stepping in between Edward and Jacob defensively. "No one wants you here. Edward's not doing anything to Bella that she has a problem with. You're just… just… a bully!"
Finding it impossible to ignore her while she was wagging her finger in his face like that, Jacob forced Alice out of his path, shoving her onto the ground without so much as a second glance. Edward's ears turned a bright shade of red as he did this, and he could resist it no longer.
His fist felt disconnected from his body as it flew smack into Jacob's face, bloodying his thick nose. "Don't. Ever. Touch. Alice. Or. Bella. AGAIN!" he shouted, firing more and more punches in his direction.
Abruptly, Jacob regained his composure, and a sickening THUD! echoed throughout the huge house. He shoved Edward against the wall with all of his weight, kicked his leg swiftly, and left him in a worse state then even himself. He left then, but not without an aimless slap from Alice, slamming the door behind him so that the house shook.
"BELLA!" Edward snapped up suddenly, calling her name into the air. "Bella… Oh, Bella…"
"Bella!" Finally, against my will, I awoke to a little off-white room, in an uncomfortable hospital bed, Edward and Alice at my side. "Are you all right? You've been shouting in your sleep for a good half hour now!"
Was I all right? The simple answer was no, I was not all right, nor would I ever fully be again, or so I believed. It was the oddest thing, the first time I'd ever dreamed about someone else's memory. Edward had, of course, explained the fight between Jake and him to me, but not in such acute detail! How then, was I able to see ever emotion, and hear every word spoken between the two of them in the Cullen manor? "I'm fine, Edward. But…"
"But what, Bella?" he asked curiously, taking a seat beside me and grabbing my right hand with his left one.
"I… I have a question for you… WAIT!" I stopped mid-sentence, realizing that he'd just taken my hand with the wrong one of his. Never, in the history of Edward and I, had he ever taken my hand with his left one. How sad that I'd noticed that, I know… but still, it seemed extremely suspicious. "Why… I mean… your hand… where's the right one?"
"Not now, Bella," he cautioned, shaking his head slowly as the short, robust woman that I assumed was my nurse entered the room.
"You all right there, young lady?" she asked, genuinely concerned, as it would seem. "You took quite a shot."
Shot… Suddenly, it all came back to me: Jacob, the gun, Edward falling, screaming out my name. I writhed in pain as she attempted to change my pillow, determined to remember the entire contents of the previous day… Or had it been two days? Oh no!
"Edward, your hand… Did it… I mean…" I knew what Jacob was capable of. I knew exactly what he would have done to Edward, but only if… "You tried to… Oh my…"
"Yes, Bella, I did," he said solemnly, holding up his hand.
"No… He didn't… I know him… He might be bad, but he would never… You can't be serious… Jake's just," I rambled nervously, surveying the scene before me. It just wasn't possible. It couldn't be true. Jake… my childhood friend Jake Black had… no. I wouldn't accept it. But then, the evidence was clear. It must have been him. "Oh, Edward, I'm so sorry."
A/N: Okay, time to cut it off. Lol. Don't worry, I've already planned most of the next chapter. But I want at least… let's say… three reviews for this chapter, okay? Can we do that? Now you people click that little blue or purple button and leave a review like your life depends on it. I promise I will have loads of virtual cheesecake available for all of you wonderful, loyal reviewers. Plus, if you want to see what happens next, you'll make sure to leave at least a little something for sure. Haha. Much love and thanks for giving this story its wings,
C.J.