Jacob POV

I was still reeling from the fact that Bella just took off in search of that bloodsucker with his "sister". Why had she bothered? Couldn't Bella see that if it weren't for him, she wouldn't be in the pain she was in? I didn't really believe her when she said she wasn't trying to kill herself; that it was only cliff diving like she had seen the other members of my pack do. I almost told her she was full of shit but she had seemed so sincere that I didn't try and push it.

What bothered me the most was that I had thought she was getting better, that the anguish she felt over that bloodsucker was fading, that she may have been falling for me as I had fell for her. It angered me that her loyalties and her heart still belonged to that freak show of an ex-boyfriend. That much was obvious when I witnessed her expression when she saw his sister. I didn't know if I was angrier at Bella or him or myself.

She hadn't come back yet, at least to her house anyway and I wondered if they had been successful. I hoped not. What state would she be left in when he did leave her again, if they found him in time? Why the hell would he kill himself if she were dead anyway? Stupid leech!

If he did dare show his face back here, I would not be responsible for my actions. Treaty or no treaty.

"We can't start a war over this." Sam said coming up behind me. "No edicts have been broken."

I turned swiftly to him. He shrugged. "The pack hears your thoughts, you know." He finished.

"Damn inconvenient at times if you ask me." I mumbled kicking a rock.

"But a necessity." He replied. "Look, Jacob. I understand your feelings, I really do. But if they come back, there is nothing we can do. I won't sacrifice any members of the pack over your jealousy when there's been no breach."

"So what am I supposed to do?" It sounded like a whine and I hated myself for showing that vulnerability to the Alpha. I knew that if I had imprinted Bella it would've been a different story. The pack would back me then but as much as I wanted to I couldn't stake that claim.

"You'll have to figure that one out on your own. But I will tell you, if you decide on any violence against them and they have committed no wrong, we will not back you."

"Thanks for nothing." I mumbled. I could feel his eyes boring into my back as I walked away. For now, I could only wait until I saw Bella again then I would figure out what I would do.

Edward POV

I slowed down as we approached my house that I had not seen in seven months. Satisfied that we could walk the rest of the way, I gently took Bella off of my back and we walked slowly hand in hand. I had an overwhelming need to touch her in any way possible fearing that if I didn't have that physical bond with her, she would slip away from me.

"Did you need to go to your house?" I asked her. "I don't want to get you in trouble with Charlie." Charlie would be angry enough at me as it was and rightfully so. I had nearly destroyed his daughter with my mistake and prayed that even if he never fully forgave me, he would tolerate me on some level.

"No, he probably went back to the Clearwater's after the funeral."

Ah, yes, the funeral, I thought. In my joy at seeing Bella alive, I had not thought to ask whose funeral it was. "Who was the funeral for?" I asked her.

"Harry Clearwater." She said. "He had a heart attack."

"I'm sorry" I said trying to remember what he looked like. He didn't seem like he was unhealthy but I knew that heart attacks can claim anyone at anytime.

"Yeah, Charlie was upset. They were close and he feels like it was his fault."

"Why would he feel that?" I was genuinely curious.

"They were…ah…chasing...ah...someone when it happened." She mumbled, stumbling over the words. There was something she was not telling me but I let it go for the moment. We were closer to the house now and I suddenly had a thought. I had not seen Alice yet. Was she waiting at the house?

"I assume Alice had a hand in all of this." I said with a wave of my hand. I knew she knew what I meant about "all of this."

Bella nodded and she seemed to rush through an explanation. "She was at my house when I came home. After you spoke with Jake, she had a vision that your decision to go to Italy had been made. We were in flight to O'Hare when she realized you were coming back here, so in short, we took a private jet back and here I am." She shrugged.

Yes, here she was and I was profoundly grateful. But what she had been through the past few days to save me astounded and amazed me. If possible, my love for her grew that much more. So, it was this Jake from her letter that I spoke with. I felt a burn of jealousy but kept it carefully hidden. There was one thing I didn't understand however.

"Rosalie." I swallowed almost painfully. Just thinking about what I felt when Rosalie told me the news and what I had confirmed with the boy almost took me back to that dark place. Mentally, I tried to shake it off. "Rosalie said that Alice never saw you get out of the water. That it went dark."

"Jake saved me." She said.

It appeared that I would have to be grateful to Jacob, no matter how much the envy burned like venom in my throat. I had to appease myself with the knowledge that although he was in love with my Bella, she only felt friendship for him.

"Why wouldn't Alice have seen that?' I said more to myself than to Bella. Did her vision cut off before it had finished? I wondered.

She hesitated, seeming to deliberate over her words. "Well, Alice has a theory on that." She started. Did she sound guilty? I couldn't imagine why.

"And?" I prompted.

"And…I'll let her explain that one."

I didn't push but I had a feeling that I would not like Alice's theory.

When we entered the house all was quiet but the coverings had been removed from the furniture and I knew Alice had been there making preparations for everyone to come home. I also smelled food coming from the kitchen and led us both there.

"I guess Alice isn't here." Bella mumbled.

On the table was a bag from one of Forks' many fast food restaurants and a note for me from Alice. How odd, I thought. It must be for Bella. I removed the contents of the bag which consisted of a double cheeseburger, large fries and a vanilla shake. I pushed the food over to her motioning that she should eat as I read Alice's note. Bella waited as I read even though I could hear her stomach grumbling.

Edward,

I am glad you came to your senses. FINALLY! Obviously, the food is for Bella. In case you haven't noticed (but I am sure you have) our Bella isn't exactly the picture of health these days.

Be back later with the family.

Alice

I had noticed that Bella hadn't looked well, albeit briefly. My mind was preoccupied with other things but now that it was brought to my attention again, I couldn't help but look, really look at Bella. And I didn't like what I saw. My eyes narrowed as I took in the way her normally form fitting clothes hung on her frame, how her collar bones jutted out looking like they might break through her skin, the taut skin stretched over her cheekbones and the sunken eyes with purple smudges. No Bella definitely did not look the picture if health.

I heard Bella's heartbeat quicken and a blush rose to her cheeks. How I missed those blushes! But I knew she sensed that I didn't like what I saw.

"When was the last time you ate?" I asked her sitting down and pulling her into my lap as I brought a French fry to her mouth. "And the sparse peanuts on the plane do not count."

She took time to chew the fry seeming to think about it. "Um…"

"Well?"

"Wait a minute, I'm trying to think" she said taking a bite of the burger.

"It's not trigonometry Bella." I said rolling my eyes. If you don't remember off the top of your head then it's obviously been awhile."

"It was the day before yesterday." She said proudly.

I sighed. "We're going to have to have serious talk."

Suddenly, Bella stiffened in my arms. I had unintentionally hurt her. Would I never stop hurting her? My arms snaked around her and I held her to my chest.

"Bella, I love you. I am not leaving you. I just meant we had to have a talk about what my leaving did. To both of us. We can't move forward until we have that in the open. I won't let it fester between us."

Some of the tension left her body and she relaxed back into me. "Oh" she said nodding in understanding. "Just don't…don't scare me like that again." There was a shiver in her voice, like she was on the verge of tears. I realized that the mention of having a "talk" brought back the memory of when I said much the same thing before I left.

"Oh, love. I am so, so sorry." I said closing my eyes and burrowing my face in the crook of her neck. The burn of her blood was not as strong as it had been although it smelled just as sweet. I supposed the anguish of believing she was dead had overridden any desire to subconsciously hurt her in anyway.

Her hand came up and caressed my hair and I shuddered with the sheer pleasure of it.

"Eat." I growled, mumbling into her hair. "We'll talk later…amongst other things" I said with a leer.

She laughed then, the most beautiful sound I ever heard and popped another fry into her mouth. I heard my family outside, too far off into the distance for Bell to hear.

"Company's coming" I said sighing, knowing our alone time together had come to an end for now.

"We're back!" Alice cried happily swinging the front door open announcing their arrival.