Chapter Two: My Friend

The wind ripped across my face and my hair whipped out behind me. I glanced quickly to my right side—Edward was pacing me. His Ducati bike could clearly overtake me if he wanted. Being a vampire now, I found myself in love with speed as much as he was. Thankfully, with my new and enhanced skills, Edward had abandoned the idea of having me wear a helmet.

I think I kept the old red bike Jacob had fixed up for me more because of nostalgia than anything else. Today, Edward and I had decided to ride our motorcycles again. Edward had bought his own bike, eager to be a part of my hobby. At the time, he had acknowledged that, though he would have liked to spend time with me, I might have wanted to continue practicing the hobby with Jacob instead—he being the one I had started it with. I had assured Edward I enjoyed riding with him too.

I revved the engine and pulled out in front as if to challenge him. He took the hint and answered with a roar of his engine. He gained the lead and disappeared, effectively leaving me "in his dust."

I caught up with him, as he was idling at the side of the road. I stopped alongside him. We had been driving down one of the many 2-lane roads running through the area with a canopy of trees overhead. Edward and I had been riding our motorcycles together a lot recently. Part of the reason was that Jacob hadn't been around. The better part of the reason, however, was that I found that I enjoyed riding with Edward. Some of my favorite times were those spent with the Cullens and Renesmee, my family; but Edward and I were bonded happily, comfortably, and never to be separated. My most favorite times were those spent with him; entertaining passion and growing in our affection.

I looked over at him. He was already looking at me. He smiled as I met his eyes. "Let's go for a run," he said.

We left our motorcycles where they stood and took off running into the trees. I thought I knew where we were headed. Most of my memories from when I was human were fuzzy now, dimmed by the fire that had changed me. The more I dwelt on those human memories, however, the clearer and more cemented in my mind they became. There were new things to find joy in, of course, but there were also so many things from before that I never wanted to forget. I had forever to dwell on memories and to make new ones. I had forever with Edward, which was the most important thing to me.

In a few minutes, we stopped in the clearing. This was the field where I had seen how the skin of vampires sparkles like diamonds in the sunlight. It was nothing like what is told in old vampire stories of sunlight being harmful; it was beautiful.

Edward walked in front of me and lied, on his side, on the grass, propped up on his elbow. I followed and did the same, facing him.

"Is it possible to love someone this intensely for forever?" I asked.

"I think so," he answered and smiled. "I think the more time you spend with someone, the strong the love becomes."

"I feel bad," I said.

"About what?" he asked.

"That we have forever when most people don't."

"Maybe they do," he answered. "Maybe they are still together after they die, somewhere."

"Like we would be."

"I hope so."

Edward had never really, truly believed that vampires had any sort of afterlife granted to them. He wasn't entirely sure if vampires weren't just damned eternally for what they were. For what we were.

We rode into the long drive leading up to the Cullen house. It was slowly getting dark. It must be the evening already. I had lost track of the time, but that wasn't unusual. Edward and I had spent time in the field and then gone to hunt.

We parked the motorcycles in the vast garage and walked inside. Alice and Renesmee were playing on the couch. Emmett and Rosalie were planted in front of the TV. The evening news was on. I didn't really want Nessie hearing about the horrible stories that had made the headlines that day. The station they were watching reported on Seattle news, which didn't do anything to ease that worry.

I was just about to ask Emmett to change the channel when what the reporter was saying caught my attention. Apparently, what Jocelyn Martinez was saying had caught the attention of everyone else that was in the living room, because it suddenly fell silent. I watched the reporter. Her bobbed hair and heavy makeup would have distracted me any other time.

"Just this afternoon," she was saying, "near where we are now, attorney Jason Scott and his secretary were found brutally murdered in his office. We've been told that they were discovered by one of Mr. Scott's clients who had an appointment at the time."

Jason Scott, or J. Jenks as he was also know as, dead. Why? Done by someone unhappy with J. Jenks no doubt. I couldn't imagine this being the result of anything Jason Scott did. And yet, he was murdered in his downtown office where his "legitimate" clients had gone. Someone who knew Scott and Jenks were the same person like the Cullens and I did?

I had gone to Jenks last year, not really knowing I had been looking for him at the time. Alice had left me cryptic clues that led me to him. As it turned out, Jason Scott had a profitable side business as J. Jenks; someone who would forge legal documents for a fee.

When we found out that the Volturri were coming to, more than likely, destroy us, I had asked Jenks to make passports for Jacob and Nessie under false names that would take them far away. I had also met Max, someone who worked for Jenks. He had said that Jenks usually dealt with diamond smugglers and drug dealers with his side business. Perhaps one of them got to him.

I focused again on what the reporter was saying. "Police are blaming the murders on the gang MS13—a particularly vicious gang on the rise in the Seattle area."

A gang? Falls under the "drug dealers" category I suppose. Jocelyn continued. "Police are only telling us that evidence found at the scene appears to link this crime to other recent violent crimes believed to have been committed by MS13 members."

"Who are the MS13?" I asked anyone in the room.

"Dangerous gang," Jasper answered. "Supposedly, the worst of the members are killers from El Salvador."

"Gosh," I said. "Wouldn't want to mess with them."

"Correction," Jasper said. "Humans wouldn't want to mess with them. They, however, would be no threat to us."

That was true. Being a vampire had its advantages. First, we were immortal; no disease known in the world would have any effect on us. There was also the super strength; something I had witnessed when Edward saved me from be flattened by a van on one of my first days at school here. We were also virtually indestructible, with skin like cold, hard marble. The only way to destroy a vampire, something else I had witnessed, was to tear him into pieces and keep those pieces apart from each other long enough to burn them. Lastly, some vampires had other abilities. I had my shield. Edward was able to hear the thoughts of others. Alice could see the future. No, MS13 would be no threat to the Cullens. Hopefully they would stay in the city, for their own sake.

"It's too bad," Jasper was saying.

"What's too bad?" Carlisle asked him.

"I had a rapport established with him."

"Is there anyone else you know that will make fake documents for an unnaturally white family, that doesn't appear to age, and not ask questions?" I asked.

"No. But I'm sure we'll find someone," Jasper answered. He looked bored now. I had kind of liked Jason Scott. Maybe it was because he had indirectly helped me to keep Nessie safe.

The sports news was on now; no doubt Emmett's favorite. We spent a few more hours at the Cullen house, and then Edward, Renesmee and I returned to our home to put Nessie to bed.

With her snuggly in bed and already fast asleep, I walked into our room. Edward was already lying on the bed, staring absently at the ceiling, until I walked in, then he shifted his focus to me. I walked into the huge closet, which had been fully stocked by Alice when we first moved in. I had added a few fashions of my own that were a little more "me." There was, however, something she had put in here that I liked. I pulled the pink silk off of the hanger and put it on. It was a long nightgown with straps and lacey details on the bodice. A little more Victoria's Secret, and a little less Fredrick's of Hollywood.

I climbed into the bed, and lied on my stomach, with my head rested on Edward's chest. I was thinking this wasn't going to be one of the nights when we played the piano. I let him hear my thoughts. He must have been thinking the same, because as quickly as I had put on the nightgown, it was off.