Songlines Ch16
"Maybe she'll be alright," Alice ventured after a long silence in the car. "Whoever it was she seemed happy to see him." We had been driving around down in a careful grid search pattern as I scanned minds hoping for a glimpse of Bella.
"Show me again," I snapped as I drove, watching the images that Alice shared with me. This time I paid careful attention to the background of their setting. Alice replayed her vision for me an
"Those pillars," I said at last, "she might be on campus."
Alice looked again. "Maybe," she said dubiously, "but if it is then she's skipped her morning lecture."
"That's not like her, is it?" Jasper asked, puzzled.
"No, but that's Bella," I sighed as I turned the car around and drove back towards the college, "always doing the unexpected." There still remained the question of how Bella had somehow managed to disappear from Alice's vision. We made our way to campus quickly enough but the challenge therein was the matter of finding our way to where Alice had last seen Bella. I looked down as Alice hesitantly laid her hand on my arm as I drove.
"It's no use," Alice said in an apologetic tone, "the weather isn't going to let up today and I can't see any options that get us there without being seen."
"Inhuman strength and speed and yet here we are trapped by a few sunbeams," Jasper commented from the backseat, "there's a kind of irony in that."
I growled deep in my throat and Jasper immediately sent a wave of calm rolling over me that I welcomed and resented all at once. I'd come this far; I couldn't risk losing control now.
"Steering wheel, Edward," Alice said without turning her head.
Glancing at my hands I could see the plastic moulding beginning to give and instantly slackened my grip. The sooner we found Bella the sooner I would be able to relax.
* * * * *
"There," Alice sighed with relief, "she's okay."
I nodded, but didn't trust myself to say anything as I stood clenching and unclenching my fists as they hung at my side. It had taken us nearly an hour to get to where Alice had seen her last, an eternity during which I had imagined the harm that could have befallen Bella, and now for all that I could see her she was still out of reach. I felt a swell of anger at my inability to rush to her to assure myself that she was all right.
"Alice," Jasper managed, "I've got to ... I can't-," he stopped and took a step away from me.
As soon as I saw the struggle on his face my rage began to subside. As the emotional barometer of the family Jasper had endured my morose attitude for a few days only to be further assaulted with fear and rage. Alice was still watching the laughing couple enjoying the afternoon.
"I can't see her," Alice said in a puzzled voice.
Jasper and I looked at Alice in surprise.
"I know she's there," Alice jerked a hand at the café table, "but I can't see her, Edward. Something's wrong."
I frowned at this and took an involuntary step towards them, stopping only when Jasper grabbed at my sleeve.
"You can't," he hissed.
I growled deep in my throat but relented and stepped back, staying well within the shade.
"This is ridiculous," I snarled, clenching my fists again as I watched the boy reach up and ruffle Bella's hair as if teasing a puppy. Bella swatted his hand away with a pout and shook her finger at him in admonishment although she laughed as she did so. Their voices carried to us with agonising clarity.
"C'mon, Bells, it'll be great. You know everyone would love to see you. Sue has a spare bed and you can stay with us for a few days."
"I can't, got plans," Bella replied with a secret smile, and seeing that made me feel better, but only by a fraction.
"But how often do we get to catch up?" the boy protested.
"And how often do you put a guilt trip on me when we do?"
"Only because you keep making yourself unavailable," the boy grumbled now, subsiding back into his chair as Bella peeled his hand off her arm with a small smile.
"Not then, not now, not ever," Bella said slowly, "how many times are we going to have to keep going over this?"
"Until you change your mind."
"Jacob, I know your Dad, so I know for a fact he raised you right. When a woman says no, she means No."
"Yeah but," the boy – Jacob – shrugged off her words with a laugh as he draped an overly familiar arm around her shoulders and pulled her close for a hug. "Come on, Bells," he said in a low voice as he nuzzled the side of her neck, "you know we'd be good together." He was close enough for me to sense his thoughts and I took an involuntary step forward as the images flashed before me. Bella laughing up at him in bed, dancing in his arms, even – I groaned aloud at this – a succession of small children with wide brown eyes. The vision of Bella nursing a baby in her arms was enough to give me pause as I realised with devastating clarity the one thing that the boy offered her that I could not: a life.
I was only dimly aware of Jasper's dejected sigh beside me as he felt my mood shift and deepen again. Alice gave me an inquiring look that had her turning to Jasper with a determined air and taking him by the hand to shake to get his attention. Jasper turned a mournful gaze towards his mate and sharpened when he saw the angry set of her lips.
"Wha-," he began which was cut short when she seized him to pull him close for a kiss. Within seconds the mood amongst us had taken on a distinct honeyed hue. "Thanks," Jasper offered up a lazy smile when Alice released him at last.
"Anytime," Alice replied in what could best be described as a boudoir drawl as she patted his cheek. "As for you," she pointed at me, "Bella's safe which is what we set out to find. Whatever's going on here," she waved a hand back at Bella who sit sat glowing in the sunlight, "we'll find out soon enough."
"Fine," I grumbled as I began to settle.
Always the seventeen year old emo when he doesn't know what to do, Alice muttered before subsiding at my affronted glare.
I shook off Alice's exasperation to look over in time to see Bella shake off the boy's arm and shift her chair away from his, her posture rigid with displeasure.
"Bella?" the boy's smile faltered, "what's wrong?"
"Jake," Bella started, and I found myself unable to account for her sad smile. "You'll always be a part of my life, you know that, right?"
"Sure," the boy nodded at this but I could see his jaw set in tune with his thoughts; he knew what was coming and had heard it before but it seemed he wasn't about to give up.
"But you can't be that part," Bella went on. "Sorry, Jacob, but I just can't be what you want because you've decided that's the way you want things to be."
"Is there someone else?" His smile faltered now.
Bella simply nodded.
"Is that why you haven't come home lately?"
This time the nod was slower.
"Right," the boy was unimpressed, "so you start seeing someone and family gets forgotten, is that the way it's gonna be?" The boy's tone was angry but his thoughts were afraid. At last he could sense that perhaps Bella was slipping out of reach and his first instinct was to clutch tighter. "C'mon, Dad's been asking after you so why don't you come back to the Res and spend some time there. It'll be fun. Just the two of us."
Bella shot him an exasperated look. "I thought you said your Dad wanted to see me?"
"Well, yeah, him too," the boy amended with what he hoped would be a disarming smile, "and Seth. He's missed you."
"I could tell," Bella admitted with a grudging smile, "the way he ran at me earlier was a pretty good sign."
The boy laughed at this and now I could see what had happened earlier. Bella had been walking across campus when she had looked up at the war whoop from another male, greeting him with a smile of delight that had turned to shocked surprise when Jacob had grabbed her around the waist from behind. None of this explained why she had abruptly vanished from Alice's vision.
"So how about it?" Jacob went on, "You pack a few things and we can head off."
"Excuse me?" Bella shook her head. "There's the matter of classes, and I've got a job to attend to."
"Phsst," the boy shrugged off her explanation, "blow 'em off and come home. It's where you belong."
"Oh really," Bella's expression shifted from patient amusement and I watched as the 'I want' line appeared between her brows. "And what makes you the expert?"
"It's where you've always belonged," the boy gave a determined nod. "What us. With me." He looked on in surprise as Bella got up from her seat and gathered her belongings before walking away. "Where are you going?"
"Anywhere but here," Bella called over her shoulder and kept walking, "and you'd do well to give me some space, Jacob Black."
Go girl, Jasper commented, impressed as the boy stood his ground and watched her go. I can see why you've been so punch drunk since you found her, Edward.
Alice gave a hum of pleasure. "She's back, I can see her now," she noted with satisfaction as she looked up at me, "and if you make your way to the library she'll be very pleased to see you."
I didn't need any more urging.
* * * * *
Once inside the library I paused as I looked around the busy room. Students were clustered everywhere but there was no disguising Bella's sent trail that drew me to her as surely as a compass points to true north. She had taken direct path to a table over near one of the windows and had set out her books and small laptop, all of which sat untouched as she sat running her hands through her ponytail. I paused near one of the library stacks as I watched her, trying to assess her mood. She played with her hair when she was feeling thoughtful but having witnessed her departure from the café I could see that she was angry. Bella was coiling her ponytail around her hand like a whip, flicking it away before reaching for it again. I reached for my phone intending to surprise her and then realised that I had crushed the handset back at the cabin.
Bella pushed her books aside as she leaned forward to rest her head on her forearms with a quiet sigh; and after hearing her tiny sound of distress there was nothing else I could do but step towards her. I reached out and quietly pulled out the empty seat on her blind side, sitting down and reaching out to put my hand on her shoulder. Bella's head jerked up and around in surprise and she gazed at me for a long moment before her expression crumpled. I looked at her with alarm as she clambered out of her seat and over onto my lap to bury her face against my neck. There was nothing for me to do but wrap my arms around her to hold her close.
"I've missed you," I murmured before pressing a soft kiss against the pulse that beat at her neck.
"Not as much as I've missed you," Bella countered. She pulled herself back to smile at me before leaning forward to give me a soft kiss.
"I'm so glad you're here," she said at last, her breath a warm puff against my skin. I nuzzled against her hair already seeking out her scent and then pulled away in alarm. Bella didn't smell like … Bella. The scent drenching her was heavy and fetid making her smell like an animal. I pulled her closer again and breathed against her hair taking another surreptitious sniff when I was done. There. My own scent had masked the other somewhat, but I wouldn't be content until Bella had showered and changed. Someone else had been close enough to mark her, and it had to have been the boy. I frowned as I considered the new threat that had appeared in Bella's life. Of course, Bella seemed completely unaware that there was anything untoward going on and again I wondered if the mystery of her closed mind would one day yield its secrets. "Hey," I blinked and realised Bella was watching me. "What's wrong?"
"You smell different," I admitted, "it's strong."
"I do?" Bella grabbed at her ponytail and sniffed at it. "All I can smell is my shampoo and maybe Jake."
"Who is he?" I pounced on the proffered name, eager to find out more.
"An old friend who pushed his luck too far this afternoon," Bella said. Her tone was light enough but she looked disappointed, busying herself by doing and undoing the top button on my shirt.
"Was it good to see him?" I asked in a quiet tone. I was hungry for more information but didn't want to force the issue.
"At first, he and his cousin surprised me this morning so we had coffee but then Jacob got annoying."
"How?" I pulled her a little closer which Bella seemed only too happy to go along with, draping an arm around my shoulders and snuggling against me as she continued to speak.
"Jacob's like extended family, we've known each other for kids and now," she gave a quiet sigh, "he wants more."
I stilled.
"How much more?"
"Everything," Bella looked up at me. "He's got it into his head that we're perfect for each other and has our life all mapped out." She absently reached up to trail a finger down my sideburn, following the line of my jaw before sliding her hand down my chest. "Thing is, he never bargained on me getting my own life away from Forks. Jake stayed on the Reservation and he's totally entrenched in the tribe." Bella gave me an anxious look, "They're wonderful people and I love them like family but now I've gotten a glimpse of what the world is like I-," she broke off and chewed at her lip before going on. "There was a time when Jake would have been enough for me, but now …"
"What is it you want?" I whispered, watching her eyelids flutter as the sweetness of my breath puffed against her face.
"I want more too," she admitted as she looked up and deliberately held my gaze.
Mine.
"So do I," I confessed and we gazed at each other for a long time.
"So other than Jacob," I was impressed that I was able to say his name without it sounding like a snarl, "what else did I miss?"
"Angela and I ate far more ice-cream and brownies that we thought we could, that was fun," Bella began with a smile, "and I stayed home like a good girl."
"Glad to hear it," I nodded.
"And I missed you, lots," Bella sighed and tucked her head beneath my chin as she reached up to trace a spiral pattern on my chest with the tip of one finger. I closed my eyes against the soft fluttering sensation of her touch. She sighed again and shook her head as if shaking off something unpleasant.
"Are you all right?" I ducked my head to look at her and noticed that she was looking tired. "Have you been sleeping?"
"Not very well," Bella admitted, leaning into my touch as I smoothed some hair off her face. The more I touched her, the more I was erasing Jacob's scent and replacing it with my own. "Can we go?" she ventured after another pause.
"Haven't you got class this afternoon?"
"I don't care," Bella said, "the day hasn't been good but now you're here and it's better so I want to stay happy. Let's go."
I smiled at her petulant expression wanting nothing more than to get out there and spend the day with her, but circumstances were against me.
"Bella, you need to go to class."
"But I've just said-," she began with a frown, stopping when I shook my head. "What's wrong?"
"It's a little awkward for me to get out of here with the weather being as it is," I explained, watching as Bella turned to look out the window at the clear skies outside.
"Oh," she subsided against me, "then maybe we could just stay here for the next couple of hours?"
"You need to study," I pressed gently, "I'll be waiting for you when you finish."
"Today just isn't going my way at all," Bella grumbled, "I should've stayed in bed."
"I think I would have liked that," I ventured and smiled down at her surprise.
"You want me to go to a lecture with a clear head now that you've said that?" Bella shook her head.
"You think you're any less distracting to me?" I kissed her temple, shuddering slightly as my body made its wants apparent. Bella could feel it too and shifted against me as she bit her lip. I gazed at her as she curled a tiny hand around my neck to pull me close for a kiss and together we indulged ourselves in a gentle exploration.
Just look at those two, the thought intruded and I could tell from the more mature tone of the mental 'voice' that we had drawn the gaze of one of the library staff. I broke away and disentangled myself from Bella with a regretful smile.
"We're getting attention," I explained softly, chuckling when Bella looked over her shoulder and then promptly ducked her head with dismay at the sight of one of the older library staff members shaking her head disapprovingly. Bella promptly slid off my lap and back into her seat and began to gather her books together while an embarrassed flush stained her cheeks.
"You're blushing," I leaned forward to brush a finger across her cheeks.
"Well, I just got caught necking in the library," Bella hissed, the colour in her face increasing with mortification, "it makes me feel like … like …," she waved a hand as she fumbled for the words, "like Jessica." Bella put her face in her hands and shook her head with a quiet groan. "She and Tyler used to practically eat each other in here and I used to think it was so gross."
"And now?" I teased.
"I'm beginning to see the attraction," Bella murmured as she lifted her face to mine and I found I was only too happy to oblige her silent request.
All too soon Bella made a graceful – if somewhat reluctant – exit. I stood beside the table and watched her go while my body ached, resolving to call Alice and ask her to keep watch. Again I lamented the destruction of my phone but I had to hope that Alice was monitoring Bella for the remainder of the afternoon. Now I was faced with another conundrum; the matter of making my way off campus without being seen. Fear for Bella's safety had pulled me to her without a moment's hesitation but now the crisis had passed I had a few hours to while away before Bella could return to me and there remained the matter of purchasing a replacement phone.
* * * * *
"So how was hunting?" Bella asked in a drowsy tone. As promised I had been waiting for Bella when her classes had finished and now we were comfortably ensconced in my room at home.
"Good," I murmured at last, almost hypnotised by the motion of combing my fingers through her hair over and over.
Coming upstairs Edward, are you two decent? Alice knocked at the door seconds later.
"It's Alice," I said to Bella's look of inquiry.
"Hey," Alice chirped as she opened the door and poked her head inside. Almost instantly her face wrinkled. "Phew, Bella, what have you been doing? You smell like," Alice stepped into the room and approached Bella to take a cautious sniff before waving her hand in front of her face as if to dispel the odour, "dog."
"I do?" Bella pushed herself away from me, "and you didn't say it was that bad," this time Bella's tone was accusatory.
"It's not that bad," Alice tried to soothe her now, "but it's quite .. uh .. distinct."
"But I haven't even been near any dogs," Bella's face was flushed with embarrassment now, "that's it, Edward, take me home. I'll shower and change."
"No no no," Alice rushed in, "I'm sorry Bella, I spoke without thinking. You know how our senses are heightened, I didn't mean to sound rude."
"Relax Alice," Bella sounded weary now, "it's just been that kind of day." She looked at me where I was still sprawled on the leather chaise.
Edward I'm so sorry, Alice was babbling her apologies, her distress plain as she tried to talk Bella into staying.
"Wait," she snapped her fingers, "No need to go home, c'mon, I'll get you a change of clothes and you can change here."
"Are you sure? I don't want to impose," Bella said doubtfully, making me laugh despite the awkwardness of the situation.
"Bella, do you seriously think you're going to be creating hardship for Alice if she gets to dress you up?"
"Well, when you put it that way," Bella began, stopping when Alice disappeared from the room in the blink of an eye, returning with her arms full of enormous fluffy towels.
"Here," Alice handed them over to Bella, and disappeared again to fetch some clothes.
I got up from the chaise and took Bella by the hand to lead her to the bathroom, opening the door and ushering her inside.
"I don't suppose you'd join me?" Bella said with a hopeful smile as she nodded at the generously sized shower stall before laughing openly at my shock.
"There's nothing I'd like more," I said smiling at her surprise, "but it's not-,"
"Safe," she sighed, "I know. Again with the safety talk."
"Make yourself at home," I urged her, "Alice will be in soon with some clothes for you."
Bella nodded and closed the door behind me and a minute later I heard the water start. I stood in my room clenching my fists at the mental vision of Bella standing naked beneath the shower spray, rivulets of foam tracing the curves of her body as she –
Edward! It was Jasper, That's. Not. Helping.
I sighed and made my way towards Alice's room to find her decanting some shopping bags from her walk in closest as she sang under her breath.
"Edward," she beamed at me apparently having recovered from her social gaffe, "she's going to love these."
I strolled towards the bed where Alice was piling up the bags and reached in to retrieve something soft. To my embarrassment I found myself holding a brassiere, an exquisite concoction of lace and ribbon that I would already visualise on Bella. I dropped it immediately and stepped away from the bag as if it contained a nest of vipers.
"Easy there, Edward," Alice giggled, "you'll see it all soon enough."
"Alice," I growled a warning.
"They're all her size," Alice blithely went on ignoring me, "I've been shopping for her for a while now. Take the bags in and tell her to take her pick."
"I told her you'd take them in," I mumbled as I kept backing away from the bags.
"Chicken," Alice chided me as she swept past me towards the bathroom leaving me to stand and watch as she tapped quietly against the door before being admitted.
I was downstairs talking to Jasper when Bella re-appeared wearing the clothes Alice had purchased for her; jeans, t-shirt and a fluffy cardigan in the colours she liked best, and a pair of soft leather boots. Her hair was wet but had been combed off her face to hang limply against her back and her face had been freshly scrubbed.
"You look great," Alice praised from her seat on one of the couches, "did everything fit okay?"
"Perfectly, thanks," Bella smiled as she look my hand and sank down beside me, "but next time, tell me I reek, okay?"
"I couldn't," I replied in a shocked voice, "it wouldn't be gentlemanly."
"And it's ladylike of me to reek enough to turn your stomach?" Bella protested.
"Well," I temporised.
"Who have you been around today, Bella?" Alice asked as she leaned forward in her seat. She already knew of course, but was fishing for details as much as I was.
"Just a couple of old friends," Bella waved a hand, "family friends actually, from Forks."
"Is there anything," Alice gave a delicate pause and I silently applauded her tenacity when it came to asking the questions that I found myself unwilling to voice, "different about them?"
"Compared to you guys? I wouldn't think so," Bella laughed.
"There must be something," Alice coaxed.
"Well," Bella frowned in thought, "they're from the Quileute Tribe." She shrugged. "Make of that what you will, and in the meantime I guess the next time I see Jake I'll make sure I'm upwind."
The wolf tribe? Jasper and I exchanged a glance and he gave a slight nod before excusing himself and wandering off upstairs towards Carlisle's study. Bella had given us another piece to today's puzzle and I knew that Carlisle for one would be intrigued. We had last encountered their tribe seventy years ago and had been grateful to discover that the treaty had remained intact in the tribe's oral history. The fact that Bella vanished from Alice's vision however meant that we were entering new territory.
Bella lifted her head at one point to sniff the air and then twisting in her seat to peer over the back of the couch towards the kitchen again.
"Esme's cooking again," she commented with satisfaction, "it smells incredible."
"It does?" I glanced at Bella who nodded in confirmation.
I'm glad someone here appreciates my efforts, Esme replied, making me smile.
"It smells like it has wine in it, and lots of rosemary," Bella went on.
Lamb ragout, Esme supplied and I passed her message on to Bella who looked suitably impressed.
"What's she making?" Jasper asked having reappeared from upstairs.
"It's a French lamb casserole," Bella explained.
Jasper slumped back onto the sofa and allowed Alice to wriggle and climb her way onto his lap, submitting to her attentions with an easy-going grace that impressed me more with each passing day. I had seen Jasper's memories of the battles he had endured, both the blurry human experiences and the seemingly endless carnage of his early vampire life. The very fact that he could now sit with his mate curled lovingly against him as she kissed him until he smiled so that she could kiss his dimples, while another vampire sat opposite embracing a human was nothing short of remarkable.
"I don't remember lamb," Jasper commented as Alice squirmed into a more comfortable position, "or any human foods for that matter."
"Oh Jasper," Bella mourned, "that's really sad to hear."
Jasper waved away her concern. "From what I've read of food during the Civil War I don't think there was much good to remember."
Bella wriggled around on the cushion that she was kneeling beside me, the better to gaze at us and into the kitchen to see what Esme was doing.
"How about you?" she asked me.
"Some," I frowned as I tried to remember, "I remember the last thing I ate at home but it was weak, maybe a broth of some kind. I think my mother made it for me when I started to get sick."
Esme appeared in the doorway wiping her hands on a dishcloth that she draped over the back of a chair as she approached with a small steaming bowl in her hands.
"Here you are," she said as she handed the bowl and fork to Bella, "careful, it might be hot."
Bella accepted the bowl with a smile of thanks and held it under her nose to take a deep sniff. "Lamb ragout with mash potato," she said in tones of vast satisfaction, "Esme I think I love you."
"That means she likes it," I translated to a beaming Esme.
"As if you need to tell her that," Bella nudged me with her elbow as she began eating. "So, back to food," Bella said in between mouthfuls, "how about you, Esme, do you remember much?"
"Not very much at all," Esme admitted as she took a seat on the arm of the couch , "certainly not the taste, but now that I've been cooking for you I'm getting flashes of what must be memories of preparing meals." Esme gave a reminiscent smile.
"Is it odd, preparing meat?" Bella cocked her head as she regarded Esme. There was nothing interrogatory or challenging in her tone, she was simply curious. Esme thought for a moment before answering.
"Well, it certainly stays still more than other meat I'm used to," she said at last, startling a whoop of laughter out of Jasper.
"I really don't want to be a bother, so please don't feel you have to put yourself in any discomfort on my account," Bella offered with an apologetic grimace.
"Of course, Bella," Esme smiled her gratitude.
I may take her up on that offer Edward, the meat is a little … challenging. I caught a glimpse of the meat oozing blood as Esme cut in to it, all the while trying not to breathe. As soon as the meat was cooked it immediately lost all appeal but the preparation beforehand made for an unexpected challenge.
"Jasper," Bella was laughing now, "pick a channel, I'm begging you."
Jasper had been scrolling through the cable channel selection at a blur but at Bella's plea he immediately stopped and set the remote control aside. He had stopped at a news channel and Bella subsided against me to watch the screen out of curiosity, stilling a moment later as she put a hand on my arm to get my attention. The fork clattered into her bowl and Esme silently reached forward to take the bowl out of Bella's hands and place it on the coffee table.
It was a short news report of a grisly find: another human body had turned up in the woods and but all accounts the death had been quite recent. The young woman had been reported missing just two days prior and she had been found seemingly discarded on the banks of a riverbed near a hiking trail. The news report included a recent photo supplied by her family and Bella put a hand to her mouth in shock when she saw her face.
"You knew her?" I asked as Bella subsided against me.
She nodded her head without shifting her gaze from the screen. "She's a friend of Angela's."
I stiffened at this piece of news, and saw Jasper and Alice instantly give their full attention to Bella who was still staring mesmerised at the screen as the report continued. The girl's parents appeared as they tearfully pleaded for anyone with information to come forward.
"Oh no," Bella moaned, "poor Angela." She began patting her pockets and then got to her feet. "I need to call her, my phone's upstairs," she said as she disappeared.
We all watched her go and then began to talk in tones pitched too low for her to hear.
"Do you think it could be another one of us? A nomad?" asked Jasper.
"Too early to tell," I replied as the news story ended and shifted smoothly to the next, a puff piece aimed at boosting the morale of viewers after the dire report, "but we'll have to find out."
"Lonnie?" Jasper asked again.
I shook my head at this. "Not possible, after his last encounter with Emmett he turned himself in. He's in jail awaiting trial so we won't be seeing him anytime soon. No," I shook my head, "but I don't like the feel of this. Alice?"
Alice shook her head as she crawled further onto Jasper's lap, a gesture she made when she was seeking comfort. She curled up tucking her head underneath Jasper's chin, closing her eyes as he stroked her back and murmured nonsense to her. After a long moment she opened her eyes and looked at me.
"All I can see is blurred, it's just flashes but there's a common theme," she said with considerable reluctance.
"Anyone we know?" I asked although I already knew the answer.
This time Alice's nod was very reluctant indeed.
"Bella," she admitted.
As if hearing her name Bella appeared on the landing with her phone held to her ear as she carefully made her way down the stairs as she spoke to Angela. She gave me a look of distress as she sat down on the couch and the rest of us watched her silently as she continued her conversation. We would all hear Angela perfectly well through the small receiver.
"I just don't understand," Angela's voice was hoarse as if she had been crying earlier, "who would want to kill Lauren?"
Lauren. We had a name now.
"When did you last see her?"
"Just a few days ago," Angela went on, "she and I went to a movie the night you stayed over at Edward's. She crashed at our place for the night, slept in your bed. Oh god," this time Angela's voice was nearly a wail, "I didn't even think to ask if that was okay with you."
"It's okay, Angela," Bella soothed.
"Next morning," Angela hiccupped around a fresh wave of tears, "she couldn't get her sister to come pick her up, so she was going to walk home and catch up with us later. Do you think that was when-,"
"Angela I just don't know," Bella leaned forward and put her head in her hands as she kept listening to her friend's broken apologies and explanations.
Over Bella's head, Jasper met my gaze with perfect clarity. Lauren had slept in Bella's bed, which meant she had left the next day drenched in Bella's distinctive scent. This was no accident.
Someone else may have been at Bella's apartment, Jasper suggested, we're going to have to go see.
"Angela where are you now?" Bella was asking.
"I'm with Ben. I didn't know when you were coming home and I didn't want to be alone," Angela admitted.
"Oh honey, I'm sorry. I can come home right now," Bella looked at me for confirmation and I nodded.
"No I'm okay, you stay where you are," Angela snuffled. There was a murmured conversation in the background. "Ben wants to make sure you won't be alone tonight."
"I'm with Edward, but we'll go home soon," Bella assured her and looked at me, "Edward will stay with me tonight."
"Good," Angela's reply was swift. "Bella, I can't believe this has happened."
"Neither can I," Bella admitted. The conversation after that was brief and by the time she finished the call her fingertips were cold.
Esme appeared with a cup of hot tea and a cashmere wrap that was draped around Bella's shoulders with loving care.
"Bella I'm so sorry about your friend," Esme said in a soft voice.
"She slept in my bed," Bella replied in a faraway voice. "I knew her, she slept in my bed and now she's gone." She looked at each of us in turn and we met her gaze with equally solemn expressions. "Edward," she reached for me as I reached for her, "take me home."
* * * * *
Bella was shivering as she unlocked the door to her apartment and I stood as close to her as possible with my arm around her waist. She opened the door and took a deep breath before stepping inside. The apartment was quiet and still, no hint whatsoever that it had been the precursor to a murder. Bella stood with her arms wrapped around herself as she slowly walked around the apartment leaving her bedroom until last. I matched her pace, holding her close as her eyes darted around the room. It wasn't until we entered her bedroom that my head snapped up in instant recognition.
He had been here.
Without realising it a growl began in my chest as I stepped towards the window to sniff at the frame. I turned my back to Bella's wondering gaze and flickered my tongue, tasting the air to find the faintest trace of his scent. I closed my eyes, the better to focus my attention on the scent trail stepping carefully to the right to follow the minute air currents in the room. There. He had paused beside the bed. I bent over and sniffed at her pillow where her scent was strongest. There was another scent there, Lauren's, but it could not compete with Bella's. There was a hint of barley and wood smoke, suggesting that Lauren had been drinking before she went to sleep for the night. I sniffed again. Something else. James had left a distinct scent marker for me to find. I followed its outlines and realised he had rested his open palm against the pillow and this time I could smell blood. Post mortem then. He had come back after the kill, perhaps realising that he had the wrong person.
"Edward?" the question was a whisper and as I looked up Bella took an involuntary step back, reaching blindly for the doorframe as if seeking support.
"Bella," I reached out for her and frowned as she took another step back.
"Your eyes," she choked, "they're black."
I squeezed my eyes closed and shook my head as I tried to calm the murderous rage that had overwhelmed me at the thought of James being so close to Bella.
"I'm sorry," I stammered and waved a hand at her, "stay back. I'll be fine just … stay where you are."
"O-okay," Bella nodded and went perfectly still. I could hear her heartbeat thrumming in the room as I continued to track the scent. I was meticulous in my search and when at last I stood back and gave an explosive sigh Bella sagged a little where she stood. "Is it safe?" she ventured in a timid voice.
There was nothing more I could find out here. I shot her a sideways glance and gave a weary nod, looking up in surprise when she crossed the room as quickly as she could to wrap herself around me.
"Do you want to go home?" I said at last.
"I am home," her reply was muffled against my chest, "and you don't have a bed."
"That can be fixed," I replied as I rested my cheek against her hair and started to rock her slightly where we stood.
"More shopping for Alice," Bella mumbled, "that'll make her happy."
"That it will," I agreed. "If you don't want to stay here then Esme can make you a bed on the couch at home, or maybe a hotel," I suggested.
"No, I want to stay here. With you," Bella looked up at me, "but I need to change the sheets." She shivered again and tightened her hold around my waist.
"Let's get ready then," I looked down at her, "and then maybe you can have a hot shower to get warm," I offered a wry smile, "I'd love to keep you warm but my abilities are somewhat limited."
"I'll get the sheets," Bella sighed as she slipped out of my arms with reluctance and opened her closet. Bella stripped the bed in short order and stuffed the sheets into a laundry bag that she carried out to the living room. She returned to see me holding up the hem of a sheet with uncertainty. "Edward, how long since you made a bed?"
"More time than I care to admit," I muttered as I followed Bella's amused instructions. Soon the bed was made and I watched as Bella found a small bottle of perfume that she sprayed around the room. The perfume merely served to add another layer of scent without erasing any of them but I could see that Bella felt better for it. She gathered a fresh change of clothes and excused herself from the room for her second shower of the evening. I paced to her bedroom window and opened it to lean out into the night. The moment I did so I knew he was there. I ducked back in and turned my head towards the bathroom to listen to Bella. The splashing dipped in volume that told me she had just stepped under the spray. Perhaps there was enough time. I eased myself over the windowsill and dropped to the ground below. I stayed in a crouch as I searched the area before me.
"I know you're here," I challenged, "show yourself."
"I think I get it now," James appeared from the shadows although he kept a cautious distance. "You've got some sort of fascination with your food."
"She. Is. Not. Food," I snarled.
"So I see," James smiled again. "I have to give you credit for managing to resist for so long. Her scent is truly delicious unlike her friend," he went on, the unspoken 'alas' hanging in the air. "Still, it was a way of passing the time."
"The last time we met I encouraged you to move on," I straightened up but kept my back to the building as I watched James stroll back and forth. "You would do well to stay away, your activities are drawing unwelcome attention."
James gave an unrepentant shrug. "And yet somehow you don't give in," he cocked his head as he regarded me. "Maintaining a human façade, and all the while watching the little charming things they do, running around listening to the ticking beats of their eventual demise. That's fine," he shrugged with an oily smile, "I guess everyone needs a hobby."
"If you hurt her I swear it will be the last thing you do," I snarled.
The instant James's smile widened at my words I knew I had made a mistake. A challenge was something he had been looking for all this time and now I had delivered one right into his hands.