A/N: Finally, an update! I hope you find that the wait has been worth the while.
My favorite part of Twilight was Stephenie Meyer's description of First Beach. While I used my own words to describe the scene myself, I paraphrased what was written in the original. Stephenie Meyer owns all rights to Twilight.
A word of thanks to fellow Bellisle writer December(dot)Eclipse, whose patience and understanding as I struggled with this chapter was outstanding. It's been great to be able to bounce ideas off you, and to have you keep me in line when I went too OOC or vague. Also a shout-out to my friend ItHappened, who also helped me keep things in character for the Charlie opening segment.
~*~ Chapter Six ~*~
Bella slid her hands from the upended bottom of the bucket onto its sides. Carefully, so as not to disturb the perfection of what lay underneath, she lifted the plastic blue pail. Packed together sand, moist from the air and the tide that had rushed over it, revealed itself inch by inch. At the very last moment, the top of the sand crumbled.
"Try again," Jacob said to her, scooping more sand into the bucket. Bella hadn't seen him, but she realized and accepted that he'd been helping her in the sand for some time.
"It's just going to keep crumbling." Bella's shoulders sagged with the dispirited words, her eyes remaining on the bucket of sand. "I can't get it to form completely."
Carlisle appeared beside her next. "Try this," he said after the bucket was turned over again. He pressed his hands to it, and the whole bucket glazed over in a frost. Fascinated, Bella lifted the bucket to reveal a smoothly symmetrical sand turret. Carlisle smiled at her, the ocean breeze whipping his hair around his golden eyes. "It can take a little patience."
"You shouldn't be here." Jacob's voice was angry, his eyes looking behind Bella.
"I forgot to say hello." The voice creeped the skin on the back of her neck, and before she could turn Bella felt herself grabbed.
She was no longer at the beach; Jacob and Carlisle were gone. Back in the alley, Bella screamed: "No!" She didn't want to this to happen again, but she couldn't stop him. A hand grabbed her breast and squeezed, even as she thrashed to get away. Bella fought being dragged down to the ground. "No!"
Above her, surrounding her, the dark one grinned. He had sharp-pointed fangs. Bella screamed again.
"Bella!" Bella thought she heard Alice's voice calling her name, as she had done before, but it was too far away.
"Alice!" Bella answered, desperately, begging. Only Alice was nowhere to be seen.
"Bella!" her name sounded again, and it wasn't Alice's voice but Charlie's.
"Charlie?" she asked, confused.
"I'm here," her father answered, and his hand that had been shaking her shoulder turned to stroking as Bella sat up.
"Oh." Still a little fog-headed from the dream, Bella took stock of her surroundings. She was home. Jessica and Angela had dropped her off and after greeting Charlie she'd gone straight to bed, seeking oblivion. She obviously hadn't gotten it. Blinking and rubbing her eyes, Bella let the terror from the dream fade. She'd think about it later. Charlie was beside her, sitting on the edge of her bed. He had a hastily thrown on flannel, not buttoned, and jeans on. He'd clearly just gotten out of bed. "I'm sorry I woke you up."
"It's okay." He looked at her, concerned. "Want to talk about it?"
Bella shook her head. "It was just a dream."
Charlie frowned at his daughter. Bella had always mumbled in her sleep, but he'd never known her to scream. Could be harmless, but he should probably ask Renee if this was something new. Rethinking that, Charlie didn't want to get Renee breathing down his neck about Bella again. Best to keep Bella talking a little more.
"Alright," her father said, giving her shoulder one last stroke before sitting back. "What did you get at Port Angeles tonight?"
"Um," Bella didn't like the abrupt change of subject, or what it reminded her of. "Books." Bella gestured to the table by the bed. A copy of George Bernard Shaw's Saint Joan lay there. Picking it up, Charlie found Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment and, surprisingly, J.D. Robb's Vengeance in Death underneath.
"Heavy stuff." Charlie picked up Dostoevsky and held it so that it faced Bella. "I've heard of this one." Setting the books back down, Charlie continued casually, "Weren't you supposed to be looking for prom dresses?"
"Just Jessica and Angela were. I'm not going to the prom."
"You're skipping the prom?"
"Yeah, Dad." She looked at him significantly, shifting her eyes to stress her point. "Me, high heels, dancing…"
"Right." Charlie looked at her. "Well, I'm glad you got something out of going to Port Angeles, anyway."
Bella's mind flashed on the alley, and Alice and Jasper coming to her rescue. She definitely got something out of going to Port Angeles, alright. Looking at Charlie, Bella realized that she had a prime source of information sitting on her bed. If her father and Billy had argued about Dr. Cullen, then her father probably had some idea as to what Billy's objection was. Tentatively, Bella created an opening. "I saw Alice Cullen and Jasper Whitlock there, briefly."
"The Cullen kids?"
"You know them, right?"
"Why?" Charlie's eyes narrowed. Charlie had been watching Bella's face, waiting for a sign that something was bothering her to have caused the nightmare. "Nothing happened with them, right?"
"No, not at all." Bella was quick to reassure.
"Good. I had my doubts at first, being teens with troubled pasts, but they are well behaved and polite. Never any problem from them."
"What about Dr. Cullen? You like him, right, nothing against him?" Bella might have hidden her eagerness from someone else, but her father was a seasoned cop who knew her features better than just about anyone. Her eagerness confirmed a suspicion he had.
"Dr. Cullen, huh? Is this what not having any boys on your radar means?"
"Uh…" It took Bella a second to get it, and when she did she almost laughed at Charlie. "No, nothing like that." Too amused, she gave her father a quick punch on the shoulder. "C'mon, Dad. Just because you have a teenage daughter in the house doesn't mean that my hormones are blazing everywhere."
"Not just teenagers. A lot of the nurses at the hospital are known to have a hard time concentrating on their work when he's around."
"Really?" Bella wondered if this had anything to do with why the Quileutes wouldn't go to the hospital. Bella rejected the notion. Dr. Cullen being attractive to the female staff was hardly a reason to justify a tribal snub.
"Uh-huh." Charlie spoke in the same monotone he had used before in the hospital. Knowing what her father was thinking, Bella quickly scrambled to say something that would change his mind.
"Listen, Dad-" she stopped. She couldn't think of anything other than to come clean. After all, it wasn't as if Charlie didn't know that Billy kept Jacob from going to the hospital. "Jacob called the day after I got my stitches. He told me that Billy discourages any of the Quileutes from going to the hospital because Dr. Cullen is there, but he had to hang up before he could tell me why."
"I see." Charlie had gone tense again.
"Do you know why?" Bella asked, not without sensitivity. "Jake said that you and Billy had argued about it."
"No, I don't know why. That's part of the problem. When he wants to, Billy can clam up with the best of them." Charlie paused slightly before continuing. "It's not just Dr. Cullen."
Bella felt her breath hitch. She knew it.
"People in this town seem to have a problem with the Cullens being a little different." Charlie went on for one of the longest speeches Bella had ever heard him give. "They're a good family. They came together when things were bad to raise the boy, and they adopted a girl caught in the system. The kids don't cause trouble; they all go camping together every other weekend. We're lucky that they wanted to live in a rural town. Dr. Cullen is a brilliant surgeon that could make ten times the salary that he does here. His sister is a teacher, for heaven's sake. They're good people."
"I guess I can see why you and Billy fought. You think very highly of the Cullens."
"Billy is a grown man who can make decisions for himself, and the rest of the tribe are all fully capable of thinking for themselves. I may disagree with them, but my job is to serve the public, not tell them what to do."
Bella raised an eyebrow. "Did Billy say that to you?"
"He had a point." Charlie stood up, discussion over. Looking at Bella's face, Charlie hesitated. He knew his daughter. She could be very tenacious when something caught her attention. She was like him. Charlie was happy to have his friendship with Billy back on the mend, but… "If you learn anything from Jacob … let me know?"
Bella felt how that request might have cost her father. "Promise."
Charlie nodded. "Alright, then. Get back to sleep. Sunny day, tomorrow."
"I'll believe it when I see it." Bella settled back in under the covers, and Charlie turned out the light. She'd already closed her eyes when her father spoke from the doorway.
"Every kid should go to their prom, Bella. You don't have to dance to be with your friends."
Wow, tonight was full of unexpected Charlie behavior. Bella raised her head to look at her father, silhouetted in the doorframe. "I'll think about it," she answered.
"Good." Charlie started walking out. "Just don't bring Dr. Cullen."
The door was already shut when the pillow hit it.
(~*~)
It was indeed sunny when morning came. There had been a few days that held spots of sunlight since she'd arrived, but the bright yellow coming in through the curtain made Bella get out of bed and shove the curtain wide. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Not one. Bella struggled with the sticking window, but once she got it open she breathed in the fresh spring air as if she'd been locked away for a long time.
It was difficult for Bella to feel anything other than light-hearted with such a start to her morning. She dressed quickly, had a fast and easy breakfast, and drove to school with her windows cracked. The school day proved to reflect that she wasn't the only one to have an extra bit of energy. Laughter in the halls seemed to be double what it usually was, and the boys all seemed to be bouncing off the walls. Bella laughed to herself as she headed towards lunch with Jessica, seeing three guys in a row jump up and slap the top of the open doorframe. Back in Phoenix, she'd had a middle-school teacher who referred to that activity as "puberty hitting."
Jessica herself was a demonstration of another thing that was different when the sun came out in Forks. A lot of the girls had dressed in skimpier clothing, short skirts and spaghetti-strap tees. Sixty-two degrees Fahrenheit might feel warm to them, but Bella was definitely not ready to be exposing so much skin to the elements.
Upon entering the cafeteria, Bella's eyes scanned the large room for Jasper and Alice. While she was pretty sure that they wouldn't exactly be saving a seat for her at their table and that any more thanks would be unwelcome, Bella felt that she should talk to them again. She'd always been intrigued by them and having finally spoken with them the night before, she was determined to pursue the acquaintance. Bella hadn't seen them yet that day, though that was not unusual. All the same, Bella was surprised when they didn't show up for lunch at all. Hitching her bag over her shoulder, Bella frowned as she headed out to Biology.
"What's wrong?" asked Angela, who had caught up to Bella's side.
Looking over, Bella smiled and shrugged. "Just lost in thought." Angela's smiling acceptance of this answer was one of the reasons that Bella liked her so much. Jessica would have pressed or, more likely, have switched to chatter on about a topic much more interesting to her. Just before they reached the door to Biology, Bella broke the comfortable silence. "Are Jasper and Alice both out today?"
"They always are on nice days."
"What do you mean?"
"You talking about the Cullens?" Mike came up behind them. "They're campers, hikers. They're always buying stuff at my dad's store. Whenever it's nice enough to be outside, they hit the trail. School comes second. So does work, I guess." Mike gave a shrug, sliding into his seat at the black table he shared with Bella and Anna. Angela gave them all a quick smile before settling in her seat.
Bella turned to Mike. "Alice and Jasper just get pulled out of school?"
"When the sun comes out you'll only see a Cullen if it's in the woods."
It was an offhand comment, but it bothered Bella. She was only half paying attention to Mr. Banner's lesson as her mind pondered the Cullens all over again. What facts did she have for sure? Using the margin of her notebook, Bella made a list.
* Billy won't go to the hospital because Dr. Cullen works there.
* Dr. Cullen, Alice and Jasper all have cold, pale skin and strange eyes.
* Alice's eyes were gold, then became black.
* Jasper's eyes were black, then became gold.
* Dr. Cullen's eyes have only been gold - so far.
Bella stopped and looked at her list. Surely she had more than that? Pressing the eraser against her chin, Bella focused on the front of the room and listened to Mr. Banner before returning to her list.
* Alice seems to know things.
Bella couldn't help but remember the eye contact they'd had across the parking lot when Tyler got into his accident. There was something about Alice's face, her gaze, that made Bella feel something of the all-knowing about her.
* The nurses can't concentrate around Dr. Cullen.
Bella crossed it out. She had no problem concentrating around him, so her father probably just used it as a phrase; it didn't mean anything. Yet, thinking of her first time meeting Dr. Cullen, she recalled something that had impressed her, though she'd dismissed it.
* Dr. Cullen can move very quickly.
Had that simply been the good reflexes she thought at the time? Somehow, Bella doubted it. The bucket before her had appeared as much out of nowhere as Jasper had the night before. Moving on from the thought, Bella wrote the newest information down.
* Cullens are no-shows on sunny days.
Bella frowned at that line, staring at it before writing down the weirdest part of the whole thing.
* Jake says he already told me about the Cullens years ago.
Now that just didn't make sense. If the Cullens only moved here two and a half years ago, how would Jacob know anything about them to tell her when they were kids? The only way that made sense is if the Cullens had moved to the area before and met the Blacks.
Whoa. Revelation.
* Have the Cullens and the Blacks met before now?
Bella circled the note. It was something to think about. Assuming that it was true, what could Jacob have told her? Bella tried to think back to any memories that she had of Jake.
Building sand castles on the beach.
Bella almost flinched at the thought, for it reminded her of her dream last night. She wasn't going to think about last night at all. When she caught herself rubbing her right wrist, Bella immediately put her hand in her lap. She looked around to see if anyone had noticed her, but, thankfully, no one was paying any attention to her.
Bella looked back down at her notebook, but her eyes stayed on the purple-red of her wrist. Her skin was pale, which made the blood color of the bruise more prominent. Bella closed her eyes in an effort to stop thinking about the alley. Her efforts were not really successful. She saw Alice appearing at the top of the alley, walking confidently toward her and the men. She saw Jasper appear out of nowhere, and remembered the darkness in his voice, and the men backing off. She could almost feel again the cold that had crept down her neck in the cafeteria the first time she'd felt his eyes on her. Looking back at the paper, Bella picked up her pencil and wrote one questioning word.
* Dangerous?
(~*~)
The following day was even more temperate than the day before; the sun still shone and temperatures were even warmer. There were more kids wearing lighter clothing, and the relaxed happy atmosphere had as much to do with the fact that it was Friday as it did with the weather.
At lunch Mike and Eric were quick to hatch up a scheme to go down to La Push after school let out. Bella agreed along with everyone else, and it was decided to meet up at Newton's Outfitters at three-thirty and carpool in Mike's Suburban. As they made their way to Biology, Bella tentatively broached the subject of Alice and Jasper's continued absence with Mike and Angela again.
"They're probably still camping," Angela suggested.
"It's as I said: the sun comes out; the Cullens are gone." Mike grinned at her.
"You aren't seriously saying that no one has seen any of the Cullens in the sunlight?" Trying to sound dubious, Bella was more eager for his answer than she let on. Bella had brought up the Cullens with Charlie the night before in order to ask if they had passed through Forks when she was a kid. She had also mentioned Mike's comment to Charlie, and it had struck him as odd. Particularly when he couldn't recall for certain that he had seen any of the Cullen family when it wasn't overcast. Charlie hadn't been any more helpful in whether Billy and Dr. Cullen had ever met before, either, though he had his doubts.
"Well, no, of course we have." Mike frowned at her. He seemed caught off guard by her question, and his steps slowed. "No, yeah, I think… yeah, I've seen the redhead at the store buying gear."
"Redhead?"
"That would be Maggie, the cousin." Angela explained as they all three passed into the classroom.
"Right, Maggie Whitlock." Mike relaxed, happy to have settled on that memory. Bella found herself doubting whether he actually knew for certain that it was a sunny day when he saw Jasper's older sister. It seemed more as though he had tried to convince himself. Angela, though, hadn't said anything at all. When Bella's questioning eyes turned onto her, Angela just gave a small shake of her head and with a smile, settled in her seat.
It must be true, Bella thought as she slid into her own seat. No one has seen a member of the Cullen family when the sun is out.
(~*~)
There was about forty-five minutes for everyone to go home, grab a snack and possibly change clothes before meeting up at Newton's Outfitters. Bella didn't feel the need to change clothes, but she did grab an unopened bag of chips from the cupboard for everyone, and left a note for Charlie. She stopped at the Thriftway and picked up a few packs of soda, too. Arriving early, Bella was the first one to park at the Outfitters store, but she wasn't alone long.
The group excursion to La Push had come to encompass more than just the crew at her lunch table. Tyler and Ben brought along Conner, while Lauren had included three other girls that Bella hadn't met. Lee had showed up second, driving his mother's minivan, his girlfriend Samantha with him. All together, the group made up fourteen, and they divided themselves between Mike's Suburban and the minivan. Bella was up front, with Jessica squeezed between her and Mike. Angela, Ben, Lauren and the three girls were all in the back. It wasn't too uncomfortable.
Even though Bella had lived in the area for years, the site of the mile-long crescent of the beach could still take her breath away. White caps broke against islands rising steeply out of the water, crowned in evergreens. The beach itself was a thin strip of sand that turned into large multi-colored stones, nature's own mosaic. Salt-bleached driftwood scattered across the tide line. With a forest edging the beach, there were all kinds of places to play and explore. Bella almost felt like she was eight years old again.
Mike led the way to a ring of driftwood logs that was an obvious gathering point that had seen much use before. Eric and Ben gathered broken branches to build up in the fire pit. After using a candle lighter on a small twig, Mike rested it against Eric and Ben's teepee. Licking quickly along the dry wood, the flames danced blue from the salt.
Passing snacks around -Bella hadn't been the only one to bring chips and soda- the group chattered idly. Eric had grabbed Mike's candle lighter and talked about a site he'd seen that described how to turn one into a taser. One of Lauren's friends laughed and shrieked when he jabbed her with it. Bella sat beside Angela, who was idly playing in the sand with Ben. Tyler invaded, and began slapping their mound together, building it up and up. The competition of who could make a higher pile of dirt soon deteriorated into a wet sand fight as Ben and Tyler flung it at each other. Angela and Bella were quick to move out of the way, with Conner, Mike and Eric moving in almost as quickly.
After things settled down there was a lull. Eric complained that it wasn't dark and they couldn't tell scary stories around the fire. Not wanting to let Eric's whining set the mood, Conner proactively proposed a hike to the tidal pools. Bella was standing up to join those who were going when a handful of reservation boys came along to join the group, Jacob among them. As Jake approached, the memory was triggered in Bella. She had built sand castles on the beach with Jacob when she was a kid. There was never any doubt about it, but what really came forward in Bella's mind was the idea of a scary story. Jake had once tried really hard to spook her, and he'd been successful, in part because Rebecca and Rachel had kept trying to shush him, as though he was revealing tribal secrets. He'd ignored his sisters and told Bella anyway about the cold ones.
Cold ones. Could it be…?
"Hey, Bella! Why so quiet over there?" Jacob called to her, walking towards her after his friends had been making introductions all around.
"Hi, Jake." Bella smiled at him, stepping into his open arms. One of Lauren's friend, a girl whom Bella was pretty sure she'd knocked into during gym class, frowned at her.
"Oh, you know each other?" Mike asked, a sort of disappointed surprise on his face.
"Oh, yeah," Jacob hooked his arm proprietarily around Bella's neck. "Bella and I have known each other for a long time."
Bella jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow, and shimmied out from underneath his arm. "Cut it out." Turning, Bella saw that all eyes were on her and Jacob. She smiled. "I used to play with Jake and his twin sisters when I was a kid here."
"Oh," Mike said, eyes appraising Jacob. "Well, we are all about to hike toward the tidal pools. Bella, you still coming with us?"
"Yeah." Bella nodded, eyes on Jacob, obviously inviting him along. Jacob accepted the silent request, and joined in on the hike.
It wasn't too far, though going through the woods was a bit of a drawback for her. Bella regretted losing sight of the sunny sky, and had to be careful where she stepped. She soon fell behind the rest of the group, though Jacob stayed right behind her. Which was useful, as she tripped over a root and would have fallen on her face if Jacob hadn't caught her.
"I've learned to keep an eye on you," he said, laughing as he set her upright.
"Har har."
When they broke through the forest, the rest of the group was scattered across the rocky shore. The tidal river flowed past them on its way to the ocean. The pools were along its banks, surrounded by pebbles and full of oceanic life. Bright anemones, crabs, starfish and even a small black and white eel all waited for the sea to return. Bella and Jacob watched, Bella forgetting for a moment that she had wanted to get Jacob alone. Looking up, she saw that the rest of her friends were far enough away, leaping carelessly about the rocks. "Jake?"
"Yeah?" he answered slowly, her tone of voice making him wary.
Bella looked at him. "I want you to tell me a scary story."
"A scary story, huh?" Jacob's voice didn't give anything away, but his brown eyes showed that he knew what she was getting at.
"Something to do about the cold ones needing to be driven away by the tribe."
"Bella," Jacob said, chidingly, "why do you want to hear about some silly old superstition?"
"Why not? You've told it to me before."
"I wasn't supposed to. It's one of those stories we keep in the tribe only." Jacob turned and walked a step away from her.
This information only made Bella more certain that she was on the right track. Jacob's reluctance was token, and she knew that she could get him to talk with just a little more prodding. "It has to do with the Cullens, doesn't it? With why Billy won't go to the hospital."
Jacob turned and looked at her. "How'd you piece that together?"
Bella took at step closer to him, so that they were almost touching chests. "You said that it was a superstition," Bella spoke softly and intently. "You said that you'd already told it to me long ago. The only story I really remember is the story about the cold ones. The Cullens all have cold, pale skin."
Laughing lightly, Jacob took a step back. "What have you been doing, feeling them up?"
"No. Jacob-" Bella paused and took a breath. "Just tell me, please."
"Okay." Jacob nodded, holding his hands out, palms up. "My father thinks that the Cullens are the cold ones, the same cold ones that legend says met my great-grandfather."
"Wait, whoa." This time Bella was the one that held her hands up. Did Jacob really just say that the Cullens are at least four generations old? "I don't remember anything about your great-grandfather. I just remember… Can we take it from the beginning?"
"Fine." Moving back towards the forest's edge, Jacob sat, arms dangling on his bent knees. "Stories of the cold ones date back to the earliest days of the Quileutes, when the spirit warriors and the wolf were the same. You know that our tribe is supposedly descended from the wolf, right?"
Bella nodded. "I remember that, but you're saying that the wolves were warriors that defended the tribe?"
"Something like that. That's a whole other story, so I'll move on. Women from a neighboring tribe started disappearing, and we lost some of our warriors when we tried to find out what was going on. Eventually, one surviving warrior brought back the dead body of a cold one, in pieces. The warrior, Yaha Uta, spoke of finding the cold one feasting on the body of a maiden. They fought, and the cold one was hard as stone, fast and deadly, killing all Yaha Uta's brothers. Even as he told the story, the cold one's body-"
"Started to reassemble," Bella finished for him. Her hands rubbed the goosebumps on her arms. She remembered this story. "So your ancestors burned the pieces, keeping the ashes in separate bags."
"That's right. Dad still shows me his bag of ashes, handed down through the elders."
"That's creepy."
"You're telling me. I'm supposed to inherit that bag one day."
There was a beat of silence before Bella forced herself to ask the next question. "You said the cold one was feasting on the maiden?"
"Yes. He was drinking her blood. His eyes glowed red from it."
"The Cullens don't have red eyes, though." Oh God, did their eyes turn red, too?
"The Cullens are supposedly different. That's why when Ephraim met them, he didn't kill them."
"Ephraim, your great-grandfather?"
"Right. The pack that my grandfather met didn't hunt like other cold ones. They fed from animals instead of humans. 'Civilized.' Not a danger to the tribe. So my great-grandfather made a truce with them. If they stayed off our land, we would never reveal the truth about them to the pale-faces." Jacob winked at her.
"These are the same Cullens?"
"My father thinks so. He says that the boy and girl are different, but the rest are the same."
"How would he know?"
Jacob shrugged. "I'm not sure. Maybe Ephraim wrote a description down in a diary or something."
Bella shook her head. "It's hard to believe that the Cullens could possibly be that old."
Jacob frowned at her. "Bella, you don't actually believe it, do you?"
A clatter of rocks interrupted them; Mike and Conner arrived, the rest not far behind them. "Hey guys, let's get back to the others. Cloud cover is coming in and it's getting late."
Bella looked up and saw that the sky had in fact darkened while she'd been talking to Jacob. It didn't take long once they'd gotten back to pack up and go, for the girls that had remained behind had the same idea to leave. Before they all took off, Jacob gave Bella a quick hug good-bye, at which his friend Quil snickered. Bella was quiet during the drive back to northern Forks and Newton's Outfitters. Did she believe the story about the cold ones? It was ridiculous, and at the same time very familiar. Bella remembered now how much Jacob's story had stuck with her after she first heard it, even after she'd moved away with her mother. Bella even had several dreams about it. Now that she heard the full story, as inexplicable and implausible as it may seem, she did believe it.
Bella was so lost in her thoughts she was barely aware of arriving in the parking lot. Her mind dwelled on the image created by the legend of the cold ones and matched it up with her own mental picture of the Cullens. Cold, pale skin, fast-moving. The ageless knowledge in Alice's gold eyes. Cold, hard, deadly red-eyed bloodsuckers. Once the epiphany came, the weight of registering it as reality made Bella's breath come out in one whispered and heavy word: "Vampires."
Luckily for her, no one heard the word as she stepped down out of the Suburban. However, they all turned and looked, for as she stepped out, the weight of her own thoughts caused her to not pay attention. Her ankle twisted the wrong way under her weight and she fell heavily the remaining distance to the ground.
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