Author's note: Hello, everyone! Another day, another chapter for you to read and (hopefully) enjoy.

Chapter thirteen

The heavens chose to open that morning and give the world below a sample of what Noah faced after building his ark. It was horrendous and I was rather glad I didn't have to go to work. Usually, I would've despaired at the thought of staying inside all day, but I had almost half of Wuthering Heights left to read. However, it would have to wait until I'd done some housework first as I knew the moment I opened that book, the rest of the world would cease to exist.

As I filled the sink with warm water, I reminisced about the previous night's dream. My recurrent one had evolved, yet again. Blue had come to join the party, and, amongst the swirls and random designs, shapes were beginning to form. They came in a variety of sizes, but all shared one similarity. They were crowned with the colour yellow, which faded to white as it reached the middle, before blending into a delicate baby blue to cover the lower half. It was such a bizarre dream, I really wished there was a way of making some sense of it. It was baffling and intriguing in equal measure, not unlike certain other things I could mention.

With dishes done, laundry washed and drying and the house looking reasonably clean and tidy, I raced up the stairs for my eagerly anticipated me time. Unfortunately, whatever hopes I'd had about relaxing were dashed the moment my phone started to ring. I picked it up from the bedside table and the caller ID informed me it was Charlie. I pushed the answer button and pressed the speaker to my ear.

"Bells?" Charlie's voice crackled down the line.

"Who else?" I replied sarcastically.

"Very funny, but this is serious."

I immediately focused, wondering what he had to say.

"You know those killings in Seattle that've been on the TV recently?"

"Yeah," my pulse quickened.

"Well, they've moved closer."

"To Bainbridge? I already knew that." I was glad he couldn't see me roll my eyes. Talk about old news.

"No," he continued, a little impatient with my interruption. "I mean closer again."

"To where?"

"Port Angeles. Last Night."

I froze, unable to reply immediately. Okay, now I was worried. Bainbridge Island was bad enough, but it hadn't actually raised a tremendous amount of fear within me as it was still so far away and there was no guarantee the killer's path would continue this way. However, a murder in Port Angeles meant choices for the next destination were far more limited. They could either try their luck by heading into Canada, or they could, if they really wanted to, make their way down through the immense Olympic forest and head for somewhere like Aberdeen or Montesano. That seemed rather unlikely, as well as pretty suicidal, when there was a perfectly good, quiet, un-newsworthy little town like Forks to locate the next victim. Then again, a serial killer's mind tended not to fire on all cylinders, so there was no telling what their next plan of action might be.

"Bella, you there?" Charlie's voice filtered through the receiver.

"Yeah, Dad," I replied, more than a little perplexed by the news.

"I wanted to call and let you know, rather than waiting until I got home, in case you decided to head out there for the day," he explained. "I'm also gonna be working late tonight, for obvious reasons, so don't bother cooking anything for me."

"Alright," I said. "I guess this is going to be a bit of a headache for you."

"Yeah," he sighed. "But it's what I signed up for."

"Just be careful," I instructed, genuinely concerned for his welfare. I dreaded the idea of him crossing paths with the Seattle Ripper. I wondered if it might be time to change the title to the Olympic Ripper, as the perpetrator seemed to be covering this entire half of the state.

"The same goes for you," he rejoined, even more earnestly than me. "Especially when you and Alice go to and from work."

Oh shit, I hadn't thought about that. But then I remembered what Alice was and didn't feel quite so anxious. I wondered if she, Carlisle and Jasper were aware of the latest development, or if they even bothered to follow the news. I briefly wished Charlie was aware of the Cullens' true nature, if only to ease his concern for me, but knew it was impossible.

"We will be, don't worry," I promised. "Is it alright to call her and let her know?"

"Sure," he agreed. "The more prepared, the better." Voices sounded loudly in the background and Charlie quickly spoke to someone, before returning his attention to me. "I've gotta go," he said. "But I'll see you soon. Hopefully, I won't be too late getting back."

"Alright, see you then. Bye."

We hung up and I was left sitting on my bed, with a great deal weighing on my mind. What if the killer did end up here? I desperately hoped the length of the visit would reflect the size of the town. That or the police could actually catch the sick bastard. I immediately retracted that thought. Given my father's profession, I knew how hard a cop's job could be and it wasn't always as easy as CSI made it look. All the residents of Forks could do for now was wait and pray the killing spree was stopped before it reached them.

A random idea occurred to me: perhaps the Cullens could help. Given their supernatural enhancements, they'd surely have no trouble at all tracking the killer. But could I ask something like that of them? Did they even care? That was ridiculous, of course they did; Carlisle wouldn't go through what he did at work each day if he didn't. But there'd have to be an explanation for how one of them had managed to stop the culprit. They're not exactly morons, so they could surely think of something. I forced myself to slow down, remembering they were vampires, not superheroes and keen to avoid any risk of exposure.

Then another group came to mind-the Quileutes. I remembered watching the news with Jake after discovering what Carlisle was and wondering if he or the other two were, in fact, responsible. Jacob had said he wasn't comfortable with vampires living here, regardless of their diet, as it could attract others. What if the Seattle Ripper was a vampire? I was close to hyperventilating at the very notion. The police would have no chance of catching them if that was true. Somehow, the tribe was responsible for protecting this place from vampires, although I still wondered how they did so. They were human and the Cullens had abilities that made them far more superior in any kind of fight. Maybe they had special weapons or something, like those UV bullets used in that Underworld movie. I was starting to hope that was true and had to restrain my thoughts from following whimsical fantasy plot lines.

I hadn't spoken to Jacob since our last argument. We seemed to be fighting a lot since I moved back, a fact that left me rather disgruntled. Again, I wondered if he'd want to speak to me, especially as there was no emergency to save me from this time. He'd been pretty interested by the ripper news when he'd been here, so maybe he would talk to me if it was about that. I wouldn't know unless I tried, so I scrolled through the contacts on my phone to find his number, hoping he would at least pick up.

"Hello, Bella."

I knew instantly that the voice wasn't Jacob's. It was too deep and riddled with age. "Hi, Billy," I replied. "I was hoping to catch Jacob. Is he home?"

"He's not," Billy said and I couldn't escape the frosty hint to his tone as he addressed me. Apparently the father shared his son's disapproval of my new friends.

"Oh...okay, well, um, could you tell him I called, please? Will he be home tonight?"

"I'm not sure. He's been rather busy lately, so it might be best to wait for him to call you. I'll let him know you called, though."

"Alright," I said, a little deflated. "Thanks, anyway."

"No problem."

The line went dead before I could say goodbye and I stared at the phone screen, a little unsure of exactly how I felt about Billy's attitude towards me. Sure, I'd argued with Jacob and felt pretty shitty about it, but we were both young, so were on pretty equal footing. Having Billy unhappy with me was different, like having a parent disappointed in you. He'd always been such a friendly figure, all too ready to ruffle my hair when I was a kid and light-heartedly lampoon Charlie to make me laugh. I didn't like the new turn our relationship had taken, but had to lie in the bed I'd made, I supposed. The Cullens didn't act like that, though. Carlisle hadn't said a word about me being friends with the Quileutes, so why couldn't Jacob and Billy follow suit?

I was feeling dejected about the whole thing, wishing there was a way to change the situation. Well, there was, but it meant giving up the Cullens and I refused to do that. Maybe this was just an extension of the fight Charlie had had with Billy when the Cullens first arrived. Perhaps, with time, Jacob and I could eventually agree to disagree and move on, never mentioning my vampire buddies ever again. I hoped so as Jacob's friendship wasn't something I wanted to lose. I settled for sending Jake a text that evening to let him know I'd called, hoping he didn't despise me too much to respond.

000

It seemed I had no need to ask the Cullens about finding the killer as they were already doing their own investigation into it. Alice seemed just as disturbed about the murders as me and we discussed it at length on the way to Port Angeles. Jasper joined us for coffee and he seemed reluctant to continue the conversation, so the hour was consumed by more cheerful topics. He was there for the journey home, too and I was pretty sure the killer's presence had something to do with it. That intensified my fear, because, if he wasn't comfortable leaving Alice alone, just how dangerous could the killer be? Of course, she begged me not to worry, offering reassurances of every kind, but I couldn't quite bring myself to believe them.

Charlie was already settled in front of the TV when I walked in the door. "You're home early," I commented as I shrugged off my jacket and hung it up.

"I got off earlier to pay for the extra hours I did last night," he explained, before swigging his beer.

I was glad. He hadn't got home until almost midnight yesterday and looked exhausted when he left for the station this morning.

"There's some post for you on the kitchen table," he said. "And I've already ordered pizza."

I was glad for my night off from cooking as it meant extra reading time and I walked to the kitchen where a small black envelope waited. It was certainly fancy looking, with a flowery silver border around the edge and my name and address printed in an elegant font in the centre. I turned it over and opened the flap to pull out an equally decorative folded card. On the front, in bold white writing, it read: A Different Perspective-A New Take on the World through the Medium of Photography.

I knew exactly what this was for and could barely contain my excitement as I opened the card to read inside. It was an invitation to the exhibition Angela was participating in at Washington University and I beamed with pride as I read her name amongst the list of photographers whose work was being displayed. It was due to take place on October 21st at seven pm and I quickly checked the calendar on my phone to see what day that was. Luckily for me, it was a Monday, so I wouldn't have to book any time off work.

There was something else inside the envelope and I pulled out a folded piece of lined paper. It was a note from Angela.

Hey, Bella, it began; here is your official invite to my exhibition-well, mine and several others'. I really do hope you can still make it as it would be awesome to catch up with you again and I could definitely use the moral support. Feel free to bring someone with you, the more the merrier, as they say. Let me know if you can come. Hope to see you soon,

Angela XXX

Would that girl ever believe in herself? I hated to think of her so far away and being unable to reassure her. I instantly sent her a text, saying there was no way in Hell I'd miss it and her reply was instantaneous, the relief practically radiating through the phone at me. I put the invite and letter back in the envelope and started to make preparations in my head. Firstly, how was I going to get there? Although in the same state, the university was still quite a distance from Forks and I'd probably have to find overnight accommodation, as travelling through the early hours of the morning didn't really appeal. It was the perfect excuse to use my new laptop, though, as I could see what transportation options I had, as well as search the local hotels.

After heading to the lounge, I planted myself on the sofa to share Angela's good news.

"Hey dad," I began, hoping to tear his attention away from the sports news. "Guess what?"

His head turned to face me.

"Did I tell you about the exhibition Angela Weber's taking part in?"

"Uh...I think so..." he sounded sheepish, as though afraid to admit he had either forgotten or just not been listening properly.

"Well, it doesn't matter," I dismissed quickly. "But, she is and I just got an invite through for it."

"Cool," he nodded. "Where is it?"

"Washington University," I explained.

"Hmmm," he murmured as his expression tensed. "How are you gonna get there?"

"Well, I've only just started to figure that one out. I'd have to stay somewhere overnight, too, but it's nothing Google can't solve."

"What would we do without it?" Charlie chuckled. "Are you taking anyone with you? I've gotta admit I'm not happy with you going alone."

"She said I could bring someone, but I haven't even thought about who to ask, yet-I don't know that many interested in photography."

Charlie was quiet for a moment as his gaze rose heavenward to think. "You know, I wouldn't actually mind going to something like that." hemused. "I could brag to the more snooty types about her early piece of work hanging on my wall. Problem is, I seriously doubt I'd be able to get the time off right now. I could try to work something out, though."

"No, it's alright, Dad. I know how swamped you are and you'll probably spend the entire time worrying about work, anyway. I will find someone to go with me, don't worry. Preferably, someone with a car." I joked.

"Sounds like a plan," he chuckled again.

I left him to resume his evening, whilst I went upstairs to begin my research. To tell the truth, it had both been touching and worrying to see him show some interest in the exhibition. On the one hand, it was nice to think we did have at least one similar interest as, even if Angela wasn't involved, I still would have enjoyed going. However, I already had an idea of who I wanted to invite, but tactfully hadn't told Dad that in case it hurt his feelings. As soon as I'd finished Angela's note, a certain diminutive person had sprung to mind, and the use of the phrase "the more, the merrier" meant her two companions could be invited, too, if they were interested. I hoped it would go a small way to returning the favours they'd done for me.

I reclined on my bed and called Alice.

"Well, hello there," she crooned in the best Jessica Rabbit imitation I had ever heard.

"That's quite a telephone manner you have," I remarked. "I bet it's a favourite with Jasper."

"You have no idea," she purred. "So, what can I do for you this evening?"

"Do you like photography?" I asked. I really hoped she'd say yes, otherwise I was pretty much screwed.

"It depends," she replied, her voice returned to its usual chirpiness "What kind?"

"Um, the camera kind." I teased.

"Really?" she gasped in mock amazement. I laughed before she continued. "Seriously, what kind of photography-fashion, arty, landscape..?"

"I'm assuming arty," I guessed, based on what I'd seen of Angela's previous work. "Basically, my friend is taking part in an exhibition and I wondered if you were interested in it."

"Jasper's the real art buff," she replied. "But I'm not opposed to a little culture."

"Well, he's more than welcome to come too," I offered. "If he's okay in that sort of environment. In fact, all three of you can come if you like."

"Hmmm," she pondered, not too dissimilarly to Charlie a few minutes ago. "Where and when is it?"

"It's at Washington State University on October 21st," I said. "Which, unfortunately means a bit of travel and probably an overnight stay."

"Hang on a sec," she instructed. A quiet whoosh of air was followed by a brief moment of silence, before she returned. "We'd love to, at least, Jasper and I would. I'll have to wait until Carlisle comes home to ask him."

"Okay, cool," I replied, smiling to myself. Now I was doubly looking forward to it, with the possibility of my joy being tripled. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"

"As always," she said. "I'll let you know what Carlisle says later."

"Thanks. Until tomorrow, Ms Brandon," I tried my best to do my own sultry voice.

"Indeed, Ms Swan." Hers was much better.

We laughed at one another before hanging up and I could feel the excited butterflies dancing around in my stomach. Not only would I see Angela in all her artistic glory, but I also got to hang out for an evening with the Cullens. I couldn't wait. I planned to speak to Alice before making any travel plans, which meant all I could do for now was look up hotels and find something to wear. The latter was going to be, by far, the hardest task.

000

It was several hours later when my phone started to vibrate angrily against the bedside table. I was in my pyjamas and snuggled beneath the covers when I picked it up and answered.

"Good evening, Bella," came Carlisle's soothing voice. It was a surprise, but a welcome one. Even a satellite signal couldn't dilute the loveliness of his voice. "I hope it isn't too late to call."

"Hi," I answered. "Not at all. How are you?"

"Very well, thankyou. Yourself?"

"Relaxed and engrossed in the plights of Catherine and Heathcliff."

"Ah, then perhaps I should call another time," he offered.

"No, it's fine," I assured him, moving the book off my lap and sitting up straighter in the bed. I assumed he was calling about the exhibition, although Alice had said she'd be the one to tell me his answer. Not that I was complaining, of course.

"If you're sure," he checked. "How far through the book are you?"

"I'm almost at the point where Nelly helps Heathcliff visit Cathy whilst she's ill."

"Well, you're certainly speeding through it," he chuckled.

"It helps to read several chapters at a time. I can't help it, I love it." I still hadn't gotten over the joy at receiving the gift and smiled to myself as I absently fiddled with the edge of the cloth bookmark tucked within the closed pages. "I never thought I'd find myself resenting the bookstore, but the shifts keep interrupting my reading."

"Ah, work has a habit of doing that," he concurred. "It's currently interfering in my love affair with The Scarlet Pimpernel. It can be rather frustrating when everyone insists on getting ill all the time."

"How selfish can they be?"

"Indeed, at least someone understands."

I giggled, enjoying the banter I was sharing with someone I once found so enthralling, yet intimidating. The enthrallment was still as strong as ever, but I was able to be far more relaxed with him after getting to know him a little better.

"As much as I would love to continue lamenting the fleeting nature of our leisure time, my real reason for calling was about the exhibition you've invited us too. I am confident I can get a couple of days' holiday for it, but I do have one concern."

My pulse slowed in anticipation, so that the sound wouldn't obscure my listening. I wondered what his worry might be. Jasper initially came to mind, but Alice hadn't seemed worried, so why would he be? I was at a loss as to what else it could be.

"It is nothing major, don't worry," he reassured and I wondered if he could somehow read the tone of my silence down a phone line. "I just want to ask about your friend. Angela is the girl who got hit by the car, isn't she?"

"Yeah," I replied, getting an idea for where his line of questioning was heading. There were a few moments of quiet, before he spoke once again.

"Did she question anything about my actions that day, the way you did?"

"Um, no, I don't think so. At least, she said nothing to me. She seemed pretty occupied, to be honest. Will seeing her be a problem?"

"If she thought nothing irregular happened, then there should be no problem. I just wanted to know ahead of time, in case we needed to prepare."

"No, I'm pretty sure you're safe there. Besides, she didn't look over the footage like I did."

"Footage?" he asked, confused.

Oh, I guess he didn't know about that. I felt a blush creep up my face as I explained myself. I didn't know what caused it, but it felt as though I'd inadvertently kept a secret from him. "Well, Ange and I were fooling around her new videocam-well, I was the one fooling around, she was just getting annoyed by me-and it filmed right up to when the accident happened. I watched it as I'd had no idea what actually happened, which is when I saw you racing towards us...y'know...like Superman." I heard him chuckle, presumably at the memory of our discussion in the hospital not long after the accident. "Anyway, Angela never watched it, so I guess she's none the wiser."

"I see," he commented and I could hear the relief in his voice. He really had been worried about it. "I just wanted to check. And nothing gets past you, does it?"

My face went from scarlet to a deep beetroot, but I was suddenly anxious. Was he angry at me? I really hoped not. I hadn't meant to be insufferably nosy. I thought I was just curious, but maybe I'd overstepped the mark. "I'm sorry," I mumbled, desperate to make amends. "I didn't-"

"Bella," he interrupted. "What are you apologising for? I hope you didn't misconstrue my comment."

"Oh," I felt a little silly. "I just...I wasn't sure...y'know, with the whole secrecy thing..."

"Please, stop worrying. If you want to know the truth, we are actually enjoying the fact that there is someone we no longer have to act 'normal' around, even if we are still trying to get our heads around it. You took us by surprise, Bella."

I blinked a few times, unsure of how to take that remark. After a minute or so, I heard chuckles down the line. "That's a good thing."

"Okay, I'm sorry,"

"Stop apologising."

"Okay, okay!" I laughed. "So, does this mean, if you get the time off, that you'll be joining us for the exhibition?"

"Absolutely. My holidays are very few and far between, so cannot see them begrudging me a couple of days off next month. Alice mentioned an overnight stay. Would you like us to look up some hotels?"

"I'd say yes, but I'm afraid your taste is going to be out of my price range," I admitted.

"We don't mind covering the cost for you, although my instincts tell me you're going to be stubborn."

"Your instincts would be right."

"And nothing I say can convince you otherwise?"

"Nope."

"Very well," he relented, a lot easier than I'd expected. "How about you tell me your price range and I'll find hotels that fall into it."

"That sounds far more agreeable, although, I invited you, so shouldn't it be me doing the work?"

"Not if another person offers and looking up hotels on a computer isn't what I'd call work. Honestly, I don't mind."

"Are...are you sure?" Why did I feel so bad letting him do it? It wasn't like I'd left him with some insurmountable burden, but, I think it was just another entry into my list of things they'd done for me. I'd thought inviting them would help even up the score a little, but, with Carlisle arranging accommodation and (I had a strong inkling) transport, everything was tipping further and further in their favour.

"Bella, do I have to get Alice?"

"No!" I answered immediately, nightmarish visions of parading around the streets in a birthday banner running through my mind. "I'm sorry, I just..." I trailed off, having no idea how to finish. Again, he seemed to know what I was thinking; or was I that predictable?

"Isabella," he used my full name. Usually people only did that if they were meeting me for the first time or I was in trouble. Only one of those scenarios was possible at that point with Carlisle and I seriously hoped it wasn't the case. "Before we go any further," he continued. "I need to make something absolutely clear. I do not want you tallying up every single thing, thinking you will somehow have to repay us in future. It doesn't work that way. What we've done for you we do because we want to and are in a position to do so. At no point will strings ever be attached."

I listened to what he said and the tone wasn't unfriendly, but my face reddened in shame all the same. I felt awful, as though I had given off some sort of distrusting vibe. I hadn't meant that at all, as they had been so good to me and done nothing to deserve it whatsoever.

"Bella?" he said, making me realise my silence had lasted far longer than I realised.

"I-I'm sorry," I offered.

"Isabella Swan," he admonished in jest. "You are never to apologise in my presence again."

"Well, technically, I'm not in your presence," I countered.

His laughter filtered down the phone line. "Touché," he replied and a few moments of quiet followed, before he spoke again. "I must thank you for inviting us to go with you. Alice is especially ecstatic about it."

"You were the first people I thought of," I replied, honestly.

"It's very kind of you to do so." His tone became more serious. "I cannot tell you how good your presence has been for Alice. I don't think I have ever seen her so...content. She practically skips out of the house each morning to see you."

"Really?" This time, my blush was from modesty. "Well, she's been an incredible friend to me, so far-all of you have."

"The pleasure is all ours."

Those five words made my stomach skip with joy. They liked me, they really liked me. Those three beautiful, enigmatic, incredible creatures liked me and wanted to spend time with me. I wondered what I had done to do achieve such a feat.

"So, now we have that out of the way, what's your budget?"

"Um," I had to think as Carlisle's silken voice brought me back to reality. "I, uh, I'm not sure, yet. Can I let you know tomorrow?"

"That's fine. I'll start looking tonight, but keep the price threshold low."

"Thank you, Carlisle."

"You are more than welcome. Now, I know you must be itching to get back to your book, so I shall bid you farewell."

"Goodnight," I smiled, enjoying how old fashioned his speech was at times.

"Goodnight, Bella."

A/N: Hope you enjoyed :) See you all soon.