Chapter 6 - Dream World

The morning was bright, and sunlight filtered through the thin drapes of the Mason family home guest room. I pulled myself out of my makeshift bed and worked my way stiffly to my feet. Sleeping on a hard floor always left me stiff, and my muscles in my thighs and lower back were screaming at me in protest until I did a few stretches, feeling the satisfying clicks and pops. Then I scanned the room. The bed was empty. That was not good. The door to the room was closed so I quickly put on enough clothes to cover my skin and applied my face. Honestly, I wasn't happy about doing it. Bella had done it for me before, and now I was clumsily trying to cover up the smudges. Finally I was confident in my work, so I gave my slacks one last tug up around my waist and opened the door.

It was almost as if Elisabeth had been waiting for me out in the corridor. "Good morning Jacob. Did you sleep well?" I nodded groggily. "In that case I imagine you will need some breakfast." She paused a second. "Would you like some help with your makeup there? It's not very convincing." I just stood there with my mouth hanging wide open. So the game was up. "Oh, don't look so shocked, I mean you didn't expect to sleep under my roof and keep that secret, did you?"

"How long have you known?" I finally stammered.

"Oh, since I met you, but don't worry, I'm much more perceptive than most people." She caught the look of panic on my face. "And don't worry, I'm not going to 'turn you in' or anything. You can stay with me as long as you need."

Relief swept through me. Then I had a worrying though. "When you say very perceptive...?" I asked coyly.

"Come, you look hungry and there is food going to waste." She cut me off and lead me to the dining room where I could hear piano music drifting from another room. We both sat and at her gesture I started to eat while she spoke. "Well, when you say you aren't from around here, I know you mean more than that, but I can't quite put a finger on exactly what you mean. Don't worry though, I can tell you need to keep that to yourself and I won't pry."

I swallowed a piece of bacon "Thank you."

"Oh don't mention it dear. As far as I can tell you are here on some kind of mission, and I will help you with that in any way I can." She sipped her coffee from an ornate china cup. "It's odd though, Edward is usually even more perceptive than I, but around Isabella, well it's almost like he loses all of his senses."

Suddenly it hit me, and the thought wasn't a pleasant one. "They're together, aren't they?" She nodded. "Music room?" The nodding continued. I sighed. This was not going well.

"As much as I want to see my boy happy, and I have never seen him this happy, I can tell it's not a good thing." It was my turn to nod. "I feared as much." She sat in contemplation for a moment before a thought crossed her mind and her eyes resumed that fascinating sparkle. It was something I hadn't really been able to quantify until now. It had been like one of those fleeting thoughts at the back of your mind, the ones that flutter closer when you think about something else only to fly away when you try and grab them. But now I was locked eye to eye with her I could see it. Her eyes danced with humour and kindness, and it was intoxicating. It felt rude to stare but I couldn't pull myself away. It didn't help my cause that she was a very beautiful woman. Again I hadn't been paying attention last night but now I could see fully. Where I had told myself she was just an older, female version of Edward, it was easy to see the features she had passed down were much softer on her face. I forced my gaze down to my near empty plate. I had to concentrate.

"Them being together now, well let's just say it complicates things. More than I can say." She stayed silent, but pensive. "Our train tickets back to the NorthWest are tomorrow at nine am." I said, changing tact. Maybe putting a time limit on the whole thing would make it more simple.

A thought lit up her face. "In that case I have a proposition for you." She took another sip of her drink almost as if to let my anticipation build. "Let them have today. We shall explain to them tonight, and then in the morning you can take her back to wherever it is you need to go."

I pondered this for a while. The more I thought about it, the more logical it seemed. If I dragged her away now, she would never forgive me, but if I allowed her to say her goodbyes properly, which was all she had ever really wanted, then she would come peacefully. For the sake of one day I felt it was a suitable trade off. "Yeah, that sounds like a plan." I said.

She walked to my side of the table and took my hand. "Thank you Jacob Black." She said, with a wink, then left the room. Wait, had I even told her my surname?

oOo

It was early afternoon and the sun was shining in the park. I was sitting on a patch of grass with my back against a tree, the warmth of the sun pleasant on my face. It had almost been like babysitting, and at times I felt my nausea rise as they acted like the most in love couple I had ever known, but knowing what I knew made it bearable. One day, I kept telling myself, thats it, just one day. Elizabeth kept herself close by, and would occasionally make small talk with me. The more we talked, the more I liked her. She was sharp and witty, and she could make me laugh right when I needed it, like when they were gazing into each others eyes. Our most entertaining conversation had been sports related. She had surprised me by talking at length about baseball, and I had to hang on to anything I could think of that would be from the future, but then I had a slip.

"Baseball won't be the national sport forever." I said. She was sitting next to me, and she looked up quizzically. "You wait, football will take over."

She laughed. "That brutish game played by the thugs in our colleges? Surely not." I nodded and we both laughed. "But what will the ladies do?" She asked.

"Oh they'll love football. Seeing big guys knocking the daylights out of each other? Forget about it."

She chuckled. "And I suppose the Europeans will stop playing soccer?"

Now it was my turn to laugh. "I wouldn't hold you're breath on that one." She was so easy to talk to, and I was having to stop myself constantly from saying things about the future. Then she stood.

"I shall see you back at the house." She said and walked quickly away.

Moments later Bella was sitting in front of me. "Thank you for staying Jake." She said, her face full of life and colour, her eyes bright and wide. "Today had been wonderful."

I looked over her shoulder to see him laying back, face turned up to the sun. "You do understand though, right?" I asked. A shadow fell across her face. "Our return train ticket is tomorrow." Now realisation hit her hard. "Enjoy today Bella, and say all the things you want to say, because this is your chance, your chance to say goodbye in the way you want to. That's why we are here, after all, isn't it? For you to finally say goodbye and have closure?" I caught sight of him sitting up behind her, looking at me with a concerned expression. Then I looked back at her and saw the expression of sadness, but it wasn't the same sadness of Isabella Swan before she travelled though time, it was a sadness of a girl who realised she had been gifted with this opportunity to right a terrible wrong in her life and be at peace. She nodded once, stood and turned away, walking back towards him. I watched her sit beside him, wondering how this conversation was going to go.