AN; Okay, here it is at last; Chapter 12. I know you're all getting tired of me apologizing for my slow posting. I got pretty discouraged at the lack of response after the last chapter so I didn't write for a little while and my life has been insane. It's my busiest time of the year at work and my son just started a new daycare. Thank you so much to Redsock for the stellar review of this story on Twific promotions. This chapter coincides with chapters 14 and 15 in Eclipse. Its long, but I couldn't see any other way to break the chapter down. I hope you like it. *closes eyes and crosses fingers". Please please review. I've gotten so many reads and people adding this story to their favorites but very few reviews on FF. I know you're out there and I always try to make sure I write back. Much love.
Songs I listened to when I wrote this chapter: Stab My Back by The All American Rejects
Your Call by Secondhand Serenade, and Mr. Brightside by The Killers
Chapter 12- Punches
"No…make them stop…please," Bella whimpered in her sleep as she thrashed around in her tangled quilt. It was half past three in the morning. She'd been restless all night, and I could tell from her sleep talking that she was having another nightmare, presumably about the newborns.
"Shh," I soothed, rocking her gently as I pulled her closer. "It's alright love; it's just a dream…shh."
"Edward," she said as her eyes snapped open. Her heart was racing and she was panting as though she'd been running.
"It's alright," I repeated as her breathing and heart rate started to return to normal. "I'm here. Nothing can hurt you. It was just a dream."
"Just a dream," she repeated thickly as her eyes began to droop. Her body relaxed in my arms after a long moment and she drifted away again.
I sighed wearily as I rearranged the quilt around until it resembled a caterpillar's cocoon. She was comforted by the physical contact between us so I needed to keep her close without allowing her to get cold. I should have taken her to school instead of bringing her home with me. Knowing the truth about what we were facing in Seattle and Jasper's dark history were heavy burdens for her to bear.
'You can't continue to keep secrets from Bella in order to protect her, Edward,' Alice had said insistently when I expressed my concerns about what Bella had heard. She's strong, and she's a member of this family too.'
I knew Alice was right, of course, but it didn't make witnessing Bella's terrible dreams any easier. For one thing, I hated that she never would have been in this situation if it weren't for my presence in her life and for another her bad dreams reminded me of the night terrors I knew she'd endured when I'd left her.
I wished there was something I could do to alleviate her fears, but I knew I'd be lying to her if I told her there was nothing to worry about. The only thing that seemed possible was to downplay the threat a bit to keep her from seeing the extent of my own concerns. Bella needed to get through her exams and graduation.
Jasper was hoping that Charlotte and Peter would be back in the country soon. Alice had seen them travelling toward the Midwest but she still couldn't see Jasper being able to find them in time. She continued to worry about the strange vision she'd had of Jasper being somewhere in the desert several weeks before. She'd been baffled at the time but now she was afraid that it meant he might get desperate for help and try to contact Maria.
No one really wanted to contact Maria about our troubles, especially after what had happened during our last encounter when we were living in Calgary. She had arrived under the guise of a mere social call but I knew she wanted to talk Jasper into returning to the south with her for awhile. When her mission failed she decided to hunt less than two miles from our home. We'd moved away in the middle of the night before the RCMP could arrive to question us about the grizzly murder of a doctor Carlisle knew and his wife. The case had been labeled "cold" after a couple of years, but we still didn't intend to move back to the area for quite some time. Maria had proven that she cared nothing for our attempts to live among mortals and if she smelled an appetizing human she wouldn't hesitate to attack. Plus, if she got involved in Seattle she might decide to try to claim the territory for herself once the other newborns were eradicated.
Alice hadn't seen anything more, which could be construed two different ways. There was either nothing to see yet or Alice still wasn't seeing properly. I tended to think that it was the former considering that Alice had yet to miss anything significant, but my optimism was still tempered by the idea that someone was exploiting the weaknesses in her abilities.
Aro's face swam to the forefront of my mind. I could see the greedy longing in his eyes just as clearly as I had when we'd met him in Volterra. He wanted Alice and he knew how her talents worked. Would he really allow Seattle to be torn apart and risk exposure just to satisfy his desire to add her to his menagerie of talented vampires? I wasn't sure.
Nothing seemed to make sense to me at the moment. I was sure that there was some elusive thing that I was missing in my assessment.
"Edward," Bella muttered unconsciously, smiling as she pressed herself closer to me. I stroked her hair as I began to hum her lullaby, grateful that her dreams had turned peaceful.
The next couple of days passed without incident. Alice and I made every effort to seem calm and confident about the coming battle with the newborns in order to keep Bella focused on her studies, but her nightmares continued. Alice still hadn't seen anything significant in Seattle, nor had she gotten any more clues about Peter and Charlotte. Carlisle was trying to reach some of his old friends in Europe, including Maggie and Liam, but the distance between us made the idea of them getting to Forks on short notice problematic. We were all on edge, watching the news and waiting for Alice to see something…anything.
"Do you have any plans for tomorrow afternoon, Bella?" Alice asked as she sat her lunch tray down beside Bella's.
"Like you don't already know," Bella joked before opening her bottle of soda. Alice and I both laughed.
She isn't going to be in a good mood when I tell her what I need to do tomorrow but I think she's under the false impression that I'm going to cancel the party. Alice thought. I gritted my teeth slightly. I knew that we needed to continue to live our lives as though nothing out of the ordinary was going on, but I didn't really like the idea of giving Bella anything else to be anxious about, even if it was something she shouldn't be fretting over.
"I thought I'd be polite and ask anyway," Alice replied with a wide smile. "I need to go to Port Angeles to pick up a few last minute odds and ends for the party and I wondered if you'd like to come along."
"P-Party," Bella spluttered as she sat her soda bottle down roughly. Tiny flecks of Coke spattered over her tray. "You can't be serious…you've completely lost your mind!"
"Say whatever you like about me," Alice answered with an indifferent shrug. "The party is still on." I knew she wasn't going to be pleased. But she needs this, really. I have a feeling it will be a good thing.
Bella simply stared at Alice with blatant disbelief written all over her face. Her heart was beating faster than usual and her breathing ceased for a moment. I glared at Alice as I gently rubbed circles on the small of Bella's back. She didn't seem to notice the gesture.
"Oh, calm down, Bella! There's no reason not to go through with it. Besides, the invitations are already sent." Alice said in an exasperated voice. Geez; She can face a hoard of vicious vampires but heaven forbid someone should throw her a party. Alice thought.
"But...the...you...I...insane!" Bella stammered. Alice nearly laughed as she thought of how much Bella reminded her of Charlie.
"You've already bought my present," Alice said by way of an argument. "You don't have to do anything but show up."
Bella took a deep calming breath before she tried another tactic.
"With everything that is going on right now, a party is hardly appropriate." Bella whispered.
"Graduation is what's going on right now, and a party is so appropriate it's almost passé." Alice retorted stubbornly. She needs to focus on other things right now; otherwise she's going to have trouble studying for finals. Worrying is only going to make things worse for her.
"Alice!" Bella cried in exasperation. Her voice was full of annoyance but her posture shifted and I could feel the resignation in the movement.
"There are a few things we need to get in order now, and that's going to take a little time," Alice whispered in a much more somber tone. "As long as we're sitting here waiting, we might as well commemorate the good stuff. You're only going to graduate from high school—for the first time—once. You don't get to be human again, Bella. This is a once-in-a-lifetime shot."
I glared at Alice from over Bella's shoulder. Bella's transformation was hardly a better topic of conversation than the newborn wars.
You know its going to happen and you've accepted her plans so get over yourself, Edward. Alice reminded me silently as she stuck out her tongue in jest.
"What few things do we need to get in order?" Bella asked a moment later. She would not be sidetracked. How typical. I sighed before answering her in the softest whisper she would be able to hear.
"Jasper thinks we could use some help," I replied carefully. "Tanya's family isn't the only choice we have. Carlisle's trying to track down a few old friends, and Jasper is looking up Peter and Charlotte. He's considering talking to Maria...but no one really wants to involve the southerners."
God I'd almost rather let the newborns tear my head off. Alice thought with a shiver.
I didn't want Maria's help any more than she did, but it was better than the alternatives we were facing. Bella was in danger and if becoming allies with Maria would keep her safe I would do it.
I recalled again the images of the crime scene she'd left behind after her hunting expedition in Calgary and I suppressed a shudder.
"It shouldn't be too hard to convince them to help," I went on, trying not to think about Maria and focusing instead on Jasper and Carlisle's attempts to find reinforcements elsewhere. "Nobody wants a visit from Italy."
"But these friends—they're not going to be...vegetarians, right?" Bella said slowly, articulating my own concerns about the idea of involving Maria in our problems.
"No," I didn't want her to worry about anything else. Carlisle would do enough worrying about the safety of the human population in the area for all of us. If my father knew that Jasper had been thinking about taking a short trip up north to hunt something besides big game he would be horrified.
"Here? In Forks?" Bella squeaked, her soft voice breaking around the words.
"They're friends," Alice soothed. Speaking of hunting, you'll need to go with Rose, Carlisle and Esme when they hunt tomorrow afternoon. Jasper decided that we should hunt in small groups. That way we'll have at least 3 of us to keep an eye on things at home. She added wordlessly. I nodded, knowing that I didn't have a choice in the matter.
"Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry," Alice assured Bella. "And then, Jasper has to teach us a few courses on newborn elimination..."
I smiled at the thought of the fight. I was desperate to destroy this threat to my family. I thought of all the stress and strain the current situation was putting on my Bella and the idea of seeking revenge sent a thrill through me. My moment of eager anticipation was extinguished like the fleeting light from a match a moment later when I heard Bella's heart begin to stutter. Her face was white and she was cold.
"When are you going?" She asked in an empty whisper. Her face was expressionless, but I could hear the change in her breathing.
"A week," I said in a would-be calm voice. I hoped that my casual attitude might reassure her a little. "That ought to give us enough time."
I stared at her intently, waiting to see if some of her anxiety would dissipate.
It didn't.
For an instant, the dark and haunted in her eyes reminded me of the way she'd looked when I left her in the forest. My chest ached and burned as I forced myself to push one of the worst memories of my existence to the back of my mind.
'You-don't-want-me' I heard Bella say in my head.
"You look kind of green, Bella," Alice said, interrupting my musings. Maybe we should try to get her home early today. She's still tired from everything that's been going on. Alice thought pensively.
I pulled her close a moment later, desperate to reassure her.
"It's going to be fine, Bella. Trust me." I implored.
Bella's face was still smooth and uncharacteristically unreadable for a long moment. She seemed lost in her thoughts and my impatient concern for her grew with the silence.
Don't push her, Alice thought when I started to end the quiet.
"You're looking for help," Bella stated in a slow and cautious voice a moment later.
My entire body froze in horror. I would not allow this. The idea of her changing was terrible enough without the idea of her being a part of this coming battle. I couldn't...I wouldn't allow my mind to even fathom it.
All of a sudden I was a world away in the sweltering attic of a Brazilian slum listening as Rosalie tore my world apart.
'She's dead Edward.'
No!
Instinctively, I held Bella against me more tightly, exhaling in a warning hiss at my sister. I would kill Alice if she tried to bite her...
You can't really think I'd change her for this! She wouldn't survive the fight. Alice thought indignantly.
I opened my mouth to speak but a vision in Alice's head of me losing my temper in the middle of the cafeteria and obliterating our lunch table into dust stopped me.
"That really wouldn't be helpful." Alice said calmly to both of us in response to my reaction and Bella's suggestion. Let me handle this Edward.
I nodded slightly in agreement and waited for Bella to argue her point.
"Why not?" Bella challenged. There was a note of desperate pleading in her voice that made me feel ill. "Eight is better than seven. There's more than enough time."
"There's not enough time to make you helpful, Bella," Alice disagreed coolly. "Do you remember how Jasper described the young ones? You'd be no good in a fight. You wouldn't be able to control your instincts, and that would make you an easy target. And then Edward would get hurt trying to protect you."
She won't argue the point further now. If she thinks she'd be putting you at risk she wouldn't even consider it. Bella would rather die than see you get hurt.
I knew Alice was right; nothing else could have explained Bella's trek to Italy less than three months ago.
Instantly, all of the fight seemed to leave Bella's body and she dropped her gaze down to the floor. I cupped my hand under her chin and gently coaxed her in to meeting my eyes.
"Not because you're afraid." I reminded her softly. I wouldn't allow the entire Volturi guard and all the newborns in the world to force her into this unending and restless existence.
"Oh," Alice gasped abruptly as her face morphed into a familiar pensive expression. For a half second my body tensed until I saw that she was thinking about the party.
"I hate last-minute cancellations," She grumbled as she came out of the trance. "So that puts the party attendance list down to sixty-five..."
"Sixty-five!" Bella gasped in wide eyed horror. She was still tense, but at least she was worried about something mundane and human.
"Who canceled?" I asked Alice. Please let it be Mike Newton or Tyler Crowley.
"Renée." Alice replied. Esme called and invited her personally last week and I saw that they would have a good visit…what changed? Oh…poor Phil.
"What?" Bella cried. She was clearly upset at this revelation but the motive for her dismay didn't seem to be disappointment that her mother wasn't going to be visiting.
"She was going to surprise you for your graduation, but something went wrong," Alice explained. You'll have a message when you get home." Phil broke his leg. How awful. But don't tell Bella yet. Renee will want to explain herself and Bella will be even more distracted if she knows Phil is in the hospital. Alice added mentally.
Bella took a deep breath and exhaled as her body seemed to relax. I frowned, wondering what had caused the change in her mood. Too bad Jasper wasn't here to explain.
Bella was too distracted with making notes for finals during the rest of the lunch hour to bring up the subject of our coming trip to Seattle again. But we were getting out of class early today and I knew that as soon as she no longer had lessons to occupy her mind that she would resume her worrying. I tried to think of something that might make her feel better. Perhaps I should plan something special for her after my hunting trip tomorrow. A picnic in the meadow might make her feel better. I made a mental note to ask Alice about the weather later.
Renee's bad news voicemail was waiting for Bella just as Alice had predicted. Bella sighed as she listened to her mother's harried voice explain the details of the injury Phil had sustained on the field and her repeated apologies about her cancelled visit. Bella sat down at the kitchen table with a heavy sigh just as Renee's ramblings were cut short by the amount of memory on the machine.
"Well, that's one," Bella said, and there was a strange timbre of relief in her voice that didn't make sense to me.
"One what?" I asked curiously.
"One person I don't have to worry about getting killed this week." She said dramatically. I rolled my eyes at her. Renee was the last person Bella needed to be worried about at the moment.
"Why won't you and Alice take this seriously?" Bella snapped, vacating the chair she'd just sat in. "This is serious."
Of course it was serious, but not hopeless. Certainly, we were outnumbered, but we wouldn't be outsmarted. I was concerned but I had no intention of letting Bella know that. She was worrying enough for every member of my family and if she saw the smallest sign of doubt in my face it would only make things worse.
"Confidence." I said with a convincing smile.
"Wonderful," she muttered in annoyance as she stood beside the kitchen counter and punched in Renee's familiar number on the phone. It was a very Charlie-like response and my smile became more genuine.
It always amused me when she did something like her father, mostly because I knew that someday the part of Charlie's better nature that Bella had inherited would make it possible for him to eventually forgive me for my actions last fall.
"Hi, Mom," Bella said after Renee picked up on the second ring.
"Oh baby, you got my message…I'm so sorry! Are you mad at me?" Renee said quickly on the other end of the receiver. I could hear the stress and guilt in her voice. Bella glanced up at me and I gave her a reassuring smile.
"No mom, I'm not mad," Bella said truthfully. She was so selfless. "How's Phil?"
"He's totally out of it at the moment," Renee replied. "I still can't believe what happened! It was like a freak accident! He's going to be on total bed rest for the next 3 weeks. I'm so sorry sweetie. I wanted to be there with you more than anything!"
"I understand," Bella assured her mother again. Her eyes met mine and I couldn't help but smile. She was such an amazing person. Most teenaged girls would have been howling with anger and hurt if their mothers were going to miss their high school graduation. She beamed at me in return as I began to play with her hair. I would never tire of the way it felt to thread my fingers through her soft locks if I did it constantly for a millennium. I knew she enjoyed the feeling as well and I could smell and sense the changes in her body when the tips of my fingers brushed the back of her neck as I worked my way through the full length of it. Each time my cool fingers made contact with her warm skin she would stare at me with an almost longing expression. I wondered what it would feel like to wash her hair. I shivered with desire as my mind spun an elaborate fantasy about giving Bella a bubble bath.
Stop it, Edward! I chastised myself as I shifted in my jeans. Bella's eyes met mine again a moment later, and I forced myself to think about other things. It was an almost impossible task.
Renee continued to apologize profusely for a good solid 45 minutes before Bella finally told her that she needed to study and make Charlie's dinner. After an exchange of love, Bella hung up the phone and turned her full attention to me.
Without saying a word, Bella stretched up to kiss my cheek, and before I could stop myself my hands were wrapped around her waist and I was sitting her on the kitchen counter.
Bella's mouth was on mine at once and I groaned against the silky warmth of her lips. Encouraged by my response, she gently sucked on my bottom lip as our tongues danced together. She pressed herself closer to me, and wrapped her legs around my waist. I could feel the heat radiating from her body on to mine, and the warm fragrance of her desire nearly overwhelmed me. I wanted her here.
Now.
Mine…
I had to stop.
Just as I braced myself to pull away, Bella tightened her insubstantial hold on my neck. The gesture nearly caused me to come undone and keep going.
You'll hurt her! The more sensible part of my mind cried.
I forced myself to break the contact between us, and I heard Bella sigh in exasperation. I looked down at her flushed face and pouty lips and laughed. For the most part I hated teasing her but it was gratifying to see the way she responded to me. I shifted my position so that I was leaning on the counter beside her and wrapped my arm around her shoulder. I needed to touch her but anything more intimate than that would be too much for me to handle at the moment.
"I know you think that I have some kind of perfect, unyielding self-control, but that's not actually the case." I said truthfully as I adjusted my pants too quickly for Bella to see.
"I wish," she said with an irritated sigh.
I groaned quietly in response. Would she ever understand just how much I wanted her? I had the feeling that even after we finally consummated our relationship she might still doubt the level of my attraction to her. I was a hundred year old virgin on top of everything else. There was no way her frustration could even compare to the level of restraint it took for me to keep telling her no. But now was not the time to have this conversation, not when we were both so…worked up. Plus, I had other things to discuss with her
"After school tomorrow, I'm going hunting with Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie." I said reluctantly. It still hadn't gotten any easier for me to leave her.
I watched her face twist into an anxious frown. She bit her lip as was her habit when she was nervous or upset. My insides squirmed with guilt. But it was more important than ever for us to hunt and do it often. We had to be prepared for battle at a moment's notice.
Just for a few hours—we'll stay close. Alice, Jasper, and Emmett should be able to keep you safe," I assured her.
"Ugh," Bella said in irritation. "I hate being babysat."
"It's temporary." I replied. Unbidden and selfish thoughts about having her with me on the hunt after she was changed flooded my mind.
"Jasper will be bored. Emmett will make fun of me." She grumbled.
I knew she was remembering the last time I'd left Emmett to look after her while I went hunting. It was my second trip after I returned to Forks, and Emmett decided to entertain himself at Bella's expense by offering to rent Sesame Street DVD's and bake cookies for her. He insisted that he'd heard that was what good human babysitters did. I told him if he ever hassled her again that I'd tell Rose the real story about why he didn't want to go to Seattle with her for the music festival he'd skipped out on a few weeks ago.
"They'll be on their best behavior." I promised Bella.
"Right," Bella muttered skeptically. She seemed lost in thought for a moment before her annoyed expression became much more optimistic.
"You know...I haven't been to La Push since the bonfire," She reminded me.
My entire body tensed immediately. As if I could forget.
"I'd be safe enough there." She continued in an attempt to persuade me when I didn't respond.
I knew she was watching my face carefully for any signs of distress, so I did my best to keep my face blank while I considered her request. It was true that Bella had been safe on the reservation in the past, but I still hated the idea of leaving her with Jacob Black. He was still under the impression that Bella was going to be changed after her graduation, and I worried that he would do something desperate in an attempt to change her mind. And no matter what she said, I knew that the wolves were volatile creatures. I would worry about her the entire time I was gone if she were with them.
But the hopeful look on her face made my apprehension and jealousy seem irrelevant. Bella wanted to see her friend, and after all the stress she'd been under for the last several days she deserved a break from everything. Perhaps seeing Jacob would help her relax. I swallowed the thick lump in my throat before answering her.
So much for my picnic in the meadow.
"You're probably right." I conceded, still trying to keep the anxiety and pain out of my face. She watched me carefully for a moment, and I think she saw a flicker of my true feelings in my eyes, but if she did, she didn't acknowledge it.
"Are you thirsty already?" She asked in an attempt to change the subject. Her soft warm fingers caressed the faint circles under my eyes, which were still a deep shade of gold. I winced internally. I really didn't want to discuss the reason we were going hunting so soon after our last trip. But I'd made a promise to myself to be honest with her.
"Not really." I replied slowly. I knew my answer would only serve to pique her curiosity. Sure enough, she stared up at me with raised eyebrows and waited for an explanation.
"We want to be as strong as possible." I continued reluctantly as I saw the understanding in her eyes. "We'll probably hunt again on the way, looking for big game."
"That makes you stronger?" She asked. There was no fear in her voice and her inner strength surprised me once again.
"Yes," I said after a long pause. Her face was still merely curious so I decided to be blunt. "Human blood makes us the strongest, though only fractionally. Jasper's been thinking about cheating—adverse as he is to the idea, he's nothing if not practical—but he won't suggest it. He knows what Carlisle will say."
"Would that help?" she whispered.
I was shocked and just a little dismayed. Would she really be okay with us feeding off humans if it increased our chances of survival?
As I searched her face, I knew the answer, and I understood. I would do anything to keep her alive as well. We were mates.
"It doesn't matter. We aren't going to change who we are." I replied simply. Nothing besides protecting her could persuade me to kill again.
I saw Bella's forehead crease thoughtfully again and she shivered. I knew she felt guilty over her comment about hunting humans, but I could never judge her for what she'd been thinking.
"That's why they're so strong, of course," I continued, hoping to shift the topic of conversation away from hunting. "The newborns are full of human blood their own blood, reacting to the change. It lingers in the tissues and strengthens them. Their bodies use it up slowly, like Jasper said, the strength starting to wane after about a year."
"How strong will I be?" Bella asked me curiously. I couldn't help but smile at the question.
"Stronger than I am." I replied. Her eyes widened incredulously.
"Stronger than Emmett?" She asked doubtfully. My smile broadened as I thought of all the ways she could pay him back for the way he'd teased her mercilessly.
"Yes. Do me a favor and challenge him to an arm-wrestling match. It would be a good experience for him."
Bella laughed at the idea before hopping down off the counter.
"I think its time to start studying," she said with a sigh. I nodded in agreement as I pulled textbooks out of her backpack and arranged them on the table.
I spent the next couple of hours helping Bella study, quizzing her as she worked to prepare ingredients for Charlie's dinner. She was doing very well, especially considering how many other things she'd had on her mind lately.
"I think you should take a break, love," I said after we'd reviewed her history notes for the second time. "You don't want to wear yourself out before the tests."
"Sounds good to me," Bella said with a tired sigh. "I need to call Jacob anyway."
My jaw tightened, but fortunately Bella had her back turned to me as she put a meatloaf in the oven for Charlie. I needed to pull myself together. The last thing Bella needed right now was to worry about my feelings. I reminded myself that I'd made a vow to let her go and she needed to relax and have some time away from this mess. I took a deep, calming breath as I watched her pick up the phone. It rang several times before a tired and scratchy voice I recognized as Jacob's answered.
"Hey Jake, what are you doing?" Bella asked as she played with the cord on Charlie's outdated phone. I felt a small pang of jealousy at the happy tone of her voice, and I began to play with her hair again in an effort to soothe myself.
"I was sleeping," Jacob grumbled irritably. His tone annoyed me greatly. How dare he be so rude to her! But then again, maybe Jacob's attitude would make Bella change her mind. I almost laughed as I thought about golden retrievers I'd met with better manners. He hadn't been trained well.
"Oh, sorry," Bella replied, biting her lip nervously as I twirled a wavy lock of her mahogany hair around my finger.
"S'okay," Jacob replied groggily. "What's up?"
"Um, Edward is going hunting tomorrow and I was just wondering if I could come down after school. Are you busy?" Bella asked in reply.
Jacob's tone changed at once.
"That would be great," He replied enthusiastically. "I'm free all day, so the sooner the better."
"Cool," Bella replied with a sigh as she leaned in to my touch. She smiled at me.
"Please tell him I'll drop you off at the line at one o'clock," I mouthed.
Bella frowned slightly as she conveyed my message, but neither she nor Jacob objected to my condition. Bella just seemed grateful that she wouldn't have to endure Emmett's teasing. I made a mental note to find a way to get back at Emmett on her behalf. If he weren't such a pest she might not have been so unwilling to stay with him
Bella and I spend the rest of the afternoon preparing her for finals. I did my best to hide my apprehension about allowing Bella to go to La Push the next day. It wouldn't help anything for me to upset her. I excused myself to the living room while Bella and Charlie ate dinner that evening. Charlie was in an excellent mood thanks to Bella's plans with Jacob tomorrow and I was too anxious to tolerate his thoughts. I was doing my best to tune him out when I felt the phone in my pants pocket vibrate.
"Hello Alice," I answered at once. "Have you seen something new?"
"No Edward," Alice grumbled. "I'm calling because of what I can't see. I take it we won't need to watch Bella tomorrow afternoon."
"No, she's going to La Push," I replied with a sigh.
"Rose is going to have a little talk with you about that tomorrow," Alice said with a hint of apprehension in her voice.
I sighed. I knew that Rosalie strongly disapproved of Bella's ongoing friendship with Jacob Black. She didn't understand her desire to continue to socialize with creatures that she considered to be our enemies. To Rose, what Bella was doing was base treachery. I had been expecting my sister to say something to me long before now, so Alice's little revelation did not surprise me.
"Thanks for the warning," I replied as I heard Bella getting up from the kitchen table to clear away the dishes. "I'll be home to park the Volvo after Bella's curfew, so ask Carlisle to be outside watching the house by 9:45."
"I already told him," Alice replied cheerfully. "See you soon."
Bella's sleep was more peaceful that night. I was relieved that she seemed to be more relaxed than she had been the previous evening. As I held her close and watched her dreaming eyelids flutter, I wondered if this was due to her upcoming visit with Jacob or if it was the sheer exhaustion over finals and the events of the last few weeks.
I tried not to dwell on Bella's plans for the following day; Bella had been to La Push twice since I'd returned and nothing had gone wrong; her relationship with Jacob hadn't changed and she was safe.
The third time's the charm…or in this case, the curse, an unbidden voice in my head said darkly. I shifted nervously in the bed, thinking that I needed to pace away some of my nervous energy, as was my habit.
"Stay," Bella mumbled in her sleep as she instinctively tightened her hold on my waist as though she knew I was going to get up. I pressed my face into her damp hair and inhaled the warm scent that made my throat tingle.
"I love you," I whispered inaudibly into her hair.
"I love you too," Bella echoed in her sleep. I smiled against her forehead. There was no way she'd heard me speak, and yet she'd returned my words. Even in unconsciousness she responded to me.
She was mine.
Finals at Forks High were just as uninteresting as they were at every other high school I'd attended over the last few decades. I could have done the tests in my sleep if that were possible. But in my distracted state of mind, I almost misspelled a word on my history exam, something that had never happened before.
Bella was going to spend the afternoon in La Push and I was going to get the third degree from Rosalie.
Wonderful.
I watched Bella discreetly as she concentrated on the questions in front of her. She had no idea how anxious I was about letting her go today. Otherwise, she probably would have offered to stay home. Part of me wanted to beg her to stay with Emmett and Jasper, while the nobler side of me knew she needed to go visit her friend. And yet, I felt more ill at ease today than I had about her last trip.
Mr. Banner announced that we had reached the end of the time we were allotted for our tests and Bella rose from her chair, stretching. I composed my face as she smiled up at me and handed her test to the teacher. It was time for me to take her to Jacob; to entrust her life to a man I despised and mistrusted on instinct for more than one reason. He was born to kill me, and he wanted to take away my reason for existing.
"So how do you feel you did on your exams?" I asked Bella lamely as we drove toward the line a few short minutes later. The tension in my body grew more and more pronounced with every hairpin turn on the winding and tree lined roads and more than once I came close to snapping the steering wheel in half.
"History was easy, but I don't know about the Calculus. It seemed like it was making sense, so that probably means I failed." Bella replied in a half teasing manner. I let out a nervous laugh.
"I'm sure you did fine. Or, if you're really worried, I could bribe Mr. Varner to give you an A." I teased. We were nearly there now, and I could smell the disgusting, damp canine scent of Jacob Black. I wrinkled my nose automatically.
"Er, thanks, but no thanks." Bella replied severely. I laughed again at the somber tone of her voice.
An instant later, however, a terrible mental voice louder than crashing thunder reverberated in my ears. My face twisted into a scowl and I felt the steering column shudder beneath my fingers as I put the car in part just before I reached neutral territory.
I'm just gonna tell her how I feel and put it out there. I don't have time to waste. That filthy bloodsucker could break the treaty any day now. I know she loves me, and if I do this the right way I bet she figures it out. Maybe I should go ahead and give her the bracelet I bought her for graduation when I take her to the beach. Quill said that would be a romantic set up for a kiss…Jacob thought loudly.
I suppressed a growl at the idea of him putting his hands, or worse yet, his lips on her. Venom was pooling in my mouth and I swallowed hard. Every molecule of my body was desperate to rip him apart.
Remember the treaty ! The voice of reason, which sounded remarkably like Carlisle, said in my mind.
"What's wrong?" Bella asked as she took in my tense expression.
"Nothing." I lied as I eyed Jacob beadily through the windshield. His face was drawn and haggard and he looked as though he'd aged since I'd seen him last. He was clearly worried about Bella's upcoming plans to make herself a permanent member of the Cullen family, and I couldn't fault him for that at least. He ran his fingers through his wild and unkempt hair. It was growing out into some sort of strange uneven mullet. He could do with a trip to the dog groomer. As it was, it looked as though his litter mates had trimmed it with their claws while they were in their wolf form.
She deserves to know she has other options. I love her and I won't give her up! There's no way he could love her like I do! Jacob yelled wordlessly. The volume of his thoughts would have given me a headache if such a thing were possible.
I bit back another growl. He couldn't possibly begin to comprehend what she meant to me. If he were to feel a fraction of what I felt for her he would shatter under the weight and power of it. He was just a foolish teenage boy. I reminded myself again that Bella deserved to know the truth so she could truly choose what she wanted.
"You're not listening to Jacob, are you?" Bella asked indignantly, interrupting my furious reverie as she studied my face.
"It's not easy to ignore someone when he's shouting." I retorted as she placed her hand on the door handle. It took ever ounce of restraint I had not to snatch her fingers away from the latch and insist on taking her back home.
"Oh." Bella replied thoughtfully.
I know you're listening to me bloodsucker. I can smell your venom from here. Bring it on if you think you can take me. You can't keep me from telling her how it is. She'd be better off with me and you know it. And I'm gonna tell her all the reasons why she should pick me. Jacob added silently.
"What's he shouting?" Bella asked with quiet curiosity. If I weren't so angry and tense I might have laughed at her hypocrisy. A moment ago she'd been on the verge of chastising me for being nosy.
"I'm absolutely certain he'll mention it himself," I replied bitterly as I continued to fight the urge to insist on taking Bella home.
I reminded myself again of all the times Bella had proven the depth of her love for me. I had nothing to worry about.
Did I?
The sound of Jacob's horn honking twice in quick succession intensified my anger and I saw a faint fissure in the leather of the steering wheel.
Come on bloodsucker I haven't got all day. Or forever, like you do. Freaking rock. Jacob thought.
"That's impolite," I said through gritted teeth. I knew Jacob could hear me and he registered the threatening tone of my benign words.
You'd better be worried about more than my manners, leech. He thought.
"That's Jacob," Bella said with a sigh as though this excused his behavior. Was there anything she couldn't forgive him for? She unbuckled her seatbelt and gave me a small smile before climbing out of the car. I'd been expecting her to at least kiss me goodbye, but she didn't.
I felt a terrible stabbing pain in my cold chest as I watched her walk away from me. She turned back toward me to wave goodbye before getting into Jacob's car and I saw a flash of recognition in her eyes as she stared into my devastated face. For a moment I thought-and desperately hoped-that she would turn around and come back to me.
But she didn't.
"I can't believe I let her forget the phone," I said to Carlisle as we ran through a dense thicket of trees a half an hour later.
We had chosen to hunt near a large wildlife refuge in the southwestern part of the Washington. It would be an easy run home if necessary but far enough away for us not to have to worry about encountering any human hikers.
"I'm sure she'll be fine Edward," Carlisle was saying to me as we picked up the scent of moose. It's not as though she can't call you from the Black's house. He thought.
I glared slightly at him. What if it weren't possible for her to reach me? What if she rejected Jacob's pathetic adolescent advances and he wouldn't let her call? What if he hurt her?
I felt like screaming, or knocking down several large trees.
"I don't know why you put up with her little visits in the first place," Rosalie snarled in a whisper as we drew closer to our prey. "If I were you, I'd put my foot down."
"Alright Rose, let's not get into this now," Esme chided quietly before she sprung at a medium sized female moose standing beside the river. Carlisle followed her and tackled the larger male, but Rose and I both stayed behind for a moment. I knew she wanted to talk to me, and there were plenty more moose where those two came from.
"I'm just speaking the truth," Rosalie replied. I can tell her friendship with that mutt is killing you, Edward. Why don't you tell her how much it bothers you?
"I can't," I answered in a choked whisper, not meeting her eyes as I stared into the marsh.
"Why not?" Rosalie pressed aloud.
"She deserves to have a choice," I said. "She could stay human if she chose him, and I have to make sure she knows her own heart before she goes through with this." I turned my eyes back toward her and stared intently into her face. "You of all people should understand that."
Rosalie stared at me in silent surprise for a long moment before nodding. I could tell from her thoughts that she still had reservations because Jacob Black was a Quilleute, but the hostility in her mind was gone.
"But he's a werewolf," she said in a less aggressive voice this time. We could smell four more moose in the area so we simultaneously started following the scent as Carlisle and Esme finished their meal.
"I know," I sighed. "But he's still more human than I am, and in his own way, he loves her."
"Well, he can't possibly love her the way that you do, and I know she loves you more than anyone else in the world," Rose said. I've seen the way she is with you, and after Italy there was no doubt in my mind that she's your true mate.
"I know that too," I answered. "But it still has to be her choice, and being with me forever would cost her a great deal more than I think she realizes now. I want her to be sure."
Then I leapt lightly into the air and attacked the third moose and the conversation was over.
"Will you please stop pacing," Emmett grumbled as I zipped back and forth across the living room floor. "Why don't you just go get her?" You're driving me nuts. He added silently.
"Because Alice still can't see her!" I cried angrily, resisting the urge to kick the wall. Esme was sitting on the living room sofa, watching me with apprehensive eyes and I knew she'd be terribly upset if I broke the house. "And that means she's still in La Push."
"I'm sure it won't be long now, Edward," Alice soothed. "Its getting dark and she'll need to get home to Charlie." I'll keep looking, and if we don't see something soon I'm sure Jasper would go to the line with you. She thought.
"You could always go to Charlie's and wait for her," Jasper pointed out as he tried to persuade me with his special talent. I felt my frayed nerves relax a little. "Maybe he took her home and he's there too."
I shook my head vehemently. "She would have called me."
"I think you should go," Alice said vaguely a few moments later.
"Did you see her?" I said quickly, stopping in mid-stride on the carpet.
"Not exactly; just a flash of something," she replied with a frown.
Without another word, I ran out the front door to get the Volvo. I had just pulled onto the main highway when my phone rang. It was Charlie's number.
"Bella?" I answered at once as the relief and elation washed over me. "You left the phone...I'm sorry, did Jacob drive you home?" I asked quickly.
"Yes," Bella replied unhappily. The tone of her voice immediately set off warning bells in my mind. Whatever was bothering her, Jacob Black had better not be responsible for it.
"Will you come and get me, please?" she asked.
"I'm on my way," I assured her at once as my useless stomach twisted. "What's wrong?" If that stupid dog had upset her in any way I would throttle him. I was already at the very end of my lengthy patience with him.
"I want Carlisle to look at my hand. I think it's broken." Bella answered.
My entire body tensed as it instinctively prepared for a fight. She was physically injured and I knew he had something to do with it. Every swearword I had ever heard echoed in my head and I forced myself not to destroy the car.
"What happened?" I said in a forceful but even tone. I had to control myself for her sake.
"I punched Jacob," she replied in a rather sheepish voice. I almost smiled as some of the tension left me. At least he hadn't put his hands on her. I wished I could have seen the look on his stupid face when she hit him.
"Good," I said fiercely as I smiled slightly. "Though I'm sorry you're hurt."
She laughed and the sound soothed me. She must not be in pain, thank heavens.
"I wish I'd hurt him." She said in an exasperated and annoyed voice. "I didn't do any damage at all."
"I can fix that," I promised. I waited for her to chastise me.
"I was hoping you would say that." I was shocked for a moment; Bella wasn't the kind of person who typically lost her temper so violently. What could he have done to cause her to punch him and feel no remorse? I was tense again, and with a sinking feeling in my core I was sure I knew what he'd done. I'd heard what he'd been considering in his mind that afternoon.
"That doesn't sound like you," I said after a brief pause. "What did he do?"
"He kissed me," Bella grumbled in her familiar tiger-kitten angry voice.
A red haze clouded my vision as the fury burned inside my entire body. He had forced himself on her. I punched the accelerator so hard that I nearly blew up the engine.
Terrible images filled my head as I raced toward her. I could see his monstrous frame towering over her, grabbing her as she struggled. I could only remember wanting to kill this desperately on a handful of occasions. Four out of five of those people were dead now. I could hear voices in the background, but I was too angry to comprehend what they were saying. I knew that Charlie was home, but the other voice sounded like Jacob Black. Surely he wasn't that stupid!
"Is the dog still there?" I asked Bella once I managed to gain enough control to speak.
"Yes." She replied simply.
Jacob Black was a crazy, arrogant fool and I was going to rip him apart.
"I'm around the corner," I snarled as I hung up the phone and threw it out the window.
I jerked the steering wheel and whirled the car into Charlie's driveway. I smashed the breaks hard enough to leave behind a large amount of rubber on the pavement and damage the brake pads. I could hear the mental musings of Charlie and the dog very clearly as I slammed the car door shut.
This should be fun. Come on in, bloodsucker. Jacob taunted wordlessly. I growled a warning just loud enough for him to hear.
Oh hell, Charlie thought apprehensively. I told Jake he should leave. He might be huge, but there's something about Edward that makes me think he'd be the better man in a fight. I don't want Jake to take a beating for what he did even if it was stupid.
He didn't want Jacob to get hurt! I wouldn't have thought it was possible for my anger to get worse, but his thoughts made the fury inside of me expand like a balloon on the verge of exploding. He was going to defend Jacob after what happened to Bella! For God's sake what kind of father was he? Did his preference for that mutt extend to his daughter now as well?
I stopped outside the door and took a deep but unnecessary breath. I couldn't afford to hurt Charlie on top of everything else. It would upset Bella.
"How's your hand?" I heard Charlie ask Bella as her footfalls echoed across the living room floor. He was concerned, but not nearly enough to satisfy me.
"It's swelling," I heard Bella reply. I clenched my own fists in anger. I could smell the blood pooling under her skin as a burgeoning bruise. I heard Charlie sigh softly at her response.
I hate that she got hurt It's good that Jacob let her know how he feels, but I'm going to have to have a chat with him about the way he handled this. He shouldn't have kissed her without her permission. Charlie thought.
Well, at least that was something. Of course, if I had been the one who did something like this to Bella he would've called Carlisle and banned me from the house, and rightfully so. But apparently the same rules didn't apply to that filthy mutt.
"Maybe you should pick on people your own size," Charlie suggested in a half teasing voice to try to ease his own tension. Bella didn't respond, but I heard Jacob snort softly.
Jacob was too stupid to be nervous right now. His thoughts were smug. I swallowed a mouthful of venom and gritted my teeth. I wanted to silence his mind permanently.
"Maybe," Bella said indifferently before she opened the front door to admit me.
The sight of her waiting eagerly for me was the only thing that kept me from attacking Jacob. It wouldn't be safe for Bella to be in the middle of a fight between the two of us, and she was all that mattered to me. I took in the sight of her gingerly cradling her left hand in her right and clenched my teeth together again.
"Let me see," I whispered. I ignored the revolting scent of werewolf on her skin as I gently took her swollen hand in mine to examine it. I ran my cool fingers over her knuckles with a feather light touch. I could feel a tiny fissure in her knuckle. She would need a brace at the very least. She had obviously hit him with all the strength she could muster.
"I think you're right about the break," I told her. "I'm proud of you. You must have put some force behind this."
Is he a doctor too? Wonder how many of his patients he's drained over the years. Jacob thought. He wasn't trying to provoke me intentionally now. He was just thinking without any regard for my talent.
"As much as I have," Bella responded to my comment with a tired sigh, "not enough, apparently."
I nodded slightly. She was so small and defenseless against him. He hadn't hit her, but it was his fault she'd felt the need to do so. I wanted to kill him for what he'd done, but I knew the consequences of giving in to my anger now would be catastrophic for all of us.
"I'll take care of it," I assured her. She looked up at me with a slightly wary expression. I knew I needed to be careful. I could hear her heart beating faster. She was understandably nervous and taking care of her was my first priority.
"Jacob," I said quietly as I continued to caress her swollen knuckles. She had iced it, but I knew my touch would be more effective at bringing the swelling down. Plus, the physical contact between us was keeping me calm.
Ooh, is this the part where you threaten to kick my ass, leech. Go ahead and try. Jacob thought as he got up eagerly in response to my summons.
"Now, now," Charlie warned as he got up off the couch and followed suit. Edward looks like he's ready to kill Jake and I wouldn't put it past him to start something. I can't let two teenage boys start brawling in the middle of my living room.
Charlie's thoughts only served to add fuel to the blazing flames of my anger, but I didn't respond.
"I don't want any fighting, do you understand?" Charlie continued aloud, addressing only me as he spoke. In Charlie's eyes, I was the troublemaker and even if there wasn't a treaty that prevented me from attacking Jacob Black I would not have wanted to prove him right.
"That won't be necessary," I said with as much control as I could manage.
Bella didn't miss the way that Charlie's gaze was focused entirely on me, and I could see the heat of angry indignation rising in her cheeks.
"Why don't you arrest me, Dad?" She said sarcastically. "I'm the one throwing punches."
Charlie looked down at her in surprise before turning his attention to Jacob.
"Do you want to press charges, Jake?" He asked in an amused voice. As if he would. He came in here acting like the cat that swallowed the canary afterward.
"No." Jacob replied with a smirk. "I'll take the trade any day."
I could see the images of the exchange between them playing in his mind. The way he'd looked down at Bella, the determination in his thoughts…the feeling of her stiffening in protest against the hold he had on her as he forced her lips apart. The way she'd finally stopped struggling once she realized there was no way she could get away from him. He'd misinterpreted her futile passivity as passion. I knew the way that Bella responded to passion, and that wasn't the way her body reacted. In the wake of my fury at what he'd done to her I felt a surge of satisfied relief. She didn't want him.
"Dad, don't you have a baseball bat somewhere in your room? I want to borrow it for a minute." Bella snarled in response to Jacob's taunting words. She was furious; too furious in Jacob's opinion. He felt that the intensity of her response proved that she had strong feelings for him. I had no way of knowing if he was right or not.
The lady doeth protest too much, methinks. The words of Hamlet popped into my head, unbidden and hopefully were unwarranted.
"Enough, Bella," Charlie snapped in response to Bella's threat. She's got to get a handle on herself before she causes the fight to start. He thought.
Bella and a baseball bat! Now that's funny! She'd probably trip trying to carry it and give herself a black eye. Jacob snickered mentally.
I bit my tongue hard to stop the diatribe of insults I wanted to throw at both Charlie and Jacob. My patience was stretched like a sharp guitar string, poised to snap at any moment.
"Let's go have Carlisle look at your hand before you wind up in a jail cell," I said insistently to Bella as I led her toward the door. I was in grave danger of losing my temper.
"Fine," Bella agreed, relaxing her body against mine. She seemed to calm down when our bodies touched, as did I. I placed my hand on the small of her back and guided her out the front door.
Aww leaving so soon, bloodsucker? Things were just getting interesting. Jacob taunted silently from the threshold of Charlie's front door. I walked faster down the sidewalk, resisting the urge to carry her at vampire speed to the car. Jacob was intentionally trying to provoke me, and I was desperate to keep that from happening.
"What are you doing? Are you crazy?" Charlie hissed urgently as he tried to coax Jacob back inside. Is Jacob trying to get himself killed?
"Give me a minute, Charlie," Jacob said calmly. "Don't worry, I'll be right back." I wasn't finished talking to you, leech.
Bella turned around at the sound of Charlie and Jacob's exchange just in time to see Jacob closing the front door in Charlie's incredulous and worried face.
Every muscle in my body was tensing for the fight. My instincts were precariously close to over riding my good sense. I needed to get Bella out of harm's way at once.
I didn't acknowledge Jacob's presence until I had safely placed Bella in the passenger's seat of the Volvo. I knew that she could feel the fury rolling off of me in waves and she stared out of the open window at the two of us with wide anxious eyes.
Come on bloodsucker, let's deal with this before you break the treaty and bite her. Jacob thought.
"I'm not going to kill you now, because it would upset Bella." I said in a cold, quiet threat as I turned to face Jacob.
"Hmph," Bella grumbled. I turned to smile at her. She was still very angry
"It would bother you in the morning," I said as I gently stroked her face with the tips of my fingers. She leaned into my touch in automatically as the magnetic pull between us traveled from my fingers to her cheek.
Ugh, It makes me sick to see him touch her. I bet it freezes her when he does. I bet she was just bluffing when she said kissing him was so much better than me. It's probably like sucking on an ice cube that doesn't melt. Jacob thought. I resisted the urge to kiss her and show him differently. I turned to face him instead.
"But if you ever bring her back damaged again—and I don't care whose fault it is; I don't care if she merely trips, or if a meteor falls out of the sky and hits her in the head—if you return her to me in less than the perfect condition that I left her in, you will be running with three legs. Do you understand that, mongrel?" I warned him furiously.
Jacob rolled his eyes. Whatever bloodsucker; maybe next time she won't hit me.
"Who's going back?" Bella grumbled under her breath. I sincerely hope she wasn't, but I knew how forgiving Bella was, so I knew better than to get my hopes up.
She liked it whether she wants to admit it or not, I could tell. Jacob thought in response to Bella's assertion that she would not be returning to La Push.
My anger flared again at his thoughts. He sounded just like those disgusting creeps who tried to imply that women they'd forced themselves on really wanted it regardless of what they said.
"And if you ever kiss her again, I will break your jaw for her," I vowed in a warning tone so severe that I felt him shudder instinctively.
"What if she wants me to?" He sneered when the tremors stopped. I started to make my threat a little more graphic, hoping to describe in detail what I would do to his tongue the next time it came anywhere near Bella's mouth when she interrupted us with a snide, disbelieving chuckle. I suppressed a smile.
"If that's what she wants, then I won't object." I assured him honestly without a trace of apprehension or jealousy.
It was what she wanted tonight. She warmed up after a minute or so. He thought as he remembered the way that Bella had stopped fighting him.
"You might want to wait for her to say it, rather than trust your interpretation of body language—but it's your face." I said coolly, trying my hardest to ignore the images in his mind.
He smiled a leering smile at me as he imagined the scene differently, envisioning Bella initiating a kiss this time. He was so carried away with his fantasy that he had apparently forgotten that I could see it in his mind as well. I would have retched if such a thing were possible.
"You wish," Bella hissed angrily as though she had read his thoughts.
"Yes, he does," I agreed coldly as I fantasized about cutting his throat with my teeth from ear to ear.
"Well, if you're done rummaging through my head, why don't you go take care of her hand?" Jacob said angrily. As if I hadn't been trying to get away from him for the last ten minutes! I knew that her hand wasn't really bothering her at the moment but if we waited too long it would be.
I could take you on here and now but that's not the kind of fight I want to win. She's the only thing I really want, and I'm going to fight for her. Keep that in mind when you think you've got her, you worthless rock. He thought forcefully.
"One more thing," I said fiercely in response. "I'll be fighting for her, too. You should know that. I'm not taking anything for granted, and I'll be fighting twice as hard as you will."
My eyes bored into his for a long, tense moment as I tried to make him see that I meant every word I said. I knew from his thoughts that when he looked at me he saw an unfeeling and arrogant monster. He couldn't comprehend that I had the capacity to love at all, let alone understand the magnitude and power of my love for Bella.
"Good," He snarled untruthfully. My speech took him by surprise and he was reeling from the intensity he'd heard in my voice. "It's no fun beating someone who forfeits." You'd better watch your back, though. I know she could love me just as much as she does you if she really tried, she could be mine.
"She is mine." I said in dark and menacing voice. I remembered the way she'd responded to my words in her sleep the night before, and I felt the truth of my own words in every fiber of my being. The connection between us could never be broken and I would do anything to be with her. She was the only reason I was still here on this earth.
"I didn't say I would fight fair." I warned him. He deserved to know that I would never take Bella for granted. How could I, after being alone for a century?
"Neither did I," Jacob replied. This isn't over. I won't give up as long as she's still alive in the natural sense.
I gritted my teeth to keep from tearing into his flesh. I knew what he meant by alive in the natural sense. He still would rather see Bella dead than have her changed. A powerful hatred surged through me again as I remembered what he'd said to her when she'd first told him about the plans for her to be changed after graduation.
"Best of luck." I snapped in response. He would never deserve her.
"Yes, may the best man win," Jacob said pointedly. I think you have to have to be human to fall into that category.
"That sounds about right...pup." I retorted, reminding him that he didn't exactly fall into the 'human' category by his own definition either.
He winced in response and to my satisfaction he couldn't think of a reply. He looked past me and turned his gaze to Bella.
"I hope your hand feels better soon. I'm really sorry you're hurt." He said, and I knew he was sincere, but he had no regrets about the kiss that had caused her to get hurt in the first place.
Bella didn't respond with words. Instead she turned away from him with a sulky expression on her face. I shot Jacob a smug look as I got into the car. He watched as we drove away before going back inside to join an anxious Charlie.
"How do you feel?" I asked Bella as we pulled onto the main road. Surely her hand was starting to hurt by now. The swelling had gotten much worse over the last twenty minutes. I needed to have Carlisle give her something for the pain as soon as possible.
"Irritated," She grumbled. I laughed. She wasn't in pain and she was still mad at Jacob.
"I meant your hand." I clarified.
"I've had worse." She replied with an indifferent shrug.
"True," I conceded.
Bella had sustained far more serious injuries in the short time that she'd known me. She'd nearly died on more than one occasion. Was my anger toward Jacob hypocritical? I had never caused Bella to get hurt without another party being involved. She certainly hadn't gotten any broken bones from kissing me. But, I had put her in danger more times than I could count by exposing her to other vampires who didn't have the same hunting habits that my family did.
I remained lost in my thoughts for the rest of the ride home. I pulled the Volvo into the garage where Emmett and Rosalie were doing some routine maintenance to his Jeep. Rose, who knew a great deal more about auto repairs than Emmett, was doing most of the work. Emmett was just holding the Jeep for her.
"I told you this thing needed to have the transmission fluid changed," Rosalie was lecturing Emmett.
"Yeah, yeah," Emmett replied indifferently. Whatever; its not like she doesn't enjoy working on the thing anyway. He thought as he nodded his head at me. I gave him a halfhearted wave in response before I helped Bella out of the car. It didn't take more than a second for Emmett to notice her injury.
"Fall down again, Bella?" He snickered. She's the clumsiest human I've ever seen. I bet she'll be uncoordinated even after she's changed.
I sighed. Emmett's teasing was part of the reason we were in this mess. If he didn't give her such a hard time she might not have been so eager to spend the day in La Push while I hunted. She gave him a sour look.
"No, Emmett. I punched a werewolf in the face." She snapped.
The way she said it made the whole thing sound funny, but I was in no mood to laugh at the moment.
Emmett looked at Bella with wide eyed shock for a brief moment before he started laughing hysterically.
That's the funniest thing I think I've heard in at least ten years! She's crazy! He thought.
"Jasper's going to win the bet," Rosalie said abruptly from underneath the Jeep. Emmett's good humor vanished at once as he stared intently at Bella.
Emmett and Jasper had made a bet the night that the family agreed to allow Bella to be changed about how much restraint she would have as a newborn. Jasper believed that Bella would be very difficult to control while Emmett felt that her preparations for the transformation would improve her self restraint. I wasn't sure who was right or wrong, but the idea of them making such a wager had made me angry enough. The last thing I wanted was for Bella to know what they were up to. She had enough to worry about without obsessing over her potential control issues as a newborn.
"What bet?" Bella asked in an irritable voice.
"Let's get you to Carlisle," I urged as I gently placed my hand on her elbow in an attempt to usher her into the house. I should have known it wouldn't work.
"What bet?" she persisted, ignoring me.
"Thanks, Rosalie," I hissed angrily. She was one of the most tactless people I had ever known.
"Edward...," Bella said through gritted teeth. I sighed. This night just kept getting better and better.
"It's infantile," I said in a would-be casual voice. "Emmett and Jasper like to gamble."
"Emmett will tell me." Bella persisted stubbornly. I tightened my hold on her and shook my head in warning at Emmett.
Maybe I should tell her. If she's more aware of her potential for slip ups she might be more careful. And I really want to keep my Microsoft dividends. Emmett thought, shrugging.
"They're betting on how many times you...slip up in the first year." I answered before Emmett could try to explain and make matters even worse.
Bella's face twisted into a pained expression when she realized what I meant.
"Oh," Bella said quietly, and I could hear her heart skip a couple of beats. "They have a bet about how many people I'll kill?"
"Yes," I replied reluctantly. "Rosalie thinks your temper will turn the odds in Jasper's favor."
"I'm going to kill you, Rose," I threatened under my breath. Rose's thoughts were unapologetic and indifferent. As usual she had very little concern for Bella's feelings.
"Jasper's betting high." Bella said. The pitch of her voice was higher than usual and I knew she was nearly at the end of her rope.
"It will make him feel better if you have a hard time adjusting. He's tired of being the weakest link." I went on, hoping that she would realize that Jasper just wanted someone else to have a more difficult time with their thirst than he did. We had no way of knowing what Bella would be like as a newborn. Personally I expected her to have far more self restraint than I had at least.
"Sure. Of course it will. I guess I could throw in a few extra homicides, if it makes Jasper happy. Why not?" Bella babbled in a slightly hysterical voice. She'd been manhandled and broken her hand. I wasn't sure how much more she could handle tonight. I just wanted to get her hand fixed and put her to bed. I really wished that Charlie would allow her to stay here tonight.
"You don't need to worry about it now. In fact, you don't have to worry about it ever, if you don't want to." I assured her. This was still her choice, and if she changed her mind about becoming a vampire I would be content to live out the rest of her mortal days by her side and end my own life when hers was over.
Bella whimpered, and I knew her hand must be hurting. I quickly ushered her inside so that Carlisle could assess the damage and give her something for the pain.
"What's going on?" Carlisle asked as I led Bella into his study.
"Bella's injured her hand," I explained as I pulled up a large leather chair for her to sit in. "I think it's broken."
"What happened?" Carlisle asked curiously as he walked over to examine her. I'm assuming from the smell that this had something to do with the wolves. He thought.
"It's a long story," I agreed as I pinched the bridge of my nose.
"It is broken," Carlisle said without questioning us further. "But it's just a small hairline fracture in your knuckle, so I don't think a cast will be necessary as long as you promise to wear a brace for the next few weeks, Bella."
"Sure," Bella said absently.
She's had a hard day, Carlisle thought as he fitted her for the brace. I nodded in agreement.
"I'll get you some medicine for the pain and then Edward can take you home, sweetie," Carlisle said as he produced a bottle of small white pills I recognized as a mild sedative.
"Sure," Bella said again. I watched her with a worried expression as she swallowed the pill with a drink of water.
She'll be fine, son and the medicine will help her rest, Carlisle assured me.
Bella fell asleep in the car on the way home, and she was still half dazed from the medication Carlisle had given her as we walked up the front steps and into Charlie's living room. Jacob was long gone, and to my satisfaction, Charlie felt a terrible pang of guilt as he saw Bella leaning on me for support when we came inside.
"Are you okay, Bells," He asked her, getting up from his usual seat on the couch to try to assist me with carrying her.
"I'm great," Bella slurred "My hand doesn't hurt and neither does anything else."
"My dad gave her some medication for the pain," I explained. The less noble part of me hoped that this news would make him feel worse.
"Oh," Charlie said lamely. I guess she was hurt worse than I realized. Maybe I should have been a little more sympathetic.
That was an understatement, but I tried to keep my hostility to a minimum for Bella's sake. She was trying to walk a little with my assistance, but when she nearly tripped over her own foot I decided to carry her.
"I'll just put her to bed," I told Charlie as I cradled Bella next to my chest.
"Right," Charlie said with a concerned frown. "Umm, thanks Edward." I guess I should be nice since he took care of her. He's not a bad kid I guess.
"You're welcome," I replied, feeling a little less angry toward Charlie. Perhaps we would forgive each other sooner than I expected.
And there you have it. I really hope it lived up to your expectations. I wasn't too sure about the end of the chapter, but I decided to redeem Charlie a little due in part to a conversation that takes place between Charlie and Bella on the way to the graduation party in Eclipse where Charlie tells Bella that she should be able to properly defend herself if someone kisses her without permission and acknowledges that he messed up on some things. Soon after he forgives Edward completely when he goes with Carlisle to Jacob's after he's hurt in the battle. Anyway I wanted to work up to that eventual peace they make. Thank you all so much for sticking with me and being patient. Much love. Please review. Please….