Chapter 16

After gym ended, Jacob was on my mind all day. Edward was obviously reading my mind, because he kept his distance. It did bother me a little, but probably not as much as it should have.

On the bus going home, I asked him about it. "Hey, I know that Jacob kid bothers you."

Edward just grunted and looked away. "If you want to go out with him, by all means, go ahead. I shouldn't be interfering."

"No. If it bothers you, I won't talk to him anymore."

Edward just shook his head. He didn't talk to me for the rest of the bus ride, which felt too weird to be true.

I was looking out the bus window, admiring the green trees as the whizzed by. And then I thought I saw something in between the trees. Something tan, somewhat resembling a human's body. I recognized that hue before… on Jacob's skin. I watched the figure intently, and all of a sudden, it was gone in the blink of an eye. Well, that was weird.

I searched the forest so fervently for the tan that I missed something else conspicuous in the forest that seemed to be running in place of where the tan figure was. It looked kind of like a dog: gray colored, lower to the ground. But it was bigger than a dog. More like a wolf.

There had never been wolves native Forks as far as I could remember. A few times people spotted wolves minding their own business on the outskirts of Forks, but they were from the La Push people and trained to be almost domesticated. I wondered if that was Jacob running in the forest… with his pet wolf? I mean Jacob did seem a little different, but who on earth runs through the forest? With a pet wolf, none to less?

And after all, that figure must have been running pretty darn fast. I mean, with those muscles of Jacobs, I suppose he can't be a too shabby athlete. But still, something seemed really, really off.

This is normally something I would go to Edward with, but he wasn't speaking to me. I turned to my best friend next to me, and his eyes were black as he glared at me. I shrank back towards the cool glass window, actually fearing for my life for a second or two.

When he noticed the terrified look on my face, Edward looked away. I knit my eyebrows and bit my lip, like I always do when I'm upset. I looked back out the window, but the wolf or whatever it was was gone.

When it was time for our stop, Edward didn't grab my hand like usual. I just clutched the books that wouldn't fit in my backpack and stiffly walked off the bus. My classmates gave me quizzical looks, wondering why Edward wasn't all over me as usual. I just averted my eyes and concentrated on not tripping.

For the first time in… I can't even remember how long, I didn't go to Edward's after school. I trudged up to my room, dumped my books on my desk, and then… I was lost. I had no idea what to do by myself.

I finished my homework slowly, only stopping to get a drink and check my cell phone for messages from Edward. There were none. The sky darkened and I finished up my math, and then there was nothing to do. Edward and I would usually find something random to do, or make out, but obviously I couldn't do that without him here.

I changed from my school clothes to Edward's sweatshirt that smelled faintly like his Axe (which was actually unnecessary considering he was a vampire). It made my heart ache more. I debated hitting the sack early when I saw something blur by outside my window. Edward?

My heartbeat quickened at the thought he might have spied on me changing, but I autopilot walked over to the window and opened it up. The rain hitting trees and leaves and pavement created the familiar pitter-patter rhythm of Forks. I looked around, searching, and there I found him, crouched on the tree outside my window.

I crossed my arms on the window sill, the outside chill sending a shiver down my spine. "Hi."

There was a pause. "Sorry about today."

"No, I'm sorry. About Jacob. I shouldn't…"

"No, don't say sorry. I shouldn't be holding things like that against you. I mean, you're only human…"

"You could fix that," I told him with a slightly seductive smile.

Edward laughed, and came closer to my window. "Not today, Bellatrix."

After reading mandatory Harry Potter in school, Edward started calling me "Bellatrix" at times after the character, which means "female warrior."

I gave him my big brown puppy eyes, but he still refused. Edward came into my bedroom and dried off, and then things seemed normal again. I fell asleep in his arms, feeling loved again.