Chapter Sixteen
Bella
I felt dreadful for the next three days, sick and in pain but nothing happened. I couldn't remember my last proper period it had been so long ago. Was there something seriously wrong with me? Much as I hated hospitals and doctors I decided to bite the bullet and go to the walk in clinic close to the college campus. It was crowded and I had a long wait but eventually I was seen by a doctor, a very elderly man who looked like he needed medical attention himself! Of course his first suggestion was that I might be pregnant and I don't think he liked my answer,
"Not unless it's the second coming"
But then I hadn't liked the question either, it annoyed me. After all if it had been possible that I was pregnant I'd have known and checked for myself wouldn't I? He examined me and pronounced that he couldn't see or feel anything abnormal but he wanted to take blood and urine samples. After taking the blood he sent me off to the rest rooms with the usual specimen bottle. Why, oh why, did they make them long and thin with a small neck? It might be great for a small boy but almost impossible to fill if you were a woman. I managed eventually and took it back to him watching as he dipped the test stick in. After a few seconds he took it out and looked at it puzzled then repeated the test with a fresh strip.
"I think I'd like my colleague to take a look at this if you'd just wait a minute Miss Swan."
Once he was out of the room I picked up the bottle the test strips came in and checked my result against the table on the label. I tried to match up the colour then noticed the test strip appeared to be dissolving. As I put the bottle back on the table I saw the scar on my arm and suddenly a terrible thought struck me, had Jasper sucked all the venom out or had some remained in my system and was that why strange things happened to me sometimes, like injuries healing quickly and this strange pattern to my periods? Could it be possible that I was changing somehow? This thought spurred me into action. Grabbing the two test strips and my notes off the desk I opened the door carefully and seeing the coast was clear I made a run for it.
Would the doctor be curious enough to contact me? I stopped suddenly, what about the blood he'd taken to test? Would that show up any abnormalities? I saw him in my mind putting the test vial in a labelled envelope with my details and storing it in a small fridge he had in the consulting room. I wasn't sure I had time but I retraced my steps and peered into the room relieved to find it still empty. I opened the fridge and grabbed the container searching for my blood and finding it I started to unscrew the top when I heard voices,
"It's very strange. I've never seen a reaction like this before. I wonder if the strips are a faulty batch."
Looking round I saw the window was open a little so I pushed it up just enough to wriggle out expecting to hear a cry at any second but they must have been further away than I thought and I'd scrabbled into the bushes outside unseen. I made my way slowly to the car park and peered out waiting until the coast was clear before running to my car and driving away with relief. I could be way out here but what if I wasn't? What if something had happened when I was bitten? I needed to find Jasper and quickly, especially if my theory was correct, there was no one else I could speak to about it.
Once back in my apartment I emptied the vial down the toilet and tore the sticky label off the container before dropping it, the test strips and the urine sample container into the garbage chute. Only then could I relax a little, I made strong coffee to settle my nerves and noticed I had a message on my cell phone which fell out of my pocket as I threw my jacket on the couch when I got in.. Sipping the hot liquid I checked and saw it was from Aiysha.
"I think I cracked it Bella. There's a small ranch called Hearts'n'Stars just outside Houston. I put the address here for you. Hope it helps, I can't see you for a few days, the dreaded family is visiting Mum now she's better and my presence has been commanded, but let me know if you have any luck."
So a trip to Houston Texas was my next move, unfortunately I didn't have any free time until the weekend but this couldn't really wait, the longer this sickness and pain went on the worse I felt and just perhaps Jasper might be able to help me. I wrote a note to my tutor explaining I had family problems and gave myself a two week window to find him and work out what was going on. If he wasn't there I had no idea what I would do but I'd deal with that problem if or when it arose. I was trying hard to feel positive but the thought I might be turning into a vampire was disconcerting to say the least.
Jasper
For the first few months the ranch kept me busy, it was run down and needed a lot of remedial work which I threw myself into, building new fences and gates, repairing a sagging barn roof and remodelling the old stables that were in danger of collapse. The horses had been well looked after and the stable hand seemed reluctant to leave his charges but I needed time alone to work through everything that had happened. The more physical the work the better I felt, it gave me some respite from the ever present ache of longing. I sat on the porch I'd rebuilt at sunrise and sunset thinking about Bella and wondering how long this enforced solitude would last. Collecting in the hay for winter was another task I enjoyed and every day I would ride the confines of my prison, stopping at the lake for the horses to drink and graze on the lush green pasture leading down to it.
The last time I'd ridden horses in Texas I'd been a human and I remembered my family, long dead now, and my friends I left behind to join the Confederate Army. So much had happened to me in the intervening years, Maria and her newborn army, escape, and my time with Peter and Charlotte, meeting Alice. Alice, the girl I thought was mine for all time. The girl who gave me hope for the first time since I was changed. The girl who had surrendered her hold on me to save another, Bella Swan.
When I first saw her I knew she was different but I put it down to her ease around such dangerous predators as we were. I saw Edward make mistake after mistake, refusing all advise until in the end Alice was forced to act. I had no idea what happened in Forks after I left although I had asked Alice to keep me in the loop. Her continued silence made me nervous but I would do as she had instructed. I know Alice said she would find me, that she would be safe but I couldn't help worrying about her. My whole future rested on her frail human life continuing. Was she changing and if so did she understand what was happening to her? Would she be in pain and scared or would her keen mind work things out? She would never understand my part in things, not until I could explain but she might figure out that James venom had somehow remained in her system somewhere and worked its curse on her very slowly. I hoped so, because if she fell ill and went to a doctor they would see something very strange was happening and it would become common knowledge in the medical community or the Government if they suspected it might be something strange and alien.
In that case the Volturi would hear about it and Bella would live only long enough for them to find and destroy her and anyone who had any connection with her treatment. Time is immaterial to the immortal but after a year I began to wonder if Alice had been wrong after all. My own pain was growing, I needed to be with my mate, not stuck out here alone. Every hunt was more difficult as my loneliness grew, things I had done in minutes a few months ago were now taking twice as long and eventually I looked after the horses and left everything else. I spent longer and longer sitting on the porch watching the horizon and the long drive to the ranch hoping to see some sign that Bella was arriving but week after week it remained empty of all life except for rabbits, deer, and the occasional wolf who gave me a very wide berth.
The pain in my guts had now spread to my chest as if someone had put an iron band around my ribs and was pulling it tighter with every hour, trying to squeeze the life from me. Hunting became a chore that I had to steel myself for and often I would allow the thirst to torment me rather than make the effort to find blood. Only when it was driving me so crazy I could no linger visualize Bella's face clearly would I force myself to my feet and run into the forest. Even then I only went far enough to find prey whatever it might be, not caring if it quenched my thirst enough or not. It was easier to suffer the burn than make the effort to feed properly. Once I realised that, I knew things were getting serious, my body was rebelling against the absence of my mate and I wasn't sure how much longer I could sit and wait, whatever Alice said.