BPOV

After Edward left, I stayed in bed for a while, staring at the ceiling as the room slowly brightened. A lot had happened yesterday, and as my mind churned to life, the memories came flooding back. The dinner with the Cullens, the Phone, Edward's anger at his family, and the talk we had had in the woods last night. I sighed at the ceiling, remembering Edward's arguments against my immortality. In the light of day, they all seemed so ridiculous.

But at least I had allies, now. It sounded like Carlisle would be willing to change me whenever I asked him. Oddly, now that it seemed within reach, I suddenly felt nervous. Did Carlisle expect me to come over and do it today? Surely not. No doubt Edward had eagerly informed him that I wouldn't accept the offer without his approval.

But would I? My refusal had been a gut reaction- of course I wouldn't agree to be changed if Edward didn't want it. But after all he had told me last night, it seemed he did want it, but that he felt he shouldn't. That it wasn't allowed. But now that I knew about his plan, to die when I died…

I tried to understand. I tried to comprehend that impossibility that he could die, and how I would react to that. I tried to imagine how it would have been if Edward's family hadn't caught up to him in time, back in the ballet studio. If James had-

A crushing pain threatened to tear my heart in half, and I gasped, clutching my chest. I did understand, apparently. I took a deep, ragged breath, and the pain disappeared.

I glanced over to the window. It was seven o'clock now, but the light was grey; Forks had shaken off the heat wave. Then I remembered the mysterious date with Edward this afternoon, and I jumped out of bed, getting a head rush and stumbling across the room to my dresser. Dress warmly, he had said. I fished out an old beat-up pair of jeans and a blue sweater. As I tossed them onto my bed, there was a knock at the door.

"Morning, Bells! You up yet?"

"Yeah, I'm getting dressed. Have a good day at work!"

I had been trying to avoid letting Charlie see me in the daylight the past couple of days. I hardly needed the makeup anymore, but the burns were peeling now and that was more difficult to hide.

"You trying to get rid of me?" His voice was an odd mix of joking and suspicion.

"Of course not," I lied. "Um, dad, would you mind handling dinner on your own again tonight? I promise I'll make something good tomorrow."

"Why? You hanging out with the Cullens all day again?"

"I didn't hang out with them all day yesterday! And not today, either. I'll probably just head out around dinnertime, okay?"

"Hmph." I heard him walking away, and sighed in frustration. I wondered if this is how Juliet had felt.

.

.

.

After I ate breakfast and cleaned up the kitchen, I decided to tackle the laundry that had been piling up. I was folding the first load when the phone rang, and I put the phone on my shoulder so I could continue folding.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Bella!"

I felt my throat tighten with anxiety; this was the first time I had spoken with Jacob since Edward had told me the truth about him. Was it really possible that he didn't know what was happening to him? I took a deep breath and tried to sound relaxed.

"Jake! What's up?"

"Oh, just puttering around. You?"

"I'm catching up with some housework today, and then I have a date with Edward tonight."

"Oh. Well, anyway, I was calling to see if you wanted to do the beach thing on Saturday or Sunday. It's supposed to rain Friday, but by Saturday morning-"

"Um, about the beach thing…"

I frowned, hesitating. I still thought it was silly to get myself involved in the feud, and Edward really had no right to tell me where I could and couldn't go. And he definitely had no right to tell me who I couldn't hang out with. But this week had been hard for him, and I didn't want to make him worry.

"What?" Jake asked.

"Well… I just don't think it's going to work out, for this weekend, anyway."

"Why? Are you sick or something? That's like four days away."

"No, it's just… I don't think it's going to work out." My boyfriend, who's a vampire, doesn't want me associating with you or your tribal lands, because you're going to turn into a werewolf any second. Yeah.

"Okay… well maybe next weekend. Anyway, you and I could just hang out instead. Maybe we could catch a movie or something." He was talking faster now, and he sounded nervous. "I mean, if that's all right. It's cool if you'd rather get some other people, too. I just thought…"

"Um, no, I don't think that would work out either," I said lamely. I didn't have an excuse ready, and it was too early in the morning to think creatively.

"Hey, that's fine, I get it," Jacob said coldly. "It's not like I was asking you on a date or anything. Far be it from me to tread on a vampire's territory."

My breath caught in my throat. Did he mean it this time, or were we still joking?

Jacob was talking faster, louder. "My dad told me this would happen, you know. He said you would cancel. I thought he was just spewing more of his anti-Cullen garbage, but he's right about one thing. That boyfriend of yours is seriously bad news. He told you that you couldn't go this weekend, didn't he?"

"Jake, chill out! You know they're not really… you know, vampires. Get a grip."

He laughed bitterly. "Well, duh! But you don't have to be undead to be a control freak. Am I right? Are you cancelling because he told you to?"

"Calm down, Jacob!"

"He did tell you to cancel, didn't he! This is unbelievable," His voice was growing even louder. "We finally get to start hanging out again, and he has to get in the way. You couldn't even come to my house the other day without having to check in with him! Bella, why are you with this guy?"

I had never heard him so angry before—it was like he was a different person. What if this was it? What if he was about to do the werewolf thing? "Jake, please calm down," I said quietly. "You don't need to get upset. Anyway, I've got to go. Maybe you should lie down or something…"

"No, Bella, I've got to go." There was a banging sound, and the line went dead.

I sat frozen on the couch, Charlie's shirt still half-folded in my hands. Was Jacob all right? Should I call him back? I dialed his number, but I shut the phone off just before it could ring. I had gotten off with him in the first place because he was getting too upset. If I called him back now, it might make it worse.

I continued with the laundry, and I was just shoving a stack of towels into the hall closet when I heard a pounding on the door. I went downstairs and peeked through the living room window, seeing a beat-up black Ford out on the curb: Billy Black's car. I swung open the door, and jumped back when Jacob stormed in past me.

"Where is he?" he snarled, looking around.

I put my hands on my hips. "You almost gave me a heart attack! Where's who?"

"Cullen. He was obviously there while you were talking to me. Where is he?"

I balled my hand into fists and stood up as tall as I could- not nearly tall enough to feel intimidating. "He's not here, and he wasn't here before, either. What's the matter with you?"

Jacob let out a huge breath and looked down at me, embarrassment falling over his face. "Um… he's really not here?"

"No! What are you doing here?"

"I…" He looked around, seemingly confused as to how he had gotten here. "Oh boy. Okay, I guess I got a little bent out of shape. It's just, when you… I thought… aw man, Bella, I'm sorry. I'm an idiot."

I snorted. "I'm not disputing that. Don't you have something better to do than crash people's laundry days?"

He took a step away from me, looking more sheepish every second. He seemed to be shrinking back into himself, as if his anger had made him taller for a moment. "Yeah… maybe I'll just go back home now. I guess I thought I was… protecting you or something."

"That's very sweet, but I don't need protecting, especially not from a pile of clothes. Are you sure you're all right?" He looked a little sick, now that he was calming down.

"Yeah, I'm good. For a moment there, it was like…"

"It was like what?"

He didn't answer right away. He was staring down at something. "Bella," he said slowly, "what happened to your arm?"

I glanced down to where his gaze was fixed, and I could feel the blush spreading over my face. I hadn't bothered to cover up either of the burns today, since Charlie had already gone to work. Unfortunately, Jacob looked back up and saw my reddening face. He grabbed my arm, turning it in the light coming from the window. The redness was almost completely gone, now, but the peeling skin still had the pattern of Edward's hand. Jacob slowly raised his hand up and laid it on my arms, covering the five lines with his own five fingers. His other hand tightened on my arm, and he looked up into my eyes, then down at my neck. I snatched my free hand up to cover the injury that he had seen. It occurred to me too late that trying to cover it up was the worst possible reaction.

"He really has been hurting you, hasn't he?" he asked quietly, his voice low and dangerous. His grip tightened even further on my burned arm, making me wince. He scrunched his eyes shut, shaking his head. "Bella…"

"Jake… Jake, you're hurting my arm. I can explain-"

He let go in disgust, backing away from me. "Explain what? The fact that your boyfriend is a sadistic freak, or that you somehow feel the need to defend him? What else has he done to you?" He backed up another step, and as his face screwed up in anger again, his fisted hands began to shake.

"Jake, listen. Please, sit down and listen to me for a minute."

"No. I've got to… I've got to go do something. I've got to go." His voice was deepening into that of a stranger. He held his hand to his forehead, and his eyes suddenly blazed with determination. "Stay here, Bella, I'll be back in a little while." He spun around and headed out the door.

I followed him in a panic. "No! You can't tell Charlie about this! Come back inside and I'll explain everything! Just come back in here! Jacob!" I was ready to tell him everything – I knew it wasn't allowed, but I just couldn't let him ruin everything, I just couldn't.

He smirked back at me over his shoulder as he yanked the door of the car open. "Don't worry, I'm not going to see Charlie."

I ran down the sidewalk to stop him, but he peeled out, racing down the street like a maniac.

.

.

.

EPOV

By the time I had finished talking with Carlisle, I had calmed down. I still couldn't understand how my family had deluded themselves into thinking they could vote on Bella's mortality. But I understood now why they were doing it. I had to admit their love for me, and I could see how the events of the past week had given everyone a sense of urgency.

Carlisle had made his position painfully clear. I had the rest of the summer to sort out my opinions regarding Bella's future, and then he was going to step in. I knew he didn't want to, but I also knew that once Carlisle decided something, his course was set. He never went back on his word. I had less than two months, then. Less than two months to convince myself that it was either acceptable to take Bella's life away- I shuddered at the thought- or whether it was intolerable. If I came to the second conclusion- and I probably would- then I had a problem, a big problem. Could I trust her to keep her word that she wouldn't accept Carlisle's offer? Or would she change her mind, as he suspected? Would I really have to take her away from my family in order to protect her from them, from herself? How would I be able to hide her from Alice?

I trudged back into the house, my mind spinning with impossibilities. Even with these new fears, I was still calmer than I had been when I left to speak to Carlisle earlier. He was right about one thing, at least. Despite all the challenges, and all the uncertainties- even this present one- Bella's love was still worth it. I couldn't even remember anymore what it was like to exist without her.

My mother and siblings were still in the living room, unmoved from when I had seen them last. I looked around at all of them, trying to feel angry again; it was hopeless. I couldn't stay angry. Even though they were trying to destroy the one thing that I held sacred, they were doing it because they loved me. And even Rosalie – although she had been on my side, that had been out of love, too. Her own selfish version of love, anyway. She didn't actually care about Bella's fate, as much as she cared about her family, and our safety, our anonymity.

Jasper looked up at me from the couch. Nice to see you've got your head back on straight… for now.

I gave him a withering smile and picked up my guitar case, carrying it over to the computer desk in the corner of the living room. My plan for this afternoon was to take Bella up to Shipwreck Point, a tiny beach on the north edge of the state, directly across from Vancouver Island. I really did feel badly about Bella's beach trip that she had been planning with Jacob. I didn't approve of her choice of company, but I knew she had been looking forward to the trip, for the few minutes that she thought she was going. So to make it up to her, I would take her to a beach on neutral territory.

I knew she had enjoyed it last week when I had played the classical guitar for her, and I was eager to play a different instrument for her now. I took the guitar out of its case and balanced it on my lap while I began searching on the internet for some music to play. I really had never done much with this particular guitar. I had always preferred the classical style, but this was the perfect opportunity to expand my repertoire.

I spent the rest of the morning learning to play various songs by the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Dick Dale and any other surf music I could find online. Emmett starting singing along with me after the second song, and even Esme was humming along, tapping her foot as she worked on sewing a new curtain for the kitchen door. Carlisle was upstairs in his study, but I could hear him humming along, as well.

I was so involved in the music that I was startled to hear a car door slam outside. I stood up quickly, frowning when I heard the thoughts of Jacob Black. Of all the nerve! Maybe it would be better if his father would tell him the truth, so he could stop breaking the treaty every time he turned around.

"It's Jacob Black. I'll get it," I grumbled as I strode through the living room. Alice was perched on the edge of the couch, rubbing her temples.

This is extremely annoying, Edward. Would you please get rid of him? I can barely see him, and it's giving me a headache.

Jasper had his arms protectively around Alice and he was glaring up at me. Just say the word, Edward, and I've got your back. We can take him down. He's alone, right?

"No one's going to take down anyone," I said firmly, glancing back at Emmett. He sank back down into his chair, sighing in disappointment.

I opened the door and frowned as Jacob stormed up the steps of the porch. "I'm fairly certain you're not supposed to be here," I warned, crossing my arms and leaning against the door frame.

He looked past me, seeing the rest of my family in the living room. Okay, maybe this was a stupid idea. Why did I come here by myself? I should have called Embry.

"I won't be long," he growled, showing more courage than he felt. "I'm just here to tell you to stay away from Bella. I see no problem with going to straight to Charlie, but I don't want her to be any more upset than she already is. So if you'll just back off, I won't say anything."

"That's very thoughtful," I said stiffly, "but I think you should mind your own business."

"Bella is my friend!" he shouted. "And I know you've been hurting her. If you can't take a hint and get out of her life, I'll gladly help you out of it!" He took a step toward me; our faces were only inches apart now. His fists were out, slowly rising in front of his stomach, and they were beginning to tremble. Not a good sign…

"Listen, Jacob," I said as patiently as I could. "I'm not hurting anybody. I love Bella more than life itself, and I would never be able to hurt her. Now just go back on home, and we'll forget this ever happened, all right?"

"Love her?" he spat. "You don't know the first thing about loving her! All you know how to do is control her!" His shoulders were trembling now. His scent was growing more potent, and it was awakening the old hatred in my mind. I stepped just an inch closer to him, and I could feel my eyes darkening as I held back the rage.

"Jacob, I strongly suggest that you get off our land before I do something I'm going to regret," I hissed. Behind me, I could hear my brothers standing up, getting ready to jump in if Jacob attacked. Carlisle was on his way down the stairs now.

Jacob's eyes widened in hatred, and sweat began pouring down his face. "You bastard!" he roared, and he took another step closer, his scent filling my nostrils. "Why don't you step out here and threaten me again?!"

I grabbed the door frame to hold myself back—my muscles were aching to attack now. The frame began to crack under my grip, and my lips were pulling back to expose my teeth. Jacob was shaking all over, and the anger in his eyes suddenly turned to fear. The muscles in his back were convulsing, and he looked down at his hands, which were shaking uncontrollably now. He looked back up at me in horror, and his facial features began to blur. What… what's happening to me?

I threw myself backwards, as far away as I could get in a single bound. "Jasper!" I shouted as I threw myself in front of Esme. "He's going to lose it! Calm him down, now!"