AGENDAS
The flight home was uneventful. Florida was as I imagined it, sunny, very sunny. Having to remain indoors all day was annoying, but there was a good reason to be here, and I placed that reason in the forefront of my brain. Remaining indoors, for the rest of my existence, if it meant Bella would be safe and happy.
It was pleasant becoming acquainted with Renee under better circumstances. She had an amusing mind, more like a child, but pleasant. She had her suspicions, but the thing that stood out the most was her concern for others. Her thoughts for others became overwhelming, just as Bella –she put everyone else's concerns- before her own. The way she processed information was interesting. She didn't see things as other humans did, having a unique way of looking at the world. It was easy to see where Bella got her thoughts from, possibly being why Bella never did as I assume she would. Seeing her mother's thoughts gave me a better understanding of Bella's.
She had her concerns about Bella and I, but there was no more concern than any other parent would have. Giving Renee a different impression of myself… pleased me. She appeared relieved –by the time we left –with the type of person her daughter had become involved with. Making me happy that she had a better image of me, then, she did when we first arrived. My true goal after arriving in Florida was to have Renee accept me as Bella's boyfriend, and for her to be certain that I would keep her safe and happy.
My plan may have worked a little too well. Her biggest concern, upon leaving, was that Bella and I were too close. Renee was far more observant than others and noticed how we were together. Bella had become an extension of me and I of her. We moved simultaneously and were rarely apart. If this was the worst she thought of me, I could live with that. At least she didn't believe I was selfish and didn't have Bella's best interest at heart, unlike Charlie.
"You've been very quiet," I observed. "Did the plane make you sick?"
"No, I'm okay."
"Are you sad to leave?"
"More relieved than sad, I think."
Raising one eyebrow at her, as I drove back to Forks.
"Renee is so much more… perceptive than Charlie in some ways. It was making me jumpy."
Laughing. "Your mother has a very interesting mind. Almost childlike, but very insightful. She sees things differently than other people."
Bella fell into deep thought about my last statement, as did I.
After arriving in Florida, of course at night to avoid the sun, we headed to her house. It was a quaint little house, but happy enough. She missed Bella terribly and knew I was the only thing keeping Bella from returning to her. So, as it was in the beginning she was determined not to like me. Her thoughts were unpleasant when she thought of me and I knew this was compacted by Charlie's influence. Believing I could change her mind, I set out to do just that.
By the end of the weekend, she did have a few suspicions about me, but was far more accepting of my relationship with Bella. This was my plan and I was happy it worked. She seemed a little more at ease when it came to me.
Driving home Bella had fallen asleep. This was my time to watch my beautiful angel at her best. Loving to watch her sleep, it was the time she appeared most peaceful. She spent way too much time worry about things she shouldn't. But when she slept, she looked like an angel, an angel with no worries. Pulling up in front of Charlie's house. The porch light was on and the cruiser was parked it the driveway.
Brushing my fingers across her cheek, she looked up. Leaning down I kissed her forehead.
"We're home, Sleeping Beauty. Time to awake."
The curtain twitched inside the house as Charlie peeked out, anticipating Bella's arrival. Hearing in his thoughts I realized immediately that Jacob would be the problem today, not Charlie.
"How bad?" she asked, anticipating trouble from Charlie.
"Charlie's not going to be difficult," I promised, my voice level with no hint of humor. "He missed you."
This was true –he missed her like crazy- his love for her overwhelming. Mixed in his thoughts of his daughters return were thoughts of Jacob, who spent the day anticipating Bella's return. He wondered what was so important that Jacob would call all day long.
Grabbing her bag, we walked to the door where Charlie held it opened.
"Welcome home, kid!" Charlie shouted. "How was Jacksonville?"
"Moist. And buggy."
"So Renee didn't sell you on the University of Florida?"
"She tried. But I'd rather drink water than inhale it."
Charlie's eyes flickered unwillingly to mine. "Did you have a nice time?"
"Yes," I answered in a serene voice. "Renee was very hospitable."
"That's… um, good. Glad you had fun," Charlie turned away from me and pulled Bella in for a hug. This disappointed him as he was hoping that Renee would come to the same conclusion that he did, that I was not good enough for his daughter.
"Impressive," she whispered in his ear.
He rumbled a laugh. "I really missed you, Bells. The food around here sucks when you're gone."
"I'll get on it," she said as he let her go.
"Would you call Jacob first? He's been bugging me every five minutes since six o'clock this morning. I promised I'd have you call him before you even unpacked."
This was it, the reason for my tension. She hadn't heard from Jacob since the night in the forest, when he found out I was back. Hoping that this would not be an issue in our relationship, I can see now that it would. Jacob was not going to go away that easy.
"Jacob wants to talk to me?"
"Pretty bad, I'd say. He wouldn't tell me what it was about –just said it was important."
I'll bet it was important. What could he want now? And why was he so eager to speak to Bella? Why now?
The phone rang then, shrill and demanding.
"That's him again, I'd bet my next paycheck," Charlie muttered.
"I got it," she hurried to the kitchen.
Following after her while Charlie disappeared into the living room.
Bella grabbed the phone mid-ring, and twisted around so that she was facing the wall. "Hello?"
Attempting to hide from me while she had this conversation with Jacob, I couldn't allow that. Needing to hear exactly what was said, I needed to know what he might tell her. Wishing I had time to prepare, time to find out what went on while we were gone, before I had to face her with what I've done. Leave it to Jacob Black, to put aside his unhappiness with my return, to unleash the information about Victoria. Not believing he was someone I had to worry about, and as usual, I was wrong.
Wishing I could provide her space, some privacy to take this phone call, I couldn't. Listening intently, I had to know the meaning behind this phone call.
Bella cleared her throat. "Yes," she answered.
"Why didn't you call me?" Jacob demanded.
Not liking the tone he used with her. "Because I've been in the house for exactly four seconds and your call interrupted Charlie telling me that you'd called."
"Oh. Sorry."
"Sure. Now, why are you harassing Charlie?"
"I need to talk to you."
"Yeah, I figured out that part all by myself. Go ahead?"
There was a short pause. This was a hostel conversation, which meant things weren't as bad as I first anticipated.
"You going to school tomorrow?"
Bella frowned. "Of course I am. Why wouldn't I?"
"I dunno. Just curious."
Another pause. Wishing he would get to the point, he was being very cryptic.
"So what did you want to talk about, Jake?"
He hesitated. "Nothing really, I guess. I… wanted to hear your voice."
"Yeah, I know. I'm so glad you called me, Jake. I…"
"I have to go," he said abruptly.
"What?"
"I'll talk to you soon, okay?"
"But Jake…"
She stood stunned by the conversation for a moment. I myself was a little surprised by the length of their conversation. It made me wonder what Jacob was up to.
"That was short," she muttered.
"Is everything all right?" I asked, my voice low and careful.
She turned to look at me. "I don't know. I wonder what that was about."
"Your guess is probably better than mine," I said, with a hint of a smile.
"Mmm," she murmured.
Knowing how difficult it was for her, not to have Jacob in her life, I felt awful. Wishing there was some way to compromise, I knew there wasn't. She would have to get use to the idea that he was our enemy, especially if she were making the choice she was. Once Bella transformed, he would no longer be able to see her, and the sooner she realized this the better. Ending this now, rather than later, would be in Bella and Jacob's best interest. Wishing Bella would comprehend this –it would be better for everyone involved.
As for Jacob Black, knowing exactly what was on his mind, it wouldn't work. If there were a way to take him out of the picture, I would. Not being able to do that, yet, I'd wait. One day when he was no longer her friend…
For now, dealing with our latest problem would take most of my attention. At some point I would have to return home to obtain the events of the weekend. Being certain there was more than Victoria's return to deal with. More happened this weekend that would make Jacob become involved with Bella again, this I was certain of. But I had to go home to find out more information.
Pulling me from my thoughts, Bella dropped a package of meat that was in her hands, she froze in the middle of the kitchen. Catching it before it hit the floor, I threw it on the counter. Putting my arms around her, and my lips to her ear.
"What's wrong?"
She shook her head, dazed.
Her mind was swirling with thoughts –not that I was able to hear them- I could see them on her face. Something was bothering her, and she was definitely concerned about it. Never having seen her this way before, she appeared terrified. Whatever conclusion had she come to that made her this horrified?
Shaking her I became alarmed. "Bella?" I asked, truly anxious now.
"I think… I think he was checking," she mumbled. "Checking to make sure. That I'm human, I mean."
I stiffened and growled a low hiss in her ear.
"We'll have to leave," she whispered. "Before. So that it doesn't break the treaty. We won't ever be able to come back."
Tightening my arms around her. "I know."
So realization was finally setting in… Perhaps, this would change her mind. Maybe, this would be enough to make her reconsider her decision.
"Ahem," Charlie cleared his voice loudly behind us.
Bella jumped breaking free from my arms. Casually, I leaned against the counter. Worry and anger washed threw me. Worried about Bella's reaction to the realization she's had and angry with Jacob Black for bringing this all on so suddenly.
"If you don't want to make dinner, I can call for a pizza," Charlie hinted.
"No, that's okay, I'm already started."
"Okay," Charlie said. He propped himself against the doorframe, folding his arms.
Bella sighed and got to work. Taking this as my cue to leave. Kissing her forehead, I walked passed Charlie and out the front door.
Arriving home Alice was waiting for me on the porch.
"How was Jacksonville?" she asked.
"Very nice. Fill me in on what's been going on here," I asked.
"Well, she was here."
"What happened?"
"We tracked her to the line, but she kept right on the boundary of the reservation. I swear Edward, it was like she new exactly where it was."
Getting the rest of the story out of her mind, I was angry. Being that close, allowing her to slip through because of the wolves. Knowing they would be a problem, what with them being new, they were hard to control. According to her, Emmett and one of the wolves, almost got into a fight. This piece of information didn't please me, Emmett should have known better. Once that happened, it got worse with everyone getting involved and tensions running very high.
Wishing I were here, there would be no escaping for her. The problems seemed to be piling on; first there was Victoria, now we had to worry about the wolves. How could my family allow this to happen? What were they thinking? I suppose I would have to take care of this myself, which I should've done in the first place.
"Let's go inside," I said to Alice.
"After you," waving her hand out in front of her, motioning me to go first.
As I stepped through the door Emmett jumped up to meet me.
"Edward, I'm so sorry. But those wolves had it coming," se said apologetically.
"It's alright, Emmett."
"No, we should have got her, it's my fault we didn't. I really am sorry."
"I know you are. Don't worry we'll get her next time. Where's Carlisle?" I asked.
"Working. How was your trip? Did you and Bella have a good time?" Esme asked on her way down the stairs.
"Yes, it was good. Thank you," I answered as she pulled me tight in a hug.
"I missed you."
"I missed you, too."
"Not to worry, Edward. Victoria will be back and we will take care of her next time. The wolves caught us off guard, but that won't happen again," Esme added.
"I know, besides I'll be here next time and I have a one track mind."
Proceeding to my room to wait for my time to return to Bella. Putting on the stereo to listen to some music, Alice followed me.
"Edward, I'm really sorry. I know how important this was to you," she offered.
"It's not your fault. Don't worry about it. She won't be breathing good air for much longer," I reassured her.
"She'll be back she's quite determined. I haven't seen anything else yet, but I'm watching," Alice said.
"I know, Alice. Thanks. It'll be alright."
After Alice left, I listened to music until it was time to return to Bella.
Entering her room quietly, so I wouldn't wake her, she lay sleeping as I resumed my place in her rocker. Staring at her in the moonlight, she was the most exquisite looking thing I'd ever seen. It was hard to believe she was really mine. With her hair wild around her and her legs pulled up to her chest, she looked like a child without a care in the world. Wishing that was the truth, for her to be worry free, I knew that was not possible. Tomorrow would bring more for her to be concerned about. It was a relief to know she would have one more peaceful night.
Sitting here watching her sleeping peacefully, there was a rustling noise from the forest outside her window. Fear of Victoria's return I got up to investigate. Seeing him running back and forth across the property line. Wanting to speak to him, my desire was to send him away, to never return, I couldn't. The fact was, he was here to protect her and I couldn't send away anything that was protecting her. So, for now, he could guard the house, as long as I was able to protect her from the inside.
His mental thoughts were screaming at me. His thoughts were deplorable as he cursed me out. Listening for a moment, I understood his point of view, but could no longer tolerate his reprehensible thoughts leaving me no choose but to close the window. This made him angrier knowing I was here with her.
Lying down next to her on the bed, I tuned him out by humming her lullaby. After a while I could no longer hear him and rather hoped he'd left.
Driving to school the next day I caught wind of something that was waiting for us.
"If I asked you to do something, would you trust me?" I asked, an edge to my voice.
Almost at school my hands tightened around the steering wheel, attempting not to snap it. How dare he approach us here of all places? This was unacceptable.
Her pulse speed up and she answered carefully. "That depends."
Pulling into the school lot. I should've turned around, I should've left, but I couldn't hide this from her for much longer. It was better to face this now, get it over with.
"I was afraid you would say that."
"What do you want me to do, Edward?"
"I want you to stay in the car," pulling into my usual spot I turned off the engine as I spoke. "I want you to wait here until I come back for you."
"But… why?"
That was when she saw him, and I knew I wouldn't get my way. He was leaning against his black motorcycle, parked on the sidewalk. He stood out in this crowd.
"Oh," she said.
She peered at him wondering what he was doing here. He seemed angry almost dangerous, attempting to remain in control. Ultimately, he was here to speak to me.
"You jumped to the wrong conclusion last night," I murmured. "He asked about school because he knew that I would be where you were. He was looking for a safe place to talk to me. A place with witnesses."
It took a moment for her to process this information and I could tell she was wondering what this was all about.
"I'm not staying in the car," she said.
Groaning quietly, I was afraid of that. "Of course not. Well, let's get this over with."
Jacob's face-hardened as we walked toward him, hand in hand. He didn't like seeing us this way. Why he would want to torture himself this way was beyond me. I couldn't figure him out. Seeing us as a couple only made him angrier.
There were other faces, too –the faces of our classmates. They were all waiting to see what would happen between Jacob and I. Hating to be a disappointment, I was afraid I would have to be, nothing that was going to happen with Jacob and I. Especially not in front of Bella, and not in front of all these witnesses.
He was cursing me in his mind. It was very uncomfortable having him so close to me. Stopping a few yards away from him, I was uncomfortable having Bella in such close proximity to him. Drawing my hand back slightly I pulled Bella halfway behind my body.
"You could have called us," I said in a harsh voice.
"Sorry," Jacob answered, his face twisting into a sneer. "I don't have any leeches on my speed dial."
"You could have reached me at Bella's house, of course."
Jacob's jaw flexed, and his brows pulled together. The thought of this angered him, and he didn't answer.
"This is hardly the place, Jacob. Could we discuss this later?"
"Sure, sure. I'll stop by your crypt after school," Jacob snorted. "What's wrong with now?"
Looking around pointedly, my eyes rested on the witnesses who were just barely out of hearing range. A few people were hesitating on the sidewalk, their eyes bright with expectation, like they were hoping a fight might break out to alleviate the tedium of another Monday morning. Seeing Tyler Crowley nudge Austin Marks as they both paused on their way to class. Disappointment would fill their minds, as nothing was about to happen, not here.
"I already know what you came to say," I said reminding Jacob in a voice so low that nobody would have a chance of hearing. "Message delivered. Consider us warned."
Glancing down at Bella for a fleeting second with worried eyes. She would have to know about everything now, and I knew that if I didn't tell her, he sure would.
"Warned?" she asked blankly. "What are you talking about?"
"You didn't tell her?" Jacob asked, his eyes widening with disbelief. "What, were you afraid she'd take our side?"
"Please drop it, Jacob," I said in an even voice giving him a chance.
"Why?" Jacob challenged.
Bella frowned in confusion. "What don't I know? Edward?"
Glaring at Jacob I ignored her. This was not the place for a conversation about this.
"Jake?"
Jacob raised an eyebrow at her. "He didn't tell you that his big… brother crossed the line Saturday night?" he asked, his tone thickly layered with sarcasm. Then his eyes flickered back to mine. "Paul was totally justified in…"
"It was no-man's land!" I hissed, reminding him, that even though I was not there, I knew what took place.
"Was not!"
Jacob was fuming visibly making me anxious that he was about to lose control. His hands trembled. He shook his head and sucked in two deep breathes of air. His actions were making me quite nervous, that my classmates may get their wish, and a fight would break out right here. Doing everything in my power to make certain that didn't happen.
"Emmett and Paul?" Bella whispered. "What happened? Were they fighting," her voice strained higher in panic. "Why? Did Paul get hurt?"
"No one fought," I said quietly, only to her. "No one got hurt. Don't be anxious."
Jacob was staring at us with incredulous eyes. "You didn't tell her anything at all, did you? Is that why you took her away? So she wouldn't know that…"
That did it, I wasn't going to stand here and listen to another moment of this. Jacob Black was not going to dictate what I would or would not tell Bella. None of this was his business anymore and he no longer belonged here.
"Leave now," cutting him off mid-sentence, turning hard and cold. Glaring at Jacob with vicious, unveiled loathing.
Jacob raised his eyebrows, but made no other move. "Why haven't you told her?"
Facing each other in silence for a long moment. Needing to remain in control, needing to be the mature person here, it was difficult. Every instinct was telling me to take him out, but I couldn't. Not being able to hurt Bella that way along with exposing myself to all of these witnesses… was not an option.
More students gathered behind Tyler and Austin. Mike moved next to Ben and appeared to be holding him back. It was rather touching for a moment knowing Ben was ready to help me out. That had never happened to me before. Not that I would allow him to do that, he didn't know what he would be facing.
As Jacob and I were having this staring contest I heard Bella gasp.
"She came back for me," she chocked out.
Holding her tighter to my side, angling my body so that I was still between Bella and Jacob, stroking her face with anxious hands. "It's fine," I whispered to her. "It's fine. I'll never let her get close to you, it's fine."
Then I glared at Jacob. "Does that answer your question, mongrel?"
"You don't think Bella has a right to know?" Jacob challenged. "It's her life?"
Keeping my voice very low I didn't want our audience hearing. "Why should she be frightened when she was never in danger?"
"Better frightened than lied to."
Bella attempted to not be affected by this, to hide her true feelings from me, but I knew. Wiping the tears from her eyes with my fingertips. This is what I was attempting to prevent from the beginning. Leave it to Jacob to ruin everything with his attempt to make me a monster.
"Do you really think hurting her is better than protecting her?" I murmured.
"She's tougher than you think," Jacob said. "And she's been through worse."
Jacob began flashing his memories of my time away from Bella. Starting with her night in the forest, up until, the moment I returned. Hearing about this time was painful, but seeing it first hand, the damage I'd done, was excruciating. The vision of her lying in pain in the middle of the forest, not caring whether she lived or died, crushed me to my very core.
"That's funny," Jacob said, laughing as he watched my face.
Wincing I smoothed out my expression with a little effort. Jacob may have thought that was funny, but I on the other hand, was glad I saw it. Reminding me for the rest of my existence of what I've done, prompting me to never do that again. I should thank Jacob for his memories, the better I understood them, the harder I would work to make it up to her.
Bella glanced wide-eyed from Jacob to me.
"What are you doing to him?" she demanded.
"It's nothing, Bella," telling her quietly. "Jacob just has a good memory, that's all."
Jacob grinned, and I winced again. More memories were flashing threw my mind. This time they were of Bella at Jacob's garage, she appeared thin and very pale, almost paler than me. She didn't look well at all. He had many more and watching was horrifying. Not realizing how bad she was, fortified for me, that I'd finally made the right choice for Bella and myself, by remaining this time.
"Stop it! Whatever you're doing."
"Sure, if you want," Jacob shrugged. "It's his own fault if he doesn't like the things I remember, though."
"The principal's on his way to discourage loitering on school property," I murmured to her. "Let's get to English, Bella, so you're not involved."
"Overprotective, isn't he?" Jacob said, talking just Bella. "A little trouble makes life fun. Let me guess, you're not allowed to have fun, are you?"
Glowering, I pulled my lips back from my teeth ever so slightly, just as warning. He needed to leave as I was uncertain how much longer I would be able to contain myself. Years of practicing patience could be unraveled in a few mere minutes if Jacob continued to talk.
"Shut up, Jake," Bella said.
Jacob laughed. "That sounds like a no. Hey, if you ever feel like having a life again, you could come see me. I've still got your motorcycle in my garage."
"You were supposed to sell that. You promised Charlie you would."
"Yeah, right. Like I would do that. It belongs to you, not me. Anyway, I'll hold on to it until you want it back."
"Jake…"
He leaned forward, his face earnest now, the bitter sarcasm fading. "I think I might have been wrong before, you know, about not being able to be friends. Maybe we could manage it, on my side of the line. Come see me."
She glanced at me and I remained calm, there was no reason to act on this statement. He was attempting to provoke me and I refuse to allow him to. The fact was she was never going down to La Push, it was too dangerous, and I'd already made that clear. She already understood my position on this subject.
"I, err, don't know about that, Jake."
Jacob dropped his antagonistic façade completely. He hadn't forgotten that I was there, but he was determined to act like he had. "I miss you every day, Bella. It's not the same without you."
Almost feeling sorry for him, I knew how he felt, as I had missed her every day, too. It seemed impossible to stay away and I'm certain from his thoughts it's the same for him.
"I know and I'm sorry, Jake, I just…"
Jacob shook his head and sighed. "I know. Doesn't matter, right? I guess I'll survive or something. Who needs friends?" his heart was breaking and again I felt awful for him in this brief moment, I too knew what it was like to lose her. His feelings for her were a lot more than she was lead to believe, this was not simply friendship to him.
In the end, instead of protecting her, I held her defensively, restraining her. Not allowing her go to him, keeping her pinned behind me. Believing this was the best thing for both of them. It was ridiculous to believe they could be friends, and that was never going to happen, it couldn't.
"Okay, get to class," a stern voice sounded behind us. "Move along, Mr. Crowley."
"Get to school, Jake," Bella whispered, anxious.
Releasing Bella, taking just her hand I pulled her behind my body again.
Mr. Greene pushed through the circle of spectators, his brows pressing down like ominous storm clouds over his small eyes.
"I mean it," he was threatening. "Detention for anyone who's still standing here when I turn around again."
The audience melted away before he was finished with his sentence.
"Ah, Mr. Cullen. Do we have a problem here?"
"Not at all, Mr. Greene. We were just on our way to class."
"Excellent. I don't seem to recognize your friend." Mr. Greene turned his glower to Jacob. "Are you a new student here?"
Mr. Greene's eyes scrutinized Jacob, and it seemed that he had come to the same conclusion as everyone else here. He saw Jacob as a dangerous troublemaker, which he was.
"Nope," Jacob said, half smirking.
"Then I suggest you remove yourself form school property at once, young man, before I call the police."
Jacob's little smirk became a full-blown grin, knowing that if Charlie were to show up at this particular moment, it would be me that would be going away in handcuffs, not him. Charlie would find a way to blame me for all of this.
Jacob answered. "Yes, sir," snapping a military salute before climbing on his bike and kicked it to a start. Turning to glare at me one last time leaving me with a warning.
We aren't finished. I'll be seeing you, he squealed his tires as spun it sharply around. In a matter of seconds, Jacob raced out of sight.
Mr. Greene gnashed his teeth together while he watched the performance.
"Mr. Cullen, I expect you to ask your friend to refrain from trespassing again."
"He's no friend of mine, Mr. Greene, but I'll pass along the warning."
Mr. Greene pursed his lips. He was thinking it was strange that I had friends such as Jacob, being that I had never been trouble at this school before, he couldn't figure out what was really happening. "I see. If you're worried about any trouble, I'd be happy to…"
"There's nothing to worry about, Mr. Greene. There won't be any trouble."
He wasn't quite convinced of this, but would let it go.
"I hope that's correct. Well, then. On to class. You, too, Miss Swan."
Nodding I pulled Bella quickly along toward the English building. She appeared out of sorts and I wasn't certain she was okay with what just went on. I on the other hand, had some explaining to do, that I was not looking forward to.
"Do you feel well enough to go to class?" whispering when we had passed the principal.
"Yes," she whispered back, another lie.
Many questions were forming in her eyes, and I didn't want to answer any of them. She didn't need to know what happened, and she certainly didn't need to know about Victoria. Making her scared and nervous all of the time, leave it to Jacob Black to unleash things that were none of his business.
We got to class a little late and took our seats quickly. Mr. Berty was reciting a Frost poem. Ignoring our entrance he refused to let us break his rhythm.
Bella yanked a blank page out of her notebook and began writing, irritated. Here we go, she would want to know everything. Even though I didn't want her to know, I had to explain it to her.
What happened? Tell me everything. And
Screw the protecting me crap, please.
She shoved the note at me. I sighed, and then began writing. Taking less time than her, I wrote an entire paragraph slipping the note back to her.
Alice saw that Victoria was coming back. I took you
out of town merely as a precaution –there was never a
chance that she would have gotten anywhere close to you.
Emmett and Jasper very nearly had her, but Victoria
seems to have some instinct for evasion. She escaped
right down the Quitleute boundary line as if she were
reading if from a map. It didn't help that Alice's
abilities were mollified by the Quitleutes' involvement. To
be fair, the Quileutes might have had her, too, if we
hadn't gotten in the way. The big gray one thought
Emmett was over the line, and he got defensive. Of
course Rosalie reacted to that, and everyone left the chase
to protect their companions. Carlisle and Jasper got
things calmed down before it got out of hand. But by
then, Victoria had slipped away. That's everything.
She frowned as she read my note. I didn't have to read her mind to know exactly what she was thinking. Having everyone in a fight –vampires against the wolves- would make her unhappy. Some how she figured we could all exist together, but she was naïve, not realizing how deep the hatred between the two groups was. The wolves simply existed to destroy us, and that became their reason for existing. Wishing it could be possible, wishing the circumstances could be different, for her, I knew they couldn't be. She would have to accept this and make a choice at some point.
But I would give her time to make that decision. It didn't have to be now and I wouldn't force the issue… for now.
She erased the paragraph I'd just written and wrote again.
What about Charlie? She could have been
after him.
Shaking my head before she finished, holding out my hand for the pen and paper. She ignored me and wrote again.
You can't know that she wasn't thinking that,
Because you weren't here. Florida was a bad idea.
Taking the paper from underneath her hand.
I wasn't about to send you off alone. With your luck,
not even the black box would survive.
That was enough of this conversation. She knew all she needed to know, for now. Distracting her seemed to be the best way to put an end to this conversation.She was a little upset with my assumption that her back luck could crash a plane.
So let's say my bad luck did crash the plane.
What exactly were you going to do about it?
Why is the plane crashing?
Fighting very hard to hide my smile.
The pilots are passed out drunk.
Easy. I'd fly the plane.
She was becoming even more irritated.
Both engines have exploded and we're falling in
a death spiral toward the earth.
I'd wait till we were close enough to the ground, get a
good grip on you, kick out the wall, and jump. Then
I'd run you back to the scene of the accident, and we'd
stumble around like the two luckiest survivors in history.
She stared at me wordlessly.
"What?" I whispered.
Shaking her head in awe. "Nothing," she mouthed.
What could she say to an answer like that? There was nothing that could be said, except that it was the truth. Perhaps now she would realize what I would do to keep her safe, there wasn't anything I wouldn't do to accomplish that.
She wrote one more line.
You will tell me next time.
Staring at her face, coming to the realization she was right. I shouldn't keep things from her, not that I shouldn't, more like couldn't. Not with Jacob Black in the picture. There would be no more hiding things from Bella.
Sighing I nodded once.
Thanks.
Pulling the paper from underneath Bella's hand, at the same moment I pulled out another sheet of paper. We had caught the unwanted attention of Mr. Berty who was now on his way down the aisle.
"Is there something you'd like to share there, Mr. Cullen?"
Peering up innocently I held out the sheet of paper on the top of my folder. "My notes?" I asked sounding confused.
Mr. Berty scanned the notes –a perfect transcription of his lecture –and then walked away frowning. Teachers hated that I was always more prepared then they were. There was nothing more irritating to them, then never catching me unprepared. If they only knew the truth, they wouldn't be so upset. It's not that I wanted to make them uncomfortable, but after eighty years of schooling there was nothing new, nothing different. Schools, classes, and even teachers were all the same. When would they realize that times change and so should they? That's enough of my rant about the problems that seem to plague every school system. That problem would take a whole other book to explain.
It was time to separate from Bella for now. This was the one class we didn't have together. She was headed off to Calculus. I, on the other hand, was off to sweep the forest in search of Victoria. Not taking any chances with her still in the picture. Being vigilant about making certain we were not surprised by her. Not allowing an ambush, I needed to remain on top of the situation at all times. Figuring with the amount of people keeping watch there was no possible way we would miss her next attempt.