Back to the Start
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Worry
A sharp jolt of unease pierced Bella's stomach as she looked at the headline in the paper:
DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE, POLICE FEAR GANG ACTIVITY
She read the words aloud to herself, and then looked up at Jacob in alarm. "A…a vampire is doing this?" She whispered, feeling sickened.
Jacob smiled without humor. His voice was low and subdued. "You'd be surprised, Bella, at how often the bloodsuckers are the source behind the horrors you read about in print. Its easy to recognize when you know what to look for. The information here indicates that a newborn vampire is loose in Seattle. Bloodthirsty. Out of control. Just like the ones who were behind the arson attacks in Forks a few weeks ago."
Bella let out a pained gasp, letting her gaze drop to the paper again. All the signs were there – the unlikely disappearances, always in the night, the poorly disposed of corpses, the lack of other evidence…. Yes, someone brand new. She took a deep breath, glancing up at Jacob again.
"You think the vampires who got away from you all that night could be responsible for this?"
"I believe so. It makes sense. And it confirms why we haven't found any traces of the leeches in the last few weeks, despite all our efforts to track them down to finish them off." Jacob said grimly. He took a deep breath to try and regain his composure. "Well, its not our problem. There's not a lot we can do. We wouldn't even have been paying attention to the situation if it wasn't going on so close to home. Like I said, the existence of monsters' results in monstrous consequences."
Bella tried not to see the names on the page, but they jumped out from the rest of the print like they were in bold. The five people whose lives were over, whose families were in mourning now. It was different from reading murder in the abstract, reading those names. Mareen Gardiner, Geoffrey Campbell, Grace Razi, Michelle O'Connell, Ronald Albrook. People who'd had parents and children and friends and pets and jobs and hopes and plans and memories and futures….
Tears pricked at her eyes, and before she knew it, she was sobbing wretchedly. If not for Jacob, Billy, and the wolf pack, she would have been one of those names on the list. It would have been Charlie and Renee mourning for her right now.
"Oh, Bella, honey." Jacob said in understanding. He pulled her gently against him, wrapping his arms right around her, her tears leaving damp splotches on his t-shirt. "Its okay. I promise."
"It could have been me, Jake." Bella wept. "I was one of the lucky ones. I had protection. They didn't."
"I know." Jacob sighed, wishing he could wipe away the painful memories forever.
Bella had been having nightmares about the attack ever since it had happened. Charlie had confided in Billy about the many nights his daughter had woken up screaming and he had gone in to comfort her. Jacob had heard her cries himself when he went by her house patrolling. He had to fight the urge to climb right into her room through the window and into her bed, so he could hold her in his arms and chase the demons away. But he didn't dare with Charlie in the house. They had been caught once and the police chief had been understanding. Twice would be another matter.
Eventually Bella managed to regain her composure. She laughed a shaky laugh and knocked the paper off the table so she wouldn't have to see those names, it hit the linoleum with a dull thud.
"Feeling better?" Jacob asked gently.
"Yes. I'm sorry about that. I don't know what's wrong with me." Bella stared at her hands, clenched into double fists at her sides.
"You're not the only one who has nightmares, Bells." Jacob confessed with a rueful smile.
"You, too?" Bella said, surprised.
"Yeah." Jacob confirmed. "And the others. Jared is really struggling. The face of that young teenage vampire he had to take down still haunts him."
"Oh God, Jake, this is ghastly. None of us should have to be dealing with this." Bella cried angrily, her nails biting into the skin of her palms.
They both fell silent for a moment, and then Jacob's warm finger was under her chin, coaxing her face up. His expression was soft, loving.
"Its okay to be upset, Bella. And you're right. It isn't fair. Or right. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to change it."
"I know. I know. I shouldn't have reacted that way."
"You've done nothing wrong, Bella."
Bella took a deep breath. "In my heart I know this. But I can't stop thinking of those innocent victims." Her voice turned pleading. "Isn't there anything we can do?"
Jacob's face changed while she spoke, his expression hardening. "I wish there was, Bells. I really do. But its impossible. Seattle isn't like Forks or La Push. There is no place for us to hide. We'd be exposed and vulnerable. Its too risky."
"Of course. I'm sorry. I'm being ridiculous."
"No, you're not. You're being honest." Jacob dropped his hand and looked away quickly to hide the guilt in his dark eyes. He searched for a subject change. His eyes paused on something behind Bella, and he smiled, though his eyes stayed wary. "I think you're sadly in need of a visit to a bookstore, Bells. I can't believe you're reading Wuthering Heights again Don't you know it by heart yet?"
Bella's cheeks flushed red. "I haven't been sleeping very well." She mumbled. "It keeps my brain occupied."
"Yeah, I suppose." Jacob sighed again. So much for a subject change. He had failed on the first try. He pulled her back into his arms. Unclenching her hands Bella slipped them around his waist. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, once again listening to the soothing sound of his heartbeat. "Do you have any idea how important you are to me, Bella, honey? Of how much I love you? I only want you to be happy."
Bella leaned up and pressed a kiss against the warm skin of his neck. "Yes, I do." She whispered. "And I love you."
Jacob kissed the top of her head. "Its going to be alright, Bella. I promise." He said, wishing that he could believe the same.
Bella felt oddly buoyant as she walked from Spanish toward the cafeteria, and it wasn't because she was having a particularly good day, maybe it was the atmosphere of freedom that hung over the entire campus. School was winding down, and, for her especially, it led to a perceptible thrill in the air.
After the school gym had been almost destroyed in the fires, a fundraiser had been set up to help rebuild it. Posters crowded together on the cafeteria walls, and the trashcans wore a colorful skirt of spilled-over fliers: a special school dance was going to he held, donated items were going to be auctioned off, all proceeds going into the fund.
The big dance was this coming weekend, and Bella was looking forward to it. It would be another chance to spend some quality time with Jacob. She had already bought the tickets. They burned a hole in her pocket. She couldn't wait to tell him about it. Perhaps some of the pack could come as well, at least those who weren't patrolling. It would give them all a chance to shake off the recent trauma and relax.
"Have you heard the announcement yet?" Angela asked as Bella sat down at the table. She had her light brown hair pulled back into a sloppy ponytail instead of her usual smooth hairdo, and there was a slightly frantic look about her eyes.
"About the dance?" Bella answered eagerly. "Yes, I have. The posters are everywhere."
"Oh, right, of course. Stupid me." Angela's cheeks blazed red in embarrassment.
"Are you okay, Ange?" Bella asked in concern. "You look kind of harassed."
"I am." Angela moaned. "My parents are chaperoning the thing and want me to help organize everything. And worse they keep asking who my date is going to be. I'm afraid to tell them I'll be going solo."
"You could come with me and Jake." Bella offered.
Angela smiled weakly. "That's kind of you, Bella. It really is. I'd feel like a bit of a third wheel, though. You and Jake can be kind of intense."
This time it was Bella's cheeks that blazed. She returned Angela's smile sheepishly, knowing her friend was right. When she and Jake were together, it was like no one else in the world existed. She wracked her brains to come up with a solution to Angela's dilemma. The answer came like a lightening flash.
"Embry!" She said aloud.
"What?" Angela looked at Bella in confusion.
Bella laughed gleefully. "Embry Call is one of Jake's friends. You'll love him, Angela. He's super nice. We can all go together. It's the perfect solution."
"Like a double date?" Angela looked relieved. "Do you think this Embry guy would mind going with someone he doesn't know? I wouldn't want to impose on him."
Bella's smile turned into a grin. "No. I don't think Embry would mind at all."
Ever since Bella had said goodbye to Edward Cullen for the last time in the forest outside her house, she had been plagued by a persistent, uncomfortable nightmare. It replayed like clockwork at regular intervals, filling her head with his ghostly visage, his face crumpled in pain. She hadn't told Jacob or Charlie about it, feeling that it was pointless now that the Cullens had been gone for so long.
Bella was annoyed that the specific mental picture was intruding on her happy thoughts today. She couldn't imagine why. Ninety-nine percent of the time, she never gave Edward or the Cullens a thought, so didn't understand what her annoying brain was trying to tell her.
"Fuck off, Edward. Stop haunting my head." She muttered under her breath when his face popped unwanted into her mind again. She had an inkling it might have something to do with all the vampire activity going down in Seattle.
"Bella, are you okay?" Angela asked from beside her as they walked to their next lesson. "You look upset."
Bella forced a smile onto her face. "No, I'm perfectly fine." She said, linking her arm through Angela's. "Now what should we wear?"
Far away in Denali:
"Alice? Alice!"
Alice was unaware of Edward waving his hand back and forth in front of her face. Her expression remained blank, her eyes staring straight ahead. Edward recognized that vacant expression right away. Something was coming, something that would happen soon. He glanced down at the paper she held rigidly in her hands, the headline telling him all he needed to know:
DEATH TOLL ON THE RISE, POLICE FEAR GANG ACTIVITY.
They had been monitoring the tense situation for weeks now, disturbed by the goings on in Seattle. A newborn, or several newborns, were on the loose in the city, wreaking havoc and creating a pressure cooker situation.
Alice jumped, as if someone had kicked her, and she was suddenly herself again. Her eyes locked with Edward's, the two of them communicating without the need for words. She nodded at him; her expression troubled.
"I'll talk to Carlisle right away." Edward said, rising gracefully and leaving the room. This was just the excuse he had been waiting for. Carlisle could not refuse to return to Forks now.
A/N-thanks for reading!