Back to the Start
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
Intruder
As soon as Bella put the phone down, she heard the sound of tires on the brick driveway, saw the headlights flash through the front windows, and down the hall. Charlie was home. She heard the heavy tread of his boots on the front porch, then the rattle as his key turned in the door.
"Bella?" He called as he stepped inside.
"In here." Bella hoped he wouldn't hear the hysterical edge to her voice. She was just barely holding it together. She grabbed her dinner from the microwave and sat at the table as he walked in, trying to appear normal.
"Can you get me some of that? I'm bushed." Charlie stepped on the heels of his boots to take them off, holding the back of one of the kitchen chairs for support.
Bella took her food with her, scarfing it down as she got his dinner. It burned her tongue, making her gag a little, bringing tears to her eyes. She kept her back to Charlie as she filled two glasses with milk while his lasagna was heating, gulping hers to put out the fire in her mouth. As she set the glass down, she noticed the milk trembling and realized it was her hand shaking. A lone tear splattered onto the back of the same hand and she was forced to wipe it away quickly before Charlie noticed.
"Thanks." He said as she placed his food on the table.
"How was your day?" Bella asked. The words were rushed, she was dying to escape to her room so she could fall apart in private.
"Busy…" Charlie paused, as if he was considering saying more, then just as quickly deciding against it. "How about you? Did you get everything done that you wanted to do?"
"Not really." Bella muttered. "My day didn't turn out as productive as I hoped."
"You didn't go out?" Charlie asked.
Bella shook her head as she finished the last bite of her own lasagna. She lifted her glass and chugged the remains of her milk.
Charlie surprised her by being particularly observant. "In a hurry?"
"Yeah, I'm tired. I'm going to bed early."
"You look kinda keyed up." Charlie noted, frowning.
Why, oh why, did this have to be the night he paid attention? Bella thought frantically.
"Do I?" was all she could manage as a response. She turned away from his enquiring gaze and quickly scrubbed the dishes in the sink, and placed them upside down on a dishtowel to dry.
"Is there something troubling you, Bells?" Charlie asked cautiously when he took in the stiff set of her shoulders. "You can talk to me, you know. About anything."
More tears welled in Bella's eyes when he said this. He was such a good, kind man. One who deserved a better daughter. She longed to throw herself into his arms, to sob on his shoulder, confide in him about everything that had happened. But she held her tongue.
"No, Dad, I just want to get some sleep."
"Okay." Charlie said slowly, his concerned expression showing he wasn't convinced. "Night, honey."
"See you in the morning, Dad." Bella mumbled as she passed him to reach the hallway. She worked to make her tread sound slow and tired as she walked up the stairs to her room. She shut the door loud enough for him to hear, then threw herself onto her bed, burying her face in her pillow to stifle the sobs as she cried.
The same feeling of being watched that always haunted her in this room, made Bella raise her head. She pushed herself into a sitting position, peering fearfully toward the shadowy corners. Like always, there was nothing there.
Wiping her face furiously to rid her face of the last of her tears, Bella hopped off the bed, grabbing her pajamas off the floor, and her bag of toiletries off the desk. She left the light on and slipped out, closing the door.
She could hear the sound of the TV rising up the stairs. The sound of it was comforting, reminding her that she wasn't alone in the house. That all she had to do was call, and Charlie would come running.
Bella took her time in the bathroom, lingering through her usual nighttime routine for as long as possible in order to spend less time in her bedroom. She brushed her teeth slowly, trying to be as thorough as possible, removing all traces of the lasagna. The hot water of the shower relieved her tired and aching muscles, but did nothing for the one muscle in her body that really needed soothing – her heart.
She tried not to think about Jacob, not wanting to set off another crying jag. Finally, she couldn't delay anymore. She shut off the water, toweling herself down slowly. She pulled on her holey t-shirt and grey sweatpants. She rubbed the towel through her hair again, and then yanked the brush through it, wincing when the bristles got caught in the tangled wet strands. When she was done fussing with her hair, she threw the damp towel into the hamper, carefully placed her brush and toothpaste into her bag. Then she went down the stairs so Charlie could see she was in her pajamas, with wet hair, and a calm expression, so he wouldn't have to worry about her.
"Night, Dad."
"Night, Bella." Charlie looked at her critically. "You look a little better."
"Thanks." Bella hoped that would be enough to keep him from checking on her tonight. "Night." She said again, reluctantly heading for the stairs.
Bella was dreaming…
Disorientated, she stepped through a low arch made of two vine maples-pushing past the chest high ferns-into the meadow.
It was the same place; of that she was instantly sure. She'd never seen another clearing so symmetrical. It was perfectly round as if someone had intentionally created the flawless circle, tearing out the trees but leaving no evidence of that violence in the waving grass. To the east, she could hear the stream bubbling quietly.
The place wasn't nearly as stunning without the sunlight, there were no wildflowers, instead the ground was thick with tall grass that swayed in the light breeze like ripples across a lake.
It was the same place…but it didn't hold the joy she'd previously felt when she had first stepped into it with Jacob by her side. Now it felt ominous.
Bella sank down right where she was, feeling the heavy weight of dread fill her chest with every breath she took. There was nothing special about this place without him, without Jacob. The meadow was empty of atmosphere, empty of everything, just like everything else. Her head swirled dizzily. She was alone. All alone.
At precisely that moment a figure stepped out from the trees to the north, some thirty paces away. Bella's head shot up, her heart threatening to burst out of her chest as she recognized one of the same trio of vampires, who she had encountered before when she was with Jacob. One quick glance showed he was by himself this time.
Her eyes focused on the motionless figure, seeing the utter stillness, the pallid skin. A rush of panic threatened to tear her asunder as she focused on the face beneath the black hair. The motionless figure stared back at her for a few seconds, then moved so fast that in one blink he was standing in front of her, barely ten paces away.
Bella stood up, taking an involuntary step backwards, her heart thudding painfully in her chest. Her foot started to ease back another step, but she froze when his red eyes flickered down to catch the movement.
She watched as he sniffed at the air like an animal. "Mouthwatering." He murmured, inhaling deeply.
Bella tensed, getting ready to run for her life, knowing in her heart it was pointless, but also knowing she would try anyway.
Then the vampire paused in the act of inhaling and whipped his head around abruptly to the left. Bella was afraid to look away from him, to follow his glance, though he hardly needed a distraction or any other trick to overpower her. She was too frozen in shock to feel relief when he started backing away from her.
"I don't believe it. Not again." He said, his voice so low she could barely hear it.
Bella's eyes scanned the meadow, trying to see what had disturbed him so much.
Then she saw it, the huge reddish-brown shape that eased out of the trees, quiet as a shadow, and stalked deliberately toward the vampire. It was enormous -as tall as a horse, but thicker, much more muscular. The long muzzle grimaced, revealing a line of dagger like incisors. A grisly snarl rolled out from between his teeth, rumbling across the clearing like a prolonged crack of thunder.
It was Jacob, come to save her.
And then suddenly he wasn't alone. Flanking Jacob on either side, another two gigantic beasts prowled silently into the meadow. One was a deep gray, the other midnight black. Before she could react, two more wolves emerged, lined up in a V, like geese flying south.
Bella gasped – Jacob - Jacob had a pack!
Her involuntary gasp attracted the reddish-brown wolf's attention. For one second, she saw herself reflected in his deep-set eyes, a strange feeling of wellbeing calming her racing heart. Then with a low howl, he descended upon the vampire, who quickly whipped around and ran toward the trees. The other wolves streamed after him, snarling and snapping, and then they were gone.
Bella wasn't sure, when she woke up in the dark, if she had just been crying, or if her tears had run while she slept and simply continued now. The dream had felt so real. Her longing for Jacob grew even more acute as she stared up at the dark ceiling in defeat. She sensed it was still the middle of the night- she was half asleep, maybe more than half. She closed her eyes wearily and prayed for a dreamless sleep.
That's when she heard the noise which must have awakened her in the first place. Something sharp scraped along the length of her window with a high-pitched squeal, like fingernails against the glass.
Confused and clumsy with sleep, Bella stumbled out of her bed and to the window, blinking away the lingering tears from her eyes on the way.
A huge, dark shape wobbled erratically on the other side of the glass, lurching toward her like it was going to smash right through. She staggered back, terrified that the dream vampire had become a reality, and this was the end. Her throat closed around a scream as she thought of Charlie. She had to keep quiet through this. Somehow. She had to keep Charlie from coming to investigate…
And then a familiar, husky voice called from the dark shape.
"Bella, honey, its me. Can you open the window?"
Relief flooded through Bella like water through a dam at the sound of Jacob's voice. She hurried to the window and shoved the glass out of the way. The clouds were dimly lit from behind, enough for her to make sense of the shapes.
"Jake, what are you doing? Trying to kill yourself? You could fall!"
Jacob was clinging precariously to the top of the spruce which grew in the middle of Charlie's little front yard. His weight had bowed the tree toward the house, and he now swung – his legs dangling twenty feet above the ground – not a yard from her. The thin branches at the tip of the tree scraped against the side of the house again with a grating squeal.
Bella blinked her wet blurry eyes; very sure she had conjured him up from her dreams.
"Can you step back, Bells?"
"What?"
Jacob swung his legs, backwards and forward, increasing his momentum. Bella finally realized what he was trying to do.
"No, Jake!" She hissed, ducking to the side to give him room at the same time.
With a grunt, Jacob launched himself toward the open window, he swung agilely into her room, landing on the balls of his feet with a low thud.
Immediately they both looked to the door automatically, holding their breath, waiting to see if the noise had woken Charlie. A short moment passed, and then they heard the muffled sound of Charlie's snore.
"If you were going to break into my house, why didn't you just use the spare key under the eave, instead of nearly killing yourself climbing through my window." Bella whisper-yelled at him.
But Jacob was oblivious to her scolding. The breath had whooshed out of him like someone had punched him in the gut. "Holy crap!" He grabbed hold of Bella, his hands shaking so hard that she felt the tremors rock through her body.
"What's wrong?" She asked in a panicked whisper.
"Vampire." Jacob spit out.
The blood rushed from Bella's head and left her dizzy. "How do you know?"
"Because I can smell it! Dammit!"
Jacob's eyes were wild. He was barely aware of the tremors that were rolling through his body. He looked down at Bella for a split second, taking in her horror-struck eyes and white face.
"Its okay, Bella, honey. I'm here now. You're safe."
"Vampire? In my room? When?"
"Yes." Jacob's voice hardened, the sickly-sweet smell of her night time intruder burning his nostrils with every breath he took. "And very recently, too."
A/N-thanks for reading!