Troubleshoot
Disclaimer: all characters and copyright belong to SM.
The Beginning of the End
At the end of the lane was Emily and Sam's tiny house. The late afternoon sun glinted on the one narrow window beside the weathered blue door. The pale gray paint was peeling on the outside, but the window box underneath the window filled with bright orange and yellow marigolds, gave the whole place a cheerful look.
"Are you sure I'll be welcome?" Bella asked Jacob nervously.
Jacob laughed at her as if what she had said was funny. "Chill, Bells, it'll be fine."
Quil walked beside them, with Claire riding high on his shoulders. The little girl's eyes were half closed as the day's excitement finally caught up with her. Bella glanced up at her fondly. At first, she had thought Claire was going to continue to act like a spoiled princess, but that wasn't the case. Once you peeled back the layers, underneath was a cheeky, mischievous child with a quick mind. She responded well to discipline once it was applied in the right way, giving no further trouble when she was denied something. Quil had thought Bella possessed a magic gift when she managed to subvert one of Claire's little huffs before it escalated into a full-on tantrum.
"Tell me your secret." He had begged.
Bella had just rolled her eyes and smiled at him in amusement. "There is no secret. You just need to stop giving into her every whim. Learn to say no. She won't hate you for it."
"Mmm…" Quil pondered. "Well, if it worked for you. I've never seen anyone able to tame the Claire Bear so easily before. I'll give it a try."
They had reached the house now. Jacob took the lead, climbing up the one step and entering the house without knocking. Bella followed timidly behind him, with Quil and Claire bringing up the rear.
"Its just us." Jacob announced casually.
The front room, like Billy's house, was mostly kitchen. Emily presided in there. She turned to face them when she heard Jacob call out. Her satiny copper skin and long, straight, crow-black hair glowed in the dim light cast through the window. As usual she was cooking. She had a tray of muffins ready and waiting for the new arrivals, almost as if she was expecting them to appear at any moment. Her eyes widened in surprise when she noted Bella among them, the smile on the good half of her face fading in an instant.
"Oh, I didn't expect to see you here." She said directly to Bella.
The right side of her face was scarred from hairline to chin by three thick, red lines, livid in color, though they were long healed. One line pulled down the corner of her dark, almond-shaped right eye, another twisted the right side of her mouth into a permanent grimace.
"Oh, um, I hope you don't mind me coming over?" Bella smiled apologetically.
"We spent the day with Quil and this little madam." Jacob interjected nonchalantly. He reached up and lifted a dozing Claire from Quil's shoulders. "She made a new best friend today."
Emily cleared her throat, her eyes shooting to Jacob. "She did? Who?" She asked faintly.
"Bella." Jacob revealed with a proud smile. "They bonded straight away. Isn't that right, Bells?"
"Yeah, kinda." Bella murmured.
"She's like the child whisperer." Quil added reverently.
"I'm sure." Emily said drolly. "Give her to me."
Jacob was annoyed by Emily's sarcastic tone. He opened his mouth to say something, but Bella shot him a warning look.
As Emily took Claire from Jacob, the little girl woke up. She yawned widely, a bit of dribble finding its way out of the corner of her mouth. She glanced up at her aunt sleepily, becoming wider awake when she realized that Bella was nowhere in sight.
"Bwella! I want Bwella." She pouted.
"Its nap time, sweetie." Emily declared in a melodic voice.
"Hate nap! Wan' Bwella!" Claire cried, easy tears filling her eyes.
"I can put her down if you like?" Bella offered quickly.
Emily's grimace became more pronounced than ever. She was about to refuse when Quil piped up.
"Oh, let her, Em. Watch her work her magic."
Emily hesitated before finally caving in when Claire continued to bellow loudly. "Fine." She muttered.
Bella approached cautiously, reaching out to the little girl. As soon as Claire clapped eyes on her, her tears retreated, and she beamed in delight. "Bwella, tell story?"
Bella balanced the toddler against her hip, smiling brightly. "Okay." She agreed. "But only a short one, and only if you promise to go straight to sleep afterwards."
"Me promish." Claire mumbled. Her eyes were already drooping again.
"Put her in my room." Emily said, pointing in the direction of the main bedroom which she shared with Sam.
"Okay. Thanks." Bella carried Claire towards the half-opened door, catching Jacob's adoring smile out of the corner of her eye as she passed.
It was late by the time Bella got home. As she bid Charlie goodnight and went to her room, she paused outside the door, knowing that Edward was probably waiting for her within. After spending such an uplifting day with Jacob in La Push, she already felt her mood plummeting, as the familiar worry about how she was going to appease Edward ramped up her anxiety.
As Bella finally plucked up the courage to enter her room, she saw Edward standing in the corner near the window. His face was smooth and remote as he immediately came over to her and kissed her forehead. The careful way he handled her seemed to ratchet up her anxiety and her head began to pound.
"I guess you know I spent the day in La Push with Jake." She began cautiously. "Just give me a minute and I'll have a quick shower to get rid of the sm – "
"No need." Edward said quietly. "I'm not staying, Bella."
"What?" Bella's eyes popped open wider in surprise. "Why not?"
"I have something I need to do. I'll see you tomorrow."
"Is it something to do with the wedding?" Bella asked.
Edward hesitated a beat before answering. "Yes." He agreed robotically. "Alice wants to do some extra fittings."
"And that can't wait until the morning?"
"Vampire's never sleep." Edward reminded her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.
"Okay." Bella said. She didn't believe a word of it. He was lying to cover up how upset he was about her spending time with Jacob. It was so obvious by the careful way he was acting, sealing his emotions behind a bland expression. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Yes." Edward kissed her on the forehead again, before ducking out of the window without saying another word.
Despite her worry over Edward, Bella still managed to get a good night's sleep, tuckered out after spending so many hours with a lively toddler. Charlie had already left for work by the time she opened her eyes to the glorious sunshine filtering through the bedroom window the next morning.
Edward was sitting in the rocking chair, as usual, but his face was still wrong. There was something buried in his eyes that Bella couldn't be sure of-and it scared her. She didn't want to bring up last night, but wasn't sure if avoiding the subject would be worse.
She climbed out of bed, slowly pulling on her dressing gown and tying the sash around her waist.
Edward opened the bedroom door for her. "How do you feel this morning?"
"Perfect." Bella lied, cringing at the tremor in her voice.
They walked down the stairs together in silence, Edward shortening his stride as he let her enter the kitchen ahead of him. There were so many questions Bella wanted to ask as she began to bustle about the room, choosing cereal as the easy option for breakfast. But most of those questions were going to have to wait, because they were for Alice: What was going through Edward's head? Had he said anything to her? And most importantly, what could she see happening now in her strange, imperfect visions of the future? Could she guess what Edward was thinking, why he was so gloomy? Was there a foundation for the tenuous, instinctive fears that she couldn't seem to shake?
The morning passed slowly. Bella was impatient to see Alice, though she really wouldn't be able to talk to her with Edward there. The whole time they were together in the house, he remained aloof. Occasionally he would make a comment on the film they were watching on TV, but other than that, he was distant, unapproachable.
Lunchtime rolled around and Bella was getting sick to her stomach. She went through the charade of making herself a sandwich, knowing that hunger wasn't the cause of her nausea. She wondered whether to try and make a sneaky call to Jacob. She needed cheering up, but fretted that it would only upset Edward further.
The hours passed by slowly as the afternoon wore on. Edward remained detached, the atmosphere becoming ever more strained. Bella felt herself becoming more anxiety ridden, knowing deep down inside this was all building up to something. Edward's behavior was all too reminiscent of the time he had left her the first time.
"Where's Alice?" She finally asked, breaking the tense silence. "I thought she was coming over today to talk about the flowers for the wedding?"
Edward looked at her, his eyes cautious, his jaw taut. "She's with Jasper."
"Oh, I see." Bella answered faintly. "Is he okay? Is there anything wrong?"
"He's gone away for a while."
"What? Where?"
Edward shrugged. "Nowhere in particular."
"And Alice, too?" Bella asked with quiet desperation. Of course, if Jasper needed her, she would go. Wedding or no wedding.
"Yes. I think they're more than likely to head to Denali."
Denali was where the one other band of unique vampires – good ones like the Cullens – lived. Tanya and her family. She had heard of them now and again. Edward had gone to them when her arrival in Forks had made it difficult for him. It made sense for Jasper and Alice to go there if Jasper was having difficulties with his diet again.
Bella swallowed, trying to dislodge the lump in her throat, as she tried to believe the same tired excuses that everything was alright. It clearly wasn't.
"Are you okay, Bella?" Edward asked solicitously. "You've gone very pale."
"I'm fine." Bella muttered. "I told you already."
Edward didn't answer, and Bella put her head down on the table to hide her tormented expression from him.
By the end of the day the silence was becoming ridiculous. Bella didn't want to be the one to break it, but apparently that was her only choice if she ever wanted Edward to talk to her again. He was preparing to leave, Charlie would be home any minute expecting dinner.
"You'll come over later tonight?" Bella checked. He always came over.
"Later?"
"Yes, later." Bella repeated desperately.
"If you want me to."
"I always want you." Bella said in a small voice. She hated that she felt suddenly unsure if this was true anymore. She felt like she was playing a role.
"Alright, then." Edward shrugged indifferently.
He kissed her forehead again before he walked out the front door and shut it quietly behind him. Bella rushed to the living room window, watching as he loped gracefully toward his car. She stood there for a few minutes after he had driven away, staring into the distance. He just needed time, she told herself. He would get over his latest pique. Then everything would return to normal. He couldn't stay mad at her forever, could he? It wasn't fair to punish her with this awful silence just because she needed and wanted to spend time with her best friend. She didn't deserve to be treated this way.
At once there came a flash mob of rain, tap-dancing upon the roof and the concrete driveway, the large watery drops keeping pace with the tears sliding down Bella's pale, frigid cheeks.
A/N-thanks for reading!