Chapter 8

… It would eat us.

I take a look outside by closing the window and the landscape is very white, the road shines. The accident must happen today and I am very, very anxious. Damn it ! But what an idea to voluntarily put oneself in danger! That said, I refuse to allow another person to put themselves in danger in my place and if Tyler does not have an accident now he is very likely to have one later in unknown circumstances... so the conclusion that is imposes is that I have no choice and that there is no point in worrying about an inevitable situation. Especially since I'm pretty sure Alice will save me if Edward doesn't.

However, I decide to make sure to limit the damage and cover myself with clothes that are both warm and thick enough to protect me from the cold and any pieces of glass. I would miss Edward or Jasper losing control. I can't swallow anything and decides to take it easy in high school. Knowing that Bella is wallowing miserably in front of her house in the book, I decide to take it easy, clinging to the railing of the stairs in front of the door…I don't know if it's my precautions or my sudden surge of dexterity. thanks to my handicrafts, but I get to my car without falling.

I drive carefully, but with ease. Unlike Bella who has lived most of her life in a region where it does not snow, I lived in the mountains and I learned to drive on snow from the age of 16 during my first hours of driving. I arrive in the parking lot without a hitch, get out of the vehicle, leaving the door open to find that Charlie has indeed put chains on my wheels, when suddenly a blue window appears. I don't bother to read it and get back in my truck when tires squeal. I just have time to throw myself into the passenger seat when Tyler's van hits the fender of my car.

I raise my arms in front of my face to shield it from any shards of glass as I feel the impact. I feel no pain and look around me. The truck is demolished on the left side, but Tyler's van is good for scrap. I get out onto the curb on the passenger side and meet Alice's worried gaze as she holds Edward's arm. I thought she saw that everything was fine and that was why she didn't intervene, but why did she seem so worried? I look away at Edward who is furious. When he catches my eye, I'm back to the first day of class.

The cries of my comrades bring me back to what is happening in the foreground of my vision, I hear people calling an ambulance. I answer that everything is fine and Jessica pushes me towards a paramedic to examine me… Of course, I am taken to the ambulance to do a check-up… I am sitting, sulky on a bed in the emergency room while Tyler howls he's sorry. I decide to ignore it, upset that I myself was not listened to when I said that everything was fine. I wasn't even happy when the blue window just told me that I had succeeded in my main quest and that my reward had been granted to me.

Suddenly, two nurses and a handsome man in white coats and platinum blonde hair walk into the room looking at a medical chart.

"Carlisle, I whisper softly. »

He looks up at me, then addresses Tyler.

"Doctor O'Nell will take you to Ward 2. Sally?" Mary? Would you like to take her there? he asked the nurses who accompanied him. »

They nod their heads with a blissful smile. Well then ! The father also hypnotizes the people around him! I raise an eyebrow, which he notices, then he turns to me.

"Hello Miss.

Bella, I interrupt him.

Bella… he repeats, smiling. I'm Doctor Cullen…as you obviously already know, he adds softly.

You have good hearing, I notice.

Excellent, he replies with a smirk as he examines me. How do you feel ? No headache?

Well, I don't have any injuries and I don't have a headache. I protected my face before the impact and I was well covered.

What a fortunate coincidence! he exclaimed. If you had gotten in the car a second later, the van would have hit you.

Let's say I had the intuition that I had to get back in the car, I say, looking at the ground.

Shielding your face and jumping into the passenger seat… he notices, a bit skeptically.

I have an excellent sixth sense, I reply.

This sixth sense is therefore not only expressed at night...

It's a bit more complicated than that, I say curtly, wanting to cut this discussion short.

We would like to speak to you at the Bella house. Do you think you can come today. May I suggest that your father leave you with my daughter Alice? »

I imagine it's going to be hard to completely evade this story. I decide to take the lead.

"Tonight we are having guests. But I will tell Char-papa that I will spend the day with Alice.

Very good. »

He replaces his stethoscope and accompanies me to the reception where Charlie has just arrived.

"Bella!

I'm fine dad. Just a little shocked. »

He sighs in relief and turns to Carlisle for confirmation.

"It's all right, Chief Swan. She has good reflexes. »

Charlie raises his eyebrows, which the doctor's keen eye immediately picks up. Whatever my weirdness, now Carlisle knows my dad doesn't know. As long as it doesn't take the form of blackmail later. Alice tumbled across the hall and threw herself into my arms.

"Oh Bella I was so scared!"

Me too Alice, I stammered, surprised by the unexpected embrace.

You'll have to be more convincing, she whispers in my ear, to get your father to allow me to stay with you all day.

I thought I was going to die, I say with a quivering lip.

Oh my poor darling! Dad, Bella doesn't seem to be in any condition to go to class. Can I stay by her side so she can rest? Alice asks imploringly.

I was just going to suggest to Chief Swan that he keep Bella home for observation today. I imagine you have a lot of work and Esme, my wife, will be happy to take care of Bella.

Well that's very kind of you, but that's really not going to be a problem? Charlie asks, a little embarrassed.

Not at all, I assure you, Carlisle replies.

GOOD ! Bella, you can go to Doctor Cullen with Alice while I fill out the paperwork. Alice, I entrust her to you.

I'll take good care of her Charlie, says Alice with an angelic air. »

She puts her arm around my waist and leads me to the Volvo parked in front of the hospital.

"If my body is found in the forest, my father will suspect you directly, I breathe.

We're not going to hurt you Bella, assures Alice.

I'm not going to tell you all my secrets either.

Even under torture? she teases me.

No, Alice, I wouldn't wear those four-inch-high heels you bought for me.

But that is not torture!

Talk for you ! I can trip over my own legs! »

She huffs, then looks serious as she opens the rear door of the Volvo.

"Do you know you're still going to have to explain to him why you let the accident happen?" »

I stick my head in the car and notice Edward in the back, his onyx eyes shining with anger and some other emotion I can't quite place. I slide in next to him, swallowing uneasily. Jasper, driving, starts the car when Alice sits next to him. The journey to their house is silent. A blue window appears:

"Main Quest: Convince the Cullens that you're not a threat without revealing the game's existence… Reward: Peace of mind… Penalty: Hidden… Duration: One morning. »

Reading the underlying threat, I shudder in fear, Edward then grabs my hand. Electricity runs through my whole body. I look at Edward, but he's looked away from the window. I caress the palm of his hand with my thumb and our eyes meet. It's fear that I see reflected in it. I can't tell if it's mine or his. We arrive at the Cullens' villa. Edward opens his door and gets out without letting go of my hand, pulling me outside.

I follow him obediently to the living room where everyone except Carlisle is waiting for me. Esme tells me she's going to make me some hot chocolate until Carlisle can free himself. Alice is sitting in Jasper's arms across from me, Edward hasn't left my side. When I've finished drinking my hot chocolate in religious silence, I hear the front door open. In perfect sync Emmett and Rosalie descend from the first floor, the latter glaring at me. Carlisle takes off his coat and comes to stand in front of me next to his wife. He then speaks:

" GOOD ! Bella, you don't have to tell us everything, but we would appreciate answers, without lying.

I'll be honest, I assure him.

Hmph, Rosalie sniffles.

Bella… Carlisle resumes seriously. Did you know that Tyler was going to have an accident and that you were going to be involved? »

I take a breath and say in one breath: "Yes..."

I hear several gasps.

"Is that why you bundled up so well today and jumped in your truck?"

Yes…

Couldn't we have rather tried to prevent the accident?

From what I have learned, major events in my visions cannot be avoided. If Tyler is going to have an accident, I prefer to at least know the circumstances.

Then why didn't you make sure you weren't in the direction of the van?

Because I didn't want another person to be hurt for me. But I still changed the vision a bit by making sure to protect myself as best as possible and not to involve other people.

That's why I sensed your excitement before the van even started sliding, Jasper muttered.

Yes… I breathe while looking at the ground.

What should have happened Bella? Esme asked softly. You said other people would have been involved. »

The moment of truth… Make or break… I take a deep breath and answer in a trembling voice:

"Edward would have saved me by pushing the van away. »

More gasps, more this time. I resume.

"I didn't want you to be exposed...

You know… Jasper states flatly. »

I look up and Rosalie glares at me. I hear Edward growl next to me. She gets up and in an instant Edward is in front of me, followed by Alice. Emmett grabs Rosalie's arm.

"She is a threat. We have to eliminate him immediately, Rosalie roared.

Baby, try to calm her down Emmett.

She did nothing but protect us, Rose, Alice writes to herself.

Who tells us that she hasn't been manipulating us from the start. Who tells us she's not going to blackmail us or put us in danger. What do we know about her? Rather than put ourselves in danger, we'd better eliminate the threat. »

I hear Edward growl in front of me and the voices around me no longer reach my brain. I feel my rage rising, a rage mixed with frustration, despair and the feeling of injustice that I have contained since I realized that I was trapped in this body. I push away a startled Edward and plant myself in front of the beauty with the face contorted in fury, then roar:

"I'm tired of you judging me without deigning to spend more than a quarter of an hour with me or even speaking to me. I'm sick of you venting your anger on me because that's the easiest way to vent your frustration. I'm sick of you putting your bad mood on everyone because you can't appreciate the present moment. I'm tired of doing everything to make everyone feel happy, without anyone caring about what I want. I'm tired of doing everything to save people and that they don't realize what I went through to make this decision. I'm tired of this body unable to do anything without hurting itself. But above all, I'm tired of my life being in the hands of others. »

My screams turned into screams, then into moans and sobbing. My tears flow in an uninterrupted stream. At the end, I can't distinguish anything but shapes and my hearing is blocked by cotton wool. My knees bend, but before I reach the ground, two arms pick me up and I'm carried away. I feel that I am placed on a soft surface. I cling to the arms of the one who took me away from Rosalie, continuing to cry for long minutes, unloading everything I've been holding back for too long. After a while, I have no more tears to shed and I feel my mind clearer. I lift my head and meet Edward's worried gaze.

"I'm sorry," he told me before I opened my mouth.

I'm the one, I say, embarrassed. I shouldn't have unloaded myself on all of you.

You needed to tell Rosalie how you felt.

But you are not responsible for all the problems that happen to me.

A little all the same...

No ! You don't understand, I'm cutting it.

So explain to me ! he writes, hurt.

I must keep the secret.

For what ?!

Because I don't want to die! I say in a sob. »

I don't know to what extent the truth can influence the rest of the game. What happens when you don't respect the rules of the game? What happens if we "cheat"? I look at Edward who stares at me with an inscrutable look. He then speaks:

"If you tell me your secret, you might die, right?

I'm not sure, but it's a possibility.

What if I find out? »

What if it was the characters that changed the story? They are not subject to the same rules as players. It could work.

"I think everything would be fine.

Then I will discover your secret and you will no longer be alone with the future. »

He told me this with such sincerity in his eyes that, for the first time since the beginning of this story, I no longer felt alone. We sat in each other's arms for a little while before my stomach rumbled and decided it was time to feed the human. He takes me in his arms, like a bride and goes down the stairs at vampiric speed. He sits me down in a chair in the kitchen while Esme places a plate of sushi, soy sauce and miso soup in front of me. I widen my eyes.

"Alice told me it was your favorite dish," Esme said. I went to get them for you at the caterer.

Thanks Esme! I exclaim in a joyful tone and I eat with relish. Mmmm this is too good. I love sea bream! »

I lick my fingers soaked in soy sauce and stop when I meet Edward's gaze, who is staring at the fingers in my mouth... His eyes are black and intense... Instead of terrifying me, a shiver of desire runs through me and my body reacts. I see Edward's nostrils move and hear him growl. The sexiest growl I've heard. Someone scratches their throat and we turn to the person who interrupted us.