I yanked a blank page out of my notebook and started writing, my handwriting more illegible than normal thanks to my agitation.
What happened? Tell me everything. And screw the protecting me crap, please.
I shoved the note at Edward. He sighed, and then began writing. It took him less time than me, though he wrote an entire paragraph in his own personal calligraphy before he slipped the paper back.
Alice saw that Victoria was coming back. I took you out of town merely as a precautionthere 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 Quileute boundary line as if she were reading it from a map. It didnt help that Alices abilities were nullified by the Quileutes involvement. To be fair, the Quileutes might have had her, too, if we hadnt 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. Thats everything.
I frowned at the letters on the page. All of them had been in on itEmmett, Jasper, Alice, Rosalie, and Carlisle. Maybe even Esme, though he hadnt mentioned her. And then Paul and the rest of the Quileute pack. It might so easily have turned into a fight, pitting my future family and my old friends against each other. Any one of them could have been hurt. I imagined the wolves would be in the most danger, but picturing tiny Alice next to one of the huge werewolves, fighting . . .
I shuddered.
Carefully, I scrubbed out the entire paragraph with my eraser and then I wrote over the top:
What about Charlie? She could have been after him.
Edward was shaking his head before I finished, obviously going to downplay any danger on Charlies behalf. He held a hand out, but I ignored that and started again.
You cant know that she wasnt thinking that, because you werent here. Florida was a bad idea.
He took the paper from underneath my hand.
I wasnt about to send you off alone. With your luck, not even the black box would survive.
That wasnt what Id meant at all; I hadnt thought of going without him. Id meant that we should have stayed here together. But I was sidetracked by his response, and a little miffed. Like I couldnt fly cross country without bringing the plane down. Very funny.
So lets say my bad luck did crash the plane. What exactly were you going to do about it?
Why is the plane crashing?
He was trying to hide a smile now.
The pilots are passed out drunk.
Easy. Id fly the plane.
Of course. I pursed my lips and tried again.
Both engines have exploded and were falling in a death spiral toward the earth.
Id wait till we were close enough to the ground, get a good grip on you, kick out the wall, and jump. Then Id run you back to the scene of the accident, and wed stumble around like the two luckiest survivors in history.
I stared at him wordlessly.
What? he whispered.
I shook my head in awe. Nothing, I mouthed.
I scrubbed out the disconcerting conversation and wrote one more line.
You will tell me next time.
I knew there would be a next time. The pattern would continue until someone lost.
Edward stared into my eyes for a long moment. I wondered what my face looked likeit felt cold, so the blood hadnt returned to my cheeks. My eyelashes were still wet.
He sighed and then nodded once.
Thanks.
The paper disappeared from under my hand. I looked up, blinking in surprise, just as Mr. Berty came down the aisle.
Is that something youd like to share there, Mr. Cullen?
Edward looked up innocently and held out the sheet of paper on top of his folder. My notes? he asked, sounding confused.
Mr. Berty scanned the notesno doubt a perfect transcription of his lectureand then walked away frowning.
It was later, in Calculusmy one class without Edwardthat I heard the gossip.
My moneys on the big Indian, someone was saying.
I peeked up to see that Tyler, Mike, Austin, and Ben had their heads bent together, deep in conversation.
Yeah, Mike whispered. Did you see the size of that Jacob kid? I think he could take Cullen down. Mike sounded pleased by the idea.
I dont think so, Ben disagreed. Theres something about Edward. Hes always so . . . confident. I have a feeling he can take care of himself.
Im with Ben, Tyler agreed. Besides, if that other kid messed Edward up, you know those big brothers of his would get involved.
Have you been down to La Push lately? Mike asked. Lauren and I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago, and believe me, Jacobs friends are all just as big as he is.
Huh, Tyler said. Too bad it didnt turn into anything. Guess well never know how it would have turned out.
It didnt look over to me, Austin said. Maybe well get to see.
Mike grinned. Anyone in the mood for a bet?
Ten on Jacob, Austin said at once.
Ten on Cullen, Tyler chimed in.
Ten on Edward, Ben agreed.
Jacob, Mike said.
Hey, do you guys know what it was about? Austin wondered. That might affect the odds.
I can guess, Mike said, and then he shot a glance at me at the same time that Ben and Tyler did.
From their expressions, none of them had realized I was in easy hearing distance. They all looked away quickly, shuffling the papers on their desks.
I still say Jacob, Mike muttered under his breath.
4 NATURE
I WAS HAVING A BAD WEEK.
I knew that essentially nothing had changed. Okay, so Victoria had not given up, but had I ever dreamed for one moment that she had? Her reappearance had only confirmed what Id already known. No reason for fresh panic.
In theory. Not panicking was easier said than done.
Graduation was only a few weeks away, but I wondered if it wasnt a little foolish to sit around, weak and tasty, waiting for the next disaster. It seemed too dangerous to be humanjust begging for trouble. Someone like me shouldnt be human. Someone with my luck ought to be a little less helpless.
But no one would listen to me.
Carlisle had said, There are seven of us, Bella. And with Alice on our side, I dont think Victorias going to catch us off guard. I think its important, for Charlies sake, that we stick with the original plan.
Esme had said, Wed never allow anything to happen to you, sweetheart. You know that. Please dont be anxious. And then shed kissed my forehead.
Emmett had said, Im really glad Edward didnt kill you. Everythings so much more fun with you around.
Rosalie had glared at him.
Alice had rolled her eyes and said, Im offended. Youre not honestly worried about this, are you?
If its no big deal, then why did Edward drag me to Florida? Id demanded.
Havent you noticed yet, Bella, that Edward is just the teeniest bit prone to overreaction?
Jasper had silently erased all the panic and tension in my body with his curious talent of controlling emotional atmospheres. Id felt reassured, and let them talk me out of my desperate pleading.
Of course, that calm had worn off as soon as Edward and I had walked out of the room.
So the consensus was that I was just supposed to forget that a deranged vampire was stalking me, intent on my death. Go about my business.
I did try. And surprisingly, there were other things almost as stressful to dwell on besides my status on the endangered species list. . . .
Because Edwards response had been the most frustrating of them all.
Thats between you and Carlisle, hed said. Of course, you know that Im willing to make it between you and me at any time that you wish. You know my condition. And he had smiled angelically.
Ugh. I did know his condition. Edward had promised that he would change me himself whenever I wanted . . . just as long as I was married to him first.
Sometimes I wondered if he was only pretending that he couldnt read my mind. How else had he struck upon the one condition that I would have trouble accepting? The one condition that would slow me down.
All in all, a very bad week. And today was the worst day in it.
It was always a bad day when Edward was away. Alice had foreseen nothing out of the ordinary this weekend, and so Id insisted that he take the opportunity to go hunting with his brothers. I knew how it bored him to hunt the easy, nearby prey.
Go have fun, Id told him. Bag a few mountain lions for me.
I would never admit to him how hard it was for me when he was gonehow it brought back the abandonment nightmares. If he knew that, it would make him feel horrible and he would be afraid to ever leave me, even for the most necessary reasons. It had been like that in the beginning, when hed first returned from Italy. His golden eyes had turned black and hed suffered from his thirst more than it was already necessary that he suffer. So I put on a brave face and all but kicked him out the door whenever Emmett and Jasper wanted to go.
I think he saw through me, though. A little. This morning there had been a note left on my pillow:
Ill be back so soon you wont have time to miss me. Look after my heartIve left it with you.
So now I had a big empty Saturday with nothing but my morning shift at Newtons Olympic Outfitters to distract me. And, of course, the oh-so-comforting promise from Alice.
Im staying close to home to hunt. Ill only be fifteen minutes away if you need me. Ill keep an eye out for trouble.
Translation: dont try anything funny just because Edward is gone.
Alice was certainly just as capable of crippling my truck as Edward was.
I tried to look on the bright side. After work, I had plans to help Angela with her announcements, so that would be a distraction. And Charlie was in an excellent mood due to Edwards absence, so I might as well enjoy that while it lasted. Alice would spend the night with me if I was pathetic enough to ask her to. And then tomorrow, Edward would be home. I would survive.
Not wanting to be ridiculously early for work, I ate my breakfast slowly, one Cheerio at a time. Then, when Id washed the dishes, I arranged the magnets on the fridge into a perfect line. Maybe I was developing obsessive-compulsive disorder.
The last two magnetsround black utilitarian pieces that were my favorites because they could hold ten sheets of paper to the fridge without breaking a sweatdid not want to cooperate with my fixation. Their polarities were reversed; every time I tried to line the last one up, the other jumped out of place.
For some reasonimpending mania, perhapsthis really irritated me. Why couldnt they just play nice? Stupid with stubbornness, I kept shoving them together as if I was expecting them to suddenly give up. I could have flipped one over, but that felt like losing. Finally, exasperated at myself more than the magnets, I pulled them from the fridge and held them together with two hands. It took a little effortthey were strong enough to put up a fightbut I forced them to coexist side-by-side.
See, I said out loudtalking to inanimate objects, never a good signThats not so horrible, is it?
I stood there like an idiot for a second, not quite able to admit that I wasnt having any lasting effect against scientific principles. Then, with a sigh, I put the magnets back on the fridge, a foot apart.
Theres no need to be so inflexible, I muttered.
It was still too early, but I decided Id better get out of the house before the inanimate objects started talking back.
When I got to Newtons, Mike was methodically dry mopping the aisles while his mom arranged a new counter display. I caught them in the middle of an argument, unaware that I had arrived.
But its the only time that Tyler can go, Mike complained. You said after graduation
Youre just going to have to wait, Mrs. Newton snapped. You and Tyler can think of something else to do. You are not going to Seattle until the police stop whatever it is that is going on there. I know Beth Crowley has told Tyler the same thing, so dont act like Im the bad guyoh, good morning, Bella, she said when she caught sight of me, brightening her tone quickly. Youre early.
Karen Newton was the last person Id think to ask for help in an outdoor sports equipment store. Her perfectly highlighted blond hair was always smoothed into an elegant twist on the back of her neck, her fingernails were polished by professionals, as were her toenailsvisible through the strappy high heels that didnt resemble anything Newtons offered on the long row of hiking boots.
Light traffic, I joked as I grabbed my hideous fluorescent orange vest out from under the counter. I was surprised that Mrs. Newton was as worked up about this Seattle thing as Charlie. Id thought he was going to extremes.
Well, er . . . Mrs. Newton hesitated for a moment, playing uncomfortably with a stack of flyers she was arranging by the register.
I stopped with one arm in my vest. I knew that look.
When Id let the Newtons know that I wouldnt be working here this summerabandoning them in their busiest season, in effecttheyd started training Katie Marshall to take my place. They couldnt really afford both of us on the payroll at the same time, so when it looked like a slow day . . .
I was going to call, Mrs. Newton continued. I dont think were expecting a ton of business today. Mike and I can probably handle things. Im sorry you got up and drove out. . . .
On a normal day, I would be ecstatic with this turn of events. Today . . . not so much.
Okay, I sighed. My shoulders slumped. What was I going to do now?
Thats not fair, Mom, Mike said. If Bella wants to work
No, its okay, Mrs. Newton. Really, Mike. Ive got finals to study for and stuff. . . . I didnt want to be a source of familial discord when they were already arguing.
Thanks, Bella. Mike, you missed aisle four. Um, Bella, do you mind throwing these flyers in a Dumpster on the way out? I told the girl who left them here that Id put them on the counter, but I really dont have the room.