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As soon as Jacob and Bella got to Jacob's house, Bella called Charlie. She tried their home first, but he wasn't there, so she called the office. It was almost seven o'clock, but it seemed that Charlie was still there. He seemed a little flustered when she called, he definitely wasn't used to having someone waiting for him... though in this case that was true, she wondered if he was always going to stay at the office late. He said that he was just going to eat at the office and asked that she was home before ten.
"So what's up?" Jacob asked, finishing making enough spaghetti for three people; Billy was sitting in his chair watching TV.
"I don't have to be home until ten," Bella shrugged, and then whispered so only he could hear, "that should be enough time to finish the manuscript."
"Yeah, it should be," Jacob said looking at his dad warily. "Do you think I should tell my dad about this...?"
"I don't know, Jake," Bella frowned, that was a good question. "What do you think will happen if you do?"
"I'm not sure," Jacob frowned, too. "But I'm going to have to tell him something... at some point."
"Well, let's finish the book first, and then you could tell him whatever you think you should," Bella said.
"Sounds good to me," Jacob said, wanting to put off the lengthy conversation he knew he was going to have to have with his father for as long as possible. Dinner was a pleasant enough event. Billy seemed pleased that the two kids appeared to have become friends so quickly and it was clear that Bella was a lot more comfortable today than she had been yesterday. She didn't look quite as gloomy as she did when he had first seen her at least.
After the meal was done, the two teens went back to Jacob's garage (Billy wondered what on Earth they were doing in there that was so interesting, but didn't ask out loud).
"I guess I'll read now," Bella said picking up the book and read, "Interrogations."
CNN broke the story first.
"What story?" Jacob asked.
Bella rolled her eyes. "About the guy that..."
"Oh," Jacob said and then glared at the book.
I was glad it hit the news before I had to leave for school, anxious to hear how the humans would phrase the account, and what amount of attention it would garner.
Luckily, it was a heavy news day. There was an earthquake in South America and a political kidnapping in the Middle East. So it ended up only earning a few seconds, a few sentences, and one grainy picture.
"It's a good thing that those terrible things happened," Jacob muttered darkly.
"I guess he just didn't want anyone in this town to notice that..." Bella said.
"I guess he didn't want you to notice that," Jacob corrected and Bella had to admit he was right.
"Alonzo Calderas Wallace, suspected serial rapist and murderer wanted in the states of Texas and Oklahoma, was apprehended last night in Portland, Oregon thanks to an anonymous tip. Wallace was found unconscious in an alley early this morning, just a few yards from a police station. Officials are unable to tell us at this time whether he will be extradited to Houston or Oklahoma City to stand trial."
The picture was unclear, a mug shot, and he'd had a thick beard at the time of the photograph. Even if Bella saw it, she would probably not recognize him. I hoped she wouldn't; it would make her afraid needlessly.
"See," Jacob said triumphantly.
"I wasn't doubting you," Bella said, but she was looking at the book sadly.
"What's the matter?" Jacob asked.
"I was just wondering if... that man... if someone got hurt... now, while we're reading this book," Bella said.
"I don't know what to do about that," Jacob said. "I mean even if we do tell someone... it's not like we really know anything that would help catch him."
"I know," Bella frowned, even more down than she was before, but she picked up the book and started to read again.
"The coverage here in town will be light. It's too far away to be considered of local interest," Alice told me. "It was a good call to have Carlisle take him out of state."
I nodded. Bella didn't watch much TV regardless, and I'd never seen her father watching anything besides sports channels.
"That's so true," Jacob said, laughing harder than was necessary in hope that Bella would loosen up some.
I'd done what I could. This monster no longer hunted, and I was not a murderer.
Not recently, anyway. I'd been right to trust Carlisle, as much as I still wished the monster had not gotten off quite so easily. I caught myself hoping he would be extradited to Texas, where the death penalty was so popular??
"You'll get no arguments here," Jacob stated.
No. That didn't matter. I would put this behind me, and concentrate on what was most important.
I'd left Bella's room less than an hour ago. I was already aching to see her again.
"Alice, do you mind??"
She cut me off. "Rosalie will drive. She'll act pissed, but you know she'll enjoy the excuse to show off her car." Alice trilled a laugh.
Jacob rolled his eyes, though it was hard for him not to chuckle at that.
I grinned at her. "See you at school."
Alice sighed, and my grin became a grimace.
I know, I know, she thought. Not yet. I'll wait until you're ready for Bella to know me. You should know, though, this isn't just me being selfish. Bella's going to like me, too.
"Well of course I am," Bella said.
"I have to admit, she's not half bad," Jacob shrugged.
I didn't answer her as I hurried out the door. That was a different way of viewing the situation. Would Bella want to know Alice? To have a vampire for a girlfriend?
"Yes," Bella answered.
Knowing Bella??that idea probably wouldn't bother her in the slightest.
Bella rolled her eyes; he just had to make it sound negative that she felt that way. Jacob, on the other hand, was laughing at her expression.
I frowned to myself. What Bella wanted and what was best for Bella were two very separate things.
"No... what Bella wanted and what you think is best for Bella are two very separate things," Jacob said and Bella nodded her head in total agreement.
I started to feel uneasy as I parked my car in Bella's driveway. The human adage said that things looked different in the morning??that things changed when you slept on them. Would I look different to Bella in the weak light of a foggy day? More sinister or less sinister than I had in the blackness of night? Had the truth sunk in while she slept?
"Er... she's known the truth for like four days or something... I'm sure it's all sunk in," Jacob said.
"Yeah, but it was just confirmed today," Bella said.
"Do you think you'll be scared of him?" Jacob questioned and Bella rolled her eyes. "I rest my case."
Would she finally be afraid?
Her dreams had been peaceful, though, last night. When she'd spoken my name, time and time again, she'd smiled. More than once she'd murmured a plea for me to stay.
Would that mean nothing today?
I waited nervously, listening to the sounds of her inside the house??the fast, stumbling footsteps on the stairs, the sharp rip of a foil wrapper, the contents of the refrigerator crashing against each other when the door slammed. It sounded like she was in a hurry. Anxious to get to school? The thought made me smile, hopeful again.
I looked at the clock. I supposed that??taking in account the velocity her decrepit truck must limit her to??she was running a little late.
"You don't have to make fun of my truck," Bella muttered causing Jacob to laugh.
Bella rushed out of the house, her book bag sliding off her shoulder, her hair coiled into a messy twist that was already coming apart on the nape of her neck. The thick green sweater she wore was not enough to keep her thin shoulders from hunching against the cold fog.
The long sweater was too big for her, unflattering. It masked her slender figure, turning all her delicate curves and soft lines into a shapeless jumble. I appreciated this almost as much as I wished that she had worn something more like the soft blue blouse she'd worn last night??the fabric had clung to her skin in such an appealing way, cut low enough to reveal the mesmerizing way her collar bones curled away from the hollow beneath her throat. The blue had flowed like water along the subtle shape of her body??
Bella was blushing; did she always have to read the chapters where he described her like this?
It was better??essential??that I kept my thoughts far, far away from that shape, so I was grateful to the unbecoming sweater she wore.
"Well, thanks," Bella groaned.
I couldn't afford to make mistakes, and it would be a monumental mistake to dwell on the strange hungers that thoughts of her lips??her skin??her body??were shaking loose inside of me. Hungers that had evaded me for a hundred years. But I could not allow myself to think of touching her, because that was impossible.
Bella was blushing again... thinking about him touching her.
