"No!" I gasped. "Why? Why would Jacob do this to me?" The sting of betrayal washed through me. I had trusted Jacob implicitly - trusted him with every single secret I had. He was supposed to be my safe harbor - the person I could always rely on. Of course things were strained right now, but I didn't think any of the underlying foundation had changed. I didn't think that was changeable!
What had I done to deserve this? Charlie was going to be so mad - and worse than that, he was going to be hurt and worried. Didn't he have enough to deal with already? I would have never imagined that Jake
could be so petty and just plain mean. Tears sprang, smarting, into my eyes, but they were not tears of sadness. I had been betrayed. I was suddenly so angry that my head throbbed like it was going to explode.
"Is he still here?" I hissed.
"Yes. He's waiting for us there." Edward told me, nodding toward the slender path that divided the dark fringe of the forest in two.
I jumped out of the car, launching myself toward the trees with my hands already balled into fists for the first punch.
Why did Edward have to be so much faster than me?
He caught me around the waist before I made the path.
"Let me go! I'm going to murder him! Traitor!" I shouted the epithet toward the trees.
"Charlie will hear you," Edward warned me. "And once he gets you inside, he may brick over the doorway."
I glanced back at the house instinctively, and it seemed like the glossy red bike was all I could see. I was seeing red. My head throbbed again.
"Just give me one round with Jacob, and then I'll deal with Charlie." I struggled futilely to break free.
"Jacob Black wants to see me. That's why he's still here."
That stopped me cold - took the fight right out of me. My hands went limp. They fight; Paris falls.
I was furious, but not that furious.
"Talk?" I asked.
"More or less."
"How much more?" My voice shook.
Edward smoothed my hair back from my face. "Don't worry, he's not here to fight me. He's acting as... spokesperson for the pack."
"Oh."
Edward looked at the house again, then tightened his arm around my waist and pulled me toward the woods. "We should hurry. Charlie's getting impatient."
We didn't have to go far; Jacob waited just a short ways up the path. He lounged against a mossy tree trunk as he waited, his face hard and bitter, exactly the way I knew it would be. He looked at me, and then at Edward. Jacob's mouth stretched into a humorless sneer, and he shrugged away from the tree. He stood on the balls of his bare feet, leaning slightly forward, with his trembling hands clenched into fists. He looked bigger than the last time I'd seen him. Somehow, impossibly, he was still growing. He would tower over Edward, if they stood next to each other.
But Edward stopped as soon as we saw him, leaving a wide space between us and Jacob. Edward turned his body, shifting me so that I was behind him. I leaned around him to stare at Jacob - to accuse
him with my eyes.
I would have thought that seeing his resentful, cynical expression would only make me angrier. Instead, it reminded me of the last time I'd seen him, with tears in his eyes. My fury weakened, faltered, as I stared at Jacob. It had been so long since I'd seen him - I hated that our reunion had to be like this.
"Bella," Jacob said as a greeting, nodding once toward me without looking away from Edward.
"Why?" I whispered, trying to hide the sound of the lump in my throat. "How could you do this to me, Jacob?"
The sneer vanished, but his face stayed hard and rigid. "It's for the best."
"What is that supposed to mean? Do you want Charlie to strangle me? Or did you want him to have a heart attack, like Harry? No matter how mad you are at me, how could you do this to him?"
Jacob winced, and his eyebrows pulled together, but he didn't answer.
"He didn't want to hurt anyone - he just wanted to get you grounded, so that you wouldn't be allowed to spend time with me," Edward murmured, explaining the thoughts Jacob wouldn't say.
Jacob's eyes sparked with hate as he glowered at Edward again.
"Aw, Jake!" I groaned. "I'm already grounded! Why do you think I haven't been down to La Push to kick your butt for avoiding my phone calls?"
Jacob's eyes flashed back to me, confused for the first time. "That's why?" he asked, and then locked his jaw, like he was sorry he'd said anything.
"He thought I wouldn't let you, not Charlie," Edward explained again.
"Stop that," Jacob snapped.
Edward didn't answer.
Jacob shuddered once, and then gritted his teeth as hard as his fists. "Bella wasn't exaggerating about your... abilities," he said through his teeth. "So you must already know why I'm here."
"Yes," Edward agreed in a soft voice. "But, before you begin, I need to say something."
Jacob waited, clenching and unclenching his hands as he tried to control the shivers rolling down his arms.
"Thank you," Edward said, and his voice throbbed with the depth of his sincerity. "I will never be able to tell you how grateful I am. I will owe you for the rest of my... existence."
Jacob stared at him blankly, his shudders stilled by surprise. He exchanged a quick glance with me, but my face was just as mystified.
"For keeping Bella alive," Edward clarified, his voice rough and fervent. "When I... didn't."
"Edward - ," I started to say, but he held one hand up, his eyes on Jacob.
Understanding washed over Jacob's face before the hard mask returned. "I didn't do it for your benefit."