I did not linger in Port Angeles. I took Carlisle to the dive where the creature named Lonnie was drowning his disappointment with his friends - two of whom had already passed out. Carlisle could see how hard it was for me to be so close - for me to hear the monster's thoughts and see his memories, memories of Bella mixed in with less fortunate girls who no one could save now.
Bella's lip trembled as she thought of those poor girls.
My breathing sped. I clenched the steering wheel.
Go, Edward, he told me gently. I'll make the rest of them safe. You go back to Bella.
It was exactly the right thing to say. Her name was the only distraction that could mean anything to me now.
"And I'm sure he knew it," Bella said. Carlisle seemed to have a very good understanding of his son.
I left him in the car, and ran back to Forks in a straight line through the sleeping forest. It took less time than the first journey in the speeding car. It was just minutes later that I scaled the side of her house and slid her window out of my way.
I sighed silently with relief. Everything was just as it should be. Bella was safe in her bed, dreaming, her wet hair tangled like seaweed across the pillow.
But, unlike most nights, she was curled into a small ball with the covers stretched taut around her shoulders. Cold, I guessed. Before I could settle into my usual seat, she shivered in her sleep, and her lips trembled.
I thought for a brief moment, and then I eased out into the hallway, exploring another part of her house for the first time.
Charlie's snores were loud and even.
Jacob shivered; he had gotten used to the stalker vampire, but it seemed more unnerving now hearing Edward mention Charlie sleeping.
I could almost catch the edge of his dream. Something with the rush of water and patient expectation...fishing, maybe?
Bella and Jacob both chuckled at that. That really seemed like a dream Charlie would have.
There, at the top of the stairs, was a promising looking cupboard. I opened it hopefully, and found what I was looking for. I selected the thickest blanket from the tiny linen closet, and took it back into her room. I would return it before she woke, and no one would be the wiser.
Holding my breath, I cautiously spread the blanket over her; she didn't react to the added weight. I returned to the rocking chair.
While I waited anxiously for her to warm up, I thought of Carlisle, wondering where he was now. I knew his plan would go smoothly - Alice had seen that.
Thinking of my father made me sigh - Carlisle gave me too much credit. I wished I was the person he thought me to be. That person, the one who deserved happiness, might hope to be worthy of this sleeping girl. How different things would be if I could be that Edward.
"And what makes you so sure you're not that Edward?" Bella questioned, knowing there would be no answer (she was talking to a book after all).
As I pondered this, a strange, uncalled image filled my head.
For one moment, the hag-faced fate I'd imagined, the one who sought Bella's destruction, was replaced by the most foolish and reckless of angels. A guardian angel - something Carlisle's version of me might have had. With a heedless smile on her lips, her sky-colored eyes full of mischief, the angel formed Bella in such a fashion that there was no way that I could possibly overlook her. A ridiculously potent scent to demand my attention, a silent mind to enflame my curiosity, a quiet beauty to hold my eyes, a selfless soul to earn my awe. Leave out the natural sense of self-preservation - so that Bella could bear to be near me - and, finally, add a wide streak of appallingly bad luck.
"Obviously she would have to have bad luck if her guardian angel was as reckless as all that," Jacob said.
"I don't think it sounds all that bad," Bella said. "Besides, he was talking about his angel."
"If the angel created you... it would be yours, too," Jacob shrugged.
With a careless laugh, the irresponsible angel propelled her fragile creation directly into my path, trusting blithely in my flawed morality to keep Bella alive.
In this vision, I was not Bella's sentence; she was my reward.
Bella nodded her head... that was a much better thought.
I shook my head at the fantasy of the unthinking angel. She was not much better than the harpy. I could not think well of a higher power that would behave in such a dangerous and stupid manner. At least the ugly fate I could fight against.
And I had no angel. They were reserved for the good - for people like Bella. So where was her angel through all this? Who was watching over her?
"It looks like they've given you that job, so keep up the good work," Bella said.
I laughed silently, startled, as I realized that, just now, I was filling that role.
A vampire angel - there was a stretch.
"No, it's not... he has his own TV show," Jacob laughed and Bella rolled her eyes.
"I don't think he was talking about a vampire named Angel," Bella said.
After about a half hour, Bella relaxed out of the tight ball. Her breathing got deeper and she started to murmur. I smiled, satisfied. It was a small thing, but at least she was sleeping more comfortably tonight because I was here.
"Edward," she sighed, and she smiled, too.
I shoved tragedy aside for the moment, and let myself be happy again.
"Good," Bella smiled.
"That's the end of the chapter," Jacob said, "let's get something to eat."
11. Interrogations
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.