I just nodded, frightened of the change in him.
“At least call me—if you don’t want to see me again. Let me know if it’s like that.”
“That won’t happen—”
He raised one hand, cutting me off. “Just let me know.”
He stood and headed for the window.
“Don’t be an idiot, Jake,” I complained. “You’ll break your leg. Use the door. Charlie’s not going to catch you.”
“I won’t get hurt,” he muttered, but he turned for the door. He hesitated as he passed me, staring at me with an expression like something was stabbing him. He held one hand out, pleading.
I took his hand, and suddenly he yanked me—too roughly—right off the bed so that I thudded against his chest.
“Just in case,” he muttered against my hair, crushing me in a bear hug that about broke my ribs.
“Can’t—breathe!” I gasped.
He dropped me at once, keeping one hand at my waist so I didn’t fall over. He pushed me, more gently this time, back down on the bed.
“Get some sleep, Bells. You’ve got to get your head working. I know you can do this. I need you to understand. I won’t lose you, Bella. Not for this.”
He was to the door in one stride, opening it quietly, and then disappearing through it. I listened for him to hit the squeaky step in the stairs, but there was no sound.
I lay back on my bed, my head spinning. I was too confused, too worn out. I closed my eyes, trying to make sense of it, only to be swallowed up by unconsciousness so swiftly that it was disorienting.
It was not the peaceful, dreamless sleep I’d yearned for—of course not. I was in the forest again, and I started to wander the way I always did.
I quickly became aware that this was not the same dream as usual. For one thing, I felt no compulsion to wander or to search; I was merely wandering out of habit, because that was what was usually expected of me here. Actually, this wasn’t even the same forest. The smell was different, and the light, too. It smelled, not like the damp earth of the woods, but like the brine of the ocean. I couldn’t see the sky; still, it seemed like the sun must be shining—the leaves above were bright jade green.
This was the forest around La Push—near the beach there, I was sure of it. I knew that if I found the beach, I would be able to see the sun, so I hurried forward, following the faint sound of waves in the distance.
And then Jacob was there. He grabbed my hand, pulling me back toward the blackest part of the forest.
“Jacob, what’s wrong?” I asked. His face was the frightened face of a boy, and his hair was beautiful again, swept back into a ponytail on the nape of his neck. He yanked with all his strength, but I resisted; I didn’t want to go into the dark.
“Run, Bella, you have to run!” he whispered, terrified.
The abrupt wave of déjà vu was so strong it nearly woke me up.
I knew why I recognized this place now. It was because I’d been here before, in another dream. A million years ago, part of a different life entirely. This was the dream I’d had the night after I’d walked with Jacob on the beach, the first night I knew that Edward was a vampire. Reliving that day with Jacob must have dredged this dream out of my buried memories.
Detached from the dream now, I waited for it to play out. A light was coming toward me from the beach. In just a moment, Edward would walk through the trees, his skin faintly glowing and his eyes black and dangerous. He would beckon to me, and smile. He would be beautiful as an angel, and his teeth would be pointed and sharp....
But I was getting ahead of myself. Something else had to happen first.
Jacob dropped my hand and yelped. Shaking and twitching, he fell to the ground at my feet.
“Jacob!” I screamed, but he was gone.
In his place was an enormous, red-brown wolf with dark, intelligent eyes.
The dream veered off course, like a train jumping the tracks.
This was not the same wolf that I’d dreamed of in another life. This was the great russet wolf I’d stood half a foot from in the meadow, just a week ago. This wolf was gigantic, monstrous, bigger than a bear.
This wolf stared intently at me, trying to convey something vital with his intelligent eyes. The black-brown, familiar eyes of Jacob Black.
I woke screaming at the top of my lungs.
I almost expected Charlie to come check on me this time. This wasn’t my usual screaming. I buried my head in my pillow and tried to muffle the hysterics that my screams were building into. I pressed the cotton tight against my face, wondering if I couldn’t also somehow smother the connection I’d just made.
But Charlie didn’t come in, and eventually I was able to strangle the strange screeching coming out of my throat.