“Bye, Bella,” he called back over his shoulder. “I really hope you don’t die.” He sprinted into the darkness, shaking so hard that his shape seemed blurred; he disappeared before I could open my mouth to call him back.
Remorse pinned me against the seat for one long second. What had I just done to Jacob?
But remorse couldn’t hold me very long.
I slid across the seat and put the truck back in drive. My hands were shaking almost as hard as Jake’s had been, and this took a minute of concentration. Then I carefully turned the truck around and drove it back to my house.
It was very dark when I turned off the headlights. Charlie had left in such a hurry that he’d forgotten to leave the porch lamp on. I felt a pang of doubt, staring at the house, deep in shadow. What if it was a trick?
I looked back at the black car, almost invisible in the night. No. I knew that car.
Still, my hands were shaking even worse than before as I reached for the key above the door. When I grabbed the doorknob to unlock it, it twisted easily under my hand. I let the door fall open. The hallway was black.
I wanted to call out a greeting, but my throat was too dry. I couldn’t quite seem to catch my breath.
I took a step inside and fumbled for the light switch. It was so black—like the black water...Where was that switch?
Just like the black water, with the orange flame flickering impossibly on top of it. Flame that couldn’t be a fire, but what then...? My fingers traced the wall, still searching, still shaking—
Suddenly, something Jacob had told me this afternoon echoed in my head, finally sinking in....She took off into the water, he’d said. The bloodsuckers have the advantage there. That’s why I raced home—I was afraid she was going to double back swimming.
My hand froze in its searching, my whole body froze into place, as I realized why I recognized the strange orange color on the water.
Victoria’s hair, blowing wild in the wind, the color of fire...
She’d been right there. Right there in the harbor with me and Jacob. If Sam hadn’t been there, if it had been just the two of us...? I couldn’t breathe or move.
The light flicked on, though my frozen hand had still not found the switch.
I blinked into the sudden light, and saw that someone was there, waiting for me.
17. VISITOR
UNNATURALLY STILL AND WHITE, WITH HER LARGE BLACK eyes intent on my face, my visitor waited perfectly motionless in the center of the hall, beautiful beyond imagining.
My knees trembled for a second, and I nearly fell. Then I hurled myself at her.
“Alice, oh, Alice!” I cried, as I slammed into her.
I’d forgotten how hard she was; it was like running headlong into a wall of cement.
“Bella?” There was a strange mingling of relief and confusion in her voice.
I locked my arms around her, gasping to inhale as much of the scent of her skin as possible. It wasn’t like anything else—not floral or spice, citrus or musk. No perfume in the world could compare. My memory hadn’t done it justice.
I didn’t notice when the gasping turned into something else—I only realized I was sobbing when Alice dragged me to the living room couch and pulled me into her lap. It was like curling up into a cool stone, but a stone that was contoured comfortingly to the shape of my body. She rubbed my back in a gentle rhythm, waiting for me to get control of myself.
“I’m...sorry,” I blubbered. “I’m just...so happy...to see you!”
“It’s okay, Bella. Everything’s okay.”
“Yes,” I bawled. And, for once, it seemed that way.
Alice sighed. “I’d forgotten how exuberant you are,” she said, and her tone was disapproving.
I looked up at her through my streaming eyes. Alice’s neck was tight, straining away from me, her lips pressed together firmly. Her eyes were black as pitch.
“Oh,” I puffed, as I realized the problem. She was thirsty. And I smelled appetizing. It had been a while since I’d had to think about that kind of thing. “Sorry.”
“It’s my own fault. It’s been too long since I hunted. I shouldn’t let myself get so thirsty. But I was in a hurry today.” The look she directed at me then was a glare. “Speaking of which, would you like to explain to me how you’re alive?”
That brought me up short and stopped the sobs. I realized what must have happened immediately, and why Alice was here.
I swallowed loudly. “You saw me fall.”
“No,” she disagreed, her eyes narrowing. “I saw you jump.”
I pursed my lips as I tried to think of an explanation that wouldn’t sound nuts.
Alice shook her head. “I told him this would happen, but he didn’t believe me. ‘Bella promised,’” her voice imitated his so perfectly that I froze in shock while the pain ripped through my torso. “‘Don’t be looking for her future, either,’” she continued to quote him. “‘We’ve done enough damage.’