“So how do you feel you did on your exams?” Edward asked on the way, making small talk.
“History was easy, but I don’t know about the Calculus. It seemed like it was making sense, so that probably means I failed.”
He laughed. “I’m sure you did fine. Or, if you’re really worried, I could bribe Mr. Varner to give you an A.”
“Er, thanks, but no thanks.”
He laughed again, but suddenly stopped when we turned the last bend and saw the red car waiting. He frowned in concentration, and then, as he parked the car, he sighed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, my hand on the door.
He shook his head. “Nothing.” His eyes were narrowed as he stared through the windshield toward the other car. I’d seen that look before.
“You’re not listening to Jacob, are you?” I accused.
“It’s not easy to ignore someone when he’s shouting.”
“Oh.” I thought about that for a second. “What’s he shouting?” I whispered.
“I’m absolutely certain he’ll mention it himself,” Edward said in a wry tone.
I would have pressed the issue, but then Jacob honked his horn — two quick impatient honks.
“That’s impolite,” Edward growled.
“That’s Jacob,” I sighed, and I hurried out before Jacob did something to really set Edward’s teeth on edge.
I waved to Edward before I got into the Rabbit and, from that distance, it looked like he was truly upset about the honking thing . . . or whatever Jacob was thinking about. But my eyes were weak and made mistakes all the time.
I wanted Edward to come to me. I wanted to make both of them get out of their cars and shake hands and be friends — be Edward and Jacob rather than vampire and werewolf. It was as if I had those two stubborn magnets in my hands again, and I was holding them together, trying to force nature to reverse herself. . . .
I sighed, and climbed in Jacob’s car.
“Hey, Bells.” Jake’s tone was cheerful, but his voice dragged. I examined his face as he started down the road, driving a little faster than I did, but slower than Edward, on his way back to La Push.
Jacob looked different, maybe even sick. His eyelids drooped and his face was drawn. His shaggy hair stuck out in random directions; it was almost to his chin in some places.
“Are you all right, Jake?”
“Just tired,” he managed to get out before he was overcome by a massive yawn. When he finished, he asked, “What do you want to do today?”
I eyed him for a moment. “Let’s just hang out at your place for now,” I suggested. He didn’t look like he was up for much more than that. “We can ride our bikes later.”
“Sure, sure,” he said, yawning again.
Jacob’s house was vacant, and that felt strange. I realized I thought of Billy as a nearly permanent fixture there.
“Where’s your dad?”
“Over at the Clearwaters’. He’s been hanging out there a lot since Harry died. Sue gets lonely.”
Jacob sat down on the old couch that was no bigger than a loveseat and squished himself to the side to make room for me.
“Oh. That’s nice. Poor Sue.”
“Yeah . . . she’s having some trouble. . . .” He hesitated. “With her kids.”
“Sure, it’s got to be hard on Seth and Leah, losing their dad. . . .”
“Uh-huh,” he agreed, lost in thought. He picked up the remote and flipped on the TV without seeming to think about it. He yawned.
“What’s with you, Jake? You’re like a zombie.”
“I got about two hours of sleep last night, and four the night before,” he told me. He stretched his long arms slowly, and I could hear the joints crack as he flexed. He settled his left arm along the back of the sofa behind me, and slumped back to rest his head against the wall. “I’m exhausted.”
“Why aren’t you sleeping?” I asked.
He made a face. “Sam’s being difficult. He doesn’t trust your bloodsuckers. I’ve been running double shifts for two weeks and nobody’s touched me yet, but he still doesn’t buy it. So I’m on my own for now.”
“Double shifts? Is this because you’re trying to watch out for me? Jake, that’s wrong! You need to sleep. I’ll be fine.”
“It’s no big deal.” His eyes were abruptly more alert. “Hey, did you ever find out who was in your room? Is there anything new?”
I ignored the second question. “No, we didn’t find anything out about my, um, visitor.”
“Then I’ll be around,” he said as his eyes slid closed.
“Jake . . . ,” I started to whine.