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“And …” he paused, as if unwilling to say something. He
sighed, and then continued. “And Edward was really … nice.
He seemed as worried about Jacob as you are - like that was
his brother lying there. The look in his eyes …” Charlie shook
his head. “He’s a decent guy, Bella. I’ll try to remember that.
No promises, though.” He grinned at me.
“I won’t hold you to it,” I mumbled.
Charlie stretched his legs and groaned. “It’s nice to be home.
You wouldn’t believe how crowded Billy’s little place gets.
Seven of Jake’s friends all squished themselves into that little
front room - I could hardly breathe. Have you ever noticed
how big those Quileute kids all are?”
“Yeah, I have.” Charlie stared at me, his eyes abruptly more
focused. “Really, Bella, Carlisle said Jake will be up and
around in no time. Said it looked a lot worse than it was. He’s
going to be fine.” I just nodded.
Jacob had looked so … strangely fragile when I’d hurried
down to see him as soon as Charlie had left. He’d had braces
everywhere - Carlisle said there was no point in plaster, as fast
as he was healing. His face had been pale and drawn, deeply
unconscious though he was at the time. Breakable. Huge as he
was, he’d looked very breakable. Maybe that had just been my
imagination, coupled with the knowledge that I was going to
have to break him.
If only I could be struck by lightning and be split in two.
Preferably painfully. For the first time, giving up being human
felt like a true sacrifice. Like it might be too much to lose.
I put Charlie’s dinner on the table next to his elbow and
headed for the door. “Er, Bella? Could you wait just a
second?” “Did I forget something?” I asked, eyeing his plate.
“No, no. I just … want to ask a favor.” Charlie frowned and
looked at the floor. “Have a seat - this won’t take long.”
I sat across from him, a little confused. I tried to focus. “What
do you need, Dad?”
“Here’s the gist of it, Bella.” Charlie flushed. “Maybe I’m just
feeling … superstitious after hanging out with Billy while he