Aria's Twilight

Lunch date

Aria's pov

After Bella drove us home, it was obvious she was upset. What about, I had no idea—she refused to tell me. All she did was glare every time I tried to ask. Maybe it had something to do with Eric and Tyler stopping us on the way to the truck, both trying to ask me to the dance. I was flattered, really, but it was a girls' choice dance, and neither of them was my choice. Eric would be better off with Angela, and Tyler almost made me roadkill, so he was a definite "no."

I took Ellayla outside to do her business, then headed into the kitchen when Daddy called me.

"Hey princess, how's your head?"

"It's fine, Daddy, but I had a nightmare last night, so I'm a little tired." I felt my cheeks warm, remembering the dream from the other night—the one that made me wake up in a panic. And Edward... the way he had appeared to save me still made me feel embarrassed.

"Alright then, you can head up to your room and sleep for a little bit." I nodded, stifling a yawn, kissed Daddy on the cheek, and scooped Ellayla into my arms.

As I climbed the stairs, Daddy called after me again. "And your mother called again!"

Oh, great.

"That's your fault for telling her about the accident! I'll call her after dinner!" I shouted back, relieved when I finally reached my bed and collapsed into it, passing out almost instantly.

I awoke again the next morning from the same drowning dream, this time only half an hour before my alarm went off. I jumped in the shower, letting the hot water cascade down my body and ease some of the tension from sleep. After a longer-than-usual shower, I wrapped my hair in a towel, rubbed vanilla-almond lotion into my skin, and grabbed a pre-put-together outfit from my closet.

Ellayla jumped onto my legs, barking happily as I prepared our breakfast.

"Hey, Ellayla, are you hungry, baby?" I asked, filling her food and water bowls and setting them by the kitchen doorway.

"Good morning, princess." I jumped at Daddy's voice and pressed a kiss to my forehead. He headed toward the coffee pot. "How'd you sleep?"

"Good morning, Daddy. Fine, I slept fine." It wasn't exactly a lie, though he didn't seem to fully believe me. I appreciated that he didn't push—it was different from Mom, who would have forced me to answer honestly, no matter what. Daddy just trusted that if something was wrong, I would tell him.

While I ate my waffles, Bella came down the stairs, dressed normally, and headed straight for the door, grabbing her truck keys on the way.

"Bella, where are you going without your sister?" Daddy called.

"I thought she was already in the truck," she muttered, her eyes glued to her feet as she toyed with the keys.

"Now that she's finished eating, you can take her to school—and be sure to bring her home," Daddy said, handing me my coat as we headed for the door.

The ride to school was painfully quiet. Bella refused to talk, and I couldn't help but notice how stiff she was in her seat. When she parked the truck, she practically ran away, tripping over her own feet as I followed, trying not to laugh.

At lunch, I walked in alongside Bella, Mike, and Jessica.

"La Push, baby," I heard Eric call from the table where he sat with Angela. "La Push, baby. You in?" he asked both Bella and me. I answered, "Yes," while Bella looked confused.

"Should I know what that means?" she asked, obviously not remembering our previous trips.

"It's a beach, Bella," I explained. "The beach on the reservation, Daddy would take us to, fishing with Billy and Jacob." I continued, annoyed, "For God's sake, Bella—Jake and Billy live there."