Midnight Sun Part 2

GoodBuys

I did not like this plan. It violated all my instincts even to pretend to use Bella as bait. Not only that, but to set the trap, then abandon her to the care of others, appalled me.

My brother and sister were capable as long as they didn’t drink her blood (Jasper), or change her to a vampire (Alice). It was so hard to control our kind, impossible really. Though I trusted my family with most things, I didn’t trust even myself to keep Bella safe. But Bella was right. James knew she was mine and that we would stay together. Therefore, I served as a useful decoy. If I could get him to follow me, then Bella could escape.

These thoughts consumed me for the remainder of the drive to Charlie’s house. Considering everything she had already been through today, Bella remained remarkably composed now that we had agreed to protect Charlie. Of course I cared about Charlie, because she did, but if it came down to saving him or her, there was no contest. Unfortunately for me, Bella felt the opposite, so I had to protect her from herself as well.

I parked the Jeep and scanned for any signs of Jamesno scent, no mental activity. Good. He hadn’t been here. That gave us a little time to get Bella in and out of the house. Then he could pick up our trail.

“He’s not here,” I announced. “Let’s go.”

I didn’t know what story Bella was going to tell Charlie. In truth, I didn’t care. I only cared that we get her out of here and that she let us do it. If Charlie didn’t believe her story and came after me or my family, we would deal with that. Keeping Bella safe was my only concern.

Emmett assisted Bella with the buckles in the back seat. “Don’t worry, Bella,” he said, “we’ll take care of things here quickly.”

That was Emmett, always confident, almost always cheerful. Bella had worried that Rosalie and Emmett didn’t like her, so I was glad she’d had these moments with Emmett. He was impressed with her plan and happy to help, especially since he’d get the chance to “kick some vampire butt,” as he would have put it. He complained constantly that his siblings wouldn’t give him a fair fight and grizzly bears weren’t challenging enough. The best wrestling he got was with Rosalie in the bedroom, if the noise they made and the destruction they wrought were any indication. I’d have chuckled at the thought if our current situation weren’t so dire.

To my surprise, I smelled the salty scent of tearsBella’s tears. I didn’t know what was causing them…fear? At any other time, alleviating her distress would have been my first priority, but right now, I had an overriding concern. Bella’s lifeand mine, come to thatwas dependent on what happened in the next few hours, if not the next several minutes.

“Alice, Emmett,” I instructed. They silently exited the Jeep and melted into the darkness. I helped Bella from the vehicle, then held her close to me while we hurried to the front porch. All the while I scanned the darkness for signs of James or his compatriots.

“Fifteen minutes,” I reiterated at the door.

“I can do this,” Bella sniffed through her tears. She cupped her hands ardently around my face and looked into my eyes.

“I love you. I will always love you, no matter what happens now.”

“Nothing is going to happen to you, Bella,” I insisted.

“Just follow the plan, okay?” she said, confirming my resolve. “Keep Charlie safe for me. He’s not going to like me very much after this, and I want to have the chance to apologize later.”

“Get inside, Bella. We have to hurry,” I pressed. We would do our best for Charlie, but I wasn’t going to make any promises.

“One more thing,” she whispered fervently. “Don’t listen to another word I say tonight!” Abruptly, she pulled my face to hers and kissed me, pressing her body fiercely against mine. Caught unawares, I responded in kind before she broke away, turned to the front door, and kicked it open.