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CHAPTER TWELVE ʏᴏᴜ ʟᴇғᴛ
The smell of the wolves stayed with me for the rest of the night. I shook with anger. It was all getting too much. The wolves. Bella's suicidal streak. The lack of control I'd been feeling over everything. It all stemmed from their absence. Then, more than ever, I just wanted them to return, to come home. Was it so much to ask for?
It didn't feel like it too much to want. Not when Alice had once been upset by my absence. Not when wolves - a vampire's enemy - were running wild around Forks.
Bella didn't phone until late the next morning.
I was still angry with her. Though it wasn't her fault I'd decided to agree to go with her, it was by her own free will that she jumped from the cliff.
"Bella? Are you alright?"
There was a crackling sound on the other side of the phone as Bella shushed someone. I waited to hear Charlie's complaining or at least a shout of greeting from him, but for a moment there was nothing but silence.
"I'm fine, I'm fine," she dismissed, becoming louder again. I frowned.
"What happened?"
"Nothing. I'm at home now. But can I meet you by the woods near your place?" she asked.
"Is everything alright?"
"Will you meet me there? Now?" she pushed, her voice remaining level.
"Yes. I'll be there."
It was raining again. Not enough to soak through to my skin, but enough to leave my clothes damp and cool to touch.
Everywhere I looked, as I walked through the edge of woods waiting for Bella, was coated in silvery beads of water, sparkling in the low light of the sun, which hid behind swelling clouds. As I walked, trailing my fingers against the pools of leaves, I found myself drifting toward the tree.
It was the scene of so many memories and of many more daydreams I'd created in my head. It was the tree where I'd first spilt the truth to Alice- where I'd first seen her sparkle. The memory still caught my attention. She was radiant, looking as if she was born to be nothing other, no matter how sad that thought was.
I sat down, paying no attention to the crunch of leaves beneath my hands. Bella was due to be close any minute. I would hear or smell her before she could wander around lost. But it was not Bella that I sensed. Only metres away, another person stood, the old but familiar scent drifting welcomingly my way.
Unnaturally still, with wide eyes resting calmly on my face, Alice Cullen stood across the clearing, more beautiful than any of the images my mind brought up. Her eyes were as black as charcoal- I'd forgotten how dark they were. Her hair was styled differently too, as it lay flatter against the nape of her neck, curled only slightly.
