flare | JACOB BLACK [2]

~ THREE ~

~~

Bella was handed gift after gift. Then got a small, wrapped, and flat gift from Carlisle and Esme. She struggled to open it at first and the sound of tearing paper rang through the room. Suddenly, I got a feeling of panic and slight pain from the connection. Then it all came together, and the first drop of blood hit the floor.

"BELLA!" I ran towards her. I wasn't far from her but everyone else in the room was faster than me. They could get her, they could kill her.

Edward had reached behind to push Bella back but she was going to hit the glass table and that would make things worse. I pushed Bella out of the way. She fell to the side. Edward hit me instead and his strength knocked me further than I expected. One second I was off the ground and the next I hit the wall. My body came crashing down on the glass table.

Then I saw Jasper. He was running towards Bella. My fear skyrocketed. As Jasper tore out of Emmett's grasp, Edward pushed him back. The keys of the piano screamed as Jasper's body hit them. The entire thing broke.

I checked to make sure I wasn't bleeding but the glass made the chances higher. There was a barely-there cut on my calf. But it was also a long cut so blood was slowly coming from all over the cut.

Jasper was up again. His eyes were filled with hunger, and they were looking right at me. I had only seen eyes filled with such blood lust one other time. It brought the worst fear imaginable. My heart was racing. My palms were sweaty. My hands trembled harshly, almost like I had no control of them.

Jasper began running towards me. I scurried back against the wall as he got closer and in panic I called out, "JASPER, JASPER STOP PLEASE!"

I curled my legs up against myself and held my shaky hands over my face. Then a loud grunt came from Jasper. He was being held back by Edward, just barely.

The jet black eyes. The bared teeth. It was just a few inches away from me. Tears fell down my face in shock and fear. I was looking at a completely different Jasper, and I was terrified of it.

"Take him outside." Carlisle said in a soft voice, appearing next to me.

Edward roughly pulled Jasper away.

"Avery, can you walk?" Carlisle asked making me look away from Jasper.

"Um...yeah, I think." I was still in a daze, my heart rate just now calming.

...

Carlisle had take Bella and I to his office. He stopped the bleeding from my cut and wrapped it in bandage, although I insisted it wasn't necessary.

Bella couldn't stay still. "Avery, I'm sorry this happened, if I wasn't so careless then--" She began.

"Bella, it wasn't your fault. It was a mistake and we're okay. We're still breathing." I reassured her.

"Maybe if I wasn't human--"

"Don't say that." I said, giving a heavy glance.

...

It was, to say the least, tense as we left the house. Alice was cleaning up the wooden pieces from the piano. No one said anything to each other.

I drove Bella home. I turned over to her as I stopped my car on the curb. Only the living room light was on.

"Are you okay?" I asked. There was strain in my voice.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" She replied in a bitter undertone. She must've not liked my comment about her not being human.

"I just wanted to make sure you weren't angry, but it seems like you are. So what's wrong?"

"Look I don't need a psychologist right now, I'm fine!" She got out of the car before I could say anything else.

...

My phone, laying on my bed, buzzed suddenly. It was a text from Edward.

Edward
Are you busy Monday after school?

No, why?

Edward
The interview you needed for your English essay, I wanted to get it out of the way.

Abrasive much?

Alright, see you then.

Edward was too eager to get the interview out of the way. Something is wrong, it has to be.

...

The Cullens didn't show up to school on Monday. Even without the connection I could tell Bella was upset. She knew they weren't here because of the party. She did still feel like it was her fault though.

"It's okay." I told her throughout the day, especially when she completely wrapped up in negative thoughts.

"Do you think they're gonna come back?" Bella asked me at lunch.

"Of course. They wouldn't just leave."

"Who says they wouldn't?"

"Well, I doubt they would do something that drastic, especially Edward."

The anxiety she felt was so strong that it overpowered her appetite; she didn't touch anything on her lunch tray.

...

I arrived at the Cullens house with a pencil, notepad, and voice recorder in hand. I didn't tell Bella I was going to be here. It would just make her more curious and I didn't want to feed her negative conclusions.

Edward opened the door when I knocked. His hair was slightly messy, yet it was very unlike him. He was dressed light too. Just a white button up and black pants. It was all too simple for Edward, but I decided to ignore it.

We walked to the empty living room. Our footsteps echoing throughout the house. We sat facing each other on the dark, leather sofa.

"Alright, what do you want to know?" Edward said, giving me the cue to start the recorder.