Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [130]
He frowned slightly. Renesmee and Jacob are downstairs
Oh.
Right. I was the monster now. I had to keep away from scents that might trigger my wild side. From the people that I loved in particular. Even the ones I didnt really know yet.
Is Renesmee okay with Jacob there? I whispered. I realized belatedly that it must have been Jacobs heart Id heard below. I listened hard again, but I could only hear the one steady pulse. He doesnt like her much.
Edwards lips tightened in an odd way. Trust me, she is perfectly safe. I know exactly what Jacob is thinking.
Of course, I murmured, and looked at the ground again.
Stalling? he challenged.
A little. I dont know how
And I was very conscious of my family behind me, watching silently. Mostly silently. Emmett had already chuckled under his breath once. One mistake, and hed be rolling on the floor. Then the jokes about the worlds only clumsy vampire would start
Also, this dress-that Alice must have put me in sometime when I was too lost in the burning to notice-was not what I would have picked out for either jumping or hunting. Tightly fitted ice-blue silk? What did she think I would need it for? Was there a cocktail party later?
Watch me, Edward said. And then, very casually, he stepped out of the tall, open window and fell.
I watched carefully, analyzing the angle at which he bent his knees to absorb the impact. The sound of his landing was very low-a muted thud that could have been a door softly closed, or a book gently laid on a table.
It didnt look hard.
Clenching my teeth as I concentrated, I tried to copy his casual step into empty air.
Ha! The ground seemed to move toward me so slowly that it was nothing at all to place my feet-what shoes had Alice put me in? Stilettos? Shed lost her mind-to place my silly shoes exactly right so that landing was no different than stepping one foot forward on a flat surface.
I absorbed the impact in the balls of my feet, not wanting to snap off the thin heels. My landing seemed just as quiet as his. I grinned at him.
Right. Easy.
He smiled back. Bella?
Yes?
That was quite graceful-even for a vampire.
I considered that for a moment, and then I beamed. If hed just been saying that, then Emmett would have laughed. No one found his remark humorous, so it must have been true. It was the first time anyone had ever applied the word graceful to me in my entire life or, well, existence anyway.
Thank you, I told him.
And then I hooked the silver satin shoes off my feet one by one and lobbed them together back through the open window. A little too hard, maybe, but I heard someone catch them before they could damage the paneling.
Alice grumbled, Her fashion sense hasnt improved as much as her balance.
Edward took my hand-I couldnt stop marveling at the smoothness, the comfortable temperature of his skin-and darted through the backyard to the edge of the river. I went along with him effortlessly.
Everything physical seemed very simple.
Are we swimming? I asked him when we stopped beside the water.
And ruin your pretty dress? No. Were jumping.
I pursed my lips, considering. The river was about fifty yards wide here.
You first, I said.
He touched my cheek, took two quick backward strides, and then ran back those two steps, launching himself from a flat stone firmly embedded in the riverbank. I studied the flash of movement as he arced over the water, finally turning a somersault just before he disappeared into the thick trees on the other side of the river.
Show-off, I muttered, and heard his invisible laugh.
I backed up five paces, just in case, and took a deep breath.
Suddenly, I was anxious again. Not about falling or getting hurt-I was more worried about the forest getting hurt.
It had come on slowly, but I could feel it now-the raw, massive strength thrilling in my limbs. I was suddenly sure that if I wanted to tunnel under the river, to claw or beat my way straight through the bedrock, it wouldnt take me very long. The objects around me-the trees, the shrubs, the rocks the house-had