Breaking Dawn - Stephenie Meyer [71]
You think Bellas going to die anyway, Seth whispered.
Yeah, she is.
Poor Edward. He must be crazy.
Literally.
Edwards name brought other memories boiling to the surface. Seth read them in astonishment.
And then he was howling. Oh, man! No way! You did not! That just plain ol sucks rocks, Jacob! And you know it, too! I cant believe you said youd kill him. What is that? You have to tell him no.
Shut up, shut up, you idiot! Theyre going to think the pack is coming!
Oops! He cut off mid-howl.
I wheeled and started loping in toward the house. Just keep out of this, Seth. Take the whole circle for now.
Seth seethed and I ignored him.
False alarm, false alarm, I thought as I ran closer in. Sorry. Seth is young. He forgets things. No ones attacking. False alarm.
When I got to the meadow, I could see Edward staring out of a dark window. I ran in, wanting to be sure he got the message.
Theres nothing out there-you got that?
He nodded once.
This would be a lot easier if the communication wasnt one way. Then again, I was kinda glad I wasnt in his head.
He looked over his shoulder, back into the house, and I saw a shudder run through his whole frame. He waved me away without looking in my direction again and then moved out of my view.
Whats going on?
Like I was going to get an answer.
I sat very still in the meadow and listened. With these ears, I could almost hear Seths soft footfalls, miles out into the forest. It was easy to hear every sound inside the dark house.
It was a false alarm, Edward was explaining in that dead voice, just repeating what Id told him. Seth was upset about something else, and he forgot we were listening for a signal. Hes very young.
Nice to have toddlers guarding the fort, a deeper voice grumbled. Emmett, I thought.
Theyve done us a great service tonight, Emmett, Carlisle said. At great personal sacrifice.
Yeah, I know. Im just jealous. Wish I was out there.
Seth doesnt think Sam will attack now, Edward said mechanically. Not with us forewarned, and lacking two members of the pack.
What does Jacob think? Carlisle asked.
Hes not as optimistic.
No one spoke. There was a quiet dripping sound that I couldnt place. I heard their low breathing-and I could separate Bellas from the rest. It was harsher, labored. It hitched and broke in strange rhythms. I could hear her heart. It seemed too fast. I paced it against my own heartbeat, but I wasnt sure if that was any measure. It wasnt like I was normal.
Dont touch her! Youll wake her up, Rosalie whispered.
Someone sighed.
Rosalie, Carlisle murmured.
Dont start with me, Carlisle. We let you have your way earlier, but thats all were allowing.
It seemed like Rosalie and Bella were both talking in plurals now. Like theyd formed a pack of their own.
I paced quietly in front of the house. Each pass brought me a little closer. The dark windows were like a TV set running in some dull waiting room-it was impossible to keep my eyes off them for long.
A few more minutes, a few more passes, and my fur was brushing the side of the porch as I paced.
I could see up through the windows-see the top of the walls and the ceiling, the unlit chandelier that hung there. I was tall enough that all I would have to do was stretch my neck a little and maybe one paw up on the edge of the porch
I peeked into the big, open front room, expecting to see something very similar to the scene this afternoon. But it had changed so much that I was confused at first. For a second I thought Id gotten the wrong room.
The glass wall was gone-it looked like metal now. And the furniture was all dragged out of the way, with Bella curled up awkwardly on a narrow bed in the center of the open space. Not a normal bed-one with rails like in a hospital. Also like a hospital were the monitors strapped to her body, the tubes stuck into her skin. The lights on the monitors flashed, but there was no sound. The dripping noise was from the IV plugged into her arm-some fluid that was thick and white, not clear.
She choked a little in her uneasy sleep, and both Edward and Rosalie