Eclipse (Twilight #3)(78)

"What few things do we need to get in order?" I asked, refusing to be sidetracked.

Edward answered in a low voice. "Jasper thinks we could use some help. Tanya's family isn't the only choice we have. Carlisle's trying to track down a few old friends, and Jasper is looking up Peter and Charlotte. He's considering talking to Maria . . . but no one really wants to involve the southerners."

Alice shuddered delicately.

"It shouldn't be too hard to convince them to help," he continued. "Nobody wants a visit from Italy."

"But these friends - they're not going to be . . . vegetarians, right?" I protested, using the Cullens' tongue-in-cheek nickname for themselves.

"No," Edward answered, suddenly expressionless.

"Here? In Forks?"

"They're friends," Alice reassured me. "Everything's going to be fine. Don't worry. And then, Jasper has to teach us a few courses on newborn elimination. . . ."

Edward's eyes brightened at that, and a brief smile flashed across his face. My stomach suddenly felt like it was full of sharp little splinters of ice.

"When are you going?" I asked in a hollow voice. I couldn't stand this - the idea that someone might not come back. What if it was Emmett, so brave and thoughtless that he was never the least bit cautious? Or Esme, so sweet and motherly that I couldn't even imagine her in a fight? Or Alice, so tiny, so fragile-looking? Or . . . but I couldn't even think the name, consider the possibility.

"A week," Edward said casually. "That ought to give us enough time."

The icy splinters twisted uncomfortably in my stomach. I was suddenly nauseated.

"You look kind of green, Bella," Alice commented.

Edward put his arm around me and pulled me tightly against his side. "It's going to be fine, Bella. Trust me."

Sure, I thought to myself. Trust him. He wasn't the one who was going to have to sit behind and wonder whether or not the core of his existence was going to come home.

And then it occurred to me. Maybe I didn't need to sit behind. A week was more than enough time.

"You're looking for help," I said slowly.

"Yes." Alice's head cocked to the side as she processed the change in my tone.

I looked only at her as I answered. My voice was just slightly louder than a whisper. "I could help."

Edward's body was suddenly rigid, his arm too tight around me. He exhaled, and the sound was a hiss.

But it was Alice, still calm, who answered. "That really wouldn't be helpful."

"Why not?" I argued; I could hear the desperation in my voice. "Eight is better than seven. There's more than enough time."

"There's not enough time to make you helpful, Bella," she disagreed coolly. "Do you remember how Jasper described the young ones? You'd be no good in a fight. You wouldn't be able to control your instincts, and that would make you an easy target. And then Edward would get hurt trying to protect you." She folded her arms across her chest, pleased with her unassailable logic.

And I knew she was right, when she put it like that. I slumped in my seat, my sudden hope defeated. Beside me, Edward relaxed.

He whispered the reminder in my ear. "Not because you're afraid."

"Oh," Alice said, and a blank look crossed her face. Then her expression became surly. "I hate last- minute cancellations. So that puts the party attendance list down to sixty-five. . . ."

"Sixty-five!" My eyes bulged again. I didn't have that many friends. Did I even know that many people?

"Who canceled?" Edward wondered, ignoring me.

"Renée."

"What?" I gasped.

"She was going to surprise you for your graduation, but something went wrong. You'll have a message when you get home."

For a moment, I just let myself enjoy the relief. Whatever it was that went wrong for my mother, I was eternally grateful to it. If she had come to Forks now . . . I didn't want to think about it. My head would explode.

The message light was flashing when I got home. My feeling of relief flared again as I listened to my mother describe Phil's accident on the ball field - while demonstrating a slide, he'd tangled up with the catcher and broken his thigh bone; he was entirely dependent on her, and there was no way she could leave him. My mom was still apologizing when the message cut off.

"Well, that's one," I sighed.

"One what?" Edward asked.

"One person I don't have to worry about getting killed this week."

He rolled his eyes.

"Why won't you and Alice take this seriously?" I demanded. "This is serious."

He smiled. "Confidence."

"Wonderful," I grumbled. I picked up the phone and dialed Renée's number. I knew it would be a long conversation, but I also knew that I wouldn't have to contribute much.

I just listened, and reassured her every time I could get a word in: I wasn't disappointed, I wasn't mad, I wasn't hurt. She should concentrate on helping Phil get better. I passed on my "get well soon" to Phil, and promised to call her with every single detail from Forks High's generic graduation. Finally, I had to use my desperate need to study for finals to get off the phone.