Midnight Sun (Twilight #1.5)(74)

"I always drive like this."

"Well at least I know that's true," Bella said. "Hm... I don't know if I'm going to be riding in his car too much."

"If you look at Edward, I'm sure you wouldn't notice anything," Jacob said, and then chuckled. "You'll be dazzled by him..."

"Shut up," Bella blushed and Jacob laughed harder.

I met her gaze, amused by her shocked expression.

"Keep your eyes on the road!" she shouted.

Jacob and Bella laughed at this... for Bella thought that laughing was just easier to do at the moment than worry... Edward wouldn't let anything happen to her after all.

"I've never been in an accident, Bella. I've never even gotten a ticket." I grinned at her and touched my forehead. It made it even more comical - the absurdity of being able to joke with her about something so secret and strange. "Built in radar detector."

"Very funny," she said sarcastically, her voice more frightened than angry.

"Charlie's a cop, remember? I was raised to abide by traffic laws. Besides, if you turn us into a Volvo pretzel around a tree trunk, you can probably just walk away."

"And now he slows down," Jacob said. "Well, you seemed to know how to make him listen to you."

"Probably," I repeated, and then laughed without humor. Yes, we would fare quite differently in a car accident. She was right to be afraid, despite my driving abilities... "But you can't."

With a sigh, I let the car drift to a crawl. "Happy?"

She eyed the speedometer. "Almost."

Was this still too fast for her? "I hate driving slow," I muttered, but let the needle slide another notch down.

"This is slow?" she asked.

Jacob was laughing as he read this. "You really are afraid of the strangest things."

"Enough commentary on my driving," I said impatiently. How many times had she dodged my question now? Three times? Four? Were her speculations that horrific?

"No... they are just that true," Bella said, suddenly a little worried herself, "I hope he's doesn't freak out about this."

I had to know - immediately. "I'm still waiting for your latest theory."

She bit her lip again, and her expression became upset, almost pained.

I reigned in my impatience and softened my voice. I didn't want her to be distressed.

"I won't laugh," I promised, wishing that it was only embarrassment that made her unwilling to talk.

"Oh... I'm sure you won't," Jacob sighed, he was become tense again.

"I'm more afraid that you'll be angry with me," she whispered.

I forced my voice to stay even. "Is it that bad?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

She looked down, refusing to meet my eyes. The seconds passed.

"Go ahead," I encouraged.

Her voice was small. "I don't know how to start."

"Why don't you start at the beginning?" I remembered her words before dinner.

"You said you didn't come up with this on your own."

"No," she agreed, and then was silent again.

I thought about things that might have inspired her. "What got you started -  book? A movie?"

I should have looked through her collections when she was out of the house. I had no idea if Bram Stoker or Anne Rice was there in her stack of worn paperbacks...

"Nope," Bella shook her head, she was pretty sure that she wouldn't have been able to figure out what Edward was by what she knew about vampires.

"No," she said again. "It was Saturday, at the beach."

Jacob groaned that; his first fear was confirmed and the second was sure to come true any second now.

I hadn't expected that. The local gossip about us had never strayed into anything too bizarre - or too precise. Was there a new rumor I'd missed? Bella peeked up from her hands and saw the surprise on my face.

"He knows what beach you were at... how could he not figure this out?" Jacob hissed, in a foul mood because of what he was sure was going to happen and he wanted it out there already.

"I ran into an old family friend - Jacob Black,"

Jacob sighed again, it was true then... great.

"I'm sorry," Bella said.

she went on. "His dad and Charlie have been friends since I was a baby."

Jacob Black - the name was not familiar, and yet it reminded me of something...some time, long ago... I stared out of the windshield, flipping through memories to find the connection.

Again there was a tense, almost angry quality to Jacob's voice as he read this.

"His dad is one of the Quileute elders," she said.

Jacob Black. Ephraim Black. A descendant, no doubt.

"Who's Ephraim Black?" Bella questioned, really wanting to know the answer to that, but mostly asking because she hoped it would calm Jacob down a little.

"He was the chief of our tribe the last time the Cullens were here," Jacob said. "He's the one who made the treaty... the one I apparently broke when I told you about the vampires... Er... and I think I broke it too yesterday, when I told..."

"You didn't really break it," Bella shook her head. "Um... I mean, I don't really know what this treaty says, but if it had something to do with telling me about the Cullens you didn't really do that... well, not yesterday at least. I knew there was something wrong with them... and the number of times that the book said it... I was going to know anyway, you just helped me to understand sooner."