Chapter 3

Was it something I said?

"Will you keep that racket down?" Emmett bellows. "Rose and I are trying to…erm play Grand Theft Auto!"

"That's exactly why we're making a racket! To cover up yours!" Alice yells back. "If you two are playing on the Xbox, then I'm a fairy!"

Emmett says nothing, but I can hear a loud growl, probably meaning that he knows he's been caught out. I smile briefly, before turning my attention to the television set. There's nothing on, I just like flicking between channels. Mostly news channels, in case there's any news about Bella. I try and think about her as if she's a stranger to me. Diverging her from me, somehow lessens the pain. Thinking about her as mummy, or mom, just makes me want to cry or throw something.

"Nessie?" Jake flops down next to me and I literally bounce up in the air as his weight makes contact with the sofa.
"Jesus Jake! Could you at least try and sit down gently? Not all of us are freakishly huge." I complain but he just grins, in the annoyingly smug way that makes me sometimes want to hit him. "Why do you look like you've just won the lottery?" I add, gazing at him suspiciously. Smugness is radiating off of every inch of him.

"Our pack has just found a trail." Jake announces. "We think we've found a trail of Bella's. And it's fresh."

All of a sudden he has the entire household's undivided attention, which throws him off track a little. He's not used to being the centre of attention, at least not in a houseful of vampires. Edward is at the door, a gleam of hope in his eyes as he stares at Jake. I don't need to be a mind reader to know that after twenty years, he still believes Bella is out there somewhere. Just like me.

"Where?" Alice demands. "Are you sure it's hers?" It's like she's delivering my lines, the lines I'm supposed to say but somehow can't seem to get out. It just seems too much to hope for, and I know if I cave in to hope, it will inevitably lead to disappointment.
"We found it out, just a couple of kilometres away from the junction that leads to the airport." Jake replies, "And as to whether it's her scent or not…I'd know Bella's scent anywhere, vampire or not." It fades in and out too quickly to be seen, but I thought I saw a flicker of pain shatter his features. Maybe it's just me, trying to imagine everyone is as frantic as me. He wraps a clumsy arm around mine, kisses my cheek, and rocks me softly against his hard, stone chest.