chapter 9 a slippery slope

There were several reasons why things happened the way they did that day. The ice was slicker then usual. Tyler's breaks were old. Bella parked in a different spot then normal. Tyler was in a rush to leave. Bella was lingering to stay. If any one of these variables had changed – if the ice was thinner, if Bella had taken her usual spot – then things would not have happened how they had. But there was no way she or anyone else could have changed what happened.

It didn't exactly start out as any other day. Bella had been bogged down ever since the prior afternoon with thoughts of vampires and monsters. She worried for the sake of herself, her friends, and her father. What would these nomads want? They had only arrived a few days ago, and already they were making trouble. Charlie had come home late the night before because someone reported a few shady characters looming about the streets at night. It appeared to be nothing but a false alarm, but Bella was certain it was those three. Were they staying just to cause insult to the Cullens, of whom they obviously hated? Or was there a different reason – perhaps someone in town smelled particularly good? Whatever the reason, Bella didn't like it. And she knew Edythe, who seemed to hate the nomads just as much as they did her, didn't like it either. So, she came to school that day a bit late, causing her to have to park in the back of the lot instead of near the middle like she had for the past two months. She was able to get past the ice without falling flat on her face, though it was no easy task. The once powder like snow had turned into nasty, mud tinted sleet, tripping bystanders up at will. She was very glad to make it safely into the school building, though the floors were wet with trailed in ice. Avoiding any slippery puddles, she headed to her first period – biology.

She sat in her place, Edythe right there beside her, as usual. Neither of them spoke. It seemed as though they had reverted back to their old silence. But this quiet was much different then what they were used to. It was a guilt ridden, lamenting silence. Bella could almost feel the self loathing that wafted off from the vampire like an aroma from food. Bella knew she couldn't be nice to her anymore, but that didn't mean she couldn't speak to her. Although she probably already knew about their appearance, she decided to tell her about the suspicious characters her father investigated the night before.

"Someone called in about three suspects last night," she began, fiddling with her pencil. "My dad came home late… He said it was nothing…" She paused, knowing that she felt the same as she. Bella turned her worried gaze to her. "Is my dad going to be alright…?" she asked in a low tone. She shrugged at that.

"Hard to say," she grunted. "I talked to Carlisle. He said he doesn't know who or what they're hunting… They might just be passing through, but I highly doubt it." Her jaw clenched in anger.

Bella looked down to her table, picking at the paint's thin skin. "How long will they stay…?"

"A week," said Edythe. "A month. A year. It all depends on what we're dealing with. But we haven't had nomads come to Forks in a long time. They know that this is our territory."

"You mean your family…?" She nodded. "Are nomads afraid of your family?"

She looked at her and then looked to the wall. "Let's just say they don't leave in the best shape." Bella wanted to ask more on the subject, but Mr. Tesler called attention to the class, passing out worksheets. They began to work silently. "Are you wearing your crucifix?" asked Edythe in a whisper. Bella nodded, showing her the chain. "Good. Keep it on." She swore to and focused back to her work.

The rest of the day passed without much a due. Bella wanted to call her father to see what he was doing, but she knew that they wouldn't likely hunt in the day time. Still, she worried. Once the day was over, Bella slowly made her way to her old truck. Though she was worried over her father's safety, she was a little afraid to come home. A horrid image of her father laying dead on the living room floor haunted her eyes for a moment and she rubbed them to shoo it away. However, as much as her mind tried to console her heart, it would not slow. Rather, it sped up, paining at the thought of what her father could get himself into. She pulled off her teddy bear backpack and played with the straps, making an excuse to not get in the car yet. She was torturing herself – procrastinating from coming home to possibly find her father had met his fate.

Suddenly, a horrible screech filled her ears, and she whipped around.

It happened in an instant. Yet to Bella, time seemed to slow. Her heart, which had already been hammering at the prospect of a dead father, was now beating so fast it nearly flat lined. Tyler's large van was skidding across the sheet of ice that paved the parking lot, and was swerving right at her. She scrambled to get out of the way, but the masochistic sleet beneath her yanked her to her knees, her torso right in the way of the screaming body of metal. Her eyes were glued on the gray blue door that shot at her, the thoughts of her own death now replacing her father's. Just when it got to her nose – it stopped.

Instead of staring at a metallic door ready to slam her face in, Bella was staring at a black leather glove, the metal warped perfectly against the contours of the hand it covered. Without knowing quite what was going on, Bella let her eyes trail from the hand up to the face of Edythe, who was staring at her, mere inches away from her face. The look on her features was shock. She was probably just as surprised by her actions as she was. Suddenly, her brain booted up as she heard people call out her name. She shook her head.

"You'll be exposed!" was the first thing that came out of her mouth. "Quick! Before someone sees!" Edythe nodded, coming to her senses as well. With a flash, she was gone, leaving Bella alone between two cars. She was suddenly bombarded by a mob of faces, asking her all the same question. Was she alright? Was she hurt? Did they need to call an ambulance? Bella smiled weakly and said that Tyler's van had just missed her. However, there was no use hiding how wobbly the event had made her. She had to lean against Angela in order to hobble out from where she was. They ended up calling an ambulance for her. Bella felt guilt as the others worried over her well being. After all – she wasn't hurt and she knew it. But it wasn't like she could tell them that. The paramedics got there quickly and she was lead into the ambulance and taken to the hospital, a select few coming with. Jessica put her hand on her heart as the medics took her vitals.

"Jesus you scared us!" she said, her face probably as white as Bella's. "We thought you died!" She looked up as Mike smacked Tyler hard in the back of the head.

"What were you thinking?!" he snapped. "I thought you said you were gonna put new break fluid in that thing!"

"It was the ice!" Tyler defended. "I forgot to put chains on… God, I should have prevented this! Bella, I'm so, so sorry!"

Again, Bella felt guilt at his fretting. "I'm ok, really. Just a little shaken… And I know you didn't mean it."

"That's no damn excuse," Jessica snapped, heated at Tyler for being so negligent. "He could have killed you!"

"I'm not dead," Bella pointed out, a faint smile on her cheeks. As the three bickered amongst one another, Bella took to holding Angela's hand. Again, she was grateful for her not so talkative ways.

They arrived at the ER in little time, and Bella was carted to a room. After a couple of tests, the doctors concluded that she was quite lucky, but they still wanted to keep her over night for observation. She didn't protest, not wanting to give away what really happened. Once her tests were over, Charlie had finally been let in. He rushed to Bella's side, taking her hands.

"Oh God!" he said, worried sick. "I thought… Oh my God when they told me you were in an accident…"

"I'm fine, Daddy…" Bella said gently, giving him a kind smile. "Really. The doctors said I'm very lucky." Charlie put a hand to his heart and sat on the side of the bed. Bella then propped herself up from where she was laying and wrapped her thin arms around his chest. They sat there for a minute, Bella able to feel the rapid pulse that went through her father's body. He must have been so worried about her…

Bella loved her father. Even though they were only able to see one another during summer, she loved him dearly. They were so alike – in mannerisms, in habits, in speech… She knew the divorce was not to be blamed on Charlie. He was a kind, tender man. Trusting and loving to a fault. The reason he and her mother were not together was simply because her mother wasn't one to stay in a small town like Forks. Their two lives were simply incomparable. Bella had known that all her life. And so, she held no resentment towards her father, and neither did Renee. As Charlie hugged her, he calmed, and soon was able to break from her with a sigh.

"I'm glad you're ok…" he said, petting her hair fondly. "Do you want me to stay with you? It's already late…" Bella looked to the window. Indeed, it was dark out. Bella hadn't even noticed. Bella sighed and looked to him.

"No," she said kindly. "I want you to go home and get some rest, ok?" She smiled, hand on his cheek. "I saw how tired you were when you came home last night. I don't want you worrying all night over here." Charlie looked like he wanted to object, but caved in and nodded, the circles obvious beneath his eyes.

"Alright…" He smiled back at her and kissed her forehead, standing up. "But you have to promise to get some sleep." She did. "I'll see you, Bells…" He turned to leave, when Bella realized something.

It was night time. And he was going outside.

"Dad?" He turned to look at her. Bella hesitated. Edythe told her not to take it off… but he needed it more then she did at the moment. She took off her crucifix and motioned him closer. She hung it around his neck. "Promise me you'll wear this tonight? All night?"

Charlie looked a bit confused. "Um… ok. I promise, Bella." Bella let out a relieved sigh and nodded.

"Thank you. I love you, Dad."

"I love you too…" With a hug and another kiss, Charlie turned and left the hospital room, leaving Bella alone with her thoughts. She laid against her bed, now feeling unprotected since her cross wasn't on. But if there was any trouble, she'd hit the emergency button above her head. Her eyes were ready to droop and lull her to sleep, when she heard a tap at her window. She sat up and looked to the glass. Sure enough, a golden eye was peering at her through the glass. She looked over to the door and hopped out of bed, closing it. After making sure it was locked, she went to the window and pulled it open. She popped her head out.

"Edythe?" she said in surprise. She looked at her as she hung off the wall. "What are you standing on?"

She blinked at her. "I'm not." Bella turned her gaze down to her feet. Sure enough, they were resting on nothing but wall. She reminded her strongly of Spiderman, hanging off of the side like that. "Can I come in?"

Bella blanked for a second, and then remembered that she had to say it. "Yes. You can come in." She stood aside and she slipped into her room, closing the window behind her. She sat on her bed as she walked into the middle of the room.

"Carlisle's pissed," she said bluntly, arms folded. She stared at the blank television that hung off the ceiling. "He said I was too reckless today." She paused. "He was even angrier when I told him you know."

Bella felt the color drain from her face. "What…? I thought you said you wouldn't – !"

"I wasn't exactly given a choice," Edythe interrupted her. "Carlisle heard my thoughts."

Bella blinked. "What?" she asked, tilting her head to the side. Edythe looked at her.

"His dark gift," she explained. "Every vampire has one. It's just different depending on who you are. I guess you can say Carlisle reads minds. But only when he focuses on one person, and only the current thought they have."

"Oh…" Bella let her eyes drift to her bed. "I see…" She paused. "Did I get you in trouble?" she asked meekly, looking up at her. She ran a hand through her light hair.

"I got myself in trouble," she said, turning to her. "The fact that nomads are here doesn't really help the situation…" She rubbed her chin. "Besides, the natives are pissed off, too. That adds even more pressure on Carlisle to get rid of the nomads." She sighed. "But he won't… Not so long as they eat quickly and pass through. Still…"

Bella looked down to her lap once more, fingers playing with one another. "Edythe?" She could hear her shift to look at her. "Why'd you save me in the first place?" Their eyes met, and she seemed confused. "I mean… I'm causing so much trouble for you… Why didn't you just… let me die?"

A silence followed the question. It was a good question to ask, after all. They had no connection. No emotional or physical attachment. She meant nothing to her, she really held no value to her. So why then? Why go through all that trouble? Logically, it would have made more sense to just let the van hit her. And yet she saved her. She risked her identity for someone who already put herself and her family in danger. She turned her eyes away, her lips closed.

"I'm not sure," she said finally. She looked out the window and shook her head. "Get some rest. And don't open your window for anyone unless it's me." She walked over to it and slipped out. Bella hurried to the ledge.

"Edythe?" She stopped, just ready to close it behind her. Bella put on a gentle smile. "Thank you." That seemed to surprise her most of all. Bella was certain that a small tint of color hinted her cheeks now. She pouted, trying to look sullen again, though it didn't exactly work.

"Whatever," she huffed. She closed the window and leapt, disappearing into the black abyss of night.