Breaking Dawn | Page 3

I wouldn�t need it after the honeymoon.
Virtual indestructibility was just one of the many perks I was looking forward to. The
best parts about being a Cullen were not expensive cars and impressive credit cards.
�Hey,� the tall man called, cupping his hands to the glass in an effort to peer in. �We�re
done now. Thanks a lot!�
�You�re welcome,� I called back, and then tensed as I started the engine and eased the
pedal�ever so gently�down. . . .
No matter how many times I drove down the familiar road home, I still couldn�t make
the rain-faded flyers fade into the background. Each one of them, stapled to telephone
poles and taped to street signs, was like a fresh slap in the face. A well-deserved slap in
the face. My mind was sucked back into the thought I�d interrupted so immediately
before. I couldn�t avoid it on this road. Not with pictures of my favorite mechanic
flashing past me at regular intervals.
My best friend. My Jacob.
The HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY? posters were not Jacob�s father�s idea. It had been my
father, Charlie, who�d printed up the flyers and spread them all over town. And not just
Forks, but Port Angeles and Sequim and Hoquiam and Aberdeen and every other town
in the Olympic Peninsula. He�d made sure that all the police stations in the state of
Washington had the same flyer hanging on the wall, too. His own station had a whole
corkboard dedicated to finding Jacob. A corkboard that was mostly empty, much to his
disappointment and frustration.
My dad was disappointed with more than the lack of response. He was most
disappointed with Billy, Jacob�s father�and Charlie�s closest friend.
For Billy�s not being more involved with the search for his sixteen-year-old �runaway.�
For Billy�s refusing to put up the flyers in La Push, the reservation on the coast that was
Jacob�s home. For his seeming resigned to Jacob�s disappearance, as if there was
nothing he could do. For his saying, �Jacob�s grown up now. He�ll come home if he
wants to.�
And he was frustrated with me, for taking Billy�s side.
I wouldn�t put up posters, either. Because both Billy and I knew where Jacob was,
roughly speaking, and we also knew that no one had seen this boy.
The flyers put the usual big, fat lump in my throat, the usual stinging tears in my eyes,
and I was glad Edward was out hunting this Saturday. If Edward saw my reaction, it
would only make him feel terrible, too.
Of course, there were drawbacks to it being Saturday. As I turned slowly and carefully
onto my street, I could see my dad�s police cruiser in the driveway of our home. He�d
skipped fishing again today. Still sulking about the wedding.
So I wouldn�t be able to use the phone inside. But I had to call. . . .
I parked on the curb behind the Chevy sculpture and pulled the cell phone Edward had
given me for emergencies out of the glove compartment. I dialed, keeping my finger on
the �end� button as the phone rang. Just in case.
�Hello?� Seth Clearwater answered, and I sighed in relief. I was way too chicken to
speak to his older sister, Leah. The phrase �bite my head off� was not entirely a figure
of speech when it came to Leah.
�Hey, Seth, it�s Bella.�
�Oh, hiya, Bella! How are you?�
Choked up. Desperate for reassurance. �Fine.�
�Calling for an update?�
�You�re psychic.�
�Not hardly. I�m no Alice�you�re just predictable,� he joked. Among the Quileute pack
down at La Push, only Seth was comfortable even mentioning the Cullens by name, let
alone joking about things like my nearly omniscient sister-in-law-to-be.
�I know I am.� I hesitated for a minute. �How is he?�
Seth sighed. �Same as ever. He won�t talk, though we know he hears us. He�s trying not
to think human, you know. Just going with his instincts.�
�Do you know where he is now?�
�Somewhere in northern Canada. I can�t tell you which province. He doesn�t pay much
attention to state lines.�
�Any hint that he might . . .�
�He�s not coming home, Bella. Sorry.�
I swallowed. �S�okay, Seth. I knew before I asked. I just can�t help wishing.�
�Yeah. We all feel the same way.�
�Thanks for putting up with me, Seth. I know the others must give you a hard time.�
�They�re not your hugest fans,� he agreed cheerfully. �Kind of lame, I think. Jacob
made his choices, you made yours. Jake doesn�t like their attitude about it. �Course, he
isn�t super thrilled that you�re checking up on him, either.�
I gasped. �I thought he wasn�t talking to you?�
�He can�t hide everything from us, hard as he�s trying.�
So Jacob knew I was worried. I wasn�t sure how I felt about that. Well, at least he knew
I hadn�t skipped off into the sunset and forgotten him completely. He might have
imagined me capable of that.
�I guess I�ll see you at the� wedding,� I said, forcing the word out through my teeth.
�Yeah, me and my mom will be there. It was cool of you to ask us.�
I smiled at