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some prep time 。 。 。 and having Charlie nearby as a buffer。 At least that would force him to keep his voice
down。
The Volvo followed inches behind me。 I kept my eyes on the road ahead。
Chicken through and through； I drove straight to Angela’s without once meeting the gaze I could feel
burning a hole in my mirror。
He followed me until I pulled to the curb in front of the Webers’ house。 He didn’t stop； and I didn’t look
up as he passed。 I didn’t want to see the expression on his face。 I ran up the short concrete walk to Angela’s
door as soon as he was out of sight。
Ben answered the door before I could finish knocking； like he’d been standing right behind it。
“Hey； Bella！” he said； surprised。
“Hi； Ben。 Er； is Angela here？” I wondered if Angela had forgotten our plans； and cringed at the thought of
going home early。
“Sure；” Ben said just as Angela called； “Bella！” and appeared at the top of the stairs。
Ben peered around me as we both heard the sound of a car on the road； the sound didn’t scare me — this
engine stuttered to a stop； followed by the loud pop of a backfire。 Nothing like the purr of the Volvo。 This
must be the visitor Ben had been waiting for。
“Austin’s here；” Ben said as Angela reached his side。
A horn honked on the street。
“I’ll see you later；” Ben promised。 “Miss you already。”
He threw his arm around Angela’s neck and pulled her face down to his height so that he could kiss her
enthusiastically。 After a second of this； Austin honked again。
“’Bye； Ang！ Love you！” Ben shouted as he dashed past me。
Angela swayed； her face slightly pink； then recovered herself and waved until Ben and Austin were out of
sight。 Then she turned to me and grinned ruefully。
“Thank you for doing this； Bella；” she said。 “From the bottom of my heart。 Not only are you saving my
hands from permanent injury； you also just spared me two long hours of a plotless； badly dubbed martial arts
film。” She sighed in relief。
“Happy to be of service。” I was feeling a bit less panicked； able to breathe a little more evenly。 It felt so
ordinary here。 Angela’s easy human dramas were oddly reassuring。 It was nice to know that life was normal
somewhere。
I followed Angela up the stairs to her room。 She kicked toys out of the way as she went。 The house was
unusually quiet。
“Where’s your family？”
“My parents took the twins to a birthday party in Port Angeles。 I can’t believe you’re really going to help
me with this。 Ben’s pretending he has tendonitis。” She made a face。
“I don’t mind at all；” I said； and then I walked into Angela’s room and saw the stacks of waiting
envelopes。
“Oh！” I gasped。 Angela turned to look at me； apologies in her eyes。 I could see why she’d been putting
this off； and why Ben had weaseled out。
“I thought you were exaggerating；” I admitted。
“I wish。 Are you sure you want to do this？”
“Put me to work。 I’ve got all day。”
Angela divided a pile in half and put her mother’s address book between us on her desk。 For a while we
concentrated； and there was just the sound of our pens scratching quietly across the paper。
“What’s Edward doing tonight？” she asked after a few minutes。
My pen dug into the envelope I was working on。 “Emmet’s home for the weekend。 They’re supposed to
be hiking。”
“You say that like you’re not sure。”
I shrugged。
“You’re lucky Edward has his brothers for all the hiking and camping。 I don’t know what I’d do if Ben
didn’t have Austin for the guy stuff。”
“Yeah； the outdoors thing is not really for me。 And there’s no way I’d ever be able to keep up。”
Angela laughed。 “I prefer the indoors myself。”
She focused on her pile for a minute。 I wrote out four more addresses。 There was never any pressure to
fill a pause with meaningless chatter around Angela。 Like Charlie； she was fortable with silence。
But； like Charlie； she was also too observant sometimes。
“Is something wrong？” she asked in a low voice now。 “You seem 。 。 。 anxious。”
I smiled sheepishly。 “Is it that obvious？”
“Not really。”
She was probably lying to make me feel better。
“You don’t have to talk about it unless you want to；” she assured me。 “I’ll listen if you think it will help。”
I was about to say thanks； but no thanks。 After all； there were just too many secrets I was bound to
keep。 I really couldn’t discuss my problems with someone human。 That was against the rules。
And yet； with a strange； sudden intensity； that’s exactly what I wanted。 I wanted to talk to a normal human
girlfriend。 I wanted to moan a little bit； like any other teenage girl。 I wanted my problems to be that simple。 It
would also be nice to have someone outside the whole vampirewerewolf mess to put things in perspective。
Someone unbiased。
“I’ll mind my own business；” Angela promised； smiling down at the address she was working on。
“No；” I said。 “You’re right。 I am anxious。 It’s 。 。 。 it’s Edward。”
“What’s wrong？”
It was so easy to talk to Angela。 When she asked a question like that； I could tell that she wasn’t just
morbidly curious or looking for gossip； like Jessica would have been。 She cared that I was upset。
“Oh； he’s mad at me。”
“That’s hard to imagine；” she said。 “What’s he mad about？”
I sighed。 “Do you remember Jacob Black？”
“Ah；” she said。
“Yeah。”
“He’s jealous。”
“No； not jealous 。 。 。” I should have kept my mouth shut。 There was no way to explain this right。 But I
wanted to keep talking anyway。 I hadn’t realized I was so starved for human conversation。 “Edward thinks
Jacob is 。 。 。 a bad influence； I guess。 Sort of 。 。 。 dangerous。 You know how much trouble I got in a few
months back。 。 。 。 It’s all ridiculous； though。”
I was surprised to see Angela shaking her head。
“What？” I asked。
“Bella； I’ve seen how Jacob Black looks at you。 I’d bet the real problem is jealousy。”
“It’s not like that with Jacob。”
“For you； maybe。 But for Jacob 。 。 。”
I frowned。 “Jacob knows how I feel。 I’ve told him everything。”
“Edward’s only human； Bella。 He’s going to react like any other boy。”
I grimaced。 I didn’t have a response to that。
She patted my hand。 “He’ll get over it。”
“I hope so。 Jake’s going through kind of a tough time。 He needs me。”
“You and Jacob are pretty close； aren’t you？”
“Like family；” I agreed。
“And Edward doesn’t like him。 。 。 。 That must be hard。 I wonder how Ben would handle that？” she
mused。
I halfsmiled。 “Probably just like any other boy。”
She grinned。 “Probably。”
Then she changed the subject。 Angela wasn’t one to pry； and she seemed to sense I wouldn’t — couldn’t
— say any more。
“I got my dorm assignment yesterday。 The farthest building from campus； naturally。”
“Does Ben know where he’s staying yet？”
“The closest dorm to campus。 He’s got all the luck。 How about you？ Did you decide where you’re going？
”
I stared down； concentrating on the clumsy scrawl of my handwriting。 For a second I was distracted by
the thought of Angela and Ben at the University of Washington。 They would be off to Seattle in just a few
months。 Would it be safe then？ Would the wild young vampire menace have moved elsewhere？ Would there
be a new place by then； some other city flinching from horrormovie headlines？
Would those new headlines be my fault？
I tried to shake it off and answered her question a beat late。 “Alaska； I think。 The university there in
Juneau。”
I could hear the surprise in her voice。 “Alaska？ Oh。 Really？ I mean； that’s great。 I just figured you’d go
somewhere 。 。 。 warmer。”
I laughed a little； still staring at the envelope。 “Yeah。 Forks has really changed my perspective on life。”
“And Edward？”
Though his name set butterflies fluttering in my stomach； I looked up and grinned at her。 “Alaska’s not too
cold for Edward； either。”
She grinned back。 “Of course not。” And then she sighed。 “It’s so far。 You won’t be able to e home
very often。 I’ll miss you。 Will you emai