Eclipse Page 0,97

have pressed the issue, but then Jacob honked his horn - two quick impatient honks.

"That's impolite," Edward growled.

"That's Jacob," I sighed, and I hurried out before Jacob did something to really set Edward's teeth on edge.

I waved to Edward before I got into the Rabbit and, from that distance, it looked like he was truly upset about the honking thing . . . or whatever Jacob was thinking about. But my eyes were weak and made mistakes all the time.

I wanted Edward to come to me. I wanted to make both of them get out of their cars and shake hands and be friends - be Edward and Jacob rather than vampire and werewolf. It was as if I had those two stubborn magnets in my hands again, and I was holding them together, trying to force nature to reverse herself. . . .

I sighed, and climbed in Jacob's car.

"Hey, Bells." Jake's tone was cheerful, but his voice dragged. I examined his face as he started down the road, driving a little faster than I did, but slower than Edward, on his way back to La Push.

Jacob looked different, maybe even sick. His eyelids drooped and his face was drawn. His shaggy hair stuck out in random directions; it was almost to his chin in some places.

"Are you all right, Jake?"

"Just tired," he managed to get out before he was overcome by a massive yawn. When he finished, he asked, "What do you want to do today?"

I eyed him for a moment. "Let's just hang out at your place for now," I suggested. He didn't look like he was up for much more than that. "We can ride our bikes later."

"Sure, sure," he said, yawning again.

Jacob's house was vacant, and that felt strange. I realized I thought of Billy as a nearly permanent fixture there.

"Where's your dad?"

"Over at the Clearwaters'. He's been hanging out there a lot since Harry died. Sue gets lonely."

Jacob sat down on the old couch that was no bigger than a loveseat and squished himself to the side to make room for me.

"Oh. That's nice. Poor Sue."

"Yeah . . . she's having some trouble. . . ." He hesitated. "With her kids."

"Sure, it's got to be hard on Seth and Leah, losing their dad. . . ."

"Uh-huh," he agreed, lost in thought. He picked up the remote and flipped on the TV without seeming to think about it. He yawned.

"What's with you, Jake? You're like a zombie."

"I got about two hours of sleep last night, and four the night before," he told me. He stretched his long arms slowly, and I could hear the joints crack as he flexed. He settled his left arm along the back of the sofa behind me, and slumped back to rest his head against the wall. "I'm exhausted."

"Why aren't you sleeping?" I asked.

He made a face. "Sam's being difficult. He doesn't trust your bloodsuckers. I've been running double shifts for two weeks and nobody's touched me yet, but he still doesn't buy it. So I'm on my own for now."

"Double shifts? Is this because you're trying to watch out for me? Jake, that's wrong! You need to sleep. I'll be fine."

"It's no big deal." His eyes were abruptly more alert. "Hey, did you ever find out who was in your room? Is there anything new?"

I ignored the second question. "No, we didn't find anything out about my, um, visitor."

"Then I'll be around," he said as his eyes slid closed.

"Jake . . . ," I started to whine.

"Hey, it's the least I can do - I offered eternal servitude, remember. I'm your slave for life."

"I don't want a slave!"

His eyes didn't open. "What do you want, Bella?"

"I want my friend Jacob - and I don't want him half-dead, hurting himself in some misguided attempt -"

He cut me off. "Look at it this way - I'm hoping I can track down a vampire I'm allowed to kill, okay?"

I didn't answer. He looked at me then, peeking at my reaction.

"Kidding, Bella."

I stared at the TV.

"So, any special plans next week? You're graduating. Wow. That's big." His voice turned flat, and his face, already drawn, looked downright haggard as his eyes closed again - not in exhaustion this time, but in denial. I realized that graduation still had a horrible significance for him, though my intentions were now disrupted.

"No special plans," I said carefully, hoping he would hear the reassurance in my words without a more detailed explanation. I didn't want to get into