Midnight Sun (The Twilight Saga #5) - Stephenie Meyer Page 0,153

only wish my concerns were that trivial.

The decrepit engine coughed its way to life. The metal frame vibrated so violently I worried something would shake loose.

“Where to?” she half shouted over the cacophony. She wrenched the gearshift into reverse and looked back over her shoulder.

“Put your seat belt on,” I insisted. “I’m nervous already.”

She threw a dark look at me, but snapped her buckle into place, and then sighed.

“Where to?” she said again.

“Take the one-oh-one north.”

She kept her eyes on the road as she drove slowly through town. I wondered if she would accelerate when we were on the main road, but she continued at three miles per hour below the posted speed limit. The sun was still low in the eastern horizon, shrouded in thin layers of cloud. But according to Alice, it would be sunny by midday. I wondered if—at this rate—we would be safely in the woods before the sunlight could touch me.

“Were you planning to make it out of Forks before nightfall?” I asked, knowing she would object to the defamation of her truck. She reacted as expected.

“This truck is old enough to be your car’s grandfather,” she snapped. “Have some respect.” But she goaded the engine slightly faster. Two miles above the speed limit now.

I felt a little relieved when we were finally free of downtown Forks. Soon there was more forest than civilization outside the window. The engine droned on like a jackhammer biting into granite. Her eyes never strayed from the road for a second. I wanted to say something, to ask her what she was thinking about, but I didn’t want to distract her. There was something almost fierce about her concentration.

“Turn right on the one-ten,” I told her.

She nodded to herself, then slowed down to a crawl to take the turn.

“Now we drive till the pavement ends.”

“And what’s there?” she asked. “At the pavement’s end?”

An empty forest. A total lack of witnesses. A monster. “A trail.”

Her voice was higher, tighter, when she responded, still staring only at the road. “We’re hiking?”

The concern in her tone worried me. I hadn’t considered… The distance was very short, and the way was not difficult, not so different from the trail behind her house.

“Is that a problem?” Was there somewhere else to take her? I hadn’t made any backup plans.

“No,” she said quickly, but her voice was still a little strained.

“Don’t worry,” I assured her. “It’s only five miles or so, and we’re in no hurry.” Truly—suddenly feeling a wave of panic as I realized how short the distance was indeed—I would love nothing more than a delay.

The furrow was back. After a few empty seconds, she started to chew on her lower lip.

“What are you thinking?”

Did she want to turn around? Had she changed her mind about all of it? Did she wish she’d never answered the door this morning?

“Just wondering where we’re going,” she replied. Her tone aimed for casual, but missed it by a few inches.

“It’s a place I like to go when the weather is nice.” I glanced through the window and she did, too. The clouds were no more than a thin veil now. They would burn off soon.

What did she think she would see when the sun touched my skin? What mental image had she conjured to explain today’s field trip to herself?

“Charlie said it would be warm today.”

I thought of her father, pictured him beside the river, enjoying the pleasant day. He didn’t know he was at a crossroads, a possible life-destroying nightmare waiting, so close, to engulf his entire world.

“And did you tell Charlie what you were up to?” I asked the question without hope.

She smiled, eyes straight ahead. “Nope.”

I wished she didn’t sound so happy about it. Still, I knew there was one witness, one voice to speak for Bella if she didn’t come home.

“But Jessica thinks we’re going to Seattle together?”

“No,” she said, complacent. “I told her you canceled on me—which is true.”

What? I hadn’t heard this. It must have happened while I was hunting with Alice. Bella had covered my tracks for me as if she wanted me to get away with her murder.

“No one knows you’re with me?”

She flinched slightly at my tone, but then her chin came up and she forced a smile. “That depends. I assume you told Alice?”

I had to take a deep breath to keep my voice even. “That’s very helpful, Bella.”

Her smile disappeared, but she gave no other indication that she’d heard me.

“Are you so depressed by Forks