Midnight Sun (The Twilight Saga #5) - Stephenie Meyer Page 0,290

couldn’t see Renée’s expression while pretending to sleep, but her thoughts were overwhelmed. I heard her footsteps falter. And then she noticed my sleeping form.

“He never leaves, does he?” she mumbled quietly, and shouted mentally—I’d gotten used to the volume, though; it wasn’t as startling as it used to be. But she was a little appeased. She’d begun to wonder if I ever slept.

“Mom, I’m so glad to see you!” Bella enthused.

Renée was startled for a second by Bella’s bloodstained eyes. Her own started to well with tears at this fresh proof of Bella’s suffering.

I peeked through my lids to watch Renée gingerly embrace her daughter. The tears had overflowed onto Renée’s cheeks.

“Bella, I was so upset!”

“I’m sorry, Mom. But everything’s fine now, it’s okay.”

It was uncomfortable to listen to Bella, in her condition, soothe her healthy mother, but I supposed this had always been their relationship. Perhaps the way Renée’s unique mind interacted with others had made her into a something of a narcissist. It would be hard to avoid, when everyone catered to your unspoken needs.

“I’m just glad to finally see your eyes open.” Though she winced internally again at their gruesome condition.

There was a moment of silence, and then Bella asked doubtfully, “How long have they been closed?”

I realized this was something we’d not yet discussed.

“It’s Friday, hon,” Renée told her. “You’ve been out for a while.”

Bella was shocked. “Friday?”

“They had to keep you sedated for a while, honey—you’ve got a lot of injuries.”

“I know,” Bella agreed with emphasis. I wondered how much pain she was in now.

“You’re lucky Dr. Cullen was there. He’s such a nice man.… Very young, though. And he looks more like a model than a doctor.…”

“You met Carlisle?”

“And Edward’s sister Alice. She’s a lovely girl.”

“She is!”

Renée’s piercing thoughts turned to me again. “You didn’t tell me you had such good friends in Forks.”

Very, very good friends.

Suddenly, Bella moaned.

My eyes opened of their own accord. They didn’t give me away; Renée’s gaze was trained on Bella, too.

“What hurts?” she demanded.

“It’s fine,” Bella assured Renée, though I could tell the assurance was for me, too. Our eyes locked for a second before I closed mine again. “I just have to remember not to move.”

Renée fluttered uselessly over her daughter’s inert form. When Bella spoke again, her voice was bright. “Where’s Phil?”

Renée was totally distracted, which I thought was rather the point.

I haven’t told her the good news. Oh, she’ll be so happy.

“Florida—oh, Bella! You’ll never guess! Just when we were about to leave, the best news!”

“Phil got signed?” Bella asked. I could hear the smile in her voice, sure of the answer.

“Yes! How did you guess? The Suns, can you believe it?”

“That’s great, Mom,” Bella said, but there was a little blankness in her tone that told me she had no idea who the Suns were.

“And you’ll like Jacksonville so much.” Renée was nearly bursting with enthusiasm. Her thoughts shouted along with her words, and I was sure those thoughts would work on Bella the way they worked on everyone else. She began to gush about the weather, the ocean, the adorable yellow house with the white trim, never doubting that Bella would be just as thrilled as she was.

I knew every aspect of Renée’s plan for Bella’s future. Renée had mentally enthused about her happy news a hundred times while we waited for Bella to wake. In many ways, her plan was exactly the answer I’d been looking for.

“Wait, Mom!” Bella said, confused. I imagined Renée’s enthusiasm smothering her like a heavy down comforter. “What are you talking about? I’m not going to Florida. I live in Forks.”

“But you don’t have to anymore, silly.” Renée laughed. “Phil will be able to be around so much more now.… We’ve talked about it a lot, and what I’m going to do is trade off on the away games, half the time with you, half the time with him.”

Renée waited for Bella’s delight to dawn.

“Mom,” Bella said slowly, “I want to live in Forks. I’m already settled in at school, and I have a couple of girlfriends.…”

Renée’s eyes shifted to glare at me again.

“And Charlie needs me,” Bella continued. “He’s just all alone up there, and he can’t cook at all.”

“You want to stay in Forks?” Renée asked as though the words made no sense in that order. “Why?”

That boy is the real reason.

“I told you—school, Charlie—ouch!”

Again, I had to look. Renée hovered over Bella, her hands reaching out hesitantly, not sure where to touch. She