3 eclipse月食-第16部分

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“My　money’s　on　the　big　Indian；”　someone　was　saying。　
I　peeked　up　to　see　that　Tyler；　Mike；　Austin；　and　Ben　had　their　heads　bent　together；　deep　in　conversation。　
“Yeah；”　Mike　whispered。　“Did　you　see　the　size　of　that　Jacob　kid？　I　think　he　could　take　Cullen　down。”　
Mike　sounded　pleased　by　the　idea。　
“I　don’t　think　so；”　Ben　disagreed。　“There’s　something　about　Edward。　He’s　always　so　。　。　。　confident。　I　
have　a　feeling　he　can　take　care　of　himself。”　
“I’m　with　Ben；”　Tyler　agreed。　“Besides；　if　that　other　kid　messed　Edward　up；　you　know　those　big　brothers　
of　his　would　get　involved。”　
“Have　you　been　down　to　La　Push　lately？”　Mike　asked。　“Lauren　and　I　went　to　the　beach　a　couple　of　
weeks　ago；　and　believe　me；　Jacob’s　friends　are　all　just　as　big　as　he　is。”　
“Huh；”　Tyler　said。　“Too　bad　it　didn’t　turn　into　anything。　Guess　we’ll　never　know　how　it　would　have　turned　
out。”　
“It　didn’t　look　over　to　me；”　Austin　said。　“Maybe　we’ll　get　to　see。”　
Mike　grinned。　“Anyone　in　the　mood　for　a　bet？”　
“Ten　on　Jacob；”　Austin　said　at　once。　
“Ten　on　Cullen；”　Tyler　chimed　in。　
“Ten　on　Edward；”　Ben　agreed。　
“Jacob；”　Mike　said。　
“Hey；　do　you　guys　know　what　it　was　about？”　Austin　wondered。　“That　might　affect　the　odds。”　
“I　can　guess；”　Mike　said；　and　then　he　shot　a　glance　at　me　at　the　same　time　that　Ben　and　Tyler　did。　
From　their　expressions；　none　of　them　had　realized　I　was　in　easy　hearing　distance。　They　all　looked　away　
quickly；　shuffling　the　papers　on　their　desks。　
“I　still　say　Jacob；”　Mike　muttered　under　his　breath。　

　　4。　NATURE　


I　WAS　HAVING　A　BAD　WEEK。　
　　I　knew　that　essentially　nothing　had　changed。　Okay；　so　Victoria　had　not　given　up；　but　had　I　ever　dreamed　
for　one　moment　that　she　had？　Her　reappearance　had　only　confirmed　what　I’d　already　known。　No　reason　for　
fresh　panic。　
　　In　theory。　Not　panicking　was　easier　said　than　done。　
　　Graduation　was　only　a　few　weeks　away；　but　I　wondered　if　it　wasn’t　a　little　foolish　to　sit　around；　weak　and　
tasty；　waiting　for　the　next　disaster。　It　seemed　too　dangerous　to　be　human　—　just　begging　for　trouble。　Someone　
like　me　shouldn’t　be　human。　Someone　with　my　luck　ought　to　be　a　little　less　helpless。　
　　But　no　one　would　listen　to　me。　
　　Carlisle　had　said；　“There　are　seven　of　us；　Bella。　And　with　Alice　on　our　side；　I　don’t　think　Victoria’s　going　
to　catch　us　off　guard。　I　think　it’s　important；　for　Charlie’s　sake；　that　we　stick　with　the　original　plan。”　
　　Esme　had　said；　“We’d　never　allow　anything　to　happen　to　you；　sweetheart。　You　know　that。　Please　don’t　
be　anxious。”　And　then　she’d　kissed　my　forehead。　
　　Emmett　had　said；　“I’m　really　glad　Edward　didn’t　kill　you。　Everything’s　so　much　more　fun　with　you　
around。”　
　　Rosalie　had　glared　at　him。　
　　Alice　had　rolled　her　eyes　and　said；　“I’m　offended。　You’re　not　honestly　worried　about　this；　are　you？”　
　　“If　it’s　no　big　deal；　then　why　did　Edward　drag　me　to　Florida？”　I’d　demanded。　
　　“Haven’t　you　noticed　yet；　Bella；　that　Edward　is　just　the　teeniest　bit　prone　to　overreaction？”　
　　Jasper　had　silently　erased　all　the　panic　and　tension　in　my　body　with　his　curious　talent　of　controlling　
emotional　atmospheres。　I’d　felt　reassured；　and　let　them　talk　me　out　of　my　desperate　pleading。　
　　Of　course；　that　calm　had　worn　off　as　soon　as　Edward　and　I　had　walked　out　of　the　room。　
　　So　the　consensus　was　that　I　was　just　supposed　to　forget　that　a　deranged　vampire　was　stalking　me；　intent　
on　my　death。　Go　about　my　business。　
　　I　did　try。　And　surprisingly；　there　were　other　things　almost　as　stressful　to　dwell　on　besides　my　status　on　the　
endangered　species　list。　。　。　。　
　　Because　Edward’s　response　had　been　the　most　frustrating　of　them　all。　
　　“That’s　between　you　and　Carlisle；”　he’d　said。　“Of　course；　you　know　that　I’m　willing　to　make　it　between　
you　and　me　at　any　time　that　you　wish。　You　know　my　condition。”　And　he　had　smiled　angelically。　
　　Ugh。　I　did　know　his　condition。　Edward　had　promised　that　he　would　change　me　himself　whenever　I　wanted　
。　。　。　just　as　long　as　I　was　married　to　him　first。　
　　Sometimes　I　wondered　if　he　was　only　pretending　that　he　couldn’t　read　my　mind。　How　else　had　he　struck　
upon　the　one　condition　that　I　would　have　trouble　accepting？　The　one　condition　that　would　slow　me　down。　
　　All　in　all；　a　very　bad　week。　And　today　was　the　worst　day　in　it。　
　　It　was　always　a　bad　day　when　Edward　was　away。　Alice　had　foreseen　nothing　out　of　the　ordinary　this　
weekend；　and　so　I’d　insisted　that　he　take　the　opportunity　to　go　hunting　with　his　brothers。　I　knew　how　it　bored　
him　to　hunt　the　easy；　nearby　prey。　
　　“Go　have　fun；”　I’d　told　him。　“Bag　a　few　mountain　lions　for　me。”　
　　I　would　never　admit　to　him　how　hard　it　was　for　me　when　he　was　gone　—　how　it　brought　back　the　
abandonment　nightmares。　If　he　knew　that；　it　would　make　him　feel　horrible　and　he　would　be　afraid　to　ever　
leave　me；　even　for　the　most　necessary　reasons。　It　had　been　like　that　in　the　beginning；　when　he’d　first　returned　
from　Italy。　His　golden　eyes　had　turned　black　and　he’d　suffered　from　his　thirst　more　than　it　was　already　
necessary　that　he　suffer。　So　I　put　on　a　brave　face　and　all　but　kicked　him　out　the　door　whenever　Emmett　and　
Jasper　wanted　to　go。　
　　I　think　he　saw　through　me；　though。　A　little。　This　morning　there　had　been　a　note　left　on　my　pillow：　


I’ll　be　back　so　soon　you　won’t　have　time　to　miss　me。　Look　after　my　heart　—　I’ve　left　it　with　you。　

So　now　I　had　a　big　empty　Saturday　with　nothing　but　my　morning　shift　at　Newton’s　Olympic　Outfitters　to　
distract　me。　And；　of　course；　the　ohsoforting　promise　from　Alice。　
“I’m　staying　close　to　home　to　hunt。　I’ll　only　be　fifteen　minutes　away　if　you　need　me。　I’ll　keep　an　eye　out　
for　trouble。”　
Translation：　don’t　try　anything　funny　just　because　Edward　is　gone。　
Alice　was　certainly　just　as　capable　of　crippling　my　truck　as　Edward　was。　
I　tried　to　look　on　the　bright　side。　After　work；　I　had　plans　to　help　Angela　with　her　announcements；　so　that　
would　be　a　distraction。　And　Charlie　was　in　an　excellent　mood　due　to　Edward’s　absence；　so　I　might　as　well　
enjoy　that　while　it　lasted。　Alice　would　spend　the　night　with　me　if　I　was　pathetic　enough　to　ask　her　to。　And　then　
tomorrow；　Edward　would　be　home。　I　would　survive。　
Not　wanting　to　be　ridiculously　early　for　work；　I　ate　my　breakfast　slowly；　one　Cheerio　at　a　time。　Then；　
when　I’d　washed　the　dishes；　I　arranged　the　mags　on　the　fridge　into　a　perfect　line。　Maybe　I　was　developing　
obsessivepulsive　disorder。　
The　last　two　mags　—　round　black　utilitarian　pieces　that　were　my　favorites　because　they　could　hold　ten　
sheets　of　paper　to　the　fridge　without　breaking　a　sweat　—　did　not　want　to　cooperate　with　my　fixation。　Their　
polarities　were　reversed；　every　time　I　tried　to　line　the　last　one　up；　the　other　jumped　out　of　place。　
For　some　reason　—　impending　mania；　perhaps　—　this　really　irritated　me。　Why　couldn’t　they　just　play　
nice？　Stupid　with　stubbornness；　I　kept　shoving　them　together　as　if　I　was　expecting　them　to　suddenly　give　up。　I　
could　have　flipped　one　over；　but　that　felt　like　losing。　Finally；　exasperated　at　myself　more　than　the　mags；　I　
pulled　them　from　the　fridge　and　held　them　together　with　two　hands。　It　took　a　little　effort　—　they　were　strong　
enough　to　put　up　a　fight　—　but　I　forced　them　to　coexist　sidebyside。　
“See；”　I　said　out　loud　—　talking　to　inanimate　objects；　never　a　good　sign　—　“That’s　not　so　horrible；　is　it？”　
I　stood　there　like　an　idiot　for　a　second；　not　quite　able　to　admit　that　I　wasn’t　having　any　lasting　effect　
against　scientific　principles。　Then；　with　a　sigh；　I　put　the　mags　back　on　the　fridge；　a　foot　apart。　
“There’s　no　need　to　be　so　inflexible；”　I　muttered。　
It　was　still　too　early；　but　I　decided　I’d　better　get　out　of　the　house　before　the　inanimate　objects　started　
talking　back。　
When　I　got　to　Newton’s；　Mike　was　methodically　dry　mopping　the　aisles　while　his　mom　arranged　a　new　
counter　display。　I　caught　them　in　the　middle　of　an　argument；　unaware　that　I　had　arrived。　
“But　it’s　the　only　time　that　Tyler　can　go；”　Mike　plained。　“You　said　after　graduation　—”　
“You’re　just　going　to　have　to　wait；”　Mrs。　Newton　snapped。　“You　and　Tyler　can　think　of　something