The Unwanted Imprint

Chapter 44

They left that night under the cover of darkness for the airport. Nichole's mother had taken off sometime before, and honestly, Nichole didn't feel anything about it. She didn't feel happy or sad or angry, she just felt...nothing.

"What's going on with her?" Jacob whispered to Edward. "I've never seen her act like this."

"She's trying to hold everything down," Edward murmured in response. "She's trying not to feel, because if she does, she's scared of what the outcome might be."

"So what, she's just going to become some emotionless shell?"

"I don't think that it's going to go quite that far. Rather, I think that she's just trying to push her mother as far out of her mind as she possibly can. We aren't going to lose her completely. She may be far off and distant, but I don't think that's going to last very long, especially now that her mother has vanished."

"Will she be back?"

"That, I don't know. She wanted to fix things with Nichole, so she may return at a later time, once things die down a little bit."

Jacob gave him a look. "You think that things are going to die down?"

Edward gave a little chuckle. "A man can hope, couldn't he?" He looked a little bit sad as they left the city limits of Forks, and Jacob couldn't help but question him about it. "You good, Cullen?"

"Yes, I just..." He sighed softly. "I wasn't able to tell Bella that we were leaving."

Jacob stiffened a bit at the mention of his best friend. "So are you two like a thing then?"

"I...I want us to be, yes. And we sort of are, but she wants to take things further, further than I'm comfortable with them going."

"What? As in you guys becoming official?"

"No...as in..." Edward cleared his throat. "As in sex."

Jacob's eyes widened a bit. "Oh...." He didn't think that things could get any more awkward between the two of them, and yet, here they were. "And you...don't want that?"

"No. I'm from an older time, Jacob, that means that I have older values. And one of those values is not being intimate with your significant other until marriage. But that's the thing. She won't marry me unless I...I turn her."

"What are you talking about? As in turn her...into one of you?"

Edward nodded his head. "She doesn't want to grow old while I stay young forever. But I can't do that to her, Jacob, I can't turn her into a monster like I am, I refuse to."

"But then you guys would be together for a...well, a really long time."

"I know that, but just look at me, Jacob. Can you really say that you want that for Bella?"

"Of course not, I don't want her to be a bloodsucker. I'm just saying that I'm surprised that you didn't agree to it, given that you're obsessed with her."

"I'm not obsessed with her." Edward took a deep breath to curb his frustration. "There is this thing that we vampires have, it's called a blood singer."

"A blood singer? Yeah, that doesn't sound creepy at all."

"It's about the same as imprinting on someone. You see them, you smell them, and their blood smells so sweet, you can't stay away from them. Esme is Carlisle's blood singer, and Bella is mine. Our reactions when we are away from them aren't as strong as you wolves, but we get severely depressed. There was one time that Esme and Carlisle had gotten into a fight, and Esme had left for a couple of weeks, Carlisle would barely leave his room. I had never seen him like that before, it was like he had lost the will to live completely."

Jacob let out a low whistle. "And that's what's going to happen to you if you're not by Bella?"

"I really don't know, it can vary between vampires. There's no telling how I'm going to react, or how long before I do react."

"Then why didn't you try and bring her with us?"

"I can't bring her into this, it would be too dangerous for her."

"Well, I think that it's a little too late for that." Emmett, who was driving the vehicle, said. "Look behind you."

Edward glanced behind him, and sure enough, there was Bella's truck driving behind them. "Pull over." He told Emmett. Bella followed them to the side of the road.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Edward demanded as Bella got out of the truck.

"I could ask you the same question." She retorted. "You wouldn't answer any of my phone calls, and when I went to your house, I found everyone gone."

"How did you know where we were going?"

"I called Jacob, but he wasn't answering, so finally I called Jared and he told me where you guys were going. Why the hell didn't you tell me where you were going?"

"Because I knew that you would want to come with, and I didn't want that to happen, you could get hurt."

"Edward, what's this all about?"

By now, the other cars had backtracked to where they were at, and Nichole hopped out. "Bella, you need to go back to Forks."

"Fine, but only if you guys come with."

"Bella, we have to go, there's some very dangerous people after me."

"You mean dangerous vampires."

"How did you know-"

"That doesn't matter. What matters is that you're my friend and Edward is my boyfriend, so I'm coming with you guys whether you like it or not."

Nichole decided that she would try one last tactic. "But what about your dad?"

"I told him that I was going to visit Phoenix for a bit. If you have to stay in Colorado for longer then a few weeks, then I'll make something else up, but either way, I'm coming with you."

Nichole sighed softly. "Alright, fine. I might as well explain everything to you. It's a long story though, so I'll tell you as we drive."