Twilight by Stephenie Meyer Contents

21. PHONE CALL
I could feel it was too early again when I woke, and I knew I was getting the schedule of my days and
nights slowly reversed. I lay in my bed and listened to the quiet voices of Alice and Jasper in the other
room. That they were loud enough for me to hear at all was strange. I rolled till my feet touched the floor
and then staggered to the living room.
The clock on the TV said it was just after two in the morning. Alice and Jasper were sitting together on
the sofa, Alice sketching again while Jasper looked over her shoulder. They didn't look up when I
entered, too engrossed in Alice's work.
I crept to Jasper's side to peek.
"Did she see something more?" I asked him quietly.
"Yes. Something's brought him back to the room with the VCR, but it's light now."
I watched as Alice drew a square room with dark beams across its low ceiling. The walls were paneled
in wood, a little too dark, out of date. The floor had a dark carpet with a pattern in it. There was a large
window against the south wall, and an opening through the west wall led to the living room. One side of
that entrance was stone — a large tan stone fireplace that was open to both rooms. The focus of the
room from this perspective, the TV and VCR, balanced on a too-small wooden stand, were in the
southwest corner of the room. An aged sectional sofa curved around in front of the TV, a round coffee
table in front of it.
"The phone goes there," I whispered, pointing.

---

Two pairs of eternal eyes stared at me.
"That's my mother's house."
Alice was already off the couch, phone in hand, dialing. I stared at the precise rendering of my mother's
family room. Uncharacteristically, Jasper slid closer to me. He lightly touched his hand to my shoulder,
and the physical contact seemed to make his calming influence stronger. The panic stayed dull,
unfocused.
Alice's lips were trembling with the speed of her words, the low buzzing impossible to decipher. I
couldn't concentrate.
"Bella," Alice said. I looked at her numbly.
"Bella, Edward is coming to get you. He and Emmett and Carlisle are going to take you somewhere, to
hide you for a while."
"Edward is coming?" The words were like a life vest, holding my head above the flood.
"Yes, he's catching the first flight out of Seattle. We'll meet him at the airport, and you'll leave with him."
"But, my mother… he came here for my mother, Alice!" Despite Jasper, the hysteria bubbled up in my
voice.
"Jasper and I will stay till she's safe."
"I can't win, Alice. You can't guard everyone I know forever. Don't you see what he's doing? He's not
tracking me at all. He'll find someone, he'll hurt someone I love… Alice, I can't —"
"We'll catch him, Bella," she assured me.
"And what if you get hurt, Alice? Do you think that's okay with me? Do you think it's only my human
family he can hurt me with?"
Alice looked meaningfully at Jasper. A deep, heavy fog of lethargy washed over me, and my eyes closed
without my permission. My mind struggled against the fog, realizing what was happening. I forced my
eyes open and stood up, stepping away from Jasper's hand.
"I don't want to go back to sleep," I snapped.
I walked to my room and shut the door, slammed it really, so I could be free to go to pieces privately.
This time Alice didn't follow me. For three and a half hours I stared at the wall, curled in a ball, rocking.
My mind went around in circles, trying to come up with some way out of this nightmare. There was no
escape, no reprieve. I could see only one possible end looming darkly in my future. The only question
was how many other people would be hurt before I reached it.
The only solace, the only hope I had left, was knowing that I would see Edward soon. Maybe, if I could
just see his face again, I would also be able to see the solution that eluded me now.
When the phone rang, I returned to the front room, a little ashamed of my behavior. I hoped I hadn't
offended either of them, that they would know how grateful I was for the sacrifices they were making on
my account.
Alice was talking as rapidly as ever, but what caught my attention was that, for the first time, Jasper was
not in the room. I looked at the clock — it was five-thirty in the morning.

---

"They're just boarding their plane," Alice told me. "They'll land at nine-forty-five." Just a few more hours
to keep breathing till he was here.
"Where's Jasper?"
"He went to check out."
"You aren't staying here?"
"No, we're relocating closer to your mother's house."
My stomach twisted uneasily at her words.
But the phone rang again, distracting me. She looked surprised, but I was already walking forward,
reaching hopefully for the phone.
"Hello?" Alice asked. "No, she's right here." She held the phone out to me. Your mother, she mouthed.
"Hello?"
"Bella? Bella?" It was my mother's voice, in a familiar tone I had heard a thousand times in my childhood,
anytime I'd gotten too close to the edge of the sidewalk or strayed out of her sight in a crowded place. It
was the sound of panic.
I sighed. I'd been expecting this, though I'd tried to make my message as unalarming as possible without
lessening the urgency of it.
"Calm down, Mom," I said in my most soothing voice, walking slowly away from Alice. I wasn't sure if I
could lie as convincingly with her eyes on me. "Everything is fine, okay? Just give me a minute and I'll
explain everything, I promise."
I paused, surprised that she hadn't interrupted me yet.
"Mom?"
"Be very careful not to say anything until I tell you to." The voice I heard now was as unfamiliar as it was
unexpected. It was a man's tenor voice, a very pleasant, generic voice — the kind of voice that you
heard in the background of luxury car commercials. He spoke very quickly.
"Now, I don't need to hurt your mother, so please do exactly as I say, and she'll be fine." He paused for
a minute while I listened in mute horror. "That's very good," he congratulated. "Now repeat after me, and
do try to sound natural. Please say, 'No, Mom, stay where you are.'"
"No, Mom, stay where you are." My voice was barely more than a whisper.
"I can see this is going to be difficult." The voice was amused, still light and friendly. "Why don't you walk
into another room now so your face doesn't ruin everything? There's no reason for your mother to suffer.
As you're walking, please say, 'Mom, please listen to me.' Say it now."
"Mom, please listen to me," my voice pleaded. I walked very slowly to the bedroom, feeling Alice's
worried stare on my back. I shut the door behind me, trying to think clearly through the terror that
gripped my brain.
"There now, are you alone? Just answer yes or no."

---

"Yes."
"But they can still hear you, I'm sure."
"Yes."
"All right, then," the agreeable voice continued, "say, 'Mom, trust me.'"
"Mom, trust me."
"This worked out rather better than I expected. I was prepared to wait, but your mother arrived ahead of
schedule. It's easier this way, isn't it? Less suspense, less anxiety for you."
I waited.
"Now I want you to listen very carefully. I'm going to need you to get away from your friends; do you
think you can do that? Answer yes or no."
"No."
"I'm sorry to hear that. I was hoping you would be a little more creative than that. Do you think you could
get away from them if your mother's life depended on it? Answer yes or no."
Somehow, there had to be a way. I remembered that we were going to the airport. Sky Harbor
International Airport: crowded, confusingly laid out…
"Yes."
"That's better. I'm sure it won't be easy, but if I get the slightest hint that you have any company, well, that
would be very bad for your mother," the friendly voice promised. "You must know enough about us by
now to realize how quickly I would know if you tried to bring anyone along with you. And how little time
I would need to deal with your mother if that was the case. Do you understand? Answer yes or no."
"Yes." My voice broke.
"Very good, Bella. Now this is what you have to do. I want you to go to your mother's house. Next to
the phone there will be a number. Call it, and I'll tell you where to go from there." I already knew where I
would go, and where this would end. But I would follow his instructions exactly. "Can you do that?
Answer yes or no."
"Yes."
"Before noon, please, Bella. I haven't got all day," he said politely.
"Where's Phil?" I asked tersely.
"Ah, be careful now, Bella. Wait until I ask you to speak, please."
I waited.
"It's important, now, that you don't make your friends suspicious when you go back to them. Tell them
that your mother called, and that you talked her out of coming home for the time being. Now repeat after
me, 'Thank you, Mom.' Say it now."
"Thank you, Mom." The tears were coming. I tried to fight them back.

---

"Say, 'I love you, Mom, I'll see you soon.' Say it now."
"I love you, Mom." My voice was thick. "I'll see you soon," I promised.
"Goodbye, Bella. I look forward to seeing you again." He hung up.
I held the phone to my ear. My joints were frozen with terror — I couldn't unbend my fingers to drop it.
I knew I had to think, but my head was filled with the sound of my mother's panic. Seconds ticked by
while I fought for control.
Slowly, slowly, my thoughts started to break past that brick wall of pain. To plan. For I had no choices
now but one: to go to the mirrored room and die. I had no guarantees, nothing to give to keep my mother
alive. I could only hope that James would be satisfied with winning the game, that beating Edward would
be enough. Despair gripped me; there was no way to bargain, nothing I could offer or withhold that could
influence him. But I still had no choice. I had to try.
I pushed the terror back as well as I could. My decision was made. It did no good to waste time
agonizing over the outcome. I had to think clearly, because Alice and Jasper were waiting for me, and
evading them was absolutely essential, and absolutely impossible.
I was suddenly grateful that Jasper was gone. If he had been here to feel my anguish in the last five
minutes, how could I have kept them from being suspicious? I choked back the dread, the anxiety, tried
to stifle it. I couldn't afford it now. I didn't know when he would return.
I concentrated on my escape. I had to hope that my familiarity with the airport would turn the odds in my
favor. Somehow, I had to keep Alice away…
I knew Alice was in the other room waiting for me, curious. But I had to deal with one more thing in
private, before Jasper was back.
I had to accept that I wouldn't see Edward again, not even one last glimpse of his face to carry with me
to the mirror room. I was going to hurt him, and I couldn't say goodbye. I let the waves of torture wash
over me, have their way for a time. Then I pushed them back, too, and went to face Alice.
The only expression I could manage was a dull, dead look. I saw her alarm and I didn't wait for her to
ask. I had just one script and I'd never manage improvisation now.
"My mom was worried, she wanted to come home. But it's okay, I convinced her to stay away." My
voice was lifeless.
"We'll make sure she's fine, Bella, don't worry."
I turned away; I couldn't let her see my face.
My eye fell on a blank page of the hotel stationery on the desk. I went to it slowly, a plan forming. There
was an envelope there, too. That was good.
"Alice," I asked slowly, without turning, keeping my voice level. "If I write a letter for my mother, would
you give it to her? Leave it at the house, I mean."
"Sure, Bella." Her voice was careful. She could see me coming apart at the seams. I had to keep my
emotions under better control.
I went into the bedroom again, and knelt next to the little bedside table to write.

---

"Edward," I wrote. My hand was shaking, the letters were hardly legible.