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Eclipse
Twilight Book 3
Stephenie Meyer
To my husband, Pancho,
for your patience, love, friendship, humor,
and willingness to eat out.
And also to my children, Gabe, Seth, and Eli,
for letting me experience the kind of love that people freely die for.
Fire and Ice
Some say the world will end in fire,
Some say in ice.
From what I’ve tasted of desire
I hold with those who favor fire.
But if it had to perish twice,
I think I know enough of hate
To say that for destruction ice
Is also great
And would suffice.
Robert Frost
PREFACE
ALL OUR ATTEMPTS AT SUBTERFUGE HAD BEEN IN VAIN.
With ice in my heart, I watched him prepare to defend me. His intense concentration betrayed no hint of
doubt, though he was outnumbered. I knew that we could expect no help — at this moment, his family was
fighting for their lives just as surely as he was for ours.
Would I ever learn the outcome of that other fight? Find out who the winners and the losers were? Would
I live long enough for that?
The odds of that didn’t look so great.
Black eyes, wild with their fierce craving for my death, watched for the moment when my protector’s
attention would be diverted. The moment when I would surely die.
Somewhere, far, far away in the cold forest, a wolf howled.
1. ULTIMATUM
Bella,
I don’t know why you’re making Charlie carry notes to Billy like we’re in second grade if I
wanted to talk to you I would answer the
You made the choice here, okay? You can’t have it both ways when
What part of ‘mortal enemies’ is too complicated for you to
Look, I know I’m being a jerk, but there’s just no way around
We can’t be friends when you’re spending all your time with a bunch of
It just makes it worse when I think about you too much, so don’t write anymore
Yeah, I miss you, too. A lot. Doesn’t change anything. Sorry.
Jacob
I ran my fingers across the page, feeling the dents where he had pressed the pen to the paper so hard that it
had nearly broken through. I could picture him writing this — scrawling the angry letters in his rough
handwriting, slashing through line after line when the words came out wrong, maybe even snapping the pen in
his too-big hand; that would explain the ink splatters. I could imagine the frustration pulling his black eyebrows
together and crumpling his forehead. If I’d been there, I might have laughed. Don’t give yourself a brain
hemorrhage, Jacob, I would have told him. Just spit it out.
Laughing was the last thing I felt like doing now as I reread the words I’d already memorized. His answer
to my pleading note — passed from Charlie to Billy to him, just like second grade, as he’d pointed out — was
no surprise. I’d known the essence of what it would say before I’d opened it.
What was surprising was how much each crossed-out line wounded me — as if the points of the letters
had cutting edges. More than that, behind each angry beginning lurked a vast pool of hurt; Jacob’s pain cut me
deeper than my own.
While I was pondering this, I caught the unmistakable scent of a smoking burner rising from the kitchen. In
another house, the fact that someone besides myself was cooking might not be a cause for panicking.
I shoved the wrinkled paper into my back pocket and ran, making it downstairs in the nick of time.
The jar of spaghetti sauce Charlie’d stuck in the microwave was only on its first revolution when I yanked
the door open and pulled it out.
“What did I do wrong?” Charlie demanded.
“You’re supposed to take the lid off first, Dad. Metal’s bad for microwaves.” I swiftly removed the lid as
I spoke, poured half the sauce into a bowl, and then put the bowl inside the microwave and the jar back in the
fridge; I fixed the time and pressed start.
Charlie watched my adjustments with pursed lips. “Did I get the noodles right?”
I looked in the pan on the stove — the source of the smell that had alerted me. “Stirring helps,” I said
mildly. I found a spoon and tried to de-clump the mushy hunk that was scalded to the bottom.
Charlie sighed.
“So what’s all this about?” I asked him.
He folded his arms across his chest and glared out the back windows into the sheeting rain. “Don’t know
what you’re talking about,” he grumbled.
I was mystified. Charlie cooking? And what was with the surly attitude? Edward wasn’t here yet; usually
my dad reserved this kind of behavior for my boyfriend’s benefit, doing his best to illustrate the theme of
“unwelcome” with every word and posture. Charlie’s efforts were unnecessary — Edward knew exactly what
my dad was thinking without the show.
The word boyfriend had me chewing on the inside of my cheek with a familiar tension while I stirred. It
wasn’t the right word, not at all. I needed something more expressive of eternal commitment. . . . But words
like destiny and fate sounded hokey when you used them in casual conversation.
Edward had another word in mind, and that word was the source of the tension I felt. It put my teeth on
edge just to think it to myself.
Fiancée. Ugh. I shuddered away from the thought.
“Did I miss something? Since when do you make dinner?” I asked Charlie. The pasta lump bobbed in the
boiling water as I poked it. “Or try to make dinner, I should say.”
Charlie shrugged. “There’s no law that says I can’t cook in my own house.”
“You would know,” I replied, grinning as I eyed the badge pinned to his leather jacket.
“Ha. Good one.” He shrugged out of the jacket as if my glance had reminded him he still had it on, and
hung it on the peg reserved for his gear. His gun belt was already slung in place — he hadn’t felt the need to
wear that to the station for a few weeks. There had been no more disturbing disappearances to trouble the
small town of Forks, Washington, no more sightings of the giant, mysterious wolves in the ever-rainy woods. .
. .
I prodded the noodles in silence, guessing that Charlie would get around to talking about whatever was
bothering him in his own time. My dad was not a man of many words, and the effort he had put into trying to
orchestrate a sit-down dinner with me made it clear there were an uncharacteristic number of words on his
mind.
I glanced at the clock routinely — something I did every few minutes around this time. Less than a half
hour to go now.
Afternoons were the hardest part of my day. Ever since my former best friend （and werewolf）， Jacob
Black, had informed on me about the motorcycle I’d been riding on the sly — a betrayal he had devised in
order to get me grounded so that I couldn’t spend time with my boyfriend （and vampire）， Edward Cullen —
Edward had been allowed to see me only from seven till nine-thirty p.m., always inside the confines of my
home and under the supervision of my dad’s unfailingly crabby glare.
This was an escalation from the previous, slightly less stringent grounding that I’d earned for an
unexplained three-day disappearance and one episode of cliff diving.
Of course, I still saw Edward at school, because there wasn’t anything Charlie could do about that. And
then, Edward spent almost every night in my room, too, but Charlie wasn’t precisely aware of that. Edward’s
ability to climb easily and silently through my second-story window was almost as useful as his ability to read
Charlie’s mind.
Though the afternoon was the only time I spent away from Edward, it was enough to make me restless,
and the hours always dragged. Still, I endured my punishment without complaining because — for one thing
— I knew I’d earned it, and — for another — because I couldn’t bear to hurt my dad by moving out now,
when a much more permanent separation hovered, invisible to Charlie, so close on my horizon.
My dad sat down at the table with a grunt and unfolded the damp newspaper there; within seconds he
was clucking his tongue in disapproval.
“I don’t know why you read the news, Dad. It only ticks you off.”
He ignored me, grumbling at the paper in his hands. “This is why everyone wants to live in a small town!
Ridiculous.”
“What have big cities done wrong now?”
“Seattle’s making a run for murder capital of the country. Five unsolved homicides in the last two weeks.
Can you imagine living like that?”
“I think Phoenix is actually higher up the homicide list, Dad. I have lived like that.” And I’d never come
close to being a murder victim until after I moved to his safe little town. In fact, I was still on several hit lists. . .
. The spoon shook in my hands, making the water tremble.
“Well, you couldn’t pay me enough,” Charlie said.
I gave up on saving dinner and settled for serving it; I had to use a steak knife to cut a portion of spaghetti
for Charlie and then myself, while he watched with a sheepish expression. Charlie coated his helping with
sauce and dug in. I disguised my own clump as well as I could and followed his example without much
enthusiasm. We ate in silence for a moment. Charlie was still scanning the news, so I picked up my much-
abused copy of Wuthering Heights from where I’d left it this morning at breakfast, and tried to lose myself in
turn-of-the-century England while I waited for him to start talking.
I was just to the part where Heathcliff returns when Charlie cleared his throat and threw the paper to the
floor.
“You’re right,” Charlie said. “I did have a reason for doing this.” He waved his fork at the gluey spread. “I
wanted to talk to you.”
I laid the book aside; the binding was so destroyed that it slumped flat to the table. “You could have just
asked.”
He nodded, his eyebrows pulling together. “Yeah. I’ll remember that next time. I thought taking dinner off
your hands would soften you up.”
I laughed. “It worked — your cooking skills have me soft as a marshmallow. What do you need, Dad?”
“Well, it’s about Jacob.”
I felt my face harden. “What about him?” I asked through stiff lips.
“Easy, Bells. I know you’re still upset that he told on you, but it was the right thing. He was being
responsible.”
“Responsible,” I repeated scathingly, rolling my eyes. “Right. So, what about Jacob?”
The careless question repeated inside my head, anything but trivial. What about Jacob? What was I
going to do about him? My former best friend who was now . . . what? My enemy? I cringed.
Charlie’s face was suddenly wary. “Don’t get mad at me, okay?”
“Mad?”
“Well, it’s about Edward, too.”
My eyes narrowed.
Charlie’s voice got gruffer. “I let him in the house, don’t I?”
“You do,” I admitted. “For brief periods of time. Of course, you might let me out of the house for brief
periods now and then, too,” I continued — only jokingly; I knew I was on lockdown for the duration of the
school year. “I’ve been pretty good lately.”
“Well, that’s kind of where I was heading with this. . . .” And then Charlie’s face stretched into an
unexpected eye-crinkling grin; for a second he looked twenty years younger.
I saw a dim glimmer of possibility in that smile, but I proceeded slowly. “I’m confused, Dad. Are we
talking about Jacob, or Edward, or me being grounded?”
The grin flashed again. “Sort of all three.”
“And how do they relate?” I asked, cautious.
“Okay.” He sighed, raising his hands as if in surrender. “So I’m thinking maybe you deserve a parole for
good behavior. For a teenager, you’re amazingly non-whiney.”
My voice and eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? I’m free?”
Where was this coming from? I’d been positive I would be under house arrest until I actually moved out,
and Edward hadn’t picked up any wavering in Charlie’s thoughts. . . .
Charlie held up one finger. “Conditionally.”
The enthusiasm vanished. “Fantastic,” I groaned.
“Bella, this is more of a request than a demand, okay? You’re free. But I’m hoping you’ll use that freedom
. . . judiciously.”
“What does that mean?”
He sighed again. “I know you’re satisfied to spend all of your time with Edward —”
“I spend time with Alice, too,” I interjected. Edward’s sister had no hours of visitation; she came and went
as she pleased. Charlie was putty in her capable hands.
“That’s true,” he said. “But you have other friends besides the Cullens, Bella. Or you used to.”
We stared at each other for a long moment.
“When was the last time you spoke to Angela Weber?” he threw at me.
“Friday at lunch,” I answered immediately.
Before Edward’s return, my school friends had polarized into two groups. I liked to think of those groups
as good vs. evil. Us and them worked, too. The good guys were Angela, her steady boyfriend Ben Cheney,
and Mike Newton; these three had all very generously forgiven me for going crazy when Edward left. Lauren
Mallory was the evil core of the them side, and almost everyone else, including my first friend in Forks,
Jessica Stanley, seemed content to go along with her anti-Bella agenda.
With Edward back at school, the dividing line had become even more distinct.
Edward’s return had taken its toll on Mike’s friendship, but Angela was unswervingly loyal, and Ben
followed her lead. Despite the natural aversion most humans felt toward the Cullens, Angela sat dutifully
beside Alice every day at lunch. After a few weeks, Angela even looked comfortable there. It was difficult not
to be charmed by the Cullens — once one gave them the chance to be charming.
“Outside of school?” Charlie asked, calling my attention back.
“I haven’t seen anyone outside of school, Dad. Grounded, remember? And Angela has a boyfriend, too.
She’s always with Ben. If I’m really free,” I added, heavy on the skepticism, “maybe we could double.”
“Okay. But then . . .” He hesitated. “You and Jake used to be joined at the hip, and now —”
I cut him off. “Can you get to the point, Dad? What’s your condition — exactly?”
“I don’t think you should dump all your other friends for your boyfriend, Bella,” he said in a stern voice.
“It’s not nice, and I think your life would be better balanced if you kept some other people in it. What
happened last September . . .”
I flinched.
“Well,” he said defensively. “If you’d had more of a life outside of Edward Cullen, it might not have been
like that.”
“It would have been exactly like that,” I muttered.
“Maybe, maybe not.”
“The point?” I reminded him.
“Use your new freedom to see your other friends, too. Keep it balanced.”
I nodded slowly. “Balance is good. Do I have specific time quotas to fill, though?”
He made a face, but shook his head. “I don’t want to make this complicated. Just don’t forget your
friends . . .”
It was a dilemma I was already struggling with. My friends. People who, for their own safety, I would
never be able to see again after graduation.
So what was the better course of action? Spend time with them while I could? Or start the separation now
to make it more gradual? I quailed at the idea of the second option.
“。 . . particularly Jacob,” Charlie added before I could think things through more than that.
A greater dilemma than the first. It took me a moment to find the right words. “Jacob might be . . .
difficult.”
“The Blacks are practically family, Bella,” he said, stern and fatherly again. “And Jacob has been a very,
very good friend to you.”
“I know that.”
“Don’t you miss him at all?” Charlie asked, frustrated.
My throat suddenly felt swollen; I had to clear it twice before I answered. “Yes, I do miss him,” I
admitted, still looking down. “I miss him a lot.”
“Then why is it difficult?”
It wasn’t something I was at liberty to explain. It was against the rules for normal people — human
people like me and Charlie — to know about the clandestine world full of myths and monsters that existed
secretly around us. I knew all about that world — and I was in no small amount of trouble as a result. I wasn’t
about to get Charlie in the same trouble.
“With Jacob there is a . . . conflict,” I said slowly. “A conflict about the friendship thing, I mean.
Friendship doesn’t always seem to be enough for Jake.” I wound my excuse out of details that were true but
insignificant, hardly crucial compared to the fact that Jacob’s werewolf pack bitterly hated Edward’s vampire
family — and therefore me, too, as I fully intended to join that family. It just wasn’t something I could work
out with him in a note, and he wouldn’t answer my calls. But my plan to deal with the werewolf in person had
definitely not gone over well with the vampires.
“Isn’t Edward up for a little healthy competition?” Charlie’s voice was sarcastic now.
I leveled a dark look at him. “There’s no competition.”
“You’re hurting Jake’s feelings, avoiding him like this. He’d rather be just friends than nothing.”
Oh, now I was avoiding him?
“I’m pretty sure Jake doesn’t want to be friends at all.” The words burned in my mouth. “Where’d you get
that idea, anyway?”
Charlie looked embarrassed now. “The subject might have come up today with Billy. . . .”
“You and Billy gossip like old women,” I complained, stabbing my fork viciously into the congealed
spaghetti on my plate.
“Billy’s worried about Jacob,” Charlie said. “Jake’s having a hard time right now. . . . He’s depressed.”
I winced, but kept my eyes on the blob.
“And then you were always so happy after spending the day with Jake.” Charlie sighed.
“I’m happy now,” I growled fiercely through my teeth.
The contrast between my words and tone broke through the tension. Charlie burst into laughter, and I had
to join in.
“Okay, okay,” I agreed. “Balance.”
“And Jacob,” he insisted.
“I’ll try.”
“Good. Find that balance, Bella. And, oh, yeah, you’ve got some mail,” Charlie said, closing the subject
with no attempt at subtlety. “It’s by the stove.”
I didn’t move, my thoughts twisting into snarls around Jacob’s name. It was most likely junk mail; I’d just
gotten a package from my mom yesterday and I wasn’t expecting anything else.
Charlie shoved his chair away from the table and stretched as he got to his feet. He took his plate to the
sink, but before he turned the water on to rinse it, he paused to toss a thick envelope at me. The letter skidded
across the table and thunked into my elbow.
“Er, thanks,” I muttered, puzzled by his pushiness. Then I saw the return address — the letter was from
the University of Alaska Southeast. “That was quick. I guess I missed the deadline on that one, too.”
Charlie chuckled.
I flipped the envelope over and then glared up at him. “It’s open.”
“I was curious.”
“I’m shocked, Sheriff. That’s a federal crime.”
“Oh, just read it.”
I pulled out the letter, and a folded schedule of courses.
“Congratulations,” he said before I could read anything. “Your first acceptance.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“We should talk about tuition. I’ve got some money saved up —”
“Hey, hey, none of that. I’m not touching your retirement, Dad. I’ve got my college fund.” What was left
of it — and there hadn’t been much to begin with.
Charlie frowned. “Some of these places are pretty pricey, Bells. I want to help. You don’t have to go to
all the way to Alaska just because it’s cheaper.”
It wasn’t cheaper, not at all. But it was far away, and Juneau had an average of three hundred twenty-one
overcast days per year. The first was my prerequisite, the second was Edward’s.
“I’ve got it covered. Besides, there’s lots of financial aid out there. It’s easy to get loans.” I hoped my bluff
wasn’t too obvious. I hadn’t actually done a lot of research on the subject.
“So . . . ,” Charlie began, and then he pursed his lips and looked away.
“So what?”
“Nothing. I was just . . .” He frowned. “Just wondering what . . . Edward’s plans are for next year?”
“Oh.”
“Well?”
Three quick raps on the door saved me. Charlie rolled his eyes and I jumped up.
“Coming!” I called while Charlie mumbled something that sounded like, “Go away.” I ignored him and
went to let Edward in.
I wrenched the door out of my way — ridiculously eager — and there he was, my personal miracle.
Time had not made me immune to the perfection of his face, and I was sure that I would never take any
aspect of him for granted. My eyes traced over his pale white features: the hard square of his jaw, the softer
curve of his full lips — twisted up into a smile now, the straight line of his nose, the sharp angle of his
cheekbones, the smooth marble span of his forehead — partially obscured by a tangle of rain-darkened
bronze hair. . . .
I saved his eyes for last, knowing that when I looked into them I was likely to lose my train of thought.
They were wide, warm with liquid gold, and framed by a thick fringe of black lashes. Staring into his eyes
always made me feel extraordinary — sort of like my bones were turning spongy. I was also a little
lightheaded, but that could have been because I’d forgotten to keep breathing. Again.
It was a face any male model in the world would trade his soul for. Of course, that might be exactly the
asking price: one soul.
No. I didn’t believe that. I felt guilty for even thinking it, and was glad — as I was often glad — that I was
the one person whose thoughts were a mystery to Edward.
I reached for his hand, and sighed when his cold fingers found mine. His touch brought with it the strangest
sense of relief — as if I’d been in pain and that pain had suddenly ceased.
“Hey.” I smiled a little at my anticlimactic greeting.
He raised our interlaced fingers to brush my cheek with the back of his hand. “How was your afternoon?”
“Slow.”
“For me, as well.”
He pulled my wrist up to his face, our hands still twisted together. His eyes closed as his nose skimmed
along the skin there, and he smiled gently without opening them. Enjoying the bouquet while resisting the wine,
as he’d once put it.
I knew that the scent of my blood — so much sweeter to him than any other person’s blood, truly like
wine beside water to an alcoholic — caused him actual pain from the burning thirst it engendered. But he
didn’t seem to shy away from it as much as he once had. I could only dimly imagine the Herculean effort
behind this simple gesture.
It made me sad that he had to try so hard. I comforted myself with the knowledge that I wouldn’t be
causing him pain much longer.
I heard Charlie approaching then, stamping his feet on the way to express his customary displeasure with
our guest. Edward’s eyes snapped open and he let our hands fall, keeping them twined.
“Good evening, Charlie.” Edward was always flawlessly polite, though Charlie didn’t deserve it.
Charlie grunted at him, and then stood there with his arms crossed over his chest. He was taking the idea
of parental supervision to extremes lately.
“I brought another set of applications,” Edward told me then, holding up a stuffed manila envelope. He
was wearing a roll of stamps like a ring around his littlest finger.
I groaned. How were there any colleges left that he hadn’t forced me to apply to already? And how did
he keep finding these loophole openings? It was so late in the year.
He smiled as if he could read my thoughts; they must have been very obvious on my face. “There are still
a few open deadlines. And a few places willing to make exceptions.”
I could just imagine the motivations behind such exceptions. And the dollar amounts involved.
Edward laughed at my expression.
“Shall we?” he asked, towing me toward the kitchen table.
Charlie huffed and followed behind, though he could hardly complain about the activity on tonight’s
agenda. He’d been pestering me to make a decision about college on a daily basis.
I cleared the table quickly while Edward organized an intimidating stack of forms. When I moved
Wuthering Heights to the counter, Edward raised one eyebrow. I knew what he was thinking, but Charlie
interrupted before Edward could comment.
“Speaking of college applications, Edward,” Charlie said, his tone even more sullen — he tried to avoid
addressing Edward directly, and when he had to, it exacerbated his bad mood. “Bella and I were just talking
about next year. Have you decided where you’re going to school?”
Edward smiled up at Charlie and his voice was friendly. “Not yet. I’ve received a few acceptance letters,
but I’m still weighing my options.”
“Where have you been accepted?” Charlie pressed.
“Syracuse . . . Harvard . . . Dartmouth . . . and I just got accepted to the University of Alaska Southeast
today.” Edward turned his face slightly to the side so that he could wink at me. I stifled a giggle.
“Harvard? Dartmouth?” Charlie mumbled, unable to conceal his awe. “Well that’s pretty . . . that’s
something. Yeah, but the University of Alaska . . . you wouldn’t really consider that when you could go Ivy
League. I mean, your father would want you to . . .”
“Carlisle’s always fine with whatever I choose to do,” Edward told him serenely.
“Hmph.”
“Guess what, Edward?” I asked in a bright voice, playing along.
“What, Bella?”
I pointed to the thick envelope on the counter. “I just got my acceptance to the University of Alaska!”
“Congratulations!” He grinned. “What a coincidence.”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed and he glared back and forth between the two of us. “Fine,” he muttered after a
minute. “I’m going to go watch the game, Bella. Nine-thirty.”
That was his usual parting command.
“Er, Dad? Remember the very recent discussion about my freedom . . . ?”
He sighed. “Right. Okay, ten-thirty. You still have a curfew on school nights.”
“Bella’s no longer grounded?” Edward asked. Though I knew he wasn’t really surprised, I couldn’t detect
any false note to the sudden excitement in his voice.
“Conditionally,” Charlie corrected through his teeth. “What’s it to you?”
I frowned at my dad, but he didn’t see.
“It’s just good to know,” Edward said. “Alice has been itching for a shopping partner, and I’m sure Bella
would love to see some city lights.” He smiled at me.
But Charlie growled, “No!” and his face flushed purple.
“Dad! What’s the problem?”
He made an effort to unclench his teeth. “I don’t want you going to Seattle right now.”
“Huh?”
“I told you about that story in the paper — there’s some kind of gang on a killing spree in Seattle and I
want you to steer clear, okay?”
I rolled my eyes. “Dad, there’s a better chance that I’ll get struck by lightning than that the one day I’m in
Seattle —”
“No, that’s fine, Charlie,” Edward said, interrupting me. “I didn’t mean Seattle. I was thinking Portland,
actually. I wouldn’t have Bella in Seattle, either. Of course not.”
I looked at him in disbelief, but he had Charlie’s newspaper in his hands and he was reading the front page
intently.
He must have been trying to appease my father. The idea of being in danger from even the most deadly of
humans while I was with Alice or Edward was downright hilarious.
It worked. Charlie stared at Edward for one second more, and then shrugged. “Fine.” He stalked off
toward the living room, in a bit of a hurry now — maybe he didn’t want to miss tip-off.
I waited till the TV was on, so that Charlie wouldn’t be able to hear me.
“What —，” I started to ask.
“Hold on,” Edward said without looking up from the paper. His eyes stayed focused on the page as he
pushed the first application toward me across the table. “I think you can recycle your essays for this one.
Same questions.”
Charlie must still be listening. I sighed and started to fill out the repetitive information: name, address,
social. . . . After a few minutes I glanced up, but Edward was now staring pensively out the window. As I bent
my head back to my work, I noticed for the first time the name of the school.
I snorted and shoved the papers aside.
“Bella?”
“Be serious, Edward. Dartmouth?”
Edward lifted the discarded application and laid it gently in front of me again. “I think you’d like New
Hampshire,” he said. “There’s a full complement of night courses for me, and the forests are very conveniently
located for the avid hiker. Plentiful wildlife.” He pulled out the crooked smile he knew I couldn’t resist.
I took a deep breath through my nose.
“I’ll let you pay me back, if that makes you happy,” he promised. “If you want, I can charge you interest.”
“Like I could even get in without some enormous bribe. Or was that part of the loan? The new Cullen
wing of the library? Ugh. Why are we having this discussion again?”
“Will you just fill out the application, please, Bella? It won’t hurt you to apply.”
My jaw flexed. “You know what? I don’t think I will.”
I reached for the papers, planning to crumple them into a suitable shape for lobbing at the trashcan, but
they were already gone. I stared at the empty table for a moment, and then at Edward. He didn’t appear to
have moved, but the application was probably already tucked away in his jacket.
“What are you doing?” I demanded.
“I sign your name better than you do yourself. You’ve already written the essays.”
“You’re going way overboard with this, you know.” I whispered on the off chance that Charlie wasn’t
completely lost in his game. “I really don’t need to apply anywhere else. I’ve been accepted in Alaska. I can
almost afford the first semester’s tuition. It’s as good an alibi as any. There’s no need to throw away a bunch
