She cut me off, as soon as I said his name. She let me go on, though. “Alice, I wasn’t committing suicide,” Bella said. I eyed her dubiously. “Are you saying you didn’t jump off a cliff?” “No, but…” Bella grimaced.

“It was for recreational purposes only.” My expression hardened. “I’d seen some of Jacob’s friend’s cliff diving,” she insisted. “It looked like…fun, and I was bored….” I waited for the rest. “I didn’t think about how the storm would affect the currents. Actually, I didn’t think about the water much at all.”

No, that can’t be it. She was killing herself! And it’s our fault, I thought. “So if you saw me go in, why didn’t you see Jacob?” she asked. I cocked my head to the side.

“It’s true I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn’t jumped in after me. Well, okay, there’s no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out, and I guess he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out for that part. It couldn’t have been more than a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn’t see that?”

I frowned. That’s odd. Very odd, I thought. “Someone pulled you out?” I asked. “Yes. Jacob saved me.” How can that be? How come I didn’t see that? I thought.

I sniffed her shoulder. What’s that? No, it’s not possible…I thought. “Don’t be ridiculous,” I muttered, sniffing Bella more. “What are you doing?” Bella asked me.

I ignored her question and asked, “Who was with you out there just now? It sounded like you were arguing.”

“Jacob Black. He’s…sort of my best friend, I guess. At least, he was…” Bella said. I nodded, thinking about the scent. “What?” Bella asked me. “I don’t know,” I said. “I’m not sure what it means.”

“Well, I’m not dead, at least.” I rolled my eyes. “He was a fool to think you could survive alone. I’ve never seen anyone so prone to life-threatening idiocy.”

“I survived,” Bella pointed out. Hmm…the question is…how did this Jacob swim through the currents? No person could be that strong, I thought.

“So, if the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?” I asked. “Jacob is…strong.” She’s not telling me everything. Does she not trust me? I thought, a little worried.