Catherine (J. Black)

Chapter Two

Catherine looks to the wedding invitation in her hand, why they even thought to send one to her. Isabella Maria Swan and Edward Mason Cullen. She sets the invitation down and looks into the fire in front of her. It does nothing to warm her ice-cold skin or her heart. She looks to the cell phone beside the wedding invitation as it rings. She doesn't answer it, she knows who it is, Rosalie, as much as she loves her sister she doesn't need to listen to what she has to say, they've been trying to get her to return to Forks since she left. 18 months. That's how long she's stayed away. Filled in on events by her sister and Emmett and Jasper. But how could she go back? To live in that house, to watch him with the human, when she is still in love with him. She looks back to the fire as the phone stops ringing. She misses her family, of course, she does they're her family, but the pain, if she was human, if she and Edward were human and it had been a normal marriage, they wouldn't expect her to stick around. She stands and moves to the window overlooking the city, New York, she smiles, home, her human home anyway. And the place she died. Despite that she loves the city, teaming with life and love and music and everything, the city that never sleeps, and she believes it. She smiles out the window and then looks to her phone as it rings, again. She moves to it and grabs it, looking at the caller I.d, she tightens her jaw and then answers.

"What?" she growls. Emmett chuckles on the other end of the phone.

"Come on, Little sister, it's been too long...." he teases.

"What do you want?" she asks.

"For you to come home," he tells her, serious this time.

"It's not my home anymore" she corrects. "I love you, I love all of you but I can't come back...."

"Now? Or ever?" He asks softly.

"Maybe not ever" she answers. Emmett grunts as Rosalie wrestles the phone from him.

"Catherine Hale you get your ass back here right now" Rosalie growls at her baby sister.

"Sorry, Rose, but no"

"What?" Rosalie asks surprised. "But..."

"I'm not coming back" Catherine smiles to herself and moves to look out the window, Rosalie looks to Emmett who shrugs.

"What did you say?" She growls at him. 

"Nothing" He answers.

"It's nothing he did, Rose," Catherine tells her. "It's me"

"What?" Rosalie asks.

"I'm not strong enough" Catherine answers.

"Yes, you are" Rosalie corrects. "You're a Hale.....at least come to the wedding"

"Why would I do that?" Catherine asks frowning. "My ex-husband's getting married to the child that destroyed our marriage"

"Because your family is here," Rosalie tells her. "Because me and Em are....and we miss you" Catherine sighs heavily. "Please, think about it" Rosalie begs.

"I'll think about it" Catherine whispers. "But don't get your hopes up"

"I just want you to think about it" Rosalie knows that once Catherine starts thinking of home, of her family, she'll start to miss them, and she won't be able to help but come home. "Call me later," Rosalie tells her.

"Fine" Catherine hangs up and sets her phone aside to think. She doesn't want to watch Edward marry the human, why would she. But Rosalie has a point, her family is there, Rosalie and Emmett, and yes, she misses them like crazy. She and Rosalie had barely been apart since they were children. Catherine looks to the fire and then rolls her eyes, damn her sister for doing this, she snatches the invitation from the side and walks away.

...................

Jacob Black, 16, Quileute native looks down at the wedding invitation in his hand which shakes with anger, annoyance, grief. The woman, the human he's in love with is marrying her leech, her vampire lover, he'd thought to change her mind with time, because he knows that she loves him, but the leech hadn't given him a chance. He turns and storms out of the house, shaking, he needs to run, to blow off steam, to do something else, to think about something else. He throws down the wedding invitation and starts to run, towards the forest behind his home. Billy Black, his paraplegic father, rolls out of the house, just as Jacob pulls off his shirt.

"Jake! Jacob!" Jacob turns into a wolf as he disappears into the forest. Billy sighs and looks down at the wedding invitation, he picks it up and holds it in his hand. "Jacob" he sighs.

.........................

Catherine throws a bag into the trunk of her sports car and pulls her sunglasses over her eyes before climbing into it and starting the engine, she looks to the invitation on the passenger seat and then drives away.