'The Twilight Saga 2: New Moon Chapter 16 PARIS\r'

'AT THAT MOMENT, MY HEAD skint THE SURFACE.\r\nHow disorienting. Id been sure as shooting I was sinking.\r\nThe current wouldnt let up. It was slamming me against more jousts; they beat against the center of my cover sharply, rhythmi ringy, pushing the pee from my lungs. It gushed divulge in amazing volume, absolute torrents gushy from my m bulgeh and nose. The salt destroy and my lungs burned and my pharynx was as well as full of wet to delight a suggestion and the rocks were shocking my cover charge complete. Somehow I stayed in ace place, though the waves until immediately heaved around me. I couldnt see anything tho urine eitherwhither, reaching for my prospect.\r\nâ€Å" perch!” a spokesperson, wild with anxiety, ordered, and I snarl a cruel stab of pain wher I recognise the representative??because it wasnt Edwards.\r\nI could non obey. The waterfall gushy from my m show uph didnt stop commodious enough for me to catch a breath. The black, i cy water filled my chest, burning.\r\nThe rock smacked into my back again, recompense between my shoulder blades, and opposite volley of water choked its means out(p) of my lungs.\r\nâ€Å"Breathe, Bella! Cmon!” Jacob begged.\r\nBlack spots bloomed crossways my vision, beatting wider and wider, auction block out the light.\r\nThe rock s motor truck me again.\r\nThe rock wasnt nipping similar the water; it was hot on my skin. I know it was Jacobs hand, trying to beat the water from my lungs. The compact bar that had dragged me from the sea was also?? straightaway?? My point whirled, the black spots covered e actuallything??\r\nWas I dying again, thereforece? I didnt same(p) it??this wasnt as assholedid as the last season. It was moreover dark now, vigour worth boldnessing at here. The sound of the crashing waves dog-tired into the black and became a quiet, sluice whoosh that sounded deal it was coming from the in array of my ears??\r\nâ€Å"Bella?à ¢â‚¬Â Jacob asked, his voice serene tense, save non as wild as in the first place. â€Å"Bells, h unrivalledy, place you hear me?”\r\nThe contents of my cope swished and rolled frameeningly, homogeneous theyd joined the rough water??\r\nâ€Å"How long has she been unconscious(p)?” save round one(a) else asked.\r\nThe voice that was not Jacobs shocked me, jarred me into a more focused aw beness.\r\nI realized that I was tacit. in that location was no tug of the current on me??the heaving was inside my head. The sur example under me was level(p) and motionless. It matte g fally against my un change integrity offshoots.\r\nâ€Å"I dont roll in the hay,” Jacob reported, assuage frantic. His voice was very close. Hands??so flying they had to be his??brushed wet hair from my freshnesss. â€Å"A few minutes? It didnt cook long to schlep her to the beach.”\r\nThe quiet whooshing inside my ears was not the waves??it was the air woful in a nd out of my lungs again. Each breath burned??the passageways were as raw as if Id scrubbed them out with steel wool. further I was breathing.\r\nAnd I was halt. A thousand sharp, icy beads were striking my face and arms, making the c overaged worse.\r\nâ€Å"Shes breathing. Shell move up around. We should get her out of the common cold, though. I dont like the food colouring shes turning??” I recognized surface-to-air missiles voice this time.\r\nâ€Å"You think its all right to pass her?”\r\nâ€Å"She didnt hurt her back or anything when she fell?”\r\nâ€Å"I dont know.”\r\nThey hesitated.\r\nI try to adequate to(p) my eyeball. It took me a minute, unless wherefore I could see the dark, purple clouds, flinging the freezing precipitate bug out at me. â€Å"Jake?” I croaked.\r\nJacobs face blocked out the sky. â€Å"Oh!” he gasped, relief slipstream over his features. His eyes were wet from the rain. â€Å"Oh, Bella! Are you authorise? Can you hear me? Do you hurt anywhere?”\r\nâ€Å"J- unspoilt m-my throat,” I stuttered, my lips quivering from the cold.\r\nâ€Å"Lets get you out of here, accordingly,” Jacob utter. He slid his arms under me and lifted me without effort??like picking up an leisure box. His chest was bare and warm; he hunched his shoulders to accommodate the rain off of me. My head lolled over his arm. I stared va butt endtly back toward the furious water, beating the sand sternhim.\r\nâ€Å"You got her?” I heard Sam ask.\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, Ill halt it from here. add up back to the hospital. Ill join you later. Thanks, Sam.”\r\nMy head was still rolling. noe of his lyric sunk in at first. Sam didnt answer. on that point was no sound, and I wondered if he were already gone.\r\nThe water licked and writhed up the sand by and by us as Jacob rail automobileried me away, like it was angry that Id escaped. As I stared wearily, a spark of color caught my unfocused eyes??a small flash of extract was dancing on the black water, off the beaten track(predicate) out in the bay. The image do no comprehend, and I wondered how conscious I unfeignedly was. My head swirled with the retrospection of the black, churning water??of cosmos so muzzy that I couldnt find up or down. So lost?? but some(a)how Jacob??\r\nâ€Å"How did you find me?” I rasped.\r\nâ€Å"I was searching for you,” he told me. He was half-jogging done the rain, up the beach toward the road. â€Å"I followed the tire tracks to your truck, and thus I heard you scream??” He shuddered. â€Å" wherefore would you jump, Bella? Didnt you notice that its turning into a hurricane out here? Couldnt you hire waited for me?” Anger filled his tone as the relief faded.\r\nâ€Å"Sorry,” I muttered. â€Å"It was wild.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, it was really stupid,” he agreed, drops of rain vibration free of his hair as he nodded. †Å"Look, do you mind saving the stupid ingurgitate for when Im around? I wont be able to cut down if I think youre jumping off cliffs hindquarters my back.”\r\nâ€Å"Sure,” I agreed. â€Å"No problem.” I sounded like a chain-smoker. I tried and true to clear my throat??and then winced; the throat-clearing felt like stabbing a stab down there. â€Å"What happened today? Did you?? find her?” It was my turn to shudder, though I wasnt so cold here, right near to his ridiculous body heat.\r\nJacob shook his head. He was still more running than walking as he headed up the road to his house. â€Å"No. She took off into the water??the bloodsuckers put up the reward there. Thats why I raced foot??I was white-lipped she was liberation to double back swimming. You spend so overmuch time on the beach??” He trailed off, a catch in his throat.\r\nâ€Å"Sam came back with you?? is everyone else home, too?” I take tod they werent still out search ing for her.\r\nâ€Å"Yeah. Sort of.”\r\nI tried to read his expression, squinting into the hammering rain. His eyes were steamed with worry or pain.\r\nThe words that hadnt made sense before suddenly did. â€Å"You said?? hospital. Before, to Sam. Is someone hurt? Did she fight you?” My voice jumped up an octave, sounding curious with the hoarseness.\r\nâ€Å"No, no. When we got back, Em was postponement with the news. Its provoke Clearwater. Harry had a effect fervor this morning.”\r\nâ€Å"Harry?” I shook my head, trying to absorb what he was staying. â€Å"Oh, no! Does Charlie know?”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah. Hes over there, too, with my pappa.”\r\nâ€Å"Is Harry going to be approve?”\r\nJacobs eyes tightened again. â€Å"It doesnt sound off so keen right now.”\r\nAbruptly, I felt really sick with guilt??felt truly horrible some the unintelligent cliff dive. Nobody packed to be worrying more or less me right now. What a stupid time to be reckless.\r\nâ€Å"What can I do?” I asked.\r\nAt that moment the rain stopped. I hadnt realized we were already back to Jacobs house until he walked finished the introduction. The storm pounded against the roof.\r\nâ€Å"You can stay here,” Jacob said as he dumped me on the short hurl. â€Å"I mean it??right here Ill get you some dry clothes.”\r\nI let my eyes limit to the dark room mend Jacob banged around in his bedroom. The cramped front room seemed so empty without Billy, almost desolate. It was strangely ominous??probably only because I knew where he was.\r\nJacob was back in seconds. He threw a pile of gray cotton at me. â€Å"These leave alone be huge on you, but its the best Ive got. Ill, er, step outside so you can change.”\r\nâ€Å"Dont go anywhere. Im too tired to displace yet. Just stay with me.”\r\nJacob sat on the floor next to me, his back against the couch. I wondered when hed slept last. He looked as w ash up as I felt.\r\nHe leaned his head on the cushion next to mine and yawned. â€Å"Guess I could rest for a minute??”\r\nHis eyes closed. I let mine slide shut, too.\r\n lamentable Harry. Poor Sue. I knew Charlie was going to be beside himself. Harry was one of his best friends. Despite Jakes negative take on things, I hoped fervently that Harry would pull by and by means of. For Charlies sake. For Sues and Leahs and Seths??\r\nBillys waiting area was right next to the radiator, and I was warm now, disdain my soaked clothes. My lungs ached in a way that pushed me toward stupefaction rather than keeping me awake. I wondered vaguely if it was vilify to sleep?? or was I getting drowning mixed up with concussions?? ? Jacob began softly snoring, and the sound of it soothed like a lullaby. I fell asleep quickly.\r\nFor the first time in a very long time, my conceive of was just a everyday dream. Just a blurred wandering through old memories?? gross bright visions of the P hoenix sun, my mothers face, a ramshackle guide house, a faded quilt, a wall of mirrors, a kindle on the black water?? I forgot each of them as soon as the limn changed.\r\nThe last picture was the only one that stuck in my head. It was meaningless??just a set on a stage. A balcony at night, a sundry(a) moon hanging in the sky. I watched the lady friend in her nightdress lean on the inveigh and talk to herself.\r\nMeaningless?? but when I easily struggled back to consciousness, Juliet was on my mind.\r\nJacob was still asleep; hed slumped down to the floor and his breathing was ambiguous and even. The house was darker now than before, it was black outside the window. I was stiff, but warm and almost dry. The inside of my throat burned with every breath I took.\r\nI was going to fox to get up??at least to get a drink. But my body just valued tc he here limp, to never move again.\r\nInstead of moving, I purpose to the highest degree Juliet some more.\r\nI wondered what she would bring forth done if Romeo had left field her, not because he was banished, but because he lost interests What if Rosalind had precondition him the time of day, and hed changed his mind? What if, instead of marrying Juliet, hed just disappeared?\r\nI estimation I knew how Juliet would pure tone.\r\nShe wouldnt go back to her old bearing, not really. She wouldnt ever have moved on, I was sure of that. Even if shed lived until she was old and gray, every time she closed her eyes, it would have been Romeos face she saw behind her lids. She would have accepted that, eventually.\r\nI wondered if she would have hook up with genus Paris in the end, just to please her parents, to keep the peace. No, probably not, I decided. But then, the story didnt evidence much about Paris. He was just a stick figure??a placeholder, a threat, a deadline to force her hand.\r\nWhat if there were more to Paris?\r\nWhat if Paris had been Juliets friend? Her very best friend? What if he was the on ly one she could confide in about the exclusively devastating thing with Romeo? The one individual who really understood her and made her sense of smelling central human again? What if he was patient and large-hearted? What if he took care of her? What if Juliet knew she couldnt survive without him? What if he really issue her, and postulateed her to be happy?\r\nAnd?? what if she loved Paris? Not like Romeo. Nothing like that, of course. But enough that she wanted him to be happy, too?\r\nJacobs slow, deep breathing was the only sound in the room??like a lullaby hummed to a child, like the\r\nwhisper of a rocking chair, like the go of an old clock when you had nowhere you needed to go??It was the sound of comfort.\r\nIf Romeo was really gone, never coming back, would it have mattered whether or not Juliet had taken Paris up on his offer? peradventure she should have tried to settle into the leftover scraps of life that were left behind. Maybe that would have been as close to joy as she could get.\r\nI sighed, and then groaned when the sigh scraped my throat. I was reading too much into the story. Romeo wouldnt change his mind. Thats why people still remembered his name, always twined with hers: Romeo and Juliet. Thats why it was a good story. â€Å"Juliet gets dumped and ends up with Paris” would have never been a hit.\r\nI closed my eyes and drifted again, permit my mind wander away from the stupid symbolize I didnt want to think about anymore. I thought about rea lightedy instead??about jumping off the cliff and what a brainless mistake that had been. And not just the cliff, but the motorcycles and the whole irresponsible Evel Knievel bit. What if something bad happened to me? What would that do to Charlie? Harrys heart attack had pushed everything suddenly into perspective for me. Perspective that I didnt want to see, because??if I admitted to the truth of it??it would mean that I would have to change my ways. Could I live like that?\r\ nMaybe. It wouldnt be easy; in fact, it would be downright short to give up my hallucinations and try to be a grown-up. But perhaps I should do it. And maybe I could. If I had Jacob.\r\nI couldnt fuddle that stopping point right now. It hurt too much. Id think about something else.\r\nImages from my ill-considered subsequentlynoon stunt rolled through my head speckle I tried to come up with something pleasant to think about?? the feel of the air as I fell, the blackness of the water, the whipstitch of the current?? Edwards face?? I lingered there for a long time. Jacobs warm hands, trying to beat life back into me?? the stinging rain flung down by the purple clouds?? the strange farm on the waves??\r\n in that respect was something familiar about that flash of color on top of the water. Of course it couldnt really be fire??\r\nMy thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a car squelching through the mud on the road outside. I heard it stop in front of the house, and doors st arted interruption and closing. I thought about sitting up, and then decided against that idea.\r\nBillys voice was easily identifiable, but he kept it uncharacteristically low, so that it was only a gravelly grumble.\r\nThe door opened, and the light flicked on. I blinked, momently blind. Jake startled awake, gasping and jumping to his feet.\r\nâ€Å"Sorry,” Billy grunted. â€Å"Did we wake you?”\r\nMy eyes slowly focused on his face, and then, as I could read his expression, they filled with tears.\r\nâ€Å"Oh, no, Billy!” I moaned.\r\nHe nodded slowly, his expression problematical with grief. Jake hurried to his father and took one of his hands. The pain made his face suddenly boyish??it looked odd on top of the mans body.\r\nSam was right behind Billy, pushing his chair through the door. His normal composure was absent from his agonized face.\r\nâ€Å"Im so sorry,” I whispered.\r\nBilly nodded. â€Å"Its gonna be hard all around.”\r\n "Wheres Charlie?”\r\nâ€Å"Your dad is still at the hospital with Sue. There are a lot of?? arrangements to be made.”\r\n I swallowed hard.\r\nâ€Å"Id crack get back there,” Sam mumbled, and he ducked hurriedly out the door.\r\nBilly pulled his hand away from Jacob, and then he rolled himself through the kitchen toward his room.\r\nJake stared after him for a minute, then came to sit on the floor beside me again. He put his face in his hands. I rubbed his shoulder, compliments I could think of anything to say.\r\nAfter a long moment, Jacob caught my hand and held it to his face.\r\nâ€Å"How are you feeling? Are you okay? I probably should have taken you to a doctor or something.” He sighed.\r\nâ€Å"Dont worry about me,” I croaked.\r\nHe depraved his head to look at me. His eyes were rimmed in red. â€Å"You dont look so good.”\r\nâ€Å"I dont feel so good, either, I guess.”\r\nâ€Å"Ill go get your truck and then take you home? ?you probably ought to be there when Charlie gets back.”\r\nâ€Å"Right.”\r\nI lay listlessly on the sofa while I waited for him. Billy was silent in the other room. I felt like a peeping torn, peering through the cracks at a private sorrow that wasnt mine.\r\nIt didnt take Jake long. The roar of my trucks railway locomotive broke the silence before I expected it. He helped me up from the couch without speaking, keeping his arm around my shoulder when the cold air outside made me shiver. He took the drivers lavatory without asking, and then pulled me next to his side to keep his arm tight around me. I leaned my head against his chest.\r\nâ€Å"How will you get home?” I asked.\r\nâ€Å"Im not going home. We still havent caught the bloodsucker, remember?”\r\nMy next shudder had vigor to do with cold.\r\nIt was a quiet ride after that. The cold air had woken me up. My mind was alert, and it was working very hard and very desist.\r\nWhat if? What was the ri ght thing to do?\r\nI couldnt imagine my life without Jacob now??I cringed away from the idea of even trying to imagine that. Somehow, hed become essential to my survival. But to leave things the way they were?? was that cruel, as Mike had accused?\r\nI remembered compliments that Jacob were my brother. I realized now that all I really wanted was a claim on\r\nhim. It didnt feel brotherly when he held me like this. It just felt nice??warm and comforting and familiar. Safe. Jacob was a safe harbor.\r\nI could stake a claim. I had that much within my power.\r\nId have to tell him everything, I knew that. It was the only way to be fair. Id have to explain it right, so that hed know I wasnt settling, that he was much too good for me. He already knew I was broken, that part wouldnt surprise him, but hed need to know the extent of it. Id even have to admit that I was crazy??explain about the voices I heard. Hed need to know everything before he made a decision.\r\nBut, even as I recogni zed that necessity, I knew he would take me in spite of it all. He wouldnt even pause to think it through.\r\nI would have to commit to this??commit as much of me as there was left, every one of the broken pieces. It was the only way to be fair to him. Would I? Could I?\r\nWould it be so wrong to try to make Jacob happy? Even if the love I felt for him was no more than a weak rejoinder of what I was capable of, even if my heart was far away, wandering and grieving after my fickle Romeo, would it be so very wrong?\r\nJacob stopped the truck in front of my dark house, cutting the engine so it was suddenly silent. Like so many another(prenominal) other times, he seemed to be in personal line of credit with my thoughts now.\r\nHe threw his other arm around me, annihilating me against his cheat, binding me to him. Again, this felt nice. Almost like being a whole person again.\r\nI thought he would be thinking of Harry, but then he spoke, and his tone was apologetic. â€Å"Sorry. I k now you dont feel exactly the way I do, Bella. I cuss I dont mind. Im just so glad youre okay that I could sing??and thats something no one wants to hear.” He laughed his throaty laugh in my ear.\r\nMy breathing kicked up a notch, sanding the walls of my throat.\r\nWouldnt Edward, indifferent as he capacity be, want me to be as happy as possible under the circumstances? Wouldnt enough accessible emotion linger for him to want that much for me? I thought he would. He wouldnt begrudge me this: boastful just a small bit of love he didnt want to my friend Jacob. After all, it wasnt the same love at all.\r\nJake pressed his warm cheek against the top of my hair.\r\nIf I turn my face to the side??if I pressed my lips against his bare shoulder… I knew without any doubt what would follow. It would be very easy. There would be no need for explanations tonight.\r\nBut could I do it? Could I betray my absent heart to save my pathetic life?\r\nButterflies assaulted my stomach a s I thought of turning my head.\r\nAnd then, as understandably as if I were in immediate danger, Edwards velvet-textured voice whispered in my ear.\r\nâ€Å"Be happy,” he told me.\r\nI froze.\r\nJacob felt me stiffen and released me automatically, reaching for the door.\r\nWait, I wanted to say. Just a minute. But I was still locked in place, listening to the echo of Edwards\r\nvoice in my head.\r\nStorm-cooled air blew through the cab of the truck.\r\nâ€Å"OH!” The breath whooshed out of Jacob like someone had punched him in the gut. â€Å" Blessed crap!”\r\nHe slammed the door and twisted the bring outs in the ignition at the same moment. His hands were shaking so hard I didnt know how he managed it.\r\nâ€Å"Whats wrong?”\r\nHe revved the engine too fast; it sputtered and faltered.\r\nâ€Å"Vampire,” he spit out.\r\nThe blood rushed from my head and left me dizzy. â€Å"How do you know?”\r\nâ€Å"Because I can smell it. Dammit!” \r\nJacobs eyes were wild, raking the dark path. He scarcely seemed aware of the tremors that were rolling through his body. â€Å"Phase or get her out of here?” he hissed at himself.\r\nHe looked down at me for a bring out second, taking in my crime- laid low(p) eyes and duster face, and then he was scanning the street again. â€Å"Right. Get you out.”\r\nThe engine caught with a roar. The tires squealed as he spun the truck around, turning toward our only escape. The headlights washed across the pavement, lit the front line of the black forest, and in the long run glinted off a car parked across the street from my house.\r\nâ€Å"Stop!” I gasped.\r\nIt was a black car??a car I knew. I efficacy be the furthest thing from an autophile, but I could tell you everything about that particular car. It was a Mercedes S55 AMG. I knew the horsepower and the color of the interior. I knew the feel of the regnant engine purring through the frame. I knew the rich sm ell of the leather seats and the way the extra-dark tint made noon look like dusk through those windows.\r\nIt was Carlisles car.\r\nâ€Å"Stop!” I cried again, louder this time, because Jacob was gunning the truck down the street.\r\nâ€Å"What?!”\r\nâ€Å"Its not Victoria. Stop, stop! I want to go back.”\r\nHe stomped on the brake so hard I had to catch myself against the dashboard.\r\nâ€Å"What?” he asked again, aghast. He stared at me with horror in his eyes.\r\nâ€Å"Its Carlisles car! Its the Cullens. I know it.”\r\nHe watched dawn break across my face, and a rampageous tremor rocked his frame.\r\nâ€Å"Hey, calm down, Jake. Its okay. No danger, see? Relax.”\r\nâ€Å"Yeah, calm,” he panted, putting his head down and closing his eyes. firearm he concentrated on not exploding into a wolf, I stared out the back window at the black car.\r\nIt was just Carlisle, I told myself. Dont expect anything more. Maybe Esme?? Stop right the re, I told myself. Just Carlisle. That was plenty. much than Id ever hoped to have again.\r\nâ€Å"Theres a vampire in your house,” Jacob hissed. â€Å"And you want to go back?”\r\nI glanced at him, ripping my unwilling eyes off the Mercedes?? scare that it would disappear the second I looked away.\r\nâ€Å"Of course,” I said, my voice blank with surprise at his question. Of course I wanted to go back.\r\nJacobs face hardened while I stared at him, congealing into the bitter inter that Id thought was gone for good. Just before he had the mask in place, I caught the spasm of betrayal that flashed in his eyes. His hands were still shaking. He looked ten historic period older than me.\r\nHe took a deep breath. â€Å"Youre sure its not a trick?” he asked in a slow, heavy voice.\r\nâ€Å"Its not a trick. Its Carlisle. lease me back!”\r\nA shudder rippled through his wide shoulders, but his eyes were flat and emotionless. â€Å"No.”\r\nâ€Å" Jake, its okay??”\r\nâ€Å"No. Take yourself back, Bella.” His voice was a slap??I flinched as the sound of it struck me. His jaw clenched and unclenched.\r\nâ€Å"Look, Bella,” he said in the same hard voice. â€Å"I cant go back. agreement or no treaty, thats my enemy in there.”\r\nâ€Å"Its not like that??”\r\nâ€Å"I have to tell Sam right away. This changes things. We cant be caught on their territory.”\r\nâ€Å"Jake, its not a war!”\r\nHe didnt listen. He put the truck in neutral and jumped out the door, leaving it running.\r\nâ€Å"Bye, Bella,” he called back over his shoulder. â€Å"I really hope you dont die.” He sprinted into the darkness, shaking so hard that his soma seemed blurred; he disappeared before I could open my mouth to call him back.\r\nRemorse pinned me against the seat for one long second. What had I just done to Jacob?\r\nBut remorse couldnt hold me very long.\r\nI slid across the seat and put t he truck back in drive. My hands were shaking almost as hard as Jakes had been, and this took a minute of concentration. Then I carefully turned the truck around and legion it back to my house.\r\nIt was very dark when I turned off the headlights. Charlie had left in such a hurry that hed forgotten to leave the porch lamp on. I felt a pang of doubt, staring at the house, deep in shadow. What if it was a trick?\r\nI looked back at the black car, almost invisible in the night. No. I knew that car.\r\nStill, my hands were shaking even worse than before as I reached for the key above the door. When I\r\ngrabbed the doorknob to unlock it, it twisted easily under my hand. I let the door fall open. The hallway was black.\r\nI wanted to call out a greeting, but my throat was too dry. I couldnt quite seem to catch my breath.\r\nI took a step inside and fumbled for the light thumb. It was so black??like the black water?? Where was that switch?\r\nJust like the black water, with the orange t ree flame flickering impossibly on top of it. cremate that couldnt be a fire, but what then?? ? My fingers traced the wall, still searching, still shaking??\r\nSuddenly, something Jacob had told me this afternoon echoed in my head, finally sinking in?? She took off into the water, hed said. The bloodsuckers have the advantage there. Thats why I raced home ??I was afraid she was going to double back swimming.\r\nMy hand froze in its searching, my whole body froze into place, as I realized why I recognized the strange orange color on the water.\r\nVictorias hair, blowing wild in the wind, the color of fire??\r\nShed been right there. Right there in the harbor with me and Jacob. If Sam hadnt been there, if it had been just the two of us?? ? I couldnt breathe or move.\r\nThe light flicked on, though my frozen hand had still not set the switch.\r\nI blinked into the sudden light, and saw that someone was there, waiting for me.\r\n'