第十五章: 滴答滴答 Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
He’d caught the edge of one of my side trips. He headed up the new trail.
他追踪到了我巡逻时留下的气味，正循着新的足迹前行。
Seth looped back toward the main perimeter.
于是塞思又跑回到了平常的巡逻路线上。
Nope. Nothing but nothing.
没有。什么事都没有。
Hey Jake, thought you said you wanted me at dusk. How come you didn’t have Leah wake me up before she crashed?
嗨，杰克，我还以为你黄昏的时候会需要我呢。你怎么可以不让利亚在睡过去之前先来叫醒我呢？
He was already picking up the north half of the circle. Anything?
可他不管三七二十一，早就开始巡逻起北面的半个防卫圈来。有什么事吗？
Good call.
好样的。
Funny, though, I’d’ve thought her biggest issue would just be me. We’d always gotten on each other’s nerves when we were in Sam’s pack. But there was no antagonism toward me now at all, just the Cullens and Bella. I wondered why. Maybe it was simply gratitude that I wasn’t forcing her to leave. Maybe it was because I understood her hostility better now. Whichever, running with Leah wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d expected.
虽然说出来很好笑，本来我以为她面临的最大难题将会是我。当还在山姆队伍里的时候，我们两个之间就火药味十足。不过她现在对我是不再会有敌意了，而是转而针对卡伦一家和贝拉。我想不通为什么，也许只是为了对我没有将她撵回家去表示谢意。也许因为我现在更能理解她这份敌对的心情。哪个原因都好，和利亚一起巡逻并没有预料中那么糟糕。
‘Cause I didn’t need you. I’m still good.
因为我并不需要你，我还好得很呢。
Yeah — I ran a few spokes. You know, just checking. If the Cullens are going to make a hunting trip…
是啊——我向各个方向都跑了跑。你知道，做个检查嘛。如果Cullen一家人要去打猎的话……
# 第八章到第十八章雅各布是主角
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You did some scouting?
你已经都侦查过了？
It was easier to run with him than it was to do the same with Leah. Though she was trying — trying hard — there was always an edge to her thoughts. She didn’t want to be here. She didn’t want to feel the softening toward the vampires that was going on in my head. She didn’t want to deal with Seth’s cozy friendship with them, a friendship that was only getting stronger.
和他一起巡逻可比跟利亚一起要简单多了。虽然她努力，努力再努力，但是她的旧观念依然根深蒂固。她不想留在这里，她不希望像我一样对吸血鬼们心软。她不希望像塞思那样对他们产生友情，而且这种友谊还在不断地加深之中。
Maybe we should run a sweep east? Seth suggested. Go deep, see if they’re out there waiting.
也许我们应该巡视下东面？塞思建议说。走得远一点，看看他们是不是在那里守株待兔。
I was thinking about that, I agreed. But let’s do it when we’re all awake. I don’t want to let down our guard. We should do it before the Cullens give it a try, though. Soon.
我也这么想，我同意道。但是我还是希望等到三个人都醒着的时候再来做这件事情。我不希望削弱我们的防守。这件事必须在卡伦一家出发之前就处理好，他们很快就要行动了。
Of course, she hadn’t eased up that much. The food and clothes Esme had sent for her were all taking a trip downriver right now. Even after I’d eaten my share — not because it smelled nearly irresistible away from the vampire burn, but to set a good example of self-sacrificing tolerance for Leah — she’d refused. The small elk she’d taken down around noon had not totally satisfied her appetite. Did make her mood worse, though. Leah hated eating raw.
当然，她还没能那么快就放松下来。所有埃斯米送给她的衣服和食物现在正顺着水流漂向河的下游。即使我已经消灭了属于我的那份，因为撇开吸血鬼残留的气味不谈，它们闻起来实在是可口诱人，但是在利亚看来，我不过是自我牺牲为她做了个榜样罢了，于是拒绝了。她中午猎捕到的一头小小的麋鹿完全满足不了她的胃口。更加让利亚心情阴郁的是，她恨死了吃生肉。
Right.
没错。
That got me thinking.
于是我从长计议了这件事。
If the Cullens were able to get out of the immediate area safely, they really ought to keep on going. They probably should have taken off the second we’d come to warn them. They had to be able to afford other digs. And they had friends up north, right? Take Bella and run. It seemed like an obvious answer to their problems.
如果卡伦的家人能够安全地出了这个地区，他们就应该有多远走多远。在那里，他们都不需要我们帮他们望风。另外选个地方落脚对他们来说也不会是问题，而且他们在北方有朋友，不是吗？带上贝拉离开。要解决他们的问题这似乎是个最显而易见的办法了。
Why not? That’s just stupid.
为什么不？真笨。
I had to remind myself that I’d just decided to give the Cullens that exact advice. That it was best. So I shouldn’t be mad at Seth for taking the chore out of my hands. Not mad at all.
我想起来刚刚是我决定了要给卡伦一家那个建议。说这是最佳的选择。所以我不应该责怪塞思替我跑了腿。一点都不应该生气。
No, that was stupid. I would tell them to go. It made no sense for them to stay, and it would be better — not less painful, but healthier — for me if Bella left.
不行，这未免太过愚蠢。我应该让他们走。他们留在这里毫无意义，而且对我来说，如果贝拉离开，会对我更好——虽然心依旧会抽痛，但是这种痛对身体却更为健康。
Oh, I already asked Edward about that, Seth thought.
噢，关于这事我早就问过爱德华了，塞思想。
I probably ought to suggest that, but I was afraid they would listen to me. And I didn’t want to have Bella disappear — to never know whether she’d made it or not.
我应该这样去跟他们建议，但是我又怕他们真的会听从我的安排。而我又不希望贝拉消失——再也看不见她是不是成功渡过了这一关。
Not really, Seth said, defensive now. It takes some time to build up the kind of medical access that Carlisle has here. He’s got all the stuff he needs to take care of Bella, and the credentials to get more. That’s one of the reasons they want to make a hunting run. Carlisle thinks they’re going to need more blood for Bella soon. She’s using up all the O negative they stored for her. He doesn’t like depleting the stockpile. He’s going to buy some more. Did you know you can buy blood? If you’re a doctor.
不能这么说。塞思替他们辩护说道。卡莱尔在这里花了相当的时间设置那些医疗设施。他有一整套的设备可以看护贝拉，而且凭他的身份证件还能搞到更多的血。这是他们去打猎的目的之一。卡莱尔认为他们很快就需要给予贝拉更多的血。她正在消耗掉所有他们为她储备的ORH阴性血。他不希望耗尽最后一滴库存。他会再去购入更多的血。你知道怎么购买血吗？只要你是一名医生。
No. They’re not leaving.
不。他们不会离开。
I asked him why they hadn’t taken off yet. Gone up to Tanya’s place or something. Somewhere too far for Sam to come after them.
我问他为什么还不离开。去投靠坦尼娅一家那里或者别的什么地方。总之远离山姆的追踪。
Easy to say now, when Bella wasn’t right there, looking all thrilled to see me and also clinging to life by her fingernails at the same time…
现在开口很容易，可是当Bella不在这里了，她再也不会一脸兴奋地看到我，从头到脚充满了活力……
What?
什么？
And that shouldn’t sound like good news.
那听上去不像会是个好消息。
So what did he say? Are they waiting for a window?
那么他们说了什么吗？他们还在等待时机吗？
Edward doesn’t want to take any risks moving her.
爱德华不想冒任何的风险移动她。
She’s better than she was.
她比过去可要好很多了。
I wasn’t ready to be logical yet. Still seems stupid. They could bring most of it with them, right? And steal what they need wherever they go. Who cares about legal crap when you’re the undead?
我的逻辑思维还没有跟上。这看起来依然很愚昧。他们可以把那些东西带走的，对吗？不管到了哪里，需要什么也可以去偷。当你是一个不死之身的时候，谁还管他妈的法律呢？
Seriously, Seth agreed. In his head, he was comparing my memories of Bella hooked up to the tubes with the last time he’d seen her as he’d left the house. She’d smiled at him and waved. But she can’t move around much, you know. That thing is kicking the hell out of her.
这倒是真的，塞思也很认同这一点。在他脑海中，他正拿我记忆中贝拉那浑身缠满管子的画面和最后他离开屋子时她的模样做比较。她冲他展露出笑颜，挥手告别。但是她不怎么能走动，你也知道。那玩意儿正想从她体内破壳而出。
I swallowed back the stomach acid in my throat. Yeah, I know.
我强咽下涌上喉咙口的胃酸。是的，我知道。
Carlisle taped her up again. Just another crack, he said. Then Rosalie said something about how even normal human babies have been known to crack ribs. Edward looked like he was gonna rip her head off.
卡莱尔再次为她进行一次包扎的时候，又发出一声“噼啪”的断裂声。接着罗莎莉说了些什么甚至是普通人的小孩也会有撑断肋骨的事情发生之类的话。爱德华看起来恨不得把她的脑袋给拧下来。
Too bad he didn’t.
可惜他没有。
Broke another of her ribs, he told me somberly.
弄断了她另一根肋骨，他神情肃穆地告诉我。
My stride faltered, and I staggered a step before I regained my rhythm.
我的步子乱了，不得不调整了一步才重新找到奔跑的节奏。
Seth was in full report mode now — knowing it was all vitally interesting to me, though I’d never’ve asked to hear it. Bella’s been running a fever off and on today. Just low grade — sweats and then chills. Carlisle’s not sure what to make of it — she might just be sick. Her immune system can’t be in peak form right now.
塞思现在汇报的状态全开——虽然我没有主动要求他说给我听，但是他知道这对我来说极其重要。贝拉今天都在断断续续地发着烧。就只是低烧——出汗、打冷颤。卡莱尔不清楚发烧的原因——她也许就只是病了。她的免疫系统现在不可能提供全面的防护。
She’s in a good mood, though. She was chatting with Charlie, laughing and all —
但是她的心情不错。她一直在和卡莱尔聊天，开心地大笑，还有……
Yeah, I’m sure it’s just a coincidence.
是啊，我肯定这只是巧合。
Now Seth’s pace stuttered; my fury surprised him. Guess he calls every day to talk to her. Sometimes her mom calls, too. Bella sounds so much better now, so she was reassuring him that she was on the mend —
现在轮到塞思的脚底打滑了；我的激动吓到他了。应该是他每天都打电话给她。有时候她母亲也会打电话过来。贝拉现在听上去好多了，所以她反复向他保证她正在复原——
Charlie! What?! What do you mean, she was talking to Charlie?!
卡莱尔！什么？你说什么，她在和卡莱尔说话？！
On the mend? What the hell are they thinking?! Get Charlie’s hopes up just so that he can be destroyed even worse when she dies? I thought they were getting him ready for that! Trying to prepare him! Why would she set him up like this?
复原？他们到底在想些什么啊！让查理无端抱有希望，然后在她死去的时候，再将他无情地摧毁？我还以为他们会让他做好这方面的心里准备的！让他有所准备！为什么她要这样对他呢？
She might not die, Seth thought quietly.
她不一定会死啊，塞思淡定地想。
Think it’s Bella’s idea. No one said anything, but Edward’s face kinda went right along with what you’re thinking now.
我认为这是贝拉的主意。其他人什么都没说，但是爱德华的脸色倒是跟你刚才想的很接近。
I took deep breath, trying to calm myself. Seth. Even if she pulls through this, she’s not doing it human. She knows that, and so do the rest of them. If she doesn’t die, she’s going to have to do a pretty convincing impersonation of a corpse, kid. Either that, or disappear. I thought they were trying to make this easier on Charlie. Why…?
我做了个深呼吸，想要让自己冷静下来。塞思，即使她可以渡过难关，她也不会是人类了。她知道，他们其他人也知道。如果她没死，她就必须装个尸体来蒙混过关，孩子。不那样的话，就只有消失在人前。我原本以为他们会设法让查理好过一些。为什么……？
Why?
为什么？
On the same wavelength with the bloodsucker yet again.
又一次和那个吸血鬼想到一块儿去了。
I kept my southern course, searching for anything new. I turned around when I got close to the first signs of habitation. Not near the town yet, but I didn’t want to get any wolf rumors going again. We’d been nice and invisible for a long while now.
我继续南边的巡视，不放过任何蛛丝马迹。一看到有人烟的迹象，我就掉头往回跑。离小镇还不够近，但是我可不想再兴起什么关于狼的传闻了。很长时间里，我们最好保持低调，不要被目击到。
Okay. Seth didn’t make any more comments. He concentrated very hard on the empty forest.
好的。塞思没有再发表什么评论了。而是非常努力地集中在他眼前那片空旷的森林。
My teeth locked together.
我的上下两排牙齿紧紧地咬在一起。
I passed right through the perimeter on my way back, heading for the house. As much as I knew it was a stupid thing to do, I couldn’t stop myself. I must be some kind of masochist.
我沿着常规的巡逻路线折返回去，直奔房子而去。我知道这么做要多蠢就有多蠢，但是我就是无法停下来。我一定是个不折不扣的M。
Seth snorted a laugh. I was switching off with Edward before. Trying to keep Bella’s temperature stable. Cold to hot, as needed. I guess, if you don’t want to do it, I could go back —
塞思爆发出一串笑声。我受爱德华之托，帮贝拉保暖，把她从冷捂到热。如果你不想回去的话，那我可以回去——
We ran in silence for a few minutes. I started off along a new line, probing south.
我们一言不发地跑了几分钟。我开始走一条新的路线，去侦查南面。
No. I got it, I snapped.
不必了，我知道了。我打断他。
Bella asked me to ask you to stop by.
贝拉要我让你回去坐坐。
Alice wants you, too. She says she’s tired of hanging out in the attic like the vampire bat in the belfry.
爱丽丝也想要你去。她说她已经厌倦了好像一只吸血蝙蝠一样窝在阁楼上。
Don’t get too far.
别走太远咯。
There’s nothing wrong with you, Jake. This isn’t the most normal situation.
你没有什么不正常的，杰克。这不是一个普通的情况。
“Uh, hey,” I said. It felt weird to try to be polite.
“额，嗨，”我对自己如此绅士的表现觉得有些不自在。
“Hello, Jacob,” she said. “I’m so glad you came back.”
“你好，雅各布，”她说，“我很高兴你回来了。”
“Me, too,” Alice said with a deep sigh. She came prancing down the stairs, making a face. Like I was late for an appointment.
“我也是，”爱丽丝深深地叹了一口气。她连蹦带跳地从楼梯上下来，顺便还拌了个鬼脸。好像是我约会迟到了一样。
Shut up, please, Seth.
请你闭上嘴，塞思。
Edward was on the couch with his face in his hands; he hadn’t looked up to speak. Esme was next to him, her arm wrapped tight around his shoulders.
爱德华坐在沙发上，脸埋在手中；他说话的时候也没有抬起头来看。埃斯米就坐在他旁边，双手环抱着他的肩膀。
Shutting.
正在闭上。
I didn’t hesitate at the door this time; I just walked through like I owned the place. I figured that would piss Rosalie off, but it was a wasted effort. Neither Rosalie or Bella were anywhere in sight. I looked around wildly, hoping I’d missed them somewhere, my heart squeezing against my ribs in a weird, uncomfortable way.
这次我没有再在门口停留，而是像个主人一样径直走了进去。心想这种举动一定可以把罗莎莉给气得半死，但是这次好像徒劳了。因为无论是罗莎莉还是贝拉都没有出现在我的视线中。我急急地环顾四周，希望我是什么地方漏看了，我的心脏难过地几乎都要蹦出来了。
“She’s all right,” Edward whispered. “Or, the same, I should say.”
“她很好，”爱德华的声音响起。“或者应该说，和之前一样。”
“Where’s Bella?”
“贝拉在哪里？”
“Bathroom,” Alice told me. “Mostly fluid diet, you know. Plus, the whole pregnancy thing does that to you, I hear.”
“浴室，”爱丽丝对我说。“你要知道她的食谱现在几乎都是流质的。外加上，整个怀孕的反应。”
It was so unfair.
这太不公平了。
“Bella, you know what Carlisle told you,” Rosalie said. “Don’t downplay anything. It doesn’t help us take care of either of you.”
“贝拉，你知道Carlisle跟你说过的”罗莎莉说。“不可以隐瞒任何事情。这不利于我们照顾你们中任何一个。”
Edward brushed his hand across her forehead and then along her neck. He tried to make it look as if he was just sweeping her hair back, but it looked like a doctor’s examination to me.
爱德华的手抚过她的前额和脖颈。他的动作好象只是将她的头发撩拨到一边，但是在我看来这和医生的检查无异。
“I’m fine.”
“我很好。”
“Are you cold?” he murmured.
“你冷吗？”他低声对她耳语到。
I stood there awkwardly, rocking back and forth on my heels.
我尴尬地站在那里，脚跟着地，前后摇晃着身体。
Esme and Edward both got up. I watched how carefully Rosalie laid Bella out on the couch. I watched how, despite that, Bella turned white and held her breath — like she was set on not making any noise no matter how much it hurt.
埃斯米和爱德华一齐站了起来。我看到罗莎莉有多么细心地将贝拉安置到沙发上。我也看到，尽管在这样轻柔地动作下，贝拉还是屏住了呼吸，脸色也变得苍白——好像不管怎么钻心的痛，她都命令不能发出声音一样。
“Ah.”
“啊。”
“Jacob,” she breathed. “You came.”
“雅各布，”她喘了口气说。“你来了。”
“Oh, wonderful,” Rosalie grumbled. I whipped my head around and saw her coming from a hall half-hidden behind the stairway. She had Bella cradled gently in her arms, a harsh sneer on her face for me. “I knew I smelled something nasty.”
“噢，真是太好了，”罗莎莉叽叽咕咕地抱怨说。我转过头去就看到她从被楼梯半掩住的过道里出来。她温柔地怀抱着贝拉，冲我露出讥笑的嘴脸。“我就知道我闻到了什么令人作呕的味道。”
And, just like before, Bella’s face lit up like a kid’s on Christmas morning. Like I’d brought her the greatest gift ever.
跟之前一样，贝拉的脸就像圣诞节早晨孩子的脸庞那样亮了起来。好像我会带给她一份最棒的礼物。
“Hi, Bells.”
“你好，贝拉。”
“Okay, I’m a little cold. Edward, can you hand me that blanket?”
“好吧，我有一点点冷。爱德华，你能把那条毯子递给我吗？”
I rolled my eyes. “Isn’t that sort of the point of me being here?”
我瞪了瞪眼。“我不就是为了起这个作用才来的吗？”
“You just walked in,” Bella said. “After running all day, I’d bet. Put your feet up for a minute. I’ll probably warm up again in no time.”
“可你才进来啊，”贝拉说。“你一定已经跑了一整天了，先休息一会儿。我说不定用不了多久就能暖和起来。”
I ignored her, going to sit on the floor next the sofa while she was still telling me what to do. At that point, though, I wasn’t sure how… She looked pretty brittle, and I was afraid to move her, even to put my arms around her. So I just leaned carefully against her side, letting my arm rest along the length of hers, and held her hand. Then I put my other hand against her face. It was hard to tell if she felt colder than usual.
我不顾她还不停唠叨我应该做什么，走到沙发边一屁股坐在了地上。那一刻，我觉得她是那么的脆弱，我甚至害怕去移动她，即使只是搂过她。于是，我小心地靠在她身边，一边的手臂拥着她的，握住她的手；另一只手贴上她的脸。现在的她是不是比以前都要来得冷呢？
“Thanks, Jake,” she said, and I felt her shiver once.
“谢谢，杰克，”我听到了她发颤的声音。
“Yeah,” I said.
“是啊，”我说。
Edward sat on the arm of the sofa by Bella’s feet, his eyes always on her face.
爱德华坐在了靠贝拉脚边的沙发扶手上，目光似乎永远也无法从她的脸上离开。
It was too much to hope, with all the super-hearing in the room, that no one would notice my stomach rumbling.
在这一屋子听力超群的人的面前，我多么希望没有人会注意到我的胃翻腾发出的隆隆声啊。
“Rosalie, why don’t you get Jacob something from the kitchen?” Alice said. She was invisible now, sitting quietly behind the back of the sofa.
“罗莎莉，你为什么不从厨房拿些东西给到雅各布呢？”爱丽丝说。我看不见她，她的声音是从沙发的背后发出来。
It had once probably been a big mixing bowl, but she’d bent the bowl back in on itself until it was shaped almost exactly like a dog dish. I had to be impressed with her quick craftsmanship. And her attention to detail. She’d scratched the word Fido into the side. Excellent handwriting.
这本来应该是个大号的搅拌碗，但是被她一番扳来拗去的，这个碗就成了一个狗碟子。她能在那么短的时间里就创作出如此心灵手巧的作品，真令我佩服不已。她甚至还关注了细节，在盘子的边上刻出“菲多”这个名字来。多么杰出的手工艺品啊。
“Rosalie would never embarrass Esme by displaying such a lack of hospitality.”
“罗莎莉才不会做这么没有教养的事情让埃斯米蒙羞呢。”
Edward sighed.
爱德华叹息了一声。
“Enjoy, mongrel.”
“好好享受吧，杂种。”
And for some reason I believed him.
基于某些原因，我相信他。
“Thanks, anyway, Alice, but I don’t think I’d want to eat something Blondie’s spit in. I’d bet my system wouldn’t take too kindly to venom.”
“不管怎么样，谢谢了，爱丽丝，不过我可不想吃被金发芭比吐过唾沫的东西。我的免疫系统对毒素可不会有什么良好的反应。”
Rosalie stared at the place Alice’s voice had come from in disbelief.
罗莎莉难以置信地瞪着爱丽丝发出声音的地方。
“Yes,” Edward promised.
“是的，”爱德华向我保证说。
There was a lot of banging in the kitchen, and — weirdly — the sound of metal protesting as it was abused. Edward sighed again, but smiled just a little, too. Then Rosalie was back before I could think much more about it. With a pleased smirk, she set a silver bowl on the floor next to me.
厨房里传来叮铃哐啷的声音好不热闹——奇怪的是——竟然还有金属被扭曲时发出的变形的声音。爱德华又叹了一口气，但是又微微地笑了一下。在我还没有多想之前，罗莎莉就回来了。带着一脸愉悦的假笑，她扔下了一个银色的碗在我面前的地上。
“You’d tell me if she poisoned it, right?” I asked.
“你会告诉我她有没有在里面下毒的，对吗？”我问他。
“Of course not,” Blondie said in a sugar-sweet voice that I immediately distrusted. She got up and breezed out of the room.
“当然不会咯，”金发芭比回答的时候声音甜如蜜糖，于是我立刻就相信这是句假话。只见她站起身，一阵风似的就出了房间。
She snorted.
她鄙夷的哼了一声。
“I’ll keep trying,” I promised, and then I dug in.
“我还会继续试的，”我向她保证。接着就埋头吃起来。
“I’ve heard that one, too,” she said, no longer smiling.
“那个我也早就听过了。”她说着，冷下了脸。
She made a disgusted face and rolled her eyes. Then she sat in one of the armchairs and started flicking through channels on the big TV so fast that there was no way she could really be surfing for something to watch.
她瞪圆了眼，一脸嫌弃的厌恶表情。然后她就坐进一个扶手椅中，开始在那台硕大的彩电上飞速地转换频道，快得根本不可能知道在放什么。
“Hey, do you know what you call a blonde with a brain?” I asked, and then continued on the same breath, “a golden retriever.”
“对了，你知道人们是怎么称呼一个有头脑的金发女人的吗？”我问到，接着面不改色心不跳地继续说，“黄金巡回猎犬。”
The food was good, even with the vampire stink in the air. I was getting really used to that. Huh. Not something I’d been wanting to do, exactly…
即使空气中弥漫着吸血鬼的恶臭，但是食物的味道好极了，我几乎都吃得底朝天。哈。虽然主观上我并没想这么做……
Because the food looked pretty good — steak, no less, and a big baked potato with all the fixings — I told her, “Thanks, Blondie.”
食物看起来相当诱人——牛排，还有一个烤过的大土豆，连配菜都不缺——所以我对她说了句，“谢谢，金发妞儿。”
“Time for a haircut, huh?”
“是时候该剪头发了，嗯？”
When I was finished — though I was considering licking the bowl, just to give Rosalie something to complain about — I felt Bella’s cold fingers pulling softly through my hair. She patted it down against the back of my neck.
吃完了之后，我还想着是不是要把碗也舔干净喽，这样就可以听到罗莎莉满腹的牢骚。我感觉到贝拉冰冷的手指轻柔地拨弄着我的头发。把它们捋直了披在脖子后面。
“You’re getting a little shaggy,” she said. “Maybe –“
“你有些不修边幅了，”她说。“也许——”
She chuckled. “Probably.”
她咯咯地笑起来。“很有可能。”
“Let me guess, someone around here used to cut hair in a salon in Paris?”
“让我猜猜，这里在座的有人曾经在巴黎的高级沙龙里剪过头发？”
Which made me wonder how long she was good for. I tried to think of a polite way to ask.
让我挂念不下的是她到底还剩多少日子。我试着用一种礼貌的方式发问。
“So… um… what’s the, er, date? You know, the due date for the little monster.”
“那么……恩……日子，额，是几时？你知道的，那个小怪物出来的日子。”
“No thanks,” I said before she could really offer. “I’m good for a few more weeks.”
“不客气，”我在她还没能来得及邀请之前就先回绝了她。“我还能再撑几周再剪。”
She smacked the back of my head with about as much force as a drifting feather, but didn’t answer.
她用尽力气拍了我后脑勺一下，没有回答。不过之于我，还是不过就是一枚羽毛飘到了头上的感觉。
“I’m serious,” I told her. “I want to know how long I’m gonna have to be here.” How long you’re gonna be here, I added in my head. I turned to look at her then. Her eyes were thoughtful; the stress line was there between her brows again.
“我是认真的，”我告诉她。“我想知道我还要在这里待多久。”脑子还补充了一句：你还能在这里待多久。我转过头去看着她，看得出来她在思考，眉心间又拧出了一个思考的小疙瘩。
“I don’t know,” she murmured. “Not exactly. Obviously, we’re not going with the nine — month model here, and we can’t get an ultrasound, so Carlisle is guesstimating from how big I am. Normal people are supposed to be about forty centimeters here” — she ran her finger right down the middle of her bulging stomach — “when the baby is fully grown. One centimeter for every week. I was thirty this morning, and I’ve been gaining about two centimeters a day, sometimes more…”
“我不知道，”她喃喃地说。“不知道确切的日子。很显然，我们无法遵循十月怀胎这个模式，而且我们也无法做超声波，所以Carlisle只能从我肚子的大小来推断。普通人这里应该有40公分的样子”——她说着手指沿着隆起的腹部的中线比划了一番——“当胎儿完全成熟以后。每个礼拜增长一公分。我今天早上很渴，而且我现在一天就能够增长2公分，有些时候还会更多……”
I nodded, not really sure how my voice would come out.
我点点头，不明白为什么说不出话来。
“You okay?” she asked.
“你还好吗？”她关心地问我。
Two weeks to a day, the days flying by. Her life speeding by in fast-forward. How many days did that give her, if she was counting to forty? Four? It took me a minute to figure out how to swallow.
一天相当于别人的两个礼拜，时光正在流逝。她的生命正在加速驶往终点。按四十天来算，那她还有多少天？4天？我花了一分钟时间才想起该怎么吞咽。
Funny how having a deadline made it harder to think about leaving, or having her leave. I was glad Seth’d brought that up, so I knew they were staying here. It would be intolerable, wondering if they were about to go, to take away one or two or three of those four days. My four days.
大限将至，这让一切的离别都变得那么艰难，无论是我的离开还是她的离开。我很欣慰塞思提出了那个方案，所以我可以知道他们还是会留在这里。如果一想到他们即将要离开，带走那仅有4天中的一天，两天，或者是三天，这都将是生命中无法承受之痛。我的四天啊。
Also funny how, even knowing that it was almost over, the hold she had on me only got harder to break. Almost like it was related to her expanding belly — as if by getting bigger, she was gaining gravitational force.
大限将至，我清楚地知道一切就将结束了，但她压在我心口的包袱却更加沉重了。像极了她日渐胀大的肚子——和重力成正比。
Edward’s face was turned away from us as he listened to my thoughts, but I could see his reflection in the glass wall. He was the burning man again.
爱德华在听到了我内心的想法后别过脸去，但是我依然能从玻璃做的墙上看到他的反应。他又快崩溃了。
For a minute I tried to look at her from a distance, to separate myself from the pull. I knew it wasn’t my imagination that my need for her was stronger than ever. Why was that? Because she was dying? Or knowing that even if she didn’t, still — best case scenario — she’d be changing into something else that I wouldn’t know or understand?
有那么一会儿我想要从躯壳中脱离出来，客观地看着她。我知道这不是自己的幻想，我对她的需要更甚于从前。为什么会这样呢？因为她要死了吗？或者是即使知道她不会死，一切如之前设定的最佳方案进行，她会不会变成其他什么我完全不明白或者无法理解的东西呢？
It was quiet for a minute. Edward’d put his face back together. He looked at the TV as Rosalie went on flipping through the channels. She was into the six hundreds. I wondered how long it would take to get back to the beginning.
沉寂了片刻后。爱德华把他的脸转回来，在罗莎莉飞速地切换频道的时候，直直地看着电视。她已经换到第600个频道了，我在想轮完一圈还要多久啊。
She curled against my arm, resting her head on my shoulder. “I didn’t think you would come. Seth said you would, and so did Edward, but I didn’t believe them.”
她挽起我的臂膀，将头靠在我的肩膀上。“我以为你不会来。塞思说你会，爱德华也这么说，但是我就是不信他们。”
“Can I ask you something?” I asked.
“我能问你一些事情吗？”我问她。
“I know. But you didn’t have to come, because it’s not fair for me to want you here. I would have understood.”
“我知道。但是你没必要来的，我没有权利要求你留在这里。我会想明白这一点的。”
“You wanted me here.”
“是你想要我在这里的。”
Edward didn’t look like he was paying attention to us at all, but he knew what I was about to ask, so he didn’t fool me.
爱德华看起来一副事不关己的样子，但是他知道我将会问什么，所以他骗不了我。
“Of course.”
“当然。”
“It’s going to be okay,” she sort of crooned. It didn’t matter that the words meant nothing. She said it the way people sang those senseless nursery rhymes to kids. Rock — a-bye, baby.
“会好起来的，”她好像在低吟浅唱。无所谓这些话毫无实质意义。她说这话时就好像人们哼着童谣去哄小孩子一样。摇啊摇，宝贝。
“Right,” I muttered.
“是的，”我含糊着回答。
“You’re not happy here. But you came anyway.”
“你明明在这里不开心啊。但是，你无论如何还是来了。”
“Thank you for coming,” Bella whispered.
“谢谢你能够来，”贝拉虚弱地说。
“Why not?” I asked gruffly.
“为什么不呢？”我没好气地质问她。
She ran her finger across my cheekbone, and my skin was wet where she touched it.
她的手指滑过我的颧骨，所触及的皮肤都变得湿湿的。
My teeth made a grinding sound. “That’s a crap answer.”
已经都能听到我牙齿打架的声音了。“简直胡扯。”
Edward was looking away again, like he was staring out the windows. His face was blank in the reflection.
爱德华再次别过头去，装模作样地远眺窗外。镜子的倒映中，他的表情空白一片。
“Why do you want me here? Seth could keep you warm, and he’s probably easier to be around, happy little punk. But when I walk in the door, you smile like I’m your favorite person in the world.”
“为什么你想要我留在这里？塞思也可以帮你取暖，也更容易相处，这个快乐无知的小毛孩。但是当我打门口进来时，你的笑容让人觉得我是你全世界最喜爱的人。”
That sucks, you know.”
“那可就糟了，你知道。”
“Why, though? You didn’t answer that.”
“可是，为什么呢？你还没回答我的问题呢。”
I could have been. I would have been good there. But that was just a distant future that died long before it had a chance to live.
我本来有机会的。本来那个位置是我的。但是这个缥缈的将来已经在很久以前就被扼杀了。
“You’re one of them.”
“你是这些人其中之一。”
“It feels… complete when you’re here, Jacob. Like all my family is together. I mean, I guess that’s what it’s like — I’ve never had a big family before now. It’s nice.” She smiled for half a second. “But it’s just not whole unless you’re here.”
“当你在这里的时候，我感到……完整了，雅各布。好像我所有的家人都聚在了一起，我就是有这种感觉，因为我以前从来还没有过一个大家庭呢。这种感觉很好。”她说着微微一笑。“如果你不在，就不能算做完整。”
“What’s a good one?”
“那我应该怎么说呢？”
“You’ve always been a part of my family,” she disagreed.
“你一直是我家庭的一份子。”她反驳说。
“I’ll never be part of your family, Bella.”
“我从来不是你家庭的一份子，贝拉。”
“Yeah.” She sighed. “Sorry.”
“是啊，”她叹了一口气。“对不起。”
“How about, ‘Jacob, I get a kick out of your pain.'”
“这个怎么样。‘雅各布，我的快乐是建立在你的痛苦之上的。’”
“It’s easier, at least. I could wrap my head around it. I could deal with it.”
“至少，这个答案更容易接受。我可以自欺欺人。”
I felt her flinch.
我看到她向后缩了缩身子。
I looked back down at her face then, so close to mine. Her eyes were shut and she was frowning. “We got off track, Jake. Out of balance. You’re supposed to be part of my life — I can feel that, and so can you.” She paused for a second without opening her eyes — like she was waiting for me to deny it. When I didn’t say anything, she went on. “But not like this. We did something wrong. No. I did. I did something wrong, and we got off track…”
我低头看着她的脸，离我是那么近。她闭上眼睛，皱着眉头。“我们错过了，杰克。打破了微妙的平衡。你是我生命的一部分——我是那样感觉的，所以你也可以。”她顿了顿，却没有睁开眼睛，好像等着我的否认。当我什么都没说后，她接着说了下去。“但是不是这样的。我们做错了一些事情。不，是我，我做错了一些事情，所以我们错过了彼此……”
Her voice trailed off, and the frown on her face relaxed until it was just a little pucker at the corner of her lips. I waited for her to pour some more lemon juice into my paper cuts, but then a soft snore came from the back of her throat.
她的声音逐渐弱了下去，皱起的眉头也渐渐舒展开来，只剩下嘴角还歪着。我等着她再酸上几句，但是等来的确是她喉咙深处发出的细微鼾声。
“She’s exhausted,” Edward murmured. “It’s been a long day. A hard day. I think she would have gone to sleep earlier, but she was waiting for you.”
“她累坏了，”爱德华压低了声音说。“这是漫长的一天。艰难的一天。我想她本应该早就去睡了，但是她坚持要等你。”
“You’d like that better?” she whispered.
“你比较喜欢那个回答吗？”她幽幽地说。
I didn’t look at him.
我没有看他。
“Seth said it broke another of her ribs.”
“塞思说那东西又撑断了她的一根肋骨。”
“Yes,” he agreed. “It’s not a good idea.”
“是的，”他同意说。“这不是一个好主意。”
“No. It’s not better. But I’m not going to force her to do anything that makes her unhappy now. Whatever happens, this makes her feel better. I’ll deal with the rest afterward.”
“不，没有应该。但是现在我不打算逼她做不开心的事。不管发生什么，这样做让她觉得好过。之后的事，我会来处理的。”
“Yeah.”
“好的。”
“So it’s better –“
“那么就应该——”
“Great.”
“好极了。”
That didn’t sound right. Bella wouldn’t just shuffle Charlie’s pain off to some later date, for someone else to face. Even dying. That wasn’t her. If I knew Bella, she had to have some other plan.
这听起来有些蹊跷。贝拉是不会只把查理的痛苦推迟个几天，或者把它转嫁给别人来承受。这不是她的行事作风。以我对贝拉的认识，她一定有别的打算。
“Yes. It’s making it hard for her to breathe.”
“是的，这样的伤让她难以呼吸。”
“She can’t bear his anxiety.”
“她受不了他的担心。”
“Then why?” Why was Bella telling her father she was on the mend when it would only make him more miserable?
“那么为什么？”为什么贝拉还要告诉她父亲她正在康复呢？这只会在将来让他更为哀痛。
“Let me know when she gets hot again.”
“如果她觉得热了，你告诉我一声。”
She still had goose bumps on the arm that wasn’t touching mine. I’d barely raised my head to look for a blanket when Edward snagged one draped over the arm of the sofa and flung it out so that it settled over her.
她手臂上没有贴着我皮肤的地方依然还是冷得起了鸡皮疙瘩。我几乎都没有抬头为她寻一条毯子，爱德华就抓过一条搭在沙发扶手上的毛毯，并且张开双臂把它抖落开来，这样就可以把她整个包裹住。
Occasionally, the mind-reading thing saved time. For example, maybe I wouldn’t have to make a big production out of the accusation about what was going on with Charlie. That mess. Edward would just hear exactly how furious —
偶尔，读心术还能节省时间呢。打个比方，我不用费尽周折历数他们对查理犯下的罪行。说也说不清楚。爱德华可以真切地听到我有多么愤怒——
“She’s sort of banking on that.”
“她自有对策。”
“Charlie’s not stupid. Even if she doesn’t kill him, he’s going to notice a difference.”
“查理又不笨。即使她不会杀了他，他也会注意到一些不同的。”
I continued to stare, waiting for him to explain.
我盯着他，希望他能给出解释。
“She wouldn’t be aging, of course, so that would set a time limit, even if Charlie accepted whatever excuse she comes up with for the changes.” He smiled faintly. “Do you remember when you tried to tell her about your transformation? How you made her guess?”
“她不会老，这是毋庸置疑的，所以即使Charlie接受了种种她为这些变化所找的借口，我们也需要设个时间前提。”他隐隐地微笑着说。“你还记不记得当你试图告诉她你的转变时，你是怎么让她猜出来的？”
“But not human,” I protested.
“但是不是以人类的形式，”我辩驳他的假定。
“She’s very sure she’s going to live,” Edward said.
“她很肯定她可以活下来，”爱德华说。
Edward sighed. “She knows she won’t be able to be near him for at least a year. She thinks she can stall. Tell Charlie she has to go to a special hospital on the other side of the world. Keep in contact through phone calls…”
爱德华长长地吐了一口气。“她知道至少一年内她无法接近查理。她认为她可以把会面往后拖延。告诉查理她会去世界另一个角落的一所特殊医院接受治疗。只能用手机保持联络……”
“See. Charlie.” I finally looked at him, my eyes bugging. “Afterwards. See Charlie when she’s all sparkly white with the bright red eyes. I’m not a bloodsucker, so maybe I’m missing something, but Charlie seems like kind of a strange choice for her first meal.”
“明白了，查理。”我终于抬起头来和他直视，神情相当激动。“这就是故事的后来。当她肌肤雪白，眼睛血红地来和查理见面。我不是吸血鬼也许漏了什么，但是她的第一餐就选择了查理有些奇怪呀。”
“Yes.”
“是的。”
“No, not human. But she hopes to see Charlie again, anyway.”
“是，不是以人类的形式。但是不管发生什么，她都渴望再次见到查理。”
“That’s insane.”
“这太疯狂了。”
Oh, this just got better and better.
噢，这件事真是变得越来越“妙”了。
My free hand flexed into a fist. “She told you about that?”
我空余的一只手攥成了拳头。“她告诉了你那些事情？”
It was weak of him to let her get her way on this, just to keep her happy now. It wouldn’t turn out well.
他太软弱了，为了让她高兴，竟然让贝拉按照她的想法来做。不会有什么好果子吃的。
“Yes. She was explaining her… idea. You see, she’s not allowed to tell Charlie the truth — it would be very dangerous for him. But he’s a smart, practical man. She thinks he’ll come up with his own explanation. She assumes he’ll get it wrong.” Edward snorted. “After all, we hardly adhere to vampire canon. He’ll make some wrong assumption about us, like she did in the beginning, and we’ll go along with it. She thinks she’ll be able to see him… from time to time.”
“是的，她向我解释过她的……主意。你瞧，她是绝对不可以告诉查理真相的——这对他来说是件非常危险的事情。但是他很聪明，也训练有素。她认为他最终会得出自己的一套结论。她有把握他会得出一个错误的结论来。”爱德华轻蔑地哼了一声。“毕竟，我们也没有背离吸血鬼的行为准则。他会对我们做出错误的假设，就像她一开始认为你的那样，而我们就陪他把戏演下去。她认为她还可以见他……时不时的。”
“Yes,” he agreed again.
“是的，”他也同意了。
Which made me think that he probably wasn’t expecting her to live to try out her crazy plan. Placating her, so that she could be happy for a little while longer.
我突然有了这样的想法，他是不是也不希望她活下来以实现如此疯狂的计划。现在先安抚她，好让她能再多高兴一阵子。
“Insane,” I repeated.
“太疯狂了，”我重复说。
Like four more days.
也就那么四天多一点的日子了。
“I’ll deal with whatever comes,” he whispered, and he turned his face down and away so that I couldn’t even read his reflection. “I won’t cause her pain now.”
“不管将来发生什么我都会来处理，”他小声地说着，低下头别过脸去，这样我就连镜中的倒影都看不到了。“我不会让她现在痛苦。”
I had to pause to swallow back the bile.
我不得不把翻涌上的胆汁给强咽了回去。
“That’s why you haven’t seen Jasper and Emmett around. That’s what Carlisle is doing now. Trying to decipher ancient stories and myths, as much as we can with what we have to work with here, looking for anything that might help us predict the creature’s behavior.”
“这就是为什么你没看到贾斯帕和埃美特在这里的原因。这也是目前卡莱尔在做的事。尝试从远古的记载和神秘传说中破译一些东西，尽可能多的收集资料，寻找任何线索帮助我们预测那生物的行为。”
“Four days?” I asked.
“四天对吗？”我问他。
I thought about what Bella had said. About the thing being wrapped up nice and tight in something strong, something like vampire skin. So how did that work? How did it get out?
我想了想贝拉曾经说过的话。关于那个东西被完好地包裹在一种很坚硬的膜里面，那膜硬得就像吸血鬼的皮肤。那么怎么做呢？那东西怎么才能从里面出来呢？
“From what little research we’ve been able to do, it would appear the creatures use their own teeth to escape the womb,” he whispered.
“就从我们仅有的一点调查来看，这种生物会用他自己的牙齿咬破子宫，破茧而出，”他压低了声音说。
“Research?” I asked weakly.
“调查？”我弱弱地问。
He didn’t look up. “Approximately.”
他没有抬起头。“差不多。”
“What do you mean, exactly?”
“你想问什么，确切点？”
“Then what?”
“那么然后呢？”
Stories? If there were myths, then…
记载？如果有传说，那么……
“Then is this thing not the first of its kind?” Edward asked, anticipating my question. “Maybe. It’s all very sketchy. The myths could easily be the products of fear and imagination. Though…” — he hesitated — “your myths are true, are they not? Perhaps these are, too. They do seem to be localized, linked…”
“那么这种事情就不会是首例？”爱德华预料到我的问题，抢先回答了我。“也许吧。所有的记载都非常粗略。传说是产生恐惧和发挥想象的温床。虽然……”他有些犹豫地说，“你们的传说确是真的，不是吗？所以这些大概也是真的。这些故事似乎有很强的地域性，关系到……”
“There was a woman we encountered in South America. She’d been raised in the traditions of her people. She’d heard warnings about such creatures, old stories that had been passed down.”
“我们在南美的时候遇到了一名妇人。从小就接受当地人的传统熏陶。她从代代流传的古老传说中，听说过对这类生物的训示。”
Agony ripped across his face, and, as I flinched away from his pain, I knew he wasn’t going to give me an answer. I doubted he could talk.
扭曲的悲痛撕开了他伪装的平静表情，让我不禁畏缩了，我知道他不准备给我答案。我怀疑他是不是还能说出话来。
“What were the warnings?” I whispered.
“什么样的训示？”我胆战地问。
“Of course, their legends say the same of us. That we must be destroyed. That we are soulless murderers.”
“当然，在他们的传说中，我们也是同样的下场。那就是必须被消灭，因为我们是麻木不仁的杀手。”
Just like Sam thought. Was he right?
跟山姆想得一样。难道他是对的吗？
Edward laughed one hard chuckle.
爱德华艰难地轻笑了一声。
Two for two.
二对二了。
She made a scornful noise in the back of her throat. “Of course there were no survivors,” she said. No survivors, blunt and uncaring. “Giving birth in the middle of a disease-infested swamp with a medicine man smearing sloth spit across your face to drive out the evil spirits was never the safest method. Even the normal births went badly half the time. None of them had what this baby has — caregivers with an idea of what the baby needs, who try to meet those needs. A doctor with a totally unique knowledge of vampire nature. A plan in place to deliver the baby as safely as possible. Venom that will repair anything that goes wrong. The baby will be fine. And those other mothers would probably have survived if they’d had that — if they even existed in the first place. Something I am not convinced of.” She sniffed disdainfully.
她从喉咙深处发出鄙视的嘘声。“当然不会有幸存者，”在说出“幸存者”这几个字的时候，她直言不讳，毫不介怀。“在病菌肆虐的湿地沼泽地带生孩子，旁边只有一个赤脚医生往你脸上涂树懒的口水，用于驱邪，这当然不会是最安全的方式。即使是普通的生产都会增加一半的风险系数。而这个宝宝拥有其他人没有的东西——一群无微不至的照顾者，他们知道宝宝的需要，他们会想方设法满足这个需要。还有一个对于吸血鬼的习性无所不晓的医生。一个可以让孩子顺利降生的计划。毒素可以修复任何出错的环节。宝宝会没事的。如果一开始有了如此周密的布置，那么那些故事里的妈妈们也很有可能就能幸存下来。关于这点我仍然持保守估计。”她又轻蔑地哼哼了一声。
“That the creature must be killed immediately. Before it could gain too much strength.”
“这类生物必须被立刻处死。在它获得更多力量之前。”
“What did their stories say about the… mothers?”
“那么他们的故事里是怎么说……母体的呢？”
It was Rosalie — who’d been so still and quiet since Bella’d fallen asleep that I’d nearly forgotten her — who answered.
罗莎莉自从贝拉睡去后一直没有动过，安静得我都快忘了她的存在。这时她回答了我。
“How did you find…?”
“你是怎么找到的……？”
“You. Got. Food. In. My. Hair.”
“你，把，吃的，弄进，我的，头发，里面。”
The baby, the baby. Like that was all that mattered. Bella’s life was a minor detail to her — easy to blow off.
宝宝，宝宝。好像这才是问题的症结所在。贝拉的生命对她来说一文不值——轻易地就被打发了。
Rosalie turned her head slowly, and her eyes were blazing.
罗莎莉慢慢地转过头，眼中的怒火正熊熊燃烧。
That did it.
就是这么回事。
Edward’s face went white as snow. His hands curved into claws. Totally egotistical and indifferent, Rosalie twisted in her chair so that her back was to him. He leaned forward, shifting into a crouch.
爱德华的脸色唰地就白了。双手握成了拳头。带着自负和冷漠，罗莎莉自顾自地坐进她的椅子里，背对着爱德华。他身体前倾，半蹲下，做攻击状。
“Dumb blonde,” I muttered.
“愚蠢的金发女郎，”我喃喃地说。
I busted up. I pulled away from Bella so that I wouldn’t shake her, and laughed so hard that tears ran down my face. From behind the couch, I heard Alice’s tinkling laugh join in.
我一跃而起，把贝拉安置在一边，这样我就不会惊扰到她，接着前仰后合地大笑起来，笑得眼泪都出来了。沙发后面，爱丽丝银铃般的笑声也加入了进来。
Silently, I lifted my doggy bowl off the floor. Then, with a quick, powerful flip of my wrist, I threw it into the back of Blondie’s head so hard that — with an earsplitting bang — it smashed flat before it ricocheted across the room and snapped the round top piece off the thick newel post at the foot of the stairs.
悄无声息地，我捡起地上的狗盆。接着，随着手腕快速、有力地一抖，盘子准确无误地砸中了金发妞儿的后脑勺。这一击势大力沉，伴随着响彻耳鼓的“嗙”的一声，盘子已经碎成小片，在反作用力下，碎片四溅，甚至削断了旋转楼梯立柱上的球体装饰。
He paused, raising one eyebrow.
他停下动作，朝我挑了挑眉毛。
Allow me, I suggested.
让我来，我提议说。
Bella twitched but didn’t wake up.
贝拉翻了个身，但是却没有被吵醒。
“Get some new jokes,” she snapped.
“你有本事就说些新的段子啊，”她恶狠狠地反驳我。
“I got food in her hair,” I told her, chortling again.
“我把吃的弄进她头发里了，”我告诉她，又开始捧腹笑起来。
Edward put both hands on either side of her face.
爱德华两只手捧起她的脸。
“Okay,” Bella said, still breathing hard and shallow. “Think it’s over. Poor kid doesn’t have enough room, that’s all. He’s getting so big.”
“好了，”贝拉说，她的呼吸和吞咽都显得那么艰难。“想想也是。这可怜的小家伙没有足够的空间了。他正在长大。”
“What’s so funny?” she mumbled.
“有什么那么好笑？”她迷迷糊糊地问。
Her lips were white, and she had her teeth locked together like she was trying to hold back a scream.
她的嘴唇毫无血色，牙紧紧地咬在一起，挣扎着不叫出声来。
“Carlisle?” he called in a tense, low voice.
“卡莱尔？”他压低了声音，紧张地叫唤道。
“He’s just,” she panted, “stretching.”
“他刚刚，”她气喘吁吁地说，“踢了我一下。”
“C’mon, Jake. Leave Rose alo –” Bella broke off mid-sentence and sucked in a sharp breath. In the same second, Edward was leaning over the top of me, ripping the blanket out of the way. She seemed to convulse, her back arching off the sofa.
“算了，杰克。让罗莎一个人……”贝拉中断才说了一半的话，大声地喘着起。同一时间，爱德华越过我，一把扯掉了毯子。她看起来似乎是痉挛了，背顶着沙发，弓了起来。
I wondered why Rosalie didn’t spring. I sort of expected it. But then I realized that my laughing had woken Bella up, though she’d slept right through the real noise.
罗莎莉怎么没跳起来呢，我倒是蛮期待看到那一幕的。但是紧接着我就意识到我的笑声吵醒了贝拉，虽然事发的时候她睡得正酣。
“S’not so hard to erase a blonde’s memory,” I countered. “Just blow in her ear.”
“要消除金发芭比的记忆并不难，”我说，“只要朝她耳朵里吹口气就好了。”
“Right here,” the doctor said. I hadn’t heard him come in.
“就在这里，”医生应声回答。我甚至都没注意到他什么时候进来的。
“I’m not going to forget this, dog,” Rosalie hissed.
“我不会忘了这件事的，臭狗，”罗莎莉发出嘶嘶的威吓。
It was really hard to take, that adoring tone she used to describe the thing that was tearing her up. Especially after Rosalie’s callousness. Made me wish I could throw something at Bella, too.
那个被她用如此宠溺的语气形容的妖怪正在撕裂她，这实在让人无法接受。在教训了罗莎莉的麻木不仁之后，我也想向贝拉扔点什么过去。
“Do not compare me to that thing,” I spit out through my teeth.
“别把我和那个妖怪比，”我从牙缝中挤出这几个字来。
I bit my tongue to keep from saying what I wanted to say — hard enough that I tasted blood in my mouth. Of course, it would heal before I could swallow. That’s what Bella needed. To be strong like me, to be able to heal…
我几乎咬破了舌头才把想要说的话给憋回去——血的味道弥漫在口腔里。当然，伤口在我下个吞咽之前就愈合了。那就是贝拉需要的，和我一样的强壮，能够自我修复……
She didn’t pick up on my mood. “You know, he reminds me of you, Jake,” she said — affectionate tone — still gasping.
她没有理睬我的心情。“你知道吗，杰克，他有点让我想起了你，”她饱含深情地对我说，仍然在大口地喘着气。
“I just meant your growth spurt,” she said, looking like I’d hurt her feelings. Good. “You shot right up. I could watch you getting taller by the minute. He’s like that, too. Growing so fast.”
“我只是说你发育的速度惊人而已啊，”她说话的样子好像被我伤到了感情。很好。“你一夜长大。我几乎觉得你每过一分钟就长高那么一点。他也一样。成长地那么迅速。”
She took an easier breath and then relaxed back into the sofa, her body going limp.
终于，她的呼吸顺畅了些许，接着她浑身绵软无力地瘫倒在沙发里。
“What?” I demanded.
“什么？”我厉声问道。
“Hmm,” Carlisle murmured. I looked up, and his eyes were on me.
“嗯，”卡莱尔喃喃地说。我抬起头，正好对上他的眼。
Edward’s head leaned to one side as he reflected on whatever was in Carlisle’s head.
爱德华的头侧向一边，那是对卡莱尔心中想法的一种反应。
“Twenty-four pairs,” Edward muttered under his breath.
“24对染色体，”爱德华默默地说道。
“No. But it’s interesting to speculate,” Carlisle said in a soothing voice.
“不。不过这是个很有趣的推断，”卡莱尔的声音有一种抚慰的效用。
“What of it?”
“是什么成份？”
Even though they were talking about me, I didn’t try to figure out the conclusions they were drawing. I had other things on my mind, a few facts I was trying to reconcile.
即使他们在讨论我，我却没有关心他们得出的结论。因为我心里还在想着其他的事，我想要理清一些事情。
“Well, I wonder if that means that we have an answer. If the similarities are gene-deep.”
“恩，如果这种相似是由基因造成的，那这是不是意味着我们就有了一个答案呢。”
“Similarities?” I growled, not appreciating the plural.
“相似之处？”我咆哮起来，才不管你们一个两个都这样说呢。
“You don’t know that.”
“这还不一定呢。”
“The accelerated growth, and the fact that Alice cannot see either of you.”
“加速的生长，以及让爱丽丝无法预见的事实。”
Bella’s light snore started up again, accenting my sarcasm nicely.
贝拉细微的鼾声又响了起来，恰如其分地加重了对我的挖苦。
“Yeah. Just fascinating.”
“是啊。真是异想天开啊。”
“Well, taking your similarities into consideration –“
“是这样的，考虑到你们两者的相似之处——”
I felt my face go blank. I’d forgotten about that other one.
我的表情呆滞住了。我忘记还有这个。
Alice joined in, commenting now and then in her chirpy bird voice.
爱丽丝也参与了进来，时不时地用她黄鹂般快活的声音加注一些评论。
They got into it then, quickly taking the genetics conversation to a point where the only words I could understand were the the’s and the and’s. And my own name, of course.
他们继续讨论了起来，很快这场关于基因的探讨，对我来说能听懂的只剩下“the”和“and”了。当然还有我的名字。
“You know that I was wondering about the fetus’s genetic makeup, Jacob. About his chromosomes.”
“你知道我一直在研究胎儿的基因构成，雅各布。关于他的染色体。”
I shuddered.
我浑身打了一个哆嗦。
Fact one, Bella’d said that the creature was protected by something as strong as vampire skin, something that was too impenetrable for ultrasounds, too tough for needles. Fact two, Rosalie’d said they had a plan to deliver the creature safely. Fact three, Edward’d said that — in myths — other monsters like this one would chew their way out of their own mothers.
第一，贝拉说过这个生物被像吸血鬼皮肤般坚硬的外壳保护着，连超声波都无法穿透，针也无法探进去。第二，罗莎莉说过他们有一个让这个生物安全降生的计划。第三，爱德华说过在传说中，其他像这类的怪物都是咬破母体才出生的。
And that made a sick kind of sense, because, fact four, not many things could cut through something as strong as vampire skin. The half-creature’s teeth — according to myth — were strong enough. My teeth were strong enough.
这太令人作呕了，因为第四，没有多少东西可以切开坚硬如吸血鬼皮肤的事物。从传说来看，能够得上如此尖利的，只有这种怪物的牙齿。和我的牙齿。
It was hard to miss the obvious, but I sure wished I could. Because I had a pretty good idea exactly how Rosalie planned to get that thing “safely” out.
真相已经呼之欲出了，但是我多么希望我不要发现它。因为我已经相当清楚罗莎莉那个计划准备怎么让那玩意儿“平安”降生了。
And vampire teeth were strong enough.
还有吸血鬼的牙齿。
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