In Which I Suffer Through New Moon: Chapter 2 -- Stitches · 4:37pm Mar 5th, 2018
In spite of having a human bleeding in front of him, Carlisle immediately takes control of the situation, telling Emmett and Rosalie to get Jasper out of the room. He’s perfected his self-control as a surgeon, after all. Carlisle and Edward take Bella to the kitchen to get her fixed up. Slowly, all the other vampires file away to avoid temptation, leaving Carlisle and Bella alone while he picks out the glass and stitches her up. And the next scene, aside from Carlisle putting antiseptic on the wound after suturing it, is really good.
Carlisle comments that he can ignore the scent of blood thanks to years of practice; he barely notices it anymore. He admits it might be harder if he weren’t around blood at the hospital for a long period of time, but he likes his work too much — saving people’s lives and using vampiric abilities to do more than normal surgeons — to take any extended holidays. Bella asks him why he tries so hard to make up for something that wasn’t his fault, but he says he’s not making up for anything, just making the most with what he’s given. Bella presses the issue, asking him why he never considered feeding on humans in the first place, and Carlisle’s backstory gets a brief chance to flex its muscles. Remember how Carlisle’s father was a preacher? According to Carlisle, he was a harsh, Old Testament sort of guy. Carlisle doesn’t completely follow his views, but hasn’t seen anything to make him doubt that God exists.
“I’m sure all this sounds a little bizarre, coming from a vampire.” He grinned knowing how their casual use of that word never failed to shock me. “But I’m hoping that there is still a point to this life, even for us. It’s a long shot, I’ll admit,” he continued in an offhand voice. “By all accounts, we’re damned regardless. But I hope, maybe foolishly, that we’ll get some measure of credit for trying.”
Then Bella goes and ruins the moment:
Besides, the only kind of heaven I could appreciate would have to include Edward.
CM + 1
The other vampires, however, don’t agree with Carlisle. The closest is Edward, who thinks God, heaven, and hell do exist, but vampires don’t go to any sort of afterlife, because they’ve lost their souls. That’s supposedly the reason he’s being so stubborn with her; he doesn’t want her to lose her soul. Like maybe 80% of the series, this is actually a good idea (cribbed from vampire folklore, but in this series, I’ll take what I can get), but Twilight never, in all its pages, had much of a philosophical bent, so this feels like a crude attempt to add depth to the relationship. And:
If he’d asked me whether I would risk my soul for Edward, the reply would be obvious.
CM + 1
With Bella’s wound stitched up, Edward volunteers to drive Bella back home. They have a brief discussion about how Edward’s dangerous, which was done about a billion times in Twilight, but now has a lot more weight since we’ve seen it firsthand. Even better, Edward compares it to what would’ve happened at a human’s house: maybe they couldn’t find a bandage. Edward keeps mentioning Mike Newton, because he’s apparently healthier for Bella.
“I’d rather die than be with Mike Newton,” I protested. “I’d rather die than be with anyone but you.”
“Don’t be melodramatic, please.”
Took the words from my mouth, Edward. CM + 1
When they reach her house, Edward asks Bella if she wants to open her last two gifts. Bella says sure, the events of the past hour having rattled her up and changed her mind, and they meet in her room. Edward easily avoids Charlie’s detection by climbing through the window.
Charlie wasn’t exactly aware that Edward frequently stayed over. In fact, he would have a stroke if that fact were brought to his attention. But I didn’t feel too guilty for deceiving him. It wasn’t as if we were up to anything he wouldn’t want me to be up to.
Bella, stop treating your father like an obstacle. He’s only had your best interests at heart since day one.
Bella’s last two gifts are simple: two tickets to Jacksonville so she can visit Renee and Phil (Edward’s going with her), and a CD of Edward playing the piano for her. The second would’ve had more of an impact if Edward had played the piano more than just once in a brief scene in Twilight. And that scene wasn’t even focused on his piano playing. Bella starts feeling drowsy from the stress, and asks that Edward kisses her, since it’s her birthday. He does, but Bella thinks there’s something strange about the way he’s kissing her now. And just when you think you’re safe, in the very last lines of the chapter:
Last spring, when he’d had to leave me to throw James off my trail, Edward had missed me goodbye, not knowing when — or if — we would see each other again. This kiss had the same almost painful edge for some reason I couldn’t imagine. I shuddered into unconsciousness, as if I were already having a nightmare.
CM + 1
A surprisingly philosophical chapter (with deeper-than-surface-level philosophy, even!) that never gets significantly brought up again throughout the whole book. Great.
Clinginess Meter: 9
And possibly the blood loss.
I have the distinct sense that this entire series could be improved by removing Bella and just focusing on the Cullens.
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Ya know... I can’t find any reason to disagree with that.
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Considering the Cullens leave in the next chapter and the chapter after that is exponentially worse than anything that came before, they might just be the only things keeping the series tolerable. (Except Edward. Screw Edward.)