The dining table at night is full today.
Gale can't hide his surprise when he sees Jacob coming with Alice into the dining room. Jacob fills Renésmee's chair while Alice sits in his place.
[ What happened when I was gone? ]
It's rare for this dining table to be full. Maybe only one or twice a year. The teen-wolf served more dishes than usual so this dinner felt like a feast. They get together and eat like nothing happened.
Vincent and Jacob who were supposed to be in mourning were able to eat normally. Alice's presence seemed to naturally replace the void that Renésmee had left.
But from Alice's perspective, she preferred a quiet atmosphere like how the month had passed. Alice felt Vincent keep glancing at her and again, her neck still uncomfortable. She had to ask Watson to make another potion for her.
Therefore Alice did not take much of the food on her plate.
Seeing Alice's plate empty made Vincent's feelings sink. He wanted Alice to eat more.
Vincent's hand movements were quite dexterous but some of the people around him could still see it. The four closest pairs of eyes caught the transfer of the side dishes onto Alice's plate.
There're Alice, Jacob, Noah and Bella.
[ What's this? ]
Alice looked at the vegetables that had just landed on her plate.
[ Did Vincent throw away the food he didn't want to eat? ]
Just look at the man's plate. There's just a pile of meat there.
"Come on… you should eat more." Noah fetched a slice of meat for Alice. His big mouth attracts people to check out what he is doing.
Noah reveals himself clearly. He was treating Alice like some gentleman on the way courting their partner. Even though Noah has not seen anything yet, let alone an imprint mark. He simply favors Alice like a sister.
Meanwhile, Vincent's actions just now… how to call it.
Bella, Jacob and Noah couldn't figure it out. Seeing Alice cover her mouth, they also didn't want to snatch her in front of the others.
"Vincent… are you okay?" Old Yu looked at Vincent from afar.
Vincent raised his head. How long had he been looking down and just playing with the pieces of meat on his plate? The people around him had finished eating. Even Alice had put down her cutlery.
Even though the side dishes that Vincent put on Alice's plate seemed to be intact.
[ Tch! Why doesn't he eat it? ]
Thinking about 'why' made Vincent's face look horrible.
"Are you okay?" Old Yu asked again.
People looked at Vincent with worry and pity. They knew this would happen. Even when they're on the search expedition Vincent barely eats unless someone reminds him.
The poor meat on his plate was even shapeless, torn to pieces so small.
[ Geez, isn't this a symptom of a broken heart? ]
"I'm fine." So he said but he couldn't even eat properly. Vincent instead pushed his plate away. His appetite was fine, actually even better after he came back and saw Alice.
It's just… Noah's actions had disturbed his peace of mind.
"Are you sure?" The question was starting to sound annoying to Vincent's ears.
"Yes." Vincent answered firmly as he got up and left the dining room.
He should look more like an angry person than a broken heart. But the pack members thought that what Vincent was showing at this time was a form of sadness.
They believed that Vincent was going crazy because he couldn't find Renésmee. It was a natural thing that a werewolf would feel in despair when their partner disappeared.
"How about you, Jacob? Are you okay?" It was Old Yu's turn to ask Jacob.
The situation should be similar since they share the same imprint. But the case with Jacob seemed different.
"I thought I was going crazy…"
Oh, yes, of course. Certainly. That must have been how Vincent felt too.
Jacob's initial confession made sense but he wasn't finished with his answer. Jacob continued, "but… I can't feel anything. I don't know."
"What do you mean?" asks Gale on behalf of the people at the table.
Jacob looked at them all. Not once did he think they would listen to his heart. Jacob knew they didn't care about his feelings after all. Besides, Jacob wasn't the type of boy who was easy to get along with and close to everyone.
During these four or so years he joined the pack they barely came or talked to him. He had the power to drive people away from him. So no one tried so hard to build up engagement with him.
Alice also looked at him, as if she was waiting for his answer too. Jacob looked at Alice and answered as if he was just talking to her alone.
"I can't feel anything about Nessy," he admits.
Although there was no trace of emotion on his face, his voice still sounded sad as he spoke.
"Alson, I want to know why my heart is empty… but not broken."