A/N: At this point I have been working on Chapter Thirteen, and not meeting with much satisfaction. After writing 9/10ths of the planned scenes out and getting stuck on one part, I've decided to completely revamp it. This includes cutting the original opening scene. Since this is not the first time that I've had to remove something from ever appearing in the main story, I've decided to post the deleted scenes as they happen, starting with the first two.
Enjoy this little snack while I continue to prepare the main course. :-)
Deleted Scene from Chapter Eight - This scene occurs during the summer before Bella's senior year of high school. She has already discovered the Cullen family secret, but has yet to tell Carlisle.
On one particular afternoon, Bella had been hanging outside the garage, sitting on a stump and basking in the warm late July sun, while Jacob twiddled under the hood of his car.
"You'll get skin cancer doing that, you know." Jacob's voice reached her from the garage.
"Forty SPF," Bella answered lazily.
"Still," Jacob stepped just outside of the open garage door, shoulder just barely leaning against the frame. "You already look fairly tan. Have ever since you got back from your mom's in Florida."
"Are you kidding?" Bella leaned up, raising one hand to tilt her sunglasses down her nose. "Next to you, or just about anyone else is this town, I look like a Cullen."
"I meant that you look tan for you." Shaking his head at her, Jacob went back in the garage. "Trust me, you'll never be as pale as a Cullen."
"Probably not," Bella agreed quietly. "While we're on the topic, tell me something that I've wondered about. What would sunlight do to a cold one?"
"Which topic do you mean? Sunlight, or the Cullens?"
"Jake, c'mon."
"Just asking." The tease in Jacob's voice carried over from the garage. "How's your Dr. Cullen doing?"
"He's not my Dr. Cullen. He's the town's doctor."
"Paleface, you're a part of the town, aren't you? He's not my doctor, so he's yours."
"Alright, sure, whatever," Bella grumbled.
Jacob laughed and took pity on her.
"The cold ones don't tan, if that's what you're asking. I already told you that they were supposed to be really hard to kill, as if their skin was as hard as diamonds. What does a diamond do in the sunlight?"
"Set off prisms," Bella answered again, almost as lazily. Then she sat straight up. "Are you telling me that their skin does that?"
"So goes the legend. A cold one in the sunlight would sparkle like the Fourth of July."
Bella hooted. She actually laughed so hard she began to have trouble catching her breath. Even Jacob began to chuckle at the sight of her, hunched forward with hands pressed to her stomach and tears coming out of her eyes.
"There's nothing funny about the cold ones."
Bella's laughter cut short at the sight of the newcomer, her breathing becoming normal after a few gasps. Billy had come out the front door and joined them, without either of them noticing. His eyes were on Bella, and his expression was full of warning and little tolerance. In that moment, Bella knew that they each were aware that the other believed that the Cullen family were cold ones.
"You shouldn't be focusing so much of your attention on the Cullens, Bella. Be aware of them only to avoid them."
Jacob was looking between the two of them, disbelief obvious on his face, though he had the wisdom to keep his tongue in his mouth.
"I don't really cross paths with the Cullens, Billy. Just Dr. Cullen occasionally."
Billy stared at her a moment longer before nodding his head. "Just be careful, Bella."
Bella wished she could say that she was always careful, but her track record proved that thought false. She also wished she could simply tell Billy that as far as she was concerned, the Cullens were decent. Yet, Billy knew as much as she did, if not more, and he had already been through such an argument with Charlie months before. So Bella said nothing.
Deleted opening for Chapter Thirteen- Edward's point of view during the phone call with Maggie and Alice from Chapter Twelve.
It was raining, a good day to be outside. The Washington, DC suburb where Edward and Rosalie had purchased a small home was blessedly clear of most of the city's congested population. Standing in the open garage doorway, Edward breathed in deep of the fresh air. He thought that he might go for a run later, though first he wanted to call the family in Washington state and let them know that he and Rosalie had set their schedule.
"It's a pity to waste this day underneath a car," he said to Rosalie.
"It's not a waste. You find your pleasures; I find mine."
"Vehicular fluids are certainly not one of mine," Edward shot back before completing the call on his cell phone.
The first ring didn't even complete before Edward heard it answered. "Edward," Maggie said in greeting. Her voice was lacking in surprise and had a bit of an undertone of severity beneath it.
"Maggie," Edward responded in the same voice. One of the things that Edward enjoyed best about phone conversations was that he could conduct them without the knowledge of what a person would say before they said it. It was a degree of liberation that he appreciated. Yet, his inner alarm went off that something was afoot all the same, simply in the way that Maggie had answered Esme's phone. "Is something wrong?"
Rosalie straightened up from her position underneath the Volvo's hood as she listened.
"Yes, that's why I need to talk to you. Edward, do you remember what a singer is?"
"Yes. Why?" The importance of a singer crossing paths with his family would be significant to them all. Draining a human was something that hadn't happened in decades and would likely result in the need to move again. Yet, the seriousness of Maggie's tone made Edward think that she had more to convey than a relocation before Thanksgiving, and a new concern birthed in him. "Carlisle hasn't finally lost control has he?"
"Never," Maggie snorted. "It's you, Edward. Now that you and Rosalie know when you're coming to town, it's set off visions in Alice. Our Bella is apparently your singer."
"You're shitting me." Though neither saw it, Rosalie's comment created a spark of amusement in Maggie. "What is it with this girl?"
Edward hadn't even thought of a response before Maggie continued. "Edward, this is serious. The visit could turn violent, so you need to start practicing self-control. Do you want to have all of us fighting you when you get here? Much as I'd love a chance to see Carlisle in action, I'm sure you'd rather not suffer your arms being reattached."
Edward winced, remembering how well Carlisle had held him down when he'd first wakened as a vampire. Rosalie held out her hand for Edward's phone and he silently passed it to her. He turned his back on Rosalie and faced out into the rain as she spoke.
"I can hold Edward back if I have to." Rosalie narrowed her eyes at Edward's scoff. "Has Alice's vision changed yet?"
"Hold on, she's in cahoots with Jasper and Esme about something. Alice?"
Alice's voice came over the phone. "It's too soon to tell, every scenario is jumbling together. We haven't told Bella yet; Carlisle's already gone to fetch her."
"They're telling her?" Edward spun on his heel to face Rosalie and his cell again.
"Of course they're telling her," Rosalie scowled at Edward. "She's a sister, not a pet. I'm really looking forward to meeting this girl," Rosalie said back into the phone.
"So am I – I hope," Edward said. "Alice, is there something in particular you want me to be doing?"
"Just prepare yourself, and run any ideas you might have past me, please. Bella's really special to all of us."
"Alright," Edward turned out to face the rain again.
"We'll be there Sunday," Rosalie said by way of good-bye.
"I'll be watching," Alice responded before the connection was released.
The clouded daylight silhouetted Edward as he stared out into the wet, Rosalie watching him thoughtfully. There was silence but for the rush of drops making contact with the ground.
"I'm going for a hunt," Edward said without turning around.
"Wait half an hour and I'll go with you."
"No." Edward disappeared from the open doorway and Rosalie did not go after him.